Back to the plane! Again, this is a REPOST of my original story with some edits. New chapters start at 25!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or DWTS, just this story idea. Enjoy!
BPOV
When Angela had left me to go to the bathroom, I laughed at her. She had all that time in the terminal to do whatever she had needed to do, and she chose now, while on the plane, before we had even taken off, to use the facilities. Everyone was starting to board. It's horrible timing. Crazy girl.
I pulled out my phone from my carry on and quickly kicked the bag back under the seat. I really wanted to focus on something else at the moment. I wasn't exactly the best flyer. It wasn't that I was afraid of crashing or anything like that, but it was more the anxiousness of traveling in general. That and air flight just isn't natural.
Earlier in the terminal, I had tried to calm myself and focus on writing. I had gotten a new idea this past week, but it wasn't meshing. My characters weren't behaving the way I wanted them to and I was pretty devastated at that knowledge. I knew I would have to go back to the drawing board or scrap the whole story all together.
I quickly pressed shuffle on my music and waited for the first song to play. Frank Sinatra's crooning voice played through the earbuds and I instantly smiled. It was a Sinatra classic: "Come Fly With Me." Apparently my phone knew what I needed. A few more people entered the plane, but not being one for people watching, I turned to gaze out the window.
I could see all of the gas trucks filling the plane, along with luggage trams arriving to fill the belly of the plane with everyone's belongings. Well, my belongings were here in the cabin with me. My small duffle was in the compartment above me and the small carryon under the seat in front. What can I say, I was a light packer. I mean, I was just home for the weekend. I didn't need much. Simplicity was key.
A small chill went through me. I was kicking myself for not bringing my sweater. I could have sworn it was in my bag, since I knew I was wearing it this morning, but I looked while I was in the terminal and there was nothing. I probably left it in the rental car that is sitting in the parking lot waiting for us to return on Monday morning. Now I'm sitting here in this airplane hoping that I don't freeze once we hit 35,000 feet. I didn't want to use an airline blanket. Not pleasant.
I had become so immersed in what was going on outside the plane that I had lost track of time. Angela couldn't really be taking so long, could she? As soon as I thought that, I felt the seat next to me move slightly. Took her long enough.
"Angela, what took…" I stopped mid sentence and the shock that whipped through my body was enough to push me back into the window. Well, I was not expecting him.
There, sitting in Angela's seat, was none other than Edward Masen. My mind had to be playing tricks on me. I mean, I knew I had been missing him, but this was a little on the extreme side. I knew my imagination was good, but this good? I pulled out my earbuds and tried to clear my throat.
"Edward?"
"Bella." He was smiling that crooked smile that I loved. Loved? Get your head out of the clouds. We haven't even taken off yet.
"Wh-wha-what are you doing here?" I stammered out. Great verbal skills, Bella.
"I'm going home for the weekend, same as you." Simple. To the point. And he didn't stutter. Damn him.
"Ok," I had to take a deep breath to calm myself down. "But, what are you doing here? On this plane? You didn't mention that you were leaving for the weekend when I left earlier."
He smiled at me and my heart melted more.
"Well, it wasn't until after you left that I even knew I was going anywhere. You can thank my sister for that." He immediately looked up a few rows to our front left side and there was Alice Brandon and Angela. They were both waving at me and I did a double take, as well as took a nice long glare at Angela. We'd be having words when we landed. I would just have to wait and see if they were in thanks or loathing. The two women immediately turned back to face the front.
"Wait, Alice is your sister?! Alice Brandon?" It all clicked. He had said sister, right? I just never knew it was Alice.
He had mentioned his sister so many times, but never her name or what she did, just that she drove him crazy. As I thought back to meeting Alice at the meet & greet, she didn't mention being related to Edward either. And their names: Masen and Brandon. I knew Alice was married to Jasper Whitlock. Angela had mentioned that to me while I had been watching those YouTube videos. So, why was her name Brandon? Oh, now I am really confused.
"Uh…yeah? Did you not know?"
"Well, no. I mean, why would I know? You mention your sister, but only as such. No name or occupation. And with your last names being different…" He cut me off.
"Well, yeah. She is married. That usually means a different last name." He had the nerve to give me another smirk. Smug son of a…
"I know that, but we both know that Jasper's last name is Whitlock, which bears no resemblance to Brandon, just as Masen bears no resemblance to Brandon. So, again…how would I have known that you two were related?"
I was getting a little testy. Honestly, he throws me off guard by showing up, on my plane to Seattle, with his sister and my assistant sitting together a few rows up, and then throws this at me. Ugh. Men! I was trying not to roll my eyes.
I watched as Edward's face remained stunned once I completed my rant and I realized just how snarky I sounded. His eyes were wide and I had to take a moment to close my own, taking a deep breath to calm down.
"Edward, I'm sorry. I'm just on edge about flying and then seeing you next to me instead of Angela just threw me for a loop and then to add the knowledge that your sister is Alice…I was caught off guard. I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have gone off on you."
I felt about an inch tall now, as I scooted down in my seat in the hopes of disappearing. As if I needed another reason for Edward to think I'm crazy. I remained focused on my hands in my lap. How much worse could this get? If I could just learn to keep my mouth shut, maybe this flight wouldn't be so awkward, but from where I'm sitting, that was down the drain.
"Bella…." Edward began.
I couldn't look up at him, but my heart began to pound in my chest, so much that I thought he may even be able to hear it. He didn't speak again, but I felt his fingers slide across my chin as his hand cupped my cheek and brought my face to turn towards his. I was still looking down and he gently tried to shift my gaze up to meet his eyes. When I did, I felt the rest of the world fade away.
"Bella, you have nothing to be sorry for. I never intended on keeping the identity of my sister from you. I honestly thought she had told you when you met last week, so I figured you had already known. Apparently I was wrong and I'm sorry for my assumption. I wasn't not telling you on purpose." He took a breath and I took one with him.
"As for being here on the plane with you, I truly knew nothing about this either. As I told you, Alice told me after you had left. She was the one who called me as you were leaving. And once she told me, and while I knew that meant you were heading to the same place as me, I never in a million years figured you would be on the same flight. I thought your plane would have already taken off. Finding you here was just as much a surprise for me as it was for you."
I listened to what he was telling me, which was rather difficult, seeing as I kept staring into his eyes and that stopped many of my everyday functions from working, like hearing, breathing, etc. Luckily I didn't seem to be drooling. That's a win for sure.
"Now," his voice became serious and he dropped his hand from my face, making me immediately feel the loss. "I will switch seats back with Angela, if it will make you more comfortable."
I panicked. I didn't mean for him to have to move. I liked having him here. I wanted him here, next to me. He started to shift in the seat.
"No!" I reached forward and grabbed his shirt to keep him in place. I didn't mean to be so aggressive. I could feel the blush exploding on my face as I realized what I had just done and how close our faces were now. I had essentially pulled him closer to me and I could feel his breath across my cheeks.
"I'm sorry," I said as I realized the hold I had on his shirt, letting go quickly. "I just mean, you don't have to leave on my account. I'm sure that Alice is happier with Angela, and vice versa. I really don't entertain Angela too much on flights. I listen to music, read or do some writing. Besides, you're already here and I'm sure we'll be leaving soon. No point in changing now."
"Are you sure? I really will if you think it would be better." He looked so innocent and lost as he waited for me to tell him to leave or stay. I knew what I wanted, but was it what he would want?
"I'm sure if you're sure. It would be nice to have your company. But, if you would rather sit with your sister, I understand. Family should come first, so don't worry about me."
"Please. An entire plane ride listening to my sister…no thanks. I was dreading this part of the evening honestly. She never shuts up! I love her, really I do, but the words 'peace' and 'quiet' don't exist in her vocabulary and definitely not together. So, as long as you're ok with it, I would love to stay here with you. And if I'm being honest with myself, seeing you sitting here has been one of the highlights of my day. You are truly a lifesaver. You've saved my eardrums from bleeding."
I let out a loud laugh and I could see him struggling to hold in his laughter as well. Once I had managed to contain myself, I caught my breath and looked up again, meeting Edward's eyes.
I don't know what I saw in them, just that I was immediately drawn in. Both of our eyes shifted down to each other's lips. I knew I shouldn't want to kiss him, but apparently my body had other ideas.
"Excuse me, sir," came a screeching voice behind Edward. "But we are about to taxi away from the gate and you need to put on your seatbelt."
I pulled away from Edward as I could feel the burn spread over my cheeks. Edward apologized to the flight attendant as I looked around. Sure enough, the flight attendants were moving up and down the aisles checking for seatbelts, seats in the proper positions and closing the overhead compartments.
I managed to get a glimpse at the attendant who was still fussing over Edward. While her voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard, she was definitely attractive. Of course she was.
Edward was being very polite, as usual, gracefully denying her advances. Although, other than her voice, which probably sounded like honey to him, there was no reason for him to say no to her. I mean, she apparently thought he was hot (which, duh, he is) and she was equally as hot. They looked perfect together. Ugh.
I went back to looking out the window to my right, replacing the earbuds from my iPod back into my ears. Since I had left my phone playing during my interaction with Edward, I had no idea how many songs had passed. It was now in the middle of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and I couldn't help but glance up into the cloudless sky outside of the plane. Eva Cassidy's smooth voice and simple guitar filled my ears and I was relaxed again. I would need it soon.
The song ended and I felt us pull away from the gate. I tensed and quickly looked over to Edward, who, to my surprise, was staring at me.
"What?" There was intensity in his stare. "Am I blocking your view?" I asked as I pointed back at the window.
"No. Not blocking my view at all," he said as the crooked grin graced his face.
He was a strange one. Gorgeous, but still strange.
I stopped the music and I busied myself with putting my phone in airplane mode. Edward was still looking at me. I smirked back.
"Can I help you with something?"
He smiled and looked like he was going to speak when the pilot came on over the intercom.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are next in line for take-off. Flight attendants prepare for departure."
I gulped, re-checked my seatbelt, held onto it for dear life and closed my eyes.
"Bella?" Edward's smooth voice called out to me. "Are you ok?" When I didn't respond, he pressed on. "You really are a nervous flyer aren't you?"
I could only nod as the bile had started to climb my throat. I really didn't want to get sick on or near Edward. I hadn't ever been sick on a plane, but one couldn't be too careful and I certainly didn't want it to happen on this flight. Not with him here. How embarrassing would that be?!
The engines revved and I felt myself being pushed back into my seat. I quickly latched onto the two arm rests, which unfortunately for Edward, was holding one of his arms as well.
"Bella? Look at me. Take a deep breath and look at me." I could feel his hand prying off my death grip from his arm. I was expecting him to reattach it to the arm rest, but he un-clenched my fist and slid his hand into mine. I opened my eyes, shocked to see our two hands entwined together. I quickly looked up to his face.
"You're ok. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. You're going to be just fine, you just need to breathe."
I was breathing in through my nose, out through my mouth, and continued to stare into his eyes. I was getting lost in those eyes. The next thing I knew, the pilot's voice was back saying something about 10,000 feet and turning off the seatbelt sign.
Edward just continued to smile at me and squeezed my hand. I blinked as if coming out of a stupor. What the hell just happened? It felt like I had been hypnotized.
"Bella?" He sounded so concerned, the smile slipping slightly from his face. I internally sighed. This guy kept getting more and more perfect. So not for me…
"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that…but thank you."
"I didn't really do anything," he retorted, shrugging with a simple smile.
"Actually, you did. I don't know how you did it, but you did. That was the calmest I have ever been on a plane during takeoff. I usually panic, shake, and I've even passed out. I've been known to do it all. But with you, nothing. There was no real shortness of breath, no nausea, no dizziness. I felt like me. So, whatever you did, you made me forget that I was even in a plane and for that, I thank you so very much." Then I did it. Something so stupid. I leaned into Edward, gave him a kiss on the cheek and followed through with a hug.
I was still clinging to him when I realized what I had done and I felt my eyes bug out of my head. I was about to pull away and apologize when I felt his arms tighten around my waist and there wasn't anywhere else I wanted to be.
"You are very welcome, Bella," I heard him mumble into my hair. He pulled me back to look into his eyes again and I could see that he honestly meant that. It made me smile.
"So, why are you afraid of flying?"
"It's just not natural. I mean, honestly, how does it make sense that this huge metal beast filled with people and cargo is able to actually lift off of the ground and remain in the air without plummeting to the earth due to the substantial weight? Birds are meant to be in the air, not people and definitely not large metal objects."
My rant was one that Angela heard time and time again. Yes, I knew the progress that was made in aviation was amazing. I couldn't deny that. Should it have happened? I don't know. Society is now able to travel across great distances so much quicker and easier. I admit it and I use this technology for that purpose. But there is something to be said about being able to travel across this country and seeing it from a car, bus or train window that is more amazing to me than flying miles above it.
"You are an interesting person, Bella Swan," Edward commented with a huge smile on his face. Apparently my ranting was amusing to him. I guess that was something.
I felt a chill move through me and I visibly shivered still in Edward's arms. I pulled away from him and rubbed my upper arms.
"You cold?" he asked.
"Yeah, the higher altitude gets to me, even in the plane. I'm just wishing I hadn't left my sweater in the car. I knew I would need it and thought I had grabbed it, but I must have been wrong."
"Well, I think I might have just the thing for you," he said with a smirk. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the bin above our row. I heard a bag unzip and watched as Edward rummaged through something. He smiled, seeming to have found what he was looking for, zipped up the bag and looked at me.
"I believe this is yours," and he handed me my sweater. My sweater that I thought I had left was now in my hands.
"How did you get this?" I was dumbfounded as I continued to stare at the deep blue fabric.
"You left it in the studio when you left for the airport."
"But, why do you have it…now…on the plane?"
"Oh, well…I…figured since you were heading to Forks this weekend…and I knew I would be there as well…that I would drop it by your house. I thought you might want it." He slightly stumbled over some of his words, looking ashamed at being caught with an article of my clothing. At least it wasn't my underwear or something like that…you wish…shut up!
"You were going to stalk me, huh?" I asked as I pulled the sweater on. I had to give him a hard time, but I knew it was very sweet that he thought to do that. Sigh.
"Ha! No, I wasn't going to stalk you, but it would have been nice to see your face after you opened the door and found me there. I can see the surprised look now. Besides, it would be nice to see your house, learn more about you, since we missed each other growing up and all." His green eyes were even more alive now than I had ever seen them before. The look was shocking, but not in a bad way. It was exhilarating.
"Well, if you're learning more about me, it only seems fair that I get to learn more about you and Alice, right?"
I saw his eyes widen and the gulp he tried to swallow.
You know, one of the things I've had to update on this story is technology. Back when I started writing this in 2009, people used ipods to listen to music rather than the way we all listen to music on our phones these days. You didn't stream music the way you do now. I remember carrying around both an ipod and a phone. Now, the ipod is a thing of the past. It's crazy how much it's shifted in these 13 years. So much has changed.
Enough ranting. More chapters ahead! I hope you are enjoying it!
