Hey guys, it's oneshot time. I really like writing about Gabe, so I think that is what I'm going to do. This one here is dedicated to Anthony, because without him, I would be past this story. I think we owe this story to my love of Kenny Chesney, and the fact that I miss Christmas. Don't you?

Disclaimer: Unfortunatly, the only people I own are Greg and Colin. Oh and Rachel. This song's Kenny's, too. (But I wish it was mine. Sigh.)

The airport was crowded, as it usually was for a holiday. Cars and taxis were lined up on the curb, some people getting to them, some people getting out. The reunions were joyful, happy, full of life, while what little, tearful, departures made you want to curl up in a ball and cry. It just pulled on your heart strings. The music that made you want to gag, and the happy cheerful people you want to gag. This was Christmas. God, Christmas break already, and time to head home for the holidays. It seems like just yesterday, I was starting college, mom and dad helping me out with dorm set up, meeting my roommate, then, they just drove off, in the front seat, Charlie waving good-bye to him, and Teddy, who called me later that day to congratulate me, and apologize for not being there, herself.

As he turned in to head inside, he was faced, for the first time in his life, by the reality of being by himself. Somehow, it had seemed all to fake to be real. It seemed surreal, almost like this was a dream, and when he woke up, he would be 11 again, smiling carelessly, riding his bike up and down the street, and having a baby sister. He would still live with PJ and still do things that made his parents mad. When he woke up, he would have an odd feeling, like this was his real future, but then he would brush it off and go back to sleep, thinking of things like candy and sweet rides, and Zombie Slayer 4.

To bad it was all real. The college was real, the being away was real, everything that seemed surreal was really real. He was by himself in the world. But he was never really by himself, he had his roommates Greg and Colin, and his parents, his brother, or his sisters, were just a simple phone call away. Still, he was alone, out in the world. Then, he had gotten use to things, life had adjusted, and he spent his birthday alone, besides a few friends, for the first time. It was an odd feeling. He didn't go home for Thanksgiving, the drive being ten hours, the traffic doubling it. But here he was, going home for Christmas. PJ was going to be there, along with Teddy, and of course Charlie. Christmas like always, but with older people.

Gabe checked in his two bags, as a third hung from his shoulder. It was costly, 35 bucks, but he paid, then headed on. The flight to Denver would be here at 4:00, and it was currently 3:12. Great. Well, what's in this airport anyway? There's food, I know that, and there is magazines, but there are also people to be studied, and people who are studied do some weird shit. What will these people do on this wonderful afternoon? Will someone threaten to bomb the airport? If they do, will they get arrested? Because they do if they say bomb on a plane, but I don't know about on the terminal part of the airport. It would be interesting to see, though. Gabe, after taking a seat, looked around, hundreds of people walking around at their own pace; Women and men in suits and skirts hurriedly making way toward their flights, most likely on business, maybe use to the way they walked and being on first class, like it was a law. Families walking at their own pace, babies crying, teenagers listening to music or texting, mothers and fathers sighing and continuing on. Lone soldiers coming home for Christmas. Lone people walking around, carrying luggage, or sometimes a child. Couples making their way home, to announce and engagement or a baby. Somehow, people seemed more cheery than usual, making way for kids, or letting families pass like ducks in the road. It made Gabe feel good on the inside, like for once, the world was at piece, men and women coming home to greet their families. He was just about to turn around to obsess over the out half of the airport, when a bit of red hair and a familiar face, along with a pair of eyes caught his. It was someone he hadn't seen in forever, someone he thought he would never see again. "Rachel?" he asked, shell-shocked. What the fuck?

"Gabe? Gabriel Duncan? Is that really you?" As it appeared, the other half of this duo was just as equally shocked at this unexpected meeting. Rachel, who was naturally redheaded, stared at Gabe, and he stared back, this being like a blast from the past moment.

"Wow, you haven't change one bit, have you?" he asked, standing a foot away from her. That old gravitational pull was still there, just as it had always been, right since the first moment they had met. It was at school, when Gabe was a freshman, and entering another school once again. Three months in, Rachel's parents decided to move her to Denver, and then move her back home to sunny California the next year.

"No, not really, which is not what I could say for you, Mr. Muscle! Where did this come from?" she asked, grabbing a hold of his upper arm, and giving it a good, hard, squeeze. Oh yeah, the pull was still lingering strong. They led each other to the chairs provided out of courtesy of airport management, and sat down, obviously oblivious to the shroud of awkward laced around them. Rachel gave on last sqweeze before she pulled away.

"Oh, uh, I don't know, just sometime after you left." And there you have it folks, the awkward has finally arrived, and boy is it being mean. All I had to do was say 'I don't know,' or something like that, but no, I couldn't contain myself, and now we have to talk about this stupid shit that I really don't want to talk about, not now, not tomorrow, not in a million years, period. I just don't want to talk about it! Both were silent, listening to the buzz of talking and other noise in the airport that surrounded them. The roll of wheels was within earshot, along with the opening of automatic doors and car horns. Traffic was still blaring outside on street level. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it it up." Came a reply from Gabriel, the first to break the moment.

"No, don't be sorry, we should talk about this." Rachel said softly, countering his, 'let's talk weather' routine.

"I don't want to talk about it. I know what happened, you know what happened, Brenden knows what happened."

"If it makes you feel any better, Brenden has been out of my life for a long time."

"No. You know, it doesn't make me feel better." Gabriel exploded, finally getting out what was bottled up five years in the making. He had held back, and now, when he could see Rachel, he was giving her what she deserved. "You can't just leave, you know. That's not right. You don't answer my calls, or my texts, you don't come to school, so I go to your house, and your GONE! How can you just be gone? I was your boyfriend, your suppose to tell me thing, like when you move back to California. It was such a big thing, and you just left, no note, no warning nothing. Then three weeks later, Brenden is all over your Facebook account." He stopped, sucking in breath, through gritted teeth. Now it was her turn.

"It wasn't my fault, you know. I was a kid, I was forced to go back!I would have traded anything to stay, and you know that, better than anyone!I'm sorry that I couldn't face the music to tell you that I had to move back to the middle of hell, that I was leaving. You know what, I was going to tell you to." Suddenly, Rachel's voice got softer, and quieter," That night, I was going to tell you, but their was something that made me hold back. You were to happy. What am I talking about? You probably don't even remember anyway."

"How could I forget?" Gabe asked in a stumped voice. "We sang Taylor Swift's 'Our Song' because you loved it, in the Dairy Queen parking lot at 10 at night, then walked as far as we could go, to the edge of town, and made a wish on all the stars we could see. We had a red Gateraid between the two of us, and stayed out till 3 in the morning. I... I fell in love that night. For the first time in my life." Gabe finished, memories of that kiss, and all the kisses after that, flooding back to him once again. He smiled, sighed, and turned back to look at Rachel, who looked just as much in her past as he had. "So, after that night, you just left?"

Rachel came back to real life, and looked at Gabriel. Now that he was grown, she didn't know what the hurt look on his face would be like, but back then, she knew it would be torture. He would have been empty shell after she told him, and the last day they had together would have been ruined. It would have forever been imprinted in her mind, and she would have been an empty shell too. She couldn't do that to him. Not after what they had been through. "No. I went home to my mother and father, who were arguing with the next door neighbor about watering plants. I ran up to my room, and locked myself away, hidden in my bathroom, to wait the night out. When I woke up, my father had unbolted the door and carried me out to the car. We were halfway to California."

"And Brenden?" He asked, trying not to sound to curious.

"Four weeks later, broke it off. Said I wasn't the girl for him. He wanted someone like my mother."

"Oh." One word was all he said, and somehow, everything was okay again. It was like all was forgiven. He never in a million years thought that he would forgive Rachel, but he did. And now, was the awkward, 'so, hows life now?' conversation. "So, how's life now?"

"Good. You know how it is, recession, life, wanting to trade all your tomorrows for yesterday." Rachel stated, true to her word. Of course Gabe wanted to got simpler times and shorter day, but, life, as it was now, was going good for him. Sure, he didn't have a girlfriend, but he had friends that were girls. He didn't have the best grades, but he was no where near flunking out. Life was simply life. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. "Yours?"

"Pretty much the same. But I like life how it is you know? Simple, but fun, full of friends, and family, and adoring the people who love you. Just the basic same old ideas of childhood mixed in with jobs and living on you own, plus the freedom of driving and voting, and almost legal drinking." Gabe smile at the last one, as he said it out loud. "I'm doing my best to stay afloat, but I like to watch TV and stuff. Just how I've always been."

"But smarter. You defiantly seem smarter. It's college right? You go to college and suddenly your all Mr. Smartie Muscle Pants."

"Yes, I'm smarter, and yes I go to college."

"And taller."

"That too."

"And more muscular."

Gabe laughed aloud for a moment, then sought to correct her by telling her she had already said that. He decided against it, because it would probably end in more fighting. "Yes, more muscles. But hey what about you? Your smarter."

"Doubt it." She said rolling her eyes at him as she turned away.

"Your hair is has more shine to it than I remember."

"I use Paul Mitchell."

"Your still funny."

"I'm sarcastic."Truth.

"Do you still get drunk?" Concern.

"Only on the weekends."Bored.

"How drunk?" More concern.

"Not as much as I use to." Eye rolls.

"How much is that?" Even more concern.

"Rip-roaring!"

"Don't get snappy."

"Don't get concerned."

"Fine, I'll stay out of your life."

"Okay."

"Stay out of mine then."

"Whatever."

He laughed again.

"What?" She pretended she didn't know, just to keep him talking. It was a defense.

"Nothing."

"No, tell me."

"You could never stay out of my life."

"You still can't stay out of mine."

"Neither can you."

"Okay, I'm done here."

"Oh, don't go, the fun has just started."

"What's next? A clown jumps out and tells me my mother is dead."

"Close."

"Then what? Are you going to jump out as a clown? Because that is so scary.

They were fighting, just like when they were confused teenagers. They were fighting again, and fighting was something that Gabe didn't like. He hated it. It ruined things, friendship, relationships, and all of those things are to important to lose. Gabe was pretty sure that Rachel hated fighting too. "We should stop."

"Stop what Jimmy? Seeing each other?" Rachel said with a mock tone, smirking at him. Rachel liked to escape life every now and again by joking around. It was her way of masking pain.

Gabe looked annoyed. "Okay, be serious."

"I am always serious." When she said that, she turned to look at him, and their bodies and heads were closer together than they had been in a long time. Her smile-smirk dropped from her face, and now she was dead serious. Gabe was silent, and if this wasn't a crowded airport full of people, then, maybe he would have had the courage to kiss her. But he was never good at PDA, so he didn't

Gabriel open his mouth to say some smart ass remark, when suddenly, the voice in the box that controlled the airport screamed out, "Now boarding Flight 345 Coach to Denver, Colorado." Gabriel looked at Rachel, and she looked back, for a long moment. For a second, to anyone else in the entire world that didn't know them, they looked like they were about to kiss. And they could have to, if the lady in the box hadn't screamed out, "Second call for Coach, Flight 345 to Denver, Colorado." They both pulled away from the other.

"So I guess this is good-bye?" Rachel said as they both stood up. Gabriel shoved his hands in his pockets, and stretched his back, before stifling a yawn.

"If you want it to be. But it doesn't have to be. If you ever wanna find me, I'm at UCBerkeley. Just look me up." Gabe moved to hug her before Rachel could react, so she was pulled into a hug. It was a short hug, but it was still a forgiveness hug, and they both really appreciated what was put into it. Half a decade of hate down the drain in 45 minutes of a meeting. Then came the lady once again. "Final call for Coach, Flight 345 to Denver, Colorado."

"You should really go." She claimed, right after the call.

"Yeah, I should. I am." Gabe said, as he picked up his carry on and slung it over his shoulder once again. He started walking to the gate, as soon as he passes security, and made it just in time. He took his seat on the plane, and soon enough, they were talking off. He looked at the airport terminal, where, undoubtedly Rachel would be watching his plane takeoff. Then she would get back to whatever she was doing before, and continue. He smirked, just for her, then laid back in his chair, to contemplate life, and what happens. Meeting someone and falling in love for the first time, that doesn't happen twice. Seeing someone walk away, but not knowing it was going to be the last time you saw them, at least until later, happens a lot. Rachel Lee Wright, she's something that doesn't happen twice.

That something, that just don't happen twice.

So how was it? Was it terribly boring? BTW, I'm going to go see Harry Potter on the 15th! Who is excited as me? Cuz I am really excited! So review. Do it for Anthony and all those Harry Potter people. They've been through a lot. I don't want to ramble, but I do. I don't mean to, but it's a habbit. Oh, and I saw Cars 2 today. Very interesting. Nothing at all like the first one, and there is a lot more death. Is that a good thing? Because I don't know if that's a good thing or not? And there was this kid who was like four, that screamed for like 10 minutes. It made the movie much less enjoyable. Oh well, no screaming 4 year olds at Harry Potter(Thank God!)