~Bonjour~ (Washette)

~01~

~Third person~

Lafayette wiped his tears eyes, gripping tightly onto his mother. "Do I have to leave?" He sniffled a bit as he looked down at his mother.
"Oui, my darling. It's for the best. We need you getting the best education you can get." His mother gently caressed his cheek. "You will be back soon."
He slowly nodded, giving his mother one last hug before turning his back on her. He slowly made my way onto the airplane. He was off to his new life, his new home and he was scared.
     He seated himself, looking out of the window. He was on his way to a new life. He knew in the end everything would be alright. He knew he would graduate at the top of his class and come home in 4 years. He knew he would open his own art studio in Paris and finally be able to support his family, but that doesn't make the move any less terrifying.
He'd have to make a new life with new friends and a new family. He kept reminding himself that it's for the best. Once he got his degree he'll be able to get a job and pull his family out of debt.
     He watched as the plane took off, the ground getting smaller and smaller. There was no turning back. He was on his way to New York and there was no way to stop it.

~~~~~

Lafayette was jolted out of his thoughts by the sudden impact of the plane with the ground. His mess of curls fell around his caramel colored face. He slowly rubbed his eyes, stretching as best as he could in the tiny cramped seat.
He reached under the seat and pulled out his backpack, slinging it around his shoulder. He was glad he only brought what he could fit in a backpack. He didn't want to deal with anything more than he needed to. The move was going to be complicated enough, he didn't want to add to it by bringing suitcases full of unnecessary little nick-knacks that he'd never use more than once.
After what felt like ages of waiting to get off of the plane he finally had the chance to stretch himself out. Being 6'2" was definitely not helpful when he travels. His joints felt sore and his back ached. He couldn't wait to get into his new home and collapse into his bed, stretching out as much as possible. Now that sounded nice. He couldn't wait to not be traveling anymore.
     Lafayette made his way towards the baggage claim, even though he couldn't quite read the words on the signs, he did his best to follow the little pictures of baggage until he reached where he needed to go.
     He looked around until he saw a man, a quite handsome man, holding a sign with his unbelievably long name upon it. He couldn't help but giggle as he noticed the second half of his name squished onto the small paper sign.
     "Bonjour~ You must be George." Lafayette greeted the taller man with a polite smile. George gave an awkward smile, nodding as he scratched the back of his neck. Lafayette couldn't help but smile at the other's awkwardness.
     "Uh, Hi." He replied, folding up his sign as if he was going to put it into the trash. "How was your flight?" He asked. Laf was truly surprised by the American's kindness. All of his friends had told him that Americans were cold and rude. Maybe he should stop listening to his friends so much...
    "It was long and boring. Nothing to do besides read or sleep." Lafayette replied with a yawn, rubbing his eyes a bit. He was just ready to leave the airport, the stuffy smell of body odor and cheap cleaning supplies had been stuck up the Frenchman's nose all day and he couldn't stand one more second of it.
     "Well if you don't have anymore bags then we can head to my car." George said, starting to turn towards the door. Lafayette nodded and with that the two boys set off towards the car.
     "So what made you want to host a foreign exchange student?" Lafayette absentmindedly asked on his way towards the door. George led Lafayette through the parking garage, pulling his keys from his pockets.
     "I thought it would be something different. Besides, home was starting to get kind of lonely all by myself." George replied, pressing a button on his keys. That's when the lights of a decent sized, black SUV flashed.
     "Oh, so you live alone?" Lafayette asked in a curious tone. He thought that George would at least have girlfriend that he lived with.
     "Yeah." Was all George responded with. Lafayette, being the curious man that he was, decided the question George further.
     "Do you have a girlfriend?" Lafayette asked with a smiled as he crawled into the passenger side of the vehicle.
     "Well, no. I'm not exactly.." George trailed off, sitting in his seat and awkwardly shifting a bit.
    "Not exactly what?" Lafayette's brows furrowed. I mean he would understand if George was antisocial or something like that but that answer he got next was not what he expected.
     "Well I'm not exactly straight." He mumbled, buckling his seatbelt and turning his attention straight at the road, not even glancing over at Lafayette.
     "Okay, so do you have a boyfriend?" Now that reply surprised George. The American looked over at Lafayette before shaking his head.
     In Lafayette's eyes George didn't seem like the type to be gay. With his bald head and casual button up, George on the outside looked like you're run of the mill straight guy.
     Lafayette was happy that he learned he wasn't the only one with eyes towards the opposite sex. He had seen the news articles about people being attacked for their sexuality and he was honestly a bit afraid to tell anyone about his sexuality in fear of being hurt, but not anymore. He had decided that most of the things he had found out were wrong, considering everything he had thought has been proven wrong so far.
     "What about you? Do you have your eyes on a girl?" He asked, clearing his throat before speaking. By now we were already going down the highway at a steady pace, the cites flashing by us.
     "I mean there was a guy back home but we split things off once I learned I would be moving." Lafayette said as he started to pull out his phone, snapping photos of a beautiful city around them.
     "A guy?" George raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Laf.
     "Yeah, A guy." Lafayette gave George a smile before looking back towards his phone. At that moment Lafayette felt something. A little spark within him that he knew if he tended to, would turn into a full blown flame.

1200 words. I'm so glad you guys stuck around to read my rewrite. I know it probably seems "dramatic" and whatnot but I am a lot more proud of how it is going now. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I hope you guys stick around for more.