In An Aeroplane Over The Sea

As it turns out, the plane was a lot less crowded than I had expected it to be. Empty seats dotted the coach section. As I settled into my spot next to a man who looked to be about thirty, Jack tackled me back against my seat. “I thought I’d never see you again!” He exclaimed dramatically, and the man next to me creased his brow in confusion.

“I know!” I replied just as over-enthusiastically. “Those eight minutes we spent apart from each other were just too much!” Jack nodded his head vigorously, before being pushed further into coach by the woman behind him. Zack smiled at me as he passed by my seat and settled into his, which was one row behind me. Jack was sitting about four rows back with Matt and Rian, and Alex was in the middle row across from Zack. I kicked off my shoes and pulled out one of my workbooks, opening it up to the last page I had read and starting to study. Soon I was lost in my own world of formulas, elements, and bonding.

“…We will be departing for the runway in five minutes. Please fasten your seatbelts, and we hope you have a nice flight,” the stewardess said over the intercom at the end of the ritual safety lecture. Suddenly I felt someone tap my shoulder, and when I turned around a small piece of paper was thrust towards me. I opened it carefully, noting Zack’s small, yet rather sloppy, handwriting.

I’m lonely back here.

I smirked and grabbed a pen from my bag.

I’ll come keep you company later on.

I wrote before reaching around the seat and handing it to Zack. A few seconds later, I felt another tap on my shoulder.

I’ll be really angry if you don’t. Promise?

I smiled softly, noticing that the plane was now rolling slowly towards the runway. Soon we’d be in the air, and then we’d be in England, and then I’d be in Amsterdam.

I’d never break a promise.

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“Paisley!” I heard someone whisper rather loudly. I furrowed my brow in confusion, looking over to my side to see whom it was. It wasn’t Zack, who had dozed off immediately after the plane had left the ground, and it wasn’t Alex, who had turned on his laptop and was busy doing something on it. “Paisley! Back here!”

I craned my neck as far as it could go, and was finally able to see Rian beckoning me to where he, Jack and Matt were all sitting in the middle row. I looked left, and then right, before standing up and scurrying back to where he was seated. The seat dividers had been lifted up, allowing the three-person seat to fit four. I sat down next to Rian, noticing that his computer was turned on to two pictures of different necklaces. “Which one do you like more?”

“Uh…” I muttered, looking at the images carefully. One had a sterling silver heart hanging off the end, and the other had three small diamonds draping off of a small chain. “Who’s it for?”

“My girlfriend,” he responded, his eyes beginning to twinkle and a grin appearing on his face. It was adorable, until I saw Jack pretending to gag himself. I rolled my eyes, but a small smile tugged at my lips.

“Which one do you like more?” I repeated, glancing down at the screen. The diamond one was pretty, but there was just something so simplistic about the heart.

“I don’t know. That’s why I asked you. You’re a girl, aren’t you?” He asked, punching me in the shoulder gently.

“Last time I checked, yeah,” I said with a laugh. I paused for a moment, looking down at the two choices once more. “What’s the occasion? And does she like diamonds or not?”

“Well, it’s not really for any kind of occasion – “ he began, only to be cut off my Jack who gagged even louder this time, “and yeah, she likes diamonds. What girl doesn’t?”

I shrugged, “Good point. But that one,” I said, pointing to the heart one, “you can wear with anything. You can’t always wear diamonds with everything. And besides, anyone can get her a diamond necklace. Only you,” I said, jabbing him in the shoulder lightly to make up for when he had punched me, “can buy her a heart necklace.”

Rian opened his mouth to respond, but closed it when he had nothing to say, smiling softly to himself. “It’s so cute, I could gag,” Jack said, and I laughed.

“Shut up, Jack,” Rian said, before turning back to me. “I think I’m going to buy the heart necklace for her.”

I grinned. “Good choice.”