"Evelyn, wake up."
Something poked into my cheek. I sighed and pushed the source of my awakening with the back of my hand.
"Wake the fuck up, you fuck," Harry said and shook me. "We'll miss our flight."
"Psychopath," I grumbled and pushed myself off of the airport seat. The ceiling was bright but the room was dull and quiet. My neck was aching from falling asleep on a chair.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that," he said as we approached the eighth gate in line behind a couple. "By that, I meant What the fuck did you just say?"
A built man blocking my view smirked at a woman standing next to him. I heard him mutter Us and she giggled.
"Oh, my God, shut up," I snapped jokingly. "You're worse than my brother." That triggered something but I did my best to ignore it.
"I can do whatever the fuck I want, we've been through this," he told me.
A speaker alarmed the people inside. "Gate eight is now open to-"
"LAAAAAALALALA," Harry shouted and covered my ears, shoving my face into his chest.
"Ugh!" I shoved him off. "What is your problem?" Heads turned to face us angrily.
"I can't let you find out where we're going," he said, "we made it this far with you being oblivious."
People began to look away, but a boy stared too long. Harry grabbed me from around the waist and pulled me to his side, all the while keeping his eyes on the boy who wasn't even looking directly at me and had a girl next to him.
"Jealous," I muttered.
"Not jealousy," he whispered. "Threating."
"Threatening," I corrected.
"You're being cocky." He narrowed his eyes.
I smirked. "Deal with it."
He smirked back, bit his lip, leaned in and seductively whispered, "It's fucking annoying."
"Stop fucking swearing," I said. The line moved up.
"Code," he said.
"What?"
"Whenever I say code, remember the following words: I can do whatever the fuck I want."
"Have you got your boarding passes?" a woman behind the counter asked us through her smile.
Harry slapped two tickets onto the desk. "No."
I jabbed my elbow into his ribcage and he smiled at the lady. She blushed under her makeup and scanned the tickets.
"Through here, ma'am," she said to me icily, losing all kindness in her voice, and gestured to the doorframe.
"Thank you," I said and followed Harry through the makeshift hallway and outside.
The wind was strong and pushed my hair in all directions, our clothes flapping like the orange flags directing us to the entry of the huge plane. Planes this big were used to leave the country.
"You should be more kind to people," I called over the sounds of the wind. "Especially if they're being kind to you."
"Code," he screamed back.
"And walk slower," I said. "Shorter people have shorter legs and slower paces. I'm not ten feet tall like you."
"If you hadn't realized," he said, ramming the handles of my luggage down and grasped it by its head, "I'm holding your luggage. Appreciate it."
He held both bags up until we reached the top of the metal stairs. "I think I could have held a luggage with, like, two shirts in it," I said.
"I'm trying to be a gentleman, okay, shush," he told me, our voices now quiet in the aircraft. People watched us walk through the narrow aisle until we reached the end of the plane.
After Harry placed our baggage's into the baggage area, he started complaining--loudly--about the proximity between our seats and the toilets, saying he would be able to "hear people shitting" so I let him sit by the window.
"Have you been on a plane before?" I asked out of curiosity as I fastened my seatbelt. I peeked over his shoulder and through the window, feeling a knot in my stomach watching carts pull the stairs and gates away from the plane.
"Fuck, yes," he grumbled. The plane lurched forward and he gripped the edges of his seat.
"Scaredy cat," I smirked. "That is cute."
Harry whipped his head to me. "Okay, we've gotta go through some things, here." He pointed to me. "Don't call me cute. Ever."
"Or what?" I asked.
He stared at me. "Don't talk back," he murmured.
"Or what?" I bit the inside of my bottom lip to stop smiling.
"You're gonna get it if you don't keep your trap shut." He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together in his lap.
"I'm bored." I leaned my head onto his shoulder. "What do you do on a plane?"
Harry opened his eyes and watched as hostesses began to stand in the aisles. "Usually just fuck one of them in the back," he said nonchalantly.
I cleared my throat and laughed. "Yep, sure you do."
"Does that amuse you?" He smirked.
"What amuses me is that you think you can get any girl you want."
"I got you," he said and held up his hand with the ring.
"What else do you do?" I asked.
Harry yanked a remote out from the seat. "Play on these." He twisted it around in his hands and mashed the buttons under his thumbs. "The fuck is this."
"I thought you've been on a plane."
"I have, this one's different."
"They don't turn on-"smirk,"-until the plane lifts." Still smirking. "Stop smiling, you dirty person."
"Code," he said.
I sighed and watched as the hosts showed how to correctly buckle your seatbelt and what else to do in cases of emergencies.
I felt something poke my cheek.
"What?" I asked.
"Why are you staring at him?" Harry asked sternly and glared at a male host in the aisle, holding up a brochure.
"Harry, he's teaching me how to fucking survive."
"Don't look at him," he demanded.
"Fine, then when the plane goes down I'll just be sitting here like meh."
Silence.
"What are you doing?" he said.
"Oh my glob, what?"
"You're looking at the girl, now. What are you, bi?"
"Ugh-"
"Stop," he said.
"Code," I said.
"Code is my fucking idea!"
"Shut the fuck up, you butt, oh, my God!"
"Code."
"I'm hungry," I groaned and pulled out the menu. "So expensive."
Harry pulled out a note and held it between two fingers. "Buy yourself somethin' pretty," he said. "Oh, and get me Pringles. The oniony ones."
"I have my own money, thanks," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt.
"No, don't go." He yanked me down and I cried out as I fell onto his lap. The people in front of us peeked through the chairs at us.
"Harry."
"Yes?"
"Let go of my arm, please."
"No."
"The plane's moving, you ass." I pushed myself off and into my seat. "Why are you so annoying t--?"
He pulled me back down and planted a lingering kiss onto my mouth. "You talk too much."
"Shhh, the plane's boarding," I said. "Did you want to hold my hand?"
"Ha, ha. No."
The plane moved forward and Harry stared ahead. "Do I look scared?" he smiled, obviously proud.
"Yes."
The plane moved onto a long road and stopped. Harry's leg bounced and his gaze flickered to me. "Give me your fucking hand," he gave in and held my hand. I smirked at him but didn't say anything to piss him off. "I only hate the fact," he was saying, "that we're in this giant metal box in the fucking air and something so simple, like extra weight, can fuck us all up."
"It's okay to be scared of something," I said.
"I'm not scared."
"Harry-"
"I said I hate the fact that we could die today because some faggot thought sneaking in extra weight in their fucking baggage's will help," he said with a clenched jaw. "I didn't say I was scared of planes."
I blinked as I realized something. "You're afraid of death," I said quietly. His leg stopped bouncing.
"I think we can order snacks, now," Harry said and gestured to a man standing behind us.
"We're not flying yet," I pointed out.
He sighed and fumbled with the tightening belt. Something was announced by the pilot through the speakers before the plane shot forward and I was pushed into my seat. Harry's hand tightened around mine but, besides that, he showed no signs of being afraid. Loud noises blocked my ears, and finally the plane reclined and lifted off of the ground.
"See?" I smiled at him after a minute of being in the air and leaned back onto his shoulder.
"Evelyn," he warned.
"I'm not going to make fun of you, don't worry."
"Food." He pointed at another man approaching us with another trolley. "Wait, I'll talk."
"Why?" I asked. "I'm sitting next to the aisle." There was actually an empty seat next to mine but whatever.
"You," he pointed, "you aren't gonna say another word to any other man. I swear to God, every guy you talk to has the hots for you. Keep your lips sealed." As soon as the boy stood beside me, Harry leaned over and ordered two packets of chips and a bottle of water.
"Apparently we're going to have lunch in, like, half an hour," Harry said after he received his change.
"Can you tell me where we're going now?" I asked.
"No."
"Hints?" I begged.
"It's a place." Pause.
"Yeah?"
"That's it," he said.
"Harry, come on." I shoved his shoulder with mine.
"It's..." He thought for a moment. "Actually, I don't know if you'll like it or not."
"I like everything," I said.
"I can't say anything else," he said sternly.
I pursed my lips and turned to the person sitting across from me. "Excuse me." I heard Harry shuffle behind me as the girl turned her head towards me.
"No." Harry grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back into the seat. "No," he repeated. "A surprise is a surprise."
"What if I want to watch something on this and it tells me the location?" I asked, pointing to the screen.
"It wont, just don't ask anyone." His voice softened. "I wanted to surprise you and you're not helping."
"Sorry," I murmured and kissed his cheek.
"Oh," he said, "and the only place you can kiss--on my face--is here." He pointed to his lips.
"That's, like, the only good rule you made up today," I said shyly. He smirked and pressed a long kiss to my mouth.
"You know, with this being the only clue, this flight is going to take a long, long time," he said quietly. "Like, a whole day long."
I sighed. "Yay."
"Yay, indeed."
"No."
"What?" he asked innocently.
"It's a fucking plane, don't be stupid." I hissed.
Harry shrugged. "I've done it many times before."
"As I said before, sure."
"C'mon it would be fun." He rested his head on my shoulder and nuzzled his face in my neck. His breaths tickled me, and I pressed my chin to the pit between my collarbones, making a stupid sound at the back of my throat. Harry laughed and pushed himself away.
"What was that?" he asked.
"It tickles," I giggled and covered my mouth.
"Don't worry, I'm not in the mood to tickle you," he said.
I nodded vaguely and crossed my arms over my chest. "It's so fucking cold." I looked up to an air conditioner shaped like the lid of a pop-up bottle. "Harry, turn it off."
"You turn it off."
"I can't reach."
He raised his elbow and weakly prodded the air conditioner. "I can't reach, either," he said.
In about half an hour, our food had arrived. We were the last to receive it; chicken, dry rice, a glass of water, four blocks of dark chocolate and fruit salad.
"Ew." Harry drank some of his water. "Don't eat the watermelon, it's sour."
"That's blood orange." I pointed out.
"It's fucking disgusting," he said as a hostess walked by.
"Keep your voice down, turd." I said and kicked his shin.
He sighed and stretched his arm in the air. "This. Sucks."
"You suck--stop smiling."
"I'm gonna watch something," he said and grabbed the remote.
The lights around us dimmed or turned off. I noticed people sleeping and felt tired, myself but didn't want to sleep yet.
"Me, too," I said and placed the complementary headphones over my ears.
-
"Excuse me, ma'am," somebody said quietly. "The plane has landed."
"Oh, sorry." I rubbed my eyes and sat up in my seat.
Harry's head was resting on the window when I turned to him, his hands in his lap. "Harry, wake up." I poked his cheek like he did to me and he opened his eyes.
"Hmmm," he hummed, closing his eyes again.
"We're here," I said. He took a deep breath and unbuckled his seatbelt.
"Quick," he said, his voice deep and slow.
"Right?" I took our baggage's down from the shelf and waited in the aisle for Harry. "Did you forget anything?"
"Your phone," he said and tapped his pocket.
"You had my phone?" I asked quietly. As soon as he feel asleep watching a comedy I thought I would check if anybody called. It would be midnight back at home right now so they must've noticed I was gone. "I mean, have."
He nodded and smirked, sliding past my body and over to his bag. "Hurry, we're last to leave," he said and took the back exit of the plane.
We stepped outside and onto the metallic platform. As we stepped down, I stared around at the scenery before us, The air was thick and hot.
"Where are we?" I breathed. It was late, around six or seven in the afternoon if I had to guess. "Can you tell me now?"
"We," he gritted, yanking his bag's handle out, "are in...Guess."
"There's a billion fricken planes in the world and I waited too long. Tell me," I demanded. We followed the group of people whom were all in the same plane into the airport. Cool air washed over us, and I heard Harry sigh.
"Well, it's a tropical city," he said. "And...Guess."
I sighed deeply and looked around and in between crowds of people. A mechanical sign by a counter that traded money read Welcome to QLD!
"Wait, where's 'QLD', I've heard it from somewhere," I said, struggling to catch up to Harry. "You're still walking too fast."
He held my hand in his and directed us toward a counter. "Give me a minute," he said and turned to the middle-aged woman behind the desk. As he spoke to her, I looked around the airport.
"To answer your question, we're in Australia," Harry suddenly said and pulled me away. "And our ride should be out here somewhere. Probably left without us."
"I swear to God, if that fucking happened," I warned.
"Then walk faster," he said.
"You're going to rip my arm off, oh my God. Wait, where are we going?"
He sighed. "We're going to a hotel."
"Oh, surprise surprise. You didn't buy a house to burn down, at the end," I joked and he sped up the pace.
"You wont be laughing if our ride has fucking gone," he said deliberately. After a minute of running through the airport, we burst through a pair of doors and back outside to the heat. "Where's the bus?" Harry growled under his breath.
"Fuck," I muttered.
"We missed the bus," he groaned and rubbed his face. "For fucking fuck's fucking sake."
I giggled and he glowered at me.
"It's not funny," he said, smiling lightly.
"It's kinda funny, I admit it." I laughed into my hand then cleared my throat. "Do you know what hotel it was?"
"No, Evelyn, I didn't fucking know," he said sarcastically.
"Then call a fucking cab!"
He winced. "They're called taxis here, and, like everywhere else," he said and walked towards the edge of the road.
"Shut up." My eye caught sight of brand new cars in rows, all lined up by us. "Why don't you rent a car?" I suggested.
"I don't have the money," he grumbled and wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. "It's not like I could bring a million bucks without anybody questioning me."
I stared at the cars. "Rob a bank, then."
"I could steal one."
"Nah, I think a taxi's fine," I pointed to the mob of people surrounding a bus stop. "What about over there?"
Harry stared ahead for a moment, then grabbed my hand again and led me there. After ten minutes of standing in the intense heat, our ride had arrived and everyone crammed up in the vehicle.
"There aren't any seats," I said, and despite being in a plane for twenty hours or something I was tired.
"I don't think the hotel's far, anyway." he whispered and grabbed a handle dangling from the ceiling. "Come here."
I awkwardly stepped around our bags and stood in front of him. He twirled me around so my back was pressed against his warm chest, and he wrapped his arm around my waist. People stood all around us, most of them on their phones or staring out of the window. All handles around me were occupied so I grabbed onto the same one as Harry's. I felt his heart beat against my skin.
"What's the time," I asked, "here?"
Harry lifted his arm and peered down at his watch. "Eleven."
In half an hour, the bus stopped its twelfth time and dropped us off.
"There," Harry pointed in the air at a tower. "That's the hotel. Come on."
"I'm so tired." I muttered but followed him quietly past a water fountain, reading something in gold letters.
"Almost there," he called out.
I pursed my lips and ambled inside of the building with him. "Fancy," I muttered at the beguiling decorations adorning the reception; the painting and leather couches and red rugs.
"Take a seat, might be a while," Harry told me before making his way to the front desk.
I watched him speak to a middle-aged lady behind the counter that had one of those animatronic monkeys for five minutes, then approached me with a key in his hand.
"Got it," he said and dragged the bags into the elevator. It had glass doors and a huge window from the top to bottom so we were able to see the outside as we arrived to the top.
"I still feel tired," Harry confessed as he unlocked the room door which had a gold plate at the top reading Hinderland Suite.
-:-:-:-