Life Is Long for Those Who Have to Wait

Melody sat on the seat of the airport, her carry on bag clutched tightly to her chest. She was shaking, her knee bopping up and down nervously. She hated flying, she had always hated flying no matter how many times she got sent to Chicago.

"Melody."

"Yes sir?" Melody asked, looking up from her sketch pad.

She was often caught drawing instead of taking notes during meeting like she was suppose to.

"You are going to have to leave for the Chicago office tomorrow night."

Melody could already feel the panic start to set in as her heart raced. "Y-Yes sir."

She had been at her job for five years but had only been promoted about a year ago. Twenty flights and she still couldn't get a handle on her nerves as she flew.

Flight number 173 Lax to O'hare now boarding.

Melody let out a heavy sigh before standing up and walking over to the gate 5B. She passed by a large window and winced at the snow fall that was starting lightly. If there was any season she hated flying in most it was the winter. She was always terrified that something would go wrong on the plane on the middle of a snow storm. The fact that it had yet to happen did not calm her any.

She handed her plane ticket to the lady as she reached the gate.

"Nervous?" the woman smiled.

Melody returned a weak half hearted smile. "A little."

"First flight?"

Melody let out a small laugh. "Unfortunately no."

"They get better as you go." the woman smiled, before gesturing her through the gate.

"They haven't so far." Melody mumbled as she walked the path to the plane doors.

Even this gave her a mini heart attack as she walked. She had heard horror stories about them not being hooked to the plane and people not paying attention walking right out into open air and falling. Even then she felt like she was walking from a frying pan and into fire.

She looked at her ticket again. Row 15 seat F. She looked down the rows and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, of course she had a window seat. What was scarier than flying thousands and thousands of feet in the air than when you could see it out a tiny glass window?

She moved her way over to her seat and sat down, closing the window instantly and setting her bag by her feet. Her leg instantly started to vibrate nervously.

"You got a timer going off in your leg?"

Melody looked up quickly to see a tall form sit down next to her. He smiled and tucked some of his longish brown hair behind his ear.

"So?" He asked, after a moment of Melody just staring at him. His doe brown eyes searched her face, his smile falling just a little.

Melody placed her hand on her knee and forced the nervous habit to stop. "Um, no I-I'm just nervous."

"Not a fan of flying?" He asked, giving her a knowing look as he pulled a small notebook out of his bag and set it along with a pen on his lap.

"No," Melody answered with a sigh "and unfortunately I am forced to travel to Chicago all the time for work."

"What do you do?" The man asked curiously.

"I'm a computer technician in very simple terms." She answered. "I am in charge of our company's entire internal computer network. Our main office is in Los Angles but the network's heart is in a slight smaller office in Chicago. Most problems I can fix from home but sometimes I have to go to the main frame to get to the bottom of the problem." Melody answered simply.

"Wow." The man seemed pretty empressed. "And to think I just play a guitar all day."

"Are you a musician-" Melody's sentence was cut off her letting out a loud squeak as the plane took off. She had been busy talking to this stranger that she hadn't heard the announcement for take off. She closed her eyes and gripped the armrest until her knuckles turned white.

She heard a chuckle next to her and a moment later felt a hand grip hers, rubbing slow circles on her wrist. "You're going to be just fine." He laughed.

"No I'm not." Melody panicked.

She heard him take in a deep breath before singing quietly into her ear.

"So kiss me goodbye
Honey, I'm gonna make it out alive
So kiss me goodbye
I can see the venom in your eyes
Goodbye."

"That's a Cobra Starship song." Melody told him softly, opening one eye.

The man chuckled again. "Yes."

"And it's for a movie where people die on a plane." She growled, before closing her eyes again.

"I'm William." He answered, continuing to try to relax her.

"Melody." She answered tensely.

William smiled. "Music to my ears."

"Har har har." Melody answered looking at him, "like I haven't heard that one before."

"However," William grinned "You are no longer trying to squeeze the arm rest to death and you are looking at me relaxed. You seem to have forgotten that we were flying."

Melody tensed up again causing William to laugh at her again. "Don't laugh at me." She pouted.

"I use to be afraid of flying too." He smiled. "Took me about six months to relax about it."

"Why did you stop being afraid?" Melody asked, curiously.

William shrugged "I guess I just got use to it. Besides you hardly notice it when you have someone to talk to."

Melody smiled, he was right. The whole time he had been talking to her, she had almost forgotten she was in a metal box with wings high in the air- and the hyperventilating started again.

"Calm down." William smiled "How do you survive these flights calm normally?"

"Drug myself." Melody answered, trying to calm her breathing. "I take a small dose of sleep medicine. It doesn't knock me out but keeps me calm. I went to take it this morning and realized I was out."

"Butterscotch?" He asked holding a small gold candy out to her.

Melody's eyebrows knit together "You do know only creepers offer people candy."

"It will help your ears pop." He laughed. "I normally don't offer people candy I swear I'm not a creeper."

"Thank you." She smiled taking the candy from him. She unwrapped it and popped it in her mouth before noticed William was watching her. "What?" She asked around the candy.

"You're funny is all."

"Yeah," Melody paused.

William grinned at her "Yeah."

"Well so is your face!"

Without missing a beat William let out an exaggerated gasp. "How dare you, here I am keeping you calm and giving you candy-"

"Like a creeper."

"Creeper or not," William growled, smiling playfully. "I am being nice to you and you are insulting me. Maybe I'll just stop talking to you and let you sit here and have a panic attack."

"And if I died of fright it would be all your fault." Melody smiled back.

"No, it would be your boss's fault for making you fly all the time. I would have clear conscience-"

William cut off as Melody let a old squeak of fright.

"It's only a bit of turbulence." William sighed, taking her hand and once again rubbing small circles on her wrist with his thumb. "It is not dangerous and will be over soon."

"Attention passengers," a female voice car over the intercom "there is a snow storm that is requiring us to make an emergency landing at Denver International until the snow clears."

"I'm gonna die." Melody screeched quietly.

William chuckled again "You are gonna be fine."

"No I'm not." Melody panicked "I'm going die in a plane crash because of a stupid snow storm. I hate snow, I always knew it would be the end of me."

"Melody." William laughed "Calm down, you are going to hyperventilate."

Melody let out a panicked squeak as they felt the plane start to descend. William quickly lifted the armrest that separated them and without even thinking pulled Melody into his side. She buried her face into his chest and started shaking.

"Shhh," he spoke softly in her ear, as her black, blue and white hair tickled his face. "I've got you, you are going to be okay."

"Sir is she alright?" One of the flight attendants asked, looking at the pair nervously.

"She is fine," William answered, "just afraid of flying."

"Let me know if she needs anything." The woman smiled weakly before moving on.

"Shhh." William sighed softly, rubbing her back. "I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."