Ethereal - a kiani au

forty three

• Will's POV •

The tears wouldn't stop as I walked onto the plane. One of the flight attendants gave me a sympathetic smile. I had tear stained cheeks and a nine hour flight ahead of me. I sighed as I sat down and scooted towards the window. My heart felt like it was breaking all over again. This can't actually be happening. I find the love of my life and then I have to leave him. A girl sat in the seat next to me. She was smiling as she moved her bags around in the overhead compartment. She sat down and looked at me, her smile fading once she saw my puffy eyes.

"What's wrong?" She asked, frowning. She looked genuinely concerned.

"I just had to leave my boyfriend," I said, a chill running down my spine from the word. Boyfriend. He's so much more than that too.

"I'm assuming you live in England then?" She asked, hinting at my accent.

"I'm moving back," I answered.

The girl's blonde curls bounced as she shook her head. "That's such a shame," she added. She didn't look much older than I was.

"Why are you going to England?" I asked, wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes. Maybe this girl can somehow miraculously talk to me for the entire plane ride and I won't have to think about the crushed pieces of my heart sitting in my chest.

"I'm actually moving there to start college," she said. So she was my age.

"I'm planning on going to uni there too. I'm going to live with my dad," I answered. She scrunched up her nose and laughed. "What?" I asked.

"Uni," she said, giggling. I thought back to the countless times that Jordan would smile when I said mum, the sparkle in his eyes enough to get me through the day. It felt like someone was just stomping on the pieces of my already broken heart. "I'm Emily, by the way," she said.

"I'm Will," I responded, trying my best to smile.

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A few hours into the flight, Emily was fast asleep and I was alone with my thoughts. I put in my earbuds and tried to drown out every sad thought I had about Jordan but it didn't work how I had hoped. A new song started playing and I immediately got flashbacks to prom. I could see Jordan's tanned, sweaty body peaking out from underneath his transparent white shirt. How was I able to control myself back then? I thought of Jordan dancing and dancing and pulling me out with him. He always knew how to take me out of my comfort zone. But now he is my comfort zone. I skipped the song when I realized that there were tears in my eyes again. I wiped them away quickly and shut my eyes, setting my head against the window and hoping to wake up back in Seattle.