DISCONTINUED
Alina Fairgrieves-Byers and Gabriel Burton have learned to expect the worst, but that doesn't make things less disappointing.
𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄
( 𝐎𝐂 𝐗 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐑 )
( 𝐎𝐂 𝐗 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐘𝐄...
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welcome back, alina!
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. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧
The flight to Indiana was so early in the morning that the plane took off before the sun had even risen. Alina sat in the window seat beside an old white man who smoked a cigarette every half-hour, watching the sky gradually get lighter. Despite the hour, it was still breathtaking. Although Alina had been on airplanes multiple times throughout her life, the experience had never gotten old. There was something so giddy about being at a height humans weren't meant to reach, skidding the clouds and watching everything on the ground turn to mere specks. And sure, it could be scary to be in what essentially could turn into a metal death trap in the event of an accident, but to Alina, that only added to the experience. For whatever reason, she'd never struggled with heights. She could stand over an open abyss and feel nothing except the wind in her hair and the breath in her chest.
Joyce hadn't been able to see her off to the airport, but she'd made sure to give extra hugs before Alina left. Conveniently, she had no idea of what had happened yesterday—Alina had pulled Will, El, and Jonathan into a blood pact to ensure they wouldn't say a word. It wasn't because she thought her mom would be mad at her—honestly, if Alina told the whole story, she'd probably sympathize—but because she didn't want to deal with that pitying look. Things had been hard for everyone since they'd moved to California, and this would just be another thing to add to Joyce's plate.
But although Joyce hadn't been able to say goodbye at the airport, Will, Jonathan, El and Argyle had. Jonathan's friend didn't seem to mind waking up early to drive them—though Alina did notice that he was already high. Jonathan might have been a little stoned, too, because he ended up zoning out during their own farewell hug. Alina didn't even bother chastising him.
As Alina stared out the window, her entire body pulsed with excitement. There were only two more hours until she would be touching down on Hawkins, which meant that there were only two more hours until she'd see Lucas. He hadn't said that he'd be waiting at the airport, but it was definitely a given. So, he would be there, along with Dolores and Nicole Burton, and Alina would finally, finally, have the reunion she'd been dreaming about.
