MENDED

two

saylor

the next morning, the band is on a flight to paris, france. the flight itself is only about an hour and a half, so it's really not too bad. we've already been in the air for seventy or so minutes.

i was sitting by the window, and i was looking out of it. alex was sitting beside me, and miguel was sitting beside them. jessie was sitting on the aisle beside our's, and they were closest to miggy. neither of them were talking; they both looked half asleep as they scrolled through their phones.

i felt a small squeeze on my hand. i turned to my left to look at alex. they were holding my hand, still squeezing it a bit, as they anxiously bounced their leg. their left elbow was propped on their arm rest, and they had their face propped against their fist as they looked around the plane. they looked everywhere but at me.

i frowned as i thought back to last night, when we went out for dinner. they had briefly told me that they were unsure of how to feel about returning to paris, since they were in such a terrible mental space when they lived here. it seems that they're nervous now that we're almost there.

i rubbed my thumb against the back of their hand in an attempt to at least somewhat soothe them. they glanced over at me, and i saw that their brows were furrowed slightly. they were still bouncing their leg.

i reached my free hand up, and i cupped their face. i stroked their cheekbone as well. "hey," i murmured as i held eye contact. "when we land, and after we get everything at the hotel situated, do you wanna go out for breakfast? do you remember any restaurants that you liked here?"

their brows furrowed ever so slightly deeper. they seemed to think for a moment. "oh, there was this one place that i loved to get breakfast at, but it was more of a small, local business or whatever, so we'll have to see if it's still there or if it's still open..." they mumbled.

"yeah?" i gave a soft smile. "we can see then. what do you want to do after that, baby? we've got all day to do whatever we want. maybe you could show me some of your favorite places or anything that you remember?" i suggested. our show is tomorrow night, so we have a free day today.

they thought again. "i think there's a few places that i could show you," they gave a small nod. "but i dunno. i don't remember that much; it's been almost eight years."

"that's okay," i assured. "if anything, we could look something up. or, if you need to, we can stay in the hotel room and do whatever."

they frowned at that. "what? no, we won't— i don't wanna make you sit in a hotel room when you're in paris. i know you've always wanted to visit."

"honestly, as long as i get to spend the day with you, then i don't care what we do," i told them. "just as long as you're comfortable."

their mouth fell open slightly. they looked at me, appearing lost and helpless as they took in my words. their brows furrowed once more. they seemed so confused about the fact that i would do that for them.

they leaned forward, and they pressed their lips against my forehead for a few seconds. "thank you," they mumbled. "i think i'll be fine though; we don't need to stay in the hotel."

"of course," i smiled shyly as they pulled back. i searched their eyes. "if you start to doubt that for even a second though, let me know, okay?"

they gave a small nod. "okay."

it wasn't long before the flight landed, and we were able to get off the plane. of course, as we walked through the airport, me and alex kept a safe distance. paparazzi has been following us pretty often as of late, especially now that we're on tour again; they pretty much have a schedule of where we'll be due to our tour.