(I know you've been) GONE.

O n e

Missed calls and ignored texts and
Late night, I'm stayin' up stressin'
Girl I got you on my mind
I swear this happens every time (yeah)

But what about our last fight?
Yeah I know it happened last night
You can put that in the past right?
I'm just tryna' live the fast life (uh)

Distance was released just days after Jack and I's first fight. I guess you could say I'm the girl behind the beats and melodies. My name is Elijah-Ray and I'm the girl that broke Jack's heart.

It all started in 2013, when I first met both of the Jacks.

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"Mal, we should go to the fair, it's opening weekend!" I was scrolling through my feed and happened to come across a post about a friend attending the fair. Malia glanced up from her phone and shot me a look.

"Really El, you going to a public event?" She let out a loud laugh and went back to attending to her phone. I stood up.

"I mean, why not? It could be fun." I found myself shifting my weight between my two legs as I placed my phone down on my bed. She was right, I had horrible social anxiety; any kind of event with a large number of people made my head spin.

"If you're really up for giving it a shot, then get ready." She smacked on her gum as she said this, and not once did she look up from her phone. Classic Malia, always glued to her technology. I grabbed the shoes that I left on the side of my bed and I slipped them on.

"Ready?" I asked Mal, she nodded and pulled herself out of my trampoline chair and with that we hopped in my little Jeep Liberty and took off.

As soon as we got there I knew it was a big mistake. Children walked across the dirt parking lot with cotton candy in one hand and a sticky soda in the other. I took a deep breath as I put my Jeep in park. Malia gave me a worried look.

"Elijah-Ray are you sure you wanna go through with this?" I looked forward and nodded as I slowly turned the key and took it out of the ignition. I reached for the handle on the door.

"Let's go." She smiled and opened up her door. I climbed out and shut my door. I hit the lock button on the clicker and put my lanyard around my neck as I headed toward the back of the vehicle. Malia also walked around to the back and met up with me and then we headed toward the wristband booth.

"25 dollars please." I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and opened it up. I rummaged through it scrambling to find a twenty and a five. Once I found it I pulled it out and handed it to her, she put it in a grey little lock box and grabbed a blue wrist band.

"Put your hand through that little hole, sweets." I pulled up my sleeve and did as told. She peeled back the plastic and wrapped the band around my wrist and secured it. I thanked her and headed towards the entrance. Malia went to the other ticket booth and told me to meet her at the entrance.

"What ride do you wanna go on first," Malia asked as she approached me. We headed into the fair. I glanced around, there were so many to the point where it was kind of overwhelming. How could one person ride every single ride in one day? After a moment or so of looking around, I found the one that had been my favorite since I was a child. I pointed towards the Orbiter.

"How about that one?" I knew it would make her reminisce since it was the one we always rode when we were younger. Her eyes lit up and she smiled; She nodded and we walked over to it. We got in line, which it was fairly long. The Orbiter was a favorite among the people in Omaha. After about two minutes, Malia tapped on my shoulder.

"Eli, I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda thirsty. Would you mind holding my spot while I go and grab a water?" I internally rolled my eyes. I slightly nodded and reached into my pocket for my phone. "Would you like anything?" I shook my head no.

Ten minutes went by and she still wasn't back. As the line kept getting shorter, my patience was also growing shorter.

"Mal, where tf are you. We're in the next round of people to go ride."  I typed it out, read it a few times, and then sent it. I sighed and pocketed my phone. The ride slowed down and I gulped. I knew I was going to have to ride with a stranger since Malia wasn't back and single riders aren't allowed. The worker opened the gate and motioned people in. I walked up to the gate and showed him my wrist band, he nodded and gestured me in. I walked around and found the one that Mal and I used to always ride in, it was the last one left. There was a boy that appeared to be my age sitting in the inside side of the seat.

"Mind if I ride with you..?" I mumbled this question as I looked down and dragged my shoe across the metal gate. "My friend never came back from getting a water." He chuckled.

"Well of course! My best friend never came back from using the bathroom." I gave him a small smile and tried climbing in. He stretched out his arm.

"Would you like some help getting in?" I laughed and nodded. I grabbed onto his hand and he slightly tugged on my arm and helped me into it. The worker finally reached us and lowered the bar to secure us in. He walked back to his booth and started the ride. As it lifted, the boy turned toward me.

"So, are you from around here?" I smiled at his effort to make small talk, maybe riding with someone I don't know wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Yeah, I've lived in Omaha all my life. I don't know if I could see myself living anywhere else." I smiled at him. "What about you, Mr. Stranger?"

"My name is Jack Johnson by the way, and Omaha is my home."

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why'd you include your last name, Jack Johnson?" His cheeks turned a light pink. He awkwardly laughed.

"My best friend's name is Jack and I guess I'm just used to getting the confusion out of the way from the very start." I nodded. "You got a name there, Miss Stranger?"

"My name is Elijah-Ray." He looked at me, slightly smiled, and nodded. The ride started to slow down, you could see your surroundings clear up.

"I like it, but I'm gonna come up with a special nick name for you." I shot him a toothy grin. He jerked forward as the ride came to a complete stop. The bar lifted up and he jumped out, the grates rattled as everybody did the same. I climbed out and smoothed out my shorts.

"I'll see you around, Ellie?" I nodded. He waved and then exited the ride.