How Allegiant Should Have Ended

Chapter 31

Tris:

"Are you sure you can drive, Tobias?"

"Yeah, I guess. How hard can it be?"

Instead of getting a cab, Tobias insists he drive us to the airport. I love him and all, but I don't think he knows what he's doing.

I clutch both armrests as we zoom by on the interstate. I almost want to shout apologies out the window.

I yelp when he makes a sharp turn off the exit.

"Sorry, honey," he says. "I haven't had much experience."

Normally I'd retort back and second him, but I can't get over what he called me. "Honey?" I ask. "You've never called me that before."

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see him blush. "Well, I guess.... I just thought, well, maybe since we are, you know, on a honeymoon..." he takes a deep breath, composing himself. "I thought I'd soften up for the week."

"Soften up? Why?"

"Well, I've picked up that when girls imagine their honeymoons, it's usually with the guy being sentimental, and I'd thought you'd like that."

I almost smile. "I do like this, but you don't have to change for me... honey."

I catch a glimpse of a smile, but he quickly changes back into a serious face. "I just want to be the guy you deserve."

I can tell there's emotion behind his words, more thoughts of his that we should eventually talk about. But not just yet. We'll save our problems for tonight, maybe tomorrow even. I know we both want a perfect first night. Yes, we'll talk about it tomorrow.

And besides, I don't want him to worry about anything else. He's been working extra to book this flight, and also have the guts to get on it. I don't want to add to his stress.

"Tobias, you're nothing like the guy I deserve." I look over and see the hurt on his face. "You're a million times better."

"I love you," he says.

"I love you, too."

"That's why we're here, isn't it?" he asks, recalling the wedding.

"Yes," I say, meaning it. "Yes it is."

***

"Prepare for takeoff."

The three flight attendants scurry about the cabin, making sure all carry ons are properly tucked in above or below the seats. I lift my arms as one woman tightens my seatbelt. She does the same for Tobias.

When she moves on to the next row of seats, I hear Tobias take a deep breath. "Are you okay?" I ask, trying to console him.

"I hope so," he says. I can sense the tone of his voice, confident, yet nervous.

I take his hand in mine and rub slow circles with my thumb. "It'll be okay. The flight is only a few hours."

I found out where he was taking me as soon as I saw the gate sign. I must've stood there with my mouth dropped for a while. He nudged me playfully with a smile on his face and handed me my ticket. "Surprise," he had said.

It only took ten minutes to load all of the passengers on the plane, and an estimated six hours for us to reach our destination: Maui.

One of the twelve Hawaiian islands, it's area at 572 square miles. Tobias has kept the rest of our vacation plans a secret, and he's done quite a good job at it.

I sneak a glance out my window when the plane starts to cruise around, and notice that our gate isn't particularly far from the runway. I direct my attention back to my struggling husband and dig around in my pocket until I find what I'm searching for: a pack of gum. I take two pieces out and hand one to him. "Here," I say, putting it in his hand. "I read online somewhere that chewing gum helps."

"Thanks," he says. He tears off the wrapper and puts the piece in his mouth. I do the same. I put my wrapper back in my pocket, for when I need to spit it out, and he puts his in his pocket.

We sit in silence until the plane begins to pick up speed. I look out my window and notice flaps on the wings moving positions. Tobias takes his hand out from my grasp and clutches the armrests on either side of him. His knuckles start to turn a faded shade of white. I notice his jaw expanding and contracting, rapidly chewing the piece of gum.

The plane's speed increases more and more until finally, I can sense the feeling of weightlessness. I peer out the window and take in how small everything looks. The cars seem as small as bugs and the people walking along the sidewalks are barely noticeable.

I want to show Tobias, but then I remember his fear, and return to consoling him. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" He gulps and nods his head, not daring to utter a word. I put my hand on his cheek and look him in the eye when he turns to face me. "Hey, are you okay?"

He nods then says, "Yeah, but only because you're here." I smile, and lean forward to kiss him, but a voice over the loudspeaker interrupts us.

"You are now free to unbuckle your seat belts and move about the cabin."

She then goes on to explain the details about this particular plane. She talks about how air travel has been discontinued for some time, then recently picked up a couple of months ago to open up the possibility of air travel. She also explains how the aircraft has been remodeled using the latest technology, decreasing the amount of time it takes to get from one destination to another.

When her speech comes to a close, she directs our attention to the headrests of the seats in front of us. There is a small television where we can select and watch the movie of our choice for $4.99. There is also a remote next to it where we can place an order of snacks and beverages to enjoy on the flight. The prices vary. Headphones for the television are found in the compartment of our armrests.

She then tells everyone that our estimated arrival time is 5:32PM, and clicks off the microphone.

"Would you like to watch a movie?" Tobias asks me after a while.

"Sure I say, repositioning myself into a more comfortable place.

We scroll through a wide selection of movies until he comes across one that he likes. It's a romantic comedy by the looks of it, about a boy and a girl with cancer who fall in love. I didn't catch the title, but he tells me he only chose it because the two leads look like me and my brother.

After a little over two hours of laughing and sobbing, earning us some rude looks from other passengers, the movie draws to a close, and we return the head phones back to their compartments.

Halfway through the movie, I had put up the armrest between me and Tobias and nuzzled into his shoulder. Now in that position, I start the close my eyes, and begin drifting off to sleep. In between stages of consciousness, I hear Tobias whisper, "I love you, forever."

Author's Note:

Hi everyone! So I hop everyone likes this chapter, as well as the destination of their honeymoon! You'll find out more about why I chose Maui through the next couple of chapters.

They might be more spaced out, though, since I start high school on Friday (yay), but I'll still try to update as much as I possibly can.

Please leave comments about how you like it, and vote if you think it's good! Thanks!!!

Xoxo, Rachel <4