June 17, 2018

The window in the kitchen was open. A warm summer breeze floated into the room, the kind of warm that had the ability to make one feel unexplainable full. The wind fluttered the papers on the table gently, Zane working around the moving corners of the pad he was sketching on with an assorted collection of colored pencils.

The room was quiet, and the air between the young boy and his older sister was peaceful. They didn't talk much, since she was reading, and as he was moving his pencil across the page, his thoughts were moving as well.

He had a peculiar mind, one that almost didn't seem to fit inside his own head. His thought process was like that of a middle schooler's and he asked the sorts of questions that made his parents pause and glance at each other in disbelief.

And that was why, after several minutes of thinking it through, he ceased drawing and sat down on his knees in the chair. Eliska was about to leave the house to drive to the airport to fly across the country to visit a boy she met weeks before, and he had come to a conclusion.

Eliska glanced up from her book to find her brother already looking at her, his innocent, gentle gaze revealing that he had something important on his mind. She didn't say anything, just waited for him to speak up, because he had always told her he liked to find the right words first.

"You're in love," he said. His tone was light, weightless.

And she just looked at him for awhile, long after he started drawing again, because she didn't know what to say when faced with the truth.

***

"There she is," Jonah muttered to himself under his breath. He was standing near the LAX doors alone, the boys having stayed in the car to avoid drawing attention to their group.

They were both grinning when she reached him and was pulled into a hug. It had been seventeen days since they'd seen each other in person, which in all reality wasn't very long at all, but definitely felt like it since both practically left their feelings at each other's feet right before he left Indiana.

"How are you?" he said softly, his head close to her's so he could hear her.

"Excited to be here," she answered.

"The guys are in the car," he explained as they made their way across the large parking lot. She nodded, smiling to herself when he faced forward because he had insisted on pulling her suitcase.

The rest of the boys made a point of making her feel welcome, evident in the way they clambered around the seats in their car to give her the likes of warm hugs and friendly greetings.

They had an amazing ability to make her feel as if she'd always known them within minutes of driving along the busy streets of Los Angeles. She felt comfortable around them, comfortable to be sitting with Jonah in the back of the moving vehicle.

She turned her gaze out of the open window, watching crowded streets pass by. She had been to L.A. many times before, but she felt like she was seeing the city in a different light. She had no doubt that it had something to do with the boy next to her.

Her mind led her through what she always thought about, not having anything to offer for someone who could potentially fall in love with her. But as she glanced over at Jonah, his brown hair that was starting to grow out a little, his soft, dark eyes, his nearly-constant grin, she realized that what was happening to her was real. Jonah was real.

And she had no control over what would happen in the future. Maybe they would be more than friends, maybe they wouldn't. Maybe they would be close for the rest of their lives, and maybe it wouldn't work out. She had no control, and she had no idea, but just being there next to him was enough for that moment.

***

"Let's go."

Eliska glanced at the boy sitting beside her after he whispered in her direction.

"What?" she asked, looking at him and then around the table at the other boys talking to each other.

"Let's get out of here. I've got to talk to you."

"What, you don't want to talk in front of everyone?"

He threw her a deadpan expression. Her half-smile appeared as she turned her gaze to the building they were in, a random fast food restaurant in L.A.

"Okay," she finally said. She adored the smile that pulled at the corners of his lips as he told the guys that they were going to walk around for awhile and would meet them back at the house.

They strolled down the sidewalks side by side, their conversation light and carefree. Eliska felt like herself when she was with him. It sounded strange to think of it that way, but even though she was confident in herself, she didn't feel she had to act around him.

The signal for the street walk changed and the couple moved forward, crossing the road quickly. Without thinking, Jonah grabbed Eliska's hand, intertwining it with his own as they passed in front of several headlight beams. She glanced at him when he touched her, and when they reached the curb, he met her eyes and soft smiles were exchanged.

They walked for a little while longer, finally coming to a stop when they came to a bench in a park. They sat down together, knees touching.

"I love it here," she said.

"You've been here—how many times?"

"A lot," she allowed. "And where are all of the coffee shops? We need to go to all of them while I'm here." He laughed a little.

"So I know you love going to all the coffee places that nobody's familiar with—" she nodded "—but if you had to pick out of all the places you've visited all over the states, which one would be your favorite?"

She zoned out for a while, thinking.

"I think my favorite—if not, then the most unique—was this tiny building in Washington, in one of the areas no one really visits. Squished in between all these ancient shops was this coffee shop. I was with my dad and I practically made him go in, but all of the people inside were older couples, most reading. Everything inside was wooden, all the tables and chairs, the floor, the ceiling, the countertops. And the lights were not very bright, but it was so warm in there, and... I loved that place, for some reason. I don't know, but that was probably one of my favorites."

She turned her head to look at Jonah, but he was already looking at her. There was a sort of fondness and awe evident in his eyes.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey," she laughed.

"So... I don't really know what to—uh—say, but I... really like you, El. I really care about you. You're honest and authentic and so freaking beautiful—it's ridiculous—and you keep surprising me, surpassing all of my expectations, I guess, of what an eighteen year old girl can be."

She just looked at him, finally whispering, "Jo," because she didn't know how else to react. He looked down at their hands.

"I like you too. A lot."

He raised his head again to meet her eyes.

"So are we... doing this?"

A smile pulled at her lips before she nodded. He was smiling so much, it hurt.

Overwhelmed with emotion and excitement, she rested her forehead on his shoulder and he put his arm around her, pulling her closer.

"Now I'm really happy," she said quietly.

"Me too," he said. She sat up.

One moment, all he could see were her grey, stormy eyes, and the next, he was kissing her, because she was there, right in front of him, and she was finally his.