A/N: Okay, I'm very excited about this one. It's one of my favorite chapters yet! And, my best, I think. I'm not so sure. I switched POVs, so you guys are going to have to tell me how that goes. I have to note that I've never been on a plane before, so I did the layout for it based on my seating arrangements. Thanks to the fantabulous pink-strawberry-lemonade for beta'ing! She helps me so much. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Sigh. It's depressing to type this. But, alas, it is not mine.
Jerome sat back, enjoying the ride. They had finally made it onto the Heathrow Express train, and were on their way to the airport at last. He had to admit, Nina was a pretty efficient traveler—or, she was until it came for them to get from Paddington to Heathrow. But Fabian took charge (Jerome didn't think Rutter had it in him!) and took care of that. The rest was in Nina's hands, though.
She hadn't lost anyone yet—not even Alfie when he went on his expedition to the loo, which Jerome thought was a feat in itself.
No, he was having a pretty good time, considering he had originally only said he'd come because he didn't want to be stuck at Anubis House for the summer like he would've been. His parents made the excuse that they were too busy with work to have him around the house, but since he was a teen—who could take care of himself well enough—he knew it was just a ruse to not have him around. It didn't bother him, though. He was used to it.
Of course, it didn't hurt matters that he got to ride in the same cab as Mara on the way to the first train station.
Nothing happened; not really. But they had just sat in the back of that cab, talking. It was nice, he thought. Especially since Mara actually cared. She didn't just sit there, nodding her head occasionally, pretending to listen—she really would, and even asked him questions about what he was talking about a few times. That was another sign she wasn't tuning him out.
He enjoyed it.
And, he was finally admitting it to himself—he liked her. Liked her, liked her. Before, he had made excuses, at least in his head—he wanted a friend, she was a challenging chess partner (which she was), he wanted to sabotage Mick (that's true too, but for more reasons than one), the list could go on. Now he would think it, to himself. He liked her.
He didn't know what he was going to do about it, not yet. But he definitely was going to use his time in America without the meathead around to find out.
"We will be pulling into the terminal at Heathrow Airport in 5 minutes' time. Please be ready to depart swiftly and safely from the train to the terminal." The conductor's intercom was hard to understand due to static, but the message was conveyed well enough.
"We're at the airport, at last!" Amber was bouncing in her seat. She loved airports—it was so chaotic, so busy, and so much fun! She had been looking forward to this part of the trip since they left.
Nina looked over at her friend and smiled. Amber's so easy to amuse, she thought. She got her bags from the overhead compartment, and made sure everyone else did the same. Patricia had fallen asleep again, but Mara was kind enough to gently wake her without any drama. Alfie and Jerome were bickering over their bags (apparently, they had some trouble getting them into the shared compartment, and were now having even more trouble getting them out) but that was resolved when the luggage tumbled out of the compartment and onto the floor to be collected.
Soon, it was time for them to get off the train. They piled into the terminal, which served as the train platform as well. Nina had been here once before—when she came to England before she moved into Anubis House—but she was still astounded by the sheer size of the place. To think, only one terminal held a train station/platform, restaurants, shops, and an airplane boarding area! And there were four more terminals in the airport. It was mindboggling. She was certain it was bigger than JFK airport back in New York City.
"Oh, wow. Look at all the people!" Mara exclaimed. She was doe-eyed, looking about as everyone else was. It was so crowded, but not in an overwhelming way. It was pleasantly crowded—the kind of crowded where there was plenty of people to watch, but also the corners and tables where you could seclude yourself with a book or other past-time before your flight.
"Yeah, Heathrow is the busiest airport in the UK, and one of the busiest in the world," Fabian said.
"Of course he'd know that," Patricia muttered. She still wasn't in the best of moods, and all the bright lights and people weren't helping anything, really. She just wanted to get on the plane and go back to sleep at this point.
"Well—where to next?" Alfie asked, innocently. He was half-asleep, and didn't want to get lost.
"We stay in this terminal—terminal 5—and we get on one of the British Airlines planes to JFK Airport in New York City. Our flight leaves in . . . an hour, now. So we need to go through check out and security." Nina led the way to the check-out booths and what not, preparing herself for the long process it took to get on a plane.
"Are we going to NYC, then?" Amber asked excitedly as they finally were able to take seats in the waiting area. They only had a handful of minutes left before their plane was due to start boarding, and Amber could not sit still to save her life. This was her kind of adventure! And they're going to New York City—one of the fashion and shopping capitals of the WORLD. She was sure she'd have to convince Nina to let her shop for at least a little bit while they were there.
"Yes, for a while. That's where our plane lands, and we'll meet my Gran there. Then we'll figure out how we're getting to where I live."
"Where do you live, exactly?" Amber wanted to get this straight. If Nina didn't live in the City, then hopefully she lives somewhere with good shopping still.
"I live in Avondale, Arizona. It's a 'suburb' of Phoenix. It takes about 30ish minutes to get from where I live to the beginnings of Phoenix," Nina answered absentmindedly. She was watching the board on the wall—apparently it would tell them when they could get on the plane, and an announcement would be made.
So many announcements! Amber thought. I'm scared all the voices are going to make me go crazy. It's okay when I can see their body, but these I can't because they're over the intercom. Oh, there's a word for that. . . disemheaded? No. . . unbodyfied? No, that's not it either. Oh well. Point is, I've heard Phoenix has great shopping malls! It's all about 'cactus chic' over there. Wait—
"Nina. Isn't Phoenix in the desert?"
"Technically, it's on the edge of the desert. But it still does get pretty hot. In the summer, it's usually 100 degrees or above."
Amber's eyes bugged out of her head. "100 degrees? That's like, hot enough to boil water! A person can't possibly live like that!"
Nina looked over, apologetic. "Sorry, that was in Fahrenheit. It'd be about 37 degrees or above in Celsius."
Amber got it. "Oooh! Okay. Oh, yay! That's total bathing costume weather!"
Nina just smiled and went back to watching to board. Amber studied her for a bit. Nina was holding hands with Fabian, of course, and Amber just noticed that her foot was entwined with Fabian's as well. Oh, they're perfect for each other. I wonder if I'll ever have that. Well, have that again. Me and Mick were good together, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. People think I'm still swooning over him, but I understand—he just wants to be friends. I'd rather be his friend than nothing. I still want a boyfriend, though. Not just a boyfriend, but someone who'll be my best friend as well. Alfie seems to like me. But do I like him? He's nice enough. He's a bit of a jokester, and I don't like that he's best mates with Jerome of all people. I can tell he really cares, though. And he's sweet. In an odd, Alfie way. Maybe I should pay more attention to him—
Amber's internal monologue was interrupted by Nina pulling on her arm. "Come on, Amber. It's time to board the plane."
"Oh, yay! I'm so excited!" Amber squealed, jumping up and following Nina. They gave their ticket passes to the attendant, then walked down the long hallway-thing that would take them to the plane. Amber was bouncing with happiness the entire way.
They were the last two left. It was just him and Mara. Patricia had been asleep first, going unconscious almost as soon as the turbulence from take-off evened out. She was sitting in the window seat of the row behind Jerome and Mara. Alfie was beside her. Nina and Fabian were in two of the three-seat-wide middle rows, Amber beside them. Nina had leaned up against Fabian, his arm around her waist. They were both asleep, using each other as a pillow. Amber had her seat leant back, and was curled up in a ball, also asleep. Jerome didn't need to be able to see Alfie to hear his snoring.
"Ah!" Mara said. "I'm too nervous to sleep. This is the first time I've ever been on a plane!"
"Hmmm. Little Mara. Scared of a plane, now? Don't be. They design these things to stay in the air," Jerome replied, in what he thought was a condolence.
"So? There's always technical difficulties! And what if an engine fails or something? Or! Or, if we run into another airplane. I've always wondered how they know they're not on a head-on course for running straight into another plane."
Jerome smiled over at her. "Mara. Seriously, nothing's going to happen. And they have," he waved his hand about, "they have air traffic patrollers to prevent that from happening. So there's no need to worry about it."
Mara wrung her hands, still nervous. "Oh, I dunno. I think I just need a distraction—you know, something to take my mind off the fact that I'm probably kilometers in the air, off the ground. Not even on water, like you are in a boat—"
Mara was going to continue, but Jerome cut her off. "Mara! Don't worry about it, okay? As for a distraction," he smirked, "I think I can offer that."
She gave him a skeptical look. "How so?"
"Well. What do you want me to do to distract you? There's a number of things I can do, and I'm willing."
"Really? You'd help me, just to ease my fears?"
He looked at her for a beat too long before answering. "Yes."
She was taken aback for a moment. "That's really kind of you, thanks. What should we do. . . We could do one of those question games! Like 20 questions."
Jerome threw his head back and rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Mara! That is so clichéd! Can't you come up with something better?"
Mara's eyebrows furrowed. "Hey! I thought it was a good idea! And while I don't claim on being the most creative person out there, it's not the worst thing ever!" She felt the need to defend herself, even though it was just against Jerome.
He gave her a look. "You really want me to play 20 questions with you?"
"Well, yes. We can do the guess-the-object version, or the all-about-me version."
Oooh. That's a tough choice. On the one hand, I don't want to answer questions about myself. . . but this is the perfect excuse to ask Mara questions. . . damn. He contemplated. In his head, he had a mental list of pros and cons. "Alright, alright. We'll do the all-about-me one."
Mara's eyes lit up, and she looked like a kid on Christmas for a brief second. "Great! Do you want to start, or shall I?"
"I thought it was ladies first?"
Mara blushed. "Okay. . . When's your birthday?"
Jerome did a double take. "You didn't know?" Mara shook her head, looking ashamed. "It's August 4th," he answered. "And I return the question—when's yours? And I openly admit to not knowing."
She smiled. "It's okay; not many people at school do because it's always on Easter holidays. My birthday is April 11th."
Jerome nodded. "My question?"
"Oh, I forgot to ask! Uhm. . . why does Victor seem to like you best out of the House residents?"
That took some thought. "I'm not sure. I don't think I've given him a reason to like me—though Alfie does tend to be the one who gets all the blame and trouble for our pranks. I think he likes me because I've been there the longest. Since I was 5."
Her eyes widened. "Victor was the head of house when you were that small?"
He smirked. "I thought it was my turn to ask the question?"
She blushed again. "Right. Sorry. Go on."
Chuckling, he said, "It's alright. What did you do for school before you came to ours?"
"I went to a local school, near where I live with my parents. It wasn't a boarding school, so I was able to go home each day. It was nice, in a way. But—"
"—but it's nice not to have to deal with parents, right?"
Mara grinned. "Ah! I thought it was my turn now."
Jerome nodded. "That it is. Ask away."
Now that it was her turn, she was slightly stumped. She knew Jerome had been at their school since he was 5—he had told her that once before, and just now—so she didn't want to ask him a question related to that, with the fear that she'd be prying. While she was thinking, she yawned.
"Uh, . . . what's your favorite food?" She asked around another yawn.
Jerome laughed. "You really just asked me that! I don't have a favorite food—not for eating. If we're talking throwing, then spaghetti wins, hands down."
"I don't like your food fights that you and Alfie have. It always leaves a mess. Especially when I'm on clean-up duty."
Jerome noticed that Mara kept yawning, and that her eyelids seemed to be getting heavier. He smiled at her, a soft, yet genuine smile. "I'll be sure to make note of your clean-up days, and not have a food fight on those days. Now, my question. Are you sleepy?"
Mara nodded, and leaned onto Jerome's shoulder, not really aware of what she was doing, or the fact that he stiffened when she leant on him. "Yes, I am. I think we're going to have to put this game on hold. . . "
Jerome had stiffened out of shock, but soon shifted and tried to relax. Mara is on my shoulder. Mara is using my shoulder as a pillow. Mara is leaning on me. Mara is asleep. Oh dear god. He'd never been in a position like this before, and he wasn't sure what to do. At least, not with a girl he actually liked. "That's fine, Mara. Go to sleep."
"'Kay," Mara muttered before she finally drifted off completely.
Jerome looked at her once more, before settling himself back in his seat, and pretending to get some sleep himself, though he knew that the effort would be futile. He found that he didn't really mind all that much, considering he had the girl of his affections on his shoulder.
A/N: Yay for Jara! Sorry that there was no direct Fabina—you still got it from another POV. It was fun switching it up—but it was kind of scary to get in Amber's head. You'll have to tell me if I got everyone right. I think the hardest part about having so many characters is making sure no one gets lost while the focus is on another. I know that the 20 questions thing is over done, but I thought it fit. I don't know much about Avondale, AZ, so to anyone who lives there, I'm sorry if I get it wrong. Reviews make me happy! :]
Oh, and on the note of my story requests that I'm doing/taking. . . I've got a couple, and one I'm thinking of doing, but to all my anonymous reviewers—I'm sorry, but I can't take a request unless I have a way to reach you. So you need to have an account so I can message you and confirm that I've got the request right. Thanks!
-Zenelia*Sky