Chapter 3 – Plane Rides and Awkward Conversations
Mary-Lynette sat down in her seat on the airplane. Her hair was tied messily back into a ponytail and there were dark shadows under her eyes that she didn't even bother to cover up. It was a plane ride after all. She didn't exactly need to look her best. She leaned back on the rather uncomfortable seat in the business class section. She regretted not being able to afford the luxuries that came with a first class ticket but she was used to not being able to afford the nicer things in life. Mary-Lynette closed her eyes for a brief moment. She was tired because of her lack of sleep due to her dream. For once she didn't seem to care if she dreamt again, she was too exhausted to give a damn. Unfortunately she didn't get the opportunity to sleep because a flight attendant tapped her on the shoulder and reminded her politely to tuck her carry-on under the seat properly. She was sitting next to the window. She looked out on the long stretch of pavement. The flight time from Oregon to Connecticut was approximately 5 hours. She had her laptop under the seat and was planning on finishing her psychology essay but right now she didn't know if she really had the energy. Someone sat down in the seat beside her. She looked them over quickly. It was a boy; looked a little older than her, tanned skin. He smiled at her, his eyes lit up with excitement. She looked away.
"Where are you heading?" He asked politely. He had a nice voice, whimsical kind of. He seemed very happy for a person about to depart on a 5 hour-long journey in a machine that basically just gets launched in the air.
"Connecticut?" She replied, it sounded more like a question. He laughed.
"Yeah, I guessed that. I meant, where in Connecticut?" Oh, Mary-Lynette thought stupidly.
"Umm… I go to Yale." She said.
"Ah… so you're one of those smart girls. What's your major?" He asked. She didn't really want to answer all his questions. But she was about to spend 5 hours with this guy so she didn't want to be rude.
"Astronomy." Mary-Lynette answered, "With a minor in psychology." She had always dreamed of being an astronomer, to discover something new in the night sky. But now the study seemed empty, like she had no real passion for it anymore. She hadn't even brought her telescope to college. Once upon a time she would refer to everything with a vague reference to astronomy, not anymore though. She wasn't quite sure why she was taking a psych class… it was interesting enough. She probably needed a psychologist more than she wanted to be one.
"Do you like it?" He asked.
"What?" She looked up at him. Looking into his brown eyes. He looked sincere. She shouldn't be so indifferent to him.
"Astronomy." He answered. She shrugged.
"I used to." She said and looked away again. She was being pretty honest to a guy she didn't know anything about. When he didn't press her with anymore questions she took it as an opportunity to ask her own, "What about you? Where are you heading to?"
"I'm visiting my Aunt." He said and smiled, "She's kind of crazy. I'm there to see that she doesn't do anything too insane." Mary-Lynette thought back on Aunt Opal for a minute, but dismissed the thought immediately.
"I'm Mary-Lynette." She stuck out her hand to shake his.
"Gabriel." Gabriel replied and smiled as he shook her hand.
"It's nice to meet you Gabriel." She gave him the small-town friendly smile she used to give everyone she just met. Except Ash, she had never welcomed him with that smile. But since the other option was kicking Gabriel in the shin she decided to stick with the smile.
"Nice to meet you too." He replied. Gabriel seemed nice enough but there was nothing that special about meeting him. No chemistry, not really anyways. Actually she hadn't really felt anything romantic for anyone else after meeting Ash. It was sad that she couldn't force herself into anything other than friendship. Not that she had really been the romantic kind before Ash but post-Ash… her future love life seemed a lot more hopeless. So as she shook Gabriel's hand and felt the warmth it had to offer only to realize that she wasn't interested at all… her smile fell a little and she felt like her whole day had gotten a lot more desolate.
Ash arrived at his sisters' house mid-afternoon. Energy was flowing through his body but not in a good way. He was practically shaking. He remembered the last time he was here, had it really been three years. He remembered the empty promise he had made to Mary-Lynette, that he would return in a year's time. He walked up the same front porch he did all that time ago, the hole that he fell through had since been fixed. He chucked in remembrance of that particular moment. Ash walked up to the door but before he could knock, it was already being flung open.
"You moron!" It was Jade standing in the doorway. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him with one eyebrow raised.
"Nice to see you too Jade." Ash smiled sarcastically, "Why am I a moron?" He asked, dreading the response.
"You want to short or the long version." She smiled and gave him a light hug. She was happy that he had come back even if he was a total moron.
"Spare me, please Jade." Ash said and moved by her into the house. He looked around for his other sisters but it seemed to be only her, "Where is everyone?" He asked. Taking a seat on the couch and putting his feet up on the coffee table.
"Out hunting." She said curtly, "I stayed to wait for you. Kestrel and Rowan were too appalled by your stupidity to bother." She said giddily. Ash just glared at her, that's when Mark came into the room.
"You… you…" He paused, he was fuming on the spot, "There aren't enough bad words to describe you!" Mark yelled. Ash just looked at him confused. Wasn't Mark the one who had called him, practically begging him to come back? Telling him that Mary-Lynette needed him here. I thought he would be more grateful to have me back? Ash didn't quite know what to say.
"I came here to see Mary-Lynette not to be told off by her kid brother." Ash said coldly. Mark scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Where is she?" Ash asked both of them. Jade looked at Mark and Mark looked at Jade.
Mark gave Ash a huge smile as he said, "She's not here."
Mary-Lynette looked out the window at the clouds. The plane had taken off about two hours ago. She had tried sleeping but she couldn't. Not with Gabriel trying to talk to her all the time. He had told her about his interests and dreams. And he just wouldn't shut up. She didn't want to be rude or anything but she had to say something.
"Do you ever stop talking?" Mary-Lynette said, interrupting him in the middle of his explanation of his parent's divorce, "I'm sorry that didn't come out right." She apologized as soon as she saw his shocked expression.
"No. It came out perfectly." He said and smiled gratefully, "Sometimes I can't stop talking when I get nervous. And I get nervous when I talk to girls. Especially beautiful ones like you." He reached over to touch her arm lightly. Was that supposed to be a pickup line? She asked herself, moving her arm away from his touch. He looked disappointed, "I didn't mean to be forward or anything, I'm sorry." He said. She bit her lip. And thought up an excuse as quickly as she could.
"No. It's not that. It's just that… well you surprised me." She said. God, that was a stupid thing to say. I hope he doesn't take that as a sign that I want him to ask me out. A smile slowly crept across Gabriel's face. Damn it.
"So maybe sometime after we land we could…" He started but she cut him off again. She couldn't listen to this. It wasn't going to happen. She could feel her rejection on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't say it. He was nice and she didn't want to hurt his feeling. So she said the first thing that came to mind.
"Actually I have a boyfriend. I'm sorry." Mary-Lynette blurted out. She kept biting her lip and watched as rejection turned to disappointment in his expression.
He kept his cool though and looked down for a brief second before mumbling, "Oh."
"It's not that I don't like you…" Her voice trailed off. Why did you do that, why didn't you just go out to coffee or something with him? Mary-Lynette knew that to go out with him would just be leading him on though. She had already accepted the fact that she would probably spend the rest of her life either alone or settling for second best. And she wasn't quite ready to settle yet… because somewhere deep down she still believed in Ash. Though she couldn't admit it to herself. You're a heartless girl Mary-Lynette Carter, she told herself. Lately she had really grown into herself, she was a lot less skinny and awkward than she was 3 years ago and as a result she had gotten a lot more attention from the male species. She'd even been on a few dates. What an awful waste of time that was.
"No. It's okay. I get it. Don't worry 'bout it." He turned away from her and got out his computer. Obviously the conversation was over. She sighed and looked out the window again. The length of the flight seemed double. Tension between the two travelers elongated the time. Mary-Lynette leaned her head against the side of the plane and closed her eyes, feeling sleep overcome her.
Ash looked between Mark and Jade with a blank expression, "What do you mean she's not here?" His voice was as controlled as possible.
"I mean, she's not here." Mark said, still smiling.
"Well I know she's not here… is she at your house or star gazing or something… that's why I'm asking you where she is." He said. He didn't understand what he meant. He knew she wasn't in the house, that much was obvious.
"She doesn't look at the stars anymore, that's something else you killed for her." Mark said bitterly.
"Mark…" Jade warned. She looked at him disapprovingly.
"What he means to say is…" She started but Ash cut her off. His patience was wearing thin.
"I know what he means… I just want to know where she is. So I can get the fuck out of this house and go get her." He said.
"Well it's more complicated than that." Jade replied patiently. Mark had turned away from them to hide his smirk.
"No it's not. Just tell me where she is and I'll drive and go get her." Ash said determined. He didn't know why they were being so difficult.
"Unless you have a flying car I don't think that will be possible." Mark said and laughed bitterly.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Ash stood up, grabbed Mark by the shoulder and turned him around to look at him in the eyes. He stared him down in a threatening manner.
"It means… she's in a plane, heading to Connecticut. And if you hadn't interrupted me mid-sentence and hung up you would have known that." Mark crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes narrowed into slits. This can't be happening, Ash thought, I am a fucking moron. I just worked up all my courage to come and get her and she's not even fucking here? He turned away from Mark and sat back down on the couch, feeling defeated.
"But that's okay!" Jade went on as cheerfully as she could, "Because you can just go and get her. I mean sure it will take a bit more time but that's okay!" Jade reassured him. Ash was not in the mood for her annoying optimism.
"What's the point? She's not going to want to see me." Ash mumbled. Jade looked at him with disbelief. She opened her mouth to say something but Mark's laughing interrupted her, "You find something funny." I really want to beat this kid up, Ash thought to himself. It was hard not to smile at the visual.
"This is the great Ash Redfern that we were all so afraid of three years ago?" Mark laughed again, "You're pathetic." Ash looked up at Mark and didn't say a word. God, he's right.
"Shut up." Ash said coldly. Then stuck his hands in his pockets.
"Not until you understand that you need to fucking wake up and realize that the world doesn't revolve around you. And your pride isn't the most important thing anymore, my sister is. Now just… go." Mark resented Ash so much for what he had done to Mary-Lynette but Ash not going back to her would destroy her. So he sucked it up and acted like a man. Which is more than he could say for Ash, "And you call yourself a vampire."
"No, I don't actually." Ash said.
"Lamia, whatever. You're just a coward." Mark said. Jade shot him a look but Mark ignored her. Ash laughed.
"Is this supposed to be reverse psychology? You think I'm just going to run off to Connecticut to prove you wrong?" Ash looked up at him. He didn't want to prove this jack ass right but… Ash pulled out his cell phone, "Hello? Yes, I'd like to reserve a ticket to Connecticut…" Mark and Jade smiled at each other happily. He just glared back at them and continued the arrangements, "Yes, one moment." He put his hand over the receiver and whispered, "Where is she in Connecticut?"
"New Haven." Mark smiled at him. Ash didn't smile back. He repeated the town to the operator and made arrangements to depart on the next flight, at 7 o'clock the next morning. He expressed his gratitude and hung up the phone.
"This doesn't mean you're right or that I like you." He told Mark, "But I love Mary-Lynette… despite you." Mark just smiled and put his arm around Jade. There was a moment of silence, "Okay." Ash said at last, "Tell me everything that's happened to Mary-Lynette since I left. And only to Mary-Lynette because I don't give a damn what happened to you." Ash said coldly. Mark smirked and sat down at a chair across from him.
Mark thought for a moment before beginning, "Before I start, remember that everything that I am about to tell you is your fault."