For the longest time, you had been dreaming of traveling to Europe. But, you being you, you wanted a better challenge than just shuffling from hotel to hotel and driving around the continent in a crowded tour bus. No, your dream is to backpack around Europe. For the past three years, you have been saving and planning, negotiating deals with your family, employer and the bank, getting visas and paperwork ready. Your passport is up to date, you have all your vaccinations (much to your discomfort... stupid needles) and you booked your first couple hostels. What's there to be worried about?
So here you are standing in the airport, ticket in hand, looking around bewildered at the hustle and bustle surrounding you. The chatter of a group of children fill your ears, and somewhere around here, there's a baby crying. Your head snaps up as you hear your flight being called by some nasaly voice on the speakers. You rush yourself to a nearby corner and board the plane. Your only luggage is a duffel bag just small enough to be considered a carryon. You smile and give yourself a mental pat on the back. The temperature drops as you walk through the cold, collapsable tunnel connecting the building to the aircraft. It's too cold for spring, you think as you find your seat and proceed to try and jam your bag in an overhead compartment. "Excuse me, but may I be of some service?"
The voice is quiet, and you almost don't think you heard one at all. You turn your head to the left, but no one is there. Ehem, the voice clears its throat, "I'm over here." You turn to the right, blushing. "Oh I'm so sorry." You see the face that belongs to the voice. A cute blonde guy, with curls and glasses slightly askewed. His eyes are gorgeous, deep blue, almost purple with undertones of lighter blue.
"Pardon me, but are you okay?" He looks at you slightly concerned and you realize you've just been staring at him with your arms still holding up your duffel bag, which seems to be getting heavier with every moment. You blush a deeper red, "Oh sorry, sorry, I was just, spacing out." You shove with all your might and finally manage to squish it all in. You and the stranger dance around each other and you slide over to your seat by the window. A few moments later, you feel someone sit next to you. Lo and behold, who is it but the purple eyed stranger.
You decided to take this opportunity to see who you'd be spending the next 8 hours with. He looked to be only a little older than you, but he was smartly dressed, in a suit and dress shoes. He had a suitcase in his lap and looked to be a little on edge, as if he was nervous to fly or something.
"Um, hello." You say quietly, still embarassed from before. He turns and sees you, looking as you do when one interupts your thoughts. "Oh, hello again", he says. You look at each other awkwardly for a little bit, you feel yourself grinning like an idiot, Embarrassed, you rub the back of your head, "Sorry, where are my manners, my name is _. "
The boy looked a little relieved, "Ah, that's a nice name, I'm Matthew, Matthew Williams. So, um where are you going?" You giggled a bit, "Same place you are, I think. Sweden, right?" He blushed, and looked down. You felt a little bad. "So uh, why are you going to Sweden? Business or pleasure?" you say gruffly, just like the guy who checked your passport before. Matthew chuckled a bit, looking at you. "Business I'm afraid, I have a conference there." You two continued talking, about confrences and world issues. You were interupted by the safety intructions.
During the safety presentation, you noticed Matthew was paying close attention and actually following along. He seemed unsettled to you.
As soon as the presentation was done, Matthew quickly asked you what your plans were in Sweden. "I've always wanted to go, it seems so great from the stories and pictures. SwedIsh people also speak english, so I wanted to start there." You go on to tell him about your planned adventure across Europe.
He listens to you patiently, smiling and adding in little agreements and nods of approval. The conversation blends into your back stories
You spend hours just talking when in the middle of your debate about hockey (you know enough to argue xp) a flight attendant walks over with trays of food. You can't believe it, you not only didn't notice take off, but what felt like only minutes was actually 4 hours!
As you picked at your food, you're pretty sure it's chicken, you notice Matthew hasn't touched anything. "C'mon" you say, "it can't be as bad as the food your dad used to make."
He looks at you shyly, "I think I should probably tell you, then. A few years back, I was in an accident and my friend didn't make it" He started to tear up a bit.
You threw your arms around him giving him the biggest hug of your life. "I'm so sorry, is there anything I can do?" You didn't want him to cry, or even be sad. Though you just met, you feel like you've known him forever.
"_, you already have." He smiled at you, his big blue eyes looking into yours. "You helped me through this flight, made a daunting day seem like a friendly one. Your company was just the thing I needed." You smile and hug him again. "I'm just happy I could help such a sweet guy like you."
You continue to hug and talk until the speakers come on. "May I have your attention please, the plane will be landing in 5 minutes, thank you"
You look at Matthew and realize that you just made your first friend abroad. "Hey, umm do you mind writing down your email or something? Just so, you know, we can stay in touch." You look at him with your best puppy eyes. "Sure, here." He scribbles down an email. "Oh and just in case, here's a friend of mine's number in case of an emergency, just say Matt told you to call."
You exit the plane and take your first steps in Europe. Hugging Matthew good bye, you head off to start your adventure. Onwards! screams a voice in the back of your head, and you start walking.