AN:

1) Been reading back through some earlier chapters and have been making small edits here and there. I know this fic starts out slowly, but I like how I can see my writing skills progress as this story goes on, so it's unlikely the beginning chapters will ever be completely remodeled.

2) Again, this interlude was supposed to be a part of the last chapter, but things got way too long (Antonio's fault for having lots to say smh, but he was rewarded with his own chapter).

3) Since this chapter was mostly written already, I was able to fire the rest of it off before my Thanksgiving break ended. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 34: Precious Cargo

Interlude #14

Lock Haven University

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania

Antonio Martínez-Canek pulled into his parking spot at his first-ever college apartment. He and his roommate/soccer teammate, Wyatt, shared a one-bedroom place right off-campus. They were about 75% moved in, and Antonio and his parents would be driving the remainder of his things up here next week before school started.

He had been pleasantly surprised to hear from Ella. He hadn't spoken to his childhood friend since before she moved to Europe. Admittedly, he had already forgotten what school she attended, but he would find out soon enough.

Antonio felt a twinge of nervousness as he got out of his car. The phone call from Ella was certainly weird. He wasn't exactly thrilled to make the drive so last-second, but this felt important. He took his backpack from the passenger seat and exited his car. It was a 2007 silver Toyota Corolla passed down from his parents. Antonio loved that car like a brother.

He looked to his right and saw Ella sitting next to a guy with black hair. She grinned at him and got out of her car quickly.

She bounded over to him and hugged him. "Antonio, Cuate, it's so good to see you!"

Antonio smiled back. "You too, amiga." It was nice to see her.

Her friend got out of the car to come and join them. He was tall, towering over Antonio and Ella's shared five-foot-five-and-a-quarter-that-they-both-rounded-up-to-five-foot-six. Don't believe her lies, Ella was just scraping past 5'5.

"Antonio, this is my friend Alex. We met at a summer job in England."

"What's up, Man?" Antonio held up his fist and Alex bumped it.

"Alright, Mate," he replied. For some reason, Antonio was a little surprised that he was British.

"Yeah, come on in," he began walking towards the front door. His and Wyatt's place was on the first floor towards the back of the building. The walk was painfully quiet.

"Ella, remind me, where are you going to school again?" Antonio broke the ice, "I know it's in England somewhere."

"Oxford," she replied, "Studying Modern Languages and Linguistics."

"Right, You were always scary good at learning languages." Ella had that stupid cocky grin on her face which Antonio had become very accustomed to. It was seven-year-old Ella shocking his parents with her perfect Spanish the first time he'd introduced them in his old kitchen. It was every time she'd beaten him at footraces (Antonio believed the final score was 502 (him) to 498 (Ella)). It was that stupid bicycle kick goal she had scored when they were twelve and had never fully shut up about. It was his last night in Virginia when she'd taken the bag of Cheeto puffs from his hands and kissed him while watching The Amazing Spiderman in her basement.

He looked over at Alex, trying to include him. "My family moved next door to hers when I was seven," he explained, "From Mexico. I didn't expect to have anyone to speak Spanish with, but there was Ella who was fluent. Unfortunately, you spoke Spanish from Spain, so I had to teach you Yucateco," he grinned. "And then, as if that wasn't enough, my mom started to teach her Maya' which she picked up, like, immediately."

"Ma'lob ak'abtal!" Ella replied. Good evening!

"And she's still got it," he smiled. The fact she remembered even a little bit of his mother's native language all these years later made his heart warm.

"This is me," he said, unlocking the door to his apartment. It was in a mild state of disarray with boxes lining the walls, but it was good enough. "Welcome to the castle of dreams. Here is our kitchen slash living room situation. You'll notice that nothing in our kitchen is put away, but our Xbox is set up. You still play?" he asked Ella.

"You were a gamer?" Alex laughed.

"We played a lot of FIFA back in the day, but I've barely picked up a controller since you moved. My dad didn't really believe in video games," she explained to Alex.

"Liar," Antonio accused, "We played a ton of FPS games too. You were crazy good at those!"

"They were so predictable!" she exclaimed, "I could always guess where the next enemy was hiding. Once I get a little familiar with the map, it's game over…for them," she grinned.

"Her brain is so weird," Antonio shook his head fondly. "Anyways," he began, leading his guests into the hallway, "Bathroom is over there. Just let everyone know before you shower. The bedroom is over here," he opened another door. There was a twin bed on each side of the room along with a desk and dresser. Wyatt had a Manchester United flag hanging over his bed, and Antonio had a Venados Fútbol Club pennant. They weren't very good, but they were his hometown club and he adored them.

Ella walked over to a poster taped over his desk. "Hey, this looks familiar," she smiled. It was a poster of the Big 5 Washington Sports teams. "I still have mine too. It's in my room in England."

The pair had purchased the posters from someone's trunk outside of a DC United game when they were 13. The tickets to the game had been a birthday present from Antonio's parents, and Ella had bought them each a poster, wanting them to have something to remember the game with.

"I like that you still have yours," Antonio replied.

Alex cleared his throat. "You said I could take a shower?" he interrupted.

"Yeah, of course. There are towels in the bathroom. Once you're ready for bed, there's a blanket for you on the couch."

"Where's she sleeping?" Alex looked over at Ella.

"Ella can sleep in Wyatt's bed."

"You okay with that, Ella?" Alex furrowed his brow.

"Yes. I'll shower in the morning," Ella said to Alex, "Get some sleep. We're leaving at 8 tomorrow." Antonio looked at the clock. It was just past 1am. Alex lingered in the doorway for a second before taking his bag and going into the bathroom.

Antonio closed his bedroom door behind Alex. He walked over and sat on his bed, leaning his back against the wall. He gestured at Wyatt's bed: across the room but parallel to his. "Ella, sit."

Ella obliged and mimicked Antonio's seating position. Her back rested against Wyatt's wall and her socked feet just hung off the bed.

"So how was your drive?"

"Long," she nodded, "Thanks again for driving all the way out here. I really owe you one."

"Never," Antonio shook his head, "It really is nice to see you. Can't believe it's been 5 years already."

"Seriously," she agreed, "We can't let this happen again. And if you're ever in England–actually anywhere in Europe–shoot me a text."

"I have been considering doing a post-grad trip overseas," he admitted, "I'd love to visit somewhere besides Mexico." Antonio and his parents traveled once a year: back to his hometown of Mérida for a few weeks each summer. As much as he loved it, there were so many more places out there that he wanted to see.

"Then you're definitely coming to London," she smiled.

The two sat in silence for a second. "So how's your family? Are your parents doing okay?"

Antonio nodded. "They're good. They adopted a dog, like, the minute I moved away for college last year, and now the thing eats better than I do," he laughed. "How about yours?"

"They're good too," Ella said quickly, "James just graduated from American, Ava goes to American, and Christopher and Lili are the same."

"That's good to hear." Antonio was never particularly close to Ella's siblings. She never liked talking about them much as kids, and it seemed that that remained true.

They heard the bathroom door open, signaling Alex was finished with his shower. "Hey Antonio," Ella whispered, "Can we see how fluent I still am in Maya'?"

"You want to speak Maya'?" Antonio repeated.

"Yeah! I don't know anyone else who speaks it other than your family, and I thought it could be fun to practice." Antonio didn't believe that reasoning for a second but he chose to play along. It was better that way.

"Tene Tin na'atik," Antonio replied. I understand.

"Okay, great," Ella continued in Maya', "How is soccer?" Ella substituted the Spanish word 'fútbol.'

"I love it," Antonio smiled, "I'll actually get to start as CDM this season, so I'm excited for that."

"Ah! Mazel tov!" she exclaimed, "Wait, wrong language," she corrected herself in Maya'. Antonio laughed.

"My roommate, Wyatt–the guy whose bed you're sitting on–he's one of our strikers. We've become really close friends."

"That's great," Ella paused, "And how's school? Sorry, I don't remember what you're studying either."

"Majoring in International Affairs and minoring in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Hoping to go to law school when it's all said and done."

"A lawyer! How fancy." Ella again substituted the Spanish word 'abogado' for 'lawyer.'

"Yeah, I want to do immigration law. It took my parents and me years to become naturalized. I want to help people with that process."

"You're one of the good ones, Antonio," she smiled.

His cheeks warmed. "And what do you plan to do with your language degree?"

"Oh, I have no idea," she admitted, "I'll probably be a translator of something. I feel like I could run an entire language department on my own." Antonio nodded earnestly.

There was another pause before Ella spoke up again. "So, we've covered most of the basics, right? Family, roommates, soccer, school," she trailed off. Antonio was acutely aware that Ella had shared very little about her family, school, and living situation, but that was nothing new. Ella had always been a closed book. It was always easier to do things with Ella rather than to talk about them. She was much better in the present tense. "Sports!" she exclaimed, "Do you think the Nationals have a shot at a wildcard spot?"

"Dios, don't give me hope! We've been looking good lately, but I don't want to curse us."

Ella nodded emphatically. "It's been hard to watch the games from Europe, but I'm rooting for us."

"Me too," Antonio agreed, "If we make it, you'll be the first person I call," Antonio swore he saw Ella's demeanor shift for a millisecond, but went right back to her neutral smile. "Uh, did your number change?" he asked, changing the subject, "I didn't recognize it was you calling earlier."

"Thanks for picking up," she brushed it off, "And it's just a burner phone while I'm in the States for a couple weeks. Cheaper to buy a flip phone than to deal with international minutes. I, uh, stayed most of the summer in the Netherlands with my Grandparents, so I just switched over to a European phone plan for good," she paused.

"WhatsApp!" she exclaimed, "Just text me through there."

As someone with tons of family over the border, Antonio was no stranger to the app. "Of course."

"Let's see," Antonio began, "What is next on your list of basic topics?" Antonio was trying to steer this conversation to a topic he was very interested in talking about. "We've done sports, school, family…" he paused, seeing if she would take the hint.

"Are you dating anyone?" Ella asked. Score.

"I actually am," he said shyly.

Ella grinned. "Who is the lucky girl?"

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to tell you. I was just waiting for the right time. I've actually been into guys recently. I met my boyfriend of 6 months in a Spanish class. He's a native speaker, too! His name is Bruno," Antonio pulled out his phone to show Ella his lock screen.

"He's cute! Antonio, that's great."

"Yeah, he's actually the one who made me realize I was not so straight."

"God, that's such a better queer awakening than I had," Ella groaned, "You get such a cute story out of it."

This was news to Antonio. "What was yours?"

"Kim Possible," she laughed into her hand.

"Ella, that's so on brand," he laughed too, "James Bond and Kim Possible. It's almost like you have a type."

Ella said the next bit fully in Spanish. "What can I say? Espionage is sexy and I like an action hero," she winked. "And thanks for telling me about Bruno. I'm really happy for you," she said sincerely.

Antonio grinned back. "How about you? Dating anyone?" Antonio jerked his head towards the other room.

Ella rolled her eyes. Switching back to (mostly) Maya', she said: "Before I give my answer, can I ask what made you ask that? Because everyone has come to that same conclusion almost immediately."

"Well," Antonio considered, "Besides the fact you're on a long road trip alone together, I guess I noticed two things. One, even though we only spoke for a few moments, he seemed really protective of you."

"Antonio, everyone is really protective of me," she groaned.

"Hey. You're precious cargo." He and Ella exchanged meaningful smiles. "Now, do you want to hear my second reason, or do you want to keep interrupting me?"

"I'm being so quiet."

Antonio chuckled. "Right. The other one is harder to explain, I guess. I've known you for a long time and whether you like it or not, you have very expressive eyes. If you're feeling mad, excited, or even competitive you get specific looks in your eyes. You usually suppress it quickly, so you really have to have a trained eye to spot it. Pun not intended," He continued, "But the way you look at him is different. And I say that as someone who has literally looked into your eyes while kissing you."

"An expert in the field," Ella mumbled and Antonio laughed out loud.

"Seriously though. Your eyes, like, soften up whenever you look at him. And you don't seem to try and suppress it. I can literally see the love in your eyes."

Antonio stopped talking and the room was silent again.

"So those were my observations and why I asked. Care to elucidate anything for me?"

"We're not dating in a strict sense," she started, "But we kissed for unrelated reasons and then he confessed his feelings for me and I'm in a tough spot."

"Ella. How the hell do you kiss someone for 'unrelated reasons?'" Antonio suppressed a grin.

"See, now that is a completely different story. We started this trip late last night to get maybe an hour of driving in. We decided to camp for the night and just sleep in his car, but we had a couple drinks first. We were stupid and sharing a bottle of wine in the car and all of a sudden I saw this park ranger like five feet behind the car. We're both under 21 still, and we couldn't stash the bottle in time, so I hopped out of the driver's seat and kissed him, hiding the wine between our bodies. My dad would kick my ass if I got an underage citation."

"That's insane, yet, kind of smart." Antonio considered.

"That's Ella Cornell in a nutshell. Rhyme definitely not intended," she laughed nervously. "Anyways, I kissed him maybe twice to distract the officer and then pulled away. He said 'Ella, wait, I didn't get to kiss you back,' and kissed me with tongue."

"And what happened next?" Antonio's eyes were bugging out of his head.

"In summary, he confessed his feelings, I cried in front of him, then I left to take a shower and it's been pretty awkward all day.'

"Ella Cornell, the life you live," Antonio shook his head. "Why did you cry? I was under the assumption that you liked him."

Ella lowered her voice. Antonio didn't think it mattered since there was no way on Earth this pasty British kid could speak Maya', but he digressed. "I do," she cringed, "I adore him. I just can't date him."

"Because of the distance?" Antonio assumed.

"Hm?"

"Didn't you say he was moving to Atlanta?" This whole story was confusing.

"Oh," Ella corrected quickly, "He's not the one moving. It's a different friend of his. Alex flew over to help him move in, and I was in the States for a few weeks and offered to help make the drive. Long story." Antonio did not believe that at all, but it was better not to question Ella. It's not like she got defensive about it: she would just keep adding to the story until there were too many characters to keep track of and it made Antonio's head spin. Ella's life had always seemed a little exhausting to Antonio.

"So if distance isn't the issue, then what is?"

Ella looked down. "It's just all too much, way too fast. My first semester of college was rough on me. I need to do some rebuilding of myself before I can introduce a relationship into my life. It would be unfair to him to put him through all of that, and honestly, it's a process I need to do on my own. He seems to think feelings are enough to make a relationship work, but I know they're not."

Antonio swore he could see tears welling up in Ella's eyes. He hadn't seen her cry since a very unfortunate incident involving a bicycle, the raised, flat-topped railing of a boardwalk, and the Potomac River.

"You sure you're doing okay?" Antonio furrowed his brow.

Ella sniffled and perked up slightly. "Yes! Yeah. Sorry about that. I'm just tired and therefore unable to regulate my emotions. You know I can take care of myself, right?"

"Ella, everyone, knows you can take care of yourself. I just wish you understood you didn't have to."

The next morning, Antonio woke up to Ella's alarm. He checked his phone and didn't see any texts, which was weird. He would have expected at least one from Bruno, his parents, or any of the guys in the soccer group chat. Maybe Wyatt messed up the WiFi router, he thought fleetingly.

Ella got up to take a shower, and Antonio walked into his kitchen. Alex was already awake, looking out the window in his living room.

"Hey, Man," Antonio greeted, "I'm making coffee. Can I make you a cup?"

Alex nodded. "Sure, thank you."

Antonio grabbed two mugs from a nearby box and rinsed them in the sink. He walked over to Wyatt's Keurig–the only kitchen appliance either boy had bothered setting up–and filled its tank with water.

"So, how long have you known Ella?" He asked, placing a coffee pod into the machine.

"I met her last summer," he said plainly.

"I've known her since we were seven," Antonio replied. "She truly is one of one."

"Yeah," Alex said, his upper lip twitching, "She really is."

"Never met anyone quite like her," Antonio said, placing the first mug beneath the Keurig.

The two stood in silence for a moment. Antonio was extremely interested in where this conversation would lead and hoped Ella would take a long shower.

"She's showering right now," Antonio said lamely, "My guess is she'll be a second since she still looked exhausted this morning."

"Can I ask you a question?" Alex finally met Antonio's eyes.

"Anything."

"Why did you drive all the way here last night?"

Antonio paused for a moment, not expecting the question. "I was asking myself that about two hours into the drive yesterday, too," he smiled, trying to lighten the mood, "This whole thing was pretty inconvenient for me–no offense, of course–but I'm happy I made the trip."

"Care to explain?"

"I made the drive because she needed me."

"That simple? You didn't expect anything in return?"

"Yeah. She's one of my oldest friends."

"And you love her," Alex filled in.

"I loved the idea of loving her. I assume you know about our history?"

"Cheetos," Alex said the single word.

Antonio laughed loudly, catching Alex off guard. "I can't believe she's still telling people that part of the story. I like to think I was more memorable than the Cheeto dust on my lips, but that is clearly not the case."

"Yeah, I had a thing for her when I was a kid, but how could I not? She was the girl next door. She was fun, exciting, and a little dangerous. She was the one who forced her way into my life; learned a whole dying language just so I felt less alone in America; and was the only one who would practice soccer with me every single day. She was homeschooled and, to be honest was always looking for an excuse to get out of her house. She'd knock on my back door with a soccer ball, eat Papadzules that my dad cooked, and speak Maya' with my mom. She was everywhere I looked."

"American kids are assholes," he continued, "And it took a while for me to find my footing in this country. Coming back home after school to be with her was simple. It's so easy to drop your guard around her and just be yourself."

"She does have that effect on people," Alex smiled a little for the first time this morning.

"So, yes, I will always have a fondness for our childhood antics. I will always be grateful to my first friend in America. But I'm not in love with Ella."

"Then what was with the shared room last night?"

"She looked like she needed to talk," Antonio shrugged, handing Alex the first mug of coffee. He repeated the process and waited for his own cup to be filled. "She's a very private person and I assumed she wanted some one-on-one time."

"Did you talk?"

"We did."

"What about?"

"You."

Alex raised his eyebrows, wanting Antonio to continue. "I will always cherish my time growing up with Ella, but I don't have any regrets. I mean, it was a dumb kiss when we were kids, but who pines after their first kiss forever?" Antonio took a breath and Alex averted his eyes. Interesting, he noted. "I'm lucky to have gotten to have those seven years with her, but Ella and I never would have worked out."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, look at us. She and I lead very different lives. You probably don't know her family, but they're…it's hard to explain. They are very private and have very high expectations for their children. I don't know what her parents did, but I assume they were probably in government."

"What makes you say that?" Alex asked quickly.

"Well, we lived fifteen minutes outside of DC. Everyone's parents worked for the government."

"Did yours?"

"No. My Dad was a professor at George Washington for a little while before he moved to Lehigh University. My mom is a dentist. But that's what I'm saying. Our lifestyles never would have matched up. She's in England studying at Oxford, for Chrissake. I'm in my little Pennsylvania college town playing soccer and plan to move back home once I'm done with school. It might sound weird to say, but Ella and I's best days are over. I can cherish our past while being conscious that we probably don't have an extensive future."

Alex considered that for a moment. "Doesn't that make you sad?"

Antonio shrugged. "We live in different worlds. It's hard to miss something I'm that far removed from. Maybe I'm a little cold, but I think she would agree."

"What was her family like?" Alex asked, out of the blue.

"Well, she has a bunch of siblings. She was the middle child and oscillated between being her Dad's sole focus and being forgotten about completely. I was never really close with her siblings, but I liked her younger brother well enough. He and their older sister would play soccer with us occasionally, but Ella mostly liked to keep her home life separate from her time with me."

"The mom was overworked with five kids, and when her dad was away, Ella spent a ton of time at my house. I don't think it was neglect or anything. Ella just went where she felt more wanted, I guess," Antonio paused for a second to take a sip of his own coffee.

"Her Dad was a hardass. All of the kids were homeschooled for some reason, and her Dad had very high standards for them. She's so smart, but she was a pretty anxious kid–especially around him."

"Yeah, I've never met them, but everything you're saying is starting to make sense. Have you ever met any of her other friends? It feels like she knows people from every country," Alex chuckled.

Antonio thought for a second. "I met three of them, once. Her best friend Noa came to visit for a week a long time ago–Noa is actually a girl, despite her name–and her brothers came too. I think they were named Oren and Roee? They all seemed to fit Ella's mold a lot better than I ever did."

The two guys were quiet again, each one sipping their coffee. "Can I offer you some advice, Alex?"

"Please."

"Don't build her up on a pedestal. Don't let your ideas or fantasies of her outgrow the real Ella. She's impressive and she's beautiful, but she's still a human person. And last, let her come to you. Remember what I said about her dad being a hardass? She doesn't do well when people pressure her about things. You have to be a little more savvy about how you pose your questions so it doesn't feel like an interrogation to her. How do you think I got her to talk about you last night? Sometimes with Ella, you have to let things be her idea."

"That is actually good advice," Alex said after a beat.

"I know," Antonio grinned as Ella came out of the bathroom. She was wearing a fitted baby pink T-shirt and black running shorts. Her hair was damp and clumped together, and she draped a towel on her upper back to catch some of the excess water.

She walked into the kitchen. "Coffee?" Antonio offered.

"Please." He fished a third mug out of the box and rinsed it as well.

"What were you boys talking about?" she inquired.

"You," Antonio shrugged.

Ella's face softened. "All good things, I hope."

"Nothing that wasn't true," Antonio teased, placing her mug underneath the Keurig.

"It's very weird to see you two in the same room," she remarked.

"Never had two people you've kissed in the same room before?" Alex finally found his voice.

"He's got a sense of humor!" Antonio exclaimed.

Ella looked at Alex, then at Antonio, and back to Alex. "I plead the fifth." Antonio laughed and handed her the mug of coffee.

"What does that mean?" Alex asked.

"Inside joke," the corner of Ella's mouth tugged slightly upwards.

"Yeah, for the entire US of A," Antonio replied. Alex still had a blank expression.

"It means I am exercising my God-given right to remain silent."

"Didn't know that was an option for you," Alex smirked.

"See, this is exactly why I didn't want you both in the same room without me. I don't need you all to unionize."

"God forbid we put our heads together and figure you out," Alex raised his eyebrows.

"Alex, you know that I need to remain mysterious or I will die."

"You're not as mysterious as you think you are," Antonio remarked.

Ella took a sip of her coffee. "Antonio, that is cruel."

"What's cruel, was the thing with the plums," Antonio shook his head at the memory.

"You were the one who wanted to have a prank war," Ella grinned into her mug.

"Lab Rats made it look like so much fun. I didn't realize you were insane."

"Rookie mistake," she giggled.

"You'll have to tell me that one," Alex said.

"Not a chance. I need to keep my best pranks secret. You never know when they're going to come in handy again. Besides, a lady never pranks and tells."

Alex and Ella both went silent and gave each other the most significant fucking look Antonio had ever seen.

Antonio didn't fully understand Ella's reasons for not dating the guy. He assumed it was another one of those times where Ella was sticking to her guns just for the sake of having control. Growing up in a family as dysfunctional as hers, Ella often found little hills to die on–even at her own expense–just for a little taste of autonomy. Antonio wondered where her rationalizations ended and her psyche began. He cleared his throat.

Alex jumped back a little. "I'm going to pack my stuff from your room," Ella said quickly and left the kitchen. Antonio just took another sip of his coffee. He'd been up for half an hour but already needed a nap.

Alex turned around and began packing his items too. Neither one had brought very much into the apartment, and Ella was back in two minutes.

"I'm sorry I don't have any food to offer you all,' Antonio said finally, "We still have to go grocery shopping."

"All good," Ella recovered.

"Are you leaving now?" Antonio asked and Ella nodded. "Let me walk you out."

The three left Antonio's apartment and walked in silence (again).

He pulled Ella aside while Alex put their bags in the car and hugged her.

"It was good to see you," he said in Maya'.

"You too," she replied in his language, "Thank you again for driving up here last night."

"Of course," he smiled. He was glad he did it. "Take care of yourself, Ella. I really hope everything works out for you."

"You too, Antonio. We'll keep in touch," she promised. Antonio sincerely doubted that but patted his friend on the back anyway.

"One last thing, Ella, if I may," he started, "You don't have to die on every single hill. And be a little patient with him," Antonio jerked his chin over at Alex, "Because he is on the long list of many people who care about you. I would never try to tell you how to live your life, but not everything has to be so difficult."

"I thought you said 'one last thing,'" Ella said wryly.

"Que te den, Cornell," he grinned, switching to Spanish.

Antonio waved to Ella and Alex as she drove them away.

He really was glad he made the drive up here. Ella seemed like she needed a friend, and he was glad that he could be there for her.

If you wanted Antonio's expert opinion, she and Alex would be together by the end of the year.

He walked back to his apartment and was startled as about 50 text messages came in at once. There was one each from his parents, two from Bruno, three from Wyatt, and the rest were from his soccer group chat discussing the latest Manchester United game. It was odd the texts had just come through, as many of them were marked as being sent last night.

Antonio made a mental note to tell Wyatt to fix their router and went back inside to finish his coffee.

AN:

1) Antonio, *I* pine after my first crush every so often. No need to be so judgemental.

2) Hope you enjoyed reading about Ella and Alex from a third party! It sure was interesting to write.

3) For the sake of clarity, Yucateco is Antonio's native dialect of Spanish. Maya' (or Yucatec Maya) is his mother's native language that he and Ella speak in this chapter.

4) Expect the next chapter to be a few weeks. 33-34 were finished and edited during my Thanksgiving break and I'm currently staring down the barrel of finals(we heart grad school). 35 is going to be long, and I won't have a ton of time to write it until mid-late December. Until then, (while I'm in finals hell) leave a comment if you're still here, and I hope the playlist makes your Spotify Wrapped B)

5) On that note, the song of this chapter is "Two of Us" (interpreted as if written about John Lennon NOT Linda McCartney). Just needed to clarify.