Name blinked once. Twice.
She resisted the urge to rub her eyes and instead she shook her head lightly. When she raised her face up again she saw that he was still standing there. He was still there with the same gold hair and green eyes.
She was quiet until he sat between her and the window, "Looks like we'll be spending the next few hours together, neighbor."
It took Name a few seconds to realize what's going on before she replied, "Yeah, I guess so"
'I'm a moron. Sit there and just stare, why don't 'cha?' Out of reflex, she smacked her face, and hung her head. Before an awkward silence could cover them, the Brit cleared his throat.
"So, is this going to be your first time in England?"
She looked at him, "Second. First time was back when I was still a freshman in college"
"You said before that you're going to be attending a medical school there-which?"
She tapped her lap and told him the name of the school, "A professor recommended me"
"Impressive"
"Thanks but you won't think I'm so impressive when you find out that I cram for test and quizzes because I tend to procrastinate"
He chuckled, "What do you do when you procrastinate?"
"Oh, you know; play videogames, watch anime, and read books that are unrelated to your subject. The basics"
"Videogames, eh?" He had an unknown emotion glinting from the corner of his emerald eyes. Was that annoyance she sensed?
"What is it?"
"A certain person just came into my mind"
The girl was going to change the subject in order to relieve him but a loud voice called from the entrance of the plane, "Yo, Artie dude!"
She glanced at the Englishman whose entire being froze. An expression screaming "Oh HELL no" printed on his face.
Name turned her head and found a tall blonde young man (maybe around his early 20's) in a blue jacket.
He hyperactively skipped towards Name and Mr. Bushy Brows' seats. Up close, Name could see that the lad wore black-rimmed glasses, and a single strand of sand-colored hair defying gravity.
"Thirteen-C" He read before he grinned goofily down at the Brit, "Looks like we'll be spending the next whoknowshowlong hours together, Artie!"
'Artie?' Name repeated the name in her head.
"Ame—Alfred!" Artie stood up, "Why are you here?"
The taller blonde laughed, "Isn't it obvious? I'm on my way to your place for the meeting!"
"No, of course I know, you git! I mean why here!" Artie pointed down at the empty chair next to Name, "Why this plane? Why THIS seat?"
"But Artie—
"It's Arthur. ARTHUR! Not Artie! How many times must I tell you, you hamburger idiot! Shouldn't you be on a private jet with your boss?"
They started to take turns volleying insults. They didn't stop until a flight attendant asked them to take their seats as the plane's about to take flight.
"So," Alfred buckled his seatbelt, "are you Artie's girlfriend or something?"
Name and Arthur whipped their heads at the same time, "Oh no, no, no" they said in unison. Cheeks flushed.
The American cackled, "That's really a relief" He shot the girl a flirty smile. Her eyes widened at this, but from how casual he acted she figured that it was in his nature. Alfred leaned over, "Say, I didn't get your name, dudette"
With his face so close, Name couldn't help but notice how blue his eyes were. A beautiful blue that reminded her of the sky on a Sunday morning. She only managed to stutter out her name.
"Cool. I'm Alfred, but I guess you already know that" He laughed heartily, grabbing her hand and shaking it vigorously. "Nice to meet you, dudette!"
"L-likewise" she replied starting to feel dizzy.
"You're too rough!" Arthur yelled, "Let her go, Alfred!" He smacked the other male's hands away.
Alfred backed away and had his arms in the air as if to say he surrendered "Yeah, yeah"
Arthur sighed and slumped back on his seat.
Alfred put his headphones on, so the other two finally got some peace and quiet. "Thanks for saving me back there" Name told Arthur. He let out a dry chuckle, "Yes, I'm happy to be at your service. He's always been obnoxious"
"I take it that you guys know each other" Name glanced at Alfred, then back at Arthur.
"Yes. We attend the same meetings and trips as representatives for our government"
"You seem like great friends to me"
"That's—ah" Arthur blushed, "That's not true. He is nothing but a big, obnoxious hero-wannabe!"
"Sure, sure"
"I mean it!"
She bit down on her lower lip, "I believe you"
"No you don't, I can sense the sarcasm!"
Name started to laugh. She reached for her backpack and pulled out her copy of The Philosopher's Stone. She waved it in front of the Brit, "Care to read with me?"
Arthur gazed at the book then back at her. He nodded and smiled, "Yes, alright"
Name observed Arthur who had fallen asleep on her shoulder when they were almost finished with the last chapter. Her face began to heat up at the sight of a sleeping Arthur.
'He's so cute.' She thought to herself.
Alfred left for the comfort room minutes before so Name felt like she was in her own little world with Arthur. However, the spell broke when the blonde started to grumble and move in his sleep.
"...frog..." She heard him utter in anger. "Frog?" she repeated in confusion.
Arthur moved his head off Name's shoulder and leaned on the wall for support. Name couldn't help but feel bothered by the loss of the weight and warmth that comforted her somehow. Shrugging the feeling away, she stuffed the novel back in her bag and pulled out something else instead.
"You own a PSP?" Alfred took his seat and eyeballed the most recent version of the PSP in the girl's hands.
Name nodded, "Dad gave it to me as a congratulations gift"
"Congratulations gift?"
"For getting into medical school" she explained, "I've been begging forever"
"What kind of games do you play? Oh, no wait, don't tell me: dating sims and visual novels?"
Name laughed lightly "Sometimes" she switched the device on, "But sometimes I just want some senseless violence. First-person shooters are the best."
He thought for a moment and asked, "You ever play CoD?"
"What can I say? Black Ops had the best storyline."
"Nice" Alfred raised his palm and the young woman high-fived him, "Is that Tekken?" He looked down at the screen, which had Alisa Bosconovitch and Lars Alexander on it.
"No, it's Amnesia—what do you think?" she answered sarcastically.
"Ah, darn! I totally forgot mine back at home" He whacked his forehead, "I knew I was forgetting something"
"You can borrow this if you want" Name was surprised. Normally, she was wary of overly friendly strangers, but something—rather, nothing about Alfred or Arthur has set her off.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, we can take turns"
"Sweet!" He fist-pumped the air but at the same time his stomach growled causing the girl to giggle. Alfred's pale cheeks turned pink and he pouted.
Name took something from her knapsack. "Here" she handed him a bag from McDonalds, "Dad bought this for me, but he forgot I was vegetarian".
Alfred's entire face lit up.
"Sorry, I only have a cheeseburger and fries in here and they're no longer hot so—what the!" The young woman was cut short when strong arms wrapped around her, "ThankyouthankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!" he squeezed her, "You're the bestest!"
Name was completely taken aback by the guy's lack of sense of personal space but, seriously, who could resist someone like Alfred?
Alfred gratefully pulled out the burger from the brown paper bag and takes a huge bite from it. While chewing he couldn't help but realize that after the plane lands and they get out of the airport; he couldn't help but feel disappointed at the thought of saying goodbye.