A/N: I started writing this story a little over a year ago and it was supposed to be a funny short. Well, I just finished it and it is 65 pages long. So much for short. But it's finished. It's actually written in one document, continuiously, and will only get cut up into chapters as I post it and decide what works as chapter. I guess it is semi-AU? It was technically written as a response to some prompt on the FB group, but I can't remember the prompts anymore, except for 'one bed', which seem to be a favourite.
'This is not happening, I thought to myself as I was staring at the monitor. The same one I had been looking at for ten minutes, wondering the exact same thing over and over again.
Looking at the monitor one last time and still seeing the same thing, I gave up. My stupid flight was still canceled, and I was still stuck in some godawful airport in the middle of nowhere.
Yelling at the airline employee in front of me at that gate wouldn't help - other than relieving me from much stress and anger - and seeing how everyone in front me did exactly that, I was thinking this wouldn't get me anywhere home faster, anyway. And the poor girl wasn't responsible. She was just the lucky one to face the angry mob of people shouting, yelling and threatening her on this glorious New Year's Eve, upset that they couldn't ring in the New Year with whoever they had planned on spending it with and found themselves stranded in Fargo, North Dakota.
My plans were... unexciting. As every year I would have spent tonight at my parents, with plenty of alcohol to pass the time and endure my family and the ever-present questions of when I was getting married and started to live my life. There was always plenty of food - more than usual - that could feed the neighborhood and would feed my family for the next week or so and eventually all of us would go to bed. After the ball had dropped and it was officially the New Year. So, as you can see, very exciting and nothing this canceled flight would keep me away from, really.
I was watching the poor girl at the counter fence of the next three passengers, always polite but with the same words over and over again. Weather. Freak snowstorm. No way out tonight.
Looking outside the huge windows behind her, I was barely able to see anything but white swirls that danced through the night. It was hard to imagine setting foot outside with weather like that, let alone flying a plane.
Several people with heavy accents kept asking the same questions.
What are we supposed to do now? What are you going to do? What will happen next?
The answers were always the same.
Book a hotel
Rebook you on the next possible flight out
Hopefully, the weather will calm down
I let out a sigh and figured I'd take a seat and wait for the mob of people to disappear. Not that I'd get any other answers from her. But I had nowhere to be, and I figured it would be a welcome change if one person wasn't going to yell at her. It would be another hour or so before the queue was finally gone, and it was only me left. Or so I thought. I had just approached the girl when a guy appeared next to me, probably ready to pick another fight. But he just leaned casually against the counter, placed his boarding pass in front of him and just smiled somewhat softly. And wow, that smile could stop traffic. As a matter of fact, looking at him, the entire guy could stop traffic. Dressed in all black, or at least darker colors, he was sporting jeans and a very cozy - and somehow also expensive - looking coat.
"Tough night, hu? `" he asked in a voice that sounded deep and penetrating. He had a certain timber to his voice that demanded attention, but felt like a warm blanket lulling you in comfort as well. He looked shortly at me as well, gracing me with another blinding and breathtaking smile, before turning towards the girl. For a second, it seemed like his question had been directed at the both of us.
The girl must have thought the same as me as she was looking up from her computer, seeming like she was about to start off in another lengthy argument like previously, but stopped, just looking at the guy next to me and most likely not even taking notice of me.
"How can I be of assistance, sir?" she asked, almost beaming. No other passenger had received such a wide smile before.
"I believe she was here before me," the stranger replied, pointing towards me. Looking at the girl, it was obvious that she just really took notice of me now and looked expectantly at me.
"I was on the canceled flight and would just need a rebooking," I said when it was obvious, she wouldn't say anything and kept just looking at me expectantly.
She started wild typing - and I wondered whether she didn't know the schedules and flights out of here by heart by now.
"First available flight out to Trenton, New Jersey leaves at 7:31am and still has a seat available. Want me to book you on that? Will be a short night though..."
I just nodded, not caring much for how short or long my night would be. I was stuck here anyway.
She typed wildly and handed me a boarding pass a moment later. "Any checked bags?" she asked, and I nodded, handing over my baggage tag, not even caring if they lost it at this point.
She nodded, handed me the tags back and then turned towards the guy next to me. I set in motion and started looking for a somewhat decent looking seat to spend the night.
Rummaging in my bag, I debated whether to call my parents now or at a later stage, seeing as they would probably take the news well. Not. Of course, it wasn't my fault, but me missing New Year's Eve would rob my mother of another possibility of telling me to settle down and finally get married. And another chance of comparing me to my perfect sister who had the life, husband and gave my mother all the bragging rights she could ever need. I was still debating when a dark figure appeared suddenly in front of me. Looking up, I saw the stranger from before.
"Wanna share a cab to the hotel? The girl at the gate gave me a few recommendations for hotels close by. And since we both have early flights, I figure we could share the rides."
I looked at him for a long moment, thinking about my options.
"That's a nice thought really and I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll stay at the airport. It's just a few hours and I wouldn't get much sleep, anyway. So, why waste money?" I asked, knowing what I would for sure prefer. But my bank account screamed loudly nonono. I couldn't afford a cab ride right now, let alone a hotel.
"You want to stay here?" he asked, seeming confused.
"Yeah, it won't be a big deal," I said, shrugging.
He looked unconvinced at me, and I wondered what the big deal was. I might not be the most suave or experienced flier in the world, but I would be able to spend a night here.
"I believe it's around 5°F outside right now and it will only get colder in the next few hours. The airport will be freezing."
As if on cue, I pulled my jacket closer, realizing only now how cold it was. And I had a few more hours to go. Great, so not only was I missing out on my family's New Year, I was apparently also freezing to death and bringing back a cold as the worst souvenir possible.
"I'll be fine, I promise" I said, more to myself than to him, really. Because... I would be fine.
He looked at me uncertainly for a long moment, unconvinced that I really would be fine.
"You prefer a crappy and uncomfortable row of a few seats in a freezing airport to a hotel?"
"I just don't see the point in spending money on something that wouldn't allow me to rest. With this weather, it'd probably take us a good while to a hotel and the same time back. Since my flight leaves around seven, I suppose I'd get a good three hours out of it, which will do me no good at all. So, instead of wasting that money, I can just stay right here."
"And freeze to death while doing so. Which, of course, is none of my business..." he replied.
Instead of replying, I just smiled at him politely. What else was there to say, anyway?
"I admire your fiscal responsibility," he answered and left a moment later, leaving me to my own devices.
I took my purse and tried arranging it to some sort of pillow, realizing within seconds that it wouldn't work and that my purse was too hard to make it a comfortable pillow.
"That looks definitely like you could easily spend the next few hours like that and not feel completely drenched by the time boarding starts," I heard a familiar voice to my right in a slightly sarcastic tone.
"While I probably did have way more comfortable experiences before, I will be fine. It is just a few hours, and I can sleep for as long as I want in a comfortable bed once I'm back home tomorrow."
He shrugged, while still looking like he was contemplating my decisions. You and me both, buddy. But my credit card bill was already high enough from that stupid wedding without me adding another expense to it that I'd spent months paying off.
He left after that and this was the moment when suddenly, I seemed to notice the cold. It was like someone really turned up the AC and the cold seeped into my bones.