Name was never the type to be late.
She enjoyed being punctual. She loathed tardiness. To her, waiting was nothing compared to the thought of having others wait for her. However, sometimes, she could go a little overboard with her punctuality.
Like today.
"Honestly" she stared at her wristwatch, "I arrived an hour early. How peachy..." Sighing, she pulled out a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone from her backpack. With crossed legs she sat on one of the benches near the windows inside the huge airport.
The girl was on the third chapter when a masculine voice laced with a (sexy, a word she still had trouble saying aloud) English accent spoke out of the blue, "Excuse me"
The young woman didn't reply. She was too engrossed with the book she held tightly in her hands.
"Excuse me, miss"
Nothing.
"Miss" The voice said a little more loudly than before.
Name finally heard the call, dropping the novel on the floor out of surprise.
"Oh, I'm sorry" The man said.
"No, it's okay. I can be a real klutz sometimes" Name joked when she bent down to pick it up. However, a pale hand grabbed it first and handed it to her. She blinked before she took it gratefully and brushed a strand of her hair on the back of her ear.
"Thanks" She sat up and faced the stranger.
Her eyes widened as she finally glanced at the man.
His messy, pale blonde locks worked and framed his face beautifully. Though he had peridots for irises, his most distinguishing feature had to be his pair of thick eyebrows that surprisingly fit him in a way that, without them, the girl felt that he would somehow be incomplete.
Name discreetly pinched her forearm in order to prevent herself from letting out a laugh. His brows reminded her of malnourished caterpillars.
She gulped before speaking, "I'm sorry, you were trying to catch my attention, right?" she felt like an idiot for not noticing him earlier, "Sorry, got too excited with my book" she waved the copy of first part of the Harry Potter series in the air.
The blonde man chuckled, causing Name's cheeks to turn pink. "No, it's quite alright. I don't really blame you. It is a delightful read. But I was going to ask if this seat was taken" he gestured at the chair next to hers.
The girl then noticed that the airport has gotten really packed and the only vacant seat was the one near her. She looked at the stranger and grinned, "No, go ahead"
He gave her a grateful smile. He dropped his backpack by his feet and dragged his suitcase next to him. He propped his arm on the armrest between them and leaned towards her a bit, "How far are you?"
"Chapter 3. So far it's been really great. I dunno why I just started reading it now"
"Really?"
"Yeah, I only watched the movies-- which were also awesome. I didn't find out that it was a book series until a friend told me about it last week" she let out a light giggle, "So, you've read it before?" she asked, partly because she was genuinely curious and partly because she couldn't believe she was talking to someone like him.
"Read it? I spend my free time rereading it and watching the films and um..." His cheeks had a tinge of pink in them.
She smiled and leaned a tad closer "What?" Now, she was really curious.
"I... uh, dress up"
A laugh threatened to explode out of her but she managed to force it back down her throat, letting out a mere chuckle. "Really? That's actually..."
"Socially unacceptable? Age inappropriate? Go on, I've heard it before"
Name shook her head softly, "No, I personally think it's pretty cool" She refused to use the term 'cute' as it may offend his masculinity.
"You" he looked at her as if she just said something crazy; which to him was crazy "You think it's 'cool' for a man in his 20's to dress up as a fictional character meant for well, teens and children?"
"Yeah" She replies, "I mean, you like-- love the franchise. Who am I to say it's wrong? And frankly, I'm not even halfway there but so far I can tell that I may become a big fan as well" She patted the cover.
Arthur didn't reply. Instead, his lips curled up into a small smile. Name blushed, butterflies began to flutter in her stomach.
"Where are you off to, if you don't mind me asking?" He asked, trying to relieve the awkward silence that was starting to build up.
"England. You?"
"Same here. Business or pleasure?"
"Business. I'm going to be studying medicine(A/N: feel free to change the course/class if you don't like. I want to take on med so I chose it) there. Are you returning home?"
"Well, yes. I came here for a two-week business trip but now I can finally come home"
"You must be glad then"
He laughed humorlessly, "Well, yes and no..." She gave him a curious and confused look. He continued, "There will be another meeting back at London, so I only have two days' worth of rest"
He sounded really exhausted. Name felt bad and quickly tried to cheer him up, "And Harry Potter"
He turned to her "What?"
"You told me that you spent your free time with Harry Potter right? So look on the bright side; you have two days' worth of Harry Potter" At first he just blinked but then bobbed his head in agreement, "Yes, I suppose so"
She smiled but then the urge to pee gets to her. She started to regret chugging down those two bottles of Arizona tea three hours ago when she was preparing for her flight. Cursing inwardly, she stuffed her book in her backpack and slung it on her shoulder. The blonde seemed shocked at her actions. She motioned toward the ladies' room with her eyes.
He sighed; a sigh of relief, as though he thought that he bothered the lovely young lady that managed to make him smile,a rather rare-once-in-a-blue-moon thing, and was relieved when she was only on her way to the loo.
The girl left her seat, dragging her suitcase with her to the loo. Yep, that's right; loo.
The line for the comfort room was pretty damn long. So it really wasn't a surprise to Name when the airport speakers blared and a woman announced that the plane that Name was going to board on was about to take flight soon while she was washing her hands by the sink.
'Thirteen-B, thirteen-B'
And now here she was. Looking for her seat inside the plane while the other passengers noisily filed in behind her.
Name finally found her place and carefully placed her suitcase in the overhead bin.
Clapping her hands together to rid of imaginary dirt, she smiled sadly to herself, 'Aww... I really wanted to spend more time with... uh... Ah, crap. I forgot to ask his name!' She smacked her forehead before taking her seat.
With an exasperated sigh, Name buckled her seatbelt and stared out the window.
The sky was orange and pink, like the watercolor painting she had back at home. The sun was about to set.
She covered her mouth with her hand, yawning, 'Well, I guess I can always call him "cute British Blondie" when I tell this story to everyone'
"Well, you are excused" Name's eyes widened as she heard the familiar voice with the familiar heart-melting accent and with the heart-stopping familiar laugh.
Cautiously, she averted her head from the glass and lifted her head up to lock gazes with a familiar pair of green orbs.
He tilted his blonde head and smiled that smile that made Name tell herself that if that moment was a dream, then she prayed to the Heavens to never wake her up. Because he certainly looked like something out of a daydream; a fairy tale.
She belonged in reality, a screwed up place.