The Best Part of Hello [sample]

04

"I'll go first," Evan whispers, turning so we can hear him. He shoots me a glance and then says, "then Kayla." I only nod my response.

Evan turns to the others, so they can hear him better. "You three wait five minutes and then do the same, but please make sure you aren't seen. I have no idea how we would explain this without it looking fishy,"

The others nod, and Evan steps out of our hiding place and disappears down the black corridor. I wait for a minute, nod at Sophie, Damon, and Tom, and slip out the door and down the same corridor.

I don't like the dark, I never have. It's unnerving, not being able to see properly and have every other sense heightened. I can hear each breath; every step I take like I am hearing sound for the first time. I can taste the cold soup from last night in my mouth and feel the beads of sweat form on my palms. I don't really know where I'm going which makes this whole thing worse. I can barely see, which makes every step a guess in which way I am going. I look over my shoulder as if someone's standing there, lurking in the darkness but of course I can't see anything.

So, I start to walk faster, a slow jog. From Evan's scouting earlier, he had told us that there would be an adjoining corridor that is a back passage for staff to reach the terminals and duty-free. I don't know how he knows all of this, he doesn't seem like the type to care enough about this sort of thing, but the boy is right, and I have to give him that. I reach my left hand out and try to hold onto the wall as I walk, the visibility slowly diminishing by each second.

I start to smell smoke and I'm convinced that I've gone the wrong way. I'm panicking, my hand shaking against the wall.

"Shit."

"There's no need to swear," Evan's voice rings in my ears and I reach out to find him. His back is turned to me, and I grab his neck out of sheer desperation and pull him around, relieved that I've found him. It's a feeling I never thought I'd experience. Evan Winters giving me relief.

"Oh God, don't tell me you're scared of the dark," he murmurs. It's dark so I can't really see his face, but I can tell he's smiling by the way he speaks. "You're such a girl."

"Opposed to anything else?" I say irritably. "As you're a sexist pig but we aren't all pointing out the obvious."

Evan chuckles. "Nothing I've not heard before."

I fist balls up and I have to tell myself to calm down, so it relaxes. "Then why not take it on board, change yourself?" I'm whispering to him but it's loud, or maybe it's because the corridor is so dark, and our voices bounce off the walls. I can vaguely see Evan fiddling with something in his hand, something silver, metallic.

"Kayla, please," Evan's tone suggests he's bored. "I need to concentrate, I don't need an equality lecture right now," he steps aside and pushes against the door. The handle is broken when I reach out and feel.

I roll my eyes despite knowing he won't see. "I wasn't—"

"Kayla, your shirt literally says, 'EQUAL PAY IS FAIR GAME'," he starts to chuckle. "You're the epitome of lectures, stop forcing your opinion on everyone else."

"And?" I'm trying not to be offended.

"And I don't need this right now. You're like one of those Christians that forces Jesus on you. I'm not a feminist and believe equality can only go so far. It's my opinion, alright? Isn't it in the handbook that we are all entitled to that?" He pushes against the door now. I don't answer him. I don't know what to say. "Besides, we need to find Ben and Jess," he adds like he's trying to change the subject.

"You miss her," I confirm from my deductions of the past few days.

"What?" Evan sounds surprised.

"Jess, you miss her," I repeat again.

I hear him scoff. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, it's obvious. You always seem so tense when she is the topic of the conversation. I noticed it on the plane and earlier with the others and even just now. You miss her. And despite the fact you're not going out with her, you still like her," I pause, but he doesn't say anything, so I continue. "It bothers you that she has gone somewhere with Ben. In fact, I'd put money on it that it bothers you just as much as it bothers me."

He remains silent, not even moving to reach out to touch his arm and he freezes just as I do. I don't really know where I'm going with this anymore, but the words pool out of my lips before I can stop them. "That's why you showed me. And it wasn't because you were being a jerk, but because I'm the only one that can relate to your pain. It was your idea to find her. And as much as you pretend not to care about anything, it hurts you that she's just upped and left, probably making out in some room with my boyfriend. You want to be there with her, that's why you never declined or suppressed those rumors about her being your girlfriend. You want her to be yours." I let out a breath and Evan starts to push against the door, ignoring me for what feels like forever. I don't say anything else but watch his dark figure push against the door until he stops and faces me. The corridor is tight, and his chest bumps against mine and we both pull away at the same time.

Evan's voice is low as he speaks. "Don't presume to know my feelings, Kayla, it isn't what you think." But I can feel his hand reach out and I don't know if it's by accident, but he brushes his fingers over mine. His hand drops quicker than it happens, and I know we will never be the best of friends, but I think it's something.

AUTHOR: 

So here we are again. Basically getting my shipping hat on. I've finished with exams so this means that more chapters etc. I'm really excited for the direction of this story and where it is going.

Hope you guys all enjoyed and thank you to the people that have been leaving super nice comments and sending fan art to me. I'm making a collage with all of them in.
Tell me what you think!