It was nearing noon, and I was running around my dorm like a crazed person trying to get all of my stuff packed.

"I'm gonna miss you," Nadia murmured, sitting on her bed, half-asleep.

"I know. Now, why don't you get down here and help me pack."

"That seems like a lot of work," Nadia mumbled before flipping to her other side. I loved Nadia, but she could be annoying sometimes. I couldn't blame her, though, since I also loved to sleep in.

After I had placed all the clothes I wanted to take to Hawaii in my suitcase, I started on my carry-on backpack. I had no clue what to take in my carry-on, so I brought everything I could think of. Crossword puzzles, paper, pencils, schoolwork that I was missing during the trip, gum, headphones, a book, and a change of clothes were things that I crammed into my bag as Nadia snored.

When my suitcase and backpack were finally full of everything I needed to take, I walked to the door.

"Bye, Nadia," I whispered.

"Hmm," She hummed, bringing up a limp hand, which I assumed was meant to be a wave.

I checked my phone to see if River was here yet, and saw that he texted that he was in the parking lot a few minutes ago. I hurried down the steps and out into the chilly fall air. After spotting his car, I got in.

"Long time no see," I said, shutting the car door.

"Do you have all your stuff?"

"Yep," I said before he started driving.

"So, how do you feel?" He asked, confusing me.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean after last night..." He trailed off.

"Oh. Yeah, a little sore, but it's fine."

"Good, and Alani?"

"What?"

"Have you looked in the mirror at all this morning?"

"No, I've been busy packing. Why?"

"I might have gotten a little carried away last night," He said, looking at my neck. I instantly got what he was trying to say.

"River!"

"It's not my fault!"

"Yes, it is!"

"Okay, maybe it's sort of my fault."

"What am I going to tell my parents?"

"We're supposedly dating. They expect us to have sex."

"I guess," I said, calming down.

"What about our story?" He asked.

"Our what?"

"Our story. How we decided that we wanted to date."

"Oh, um, just say we got together during the camping trip. It's the closest thing to the truth."

"Okay," He said.

"Don't worry. They already like you."

"I know. Is Quinn going to be there?"

"Yeah. We can avoid her, though."

"Okay, I feel bad."

"Don't. It's fine."

"If you say so."

When we got to the airport, we parked the car and took a bus to the actual airport. It was a little confusing, but River said this is how airports worked. After checking in, we waited in the security line. I was a bit nervous about going through security.

"Are you shaking?" River said, placing his hand on my lower back.

"A little."

"Don't be nervous."

"Thanks, that helps a lot," I said sarcastically.

"It'll be fine," River laughed, "Why are you nervous?"

"What if it beeps when I walk through it?"

"It won't unless you're smuggling something," River joked.

"Not funny."

"Okay, okay. Hold my hand until we get there," River said. I placed my hand in his. We kept moving forward, and my nerves kept getting worse.

River let go of my hand and began to take off his shoes when we got closer to the machines. I did the same.

I had been through metal detectors before, but never this serious of security.

I watched as River walked into the machine and put his hands up as the scanner traveled around him. Then, it was my turn. I took a deep breath and stepped inside, did as they said, and before I knew it, it was over.

"See. That wasn't so bad," River said as we collected our stuff and put on our shoes. Once we were both put back together, we headed toward B3, our gate number.

When we got there, we chose seats next to the window.

"Are you nervous about the flight?" River asked.

"Actually, not at all. I'm kind of excited."

"That's surprising," River laughed.

"Why's that surprising?"

"You were scared to walk through a machine on the ground, but you're fine with flying thousands of miles in the air?"

"Well, when you put it like that."

"Don't worry. I didn't mean to freak you out."

"Do you want to do a crossword puzzle?"

"Not really. That's a lot of unnecessary thinking."

"We're doing one anyway," I said as I got it out of my bag.

"Holy shit. How much stuff do you have in there?" River asked, looking into my bag.

"Just some stuff to do on the plane ride."

"It's only a five-hour flight. I was just planning on sleeping through it."

"Well, that's boring."

"What time are we getting there?"

"Well, there's a time difference, so we'll get there around noon, actually."

"That's freaky. I hate time zones."

"Me too," I said as I got out my crossword puzzle.

"Do an easy one," River said as I flipped through my book.

"You're an education major. I think you can do a hard one."

"I don't feel like thinking."

"Okay, here's an easy one. What's a three-letter word that you spread on toast?"

"Jam. That was easy."

"You told me to do an easy one!"

"Well, I didn't mean that easy."

"Here's a harder question," I said, "Soup alternative."

"Salad. Next."

We kept on going until the entire page was filled with answers, and before we knew it, it was time to board. As we walked onto the plane, I was jumping with excitement. River had to put his hands on my shoulders to stop me from looking like a crazy person.

There was an aisle down the middle, and each row had four seats, separated by the aisle. River and I found our seats that were around the middle of the plane and waited for everyone else to be seated. Once everyone was sitting down, the flight attendant started explaining the procedures in case of an emergency. I listened carefully while River hardly paid attention.

When the plane started moving, a smile found its way on my face.

"You ready?" River asked.

"Yep," I said.

Before I knew it, we were speeding down the runway. I watched out the window as the plane lifted off the ground, and everything became smaller. It was mesmerizing.

"Woah," I said.

"Cool, right?"

"Amazing," I said as the plane flew higher and higher. When we had reached our desired height in the air, I took a deep breath as I heard a camera click. I looked over at River, who had his phone up and pointed toward me.

"Why did you take my picture?"

"You looked cute. Plus, don't you want to remember this moment?"

"Yes, thanks for thinking of that," I responded, reaching into my bag.

"Another crossword?" River asked.

"Nope. Let's do drawing contests."

"Are we five?"

"Sometimes you act like it," I joked as River rolled his eyes.

"Okay, so first, let's each draw a penguin," I said, handing River a pencil and paper.

"This is stupid," River said, but I could tell that he was amused by the smile on his face.

"Get drawing."

"Okay, okay."

We each spent the next five minutes drawing our penguins. I wouldn't say I was a terrific drawer, but I wasn't terrible. I was curious to see how well River was of an artist, though.

"Okay, ready?" I said, hiding my paper from him.

"One, two, three," He counted, and we both turned our papers around.

I burst out laughing. "What the fuck is that?" I exclaimed.

"A penguin," River frowned.

"That looks like a five-year-old drew it," I said, looking at his deformed penguin. The lines were sloppy, and you could tell he had shaky hands while drawing it.

"Well, this is a game for five-year-olds, so that makes sense. Also, why does yours look so good?"

"Talent. Something you're lacking."

"Shut it," He said, "I think my drawing looks great."

"Let's ask somebody," I said, snatching the piece of paper away from him. I asked the person sitting behind us, and they picked mine as the winner.

"I don't like this game," River pouted.

"Sore loser."

"Sore winner."

"That's not a thing."

We continued to play the game for what felt like minutes but was actually hours. We drew mermaids, peacocks, pigs, dragons, shoes, horses, and lots of other stuff. River's always came out looking terrible, but he was trying his best, so I had to give him credit.

Before I knew it, we were landing. As we walked off the plane, I opened my phone to see a text from my mother. She said that she and my dad would be picking up River and me from the airport.

After we got our bags, we went outside and looked for my parent's rental car.

"Hold my hand. We're supposed to be dating, remember?"

"Right," River said, grasping my hand.

When I spotted my parents, River and I walked over and got into the backseat.

"Welcome to Hawaii!" My mom exclaimed, "River! It's so nice to see you again. I'm so glad you and Alani decided to date!"

"Me too," River said, smiling at me, "Me too."