The First Steps of the Journey PV Closed

Alyeska stepped into the platform and stared at the train, it was intimidating and judging from the crowds outside it would be crowded inside. She took a deep breath, picked up her things and stepped inside. She was right, it was crowded and as she watched people walking around and greeting people they knew she felt shy, well shyer than usual, she always did in big crowds of people.

She walked down the aisles looking in the booths, she wanted to find one that either was empty or only had one or two people in it so that she wouldn’t feel obligated to talk. She began to doubt she’d find one that didn’t have a lot of people when she finally came across one that was empty except for one person, he looked about her age and had longish brown hair. She watched him stare out the window for a moment and then stepped into the booth and sat on the bench opposite of him as she put her stuff down.

She pulled out one romance books she’d slipped into her bag when her mom wasn’t watching and continued to watch him, getting lost in her own thoughts as she did. She’d always been perceptive about people, she could look at them and see how their feeling. He seemed shy and guarded like he didn’t trust people easily and he almost seemed lonely. She realized that she had been staring at him for too long and suddenly felt embarrassed and could tell she was blushing. She tried to focus on her book but her mind kept going back to the boy sitting across from her and she wanted to say something but she didn’t know what to say.

William was lost in his own thoughts until a girl walked into the booth and sat across from him on the other bench. He was struck by how pretty she was, he hadn't seen a girl that he found as pretty as her. Didn't really change the fact that he felt slightly uncomfortable with the fact that she was in the booth with him, but he didn't want to be rude.

He tried to figure out what to say to her, but he couldn't figure anything out. He continued to stare out of the window until he noticed that she was staring at him for some reason. He turned his head from staring out the window to looking at her, getting an even better look at her. From this angle she looked even prettier with her face down, looking at her book. He could tell she was blushing a little, making him smile a little. He had no idea why he felt a little comfortable with this girl, because most girls made him extremely uncomfortable, but one way or another it made him want to know more about her.

He didn't exactly know what to say, but he decided it was probably best to start by giving his name. "Um..Hi, I'm William, or Will. Whichever you prefer," he said, hoping to get her attention.

A real smile crossed William's face as he saw her smile, making him wonder why she was acting so shy. Maybe it was her personality, maybe it was because they were going to Hogwarts and it was a new adventure, but he knew he probably wouldn't figure it out. When she looked up at him he felt instantly locked into her gaze, his face starting to get hot as he was probably blushing.

"Well, I really like that name. Does it have a meaning or something?" he asked out of panic, he had no idea how to talk to this girl or how to act. He didn't have much social experience with girls; other then his mom he hardly even talked to girls.

Suddenly there was a jolt in the train as it started to move, making him look around a little. He grabbed the arm of his chair tightly, clearly uncomfortable being on the train. His heart started to pick up pace and his mind started to fill with worries. He didn't want to be on this train, he wanted to be at home, studying or something.

He shook his head, trying not to think about those things, looking back at Alaska, asking, "So what're you reading there?" He hoped she wouldn't be able to tell how uncomfortable he was, he still wanted to seem a little tough.

He smiled as Alaska told him the meaning behind her name, and he actually found it beautiful. He had no idea why he was feeling this way about her, but he certainly didn't mind the feeling. "That's pretty cool..but I'm sorry your father didn't like it," he said with a little anger in his voice as all of his memories of his father came rushing into his head.

When she asked if he was doing ok he nodded a little, hoping she wouldn't see past it, saying, "Yeah I'm fine I just..haven't been on a train before." He was really hoping she wouldn't see how uncomfortable he was getting as the train started to move faster.

Hearing that she was reading a romance book made Will smile a little. "Don't worry, I don't see it as that girly, if I did then I'd be really girly too. I enjoy good romances too," he said, trying to reassure her.

"Wow, she's actually really cute, I wonder if she thinks I look good too?" He thought to himself. Suddenly there was a bump in the train tracks, making the train hop a little. Will closed his eyes tightly, taking in a deep breath as his hand tightened on the arm of the seat.

She smiled back at him and found herself locked in his gaze, wanting to hold onto every word he says. “Thanks. It doesn’t matter. He’s not important now.” She smiled as she said that, convincing herself of that fact as much as she was trying to convince him. She started feeling things that she only ever felt when she read her romance books and she couldn’t explain why she felt them now, she started to wonder if she felt them because of William, and if she was falling for him already. ”But people can’t fall in love with someone they just met right?”

She watched him as he nodded and could tell he was still worried but decided not to say anything about. it. ”Ah. The first time can be pretty scary. I’ve been on a train once or twice.” She felt the train start to move faster and took a deep breath trying to relax herself.

She smiled as she heard William say that it wasn’t girly. ”He likes a good romance. I wonder if he’d like a romance between us.” She shakes her head, and blushes, convincing herself that he probably doesn’t like her like that.

She felt the train hit a bump and she took a deep breath and then glanced over at William and saw how tense he was. She moved over to the seat next to him and laid a hand on his arm, suddenly feeling self conscious but it was too late to act like she hadn’t done it. ”Hey. It’s ok. Bumps are normal on a train, you’ll get used to it.”

Hearing her say that her father didn't matter in her life gave William a heavy relation to her. He felt the same way about his own father, but he expected to be the only one to feel that way. Maybe they were a lot more alike then he originally thought. "Yeah, I understand that feeling."

"Yeah, this is pretty scary. I mean I've been on planes before but never a train," he said, giving her a half smile. He was glad he wasn't the only one that felt that way.

He noticed her blushing, wondering what she was thinking about, but he didn't want to preasure her into telling him. He pushed his hair out of his eyes again, smiling at her as he wondered how she would look with her hair down. That thought made him blush, so he looked around a little to try to not draw to much attention to that fact.

He didn't know what was happening until he felt a soft hand touch his arm. He opened his eyes and his face instantly turned bright red. He saw Alaska sitting right beside him with her hand on his arm. He nods at what she said, saying in return, "Alright..thank you." He had no idea what to say to her touching his arm, but he honestly didn't mind it at all. It made him blush like crazy, but it brought him a lot of comfort. He smiled at her a little as he placed his hand on hers, saying, "Thank you."

He nods to her, saying, Yeah, it can be kinda strange being in the air, but if you have a good pilot there's basically nothing to worry about. Due to my dad's work he traveled a lot, and sometimes I was able to go with him, so there was a lot of flying." He didn't exactly feel comfortable talking about his dad, but he didn't exactly mind talking about it was Alaska. She was different then most people, but he wasn't sure how yet.

Hearing her ask if he was thinking about something nice made him smile a little, but he didn't know what to say to her. Its not like he could tell her what he was actually talking about, that would make things too awkward, so he had to make up a story, but he wasn't very good at making things up. So he just looked at her and asked, "Honestly?"

He didn't know how to make her know she wasn't making him that uncomfortable, and he didn't want her to feel bad. So he leaned towards her and kissed her cheek, knowing his dad did that sometimes with his mom to make her feel better, saying, "You didn't make me uncomfortable, I just wasn't expecting it, that's all. If anything you made me more comfortable." He hoped that would work, but his face was bright red again due to the fact that he kissed her cheek.

He smiled at her and said, "Well study mostly. Other then that I don't do that much. I take walks sometimes if I have time, but normally I'm too busy studying for my private school to take as many walks as I'd like. What about you? What are your hobbies?"

He thinks for a moment, and once he can't think of anything as a story to get out of having to tell the truth he just simply says, "Well, I was wondering what you would look like with your hair down." He blushed a lot once he actually said it, feeling like he needed to give more of an explanation so he said, "Its just I think girls are prettier with their hair down, but not just prettier, cause then there's a lot more to see..I guess. Not that you're not pretty or anything, that's not what I'm saying." He knew he was just digging his own grave, so he nervously laughed a little before saying, "You know what. Never mind."

He smiles at her, wondering what he should do next, so he just sat back on his seat, making sure to keep their hands touching. "Heh, yeah I guess it is." he said before there was suddenly another big bump in the trail, making him panic a little again. His hand instantly turned and grabbed her's tightly as he breathed deeply.

She smiles at him as she listened to him talk, “I mostly sit at home reading books and sometimes listening to music. I don’t have many friends to hang out with and I don’t study much so I have plenty of time to read, probably too much time. She blushes softly as she realizes that she’s rambling slightly.

She blushed when she heard him say that he wondered what her hair would look like when it’s down, ”well when it’s down it kinda has a mind of its own. But maybe I’ll let you see it one day.” She smiled as she watched him blush and listened to him try to explain himself and then she laughed a little “well you didn’t need to get explain but that was definitely interesting. So um.. do you..um I mean.. do you think I’m pretty?” she blushes a lot as she asks that question. She’d never cared what boys thought before but for some reason she cared what William thought of her.

She smiles back at him and sits back, allowing herself to stare off into space for a minute. Her mind starts wandering to what would happen if he felt the same way about her and thinking maybe he did as she thought about how their hands were still touching. She felt the train bump again and looked over a William to make sure he was ok. She then felt his hand turn and grab hers and she grabbed his back, feeling her heartbeat start to race, unsure if it was from the train hitting a bump or from him grabbing her hand.