You & I

The smoke from her cigarette blurred the view of the young woman as she stood against the wall of the airport waiting for her step brother to come and pick her up. All around her were women and men around her age reuniting; it made her feel physically sick.

She didn’t believe in love, she believed only in infatuation, in fact that was the one thing that had brought her back to LA, the boy that she was infatuated with but had left behind some two years ago. He never did leave her mind for that whole time she had been gone, even when she was sleeping with every boy and girl who would have her.

Flicking the stump across the pavement, she watched as it landed at the feet of a familiar man who looked from the stump to her an amused smile on his face. “I thought you were given up?” he asked as she walked towards him, her suitcase clacking along the pavement behind her.

“I’ll give up when they stop making me feel so good,” she countered wrapping her arms around him. “God I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too Pix,” he whispered back holding her as close to him as physically possible. “How was it?” he asked picking up her suitcase and placing it in the car.

She offloaded everything that had happened since she’d left, every city she’d seen, every person she’d met, everything… everything but one thing. That she was keeping to herself until she was ready to tell other people.

They pulled up outside the familiar apartment block as Pixie finished telling Ryan about how she had spent three months in Africa helping out at an orphanage. “…I felt so sorry for them Ry,” she finished as she climbed out of the car. “It’s taught me how to live every day like it’s my last.” In more ways the one, she thought.

“Like you didn’t already,” he laughed pushing open the door. “Seriously how many notches on your lipstick case have you got?”

“Enough,” she smiled back. She wasn’t ashamed of how promiscuous she had been, it was an amazing part of her life she was free to have the best part of the relationships whenever she wanted with whoever she wanted and that was how she liked it.

Well, that was of course until she started sleeping with him. He had changed everything to the point where she ran away to escape the feelings she had developed for him. The constant need to just hear his voice or see a text from him, she wanted to do more then just have a quickie with him, she wanted to actually date him and she’d never had that before and it scared her. So she ran.

But then she got the life changing news and she found herself wanting to be back in his arms, be on the other end of the phone to him, back in his bed.

But he wasn’t.

“This is your room,” Ryan told her nudging the door open. “It’s got everything you left in there.”

“Thank you,” she smiled at him taking her suitcase off of him. “I’m gonna go and unpack.”

“Okays, I’m gonna go order a pizza,” he told her pulling his phone out of his pocket.

It was surreal being back in America again, she loved it but at the same time she was already missing the coldness of England and the sun of Australia. But she was back in town for the time being at least.

It didn’t take her long to unpack her things and change into her pyjamas; she heard a knock on her door and kicked her open suitcase underneath the bed, hiding the packs of pills from Ryan’s eye line.

“You have visitors,” he sang from the door, his head barely visible.

She pushed up her glasses and followed him into the den, knowing exactly who it was that had come to visit. When she laid eyes on him, the breath was practically taken out of her. He was still as handsome as she had been when she had lift, his hair now in a type of quiff, his eyes framed in glasses much like her own instead of his usual contacts and his legs clad in skinny jeans which didn’t leave too much to the imagination.

“Pix!” Spencer exclaimed as he saw her, Brendon’s head spinning round to look at her, shock and excitement etched into his porcelain features.

“Spencey!” Pixie exclaimed painting on that smile she had perfected so well in the last couple of months. “I’ve missed my bearded friend!” she pinched his cheeks affectionately as she pulled him into a tight hug.

“Spread the love,” Hayley stated opening her arms. “I’ve missed her more!” Pixie was pulled into another hug as she giggled, glad that she was being welcomed back with open arms.

“Pix,” Brendon’s voice rang out from next to her, a painted smile on his face, his arms around her waist in seconds. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered into her ear softly. She revelled in his smell and his warmth, happy to be back in the arms that she belonged in.

“Oh aye Brendon put her down, what would Sarah say?!” Hayley exclaimed causing him to stiffen in her arms and then move away. So that was the new girl Ryan had told her about.

Having a girlfriend wasn’t going to stop anything, she wanted him so she would fight for him.