A Flight's Desire

Chapter 7: Admitting

"Woah!" Ben exclaimed as he read the last few lines over and over again. It didn't make any sense but it was the perfect cliffhanger that would grab anyone's attention.

"End of 'Prologue'?" Robin asked, used to hearing the same reaction for that chapter. She wondered why everyone was curious about that one line, but that was the whole point. It was one of the greatest sentences that she had ever written - He crashed his car deliberately in order to kill them both.

"Y-yes." He forced himself to look away from the words on the page. They had been imprinted in the back of his head. "But why? Why would he want to kill a child?"

She simply shrugged."Read and find out, my new friend."

He took a deep breath and nodded. He was glad that she thought of him as a friend because he sure did. "You've got me hooked on it," he revealed before leaning forward in his seat to continue reading.

"I...." She thought that it had been a whisper but when he turned to look up at her, she knew that he had meant it. "Thank you. For reading my book."

"Of course. I should be thanking you really. I finally don't have to be alone with my thoughts for the next thirty hours."

She was flattered, honoured and utterly terrified, but she was going to enjoy the moment. Benjamin Summers was reading her book! From all that she knew about him, he was a good reader and a kind-hearted person really. But the reality of being seated next to him on a flight was still taking some time to process. "But what were you going to do, if I may ask?" She whispered. "Thirty hours is an awful long time to be staring in silence at something."

"Well," he thought about his answer. "I was going to take notes from my acting in movies. But," he snickered. "I didn't want you to freak out by that. I'm an actor."

"I know. I am a huge fan" she revealed when there was no turning back. "I have watched almost all your movies and I didn't want you to freak out by my fangirling. I'm sure you get enough of that." It took every cell in her body to not faint.

Both of them laughed heartily. He understood why she had done what she did and was grateful for it. He was glad to have another friend that saw him as another human being. "Well Robin, you are a wonderful writer!"

"And you are the best actor that this industry needs."

"That's....very sweet of you." He had heard it before but he couldn't believe it really. He was a struggling actor and had a lot to learn. He was only five years into the industry but he had been a part of various plays before that. He needed to work with more experienced actors but a small part of him wanted something different.

"I'm not trying to flatter you. It's the truth" she persisted. "I mean, have you watched The Language? I cried around forty-five times for that movie."

"Are you serious?" He had never heard that before. That movie had been one of his least-watched works. If Robin had cried so many times as she claimed she did, then she was either one of his biggest fans or she really liked the movie. It could have been both, and it was really.

"I'm an emotional person when it comes to fictional characters but your acting made it better. And worse!" She admitted, not being able to believe that she was talking to him like a friend....like she had known him all their lives. She had ranted about his movies to her best friend Mila Anne, who was also a fan. She was just hoping that she wasn't making a fool of herself by actually revealing it to him.

"Thank you. That was....is one of my favourite projects to have worked on. It's the way it was written." A genuine smile spread across his face. "The notes that I got to write will always be with me.

"I would offer to take your acting notes for you now that you are reading my book, but I don't know your process."

"Oh no, I will do it but thank you very much for the offer. I may need your help and I'll ask you for it. Be ready for my naggings."

"And be prepared for my annoying questions as well."

After that, they continued to read in silence. Ben was transported to the city of New York in the book. His actor-self took control of him as he imagined himself in the character of Caleb Walker, who was easily the most relatable character that he had read about. He could easily put himself in the character's shoes.

While he was reading with eagerness, Robin had her hands holding her forehead as she forced herself to read her own writing. She knew the entire plot and yet, she had to read the exact words to write the necessary parallels in the second book. She had hinted at the revelation for the true villain of the story but once again, she needed to know the exact words for the situation. She hated re-reading her book again because she knew that she couldn't make the small changes that she wished she could. Every time that she read, she came up with a new interpretation. But she was looking forward to writing the villain's perspective, knowing that that was going to be fun.

She let her forehead free and when she turned to look at Ben, she hid her laptop screen. "Hey! Read the first book, mister."

He was caught red-handed trying to catch a glimpse of what she was writing. "I'm too excited to continue reading! I need to know what happens!"

"This contains spoilers that you are not going to understand yet, but they are spoilers."

"You're writing the second book? Now that is not helping me."

Two hours passed by smoothly and he was almost halfway through the book while Robin was hardly one-third into it. She wanted to bang her head against a wall to get inspiration but she really wanted to watch a movie - preferably one of Ben's because his movies were her favourite. But she couldn't do it for obvious reasons.

The cabin crew started to bring food for everyone in their trolleys. They started from the front row and made their way towards the back. Once one of the stewardesses on the left aisle reached the final row, she asked Robin and Ben if they wanted any. A sense of shock spread to her when she saw Ben and realised who he was and had to maintain the ethic of professionalism.

Ben turned to Robin to honour his chivalrous side. "Would you like anything?"

"Yes," she looked up at the stewardess. "I wouldn't mind the Tandoori Veg Sandwich right about now."

"I'll have the same thing as well," he said and she was surprised at that. "I love Indian food. I would die for a dosa right now."

At that point, she was pretty sure that her subconscious was hinting that she was dreaming. It took everything in her to not pinch herself. "If you ever find yourself in L.A. or New York, you can knock on my door. I'll make you one."

"You know how to cook dosa?"

"It is the greatest food in the world." She smiled at their common shared love for food.

"Oh it is so good to finally meet someone who agrees!"

"I am glad as well because once you have had anything that I've cooked, believe me that you will be running in the opposite direction." Self-burn was healthy and she believed in that.

"It cannot be as bad as my cooking. I burnt a hole in Tupperware once." He didn't know why he told her that because it was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. His elder sister, Candice was furious the day that the incident took place. He was confident that he had seen fumes coming out of her ears.

Robin's eyes widened and a huge smile spread across her face. "Okay, maybe not that bad then."

"Okay, I'm going to continue reading and once I am done, I have a list of endless questions for you."

"Uh oh. Should I be worried?"

He squinted his eyes at her. "Probably."