It was the general consensus of the StarKid's that Julia had begun pacing her hotel room at 9 am that morning. It was now 11 am. Julia rattled her keys absentmindedly, her mind far away from her crowded room.
"I'm gonna head off now" Julia announced, grabbing her bag off the worktop.
"Um, Jules, his flight doesn't get in for another hour, and we're like 15 minutes away from the airport" Brian Rosenthal said uncertainly.
"Yeah, but ya know, traffic and all, I don't wanna be late or anything" Julia answered, still heading for the door.
"Okay, be safe" Lauren said. She knew why Julia was this anxious, and she knew that Julia needed to be anywhere but in a packed hotel room right now.
Julia waved goodbye and took the lift down to the lobby, she checked her phone for any new messages and reread Darren's text from last night:
Plane gets in at 12 and I hear you are the lucky one who gets to pick me up! Then we'll be ready to kick some Apocalytour butt! X
Julia smiled at his text as she started the engine of their rental car and followed the signs for the airport, butterflies bubbling in her stomach. The thoughts of seeing Darren again had left her lying awake last night in her hotel room while Jaime and Lauren slept. Today would end her six month drought of not seeing Darren. She felt excited to have one of her best friends back….that is….was he a best friend? A good friend? A boyfriend? It was fair to say that things had been awkward between Julia and Darren for a while. They had broken up on good terms over a year ago when they realised that they couldn't be in a relationship with Darren in LA and Julia in Chicago. They had remained friends but there had always been a lingering feeling of unease between the pair. Now they were going to be spending a weekend together when Darren joined their tour.
Brian had been right, the ride to the airport had only taken 15 minutes. Julia grabbed a cup of coffee to calm her nerves. The coffee did nothing to help, in fact, it made her even more edgy. Julia began worrying about how she should act around him. Should she hug him when he came through the gate? Peck him on the cheek? A friendly handshake or hand on the back? Julia was getting more and more stressed until….
"Passengers from the AA1432 flight from Los Angeles to Boston will be arriving in 2 minutes"
Julia stood up and walked to the gate that Darren would appear from. Sure enough, not a second over two minutes later, a scruffy haired Darren appeared, guitar slung over his shoulder. Of course Darren would initiate a singsong on the plane, of course. Darren seemed to spot Julia and soon enough a large, enthusiastic grin broke out on his face.
Julia walked towards him half laughing, half crying and Darren flung his arms around her. She put her arms around his neck and lay her head on his chest. She breathed in the smell that was home, Michigan, StarKid, safety, everything she loved in life. Without thinking she smiled up at him and ran a hand through his unruly hair. Darren smiled back.
Darren and Julia entwined their hands as they walked out of the airport, both grinning like the fools they were. It wasn't forced, it wasn't scary, it just felt right.