Inner Visions (2dace)

01

The sound of Chukka boots filled the semi-empty airport hallways, which wasn't surprising because it was only 2 am in the UK and not a lot of people traveled at this time of day. The flight all the way from Townsville was a long and excruciating trip. For 26 whole hours, Ace sat in the plane impatiently waiting to get to London and get off that torture machine. Now, he was severely jet lagged and he felt like the world was spinning around him, but it was worth it because of the opportunity he landed himself. He never knew the that playing the bass would get him this far in life. Heck, just a few years prior he was still moping around in that junkyard with his gang. But if he was being honest, that junkyard was a big part of his personal life. Not just mentally, but physically. Apparently being around a massive pile of garbage 24/7 wasn't exactly 'healthy' for your skin. Not only was the powerful stench nasty and gross, the smell never came out of his hair because showering wasn't a thing that he established back then. Partly because there weren't any showers in the junkyard and the other half was because of his Aquaphobia that he's been slowly getting over the years. He chuckled just thinking about his teen self, not only how he used to look but how he used to be. That high pitched voice still lingered in the back of his head. The former gangster walked to the front entrance of the airport and sat down on a nearby bench. The air in the UK was way cooler than the air back in Townsville, he would have to adjust to that in time. With dark circles around his pink eyes, Ace started to doze off, wanting to catch up on the sleep that he didn't get for the past day. There is just something about airplanes that prevent you to go to sleep when you want to. Flying in first class was nice but it wasn't as comfortable as people hoped it would be. As soon as he closed his eyes he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He totally forgot about it. Taking the phone out of his pocket, he peered at the screen to see that Noodle had left him a text. She had asked him if he was alright and if he had arrived. He replied with a thumbs up emoji, the side effect of being of tired. He put his phone back in his pocket and thought about Noodle for a moment. They had known each other for a while now, but he believes they truly became friends when they went to the horse racing competition together. He never thought he could have such fascination for those things. As far as he was concerned, Noodle was a pretty cool person. And she was pretty badass too. These thoughts sent him back into the dreary state he was in before, it felt as if his body was shutting down.

"Boo!" He shot up from his seat on the bench and let out a loud scream. Comedy gold. Whoever was getting fresh with him right now certainly didn't understand his current state of being. He turned around and rubbed his eyes to take a better look at the figure that was standing in front of him. His vision wasn't bad or anything but the sleepiness was making it blurry.

"Noodle? You sneaky brat." He yawned. She laughed and patted him on the back before embracing him in a big hug.

"Miss me, old man?" She snorted.

"I'm not that old Noods, we're only ten years apart and in my book that is not a lot of years. But yes, I did miss you, calling me an old man and all." He patted her rubbed her back in response before pulling away and getting his luggage from the bench he formerly sat on.

"You look really tired. The drive home is also a bit long but I have some coffee in the car because I figured your old man bod would be tired and shaky." 

"Oh lucky me!" Ace almost sarcastically chuckled. Noodle picked up his backpack and motioned for him to follow her to the car. Ace always loved that car. An authentic red '61 Cadillac. It must have cost a fortune because you don't really see these typed of cars around these days anymore. Not will those high tech Lamborghinis and Ferraris cruising around everywhere. He honestly thought that those cars were not worth that amount of money even though he knew that he could never afford one himself. He reached for the handle and slid into the passenger seat. Before he could even settle down in the car his hand darted for the cup of coffee that was situated in the cupholder that separated the driver and passenger seats. He took a big sip using the straw. Instead of steaming hot liquid flowing into his mouth, it was an iced cappuccino.