Round and Round
Part 52
"There's another one!"
Gill practically screamed those words, managing to draw startled looks from dozens of people who probably wondered what in the world was doing on. Not that she noticed, as she was too busy being excited and running up to the glass wall separating her from the runway. Thankfully, as Francis had no doubt that she'd run right onto a runway if given the option, just so she could get a 'closer look' at the planes.
He absolutely loved her, but Gill did not have the strongest survival instinct.
Right now she was leaning as close to the glass as possible, leaving little breath marks as she pressed her hands against the surface. He could see an airplane slowly descending toward the runway from where he was sitting, its landing gear extended. Gillian's eyes were so wide that she looked like an owl and now she spun around and exclaimed cheerfully, "I'm gonna fly a plane someday!"
Francis just smiled in response as he re-zippered his carry-on after a last minute check. Wallet, passport, emergency cash, a change of clothes in case his bags were lost, some basic toiletries... "Of course you will, Gilly."
She nodded, obviously pleased by his reassurance and then glanced back just as the plane touched down. "I'll be the most awesome pilot in the entire world! I'll even fly jet planes and go faster than the speed of sound!"
He'd missed Gillian; he'd missed her infectious enthusiasm about everything and he way that picked a different career to pursue every other week—most of them things like lion trainer, ice cream taste tester, monster truck driver. It meant Francis didn't have to be too worried about the safety of thousands of airline travelers.
She nodded again and then returned to her spot at the window, now marked by the handprints she'd left on the glass.
It was insane… Francis turned his head toward where Antonio was sitting beside him, leaning against a pillar, fast asleep. It'd only been a few days ago that he was about to run away with the hope that he'd never see either of them again.
"So, you ready?"
Francis had expected the question. He took his time responding, though. Stretched his arms over his head before he looked up at Leon and nodded. "Oui, I'm ready."
~.~.~
The trip up to Big Mike's house that night had been quiet. Leon had seemed to be both lost in his own thoughts and intently focused on driving the car. Francis had switched the radio onto a soft rock station after a few minutes because he couldn't stand the silence. He'd been hoping that they'd arrive at Big Mike's home, have a conversation that he'd lie through, and then he could get out of there and head off to Europe by himself.
It wasn't what had happened. Big Mike had opened the door before they'd even knocked with a plate full of chocolate chip cookies that she immediately shoved into Leon's hands. Then she'd motioned for Francis to follow her. "Watch TV or something, Leon! Francis and I are going to talk in my room!"
He'd been startled, probably mostly because he'd never really talked with Big Mike. He knew who she was, of course, and he'd visited her home a handful of times with Gillian, but he'd never really discussed anything with her.
He'd just followed her mutely down and hallway and then into a room where the first thing that he noticed was a gigantic fish tank that took up most of the wall. With a blue lobster sitting down at the bottom.
"That's Benny." She walked over to the corner of the room, where a set of padded chairs were set up against the wall. "Don't mind him. He likes visitors. Now let's sit down and you can tell me all about it."
And she did mean all about it. Francis's original plan was to just tell her what he thought she wanted to hear. But somehow… that didn't happen.
He was starting to understand Leon and other people's wariness around this woman. There was something about her that made it impossible to lie or hold anything back. She just asked a few innocent-sounding questions and before he knew it, he was telling her the whole story. How he'd just wanted to keep an eye on Arthur when he started acting up and then how Antonio had joined them. He'd done all he could to keep him innocent, but he'd failed. And then how he'd also failed when he tried to push Antonio away. His plan with Arthur and how it was only him now. He'd even told her about what he'd almost done with Antonio... How wrong it was when he knew that Antonio was in love with Lovina, even if neither of them realized it yet.
And she'd just sat there, nodding occasionally and asking calm questions when the streams of words started to slow. When he'd finished, nails digging into his palms as he clenched his hands into fists, she'd continued to sit there with a calm, relaxed expression. As if he hadn't just bared his soul out to her because she had hypnotic powers or something.
When she finally spoke, it was to ask, "How are your grades this semester?"
Which seemed a weird question. "I…guess they're okay? I've missed a lot of days, though."
"Then you should take the rest of the year off." And he just stared at her in shock as she stood and walked over to her dresser. Still totally relaxed. She slid the top drawer open and rifled around the contents for a little bit before she turned, holding an envelope. "You're a grade above most of your friends, right, sweetie? I think Leon's right that it might help to get out of this town for a little bit and I have quite a few friends that I'm sure wouldn't mind hosting you for a while. One of my friends in London owns an old bookshop, specializes in ancient books of prophecy. An incredibly nice man as long as you don't hurt any of his books."
"But…" Francis wasn't sure how to respond to that. "You want me to take a year off of high school?"
"Of course," she set the envelope down on top of his lap and pointed toward a pen. "Just write your legal guardian's contact information on that envelope and I'll get everything all settled for you, sweetheart. Education isn't going to do you any good if you're not feeling well enough to enjoy it. You go to Europe, have yourself some adventures, write to your friends all the time and send them pictures, and then come back home. You'll even all be in the same class when you come home."
Francis had laughed, sounding about as nerve-wracked as he felt. "If only it was that easy…"
"Course it's not easy, but you can take a step in the right direction." She continued to watch him with those calm, motherly eyes until he took the pen and scribbled the information onto the paper. Feeling almost like he was in some bizarre dream and none of this was real.
"Good. Now, you look like you could use some rest. You can have some cookies, if Leon hasn't eaten them all, then go home and get a good night's sleep. Things'll look better once you've got some sweets and sleep in you."
And that's how the conversation had gone. He'd followed Big Mike to the living room, where they found Leon sprawled out on the couch, watching some random late-night talk show with a half-empty plate of cookies resting on his stomach. He'd eaten a few of them, watching as the two of them argued about the latest prank she'd pulled on the mayor.
His thoughts were racing, falling all over themselves and tangling into a knotted mess. He hadn't known what to do or think.
Leon had taken him home; he'd just asked if Francis was doing okay and then didn't speak for the rest of the ride. He sang under his breath, though, his voice soothing and almost enough to send Francis off to sleep as he leaned against the cool window.
~.~.~
It took a little bit of shaking to wake Antonio up, but once he was fully-conscious, he practically attacked Francis with a massive hug.
"You'll call, sí? And send letters?"
"And presents!" Gillian had left her planes for the moment and grabbed onto one of Francis's hands. "Lots of presents!"
"Oui." He hugged Antonio back, trying not to focus too much on the scent, the feel of being so close to his best friend. "I'll call and write. And send presents. You might get tired of presents after a while."
Gill scoffed at that, like the idea was absolutely ridiculous.
Antonio finally released him and Gill immediately took his place, throwing her arms around Francis and squeezing as hard as she could. And then, in a soft voice that he almost didn't hear, she said "I'm gonna miss you, Franny."
"I'll miss you too, Gilly. But I'll be coming back soon."
"You better or I'll fly my jet and hunt you down!" She stepped back and gave him her fiercest look. "And next time you go to Europe, Antonio and I get to come too!"
He laughed at that. "Of course, Gilly." Then he glanced over at Leon and raised an eyebrow in an inviting fashion.
And was immediately shot down. "Yeah, no. Now come on, you don't wanna miss your flight." He turned, waiting as Antonio and Gillian both gave him another hug and he went to retrieve his carry-on. Then they walked together toward security.
"You'll keep an eye on them?" he asked as they took their place in line.
Leon nodded, "I'd better if we want the town to still be in one piece when you get back."
"And Arthur?" He'd been a little surprised that Arthur hadn't shown up to see him off, but then again, Gill was still pretty pissed off at him.
"Of course."
Francis sighed, watching as the people in the front of the line removed their shoes. "You know you don't have to come with me. I can find the gate on my own."
He shrugged. "Grandmother gave me explicit directions to come with you. And trust me; you don't ignore Grandmother's explicit directions. Besides, I want to make sure you don't accidentally get on the wrong plane or something."
Francis grinned and then hurriedly moved to remove his own shoes, placing them in the little box with his wallet and carry-on. Then he stepped through the metal detectors, smirking as he glanced back to see Leon struggling with his own shoes. Probably pissing off everyone behind them.
When they'd finally both gone through, he continued, "I thought of something…for Arthur."
"What?" They weren't bothering to hurry, since he had around a half an hour still to wait for his flight. He wondered if Leon would stay all that time or if he'd leave as soon as they'd found his gate.
He grinned. "Class President."
Leon just stared at him for a minute, as if he'd just spoken in Swahili or something. Then he repeated, "Class President? I don't even know if he's going to pass right now, let alone be class president."
"You could talk to the principal and explain the situation, though? I know it's something Arthur would want… He's actually incredibly intelligent and he enjoys things like that. He's just stubborn and a true 'rebel without a cause'. And it can't hurt to try."
It was pretty easy to tell that he had him. Leon frowned as they passed by some gates, a coffee shop… Then he sighed and shrugged. "I can talk to him. No promises, though."
"Oui, of course." And there was his gate to London, England. Where he'd meet with Big Mike's bookstore friend.
Leon noticed it at almost the exact same moment. And he stopped, glancing around at his surroundings for a few moments before he remarked almost uncomfortably, "Well…hopefully you can't get lost now."
"You never know, cher." He glanced toward the sign overhead that stated all the arrival and departure times. Forty minutes now. "I may get bored and wander off and find myself on a flight to Zimbabwe."
Leon's lips dipped into a slight frown, and then he sighed. "Is that a not-subtle way of asking me to stay and keep you company?"
"Oui," he admitted unashamedly. After all, he didn't want to stay here alone when he could be sitting here with an attractive man. He set his backpack on the floor and dipped into one of the outside pockets, pulling out a pack of cards. "Poker?"
And Leon looked incredibly put-upon, which was a hilariously adorable expression on his face. But he nodded and started walking toward the sitting area. "Sure, fine."
A/N: It's done! It's DONE IT'S DONE! :D THIS STORY IS FINISHED~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*dances*
Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers for your support while I wrote this. Especially with all of the awful hiatuses and me being sick and just all the terribleness that we all dealt with. You guys are AMAZING. Also, thank you to Muse-chan, as she helped me with a lot of the planning for this.
I'm going to go and cry now out of relief.
So I'll now be focusing on finishing up Just a Little Push and then after that, I may be writing another long story that takes places after JaLP. They'll also be more time-stamps in Compiling. Feel free to ask if there's anything you'd like me to write about there.
Um… And that's about it. THANK YOU I LOVE YOU AND I AM SO HAPPY I ACTUALLY FINISHED THIS.
