The Girl he Wants

35- He'll be Out of Your Life Soon.

***ELIZABETH'S P.O.V***

Elizabeth awakens startlingly at Willow's harsh tap. "Hey, we are here. Hurry up. The ferry to Governors Island is about to leave."

Elizabeth opens her eyes, but she sees nothing because of her hoodie. As soon as she slips it off, she looks around, but to her astonishment Willow is already stepping off the bus where the rest of the class is. She leaps out of her seat, but as she does she spies the last two people who are still sitting in the bus seats. The only things she can see of theirs is the backs of their heads, yet she knows they are Asher and Jay.

She starts walking down the aisle, but as she gets closer she slows. Her ears perk up at the sound of Jay's voice. "Elizabeth is separating us. We need to get rid of her."

"What should we do?" Asher asks.

"You wanna have a little fun and toy with her heart?" Jay asks, and Elizabeth can hear her own gasp echo off the walls of the bus.

Both boys turn at the sound, jumping to their feet. Asher's pale eyes narrow and Jay's green ones widen. "Hell... She heard us."

Elizabeth's mind floods with images of Asher's kiss in the elevator, his touch, his lips, and the sensations that had washed over her. Stuttering backwards, she shakes her head and holds in the tears that threaten to fall. "Asher, I thought you said you loved me?"

Asher blinks blankly, and then shakes his head. Jay shakes his head too, but he does his a little more violently. He raises his hand, shooting her the bird. "Neither of us liked you. You're just an introvert who shouldn't have even talked to us in the first place."

"Yeah. I hated kissing you when we played spin the bottle. I almost yawned in the middle of it." Asher laughs, throwing a high five at Jay.

A tear streaks down Elizabeth's face and the crude information sinks in. "Neither of you care about me?"

"Not really." Asher and Jay say at the same time, tearing Elizabeth's heart to shreds.

"We're here." Willow steps back on the bus, her freckled face a blur. "We're here."

"I hear you..." Elizabeth wipes away her tears, sniffling.

"We're here. We're here." She repeats, her eyes blank.

"We're here." Elizabeth snaps awake and jerks forward, sucking in a deep breath. She rips her hoodie from her eyes and glances around, relieved only when she spots the lively, familiar faces of everyone she knows. Willow stands right beside her, her blue eyes widening. "Why are you crying?"

Elizabeth quickly wipes away the tears she didn't even know were in her eyes and blinks her slumber away. Seeing the concerned look on her face, Elizabeth tries to act normal by shrugging and saying, "My eyes water sometimes when I sleep."

Willow gives her a weird look, but in the end she nods. "Oh okay. Well, we're here. People are already loading the ferry."

She gestures out the window, and Elizabeth glances through it. Beyond the parking lot they are in, there is a boat dock with a pretty decent sized ferry awaiting departure. The city stands behind them, but what rests before them is just as beautiful. An island is miles away and in between it and them is a vast amount of water that glistens in the morning sunlight.

Elizabeth sucks in a breath and smiles. "That's gorgeous."

When she turns back around to see what Willow has to say in return, she is already gone and is moving toward the front of the bus at the back of the line of teenagers. Elizabeth--shaking away the horrible and slightly unrealistic dream--follows behind her. Before she can make it to the front of the bus, though, she is tapped on the shoulder and has to turn around and look into a set of pale blue eyes. "Elizabeth."