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Chapter Three

"Fuck," Colton moans as he cups his face. He looks almost the same. His eyes are still an eccentric green and his hair is still messy and chocolate brown. "You really missed me, huh?"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I ask him as I grab my backpack and shove it into the overhead bin.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Colton asks. He wipes his nose on his sleeve and shoves his bag into the overhead bin. "I thought you were in Boston, you know Harvard or whatever." He looks at me over his shoulder.

"Why do you remember that?" I ask him. Colton shrugs. "Why are you here?"

"I was visiting a family friend."

"Everyone, please take your seat. The seatbelt sign is now on," the captain announces.

I sigh and sit down in the window seat. Colton sits in the aisle seat. "Are you going home for the holidays?" Colton asks after a minute of silence.

"Yeah." I yawn. "I'm sorry I punched you."

Colton shrugs, a grin tugging at his lips. "I just took it as a 'nice to see you, Colton!' kind of thing."

I smile, despite not wanting to. "I guess it kind of was."

The plane starts moving. "Do you want some gum?" Colton asks. He seems to be chewing a few pieces. "You know, so your ears don't pop as much."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Colton hands me a pack of gum. I take two pieces and hand it back to him.

"You look tired," Colton tells me.

"What does that mean? It looks like your hairline is receding," I say with a frown.

"You look tired, Andy. I was going to ask you if everything is okay." Colton rolls a gum wrapper between his fingers.

"I'm...I'm okay," I tell him.

He smiles. "You're still aggressive and confrontational."

I smile back. "I guess some things never change."

"It's gonna be a long flight, huh? Like six hours or something," Colton says.

"That's what happens when you fly from New York to Washington." The plane takes off and leaves me and Colton in silence.

It's odd to be around Colton. The last time I saw him must have been around Graduation. And now we're on a plane together for six hours. Surprisingly, it's not nearly as awkward as I would have thought. We didn't end on good terms.

And it's...almost nice to be around him. Before Colton and I were romantically involved, we were pretty good friends. Really good, actually. I frown as I remember what it was like. The memories are slightly faded by now. Now, I have too many medical textbooks crammed into my head.

"How have you been?" I ask suddenly, looking at Colton.

"I've been okay," he says.

"What did you end up doing after high school?" I ask as I rub my neck.

Colton smiles sheepishly. "I got a degree in Photography."

A smile spreads over my face. "That's great! I'm so proud of you, Colton."

Colton frowns. "Wait, you're not pregnant, are you? Is that why you said something nice to me?"

"You're still a dick," I tell him.

He grins. "Sorry. I was joking."

I shake my head, trying not to smile. "I'm not pregnant and I don't plan on being for a while."