The plane ride was quiet other than a baby crying every now and then—it sat right across from us. Xander kept eyeing the little boy in hopes in would keep quiet, but he ultimately failed.

Xander turned away from the baby and stared at the seat in front of him. "Can't that little human shut his trap?"

Penny and I turned to Xander in annoyance.

"Maybe if you ask him nicely." Penny told him.

"You're an idiot if you think that will work." Xander snapped at him and crossed his arms. Penny raised his eyebrows and nodded his head in agreement.

"You're right, it never works with you."

Xander glared at his brother while I tried to hold in my laugh. The flight was only two hours in and the peace had already been disturbed.

"Going on a six hour flight to our hometown sure feels like a trip to hell." Xander snarled.

"Understand why I didn't want to go back?" Penny asked him rhetorically.

"I understand completely, brother. But you should also understand that if we didn't, your girlfriend's heart would be in a wooden box by now."

Penny gave him a glare before squeezing my hand a little tighter. He turned his head and looked at me. He didn't say anything, although his eyes did most of the talking. He was concerned.

"I'll be okay," I shook off Xander's words. "But if I have to listen to Xander babbling on about my heart being in a box, I won't be."

"Might I remind you that I saved your life?" Xander peeked his head passed Penny to look at me.

"Might I remind you that we have four hours left on this flight and you're already getting on my nerves?"

"Oh, but you're the one getting on mine, love."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"How about we stay quiet for the rest of the flight?" Penny suggested, shrugging his shoulders between Xander and I.

"No," Xander looked at his brother and quickly looked back at me. "You want to know what I think?"

I hummed a yes.

"I think you're a little brat who is very unappreciative towards the people who give a damn about her."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, sweetheart."

"Xander, I will hit you so hard that you'll pass out until we get to Vienna." Penny threatened him, his eyes going wide.

"You wouldn't dare." Xander grinned.

"If not me, Ariana will," Penny turned his head to look at me. A smile creeped up on his face. "She's a badass."

I shook my head with a sly grin. I knew exactly what he was talking about: I hit Henry Bowers so many times that I had lost count. Patrick Hockstetter was an exception.

"A badass, huh?"

The rest of the flight consisted of me attempting to sleep on Penny's shoulder, even though it didn't work out very well. My thoughts kept me awake, along with the feeling of fear and guilt that hit me every so often.

I asked myself whether or not I should call Bill to tell him that I've left—or if he noticed that I left, I could tell him that I'm okay. That I'm safe, and I won't be home for a little while. A long while.

I knew my father wouldn't be worried about me. He wouldn't notice I was gone, although I'm worried about how well he'll take care of himself. He never did take care of himself; too much alcohol, smoking, and late nights. He wasn't always like that, but it got worse over the years—he was the one supposed to be taking care of me, and instead, I was the one taking care of him.

I shuffled in my seat.

I saw Penny look at me from the corner of my eye. "Are you alright?"

I blinked and took my head off his shoulder. Looking him in the eyes, I shook my head. "I'm just thinking."

Penny shuffled in his seat as well. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I looked past Penny to see Xander sleeping in his seat. Sighing, I turned back to Penny. "I don't know how to tell Bill and the rest of my friends that I'm leaving," I tried to contemplate the words. "That I'm already gone, and I didn't even say goodbye."

His eyes wandered down and stopped at the floor. "I'm sure they'll understand."

I felt my cheeks grow warm. "How will they understand when I don't even have an excuse? How am I supposed to tell them that they'll never see me again?"

Penny shook his head lightly. "They'll see you again. It might just," He paused and looked back up at me. "It might be a little while."

I frowned. "How long?"

He gathered his words and furrowed his eyebrows. "As long as it takes until you're safe again."

"Are they safe?" I asked him. "What about Bill? He saw you, and so did Henry."

"They'll be fine, Ariana," Penny told me and grabbed my hand. "They don't know about me. They don't know about us."

I couldn't believe I was thinking this. I wanted Henry Bowers to be safe, along with the rest of my friends. It didn't matter if he had hurt others, including my friends, multiple times. He was just a kid, along with the rest of us. Even if he did deserve to get punched sometimes.

"They'll be safe." He assured me.

"Do you think it would be alright if I could just talk to Bill?" I asked him. "Just to let him know that I'm okay?"

Penny sighed and looked down at our hands. I knew why he was hesitant, and I didn't blame him. Calling my friend would risk putting them in danger, as well as putting us in more danger than we were already in.

"One phone call. Only one. We can't risk being tracked down."

I smiled lightly and nodded my head.

The hours passed slowly. Xander slept most of the time, and I fell asleep for at least ten minutes on Penny's shoulder before waking up again. I could tell that Penny couldn't rest, either.

Before I knew it, the plane started landing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts. The plane is about to land."

I heard Xander grumble.

"Thank God, I want to get off this thing."

"You were sleeping for over half of it." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I didn't want to hear your meddling voice for another minute, darling." He snapped.

"And I'm glad we didn't have to hear yours." Penny told his brother.

Xander rolled his eyes and stared ahead of himself.

The plane started to shake, and I grabbed onto Penny's hand. He looked down at me and gave me a smile, leaning in closer to me.

"You are now arriving in Vienna, Austria."

Once the plane landed, Xander grabbed my suitcase from the overhead bin. I told him thank you, only to earn a small scoff from him. After he walked towered the exit, I looked to Penny.

"Does he have to be such a jerk?"

Penny chuckled. "You'll get used to it."

We caught up to Xander, who had already walked off the plane. There were hundreds of people surrounding us, all of which looked different from the people in Derry. There were signs all around us with the words Vienna, Austria.

"I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Xander smirked.

➢➢➢

Oh hey, Xander.

Short chapter? I may or may not have a chapter already being written. I can't wait for you guys to read it. I love you! ♥︎

Quote of the Day:
"How have you been?"
"Emotional hell."
-Ross Geller