A One Direction Christmas

Chapter Three ~ Harry

December 24th, 2012

4:47pm

LAX airport, Las Angles California

Harry ~ Coming Home

Another delay. Exactly what I wanted on Christmas Eve. I shook my head and repositioned myself in the uncomfortable airport chairs. Maybe a last minute flight to visit a friend in LA wasn't the best plan. Especially the part about going home on Christmas Eve.

It's not my fault Mother Nature absolutely hates England though. I was just a victim of too much snow. At this rate I would be stuck in an airport on Christmas day. I pulled out my iPhone and sent a text message to Gemma that I probably wouldn't be home for tomorrow's family dinner. I didn't expect a response since it was fairly late back home, but I thought it would be good for her to know. I saw my battery was draining quickly so I turned it off, unsure of what to do to keep myself occupied for a while. Staring at the ceiling was my best option, I decided.

After a few minutes of pure boredom I heard someone sit down next to me. I sat up in my chair to come face to face with a girl about my age. My movement had caught her attention and her dark, chocolate brown eyes bore into mine. Her long, wavy blonde hair cascaded down past her shoulders and she was one of the few girls I had ever seen with bangs straight across her forehead. She could pull them off though. Definitely. The only word that came into my head was beautiful.

"Are you just going to stare at me all day?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Harry," I introduced myself.

"Ava," she outstretched her hand. I grasped it just a little too quickly. She giggled at my eagerness.

"So, are you stuck her too?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I'm not too happy about it either," she said and for the first time I noticed a British accent.

"Judging by your accent, you're heading to the same place as me," I assumed.

"If that place is London, then you're right."

"Well, then it looks like I'm right."

"Wow, you deserve a medal," she said sarcastically.

"A gold one, at that," I inform her and she giggles slightly.

"Looks like the pop-star has an ego, definitely a turn off," she noted, knowing it would embarrass me.

"Hey, I was just joking. I don't have an ego like that," I said quickly.

"Settle down. I know you don't, I was joking too," she assured me.

"Oh," I said.

"You may not have an ego, but you sure are gullible," Ava laughed. I held my hands up in defeat. I had been told I was gullible many times. It was one weakness that had been proven with multiple pranks on tour with the lads.

"Don't worry, it's cute," Ava assured me.

"Really? So I'm cute?"

"Well, I mean, I didn't mean it like that," she said, obviously flustered.

"Well, if it helps I think you're cute too," I say and she blushes.

"Well, that makes me feel a little better about myself," she admits.

Ava and I luckily got past that slightly awkward stage and spent the next hour or so talking about anything and everything. I learned that even though she lives in London now, she grew up Bristol (AN: If you watch British Youtubers you know all the people who live there. :) ). Like me, Ava had been visiting a friend when she got stuck her with yours truly. I guess I'm not the only one that makes impulsive trips across the world. Odd, right?

The time was now nearing 6:30pm and I had pretty much lost all hope of getting home. I did have Ava though. That definitely made up for everything.

"How long are we going to be here?" Ava groaned and moved around in her chair.

"Heck if I know," I answered depressingly. I could have come up with a snarky response about how she wanted to get away from me, but all this waiting had drained every ounce of energy from my body.

"Flight 547 to London is now boarding," a robotic voice announced. Looks like Mother Nature finally got rid of her grudge on the country.

"Thank you God!" Ava exclaimed, jumping out of her seat. I also got up, my energy returning, and followed Ava to the boarding area. She handed her ticket to the lady happily and so did I. I felt like I was following Ava like a lost puppy, but hey. I didn't want to leave her. Not without a phone number, at least. I continue following her all the way to the plane and I chose the seat next to her. 

"I never said you could sit there," Ava teased.

"Isn't that just too bad," I smirked.

"Nothing stops a flirt," Ava chuckled.

"Who says I'm a flirt?" I asked, looking offended.

"I do," she says.

"Hey, I'm not that flirty," I defend myself.

"Maybe not with every girl, but you are with me," Ava says, eyeing my reaction.

"Maybe I am, maybe not," I say.

"See, you didn't give me a straight answer. You're flirting," she says in a knowing voice.

"And is that a bad thing?"

"Not necessarily."

"Look who's flirting now," I point out.

"I was mocking you."

"Okay, okay," I say and our conversation ceases for a few minutes. I look around at the plane full of other weary travelers. At least I'm not the only one who's tired. I sigh and try to think of something else. Ava. Should I just ask her if she likes me? No. That's too weird and blunt. I'll just get her number. But when?

"Can I get your number?" I blurt out. Ava looks at me, stunned.

"For an indirect flirt you can be really blunt," she laughs.

"Um, I guess so. I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from," I mumbled.

"Harry, relax. There are millions of girls that like you for you. Don't try to be a huge flirt," Ava says seriously, "but, good for you, you're still cute."

She hands over her phone so I can type my number in. I pull my phone out of my pocket and turned it on then hand it to Ava. The boys and I had made a silly rule a while ago that when we added our number's to a girls phone we would add a smiley face if we liked them. When I was done I handed Ava's phone back to her. She looked down at the screen and smiled.

"I see you go by the smiley face rule."

"How do you know about that?" I ask in disbelief.

"A lot of guys do it. I'm just glad it wasn't a wink face. Then I would know you want to get in my pants," she said disgusted.

"Hey, that's a little drastic. I've only known you for a few hours," I said, slightly embarrassed for some reason. To hide the light rosy tint that had appeared on my cheeks, I looked down at my phone. Ava had added a smiley face to her contact too. I blushed harder. What were the chances of meeting someone you like in an airport? In a foreign country, at that. I guess that the Christmas season is just weird like that. Whatever it was, I was grateful for these past few hours. I still had the rest of the plane ride with Ava, but I hoped I would be seeing a lot more of her.

AN: Meh. I don't like this part, but I can't come up with anything better. And merry belated Christmas! I hope you had a good day! So, what did you all get from Santa ;)?