"Stuck In The Friend-Zone Again and Again"

"Making My Escape"

I thankfully did fall asleep, and woke up just in time to hear that we would be landing in 20 minutes.

"Having your boyfriend cheat on you really wears you out," I thought drily.

As much as I wished I could be the "angry breakup girl", I couldn't.
Do you know who the "angry breakup girl" is?
I'll explain it for those of you who don't.
The "angry breakup girl" is the girl who, upon being cheated on/lied to/dumped, goes into fits of rage and listens to angry music and writes Andy breakup songs and burns his stuff and gets revenge.

I fell more into the category of "broken breakup girl".
The "broken breakup girl" is like "sad breakup girl" but worse.
The "broken breakup girl" feels completely alone and like she's lost a part of her existence (Troye Sivan reference unintended).
She blames herself, whether it be for not spending enough time with him, or being so naive, like I was.

So, since I was "broken breakup girl" and not "angry breakup girl", my songs were about loss and despair and hurt rather than revenge and anger, and my eyes were far from dry and hard.

They were, instead, as wet as the sea and twice as deep.

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When the plane landed, and I saw the Australian night through the small window of the plane, I brightened a bit.

This was Australia, the place I'd wanted to go for ages.

It was full of accents and new things, and about as far away from Jake as I could get.
I shrugged to myself, causing a strange look from the old man in my row.
The boys were here and Jake wasn't, that was good, right?
I felt tears gathering in my eyes but I sniffed them away.
It may have been good but it didn't feel good.
It felt like I wanted to wake up and have the last two days have been a dream (making me thing of Amnesia).
I sighed as I gathered up my things into my duffel, checking and double checking that I had everything.
I stood up, stretching my legs for the first time in almost a full day and night, and waited for the line of people to allow me to exit the plane.

As I stepped onto the staircase leading down to the pavement, I was hit with a blast of hot air so different from the coldness of the plane.
I walked down the stairs, feeling slightly glamorous despite my crinkled clothes and probably disastrous hair.
Making my way into the airport, I stood in line to get my bags and have my passport checked.

Travelling a lot as a little girl had its advantages, and knowing my way around airport protocol was one.

The first thing I did after having my bags run though the X Ray was find a bathroom, because I hadn't peed in over 22 hours and though I drank only 1.5 glasses of water, I really had to go.

The boys had told me they'd pick me up, so when I came down the corridor and into the main exit area, filled with busses and people, I looked around helplessly for some sign of a ride for me.

After a couple minutes, I spotted a sign that read "Par Bear 💙" in messy writing, the little heart and pet name making me really smile for the first time since... you know.

The boy holding that sign was none other than Luke Hemmings himself, and he and the rest of the band were chatting casually, looking around the space for me.
I guess since they lived there and had for their whole lives they weren't afraid of being attacked by fans.

Just as I saw him, and not the sign, Luke looked my way and we locked eyes.
Our faces split into identical grins, and Luke said something to the boys, causing them to look my way and wave.
I couldn't wave, since my hands were full of bags, but I smiled even bigger to let them know I saw them.
I hurried as best I could with my two suitcases and duffel to reach them through the throng of people.
When I was finally in front of them, and Luke encased me in a back breaking hug, despite my ecstasy in seeing them again, I felt a tear fall from my eye.
Jake used to hug me like that.
When Luke pulled away to look at me, his smile drop and his face contorted into a concerned expression.
"What's wrong?"
I sniffed and gave a watery laugh, wiping my tears.
"I just missed you guys, I guess," I said, which was true, but not the reason I was crying.
Luke laughed and pulled me in for another hug, and it took everything in me not to break down in his arms.

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After hugging each of the boys, Calum grabbed one suitcase and Ashton grabbed the other, and Luke wrestled my duffel from my grasp, ignoring my protests that I could carry it.
They led me outside where a car was parked in a special spot (perks of being a rockstar, I guess), and put my bags in the trunk.
Luke got in the driver's side, which was the left hand side of the car, and told me to get in shotgun, even though I protested that I could ride in the back.
I ended up in shotgun anyway, because the boys got in the back despite what I said, and as we pulled away from the blinking lights of the airport making the night sparkle, my mind couldn't help but wander to the clothes in my bags.
A weird thing to think about, I know, but the thing was that not all of the clothes in those bags were mine.
Some of them were Jake's.
And what was I supposed to do with them now?

A hand tapped my shoulder, interrupting my thoughts.
"Paris?" Luke said from beside me. "You okay? I asked you how your flight was twice and you didn't even react."
I shook my head lightly in attempt to clear it.
"I'm fine, just spaced out I guess."
"So how was your flight?" Luke laughed, his eyes flicking from the road to me.
"Fine," I laughed. "I was sat next to an old couple and the lady was really nice. I slept through most of it."
"You're gonna be so jet lagged," Michael chuckled.
"I know," I groaned. "But I figure if I can stay awake tonight and tomorrow then I'll sleep tomorrow night."
"It's a good plan, executing it is the problem," Calum commented.
"Hey you're talking to the mascot of 'Sleep Is For The Weak," I laughed.
"No, I'm pretty sure that's Luke," Michael said.
"We're co-mascots," I decided.
The boys all laughed, and I smiled.

It was good to with them again, where I belonged.