2 kids

Cloud pleasure.

Ashley.

My ears are about to burst, and I'd bet I'll have a headache soon.

For the past ten minutes we've been sitting in some random airport bar chosen by Ace and Ray, and arguing about the seating. There are surprisingly many conditions that have to be taken into consideration.

It's no surprise Nina still refuses to even glance at Ace, not to mention sit next to him. With even the slightest attempt to bribe her, she answered with a stern 'no'. Seven minutes have passed by, and no one has brought the idea of them sitting in the same row up. Ace himself enjoying teasing her for the first minute, then Ray dropped a comment that seemed to annoy the hell out of him. He's been sitting silently ever since and disagreeing with every proposed suggestion.

Somehow automatically and collectively it has been agreed, or more understood, that River is sitting with his girlfriend, Mae and Parker are sitting together too, and well, as for me and Alex, one look into his eyes and the answer was obvious. His hand securely placed on my thigh tells me one thing – he's sticking by my side for the next six hours.

Their managers and the other adults supervising this group of ours have wisely chosen a table distant from ours. For the last fifteen minutes they've been eavesdropping on our arguing, but overall pretending to not know us.

"Have we agreed?" Ciara asks when it seems the wave of arguments has finally calmed down. A minute ago we managed to settle at an agreement we're all more than comfortable with. I'm surprised, and slightly disappointed, that we didn't think of it before.

We all let out a 'yeah', and finish our drinks and snacks, returning to normal conversations.

"Where are those two going to be staying?" David asks, nodding his head in the direction of their manager and his friend.

River and Alex shrug, Ace ignores everyone around him, and Mae is busy whispering something to Parker. Eventually River takes it upon himself to answer, "Not in the same house as us and that's all I care about."

For a guy that seems very uptight, River has turned out to be the exact opposite. He simply successfully protects his peace and cannot be bothered to deal with unnecessary drama. It's impressive.

Their manager approaches us, announcing it's our departure time. "Everyone has got their stuff?" We all nod. "All of it?"

And like that we walk to the gate, waiting another ten minutes before it opens. We're one of the first ones to pass through, purposely pushing ourselves first. Some people give us stares, apparently not pleased at the thought that seventeen teenagers will be sharing the same plane as them. I almost ask them if seventeen young kids would be a more pleasing situation, but I never grow the guts.

Alex catches himself a seat next to Ace and wordlessly pulls me into his lap, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck. I wrap my arms around his neck, making myself comfortable in his lap. It feels like old times, so natural to be this close to him. The pain and confusion I felt after our breaks are vanishing, getting replaced with this feeling of love and home the less he pushes me away.

"Stop thinking about it, angel," he whispers. I scrunch my nose, and he raises his eyebrows. "I want all of you these next ten days. I want all of you here with me, on this trip. I don't want your mind to be here in New York."

I smile apologetically at him, but he continues. "Can you do that for me? Can you just enjoy your summer with your friends in LA?"

I nod, knowing overthinking my father's relationship isn't going to do either of us good. He's a grown man, fully capable of taking responsibility for his actions.