Unseen Girl of Danger

Season 5; Chapter 9

Yleana stood with her arms folded against her chest as she waited to be boarded onto the next plane. It was 4:33 in the morning and her flight to California was scheduled to leave at 5. She was starting college the next day so it was necessary that she arrived in California that day. The only flight that hadn't been completely booked already for that day was the 5 A.M. option so of course she had to choose it. What sucked about it though was that she knew it meant she wouldn't be able to give one last proper goodbye to her friends since it was pretty early in the morning. 

She looked at the time on her phone which read 4:35 and sighed. Her eyes wandered around the airport, curious of what all was in it. A few things caught her eye such as a hat cart, a gift shop, and a snack bar but other than that, she was extremely bored. She looked down at the grey carry on bag in her left hand, debating on getting her earbuds out so she could listen to music when she heard her name called by five familiar voices. Her head whipped over in the direction she heard the call from and a wide grin spread on her face once she saw Ray, Henry, Schwoz, Jasper, and Charlotte. She dropped her bag on the floor and sprinted over to her team, incredibly happy to see them one last time before she left.

"What are you guys doing here?" Yleana asked once she reached them.

"We came to say goodbye to you, of course," Charlotte said.

"It's four something in the morning, you guys hate waking up early," Yleana commented.

"Eh, some things are worth it," Schwoz responded, warming her heart.

"Yleana, I'm really gonna miss you," Charlotte said, "It's gonna suck being the only girl on the team. We've been friends for so long, it'll be so strange for you to be gone. And don't replace me while you're gone, we'll need to call every night to have our usual girl talks. I really will miss you, Yleana."

Yleana smiled and brought Charlotte into a hug, holding it for a while.

"Oh, are we doing speeches?" Jasper asked.

"No, you-" Yleana began but Jasper quickly shushed her, pressing his fingers against her lips.

"I still think you shouldn't go and just stay with us forever but," he sighed, "The others told me I have to be supportive. It's gonna be weird not having you around at work and school. Our friend group isn't going to be whole for a while. As much as I don't want to miss you, I really will."

Before Yleana could do or say anything in response, Jasper pulled her into a bone crushing hug, making her look like a squeezed dog toy.

"Jasper!" Yleana choked out, "Can't- breathe!"

"Oh, oops!" Jasper said, letting go of her, "My bad."

Ray cleared his throat and pushed Jasper aside, "My turn, I believe. Now, since I didn't know we were doing speeches, I didn't prepare at all," he quickly pulled out a small bundle of brightly colored sticky notes with lots of writing on them and began reading them off, "Yleana. As your boss, now former boss, I don't want you to leave, not one bit. But as your dad, I do want you to follow your dreams and if this is it then you go catch that dream. But I'm going to miss you. You brought something unique and extraordinary to our Man Team and even though I'm not ready to say goodbye, I guess I have to. So goodbye, kid. I'll miss you."

Without any hesitation, Yleana wrapped her arms around her biological dad in a hug. They held the hug for a good ten seconds before letting go.

"I guess it's my turn," Schwoz spoke up, "I'll miss you. It was nice having you around. When you visit, don't forget to bring us something from Cali!"

"Schwoz!" Charlotte scolded.

"Vaaat?" Schwoz asked, looking at her as though he hadn't done anything.

Yleana chuckled then looked at Henry who seemed to have been staring at her the whole time.

"Can I steal you away from the others for a bit?" Henry asked in a whisper.

Yleana nodded and Henry took ahold of her hand, leading her away from the others so they were a good twenty feet away.

"Yeah?" Yleana asked.

"...I'm gonna miss you," Henry told her honestly, "I'm gonna miss you so much. I'm not ready for you to leave because I don't know what's going to happen with you so far away and that scares me. We haven't been so far apart since ever. We've always been attached at the hip and now we won't be. Ever since we were four years old, we've been making so many memories that are going to last forever.

"Part of me feels like once you leave, the memories will too but I know that's not the case. You and I have been through so much together and now you're going to be hundreds of miles away. I'm not ready, Yleana, I'm not ready, I'm not-"

He broke himself off as it became too emotional. He wiped away the tears falling down his cheeks and continued, "Sorry, I'm not usually this emotional, you know that. But even though I know I need to stay here in Swellview, my heart wants me to get on that plane with you because my heart belongs with you. It belongs with you. And I don't want you to go. I really, really don't.

"It's killing me that you won't be so close anymore. Since fourth grade you've always lived right next door and now you're going to be all the way in California? I'm not ready, I'm not. I'm gonna miss you so, so much. We have to text and call everyday and you better be visiting every vacation you get. I'm really going to miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too," Yleana uttered out, crying because of Henry's words, "So much."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly, crying into the crook of his neck as he held her closer than ever. It was almost like they were scared to let go of each other, they were hugging for a good four minutes. A loud voice spoke over the speakers, announcing that the plane was taking off in ten minutes. The couple slowly let go of each other and Yleana looked over to the plane where the last few people were boarding and swallowed.

"I gotta go now," she said, the sentence very difficult for her to say.

Henry pulled her forward and kissed her forehead then looked into her eyes.

"I love you," he said quietly, "Forever and always."

"I love you too," Yleana said, her tears beginning to fall again.

She let go of his hands she had been holding then turned, picked up her carry on bag, and began running to the plane. Halfway there, she stopped suddenly and looked back at her friends, Henry having rejoined the rest of the group. She dropped her bag again and sprinted back over to her friends, giving them all one big group hug. It felt as though any words that had been left unspoken were being said without speaking through the hug. Every ounce of Yleana wanted her to never let go of them. They were her safe place. They were her home. But she knew she had to let go. Her dreams were calling her to California, she had to leave. The group finally let go and stayed silent for a while, feeling like they were never gonna have a moment like that ever again.

"There's only one thing left to do," Ray inhaled and held it for a few seconds then began singing, "Na, na, na, na."

The others immediately caught on and joined him in singing, "Na, na, na, na. He-e-ey, goodbye!"

Yleana laughed lightly and wiped away her tears as she looked at her friends.

"Goodbye, guys."

She gave them one last hug then turned and ran to the airplane again, this time making it all the way there. She boarded it and took her seat after setting her carry on bag under it.

A few minutes later, the plane slowly began moving forward. Yleana looked out the window to see her friends waving just before the plane took off completely. She knew they couldn't see her but she still waved back and didn't stop until all she could see of the city below her was the lights.

~Goodbyes are not forever. Goodbyes are not the end. They simply mean 'I'll miss you, until we meet again!'~