Status: slowly chugging along
No One Can Touch Us
Lost
-Alex’s POV-
I laughed to myself softly as our always stressed tour manager paced around the airport parking lot, glancing at his watch every three seconds. I was standing with my arm around Selma’s waist as we all waited for Jack and Hannah to arrive. Selma had tried calling them multiple times, but neither one answered their phones. Though none of us were worried, Flyzik did not like having two members of the band and crew missing three hours before our flight home. Some crew members like Danny, Jeff, Grieco, Ian, and Evan boarded flights that had left hours before, and only a handful of us remained, still exhausted from the night before and dying to go home.
“I’m quitting my job. I’m quitting my job.” he kept repeating as he scanned every incoming car for traces of the lost couple.
“Look, I have to go take care of something.” Selma whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. She spun around, placing a light kiss on my cheek, and walking away into the distance.
“AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?” Matt chimed in once he noticed her leaving.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go find Jack and Hannah.” I replied, but before he could protest, I reminded him of the last time they were missing.
“Fine.” he agreed, downing the rest of the extra-large coffee he had purchased for himself only minutes before.
-Selma’s POV-
The buildings zoomed by as the cab I had climbed into sped through the British streets. Glancing down at my phone to confirm the address, I told the driver to slam on the brakes once I had reached the destination. I slipped him the money I owed him, and climbed out of the dark green vehicle, only to have it speed off moments later. I wasn’t sure why I was here, but I had to make things right.
After navigating through the various hallways of the building complex, I came across the room to which the secretary had ushered me. Knocking quietly, I heard a stern ‘What?’ reply to me, and I immediately regretted my decision. Overcoming the anger beginning to boil within me, I sighed and proceeded to turn the knob, entering a cold, dreary hospital room. Scanning the room for traces of life, my eyes finally came across the petite figure laying in one of the familiarly dreary cots.
“What do you want?” she asked, her voice echoing the temperature of the room.
“Look, Lisa.” I began after a lengthened pause I used to calm myself down. “We need to talk.”
“I don’t need to talk to you. I’ll stay out of the way, happy?”
“I’m not that kind of person.” I cried out. “You think I have some kind of hatred towards you just because you were Alex’s first love? You think I spend my time plotting ways to get you out of the picture?”
“I would.”
“Well, maybe I’m not like you.” I replied, a knot of anger forming itself inside of my throat.
“Which makes me even more confused as to why Alex is dating you.”
I chuckled softly, shaking my head with confirmation that this was a bad idea. “I just came down here to try to make things better, but I guess I was just being stupid. So, bye.” I said quietly, turning around to leave.
“Wait-” she whispered. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just that, he was my everything. And then I watched him grow more and more distant, and no matter how much I denied it, my entire world was turning upside down. Seven years, Selma. Seven years. Do you know how difficult it is to let go after that? To just be thrown away after he meets another girl he instantly falls in love with? But I still denied it, so I kept trying to see him, and when I finally did, I see him look at you like he’s never looked at me before, and everything just shatters.” The tears had welled up in her eyes, and she immediately jerked an arm to wipe them away. “In that moment, he made me feel as though I didn’t matter. As though I never mattered. And that’s hard.”
As I gaped at her, trying to take everything in, I felt a sudden emotional connection to her. I had been thrown away multiple times in my life, and I felt guilty being the cause of someone else’s misery. Before I could respond, she continued. “So I’m sorry if I’m this giant bitch to you, but... I just... I can’t seem to stop convincing myself that it’s not over. Even though I know it is. I’m sorry.”
“D-Don’t apologize. If I could... Do something, I would but-”
“I know you can’t. And I’ll get over it soon enough, but for now, I just need distance. So, if you don’t mind...” she began, and I took the hint.
“Yeah, of course.” I whispered, nodding in agreement. “Bye” I stammered and went to open the door to leave her room.
“Oh and, Danny’s in the room next door. He’s been asking about you, so you may want to visit him.”
My nod was barely visible, and I silently shut the door to her room and proceeded to the one next door, knocking in the same quiet fashion.
“Danny?” I whispered, cracking the door open so that I could peer into the room. Upon seeing him sleeping on his cot, I went to shut the door, only to be stopped by his voice.
“Selma?” he croaked out, rubbing his eyes so that his vision would clear. “Is that you?”
Without answering, I opened the door fully and stepped in. “Hey...” I whispered.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I was in here visiting Lis- Wait, I should be asking you that question.” I said, suddenly noticing the bandage stretching around his chest.
“Wha? Oh, this. It’s nothing, I got into a bar fight. It’s not a big deal.” he replied, choking on pain as he tried to readjust himself into a sitting position. I walked over to the chart hanging at the foot of his bed, and quickly scanned the scrawled doctor’s notes.
“Dan, you broke three ribs.”
“I’m used to it.” he replied, his chuckling interrupted once more by a stroke of pain. I sat myself at the foot of his bed, and placed my hand on one of his knees.
“Look, I just... I’m sorry about how I acted last night. I’m not very good when I have to deal with a lot of emotions. I can’t... I can’t believe I treated you like that.” I confessed, still shocked at my coldness towards him from last night.
“You were trying to protect yourself from my overbearing charm, I understand.” he joked, pausing to cough painfully mid-sentence.
I grinned sadly, and patted his knee sympathetically. “Thank you.” I began after a long pause of just staring at the dirty white floor. “Thank you for everything you said.”
“No problem, love.” he said, smiling weakly.
I shifted from my position at the foot of his bed, and leaned over him so that my hair hung on either side of his face while I gazed into his eyes. I heard him swallow, and I moved myself closer to his face, attaching my lips to his for a brief moment. I left him staring at me, shocked, while I moved to get up and leave the room.
“Bye Danny.” I whispered, closing the door softly behind me before I could hear his response.
---
As my feet led me to the airport lot I had been at a mere hour before, I approached an awkward scene.
“Where have you been?!” I heard Flyzik yell at Jack and Hannah, who were standing together, Jack’s hand around her waist, and both staring awkwardly at random places on the ground.
They replied with two different answers at once, and quickly looked away with reddened cheeks as their eyes met. They changed their answers to match what the other person had said, but their lying was clear.
“You know what, I don’t even care.” Matt said, raising his hands in surrender. “If you need me, I’ll be at the airport bar trying to forget my life.”
“What’s going on?” I asked as I entered the scene while Flyzik marched away, suitcase in hand.
“Nothing.” Jack and Hannah said at the same time, both avoiding eye contact shyly. “GUM?” Hannah asked, sticking out a pack of Orbit in my direction.
I looked over at Alex, and he replied with a shrug.
“Oh my god.” I said after a long pause of thinking.
“What?!” the couple exclaimed, alarmed at the tone of my voice.
“You guys are ridiculous.” I repeated, only to have the three of them look at me in confusion. “What are we, five years old here?” I continued in clarification, but the faces I was replied with still lacked clarity. “THEY SLEPT TOGETHER.” I announced, only to see Alex’s face light up in understanding and Jack and Hannah’s darken with pigment.
“OHHHHHHH.” Alex said.
“No? Us? What? Psht? No way? We were... Uhh.. Packing... And... I NEED TO GO BAKE.” Hannah exclaimed, biting her lip in anxiety.
“I KNEW IT.” I shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at her. Jack stopped his charade, and pulled her in closer, placing a kiss on her head. A smile sprawled across his face as he made eye contact with Alex, and then diverted his attention back to the twitching girl in his arms.
“Don’t we have a flight to catch?” Jack asked, breaking the silence.
“Yeah.” I chuckled, shaking my head until my gaze caught up with Alex’s. I diverted my eyes, blinking away the thought, and proceeded towards the gate entrance after scooping Hannah’s arm with mine.
“Hannah, your best friend’s behind you.” I said, inducing another round of red cheeks.
“I hate you.” she whispered, punching me lightly on the arm. I chuckled as we led the two trailing boys who were immersed in chatter towards the terminal from which our flight home was leaving in an hour.
I laughed to myself softly as our always stressed tour manager paced around the airport parking lot, glancing at his watch every three seconds. I was standing with my arm around Selma’s waist as we all waited for Jack and Hannah to arrive. Selma had tried calling them multiple times, but neither one answered their phones. Though none of us were worried, Flyzik did not like having two members of the band and crew missing three hours before our flight home. Some crew members like Danny, Jeff, Grieco, Ian, and Evan boarded flights that had left hours before, and only a handful of us remained, still exhausted from the night before and dying to go home.
“I’m quitting my job. I’m quitting my job.” he kept repeating as he scanned every incoming car for traces of the lost couple.
“Look, I have to go take care of something.” Selma whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. She spun around, placing a light kiss on my cheek, and walking away into the distance.
“AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?” Matt chimed in once he noticed her leaving.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go find Jack and Hannah.” I replied, but before he could protest, I reminded him of the last time they were missing.
“Fine.” he agreed, downing the rest of the extra-large coffee he had purchased for himself only minutes before.
-Selma’s POV-
The buildings zoomed by as the cab I had climbed into sped through the British streets. Glancing down at my phone to confirm the address, I told the driver to slam on the brakes once I had reached the destination. I slipped him the money I owed him, and climbed out of the dark green vehicle, only to have it speed off moments later. I wasn’t sure why I was here, but I had to make things right.
After navigating through the various hallways of the building complex, I came across the room to which the secretary had ushered me. Knocking quietly, I heard a stern ‘What?’ reply to me, and I immediately regretted my decision. Overcoming the anger beginning to boil within me, I sighed and proceeded to turn the knob, entering a cold, dreary hospital room. Scanning the room for traces of life, my eyes finally came across the petite figure laying in one of the familiarly dreary cots.
“What do you want?” she asked, her voice echoing the temperature of the room.
“Look, Lisa.” I began after a lengthened pause I used to calm myself down. “We need to talk.”
“I don’t need to talk to you. I’ll stay out of the way, happy?”
“I’m not that kind of person.” I cried out. “You think I have some kind of hatred towards you just because you were Alex’s first love? You think I spend my time plotting ways to get you out of the picture?”
“I would.”
“Well, maybe I’m not like you.” I replied, a knot of anger forming itself inside of my throat.
“Which makes me even more confused as to why Alex is dating you.”
I chuckled softly, shaking my head with confirmation that this was a bad idea. “I just came down here to try to make things better, but I guess I was just being stupid. So, bye.” I said quietly, turning around to leave.
“Wait-” she whispered. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just that, he was my everything. And then I watched him grow more and more distant, and no matter how much I denied it, my entire world was turning upside down. Seven years, Selma. Seven years. Do you know how difficult it is to let go after that? To just be thrown away after he meets another girl he instantly falls in love with? But I still denied it, so I kept trying to see him, and when I finally did, I see him look at you like he’s never looked at me before, and everything just shatters.” The tears had welled up in her eyes, and she immediately jerked an arm to wipe them away. “In that moment, he made me feel as though I didn’t matter. As though I never mattered. And that’s hard.”
As I gaped at her, trying to take everything in, I felt a sudden emotional connection to her. I had been thrown away multiple times in my life, and I felt guilty being the cause of someone else’s misery. Before I could respond, she continued. “So I’m sorry if I’m this giant bitch to you, but... I just... I can’t seem to stop convincing myself that it’s not over. Even though I know it is. I’m sorry.”
“D-Don’t apologize. If I could... Do something, I would but-”
“I know you can’t. And I’ll get over it soon enough, but for now, I just need distance. So, if you don’t mind...” she began, and I took the hint.
“Yeah, of course.” I whispered, nodding in agreement. “Bye” I stammered and went to open the door to leave her room.
“Oh and, Danny’s in the room next door. He’s been asking about you, so you may want to visit him.”
My nod was barely visible, and I silently shut the door to her room and proceeded to the one next door, knocking in the same quiet fashion.
“Danny?” I whispered, cracking the door open so that I could peer into the room. Upon seeing him sleeping on his cot, I went to shut the door, only to be stopped by his voice.
“Selma?” he croaked out, rubbing his eyes so that his vision would clear. “Is that you?”
Without answering, I opened the door fully and stepped in. “Hey...” I whispered.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I was in here visiting Lis- Wait, I should be asking you that question.” I said, suddenly noticing the bandage stretching around his chest.
“Wha? Oh, this. It’s nothing, I got into a bar fight. It’s not a big deal.” he replied, choking on pain as he tried to readjust himself into a sitting position. I walked over to the chart hanging at the foot of his bed, and quickly scanned the scrawled doctor’s notes.
“Dan, you broke three ribs.”
“I’m used to it.” he replied, his chuckling interrupted once more by a stroke of pain. I sat myself at the foot of his bed, and placed my hand on one of his knees.
“Look, I just... I’m sorry about how I acted last night. I’m not very good when I have to deal with a lot of emotions. I can’t... I can’t believe I treated you like that.” I confessed, still shocked at my coldness towards him from last night.
“You were trying to protect yourself from my overbearing charm, I understand.” he joked, pausing to cough painfully mid-sentence.
I grinned sadly, and patted his knee sympathetically. “Thank you.” I began after a long pause of just staring at the dirty white floor. “Thank you for everything you said.”
“No problem, love.” he said, smiling weakly.
I shifted from my position at the foot of his bed, and leaned over him so that my hair hung on either side of his face while I gazed into his eyes. I heard him swallow, and I moved myself closer to his face, attaching my lips to his for a brief moment. I left him staring at me, shocked, while I moved to get up and leave the room.
“Bye Danny.” I whispered, closing the door softly behind me before I could hear his response.
---
As my feet led me to the airport lot I had been at a mere hour before, I approached an awkward scene.
“Where have you been?!” I heard Flyzik yell at Jack and Hannah, who were standing together, Jack’s hand around her waist, and both staring awkwardly at random places on the ground.
They replied with two different answers at once, and quickly looked away with reddened cheeks as their eyes met. They changed their answers to match what the other person had said, but their lying was clear.
“You know what, I don’t even care.” Matt said, raising his hands in surrender. “If you need me, I’ll be at the airport bar trying to forget my life.”
“What’s going on?” I asked as I entered the scene while Flyzik marched away, suitcase in hand.
“Nothing.” Jack and Hannah said at the same time, both avoiding eye contact shyly. “GUM?” Hannah asked, sticking out a pack of Orbit in my direction.
I looked over at Alex, and he replied with a shrug.
“Oh my god.” I said after a long pause of thinking.
“What?!” the couple exclaimed, alarmed at the tone of my voice.
“You guys are ridiculous.” I repeated, only to have the three of them look at me in confusion. “What are we, five years old here?” I continued in clarification, but the faces I was replied with still lacked clarity. “THEY SLEPT TOGETHER.” I announced, only to see Alex’s face light up in understanding and Jack and Hannah’s darken with pigment.
“OHHHHHHH.” Alex said.
“No? Us? What? Psht? No way? We were... Uhh.. Packing... And... I NEED TO GO BAKE.” Hannah exclaimed, biting her lip in anxiety.
“I KNEW IT.” I shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at her. Jack stopped his charade, and pulled her in closer, placing a kiss on her head. A smile sprawled across his face as he made eye contact with Alex, and then diverted his attention back to the twitching girl in his arms.
“Don’t we have a flight to catch?” Jack asked, breaking the silence.
“Yeah.” I chuckled, shaking my head until my gaze caught up with Alex’s. I diverted my eyes, blinking away the thought, and proceeded towards the gate entrance after scooping Hannah’s arm with mine.
“Hannah, your best friend’s behind you.” I said, inducing another round of red cheeks.
“I hate you.” she whispered, punching me lightly on the arm. I chuckled as we led the two trailing boys who were immersed in chatter towards the terminal from which our flight home was leaving in an hour.