Page 13 of Real Tree / Fake Boyfriend

Is it supposed to be this fucking loud?

“I’mnot,” Julien lied. His heart felt as if it would explode.Is the pressure in the cabin not right? Will it explode? Maybe I have a heart condition I don’t know about, and the plane taking off is going to cause me to have aheart attack.

He held his breath and waited for his lungs to burst.Any second now.

“Julien, hey, come on, look at me. We haven’t even taken off yet. What do you need?” Tyler asked. A warm hand settled on his forearm, and Julien finally opened his eyes.

They were still on the ground.

Julien exhaled. “I don’t know. What if we crash?” He swallowed a lump and looked out the window as the plane sped up.

“We’re not going to crash.” Tyler pulled out another piece of gum. “Here, chew this. It’ll help. Have you flown before?” Tyler asked him.

The strong mint flavor of the gum did distract him enough that he wasn’t staring out the window in sheer panic.

“No,” he answered. There was a high-pitched noise as they began to really speed up, and he grabbed at the armrest but missed and gripped Tyler’s thigh instead.

Tyler immediately put his hand over Julien’s, and Julien expected him to shove it away. But he didn’t. “Come here.Look at me, alright? It’s fine.” Tyler laced their fingers together.

Julien was embarrassed by how hard he clutched the guy’s hand. If there was one thing he hated, it was appearing weak.

“There’s nothing to worry about. The chances of something happening are slim, and it’s a short flight. I’ve done this so many times.”

Tyler leaned over, and for a moment, Julien thought Tyler would kiss him, but instead, he pulled the shade down on the window.

“Wait, what if something happens, and we don’t see it?” His stomach lurched, and Julien knew they had just taken off. “Fuck,” he growled.

“It’snotgoing to happen. If it does, cameras and people are watching. They’ll know if there’s something wrong,” Tyler spoke as if placating a child. His free hand landed on Julien’s knee and gave a comforting squeeze and gentle rub.

Julien nodded, trying to relax. His ears popped. He was grateful for the gum but not as appreciativeas he was for Tyler’s calm voice, which repeated that everything was fine. Jules almost believed it until his stomach lurched. He tasted metal.

Scrambling, he reached into the pocket in front of his seat for the barf bag he had noticed and opened it just in time to gag and vomit up the contents of his stomach.

Tyler’s hand moved from his knee to his back. “Shit,” he breathed. “Let it out. It’s fine.” He rubbed soothing circles between Julien’s shoulders as the waves of nausea continued to hit, and he heaved into the bag.

This was mortifying. Jules couldn’t exactly understand how he had gotten into this position. Tyler would think he was pathetic. Mainly because there were tears in his eyes from the exertion of vomiting. The lady in the aisle seat of their row had shifted to the edge of the chair to try to get as far away as possible.

Finally, the vomiting stopped, and Julien closed the bag. “Fuck. I’m sorry,” he said to both Tyler and the lady.

She just put in her headphones and closed her eyes.

Tyler, though, shook his head. The gentle rubbing didn’t stop, and Julien didn’t know the last time someone had touched him with such gentleness.

“Don’t be,” Tyler said sternly. “I should have thought to ask you about all this. I bet Dramamine would have helped. I’ll make sure to get some for the trip back.”

Oh, fuck, we’ll have to do this again.

Julien sighed and tried to shift into the tight seat to feel comfortable. His knees knocked the seat in front of him. Whenever he moved, he felt like he was jostling Tyler, or his hip hit the armrest.

Eventually, the flight attendant came over, took the barf bag from him, and offered him ginger ale with such a sweet and sympathetic tone, Julien wanted to growl at her. He still took the ginger ale and drank it in small sips.

“Only forty-five minutes to go,” Tyler encouraged him. He moved the armrest up, giving Julien more space to breathe. It meant their sides were pushed against each other, and Tyler’s hand had moved from his back. The loss was enough to make Julien feel as if he were teetering on the edge of anxietyonce more.

“I’ll be fine.” Julien was still tense and panicky, but at least they hadn’t fallen out of the sky yet.

Tyler adjusted his position. Then his hand slid into Julien’s once more. Jules relaxed at the touch.

“My dad will probably pick us up. He’s pretty quiet. I think he’ll like you. I mean, I don’t really know how he is going to be. I’ve never introduced my parents to anyone. But I think it’ll be fine.”

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