"Knock-knock." Gemma leaned against the wall while staring in despair at how Noel looked: miserable. She was looking up at the perfectly white ceiling while lying down on the mattress with a blank expression painted on her winter-kissed face.
"I wish that nobody was home," she numbly replied. She turned her head to face Gemma, as a signal for her to sit on the bed with her. She quickly walked over to her and started playing with her long, silky hair. "It was a paper airplane," Noel whispered out.
Gemma nodded as she twisted strands of Camryn's hair into knots that perfectly undid themselves. "I know," she simply replied, perplexing Noel.
"Since when?"
"Since the moment he gave it to you. I was there. Well, kinda. I was behind a wall." She had a facial expression that signalled that she was about to start laughing, causing Noel to roll her eyes and sit up straight against the headboard with her.
She blew a strand of hair away from her eyes as Gemma started messing around with it, putting it in braids, and then unbraiding it. They stayed there, thinking about all of the times that they were in this same position and venting about each other.
Noel shook her head. "I just thought that it was kinda special, you know? Like a friendship type-of-thing." She scoffed and sadly smiled, "I honestly don't even know why I'm so upset. It's not even a big deal." She tried convincing herself that what she said was true. But she wasn't so sure.
"He's an idiot. I bet that he just gave her that necklace for the aesthetics rather than meaning." Noel smiled at how her almost-sister but still had lingering doubts.
"We're not doing anything productive by just spilling our feelings in this room. Let's go back outside to the others," Gemma smiled. Noel gladly took her offer as they walked with their arms linked.
_____
Harry tapped Noel's shoulder and motioned for him to follow him to one of the hallways hidden from everybody's vision range. She rolled her eyes, but followed anyways.
"Hm?" She asked in slight annoyance. Harry looked taken back by her attitude.
"Where's the mistletoe. Can you find it so then I can, um, yeah?" She shook her head and continued to walk back to the kitchen, continuing to clean the remaining fraction of the mess. "Please? Look, I know about the necklace thing and I'm sorry, okay? I'll make it up to you. Just do this one thing-"
'Breathe. Slowly.'
No matter how angry she was at Harry, there was always a soft spot for him in her heart. At times, she wished that she could get rid of; but she couldn't.
"You owe me so much," she whispered. "It's in your mom's suitcase on the left side with the sock covering the cardboard box," she mumbled. Harry smiled brightly at her and gently kissed the top of her head, making her stomach flutter ever-so-slightly.
"You are the most amazing best friend ever. You know that right?" Harry asked her before he left her alone.
She slightly smiled and motioned him to leave. But there was something lingering in her thoughts that wished that he didn't.
_____
"Are you sure that you'll be okay out here by yourself? That's at least a queen sized bed, so we can share if you'd like." Gemma kept pushing it, and Noel knew it was because she cared about her.
She waved her away, but Gemma didn't budge from her spot in front of the couch-bed. "I'll be fine. It's not like I'm outside. Go to sleep." She tossed a pillow at Gemma's face and her fast reflexes kicked as she grabbed the top edge before it made contact with her face.
"Do a better job next time," Gemma teased.
"Go to sleep, loser."
"Goodnight loser."
_____
After staring at the clock for what seemed like hours, Camryn took the hotel pen and lifted her journal from under the couch.
"It was a paper airplane too," she said with a sad smile.
While on the other side of the suite behind a shut door, Harry sat up straighter and turned on one of the lamps by his bedside.
"I gave her a paper airplane," he whispered while his hands scribbled the words on the untouched paper.
• • •
Author's Note - December 14, 2016
One final down, six to go :(/:)
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