Skinny Love (DISCONTINUED)

Disconnected.

*Miley POV*

When I arrived at the airport, my heart beat grew faster.

This is it. I haven't seen Justin in a few weeks now, and it feels like we've become distant strangers again. Like the last month of us reconnecting all disappeared. It was too late for me to back out of this now because he's waiting for me and running away from my problems won't make things better. It may make an already terrible situation worse. I'm too much of a punk to deal with the awkwardness that's about to happen.

After paying the cab driver and retrieving my suitcases from the trunk, I took small steps into the airport. People were passing by and entering as well, all carrying bags filled with their things. Most of them are probably trying to visit family for the holidays, and some are probably getting away from their troubles. Before walking inside, I took a relaxing breath and prepared myself.

You're just being a good friend Miley. He needs a friend right now and nothing else.

As I walked inside all of the confidence that I once had disappeared and my eyes locked on a familiar face, standing alone at the far corner next to a newspaper stand.

It was Justin.

But he didn't look like himself. Even from far, a complete stranger could tell that he was uneasy. His shoulders were sluggish and his head was held low, the look of complete tiredness washing over him. He toyed with his camera, which was in it's usual place hung around his neck. His hair was wild and undone, showing the little effort he had to get out of bed. I wondered if he even got a change to sleep last night. Maybe he was just as nervous about us meeting again as I am.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to stand and stare at him forever so I clutched at my luggage, licked my lips, and made my way to him. He must noticed someone coming to him, because his head perked up and our eyes met.

My lips parted in a slight gasp. He looked even more distressed up close. The bags under his eyes were a dead give away that he hasn't slept and paleness in his skin showed that there was something wrong with him. His round light brown eyes weren't filled with life and joy, like it usually was. Instead, they were dark and emotionless. He kept my gaze until I managed to get to him, He let go of his camera and slid his hands inside of his pockets.

Oh god, the awkwardness was coming back again. We stayed quiet for a moment.

Why can't he say anything? It's not like I'm supposed to carry a conversation with him the whole ride to Canada.

Just as if he were reading my thoughts in some strange way, Justin parted his lips to speak but was quickly interrupted by a male on the intercom, alerting everyone that the flight to Canada would be leaving in an hour.

"We should uh, get going." He said dryly, picking up the bags that were resting by his feet. He only had one suitcase but carried a backpack that seemed to be filled with something valuable because he handled it with care.

He walked ahead of me to the correct gate. It took me a while to follow behind him because I was too busy staring at his figure. Hell, he even walked differently.

Sighing, I clutched at the handles of my bag and braced myself for the most awkward plane ride ever to exist on the planet.

*Justin's POV*

Why did she have to look so beautiful all of the time?

On my way to the airport, I expected seeing her again wouldn't affect me at all. I thought that it would be just like seeing a stranger, or a old friend. But it was something more than that. It was like being reunited with a piece of my future and my past.

The night before our flight, I couldn't sleep at all. Instead of checking into another hotel I decided to stop being a punk and sleep in my apartment. What's the point in wasting money on crappy hotels if I could sleep in the comfort of my own bed? The problem though was that I had grown so used to having Alex be there next to me while I slept. Even if she would be out working late it wouldn't matter to me because I knew that her body will soon find it's way into my arms.

I don't even want to think about what she's doing with her boss right now. I'm assuming that my mom told her about my grandfather's sickness because she sent me a quick text to see if I was okay. After staring at the screen for a minute to see if the age would go away soon like it was all an illusion I thought about how she would've known how I felt if we worked things out. It would have been here sitting next to me on the plane instead of Miley.

I made a note to myself to throw away all of my bed sheets. Her smell is still lingering there no matter how many times I try to wash the memory of her away. The one thing I don't need is to smell her when I'm trying to forget about her memory all together.

"Is something wrong?" Miley whispers from behind me. The uneasiness in her voice and the light breathy tone of her sigh intoxicates me.

I turned around so that I could look at her. I instantly regret it though, because her wide blue eyes are looking straight at me and I feel like kissing her at this exact moment.

"Everything is fine...I'm just a little stressed out. I'll feel better once we're in the air." I looked down at my feet. Hopefully she believed me. Miley was always good at noticing when I was lying or not. According to her, whenever I lie my eyes widen. 

I quickly glanced back up at her. Her eyebrow was arched and her hands were crossed. She squinted her eyes for a second. After a small sigh, she shook her head and continued on with our walk. I know that I'm gonna have to open up soon, but I just don't know how to. Talking to her about Alex now isn't the same as it was before. Actually, talking about my fallen relationship with the girl I may be in love with sounds crazy. Miley probably won't care about us breaking up, why should she? Not after I nearly messed up her engagement with Nick.  I followed after her, walking besides her. 

"I know you're lying to me." She stated, staring straight ahead. "We have to talk about things soon and we can't just pretend like everything is fine between us when it isn't. I know you aren't okay and I hate seeing you this way, Justin." Looking up at me, Miley shook her head. "You're obviously going through a lot right now and you need someone to talk to. I've been there for you and I will always be there for you, no matter what. I care about you a lot..." 

Before I could think of what to say, her phone rang. She paused and reached into her pocket, answering the phone without even looking at the caller ID. A part of me already knew who it was. 

"Hello? Hey baby..." Miley's eyes met mine momentarily before looking down at the floor. 

Of course it would be Nick.