Chapter One Hundred and Twenty
"Ugh," Tiffany groaned, leaning back in dismay as we sat in the gates. "This shit sucks."
"Oh, bad language, la! Pretty girl like you should no use a swear!" the chubby, thickset Asian woman who'd saved me chided, giving her a scolding look. "How you get married to nice man and have good happy if you do potty mouth?"
"Ughhhhh," Tiffany groaned, this time more exaggerated, and wiggled her engagement ring. "For the third time, Feng-Feng, I'm already engaged to a nice man! The bestest man ever!"
"He no love you if you use bad potty mouth!" she scolded, then looked at me and frowned immensely before reaching out with the ice pack she'd been mothering me with. "Your pretty face bruising... bad man hit you very hard, la? It hurt?"
I nodded, not having the energy to talk, even when she pushed my hair aside so she could hold the soothing coolness against my cheek. My savior, who had happily introduced herself as Mrs. Wu Tao Feng--nickname, Feng-Feng--had followed us here after Tiffany called Sebastian.
He'd been beyond pissed when she'd told him why we'd missed the flight, but he'd given us very clear instructions then and there to go inform someone on the airport staff that we'd missed our plane. He'd told us that we needed to check if there was another one leaving tonight.
Lucky for us, there was one heading for Mantua that would board at two in the morning.
We still had our first class tickets, of course, and we'd gotten ourselves situated to wait, but the plan to keep me from burning was going to be far more complicated.
Sebastian told us that I would have nothing to worry about and special arrangements would be made to get me off the plane without burning to death.
I was scared, to be honest... I didn't know how he was gonna manage to pull off something like that. I winced, breath hissing out as Feng-Feng pressed a little too hard on my aching cheek.
"Oh, la, I sorry!" she apologized, narrow eyes squinting. "That hurt?"
"A little," I said, then raised my hand and patted hers. "Thank you for this, but don't you have a flight to catch?"
"Oh, I already here!" she said, beaming at me. "I go to beautiful city in Italy! Meet husband for special wedding anniversary! He my true love, married thirty three years!"
As she spoke, she excitedly pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped something.
Tiffany and I watched as a holographic photo popped out of the screen, showing the big, pleasant-faced Asian woman and a small, balding, elderly man of similar ethnicity holding her in front of a small rural house.
"Is that your home?" I asked, and she nodded, looking at the image fondly.
"La, in Thailand," she told me, dimples appearing in her chubby cheeks as she smiled; her whole face softened, the lines of age vanishing from her features. "Husband and I have hard life. We raise four children and send all to college. Now they grown up, so we focus on good happy."
"Aww, that's adorable," Tiffany crooned, wrapping an arm around me. "That's gonna be you and Sebastian someday, Aerin... oh, and me and Woody, too."
"Oh, you have picture? Of bestest man, la?!" Feng-Feng asked, eyes turning into little more than gleeful crescents. "Show Mama Feng-Feng!"
"Okay, okay," Tiffany sighed, pulling her own phone out; seconds later, a photo of Woody smiling awkwardly for a selfie that the two of them had taken in his room at some point flashed into view. She was holding the phone, their cheeks pressed together in delight and cuddling.
My heart melted.
"Ohhh, this Woody?" Feng asked, nodding appreciatively. "He handsome! Good job!"
"Yeah," Tiffany sighed, then looked at me and smirked; she glanced down at her phone and then, suddenly, there was a photograph of me sleeping on Sebastian's stomach, curled up into a little ball.
I instantly gasped, eyes bugging out of my head.
"When did you take that?" I exclaimed. "I don't even remember that night!"
"You don't?" she asked, startled. "Aerin, it was the night I poked you and you hit your head. I took a few photos before tickling you awake, which... yeah, sorry again for that."
"No problem," I absently murmured, looking at the picture more closely. Sebastian was lying on his back with his head pillowed on the couch armrest, eyes closed and mouth wide open in an obvious snore. In the photo, he looked massive.
Conversely, I was lying curled up on his stomach in such an odd position that my head had been propped up by his armpit. The angle, disturbing as it was to admit it, made me look almost kitten-like in comparison.
It had more to do with how small I looked than my overall appearance, but still, it was weird and I didn't know how to feel. Feng-Feng stared at the photograph just as blankly, looking for a moment as if she didn't know what to say.
"Girl," she said, then pointed at the picture. "That your man?"
"Yes," I admitted. "That's Sebastian."
She seemed flummoxed.
"Oh," she eventually said. "He... big."
I don't know why but her tone made me laugh.
"A beautiful giant," I agreed, chuckling; I looked down at the ring and my laughter faded since I still found it hard to believe that someone had tried to snatch a ring right off my finger.
How out of touch with the world was I for something like that to be... normal?
I mean, nobody had really reacted much to the whole incident. If it had been the early pre-war 2000's it would have made the news, but the security guards had seemed bored. The cops had been called, of course, and they'd asked me if I wanted to press charges but I'd smartly said no. We'd been questioned and I had even given a statement under my ID name, Aerin D'Agostino. After that, we'd gone to get our new boarding passes.
I sighed, looking at the floor, gently worrying my lower lip with my fangs.
Was the economy doing that bad?
My phone suddenly went off, blaring my ringtone, and I jumped before pulling it out of my pocket. I tapped the screen to start it and raised my eyebrows since it was from Kyle.
"Who is it?" Tiffany asked.
"Kyle," I said, and tapped the accept option; a holographic square flashed out of my phone and hovered in the air before me, and I winced when I saw myself being refracted back in the bottom right hand corner thanks to the bizarre holo-cam tech crap.
I didn't understand the science but the holographic squares themselves were capable of making recordings. Something to do with nano technology, I had no idea.
Kyle's face suddenly popped up on screen and he beamed, looking goofy and ridiculous with his oversized sunglasses. He opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, but then he froze.
His already-pale face went bone white as the smile vanished.
"Holy crap!" he exclaimed, pushing his sunglasses down to peer at me in concern. "Aerin, what the heck happened to your face?!"
"Uh..." I floundered, awkwardly looking at Tiff, who made a shooing motion. "Long story short, someone tried to steal my engagement ring and when someone else stepped in to stop him, I got punched trying to get it back."
"WHAT?!" a deep voice snarled, and I flinched when Sebastian came into view, pushing Kyle to the side so he could see me. His eyes were obviously glowing behind his sunglasses. His jaw wriggled furiously from side to side. "Who was it?"
"Don't know, and don't care," I told him. "The police got a statement from me but I'm not pressing charges since I just want this to be done and over with."
"Good choice," Kyle chirped, and to my surprise he abruptly dragged Dick into view with a cheerful smile. "Anyway, the reason I'm calling is because we wanted to check on you!"
"I didn't," the bald man grumpily deadpanned, "I said 'leave him and maybe he won't ever come back.'"
"You did not, dipshit," Cassidy boredly called from somewhere out of sight. "You tried to jump off the plane and go get him the second you found out he and Tiffany missed the flight."
I stared at him when he shot a vicious glare over Kyle's giggling shoulder.
"Awww," Tiffany crooned, leaning into view with a honey-sweet smile. "Dickyyy, you diiid?"
"No! She's full of shit," Richard argued as his scarred face reddened. He turned his attention to something below the camera and procured a doughnut out of nowhere, ripping it in half and offering the piece to Kyle. "I was actually glad you missed the flight. More peace and quiet for me."
Woody's head popped into view from above at a weird angle, and he blinked at us, green eyes shimmering brilliantly even though his long hair was hanging sideways and obscuring everybody else. A heavy hand pushed him out of view, but not before he frantically waved.
"Move it, Red," Dick muttered. "You're blockin' the hologram."
A single hand slid back into view and signed, 'Sorry. I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize that you guys had fallen behind. Can you forgive me, Tiffany?'
She seemed perplexed, so I vocally translated the poor guy's sign language.
"Oh, Woody, don't apologize!" she instantly gasped. "It wasn't your fault! There's nothing to forgive... if anything, Aerin and I should be apologizing for getting mixed up in that crap, but we'll be getting on our flight in like ten minutes so it's all good."
Woody gave a thumbs up and his hand withdrew.
"Why he no talk?" Feng-Feng asked, making me jump and everyone on screen stiffen.
"He's mute, Mrs. Feng," I told her, then waved her over; she blushed and happily scooted close, curiously peering into the screen. "Guys, this is the woman who stopped the thief. Her name is Mrs. Wu Tao Feng, but she prefers to be called Feng-Feng."
"Hello! La! Pretty babies!" she greeted, waving at the people on screen. "You all look have fun!"
"Um... what did she just say?" someone else, Diana I thought it might have been, asked.
"Oh, Feng-Feng English not so good, I sorry," the chubby woman said with a dismissive wave of her hand; her smile, however, was wide and friendly. "You all go to Italy too? Vacation, la?"
"Yeah," I confirmed, then looked at Sebastian and said, "she's meeting her husband in Mantua, too. They're having their special anniversary there."
"Well, it would seem that I owe this interesting woman my express gratitude," Sebastian murmured, looking directly at her and respectfully inclining his head. "Thank you, Madam, for helping my fiance during that disturbing situation. I owe you massively for helping Aerin get his engagement ring back."
"Oh, it no problem, I just whack!" she cheerfully exclaimed, holding up her large purse. "Feng-Feng's bag very heavy!"
"Still, thank you, Aerin's safety means the world to me," he purred, then looked right at me with a short huff through his nose. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," I said, looking down unhappily. "I'm sorry that I worried you, and also for missing the flight. I was stupid and wasn't paying attention to my surroundings--"
"No, no, Beloved, it was my fault for going on ahead," he growled, and I looked up to see his mouth had twisted angrily. "It wouldn't have happened at all if I had been beside you."
"This just reinforces that you can't leave Aerin alone for even a second," Tiffany dreamily sighed, smirking when he cast her a leer. "Hey, don't glare, it's true! You were gone for literally three minutes and someone tried to rob him! Don't ever take your eyes off him again!"
"I won't, believe me," he said, then his face turned serious. "I need you to listen carefully."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because I'm about to give you instructions," he retorted. "When you get on the plane there likely won't be anyone sitting in first class with you two, but if there is I want you to politely and respectfully inform the other passengers that Aerin is deathly allergic to sunlight. The flight personnel have already been informed that he's an important but special needs passenger."
"Oh, I already intended to do that," Tiffany said, but I flinched when Feng-Feng gasped. "Even if someone has an issue I'll make sure the windows can't let in any sunlight, but what are we gonna do when the plane actually lands? Will you have those weird clothes with you?"
"No, unfortunately," he muttered, face contorting. "None of us will actually be able to meet you at the airport since we need to get the hotel reservations we made. If we don't check in before the designated time, our stay will be canceled. It's a high traffic and high-maintenance place."
"Eh?!" she shrieked, jumping upright. "Wait, b-b-b-b-b-but, Aerin! He'll burn! He'll--"
"No, he won't, I've made arrangements! I value his life more than anything else on this world, so don't assume I had no secondary plans put in place in case something like this happened!" he harshly snapped, and she closed her mouth to stare. "Now, listen carefully. When your plane lands in Mantua, the flight staff will be coming in with the clothes I prepared for him. They're made from the most sun-proof material money can buy, with multiple layers."
"Okay, but even if he's wearing stuff that stops the immediate burning," she said, eyes widening in alarm, "wouldn't he still blister beneath it? I mean, come on, it's the freaking sun, Bash!"
"Jasper withstood it for small amounts of time which means Aerin can as well," Sebastian told her. "He'll experience discomfort. He'll feel itchy and a little stinging, but for the most part he'll be unharmed as long as you can get him to the hotel quickly and safely. This is going to be the biggest responsibility I've ever placed on your shoulders, Tiffany, but I trust you."
"Uh, not even I trust me!" she squeaked, looking pale and dizzy. "This is a lot of pressure!"
"I trust you," he repeated, then took a deep breath and said. "Anyway, I want you to go through the cabin and drag all of the window shutters closed once you're on the plane. After that, both of you just relax and try to enjoy yourselves, all right? I'm not even supposed to be calling."
"Oh, right, you have to turn off electronics," I whispered, startled. "Yikes."
Just as he rolled his eyes and was about to say something, a voice filled the airport.
"Now boarding Flight #356C to Mantua, Italy."
My heart skipped a beat and I shared a look with Tiffany.
"Oh, that my plane!" Feng-Feng exclaimed, instantly grabbing her purse and her two small carry-on bags. Similarly, Tiffany grabbed our belongings and I looked at everyone.
"That's our cue," I said, taking a deep breath. "I love you."
"I love you, too," he told me. "Get on the plane, get situated, and relax for the ride."
"Will do," I said, then waved at everyone. "Bye guys!"
"Bye Aerin!" Kyle called. "See you in the future! Because we're traveling into it, you know?"
"Its just different time zones, wise guy, but yeah, see you in the future," I chuckled, then dropped the call and pocketed my phone. I pulled my hair over my shoulder before sliding my backpack on, and then I followed Tiffany down the hall and through a weird, tunnel-like area with a security guy who checked our boarding passes.
Feng-Feng, to my surprise, followed us as we were ushered down the long corridor. Truly, I had no idea what to expect. All of this felt alien to me, and suddenly that familiar worry was starting to creep up on me again. It didn't bode well that I was already getting restless when the flight hadn't even begun. Then, we were on the plane and moving past a ton of seated people.
I gawked at them, normal every day humans talking, or relaxing, or getting ready to fall asleep, all of them headed to the same place that we were.
"Ugh, it reeks in here," Tiffany muttered, making a sour face. "Too many people need a bath."
She received a few dirty looks from the passengers who overheard her, but didn't seem to care. When we tried to move past a certain door on the plane, a flight attendant wearing a pretty navy blue outfit held out a hand with a winning smile.
"This is first class, young ladies," she said kindly. "Do you have the required boarding passes?"
"Right here," Tiffany said, showing hers; I pulled mine up and held it out as well, to which the woman smiled again and moved aside.
"Enjoy your flight," she said, and then we were in one of the most shocking places I'd ever seen.
My jaw dropped when I saw that the first class cabin held six designated areas for two people each. There were long seats that had the ability to convert into beds, tables with bolted chairs and built-in seat belts for passengers to eat at, and huge personal flat screen televisions.
"Whoa," I breathed, jaw hanging loose as I looked around. "Is this really how rich people travel?"
"Um... I guess so," Tiffany said, and I glanced at her to see that she looked just as shocked as I felt. "I flew coach when I came to North Carolina. This is insane."
More surprising than anything else was the fact that there were already people there.
A clean-cut elderly business man with slicked salt-and-pepper hair was typing away on his laptop, weathered face looking serious and completely focused. His suave look and overall appearance reminded me of a stereotypical white guy you'd see running a major company.
A gorgeous blonde woman was leaning on his arm in a low-cut red dress that showed off ample cleavage, watching him work as she clung to him. Her painted ruby lips were full and her brilliant blue eyes were heavily decorated with makeup and false lashes. She was stunning.
There were two other men sitting in the cabin, and both of them were darker-complected. They were dressed in Hawaiian shirts and khaki shorts, talking to each other in what sounded like Spanish, but from what I gathered of their conversation they were brothers.
The woman, however, became a little less pretty to me when she looked at us and smirked before whispering something into the man's ear with a giggle. His steel grey eyes flicked up and he raised an eyebrow at Tiffany and I before wordlessly flicking back down to his laptop.
He muttered something that I couldn't quite hear and the woman giggled again.
Beside me, Tiffany bristled, but instead of being rude or sassy she tossed her hair and took off her oversized sunglasses, revealing her flawless make-up and beautiful face. Waves of platinum rolled around her shoulders in glossy waves as she turned, wrapping an arm around me.
"Actually," she cheerfully called, and the woman looked up, "the two of us bought this flight ourselves. See, my friend here is the heiress of Sony, Logitech, Holotech, Google, and several other major tech companies, and I'm an actress from Los Angeles."
"I don't think we said anything, did we?" the woman sweetly inquired, putting a long painted nail to her cheek with an obviously fake smile. Beside her, the man simply continued what he was doing, albeit his brow did twitch slightly and his fingers did pause for a second.
"Oh, forgive me," Tiffany mockingly gasped, putting a hand to her perfectly glossed lips in feigned surprise. "I guess I must have imagined that you said we look like broke tourists who probably mortgaged our house just to fly first class."
The woman's jaw went slack and even the man beside her looked up, furrowing his brows.
"You... you heard that?" she asked. "How? You're so far away."
"I have incredible hearing, honey," Tiffany said, giving the beautiful woman a shit-eating grin and playfully tapping her ear. "Anyway, we won't disturb you, but I think your husband was right in telling you to be nice. Ah, and one more thing? Please close your window shutter."
The woman instantly smiled and defiantly demanded, "why should I do that? We paid for this trip. We should be able to do what we want in our own space."
"True, and I apologize for the inconvenience," Tiffany sighed, looking at her with a genuinely sympathetic quirk to her lips, "but my friend here is deathly allergic to sunlight. If you have your window shutter open when the sun comes up... she'll get sun poisoning and die."
I frowned and nudged her, quietly hissing, "why are you telling this broad I'm a girl?"
"Because she's obviously a wealthy bigot with a very closed mind," Tiffany whispered back, mouth barely moving. "If you tell her you're a gay man this trip won't go well, trust me."
"Prove it," the woman said, plastic smile not dropping. "Show me the papers."
"I don't need papers, the airport staff and flight personnel already know," Tiffany countered, then gestured over her shoulder. "Want me to have the flight attendant explain things to you?"
"She's not in charge of the flight, darling," the woman said smugly. "We bought our ride. Its within our rights to do as we want since this area is reserved for us."
Tiffany's nice-girl card went right out the window and the bitch came out to play. Clacking down the isle in her flashy white heels and planting a hand on her hip, she glared past the man who stared at her without expression and met the eyes of the woman who was smiling at her in an I-dare-you-to-fuck-with-me manner.
"Look, lady, I'm only gonna say this once," she said, putting her hands on her knees and bending down to their eye level. "If we wanted to, my friend and I could buy the Charlotte International Airport right now just to revoke your ticket and have you and your unfortunate husband thrown off this plane. Instead I'm being nice and politely asking you, woman to woman, to shut your window flap so my friend won't burn to death before our vacation in Italy can even begin."
The woman's jaw dropped and for a few seconds she looked like she'd swallowed a bee.
"Who did you say you were, my dear?" the man inquired. "An actress?"
"Yep," Tiffany said, tossing her immaculate silver-blonde hair. "One of the biggest and most famous porn stars ever to walk the streets of Los Angeles. I'm retired now, though."
"Oh," the man said, but then his eyes lit up and he looked at her in actual surprise. "Oh! You're Tiffany Cox! You're her, aren't you?"
To my surprise, she stiffened. "Ummmm..."
"It is you!" he chuckled, looking at her in admiration. "I thought your face was familiar! You haven't been in the porn industry in over five years, right? Lots of people were very disappointed when you stopped performing, including myself."
"Oh, wow... that's... uh, personal," Tiffany awkwardly laughed, righting herself with a wary and very alert grin. "You even know my acting name... I'm a little embarrassed."
"Oh, don't be, you're just as ravishly beautiful in person as you were on screen," he said in a hypnotic, charming tone; the red-faced woman beside him seethed when he gently took her hand and kissed her knuckles, smiling up at her. "If I may ask, what made you quit having sex?"
My jaw hung on its hinges. I mean, really, what sort of question was that? More importantly, what the fuck was wrong with this pervert?
I was amazed by how well Tiffany kept her cool.
"Um, that's a long story," she droned, stealthily wiping the spot he'd kissed on the back of her shirt when he finally let her go. "I went into it because my family was struggling financially. I had no idea I was gonna blow up or even that I would be paid so much. Five years ago I realized we were finally free of our debt. I had enough to put my brother through college and still live easily for the rest of my life, so I stopped and pursued my real dreams."
"Oh?" he asked, closing his laptop and looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "How intriguing. If I may ask, what were those dreams?"
"Er, nothing big," she said, subtly but urgently waving me over; I tentatively moved closer and stood beside her, but she snatched my hand and squeezed it. I realized, for the first time, that she was shaking a little. "I wanted to open up a hair and makeup salon chain all across the United States. I'm actually in the process of finalizing those plans."
"Fascinating," he said, and for the first time he cast a glance at me. "And you say that your pretty young friend here is the heiress to some of the biggest technology companies in the world? How did you two meet? More importantly, how is she tied to so many separate companies?"
"Marriage," Tiffany explained, wrapping a proud arm around my shoulders. "This is Aerin. She started off as an anonymous musician living all by herself, but one day the man who pretty much owns all of those companies met her in a pizza place by chance and things kind of just went from there. He fell head over heels and has been doggedly pursuing her ever since."
"He proposed yesterday, actually," I said, holding up my hand to show the ring. "I'm still kind of in shock. We're also really early in our relationship so we're still taking things slow despite being engaged."
"A man that wealthy asked you to marry him and you're taking it slow?" the blonde woman scoffed, giving me a look that clearly expressed she thought I was stupid. "Really?"
"Uh, I'm not with him because he's wealthy. To be honest, I don't even want his money," I snorted, and her jaw dropped; beside her, the man's grey eyes looked at me a little differently, a bit more interested. "I'm with him because we have a good dynamic and also because I love him. Plus, I have a sizable amount of wealth, too. Nothing like his, of course, but I'm not broke."
"What she said. Anyway, we're getting off track," Tiffany said, patting my arm. "The point is, she's allergic to sunlight and we would really appreciate it if you'd close the window shutters."
"As you wish," the man said, then looked at his companion. "Jenny, please close it."
"But--" she tried to scoff.
"Now," he commanded, tone coming a little sharper. Cowed, she grumpily did as he told her to do and folded her arms across her breasts.
"Thank you," Tiffany chimed, giving her another little shit-eating grin. "Enjoy your nine hour flight!"
"Ah, before you go, here," the man said, pulling a card out of his suit pocket. "My name is Alexander Grigori, international CEO of Nintendo. My business card, with my number."
He gave her a suggestive smile and I could tell she didn't like it but even more horrid than that was the fact that the woman beside him turned positively venomous. I was surprised her hair didn't transform into snakes and start lashing out considering how nasty the expression marring her features had become.
"Sorry," Tiffany said with a tight smile; his brows furrowed when she put a hand over that spot on her belly. "I'm already engaged to a wonderful man. Also, not to be rude or imply anything, but offering a woman your number when your wife is literally sitting right beside you isn't nice."
"She's not my wife, she's my date," he said smoothly, and I frowned when I saw a hurt look cross Jenny's face, wiping away the aggression. She looked away, staring sullenly at the floor, and you know what? I felt kind of sorry for her so I took it upon myself to step forward.
"Then you should be treating her like a queen," I said simply, and he glanced back at me. "You're not getting any younger and to be honest... forgive me for saying so, but as far as looks go, the woman you currently have on your arm is way out of your league, pal."
He blinked, seeming surprised by my gall, but then... to my actual confusion...
He grinned.
"Very insightful observation, my dear," he said, casting a glance at the shocked woman who was looking at me as if she couldn't believe her ears. "She is beautiful, I agree, but looks obviously aren't everything since she chose to be with a... hm, how did you put it? Ah, right, a man beneath her league."
"You're not beneath my league, Alex!" Jenny protested, frowning at him; she clutched her ruby purse, looking offended. "Sure, you may be older than me, but you're still really attractive and very charming. These girls have no idea what they're talking about."
"Well, one thing is for certain," he said, giving us an odd smile. "This talk is over."
"Glad we could come to an agreement," Tiffany chirped, giving him a two-finger salute. "Peace."
The man nodded approvingly and gave the red-faced blonde a smirk.
I didn't see anything else since I was unexpectedly pulled away towards the farthest cubicle. In a few short minutes, all of the window shutters had been pulled closed, even the one beside the chatting Hispanic men, who eyed her for a moment before returning to their conversation.
I watched as she came back over and flopped down in front of me.
"God, I'm glad that's over," she whispered, slumping down in the plushy chair. "It sucks that we missed the first flight... I was hoping to cuddle with Woody the whole ride to Italy."
"Sorry," I apologized, taking my seat by the window; I felt a sudden chill run up my spine as Tiffany pulled out some headphones from her bag, followed by a laptop computer. She hummed to herself as she plugged them in and popped them into her ear.
She looked at me while it started up and gestured at the flat screen.
"Pop a movie in," she told me. "It's gonna be a while."
"Okay," I said, flipping the television on and swiping through the options. As I was scrolling, someone else came into the first class area and a chill ran through me.
"Oh, pretty girls!" a familiar voice greeted, and I instantly looked up to see Feng-Feng beaming at me; her pearls bounced around her pudgy neck as she came over, dress and handbag fluttering. "We all in fancy plane part now! I ride with pretty girls, la! Got free gift!"
"A free gift?" I asked, and Tiffany pulled her headphones out.
"Flight attendant told Feng-Feng to come with, very urgent!" she gushed, sitting down in the cubicle across from us with an excited smile and delightedly looking around. "She say someone pay for fancy ticket! I get free ride to Italy in fancy!"
Tiffany giggled under her breath and nudged me with her elbow.
"Sebastian," she whispered, and I blinked in surprise. "You did give him her full name after all. Totally stinks like your man."
"Ew. You could have worded that differently," I groused, swatting her playfully; to Feng-Feng I said, "I'm happy for you, Mrs. Feng."
"I tell you earlier, la! I called Feng-Feng," she chided, waving a hand. "You make me sound old!"
"Sorry," I mumbled, ignoring Tiffany's muffled laughter; I swatted her again. "Really."
"I relax now," she said, smiling kindly. "Long plane ride, la?
"Ah, right, but don't open the window shutters, please," Tiffany added. "Aerin is--"
"Oh, I heard, poor baby allergic to the sun," she said, face turning sympathetic. "How you live so long, girl? Must be hard life, no light, no heat... no flowers and sunshine. Very sad."
"It's just how I am," I said, then smiled at her. "Sure, I may not be able to go in the sun, but you know what? The dark has a lot of beautiful things, too. Stars, moonlight, animals going about their business, crickets and the sound of wind in the trees..."
"La, beautiful things," Feng-Feng agreed, nodding; her dark curls bobbed with her jowls. "You special for being so happy and finding good in bad. You no deserve to be robbed."
"Thanks again for that," I said, but she flapped her hand again, bracelets jingling.
"No thank, it right thing to do," she sighed, wriggling down into the seat and propping her feet up with a contended expression. "This soft. I take long nap. Quiet."
"Okay, we will," I promised, sharing a smile with Tiffany. "Thanks Feng-Feng."
She didn't respond. She'd already kicked off her shiny blue shoes and seemed to be falling asleep. She was an interesting woman, that much I had to admit, but eventually everyone began to settle in. While I waited for the plane to take off, I decided on a random romance movie and I admit I watched it for a little while, but eventually my eyes wandered and I scanned the white interior of the plane.
Everyone on the flight would be going to the same place, but I wondered what their objectives were; if they were on business, vacation, a family trip, or just passing through. Despite the fact that they were all strangers to me, I somehow felt less nervous when confronted with the fact that I wasn't doing this alone.
I wasn't going into the sky all by myself.
My apprehension seemed almost foolish. I mean, come on, I was a vampire! I'd faced far more difficult, grueling things than being stuck on a nine hour plane ride to Italy.
Or at least, that's what I told myself before it started to move. I heard a ding and an attendant's voice began to fill the plane; similarly, the movie paused and was replaced with audio of the attendants going over the proper safety precautions in case of an emergency as the huge air vehicle slowly rolled along to the runway. Panic filled me when the plane hit a bump, and I snatched Tiffany's hand, who looked at me, eyebrows raising.
"Aerin, it's okay," she promised, but that didn't unstick me from where I was crushing myself flat against the back of the chair with clenched teeth and a terrified stare. "We're just taking off."
"I'm scared," I whispered. "I've never flown before."
"Well, I'm here," she said, smiling at me gently. "Even if the plane starts to go down I'll protect you and make sure you survive, I promise."
"Don't say that!" I squeaked, looking at her in horror.
"You know what I mean," she laughed, raising our joined hands. "I've got you. I promise."
The plane was turning, gearing up for the takeoff. I knew this was probably my last chance to contact anyone else before we ascended and the shoddy in-flight wifi kicked in. I didn't even know how to describe the predicament I was in, and I certainly didn't have the energy to try. I pulled my phone out and raised the camera up.
Tiffany leaned in and made a peace sign, grinning beautifully, and I tried to smile but I was visibly pale, nervous, and my pupils were blown so wide you could barely see my pale irises.
I took the picture, then saved it and sent it to Sebastian.
"My very first plane ride," I texted, fingers flying. "I'm nervous, but Tiffany's being a great help. Also, thanks for giving Feng-Feng a first class ride. She's a really sweet old woman and I think you may have made her entire year."
I leaned back when I sent it, trying not to feel queasy. We hadn't left the ground yet, but I could feel the engine of the plane revving up, so I sent one last message to finalize my thoughts.
"I love you."
I waited with bated breath as the rumble grew to a roar.
Two things happened then.
First, the plane suddenly shot forward with a speed I couldn't even fathom, and Tiffany took my hand as I nearly lost my lunch. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to quell the thundering in my heart as panic and goosebumps broke out all over me. I felt lightheaded, dizzy, and I tried to keep my breathing steady and even to little avail.
A kind hand stroked my head soothingly.
"Just breathe," Tiffany whispered, squeezing my hand. "Breathe, in and out."
"This is scary!" I whimpered back, shaking my head. "We're going into the sky, Tiff!"
"You fell even farther once before, remember?" she soothed. "It'll be okay, I promise."
She continued cooing soothing words into my ear until we were finally up in the air, but she squeezed my hand tightly when we hit a particularly rough patch in our ascension. After a few more minutes, the upwards tilt slowly began to level out and my ears abruptly popped. The plane was thoroughly set on its course, ten-thousand feet and climbing.
"I don't do well with takeoffs, either," she finally said. "It was frightening my first time, too."
We sat in silence for a while, and I was slowly starting to grow used to the feeling of soaring freely in the air. After the takeoff, it actually felt like nothing and all I had to do was sit there for... nine hours.
I sighed, slowly beginning to relax and prepare myself for the prospect of it. I curled up against Tiffany, head pillowing on her arm while she played a game on her laptop.
I paused when I realized what it was.
"Atlas Chronicles?" I asked, and she grinned at me. "Wait, when did this happen?"
"When I saw Sebastian playing with you I thought it looked a little interesting," she told me, clicking her mouse and moving her character around with the buttons on the keyboard. "I've never really been much of a gamer but if super ornery people like Cassidy and Bash could be into it I figured I might as well give it a try, too. We should totes play together sometime."
"Actually, I have my laptop in my backpack!" I exclaimed, pulling said computer out and flipping it open. "I can connect to my PSXL7 account play because of the wifi."
"Won't that cause lag?" she asked, looking at me curiously. "It'll be difficult to fight, right?"
"No, it should be fine," I told her. "I can play my character on multiple consoles thanks to cross-platform capability. It's not like I'll be streaming from home, I'll basically just be playing the game on my computer with the same account."
"Oh! Amazeballs!" she gushed, eyes widening. "I totes didn't know you could even do that."
"Video games are awesome," I told her, clicking on the game file once my computer was running. "It's gonna be a long time before we land, so let's just have fun."
"And order some food and alcohol," Tiffany groaned, wriggling. "I wanna try some of that special deluxe fancy stuff I've heard so much about."
I smirked and set my head on her shoulder, momentarily looking at her belly. On a whim, I reached out and set my palm against it. Her whole body went still and she didn't even seem to breathe as I rubbed her tummy.
"Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?" I asked, and she looked at me with a surprisingly loving expression before kissing my cheek. "Eh? What was that for?"
"Its the first time you've touched my belly," she giggled. "Woody told me about how he wants you to be our baby's godfather, and I totally agree. You're a good influence on everyone you come into contact with, you know?"
"Hardly," I muttered, frowning. "All I do is piss people off."
"So what, its their loss," she scoffed, tugging me against her. "You're basically the awesome, sweet, super gay brother I've always wanted. Its easy to forget that you're older than me since you look so young and you're just so nice to people, you know? You're oddly innocent."
"Again, hardly," I quietly laughed. "Thanks, though... really. You've done so much for me when things were hard, and you've always had my back. I appreciate you more than you know."
"Well, what are friends for?" she asked, and I grinned at her. "Now, let's go adventuring! I need to get my character some money to buy cute clothes."
"You got it," I said, looking at my computer. "Let's play."
And so, we did. I loaded in, and the two of us lost ourselves in the world of Atlas Chronicles.
Thousands of feet in the air.