Mutiny Below

Natalia sat silently on the edge of her bed and looked around at the place she'd called home for the time she'd been in Arizona. She'd spent all morning trying to memorize every single detail of Eric's tiny apartment. She eventually sighed and stood up, going back over to the suitcase behind her and putting more clothes in.

She was packing away the last of her shirts when there was a knock on the door. Nick peaked his head into the room. "Almost ready?"

Natalia nodded and zipped up her bag then adjusted the sheets on the bed so that it was made up neatly. She picked up her bag and walked out into the hallway, turning back to look at the room once more.

When she reached the living room, Eric and Nick were both sitting on the couch waiting for her. "What's the rush? I don't have to be at the airport for three hours"

"We're going for breakfast first. You know, our last meal together and all"

Eric pouted as soon as the words left his mouth. Nick elbowed him and shook his head then got up to take Natalia's heavy bag from her hands. "Come on, let's go"

She followed him out to the car and Eric trudged along behind her, still moping. When they arrived at the restaurant, Jayce was waiting by her car. She walked over to them a little nervously and they went inside to be seated. Natalia didn't talk much the entire time they were eating and Jayce didn't either. Most of the conversation came from Nick, who was the only one that didn't seem completely sad or worried.

Jayce climbed in the back seat with Natalia to tag along to the airport and she sat silently playing with the hem of her dress the entire time. There wasn't a single word uttered before they reached the airport. The four of them walked inside and Nick, Eric, and Jayce had to get gate passes to walk with Natalia to her gate. After they went through security, they set out in the direction of the gates.

They walked down past gate after gate until Nick, finally stopped, making everyone behind him stop as well. Nick pulled her ticket from his back pocket and scrutinized it for a moment. "You're at Gate 12, right over there," he said as he handed it to her. She glanced over her shoulder at the gate and nodded.

"Now boarding First Class tickets for flight 1185 to Boston," the woman said over the P.A. system.

Eric frowned. "That's your flight, isn't it? You have to go soon"

Natalia nodded her head and frowned in return. It was time to say her goodbyes. She turned to Jayce and bit her lip while Jayce just looked at her surprised.

"I'm sorry. About everything," she mumbled.

Jayce gave her a small smile. "It's okay, Natalia. Someone had to do it and I was obviously too scared to"

"But still. It wasn't my secret to tell and I should've kept my mouth shut"

Jayce took her by surprise and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "I promise it's okay. You shouldn't worry about it. Have a good flight, okay? I hope we see each other again sometime"

"I'm sure we will," Natalia mumbled, looking over at Nick. Jayce chuckled and let go of her to give her brother a turn. Nick immediately threw his arms around her and squeezed her as tightly as he could. She sighed. "I'm going to miss you"

"I'll miss you too, little sister. But I'll be home before you know it and I'll be annoying the shit out of you by not doing my dishes"

"I'm sure you will"

He laughed and squeezed her again.

"I really am sorry, Nick"

"Don't be. In case you haven't noticed, I've sort of gotten my way. I mean, she's here, isn't she? I'm the one who should be sorry. For putting you in the middle of everything and making you go along with my stupid fucking plan"

"Don't be sorry, Nick"

He sighed and kissed the top of her head, letting her out of his grip. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

She nodded silently and glanced over at Eric, who was still pouting. She took a step closer to him and looked over at Jayce. Jayce smiled, taking the hint, and grabbed Nick's hand, pulling him away from them and pushing him into the gift shop so he wouldn't try to see what was going on.

Natalia's fingers played with a loose string on her dress as she stood nervously in front of Eric, waiting for him to say something. They just stared at each other for a long time before he suddenly picked her up and squeezed her tightly, hugging her to his chest. She immediately burst into quiet sobs as she threw her arms around his neck.

"Now boarding rows 1 through 10 for flight 1185 to Boston"

Natalia knew that since she was in row 12, she would be next to board but she didn't want to let go just yet. Eric set her back on the ground but he kept his arms tightly around her. "I'm going to miss you the most," she whispered.

"Promise you'll come back and visit?"

"You should come visit me instead"

He raised his thumb to her cheek and wiped away the tiny water droplets collecting there. "Anything you want"

"I love you, Eric. You're my best friend. Just don't tell Nick," she added with a small smile.

"Never. It was pleasure being your pretend boyfriend"

He smiled and leaned in, pressing his lips to her cheek. "Have a safe trip, Natalia"

"Don't forget me when you go on tour, Halvorsen"

"I promise"

He picked her bag up from the floor and handed it to her, smiling one last time. "Bye, Nat"

"Bye, Eric"

Natalia walked to the gate, looking back one last time at Eric who was still watching her walk away. Her row was called to board so she got in line, handed the stewardess her ticket, and disappeared through the doorway. Once she got seated, she pulled her phone from her pocket, finding two new texts.

One from Nick: Be safe, little sister! Love you

And one from Eric: Miss you already, best friend :(

She smiled to herself and replied, just before the stewardess instructed everyone to turn off their electronics. She opened the curtain to look out the window as the plane ascended and she said goodbye to Arizona one last time.



John was back moping around his apartment. He'd come back in the early hours of the morning to find Jayce's car not in the driveway and no one inside. Her usual duffel bag for Phoenix was missing from the chair in their bedroom.

He shuffled into the kitchen to make something to eat but then he decided he just wasn't hungry so he went back to the bedroom and collapsed face down on the bed. The words that had been aimed at him during the party were stuck in his mind, refusing to allow him to think about anything else.

Maybe we just fell out of love with each other was what Jayce had offered as an excuse for both of their behavior. He though about that sentence constantly. Was that what had happened to them? They were the couple that seemed completely beyond happy to everyone around them. They seemed perfect. How was it possible that they just fell out of love? And more than that, when exactly did it happen?

The other main thought he had was what Natalia had said to him. Her entire rant played over and over again in his mind but one part in particular stuck out to him. I'm not sorry! I wanted you to do it. I've had feelings for you for awhile..... Despite the fact that she was thoroughly intoxicated, he was sure that was her true feelings she was expressing. He wondered how he could not have noticed and how long she had actually felt that way.

Which led him to wonder how long he had actually had feelings for her too. When he went out for a long drive after the party the night before, he realized that he indeed did have feelings for Natalia. He had kissed her because he absolutely couldn't think of anything he wanted to do more in that moment. He had imagined himself in a relationship with her. His feelings were undeniable. And he decided he had to tell her before she left.

He jumped up from his bed and pulled on last night's clothes then grabbed his keys and went to Eric's as fast as he could. He knocked on the door for about five minutes before he realized that there were no vehicles in the driveway and that they must've already left to take her to the airport.

He got back into his car and raced toward the highway. When he finally got to the airport, he parked his car and took off running. He pushed through the crowds of people as fast as he possibly could, trying to see if somehow Natalia was among them. He looked for any sign of floral print which, if he knew Natalia, she'd most likely be wearing.

He finally reached the large wall of screens that showed depature and arrival times. His eyes scanned row after row of cities and times and he grew frustrated when he didn't spot it right away.

Finally, the screens changed and his eyes immediately found BOSTON. He looked to the right of that and found that the scheduled departure time was 11:15am. John pulled his phone from his jean pocket to check the time. It was 11:16. But flights never leave on time, right? he thought. His eyes kept wandering to the right and then they found the word boarding.

He dialed Natalia's phone number as fast as he could and prayed that she would answer. He needed her to not get on the plane until he could talk to her and tell her how he felt about her. He wanted needed to see her again and kiss her one more time. Her phone went straight to voicemail and he cursed loudly, causing a few heads to turn in his direction.

He looked around again, trying to figure out what the best idea was from there. Should he try to find that gate she would be in and hope that she hadn't gotten on the plane yet? But then he'd have to go through security. There was no way he could get to her in time if he had to do that. He soon realized that was his only option, and he started in that direction. His eyes flickered back to the screens momentarily and then he saw the word that made his heart stop. Departing.

That was it. She was gone. She was officially leaving Arizona, not knowing that he wanted to tell her how he felt and kiss her and hold her. Not knowing that he drove 70 miles per hour to get there and then ran through the airport like an idiot to try to find her. Not knowing how he had feelings for her too.

He sat down right there in the middle of the airport, completely shattered, with his head in his hands. That was it. Natalia would never know how he felt now. He'd fucked up. He'd missed his chance.

And now she was gone.