tgt stories

Prolouge

Alexander checked his phone for the 13th time in one minute. Still nothing. The last text he had gotten from Gigi had said she was about 20 mins away, about the same distance as Emily. Since then, they checked their phone every 5 seconds for another text. They should be about 5 mins away now and the thought gave him a mixed emotion of excitement and anxiety all at once. Their whole body was shaking uncontrollably, in the same way it would if
they were about to meet their favorite celebrity.

He arrived about an hour before they were supposed to meet so he decided to just wait at the airport. The smell of fresh baked cookies filled the air making his stomach growl. They were hungry but if they ate anything now it probably wouldn't turn out good. They tapped on the table anxiously, their leg bouncing under the table. Just then their phone rang. He jumped up hitting his knee on the table as he answered the call.

Emily's face filled the screen. By the looks of it, she was getting a bag from the compartment above the seats. She wasn't paying attention so Alexander held back their screams of excitement. They waited until Emily grabbed her phone, then the screen split and Gigi's name popped up on the other half. Her screen showed the ground for a few seconds till she flipped the camera to her face.

"OH HI GUYS," Emily half-yelled. They both returned a hello.

"So how are we gonna do this?" Gigi asked.

"Okay. Okay. So," Alexander said. "I'm sitting in the middle of the airport near the food court. Y'all just start walking this way. Are we going to try to meet all at the same time or..?"

"Same time," they answered together.

"Okay," Alexander laughed. "There's a lot of different ways to this place but you both should be coming from different directions so i don't think you'll run into each other. Just keep walking towards the center of the airport and we should all meet here."

"Okay," Emily said. "I'm walking off the plane. I'm so nervous like my hands keep shaking AH HA."

"SAME!" Alex and Gigi shouted at the same time.

They all laughed, releasing some of the tension. As Emily and Gigi made their way to the center of the airport, they all fell silent. Alex looked from one path to the next, waiting for one of them to show up. He walked back and forth, unable to stay still. The butterflies in his stomach must have multiplied by 1,000 from the time he left his house to now. The mix of excitement and anxiety gives them the best and worst feeling, like they were on the biggest rollercoaster in the world, exciting and scary all at once. If this moment was a rollercoaster, he would ride it over and over again.

"Okay I see the food court," Gigi said.

Alexander searched each path, desperately trying to find any sign of Gigi. The airport wasn't crowded, it actually seemed kind of empty for a Saturday morning, but it took Alex a few minutes to find her. Finally though, he spotted her and their eyes locked. He felt as if his heart had just leaped out of his chest.

"Oh my god. I see you," Alex exclaimed.

"Hold on. Hold on. I'm coming. I'm almost... HERE!! IM HERE!!" said Emily.

Alex found her almost instantly, standing in the path directly in front of him. He seemed to be stuck in place. Both their best friends were standing within 40 feet of them. Their best friends, who they've only seen through a screen, were standing right in front of them. It was like a dream, to actually see them without a screen separating them. Hundreds of miles suddenly became a few yards in this one moment. He tried to savor the moment before throwing fear and caution to the wind and running straight towards them.

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Emily stood still for a split second, debating on whether to start running towards them or to just walk instead. She didn't want it to be awkward but she really wanted to just run towards them with open arms. She couldn't decide if it was too much too soon or if it was reasonable until she saw Alex running towards her. She decided then that it was completely reasonable. It was their first time meeting since they became friends almost 2 years ago. Of course running towards them was reasonable.