Lonely Hearts (Porter Robinson Fanfiction)

Closer Than This

I wrapped my sweater's sleeves around the inside of my palm. "Did you pack an extra laptop charger?"

Porter leaned against the car, his eyes squinting. The late afternoon August sun reflected off the shiny black SUV on the corner, where bags and bags of luggage sat waiting to be piled inside the car. He finally replied, sighing wearily. "I'll go back in and get it."

Smiling at his retreating form, I began to help his manager, Aaron, place the bags in the trunk. I could tell he was already super worn out from everything that's gone on in the past month, from tour prep to the album release, but above everything I could tell Porter was so incredibly happy and ecstatic about the upcoming live tour. I lugged a heavy suitcase to the opening of the drunk, and Aaron helped me place it gently beside a matching bag. The backseat was already flowing over with different equipment Porter had claimed he needed, ranging from a variety of things in which I'd never heard of, to things I'd heard Porter get way too overly excited about.

Porter emerged from the apartment, clutching a duffel bag with various cords sticking out of the opening. His hands fumbled over the zipper, trying to force them all underneath the top so that he could close it. I bit my lip, walking over to try and help so they could get a move on the road. First stop was Vancouver, which meant taking a flight halfway across the US in just a few short hours. Aaron had made a point of not being late to the airport to have time to put all of these suitcases in safety compartments, so we spent the last couple of hours packing stuff up (which involved lots of "Be careful with that!" and "Don't put that in there like that!" directed towards me). Porter promised to text me when he landed, and update me as much as he could when he wasn't busy, whether it be phone calls, pictures, or texts.

The past couple of days I was feeling a range of emotions - from sad, to nervousness, to love. I wasn't ready for Porter to go, no matter how long I had been expecting this. After that night we spent together on Friday, something had just clicked and we'd been inseparable. In the middle of one of my classes, my phone began ringing, which meant about 50 pairs of eyes on me at one time and almost getting my ass kicked out of Multimedia Writing. Normally, I'd have my phone on silent, but I guess I'd been so forgetful and thoughtful lately that it didn't really cross my mind until it actually happened. Lucky me.

When I had gotten outside of the lecture, I checked my phone and was surprised to see a call from Porter, which rarely happened because we just preferred texting over calling. When he answered he told me to meet him by a Starbucks a couple of blocks away where we occasionally got coffee. He was sitting at a table by himself, clutching an iced mocha for me and a tiny box. (No, it wasn't a wedding ring.) It just happened to be a gorgeous, silver necklace, with what appeared to be a rose-gold waving cat on the chain. I remember trying not to gasp, since I never receive presents so valuable.

"What is it?" I had asked, turning it over in my nand to get a closer look at the cat.

"It's a maneki-neko, which means 'beckoning cat" in Japanese. It's typically a good luck charm placed everywhere in Japan, from stores to restaurants to businesses. I know its not the most romantic gift -"

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, shaking my head. "This is so thoughful. You know I like stuff like this."

He blushed, and I flipped around, feeling his warm fingers against my cool neck as he pushed aside my hair to slide it on. It hung perfectly over my collarbones, and I knew after seeing it that it was a reminder of Porter while he was gone, to look at in the mirror and remember his hands on my waist, my thighs, my face. I was so thankful to have a small piece of him while he was away, just a tiny glimpse of him whenever I just looked down.

My brain took me back to the present. Aaron was currently slamming the back of the trunk, a few bags already crashing to the floor of the car. Porter barely glanced up as he shoved his bag with the cords in the backseat, shutting the door behind him and leaning against the SUV. His gaze bore into mine as he motioned for me to come over, snapping me out of my reverie.