He stood up from his seat and stretched out his numb limbs from sitting, and he found Prince fast asleep comfortably in his booth, covered in a blanket and had his mouth slightly open. He shook his head, chuckling to himself as he felt his stomach grumble, and he decided to walk around to let his legs exercise.
After a few minutes, he found himself standing in front of the buffet; growing only hungrier by the second as he ingested the smell of food in front of him.
The flight has been on idle for a while now, and there hasn't been any delays or turbulence—to which Matthew was thankful for. He was getting bored of sitting down, and besides, he was already done with his homework.
He grabbed two plates and filled it with his favorite food, saying thank you quietly every now and then to the servers. He was hungry, so he might as well make the most of it—knowing how much money he paid for their flight. Once he was done getting the food he wanted, he sat on one of the stools with a short slim table enough for three people to eat.
Unlocking his phone in his hand, he started to eat as he read off a few messages from Tyler and some of his friends. He smiled at some messages of his friends and rolled his eyes when he saw his manager's last message to him. He loved him to death, but he overreacted for every little thing sometimes.
The feel of needing to unwind seemed so unlikely as he had done just that last night. Matthew was about to be busy for the following week, and not to mention, he was about to close a deal for a new movie role—well, Tyler was about to close a deal for a new movie role for him.
When enough time has passed, he made it back to his booth seat and lied down on it, covering himself with the blanket the flight attendants have placed on their seats. He closed his eyes and let sleep consume him in a dreamful state, where all his worries and questions from the back of his mind were kept in the dark.
A while later, Matthew found himself being shaken awake vigorously, and he groaned in response and curled up even more.
"Excuse me, sir, but we need you to sit up and fasten your seatbelt. We're landing in a few minutes," a soft-spoken, light, but firm voice said to him while they shook him before they moved on to the other passengers.
Were they about to land already? It didn't feel like it; it felt like it was only a few minutes since he fell asleep.
Groaning once again, Matthew sat up against his will while he wiped his eyes out of drowsiness. He fastened his seatbelt as quickly as he could, and when he was done, he looked around and found his assistant manager—looking cozy and ready while he drank a glass of red wine.
Then, as if Matthew called for him, Prince turned to him and nodded at him in acknowledgement. "Hey, had a good sleep?" he said after another sip of his wine.
Not really. "I guess," Matthew croaked out, his voice rough as he just woke up.
"Well, welcome to New York,"
"Yeah, cheers to that,"
Bright city lights and loud busy streets of New York welcomed Matthew and his team. There weren't many people in the airport, but as a precaution, Matthew wore his cap and hoodie to avoid attraction from a few fans—if there were any that could recognize him, he was thankful that they didn't try to hound him for pictures.
"Oh," Matthew said in surprise when he saw a few people rushing towards him, screaming at the top of their lungs while they took pictures from their phones. He raised his hands to cover up his face, but to no avail, he wasn't successful as they neared.
"Shit," he cursed, looking panicked as he turned to Prince and the rest of his team for help.
"What—thought you wanted to meet your fans?" Prince teased; his face etched onto a small grin—to which Matthew rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat. "We have time, but make it quick."
Airport security immediately surrounded them when some of the fans almost threw themselves at Matthew. It was inevitable—he knew it, but some fans didn't really know how to respect his personal space as he smiled nervously at the scene in front of him.
Saying hello and taking several pictures with the few fans had him on his guard. The adrenaline that came with it was making his heart beat as fast as a sportscar racing on the streets. It wasn't bad, but he liked asserting his dominance over his fans for the sake of his safety—and he was in a place where he couldn't because it would make him look like a villain in public's eye.
The ride to the hotel was not long, given that it was already nighttime. But it sure became hectic after the airport incident in Matthew's point of view.
"...we're just about to be checked in, Ty," Prince was saying, his phone on his ears as he talked to Tyler. "No, nothing major, just a few fans and no paps. He just wasn't ready for it, I guess."
Walking inside the hotel just as the bellman carried their luggage to the carrier, they were welcomed with a pleasant and joyous greeting of the hotel security,
"Welcome home, Mr. Clifford,"
Chapter 4: Welcome to New York
Start from the beginning
