Between the Lines | ✓

Cliche 21: Shoulders Are the Best Pillows

I felt my stomach drop when I saw Elias and Aubrey already waiting for us at the bus stop, duffel bags by their feet and sitting side-by-side on the bench. The two of them were locked in conversation, Aubrey's hands excitedly gesticulating in the air as Elias listened to her with focused attention, like she was the most important thing in his world, like nothing else was worth his attention. 

"Look at them, they're so in love," I whimpered, turning to Amber and pitifully grabbing her arm. "Is it too late to back out of the trip now? I don't think I can do this, Ambs."

"Well, considering Elias just noticed our presence and is waving at us, it's definitely too late," Amber sighed, patting my hand as she hefted her backpack onto her shoulder. "Come on, they're looking at us weird because we're just standing here. Let's go, Lex." My feet refused to move, Amber just rolling her eyes and grabbing my hand to drag me along the footpath behind her.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late," Amber said, Elias and Aubrey staring at her warily, and I felt my sister stiffen beside me. I gave her a reassuring squeeze of the hand before steeling my nerves and looking at my friends, internally screeching as I saw Elias's perfect face and slightly messy bedhead, which only made my heart shake at his adorable attractiveness.

"No, you're right on time. The bus will be here in five minutes," Elias said as he gave me a small smile, patting the bench next to him. "You should sit while we wait."

There was only room for one more person on the bench, so I hummed, patting Amber on her back and gesturing for her to take the seat, which she did, the lazy ass she is. Elias froze like a boulder when Amber plopped herself next to him, my sister shooting me a helpless look when he almost seemed to shuffle closer to Aubrey.

Oh, yikes. Is the main lead and protagonist's aversion to the once-antagonist ingrained in their DNA or something? Ambs, sorry for dragging you into this mess!

"We're gonna be at the snow for three nights, but you guys only have one bag?" Aubrey asked, surveying the large duffel bag beside me feet before glancing at Amber's small backpack, blue eyes narrowed. 

"Oh, yeah," I said, shrugging. "We just packed our stuff together to save space, no point bringing two bags when all of our stuff could fit into one."'

"That's very... practical," Elias said, hands balling into fists where they rested on his shapely thighs, Aubrey letting out an oddly choked grunt and gently patting Elias's wrist, making me turn my eyes away from the sight abruptly. I could feel the ice pick chipping away at my aching heart at their PDA, and I struggled to keep my face neutral and not burst into tears. 

I was thankful when the bus finally pulled up, the four of us piling on. Elias got on first, shoving his and Aubrey's bags up onto the bag compartment above our heads, before climbing into one of the seats and leaning against the window. As the seats were in a two-by-two configuration, the seat beside him was empty but had the words 'Reserved for the Protagonist' slathered in invisible writing across it. I shuffled further along the aisle, beginning to slide into the set of seats behind Elias, when a small hand with surprising ferocity grabbed onto the back of my shirt, jerking me back.

"That's my seat, Alex!" Aubrey chirped, her slender frame worming its way between me and the seat, somehow managing to slither between the small gap. "You should sit with Elias so Amber and I can have some girl time and get to know each other better!"

Haaaah?! Aubrey, Miss, are you completely empty in the head? Why would you choose to sit next to your ex-nemesis instead of the love of your life?! If you're being shy, there's no need to be! We all know about your feelings for Elias, you don't need to play hard to get!