Returning To Loving You

A Conversation In an Airport

I went three more episodes without having any kind of contact with Cody. It was when we were in Germany when I finally got the guts to say something to him:

"Cody's got a tiny sausage!"

Okay, I could've handled that better.  But he lifted his head to look toward my direction.

"At least my team has a sausage", he defended, and gestured towards Owen. Owen, who had just stuffed his face with the meat from the challenge. It's moments like this that make me wish that when I was a young, naive, sixteen year old sending in my audition tape for Total Drama Island, there had been a tiny angel above me saying, "Don't do it, you twat!".

Accepting the loss wasn't easy, especially after witnessing a certain Spaniard suspiciously lose a challenge I know he could've won. I had debated confronting the guy about it, but at the end of the day, I didn't go home, and that's about all I can ask for.

My mind was still elsewhere. It was two places actually. The two interactions I had with Cody today. Neither of them were particularly eloquent, nor did either of them hint at anything more than an acquaintanceship. Yet they occupied my mind far more than they really should've.

"Dude, you okay?"

Tyler's concern seeped from his lips to my ears, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?"

In the seat next to me, Tyler leaned forward, his chin resting on his palm. He looked tired, and maybe even a little sad.

"You weren't blinking man, you're all spacey" he said, gesturing squiggles above his head.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fantastic.  In fact I was just getting ready to settle into this luxurious wooden bench and just bathe in the comfort" I said playfully, stretching across the bench, and then sitting upright when I got a splinter in my hip.

Tyler gave a quiet snort, but then gave a glance across the aisle at a certain blonde woman. To be honest, I forgot Lindsay and Tyler ever were a thing. Evidently she'd done the same thing until just recent. Bozo the Bimbo over here is convinced Tyler just arrived. It wouldn't make much difference to me, except now Tyler is too distracted to hold a conversation with me.

"Where do you think we're going next?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Man, I don't care. I can't enjoy traveling while doing this stupid show" he grumbled.

"Yeah it's not exactly a spa resort party"

Tyler shook his head silently.  He was too unfocused to talk.

The cabin began getting dark, so I took it as a sign to go to sleep. I found the least painful position to lay in, and let my eyes close. There was no telling how long it took me to fall asleep, but eventually I was lulled to sleep by DJ's soft snores.

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"When's your flight take off?"

I looked at my ticket. If I was smart, I'd head over to the gate now, so I wouldn't have to wait in line for too long. But I knew if I didn't say something now, we'd drift apart once we both got home. If only we lived closer.

"I have time. Want to get coffee before we have to board?"

The airport was oddly empty. It couldn't have been that late at night. But airports are weird like that.

We found a place that served coffee.

"Do you want sugar or cream?" I asked as I put a Sweet'N Low into my cup. I never got an answer, but took it as a no.