Secondhand Embarrassment

thirty four: operation black bear

lennon || olivia || billy || noah

☼~☼~☼~☼~☼

"this is never going to work," olivia whispers to billy who is pacing around in a circle, counting the tiles beneath the soles of his shoes. skepticism swims in her irises, lining itself in her frown.

"why not?" billy asks, bringing his eyes up from the ground.

"lennon's either going to see noah before we board the plane or they're going to see us talking behind this fake tree," she responds, pinching the artificial green leaf between her fingers. "what made you think wearing yellow was going to be a good idea? you're practically screaming 'look my way!' what part of undercover did you not understand?"

"well i didn't get much sleep last night thanks to someone." he makes a face at her, his tongue poking out slightly from his mouth. "this was the first shirt i found that was clean. and how could you call this a tree? it's obviously a bush."

"are you being serious right now? we're in a crisis and you're arguing with me about plants."

"plants are living organisms too, olivia," he tells her with a boyish grin plastered on his face, flashing his white teeth her way. the teaspoon of confidence he wears on his shirtsleeves has always suited him.

olivia steps out of the way when two young boys playing tag to the pass their time loop around the artificial tree shielding her. a small smile cascades across her face. while she watches the boy run back to their parents, billy shifts his gaze to her.

"what are we going to do if they find out about our plan?"

"operation black bear won't fail if you just keep lennon out of the waiting area for the next twenty minutes," billy replies as if it's obvious.

"why do i have to keep lennon away from the waiting area?" olivia protests. "why can't you keep noah away from the gate instead."

"go to the bathroom or something," he suggests. "don't you girls always go to the bathroom in pairs? in my twenty two years of existence, i've never seen a girl go to the bathroom alone. i still don't really understand that. isn't it awkward having someone listen to you piss?"

"isn't it awkward having your dick out in the open for others to see?"

"no one's looking."

"are you so sure about that?" she rebuts.

"yes," he says with a soft sigh. "now stop making me reevaluate my life, olivia."

"and what if lennon doesn't have to go to the bathroom? have you thought about that?"

"then make her drink some water." billy always has an answer to everything.

"do you really think i'm going to spend my money on overpriced airport water?"

he shrugs. "i wouldn't put it past me. remember when you decided it was a good idea to spend your money on that ugly-"

"stop." olivia laughs, crashing her side into billy. it catches him off guard. it's been such a long time since he's heard her laugh, really laugh -- the kind of laughter that fills the air instantaneously and is contagious upon contact. "you promised you wouldn't mention it again. how do you still remember that?"

"i remember a lot of things, olivia," he tells her softly, their eyes speaking the swirl of emotions directing the pulse of their beating hearts.

and the thing is olivia remembers too. she just can't find the right words in that moment, so she says, "i've been gone too long. lennon's gonna get suspicious. i'll try my best to keep her away from noah, but you have to hold up your part of the deal."

"i will." before she goes, billy says one last thing to her. "i've gotten better at keeping promises, liv."

by the time olivia walks back to the gate, lennon is staring out the glass windows. her hands are tucked in the pockets of her boyfriend jeans, her shoulders drawn forward. people are already starting to board the plane, businessmen with suitcases powering through the lines with their priority and first class tickets.

"what are you looking for?" olivia asks lennon.

"nothing," lennon replies, turning around to walk back to their seats. in a couple of minutes, the flight attendants are going to call the rest of the passengers to board the plane. "i'm just ready to go home."

"it's been a pretty long week."

lennon laughs at the irony. "you're the one telling me."

the two girls roll their carryon suitcases down the jet bridge ten minutes later. they're some of the last passengers on the plane, walking on board to a bunch of vaguely familiar faces they've seen throughout the week. everyone has a glaze coat over their eyes, the time on the clock too early for human function.

lennon stuffs her suitcase in the overhead compartment before turning around. she looks for olivia who is walking toward the back of the plane.

"where are you going?" lennon asks, confusion spreading across her face.

"to my seat," olivia yells back. lennon watches a boy wearing a bright yellow polo help olivia with her suitcase, piling it into the compartment with his head turned to her. all she sees is a head of blonde hair. "what's wrong?"

"i thought your seat was right next to mine," lennon responds, her voice trailing off. "24A right?"

olivia doesn't reply, only offering her an apologetic shrug of the shoulder. lennon turns around on the heels of her shoes, checking her ticket one more time before she walks back to her seat. 24B is clearly printed on the piece of paper.

when lennon arrives at her row, she sees a boy wearing a fitted white t-shirt situated in the seat next to hers. he's staring out the window, headphones in both ears. as she sets her backpack on the ground, the blonde haired boy turns around. a pair of familiar blue eyes and a gentle smile greet her.

her heart drops to her knees. she can't believe it. "noah?"

noah pulls a headphone out of his right ear before he says, "it appears that my brother and your best friend are a match made for hell."

☼~☼~☼~☼~☼