"Don't be ridiculous, Gray! Come on, sit down for a second." Shane groans.

"No, I can't just sit here. I can't just...no!" I exclaim.

"So you're just running off to Mexico? Come on, Gray. Think about this for a second! You can't just go to Mexico." He repeats slowly.

"Why not?" I ask, waiting for a reply that actually makes sense.

"Because it's insane! You have no idea where she's even going to be! Hell, you haven't even been outside of California, let alone the country!" He exclaims.

"Does it really look like I care right now?" I ask, gathering a few things together from the bathroom.

"It doesn't really look like you're thinking at all right now!" He exclaims.

"Look!" I exclaim in reply. "I get it, okay? You're upset. I'm upset. Sofia is upset. We're all having problems with this. I get it, okay? But Natalia means something to me. She means everything to me. I'm not going to let you dictate this situation. This is my life. I didn't try and get in the way of anything you've wanted to do in life. I didn't try stopping you when you wanted to Rush in college, or when we joined Sigma Nu for a week. I didn't stop you when you insisted on moving in with that girl you started dating in college and only knew for like, a month. I didn't even fight it when you told me that you were in love with my sister. So right now, I need you to do for me what I've always done for you. Please?"

"I...God damnit, Gray." Shane mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Shane." I sigh.

"Fine!" He exclaims. "Do what you want. But all I've ever done was try and protect you from shit like this."

"Okay, but you don't have to protect me from this! I'm a grown man, Shane. I'm nearly thirty. I can take care of myself." I explain.

"Barely." He mutters under his breath.

"You know what, Shane? I get that you think I'm so fucking different from everyone else. Poor Grayson, right? On the Spectrum and unable to fend for himself. Well you know what? I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. You can't hold my hand throughout my entire life. I'm doing this, Shane. End of discussion."

"It's always end of discussion with you." He scoffs.

Instead of replying, I ignore him. Sometimes, ignoring Shane is the only way he'll get the hint.

"Oh no. No, no. You're not about to start this." He says, standing up and following me as I enter my bedroom, staring down at my phone screen.

Andrew.

Alex.

AT&T.

Blake.

Brandon.

"Gray. Are you even listening to me?" Shane asks.

Brayden.

Cara.

Clark.

"Grayson. Listen to me." He repeats.

"Diana." I mutter.

"Diana?" He questions.

I press Diana's number quickly and hold the phone against my ear before walking back into the kitchen.

"Diana Sullivan? What do you need with Diana?" Shane asks, following right behind me.

"Hello?" I hear Diana ask, answering after only a few seconds.

"Diana. Hi. It's Grayson. Grayson Parker." I inform her.

"I know, I have your number saved. Is everything okay?" She questions.

"I need you to book me a flight." I tell her.

"A...flight? Grayson, I haven't worked at GRIP in awhile." She laughs on the other end of the phone.

"I know." I nod. "But I need help. I'll pay you, just...you're the one person that was always able to plan things and I'm not good at it." I admit.

"I...okay." She mutters. "Where are you needing the flight to and from?" She asks.

"Mexico." I reply.

"Mexico?" She questions. "That's exciting. Vacation?" She asks.

"Something like that." I mutter.

"When?" She asks.

"First available flight." I reply.

"First available? Are you sure?" She asks. "Oh, wait. Hold on one second. I've got another call." She replies before putting me on hold.

I look down at the phone with confusion before hearing Shane's voice behind me once more.

"Diana. Hey, it's Shane. Yeah, yeah. Hey, I think I'm actually going to be the one booking Grayson's flight. He's just a little rushed right now. Sorry to both you. Yeah, have a great day. Take care." He speaks into the phone.

"What are you doing?" I ask as he hangs up his phone and then grabs mine out of my hand.

"I'm not letting you bother our old employees to book a flight for you. God, I'll help you book the stupid flight." He grumbles, pushing me back into my bedroom. "Give me your laptop."

I let out a sigh and hand him my laptop. I watch him type some information into the browser before looking up at me with a questioning look.

"There's two airports here. I'll just book your flight going into Zacatecas International Airport. I'm sure you'll be able to get a ride wherever you need to go from there. There's a flight leaving in an hour, but that's way too soon. I know you're in a rush to get to her, but I'm booking your flight for tomorrow. That way, you can figure out a game plan. You won't feel as rushed if you have the rest of today to figure it out. It's a pretty short flight from LAX. Only three hours or so. I've got a first class seat here for you. I'm booking it under my rewards program, though. I'm getting all of these mileage points." He says, giving me a small smile.

"That's fine." I sigh in relief. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He nods.

We sit in silence for a few minutes before I finally break it.

"I've never had to fly before." I reply.

"Sofia and I will go to the airport with you. Until they don't let us go any further, okay? And you can just FaceTime us until you get to your terminal." He suggests.

"Maybe I do need you guys for everything." I mutter.

"No. You don't. You're doing this all on your own." He replies. "But that doesn't mean we can't be there to support you." He shrugs.

"Yeah..." I sigh. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"I have no idea what you're doing, either. But you'll figure it out. Now come on. Finish packing and let's go."

"Where?" I ask.

"We're going to her parent's restaurant. We'll ask them where we can find her." He replies.

"What if they aren't there?" I ask.

"Then we'll ask someone else who knows." He replies, sounding so sure of himself.

I know that even when I'm on my own in this, I'll have to be as sure of myself as he is right now.

-

Don't worry everyone. It's about to get REALLY good.