Capturing Ella

Chapter 22 - Joe

About twenty minutes later, I sat on the concrete stairs at the front of base. I had to get changed, as my clothes were covered in paint, and mud splatters, and I was pretty sweaty as well, and as it was a five minutes' walk to clear the ground of Maui, then another twenty minute walk just to get to the train station through crowded town centres and main pathways we had to try not to draw attention to ourselves. After Ella had walked off, Jake went after her just to make sure she was okay as Quinn went to say hello to some others, and Michael had another small chat with me away from his sisters prying ears.

It was a lovely day out; it had just turned half one in the afternoon and the temperature was at it's peak. Albeit, it was only thirty two degrees, but in England that's the equivalent of being a living barbeque, the meat on offer your internal organs. However, it was quite a muggy warm, and it was uncomfortable just sitting outside waiting for Ella. The sky was a harsh blue colour, and the sun was so bright you were practically squinting each time you looked up at the sky. The trees which covered each side of the path leading towards the front entrance of base framed the sky perfectly and it almost looked like a stock picture.

'You still okay to take me to the train station.' Ella quietly said, coming up behind me before sitting down on the stairs next to me. Despite the beating sun down she still managed to wear the hoody wrapped around her. I looked at her, sitting with me with her legs to her chest. She did have a bit more colour than she did earlier, but her eyes looked grey, and her freckles were a bit more obvious.

'Of course, but pass me your backpack.' I said, passing my hand.

'No, it's fine, seriously.' She said.

'You're ill, Ella, you're not carrying that heavy back pack for a god knows how long walk in this heat after ten or so hours flying.' I said, and she looked over and me smiling, but she was holding something back. I could tell. It felt almost awkward between us two, and I guessed neither of us were overly willingly to discuss what happened last time we were left alone.

'Backpack, now,' I said, and she shrugged off her black backpack before passing it over to me. I stood up, throwing it over one shoulder as she stood up, closing her eyes holding onto the railing. I rushed over to her, putting my arm around her waist to stop her swaying. 'You okay?'

She rested her head on my chest, and I ran my hand through her hair, it was still slightly damp from her shower.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go.' She whispered, walking down the stairs and down the path into the dirt trail that is about 10 meters from the road leading into the path. I quickly jogged down, pushing Ella's backpack onto my back a bit better, before standing next to her.

'How was your flight?' I asked, but before I even finished the sentence Ella gently took my hand, so we were walking down the path hand in hand. Whilst it felt like a slight hit on me, I was more alarmed by how cold her hand was. I looked at her, about to ask her if she's normally this cold but she bit her lip, continuing to look down the path.

'What do you think happened at the party?

'Well, depends if I listen to what other people told me,'

'No, what do you remember?' She insisted, walking a bit closer to me.

'Honestly? Not much. I remember getting caught in traffic and then we were late, and I remembered seeing you across the room and -' I paused. I should probably tell Ella the truth. She looked like she didn't trust me entirely and if I lied to her, she wouldn't trust me any further and that really wouldn't rekindle my interest in her. 'I saw you, and you look absolutely stunning. I got you a drink and brought it over to you and you stacked it straight into me, and we just spoke for the entire night although I have no idea what about. And that's pretty much it for that day?'