Otis

'She almost died.' That's the only thing I can really focus on once Jakob had stopped talking. I don't notice that my body was losing balance. I don't notice that my throat felt drier than a desert. I don't notice Eric running in yelling, my inhaler in his hand. All I could focus on was that word. 'Died.' I'd almost lost her. Mum. The one that I had pushed away countless times, the one who I had blamed for my problems. The one that had been there for me when almost no one else was. The one who supported me. I know that, if I were to lose her, I would never forgive myself.

All these thoughts in my head were distracting me from what was happening to my body. As I return to my senses, I realise I can feel my chest hurting. It feels so tight, like I'm being crushed from all angles. My vision goes blurry, not for the first time that night, as my legs give way and I collapse to the ground. I'm just about able to remain conscious as I try to enunciate the word 'inhaler.'

'In… inh…' is all I'm able to get out, but Eric and Ola seem to understand as they scramble to give it to me. I use the inhaler and immediately, the tightness starts to alleviate itself and I'm able to get myself up, and onto the seats behind me.

Maeve

I awaken from my slumber quite suddenly at the sound of the baby two rows behind mine screaming it's lungs out. My first thought is remembering what happened in the dream itself, but as I slowly begin to take in my surroundings again. The plane, my small seat, the screams of the baby again. My vision is slightly slanted though and it's at this point that I realise my head is lying, rather comfortably, on Charlie's shoulder. I immediately lift my head up, and ever so slightly peak at him, praying he's asleep. My prayers are not answered however, as he smirks and looks at me.

'Fuck' I think to myself.

'Your head is quite heavy you know' he says, mimicking a shoulder injury. 'Must be from all that knowledge inside of there.'

'Sorry' I say sheepishly. 'It was an accident.'

'You know' he says, completely changing the topic. 'My favourite movie as a kid was Kung Fu Panda.'

'Right' I say. 'Why are you telling me this?'

'Because' he continues, ignoring my question. 'There's a quote from it, you may have heard of it. Master Oogway says, 'there are no accidents' and I think that applies here.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' I ask, confused as to why he's brought this up.

'Oh, nothing really' he says, and puts his headphones in, doing exactly what I did to him earlier.

'Touché asshole' I think, and I pull the book out of my bag to read; Tolstoy's War and Peace. I see Charlie, out of the corner of my eye, surreptitiously attempt to sneak a peek at the cover before smiling to himself. What a wanker, honestly.