Live While We're Young

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Charlotte woke to a voice on the intercom, presumably a flight attendant’s, alerting them that they were approaching Heathrow airport in London, where there would be a three-hour layover. She groaned into Zayn’s hoodie.

“I totally forgot about the layover. What are we supposed to do for three hours in an airport?”

Zayn laughed and put his arm around her shoulders. “Hang out with your 5 new best friends, of course!”

Charlotte raised an eyebrow skeptically. “You think the guys want to hang out with some random American non-fan for three hours? I think I’ll just find a Starbucks-esque place, get a tea, and read a book.”

“No way am I allowing a beautiful girl such as yourself wander around by her lonesome in a huge airport. You are coming with us to Legoland, and that’s final,” Zayn looked her in the eyes and said firmly. It was probably the same voice he used to control Doniya and Waliyha and Safaa.

“Uh...Legoland? You never mentioned Legoland. Why Legoland?”

“Charlotte? You okay?”

“Yeah, totally. Just, why Legos? Do you have some obsession with children’s toys? And evil little plastic bricks?”

“Evil little...what? Char...you’re not okay, are you?”

“No, I’m...oh, just need some air. Window...air. Can’t breath.”

“Charlotte, hold on. Here, use this,” Zayn offered her the barf bag that Niall had previously used as a puppet. “Just breathe, Char. In, out. In, out.”

Charlotte held the bag to her face, eyes closed. The bag made crinkling noises as air went in and out. After a few minutes, she calmed down and pulled the bag away from her mouth.

“Geez. I couldn’t see, I was dizzy, I thought I was gonna pass out, I...” Charlotte began getting worked up again. Zayn grasped her hand and put the bag back up to her face.

“Alright, alright. I’m okay now.”

“Ready to tell me why that word freaked you out so much?”

“No. I think I’ll just stick to my original plan-tea, novel.”

“Please, just tell me what’s bothering you. I want to help.”

The crinkling of the barf bag had woken Niall, and drawn the attention of the three boys behind them, who were now looking over the seat with interest.

“Yeah, Char! We want to help you,” said Harry with a smile. “Sorry ‘bout bein’ such a dickhead earlier. I’m glad Liam found you.”

“Awh. Thanks Haz.” Charlotte reached her arm up and tousled his curls. “Someone’s got a severe case of airplane head,” she joked.

“Zayn, I need to borrow a mirror. That stewardess was really cute, and I can’t let her see me like this!” Harry freaked.

Liam gave him a strange look. “Harry, she was like 30+. Find someone your own age.”

“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. No more of this nonsense, I say. NO MORE. Let us return to the topic of Charlotte’s problems,” Louis said sassily.

There was a chorus of agreements from the rest of the boys.

“Okay. You win. So...when I was 5 or so, my older brother...Andrew...got a Lego set for his birthday. It was one of those advanced kit things where you build a replica of a famous landmark or whatever. I begged and begged to help him, but he refused.