Chapter Two: The Time We Hid From has Come too Fast
When Dawn walked into the airport with a last-minute ticket, it surprised not only her but Devon as well. She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be on the fast track to the Grand Canyon with Samantha, but here she was taking a chance with Devon. He met her with surprise and amazement which was replaced by his amazement with her ability to turn any situation into a diva freak out.
The crisis of the moment? The pair would not be sitting together. "I can totally fix this." She promised, giving Devon a quick wink as she walked over to the boarding counter. Minutes later Devon could hear the following conversation…
"I'm really glad that you could work it out so that we could sit together." Dawn whispered to the woman at the front counter before getting ready to board the plane. Not only had she managed to get them on the plane first, but she wouldn't have to take the ride alone. "Come on Devon."
"I'm coming." He answered, not used to this type of star treatment. "So what'd you promise them?"
"Huh?"
"Airport people are normally uptight. What did you promise them in exchange for letting change things up like this?" He asked again.
"Oh. That. You owe the flight attendants a lap dance after we land. Seriously."She nodded with an honesty that made Devon realize how good of an actress she really was.
"Funny. Good looking out though. You getting them to do that … amazing."He stopped to hug Dawn affectionately.
"Devon be serious. I couldn't even get us bumped up into first class."She pushed him off, startled by the gesture since she knew that he knew that Sam was on his mind.
"Coach is perfectly fine."
"For you maybe but for me … I can just see the headline now. Former teen star is now a 'has been'. Watch her board a plane coach style." Dawn commented, her woven hat bobbing on the top of her head. "I'm ruined before I turn 19."
"Well, if that's the case than you should've brought the rest of your things with you and stayed with me. Europe's more accepting to talent than the U.S."
"Don't tempt me. I might just stay." Dawn joked as the two sat down in their new seats. They were literally right behind First Class. "Do you think we can pay and get a drink or two? Pretend that we're not in coach?"She suggested.
"Do what you want. As long as I'm in the aisle seat, drink what you want to drink."
"Aisle? Don't you want to see the great view? The sky, the buildings?"
"Naw. You enjoy." Devon took her carry on, placing it in the compartment above them as she sat on the inside seat.
"This is gorgeous."
"Uh-huh." Devon had suddenly turned into a near-mute.
"Okay … what's up with you? Are you bent out of shape over the seats?"
"No … Flying is not my favorite pastime."Devon admitted.
"Oh I get it. That's code for 'you're scared to fly.' How cute." She turned to face him. "I'll take care of you." Dawn promised, rubbing his hand comfortingly. "Just take a deep breath and you'll be fine."
"Maybe I'll just try to sleep before the plane takes off." He thought out loud.
"And leave me to talk to myself … go ahead. Do what you gotta do, but for every hour you spend sleeping you owe me two hours of one-on-one, undivided D&D time."
"D&D? That's real cute." He laughed, feeling a little relaxed. "It's a deal."
Dawn let him fall asleep as she thought about how easy this was. Maybe it was the whole idea, the venture of doing something new. She'd never been on a trip out of the country with one of her friends. Never. And somehow, this episode got her thinking that Devon would make this a completely memorable trip.
"What if Kathryn doesn't come back? Really … everyone's leaving Sam." Noah commented, watching everyone else pack up and leave. He had gotten as far as the plane seat, the actual seat before he decided to turn back around and go to Charles University.
"But they'll all be back."
"It doesn't seem like and … and weren't you and Dawn supposed to go on a--"
"Road trip? Yeah. We got into the car packed and everything, went over to my mom's house and … I could tell Dawn wanted to be somewhere else. I heard her talking to Devon about Italy and I just couldn't go the whole trip with her knowing what I know."
"So, wait they're going…"
"Together."
"Wow, that's a serious step." Noah attested, looking for Sam's response.
"I think after everything that's happened, Dawn deserves a little happiness. And I couldn't just say please take me along on your romantic get-away." Sam sighed. "Even though I'm not sure just how romantic things are between them…"
"Doesn't that put you in a bind? Not having a place to be until Dawn gets back?" Noah wondered, continuing to talk before Sam could finish. "Well, you can just chill here with me." Noah offered. "I get to stay here over break if I like."He added, referring to the rule that allowed exchange students and seniors to stay on campus during breaks.
"I'm not an exchange student and with my track record, I'd get caught or catch the dorm on fire." Sam answered. "Besides, I was thinking about making other plans."
"Like?"
"Like, I'll call you when I'm there. Be safe. Have a good break." She gave Noah a quick hug before pulling out her cell phone and dialing Dorothea's number to tell her that Greece was a go, if she'd still have her of course.
"Hey Sam, you forgot…" His voice trailed off as he just decided to hold onto her room key for her. "So, I guess it's just me." Noah said out loud to no one.
"Not quite … I heard the two of you talking… I was actually just wondering around." Robyn appeared from seemingly nowhere. "I know Dawn's already left so, me being here is weird but…"
"No … you can stay, I mean if you want to."
"Yeah, I think I might for a while if that's okay. I don't really have a room--"
"No problem. I have a key, but you must be very, very discrete about staying here. Promise."
"Promise." Robyn agreed with a smile. Maybe Dawn wasn't too off about her needing to make time to meet new people. She'd just started and so far she'd avoided having to go home for a week and a half.
Trent had been in the midst of trying to detox, to get his story straight when Samantha called. He hadn't been expecting a call from her since she told him he was uninvited on the road trip, since she had kissed him like he'd never been kissed before.
It was hard, but he let her go. He didn't beg or jump in the car like he wanted to. Trent respected her wishes and backed off, so when he got the phone call, he wasn't expecting it. He was already two hours away, wondering around aimlessly.
'Here's your last chance. Meet me at Colony. Noon. XOXO Sam'
That's what the text had said and Trent had done everything he could to get there, but being that he was two hours away, and high again, there was no way he would make it in time. He almost didn't try, but Samantha deserved someone who was willing to fight for her, even if it was as useless as trying to break down cement with his bare hands.
By the time Trent got to Colony it was around 2pm. The place was locked up, so he rushed anxiously to Charles University to see if it wasn't too late … When he got there he ran right into Samantha.
She didn't see him of course, but he could see her moving her bags into the back of Dorothea Sullivan's limo. He could so easily run over there and explain everything, but what would he say … 'Gee sorry Sam. Since you dumped me yesterday I went out and got high again…'
Trent shook his head with a growing conviction that this was how it had to be, at least for now. He watched Sam and her red-rimmed eyes say a few more words to her aunt before joining her in her vehicle. That was it.
The moment. The opportune moment and he let it pass him by. Maybe it was time to stop hiding from it and face it. Trent was going to get over this, Samantha and her self-righteous rants, even if they were deserved. And if he shook this coke habit, fine, and if not, that was fine too.
"Are we there yet?" Devon wondered half-joking.
"No. This is a seventeen hour flight and we've still got three hours." Dawn mumbled, looking at her watch. "Go to sleep. Why are you up this early?"
"It's not even eight yet. Our time." She clarified.
"Basketball practice. Coach was serious about us being on top so we have 6am practices. Every day."
"Every day?"
"Yup."
"Well, you can stay up if you want, but I'm going back to sleep."
"No. Come on Dawn. You know how I hate to fly. Just entertain me. Distract me."
"The best that I can do is a pep talk. We've been on this plane and the one before it for a total of fourteen hours. If it was going to go down, it would've already. Okay?"
"Not good enough Dawn Vargaz. I didn't bring you here to blow me off. If I wanted that I'd have called Sam."
"Oh. Wow. You suddenly got bold." Dawn opened her eyes and frowned. "You know what? Bringing up the S-word in that context has completely rejuvenated me. Thank you Devon for reminding me that I am come behind Sam. Again. Thanks." She crossed her arms over her chest.
"What do you want from me? I love her."
"It gets even better … You don't even realize that you just said that you still love Sam. Do you know how pathetic it is to be pining after Sam? Well, it is." Dawn got silent for a moment. "And the best part is that she's busy giving Trent chance after chance after chance. She's over you. She doesn't want you."
"Wow …" Devon shook his head in disbelief. "You're really bitter over it aren't you?"
"I am and I have a right to be. Sam and I are fine, but I'm trying to be your friend otherwise I don't know why the hell I'm here." Dawn rolled her eyes. "I knew it was too good to last. We were getting along with all this unresolved drama. And now we're fighting."
"You wanna squash this. Fine. It's over. I apologize. My bad." Devon responded, feeling bad for making Dawn feel bad.
"Forgiven, for now. We'll be back to this again. I can promise you that."
"And I'll keep apologizing until you hear me out. I can't help what I feel."
"I've got it." Dawn said randomly. "I know what the problem is for both of us … we're just so caught up over the past that it's driving us insane. While I'm here we can talk about the situation, but we don't have to keep reliving it. This is a vakay and I'm here to have fun."
(A/N: Is anyone reading this? I can't tell by the lack of reviews. If you spent the time to read this … any of it, I'd appreciate some sort of comment so I know! –NL)
