Dead But Breathing

The car journey to the airport was mostly silent; neither boys knew what to say. Alex had started off asking questions about what the care workers at the children's home would think, but Matt had reassured him that he had dealt with that problem, and Alex didn't ask him to explain how, he knew he would probably find out one day. Alex felt strangely apprehensive and nervous at the same time about going to America. He had never left England before, and he hadn't expected his first time to be with a vampire that he barely knew who he would soon be living with. The concept was still hard to get over. Alex still didn't fully understand how the whole human to vampire transition worked; he felt pretty normal, apart from the strange attraction to the smell of blood but he knew that would happen, and right now it wasn't strong enough to worry him. But Matt had mentioned things about the next few days being painful, and that's what worried Alex. He made a mental note to ask Matt about it later.

They finally arrived at the airport after about and hours drive, and pulled into a large car park. Matt told Alex that they probably wouldn't come back so he didn't need to worry about the whereabouts of the van. They walked to one of the many entrances of the buys airport and queued at one of the check in desks. Alex had never been on a plane, he didn't know how to navigate his way through and airport, so he was relying on Matt not to get them lost. Alex felt like a child, everyone around him was bigger than him, and he almost had to cling to Matt so they weren't separated. Matt made an effort to always be holding onto one part of Alex so they didn't get separated, he knew how vulnerable Alex was and he needed to keep him safe.

After checking in, and getting an odd look from the woman behind the check in counter when they told her they had no suitcases, they headed through to be searched. Since they only had one rucksack between them, which was practically empty anyway, and neither of them set off the metal detector, it went smoothly, and soon they were both wandering aimlessly around duty free, buying foods and drinks and magazines to keep them entertained on the flight.

Alex was glad everything had gone so smoothly, he had already decided that he hated airports. He hated how busy they were and how many people were rushing around, bumping into him. He felt like a lost puppy, having to cling to Matt when there were too many people; Alex had never been good in crowds.

"You want a coffee or anything?" Matt asked, breaking the silence that had been kept between them. "There's a Starbucks upstairs I think, and we still have about 45 minutes before we need to find our gate"

"Yeah, sure" Alex nodded, the concept of sitting down with a cup of hot coffee did appeal to him quite a a lot. They made their way upstairs and found the Starbucks, and Alex was relieved to see that it wasn't busy. Matt bought the drinks and Alex waited for him at a table by the window where he could see the planes taking off outside. He had never realised how massive aeroplanes really were; he had never seen a real one this close to him before.

"Caramel latte" Matt said before setting Alex's coffee down on the table and sitting down opposite, cradling his own cup in his hands.

"Thanks" Alex smiled before taking a sip.

"No problem, our gate opens at 7:30pm by the way, the plane should leave at 8. We should head to the gate at about 7:15 though, that's half an hour. We don't have allocated seats and I don't want us to be separated." Matt explained, taking sips of his coffee. Alex nodded, being separated from Matt would probably be the worst thing to happen to him. They drank there coffees in silence, and when they were done they followed the signs to gate number 8b. The airport was massive, and even Matt got a bit lost at one point, but they made it, showing their tickets to the woman at the desk and then sitting down to wait for the gate to be opened.

"Is this the first time you've been on a plane?" Matt asked and Alex nodded, a bit embarrassed, and Matt smiled.

"I never really had the chance, my family didn't have much money, and then my parents died so.." Alex trailed off at the mention of his parents.

"Well, basically what's going to happen is that door there will open" Matt said, gesturing towards the glass doors, "And we'll get on this bus thing right, but don't bother sitting down because we'll only be on it for a few minutes, and it'll take us to the plane because we're not allowed to walk on the runways because its dangerous or whatever, then we climb the stairs onto the plain and sit down, its a bit like a flying train really." Matt explained to Alex.

"Right, I get it" Alex smiled, and an announcement ran throughout the room. It was a woman's voice.

"Everyone on the 8pm flight to Baltimore Washington International airport please make your way to gate 8B, which is now open"

The sliding door slid open as other people in the waiting room stood up and headed towards it. Alex and Matt managed to get near to the front of the queue which Matt was relived about. They boarded the shuttle bus, choosing to stand by the left hand door so they were first to leave so they got prime seats next to eachother on the plane. The bus reached the plane in about 3 minutes, and Matt and Alex practically ran up the stairs to the door of the aircraft, practically the first people to board. Alex was amazed at how big the plane was inside, with rows of three chairs either side by the windows and a row of two's going down the middle.

"Where do you want to sit then?" Matt asked Alex, who grinned with his reply.

"Can we sit by the window?" Alex asked excitedly, his eyes lighting up. Matt nodded and Alex led them to three seats by the window. Alex shuffled into the window seat, making himself comfy before putting his seatbelt on. Matt laughed at how excited Alex was, which also made him feel bad. He knew Alex wouldnt be laughing tomorrow, or the day after. Alex was 16, practically still a child, and Matt felt so bad that he was about to take away all the innocence from the boy, but there was nothing else he could do, so he pushed those thoughts away before pulling on his seatbelt.

"I brought this by the way, to keep you entertained a bit. It's gunna be a long flight" Matt said, before pulling a PSP out of his bag and handing it to Alex, who's eyes lit up like a 5 year old at Christmas.

"Really? Wow, thanks Matt" Alex grinned before taking the device and switching it on, settling into a game of fifa. Matt left him contently playing the game until the engines started up, and he nudged Alex.

"Alex, look out the window, we're taking off" Alex paused his game before looking out of the window. The plane was speeding up along the runway and the buildings were rushing past in a blur.

"This is my favourite part" Matt whispered as the plane suddenly titled upwards as they took off. Alex was smiling as he looked out the window, he decided he liked flying in aeroplanes.

- - - - - -- - - - --

3 hours later, Alex was fucking bored. His ass hurt and he had a headache, and he was contemplating getting up to go to the toilet for the 50th time just for something to do, but when he noticed Matt fast asleep next to him, he decided it wasn't worth waking him up. He sighed and slouched lower in his seat, trying to get comfortable. He glanced out of the window, but there was nothing to see, just clouds and greyness. Just then, a woman with a trolley full of sweets, chocolate and drinks stopped next to them.

"Any drinks or snacks?" The woman asked, glancing at Matt who was still asleep. Alex was just about to say no and let her carry on, but he changed his mind. He had eaten all of the food Matt had bought, and he was getting hungry again. He didn't know why he was getting so hungry all of a sudden.

"Ur, yeah, can I have a bacon and cheese panini and a hot chocolate please" Alex said, and the woman nodded as she started to pull things from draws and make his food. Alex suddenly realised that he was going to have to pay for this, and he gently pulled Matt's bag out from under his seat and rooted through it. He finally found Matt's wallet, and pulled out a £20 note. The woman passed his food and drink over Matt, being careful not to wake him and took the money, moving onto the next row of people.

Alex ate his food quietly, and then decided to try and sleep. He rested his head back and fell into a dreamless sleep.

-----------------------

When Alex woke up, it was to Matt shaking him, and other people around him shuffling around, getting their things out of lockers.

"We're here, Alex" Matt said and Alex groaned before standing up. They made their way off the plane and walked the 50 meters to the airport doors. This airport was smaller and they made their way through passport control (Using fake passports that Matt had got for them) and quickly got their bags from baggage reclaim before leaving the building and getting into a taxi that Matt had arranged to pick them up.

"Where exactly are we going?" Alex asked as they drove off.

"I have an apartment in Baltimore" Matt explained and Alex nodded, relaxing as they made their way there.