Airborne {S.S}

13

"I didn't know he would be so affected by this. I'm genuinely okay. A little uncomfortable but I'm fine" , I say as I frown. "He hates when someone close to him is in pain or hurt. He really cares about you, Italia. I think he cares about you more than even he knows", Anthony says as he taps my hand. I sit back and let what Anthony just said sink in. I really didn't know how much Sebastian cared about me. Obviously we have something going on, whatever that may be, but the way Anthony described it...I had no idea. "I'm gonna go talk to him", I tell Anthony as I grab my crutches.

I move to leave and Anthony calls me back. "What?", I ask him. He points to my body and I look down. I still had my pyjamas on. I laugh and nod my head as I go into the bathroom to wash up. I change into a loose pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt. "Hey, who changed my clothes?", I ask him suddenly. I blush as I think of one of them potentially getting me dressed. "Don't worry, we didn't change you", Anthony answers my assumption. "I drove back here when you were sleeping and grabbed a pair of clothes from your bag. The nurse changed you for us. She was nice enough to do it since we didn't want to wake you up". I smile and walk over to him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you for everything, Mackie"

"Don't sweat it. I'm just glad that you're okay. You scared me for a second", he says sincerely but he smiles, being the same old Anthony that he always is. "I scared myself", I laugh. I bid Anthony goodbye and he closes the door behind me as I crutch towards the elevator. I smile at the little girl standing with her father and she smiles back. "Are you hurt?", she asks me. I look down at my leg and nod my head. "Yes, but I'm okay", I reassure her. "What happened?", she asks as she walks closer to me. "I was helping a dog and I fell", I say shortly, not wanting to scare her with the entire truth. "Oh, wow", she mumbles. She grabs something from her small bag and pulls out a pack of stickers.

She thinks for a few seconds then pulls one off the sheet of paper and hands it to me. "Here". "What's this for?", I smile. "To put on your leg", she smiles, showing her missing tooth. I nod my head and stick it on my cast as her smile widens. We walk into the elevator. "Princess Moana", she states. "Is she your favorite princess?", I ask her. She eagerly nods her head. "She's like you", she says. "How so?"

"She's strong!", she exclaims as she points to my leg. I look at her father and he smiles at me. "Thank you! So are you! And you have a good heart", I tell her as she laughs. She high fives me and they leave the elevator before me. I wave goodbye to her and the door closes again. When I get to the first floor I slowly move out of the elevator and walk towards the glass doors. Someone holds the door for me and I thank them as I step outside, looking side to side to try and find Sebastian. I walk towards the hotels garden and I spot a man sitting on one of the benches near the pond. I recognize him as Sebastian and I slowly crutch towards him, not used to wearing crutches. "Hey", I say as I sit beside him. His head snaps towards me and he smiles. "Hey"

"I didn't know they had a garden here", I comment as I stare at the flower petals moving in the pond. "Neither did I. I just found it", he says. I sigh as I look at him, the light breeze moving my hair backwards. I grab his hand in mine as I set aside my crutches, leaning them up against the bench. "Seb, I know I scared you, and I'm sorry. I just need you to know that I'm okay. I wouldn't tell you I'm okay if I really wasn't", I say gently as he looks at me. "I know"

"Do you? Because it doesn't look like you know. I want to make sure that you're okay and that you know that I'm okay", I say as I move closer to him. "You scared me", he says as he knits his eyebrows in concern. "I know", I say as I lean my head on his shoulder. "I really care about you, Italia, and when I got that call, no matter if it was severe or not, my heart dropped. I never want to get a call like that ever again", he says honestly as he lifts my head up. He cups one side of my face with his hand as the sun shines on his face, making his eyes a shade lighter. I smile as I look at him. "I really care about you too", I say. He kisses my forehead and pulls me into a hug, nestling his head into the crook of my neck. "Now do you believe me when I say I'm okay?", I laugh as I look at him. He shakes his head and smiles at me. "I do"

"Good!", I say as I lightly tap his leg. "I guess we need to postpone our date", he smiles sadly as he stares straight ahead. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "What? No way!", I protest. He looks at me like I'm crazy. "You were in an accident, Italia, our date can wait"

"No it can't. I want to go and I told you I feel fine", I say as he grabs my hand. "The doctor said you need to rest", he sighs. I bite my lip and huff as I stare at the trees in front of us. "Doctors aren't always right", I pout as I try and find any excuse so that we could go on our date. He laughs as he looks at me and I nudge him away. "I'll make it up to you", he smiles. I nod my head and he leans forward, kissing me gently. "I'm sorry I ruined your trip. I didn't mean to interrupt you and Anthony's work", I say instantly feeling guilt set in. I had been in a state of happiness since I arrived in New York to stay with the boys but I never stopped to think about what it meant for them. "What are you talking about? You didn't ruin anything, Italia. You have no idea how happy we are that you're with us", he says as he grabs my shoulders. "I know, but-"

"But nothing! Having you here, with me...with Anthony, it's been more than anything we could have asked for. It may have been unexpected–meeting you and having you stay with us–but I wouldn't have it any other way", he says as he keeps his eyes trained on me. I take in a breath as I force myself not to cry. "You know I easily get emotional", I laugh as I wipe my eyes, turning away from him. His laugh echoes throughout the empty garden and my smile widens as he lifts me up. I scream as he spins me around. "Sebastian!".

He sets me down but puts my feet on top of his. "What are you doing?", I laugh as I stare down at my cast. "Let's dance", he says as he starts to sway back and forth with me still on his feet. "But I'll hurt you"

"You could never hurt me"

I start laughing as I place my head on his chest. "Why are you laughing?", he asks me as I feel the vibration of his voice. "Have you ever seen Twilight?". He hums in response. "Okay, well remember that scene where Bella is dancing with Edward and she has a cast on her foot?", I ask him as he continues to move with me. Realization hits him and he closes his eyes, throwing his head back. "Oh god", he laughs, his eyes crinkling. "I think it's romantic...cheesy...but romantic", I smile as I kiss him. "That's exactly what I was going for", he nods his head vigorously, trying to suppress his smile. He kisses the tip of my nose and I scrunch it, feeling his lips tickle me. I start to get tired and he sets me back down on the bench. He starts to walk away and he turns around, walking backwards as he winks at me. "What are you doing?", I laugh. He puts a finger up, telling me to wait as he disappears.

I wait a few minutes and then Sebastian appears again, this time holding a bright yellow flower in his hands. He sits down next to me and gently grabs my face, slipping the flower behind my ear. "Thank you", I whisper. He kisses me and then helps me up as we walk back to the hotel room. When we get back to our room Anthony is doing pushups. I look away as I try to stiffle a laugh, but Sebastian starts laughing and I can't hold my laughter in anymore. "You're just jealous of all of this", he says as he moves his hips in a circular motion. I scoff and Sebastian covers my eyes with his hands. "Sure, Anthony, we're jealous"

The three of us go down to the arcade next to the hotel and spend the majority of the day there, seeing as it started to rain when Sebastian and I got back. Tomorrow was their last day off before they started filming again so I was enjoying every second I had with them, knowing that I wouldn't be able to be on set with them until I was good enough to go.

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Thank you guys for 1k reads! I can't even begin to fathom how quickly Airborne has reached that many reads and it makes me so incredibly happy. Thank you for all the support! And I promise the story will start to pick up the pace in the next chapter so stay tuned!

- Sabrina