A month later, Eden finds herself at the Orlando International Airport preparing to board a red-eye flight to London's Heathrow. To say she's anxious is an understatement; her knees haven't stopped bouncing since she and Harry sat down at their gate. In her hand is her plane ticket, crumpled from her idle hands continuously messing with it.
Harry returns from buying overpriced airport snacks and plops down next to her, a plethora of items in his hands.
"Got you those crisps you wanted," he says, tossing her a bag of barbecue chips. She takes them quietly, her hands clenching around the bag until she hears a loud pop. Her gaze falls to her lap, where a layer of barbecue crumbs is now covering her leggings.
Harry looks at her in mild confusion. "You feeling alright?" he asks while gently swiping the mess from her pants.
"I'm nervous," she says quietly. She shows him her wrinkled ticket. "I've never been on a plane before."
"What are you nervous about?" he asks, throwing an arm on the seat behind her and gazing down at her patiently.
She bites the inside of her cheek. "Mostly the heights part. But also being in such a tiny space, surrounded by people I don't know, and not being able to walk around or really do anything for several hours. It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."
A shaky breath passes over her lips. "Is that silly?"
"Not at all," he replies candidly. "But let me put your mind at ease."
"Go right ahead and try," she mumbles, rolling her eyes. She plucks a chip off her leggings and tosses it into her mouth.
"The heights part isn't so bad once you actually get into the air, because being in the clouds is like being on another planet. You kind of forget the ground isn't there anymore," he muses. "As for the tiny part, yes the planes are usually quite small and you don't really get a lot of leg room, but overnight flights tend to have bigger aircrafts so they aren't quite as confining. If it helps, I think our row has only us two so you should feel more comfortable."
She nods wordlessly, eating another chip off her pants. Harry releases a breathy laugh and sweeps the rest of the crumbs off her legs. "Stop eating those, love, I have other snacks for you."
"Are you one of them?" she asks, her cheeks immediately flushing red hot when she sees the surprise on his face.
"Sorry," she says, laughing nervously. "Couldn't help myself."
Harry shakes his head, a small smile on his lips, and hands her a bag of popcorn. She dives in, methodically eating it piece by piece while trying to use his words to calm the worry in her head.
Suddenly she feels his arm tighten around her shoulders, and she lifts her head to see him glaring off in another direction. When she follows his gaze, she spots a group of frat boys standing off at the other end of the gate, their eyes raking over her like she's a piece of meat.
"Gross," she mutters, leaning into Harry and looking back down at her popcorn. "Can't they see we make such a cute couple?"
"Couple?" Harry echoes in amusement.
Eden momentarily fumbles over her words. "Well, y-yeah," she stammers. "I mean, you know how I feel about you."
He nudges her playfully. "And how do you feel about me?"
Her cheeks grow even hotter. She wants nothing more than to hide her head in the bag of popcorn like an ostrich in the sand. "I . . . I like you," she says quietly. "Very much."
"Really now?" he says in faux surprise. "How coincidental, I also like you very much."
Eden can't help the inhuman squeal that erupts from her mouth and sends Harry into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. His body shakes next to hers, drawing the attention of the other travelers around them.
"That was the cutest thing I've ever heard," he chuckles, pulling her closer to his body. She finally forces herself to look up at him and finds him already grinning boyishly back at her. "Can I tell you something?"
"Sure," she says, shoving a handful of popcorn in her mouth.
"I've been looking at apartments in Moore Haven."
Eden chokes on her mouthful of popcorn, her breath suddenly stuck in her throat along with a few kernels. Harry thwacks her on the back while she coughs dramatically, once again causing everyone in the airport to look at them in annoyance.
"You've been doing what?" she asks when she can finally catch her breath.
"Is that bad?" His eyebrows are knitted together in genuine concern; Eden is suddenly struck with the desire to kiss him, he looks so innocent.
"N-No," she stutters. "I just wasn't expecting to hear that. You really want to stay in Florida?"
He nods, grinning proudly. "No use going back to England when I found what I've been looking for."
Eden purses her lips together, fighting back a smile. "Wow," she says softly, her head gently falling onto her shoulder. "I'm glad you're staying."
"Really?" he asks.
"Yes," she says, sounding uncharacteristically sure of herself. They'd been spending time together quite frequently in the weeks before their flight, but as far as Eden knew he was still staying in the motel with no intent to find permanent housing. She hadn't dare bring up what would happen after her trip to England was finished, she didn't want to think about Harry going home for good. The thought of him living minutes down the road from her, instead of in another country (like she'd been worried about), is incredibly heartwarming. "Really glad."
Harry kisses the top of her head just as a flight attendant comes over the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now going to begin boarding for Flight 808 to London Heathrow. Those of you in boarding group A can begin lining up beside the desk."
Eden takes a glance at her crumpled plane ticket; she and Harry are in group A. "That's our cue," she says, gathering her stuff and coming to her feet. Harry slings his bag onto his back before grabbing hers and carrying it as they join the crowd of people lining up to board.
"Can you run our plans by me again?" Eden asks as she runs her thumb over her ticket.
"Land in London, spend a few days there so you can meet my publisher friend and I can show you around the city. Then we'll rent a car and drive to Cheshire so you can meet my mum and sister. Other than that, we don't have a set agenda. Our time is our own to spend as we please," he grins.
Eden's heart flutters nervously at the idea of meeting Harry's mother. "Do you think she'll like me?" she asks timidly.
"My mum?" he asks, and she nods. "Of course she will," he scoffs teasingly. "Who wouldn't?"
Eden rolls her eyes as the line begins moving. She hands her ticket to the flight attendant and waits for Harry to do the same; her hand curls around his arm as they walk down the tunnel to the plane together. Her pulse thrums in time with the distant sound of a powerful engine running as they walk further down the tunnel, until finally she's met with the sight of an open door leading into the plane's cabin.
Harry goes in first, offering her an encouraging smile as she steps out of the tunnel and into the plane. Her hands clench onto the back of his shirt as they meander down the tight aisle, edging their way around people putting bags into the overhead bins.
"Window or aisle?" Harry asks as they reach their assigned seats. Thankfully their aisle is a two-seater, meaning she won't have to worry about sitting by a stranger. "Looking out the window might help your anxiety."
"Can we switch later if I don't like it?" she asks nervously.
"'Course we can," he smiles. "In you go, love."
Eden edges her way into the confined seat, moves the provided blanket and pillow, and shakily sits down by the window; the blind is pulled down all the way, thankfully, but her curiosity can't help but lift the shade anyhow. Outside, several workers are puttering about on the dark runway, loading bags into the underbelly of the plane.
Harry plops down next to her, sighing aloud as he pushes his hands through his hair. "Ready?" he asks, squeezing her knee once. "You'll be alright."
She nods wordlessly, keeping her eyes to the window. Thirty minutes pass as the plane slowly fills with crew and passengers; Harry does his best to be supportive but Eden's anxiety only climbs as time winds on. By the time the plane pulls away from the gate and begins rolling down the runway, her hands are clenched onto the armrests and her knuckles are turning white.
"Hold my hand," Harry instructs her, and Eden obliges gratefully. "You don't have to look out the window if it's going to make you more anxious."
"No, I want to," she counters, not turning to look at him. She wants to confront this irrational fear, and if looking out the window while they take off is going to help her do that, then she's not going to look away.
She feels him kiss the back of her hand and her heart explodes into a sprint. Her grip on his hand tightens as the plane picks up speed towards the end of the runway, wheels roaring on the road beneath them, before suddenly going airborne. Eden squeezes her eyes shut as her body falls back into the seat, but soon she forces them open.
Outside the ground falls away as they race into the setting sun. Clouds whir past the window in blurs of gold and pink for several minutes before the plane reaches its peak height and levels out. Eden cranes her neck to see the clouds below, appearing more like cotton candy than anything else.
"Wow," she says quietly, releasing her grip on Harry's hand. "I've never seen the world like this before."
"I'm really proud of you, Eden," he says quietly. She looks over at him; he's watching her with a familiar kind of loving attentiveness. She's always admired the way he looks at her - with such pure adoration, like she's the center of his world.
Then again, maybe she's just being a bit narcissistic.
He kisses her cheek once before reaching to pull something out of his bag. Eden feels her skin burn where his lips touched her.
Exhaustion abruptly begins to creep in, and she can feel her eyelids growing heavier by the minute. "Can I lay on you?" she asks, already adjusting herself to get comfortable.
Harry slides some headphones over his ears and nods. Eden goes to rest her head in his lap, but stops herself when his eyes meet hers. Following the rush of courage that floods her veins, she leans forward and briefly kisses him before settling in to sleep. Her eyes close as she smiles to herself, picturing the look of pleasant surprise on Harry's face as she easily slips into dreams.
Her sleep aboard the plane is restless and occasionally she finds herself waking up to a groggy image of Harry asleep above her, but each time she merely forces her eyes shut once more. The last thing she wants is to be hit by jet lag while in another country.
Eight hours later, Eden is nudged fully awake by Harry gesturing out her half-open window. She rubs her tired eyes and attempts to comb her fingers through her tangled hair as she sits up; her back aches, her knees hurt from being scrunched up by the window, and her legs are feeling quite restless from lack of movement.
When she looks out the window again, she's surprised to see the unfamiliar London skyline slowly growing bigger. From her spot in the air she can see Big Ben towering amongst the rest of downtown London; she listens in awe as Harry points out other landmarks, whispering in her left ear until the plane is too close to the ground to see anything else.
With tired eyes and cramps in her legs, Eden exits the plane behind Harry, still gawking at the massive airport around them. His hand wrapped around hers is the only thing keeping her moving forward when all she wants is to stop and stare for a while. After they've gathered their bags from baggage claim, they melt into the crowd cutting a path to the International Arrivals gate.
A crowd of eager people is waiting outside the threshold of the doors, many of them holding flowers or signs bearing the names of their loved ones. Eden is surprised to hear Harry's name bellowed out above the dull chatter of the airport; behind the crowd at the gate stands a tall man with spiked dirty-blonde hair and a bright smile. He waves eagerly and Harry waves back before gently tugging Eden along with him.
"That's my publisher friend, Niall," he says to her. "He's going to give us a ride to our hotel and then show us around for a bit."
She nods just as Niall approaches and grabs Harry in a bear hug. They take a few moments to greet each other while Eden nervously glances around the airport, still drinking in the strange sights around her.
"And you must be the famed Eden," Niall says, drawing her attention back to him. She nods, reaching out to shake his hand when he unexpectedly pulls her into a warm hug. "Pardon my forwardness but I feel like I already know you."
His smile is genuine and Harry looks positively thrilled to see the two of them getting along. Eden can't help but grin back at Niall. Any nerves she had about coming to England are swamped by the adrenaline swimming through her veins. She's beginning to feel the familiar itch for adventure; the buzzing that begins in her fingertips until it slowly fills the rest of her body.
"It's alright," she giggles. "Nice to meet you, Niall."
Niall claps Harry on the shoulder before sweeping his arm out in a grand gesture. "Eden Edwards, welcome to England."
~~~
i don't even know what to put here. how can i thank yall enough for supporting my creativity and allowing me to write what i love? you're all amazing and i will miss this story very much
please don't archive this just yet (as i don't know if you get notifications when you archive a story?) and stay tuned for an update later on tonight xx