hi guys! again, NO IDEAS for this chapter unfortunately, but they say bad writing is better than no writing, right?
date: may eighteenth, 2026
wc: 806
xviii.
soon, the couple had made it to pennsylvania. it was fine, not aella's favorite place, but there had been a carnival that instantly caught aella's attention.
"oh my gods, travis, we should go! play carnival games, get cotton candy-c'mon! what's the point of leaving camp to enjoy our twenties if we won't actually enjoy them!"
"it could be fun," travis shrugged. "and we could get to meet some new people..."
"i'll get my wallet!"
the carnival was amazing. there were these lanterns that floated slightly in the air. at one of the shops, aella got a digital camera for ten dollars. total steal!
"travis! oh my gods, you have to get me that turtle plushie! it's soooo cute, please?"
he grinned, "of course, my fair maiden."
he handed five bucks to the worker.
"alright, it's a pretty easy game. all you have to do is knock all the cups down."
travis nodded, and after about three tries, he got all the cups down. the employee handed him a giant turtle plushie.
"you wouldn't mind holding it, right?" aella smiled, giving it a hug.
travis rolled his eyes. "do i have a choice?"
aella shook her head and kissed his nose.
sitting at the nearby café, travis had already made friends with a blond guy named elijah.
when aella got back from picking up their order, travis waved her over.
"aella! come meet elijah!"
she smiled, stepping into the space beside travis. he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"elijah, this is my girlfriend, aella. she's the one i've been traveling with."
elijah grinned, leaning his head back. he looked high. he put out his fist for a fist-bump, "sweet, nice to meet you, little lady."
aella laughed, bumping her fist with his.
"what are you doing in pennsylvania? you don't really seem like the type," aella wondered aloud.
he shrugged, "i go wherever the wind takes me, man."
aella giggled, looking back at travis. he shrugged and smiled.
elijah began rambling, "you know, when i was in california, there was this huge bear that like, attacked me and my friends. it was totally sick. i got this sick scar from it."
after getting high with him, his stories started seeming funnier than they were scary. travis won aella two more plushies, and kissed her head once she got into the van.
"you looked really nice today. did you do anything different?" he asked.
she shrugged, turning around and changing into her pajamas.
"i wore, makeup? maybe? shit, i don't remember," she laughed. aella cuddled up beside him. he shrugged his arms around her.
"elijah's cool."
"mhm."
when aella and travis first started dating, he confided in her with his lack of friends. yes, he was charming and kind, but that was about it. he felt like a side character in people's lives, showing up every once in a while to pull a prank.
"luke betraying the camp didn't help much either," he would add. "suddenly no one wants to go anywhere near the hermes cabin."
travis was a great guy, sure, but that was it. everyone thought of him as boring, one-sided, just a prankster and a thief.
yet he was so much more. he had cared a lot about the law, despite his kleptomania, and had a strong sense of justice. he couldn't stop drinking after luke died because being sober reminded him of his older brother.
in ohio, it was boring and dry. they had been staying in a motel of a small town for a while, and travis had taken up a job in a cafe.
the people there were judgy. whenever aella would leave the van or room, people would stare, whisper, or even point. she had no idea why, she thought she looked pretty normal.
one boy even started laughing hysterically, shouting, "mommy! mommy, look at that homeless girl!"
technically, she was homeless, but it still hurt!
aella's new digital camera was the light of her life. suddenly, she was taking photos of anything and everything, and she believed the quality to be great.
"indiana is just a few hours away," she'd whisper to herself at night.
she never thought of herself with having separation anxiety, but being so far from aaron was getting to her. she'd been taking care of him his whole life, then he just ups and leaves?
so she called him.
"aaron? this is aella."
he yawned, "aella, it's like, two am. is there something wrong? i have class tomorrow morning."
"no! no, nothing! i was just wondering if you were okay. i'm in ohio right now."
"okay," he mumbled into the phone, half-asleep.
"i don't know when we'll be in indiana, but soon, i swear!"
"okayy."
"and i also have a ton more stuff. i'm working on getting a job there."
"okay. good night, aella."
click.
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hi loves! i hope you've enjoyed this chapter lolll i feel like aella's character changed a bit! but it's great. i wonder how indiana will be like?
-ice <3