Uppercut (A James Maslow FanFic)

Chapter 2

Uppercut: Chapter 2

"Please put on your seat belts and secure all loose articles. We will be landing in Henderson, Nevada in just a few minutes." 

I was just barely aware I the announcement that was made. Traveling always made me tired. I slowly opened my eyes and stretched. I looked from my seat in the aisle, to seat next to me. Devon was sleeping in his car seat. Alex was sitting next to the window, staring at it. 

"How long was I out?" I asked groggily as I stretched my arms. I had made an attempt to curl up on the seat to sleep. I never understood how anyone could sleep in a sitting position.

Alex turned to look at me and smiled. "Not too long. Maybe twenty minutes."

The seatbelt light came on, accompanied by a dinging noise. I quickly placed my feet flat on the floor, put my seat belt on and made sure Devon's car seat was secure. I turned around to see my mom and Drew a few rows back, buckling themselves in as well. Drew looked like he’d taken a nap as well. His longish brown hair was messy. He tried to push it out of his eyes as he looked around dazedly.

All of a sudden, I felt my stomach sink, and it wasn't from the plane landing. I had just remembered where we were headed. I silently wished that I could crawl in the overhead compartment and sleep for days. The lowering of the plane only added to the sickening feeling in my stomach. I groaned and put my head in my hands.

"We're almost on the ground Maddie," Alex spoke up. "Just a few more seconds and the flight will be over."

I picked my head up to look at him, meeting his eyes. "That's what I'm afraid of."

He just sighed and reached over Devon's car seat to put a hand on my knee. "We will get through this, Maddie. I promise."

"I just don't want him to hate me." I put my hands in my lap and played with my fingers. I heard Alex sigh as he removed his hand from my knee. The thought of making the overhead compartment my new home sounded better by the second.

The plane landed and the sound of everyone unbuckling their seatbelts could be heard. All the ruckus woke Devon and he squirmed in his car seat. I could tell that he was sick of the stuffy-plane-air just like everyone else.

After fighting against other passengers, to see who could get their bags out of the overhead compartment first, we finally exited the plane. We walked through the tunnel and into Henderson Airport. Alex, Devon, and I waited for the rest of our group, making sure to be out of the way of the rest of the unboarding passengers. Devon began to fuss so I removed him from his car seat. We dropped our bags at our feet so we could stretch.

The plane ride hadn't been alll that comfortable. The air had been stuffy and the seats were too close together. I felt a mixture of emotions as I tried to rock Devon soothingly. I was so excited to see my brother, but also extremely terrified. I also really had to pee.

Finally, we saw the rest of our small group emerging from the tunnel. Alex got their attention by waving. They made their way over to us.

Once Drew was by my side, he stretched his arms and dropped his heavy backpack on the floor, causing a loud thud. My mother jumped and smacked his shoulder.

“Jesus, Drew!” She exclaimed as she chuckled at herself. She had not been expecting that. “You can’t do that to me.”

Drew laughed with her. “Sorry Mumsy.”

 I stared at him like he was insane. “Mumsy? I’ve never heard anyone say that before.”

He gave me his best over-dramatic-shocked face. “What are you talking about dear sister? I say that all the time!”