(Phoebe Bridgers point of view)
I got the aisle seat. I'd had better seats on planes before. A lot of the time, I ended up with the window seat. A few times, like, very few, I got a first class seat. That's what I had gotten when I opened for Taylor Swift. Taylor always gave the very best.
At least my aisle seat was across from Lucy's seat. Abby got the window seat, Julien was in between us, and Lucy was directly across the aisle. We were lucky our seats were together. Lucy didn't even seem to care that she was somewhat separated. Maybe if Abby and Julien got too gushy I would swap with her. Lucy never minded their lovey dovey shit. She thought it was cute. She probably saw them as song writing material. Lucy saw everything as song writing material.
We hadn't even been in the air for five whole minutes, and Julien and Abby had been whispering when I decided to interject.
"Hey, lovebirds," I said. "You guys telling secrets over here?"
Julien turned towards me, and when she did, I caught a glimpse of Abby's face. Oh no. She didn't look good.
"What's wrong?" I asked Julien. My tone wasn't jokey anymore.
"She feels like she's gonna pass out." Julien told me.
"What's going on?" Lucy leaned across the aisle.
Just as Julien was about to repeat what she told me, she turned back to Abby. I think Julien has Spidey-Senses. Abby had passed out, and she started to fall forward. Julien caught her right before her head hit the seat in front of her. A string of curses came from Julien's mouth as she attempted to get Abby upright. Me and Lucy watched, helpless.
"Is everything alright over here?" A flight attendant had appeared at our row, and was watching Julien desperately try to keep Abby in her seat.
"We're...fine?" I decided to handle the lady, but I really didn't know.
"The change in air pressure can...affect people." She was still watching Julien.
"We're good," I said. "Don't need any assistance."
The flight attendant slowly walked away. Finally.
"Are we good?" I turned to Julien.
She had finally gotten Abby still, yet it took half of her body. She was twisted out of her seat, her arms placed over Abby's to hold her in place. Abby's head was tipped to one side, her eyes still closed, eyelids fluttering lightly.
"It probably is just the air pressure." Julien said.
We waited for Abby to wake up. After what felt like hours, her eyes opened. We all sighed in relief.
"Abby? Can you hear me?" Julien asked her very softly. Her voice was basically a whisper.
"Yes." Abby whispered. "I just can't...move yet."
Julien turned back to me and Lucy. "She's alright. She just hasn't gotten control back yet."
Control? I realized then that this was more serious than I had ever imagined.
"Julien." Abby breathed. She sounded, and looked, disoriented.
"I'm here." Julien reassured her.
I tried to tune out their conversation. I didn't want to be nosy. I looked away from them, and watched some kids movie a few rows ahead. Their voices were still clear.
"Can you move yet?" Julien said. "Try moving your legs."
Abby must've been able to, because Julien sounded satisfied.
"I don't feel...well." Abby told her.
"I know." She sighed. "Just breathe."
"How long was I out?"
"Only a few minutes."
"Oh. I was hoping I had at least passed some time."
Maybe it was time to put my headphones in. Lucy had, and was doing something on her phone. I put mine on and started going through my voice memos.
***
(Abby's point of view)
I focused on counting. I counted down the minutes of the plane ride. The entire trip took about six hours, if I was rounding up, and I had passed out for, say, five minutes. I did all sorts of calculations with those numbers. I just had to keep my mind off of how I felt. It was an if I can't see it, it can't see me sort of thing. I don't know how long I did that before Julien tapped my shoulder. It made me jump.
"Sorry," She said. "I just wanted to make sure you were conscious."
"I'm okay." I replied. "Just...numbers."
She left me to it. Some of my coping mechanisms confused her. At least I was coping.
After a while of math, I decided to listen to music. Music always distracted me. I don't know why I didn't start with that. I put my headphones in, shuffled some playlist, closed my eyes, and let the sound of "i wanna be your girlfriend" by girl in red replace the numbers. I am gay, after all.
The time passed. I read. I listened to music. I talked to Julien. I slept. I even ate a few times. I felt better as the flight went on.
Until I didn't.
We were landing. I started to feel dizzy and my heart rate went up. I fought it off. I would not let this happen again. I couldn't.
"Are you okay?" Julien asked me after we had landed and everyone started getting their stuff together.
"Fine." I whispered. It was all I could muster.
"Are you sure?" She said.
I nodded, and forced a small smile. It probably wasn't convincing, but I turned away before she could ask more. We all got our things and shuffled into the line of passengers. Standing was making me feel worse. The whole place was spinning, and my heart rate was through the roof. Julien was in front of me, and Lucy was behind me. I think that Phoebe was ahead of Julien. I couldn't see that far. My legs were shaking, like they were about to give out. Keep fighting, keep fighting, keep fighting. It wasn't enough.
"Julien." I gasped when my legs gave out.
She caught me, per usual. Lucy helped her stand me up, and they supported me on both sides, their arms under each of my elbows.
"Just hold on," Julien said firmly. "Fight it, Abby. You can do it. Don't let it take you."
"Stay with us." Lucy added, also very firmly.
Phoebe took my bag. Lucy and Julien talked to me the whole time, giving me something to focus on. They asked me questions.
"Um...where did Taylor Swift grow up?" Lucy said once.
"Christmas tree farm." I choked out.
"What's my middle name?" Julien asked.
I would have laughed at the randomness of that one, if I hadn't felt like complete shit.
"Rose." I answered.
"What's my middle name?" Lucy questioned.
"Elizabeth." I breathed.
"Phoebe's middle name?"
"Luc...Lucille."
No matter how hard I fought, I was fading. Luckily, we got off the plane before I lost complete control of my body. They guided me through the jetway and to a quiet section of the airport seating. My heart was beating so fast it was almost painful, the sound echoing throughout my whole body. The walls were glass, and though it wasn't an entirely new sun, Massachusetts made the sun feel different. Dimmer, or maybe colder, or maybe it was just me, on the verge of passing out.
"There she goes." I heard Julien mutter as my eyes closed.
***
When I regained consciousness, I felt someone's arms around me, holding me, my head on their chest. I heard their heartbeat, and felt them breathing and talking. I took a breath, and their scent gave me enough motivation to open my eyes. Julien.
"Welcome back." Phoebe was nearby. I couldn't find her yet.
"Hi," Julien said softly when our eyes met. "You alright, honey?"
I blinked a few times, trying to focus my eyes. Julien helped me sit up, her arms still around me. I realized that we were on the floor, me cradled in Julien's lap, her kneeling and supporting all of my body weight. Phoebe stood, blocking passerbys' view of us. Lucy wasn't there.
"I'm okay." I said quietly. "Where's...where's Lucy?"
"She's getting you something to drink." Phoebe told me.
I nodded, still not totally awake. I regretted putting makeup on. I felt sticky.
"I'm back," Lucy announced as she walked up to us, a Gatorade in hand. "And I got the goods."
She handed Julien the bottle, who opened it and handed it to me.
"Drink." Julien instructed me.
I obeyed. Once half the bottle was gone, they helped me up and we were on our way. What a long, and chaotic, day.
-----------------------------------
Can they catch a break?! No. No they cannot.
How was Phoebe's point of view? Funny? Stupid? Interesting?