And You Let Her Go

I took a step back as I looked at my white wardrobe, contemplating what to wear on my eight-hour flight. I crossed my arms and took a deep breath. This was every girl’s daily dilemma: figuring out her outfit of the day. I finally walked forward and chose a loose fitted brown tank top. I slipped it on over my sun kissed shoulders and tied a knot on the right side. I pulled on blue jeans I just bought from Abercrombie & Fitch, and lastly a red flannel from the same store over the top. Now for the shoes… flip-flops or converse? I looked down at my Nike watch, realizing I had to leave in ten minutes. I reached down for my white chucks and threw the flip-flops into my carry-on bag.

I walked out of my room and found Emily sitting in our white loveseat watching a rerun of Wipeout. I giggled at her, shaking my head.

“What?” she protested, “it’s always funny seeing people fall off… large…bouncy… balls and into freezing cold water,” I laughed again as she struggled to find the right terms.

“Well, it looks like the perfect day for a long flight. Not a cloud in sight and 74 degree weather,” I pulled back the white curtains and opened a window, welcoming the fresh air and sound of honking cars. “You need some fresh air in here, woman. Your farts will kill you when I’m gone,” I grinned at her and she grinned back at me.

“I think that’s your cue to leave,” she joked. I laughed and went to hug her. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed my forehead, “Good luck, Char. If you need anything, whether it’s a person to talk to or someone to vent about your bitch mother to, you know who to call.”

“Ghostbusters?” She swatted my arm and we threw our heads back in laughter. I didn’t want to leave anymore.

“I’ll miss you, Em. So much. I’ll text you when I land,” I started walking towards the front door and hugged her one last time. She gave me a warm smile and waved me off. The cab I had ordered the night before pulled up and the cabbie walked out of the car, grabbing my suitcase and shoving it in the trunk. I sat in the cab, waiting for the cabbie to start driving towards O’Hare.

I took my phone out, opening the twitter app.
Heathrow here I come-- #cravingtea

* * * * * *
Harry’s POV

“Please! You don’t understand! I need to be on that plane, if I’m not on that plane, I’ll miss a gig tomorrow night. Where else will I get a flight at this hour?” I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. There was no point in explaining myself to this women, she obviously didn’t care who I was. I overslept two hours, causing me to miss our flight out to London. But fortunately for the rest of the boys, they were on that plane. Without me.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Styles. You’ll have to catch the next commercial flight at 12. Unless you want to wait until tomorrow night, it’s the only option I have for you at the moment,” the lady glared at me behind her red-rimmed glasses.

“Fine. Book it,” I snapped, giving her my passport. I shouldn’t have been so angry with her. It was my own fault for not setting my alarm the night before, even though I swore I did. I walked away when she finished booking my flight, grabbing my black duffle bag and suitcase. I’m glad I decided to wear a black Allsaints v-neck t-shirt instead of the navy blue jumper I almost wore. I was sweating bullets after running through the airport trying to catch my flight.

After passing through security and finding my gate, I decided to ring Louis to reassure them I would meet them at his house tonight.

“Hello!” Louis sang after the third ring.

“You sound a little too cheery for missing a member of your gang,” I pointed out.

I heard laughing in the background as I heard the rest of the boys greet me. “Sorry Haz, we couldn’t resist resetting your alarm clock this morning,” I could hear Louis laughing along with them.

“What the fuck? You did this? Louis! What if there wasn’t another flight out?” I looked around, hoping no one had noticed me yet as my face grew hot with anger.

“Oh don’t be such a pussy, Harry. We checked the following flights today; we had this all planned out. Have fun eating your bag of peanuts! Byeeeee Haaazzz!!” They all chorused at the same time. I ended the call and swung the bag over my shoulder. I would definitely get them back for this.

I reached the gates, showing my boarding pass and passport one last time before stepping onto the plane. The plane smelled of baby powder and a scent of Febreze I couldn’t quite place my finger on. I walked through the aisle, hearing gasps and whispers as the rest of the passengers slowly realized who had joined them on the plane. I sighed, giving shy smiles to a couple people before finding my seat, H24. I looked around before taking my seat, but then I was the one who gasped.

Several aisles down I saw a familiar face. Her flannel sleeves were rolled up halfway up her arms and her white Chucks matched the ones I packed in my suitcase today. But it was her long, dirty blonde waves that I would recognize anywhere.

I placed my bag in my seat and looked for a flight attendant at the front of the plane.

“Excuse me,” I tapped a woman with large red hair on the shoulder. She turned around and her raccoon eye shadowed eyes traveled up my body. She smiled at me and pushed her shoulders back. Oh god.

“What can I do for you, sir?” I turned around and pointed farther down the aisle.

“I was hoping that maybe I’d be able to change my seats, seeing that there is no one sitting at the window over there,” her smile vanished and she pushed past me.

“Come with me,” she called back. I took my bag from my seat and walked towards Charlie, her head was down as she read a book I didn’t see the title of. The flight attendant stopped beside her and leaned down to face her.

“Miss, this man has requested to sit in the window seat of your row, is that alright?” I could hear a bit of resentment in her voice as she asked her. Charlie’s head shot up as she tried to get a look at whom the attendant was referring to. Her eyes widened and she froze in her seat. Surprise, I thought.

“Um, y-yeah. No p-problem,” She tucked her legs in, allowing me to pass her and sit a seat away from her. I placed my duffle bag between us before looking up at her still wide eyes. “What the hell are you doing on a commercial flight?”

I chuckled at her question, “If you must know, I missed my lovely private plane with the rest of the boys. But I’m completely fine with that, now that I know I’ll be with you for the next 8 hours.”

I looked at her amused as her jaw dropped. “You… missed your flight? Huh.. Sorry, I’m just… surprised. You’re going back to London because…?” She looked at me curiously, waiting for me to clarify. Apparently, I still really needed to fill her in on how our band worked. I explained to her that we’d be going home for a couple of months to see our families before working on our next album, which would lead to yet another tour.

“I have to say though, I think I should be more shocked to see you on this flight,” I pointed out to her. As I said it, her brows furrowed and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She pulled her sleeves down of her flannel and looked back at me again. God, her eyes were amazing; they were a mix of ocean water and turquoise. I focused on her again, waiting for her answer.

“I’m going back because… I’m attending my Aunt’s funeral.” She looked down and twirled her silver ring with her fingers. I reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly. She gave me a shy smile and we continued to hold hands right to when the plane left the ground. I wish she would open up to me already, but I knew I had to be patient. I was willing to wait for her as long as she’d let me.