Something Better

Flying With Somebody Else

Martha and Mitchell chatted easily as they traveled high above the earth. Mitchell talked about his difficult upbringing, how he had struggled to become a lawyer and how much he loved his job. Martha listened and asked questions, she was happy to listen to Mitchell talk about Mitchell, and forget about herself and Brandon.

The in-flight movie came on and Mitchell went to sleep after saying he wasn't really a movie fan. Martha watched the film and let her thoughts drift to Brandon, watching 'Back to the Future' together and how they had talked about the films in the eighties they had grown up watching. She smiled as she thought about snuggling into him on the bed and him kissing her on the head. She looked over at Mitchell sleeping in his plush first class seat. There was no comparison between him and Brandon. Mitchell was a good looking guy, but he didn't make her feel the way Brandon did, which was a shame, because she knew Mitchell was into her, unlike Brandon. Martha still decided to hold on for Brandon, just a little longer.

"Thanks so much for the surprise upgrade!" Martha said as she hugged Mitchell at the taxi stand at McCarran airport in Las Vegas.

"Hey, no problem, company expenses remember," Mitchell winked, as he opened her cab door for her, "Maybe we could go for that coffee sometime soon?" He smiled, "No pressure!"

"No pressure," Laughed Martha as she climbed into her taxi, "I'll text you, OK?" Martha said not wanting to give a definite yes, just in case Brandon suddenly came to his senses.

"I'll take that!" Mitchell smiled and waved as she drove off to a home she had not set foot in for about three weeks.

Martha was glad to be back in Las Vegas, back to her little house, her job, Charles and the sunshine. She had been home for about a two weeks, working pretty much flat out at work and then assembling Brandon's jacket.

Brandon had been in contact almost everyday during their first week apart and then he told Martha he had meet a producer who was like his musical brother. He was so excited about the music they were making and he was going to be busy for the next week or so, before they came back to Vegas. Martha had only had one or two texts from him, but she was happy he was getting into the new music, because although she liked Brandon, she was also a Killers fan and looked forward to a new album.

Martha was in work, chatting to Phil, who was the show's producer, for whom Martha was working for more and more. He had asked her to sort out the week's staff schedule and he told her could work from home so that Charles wouldn't distract her. Martha was feeling happy at getting to be at home for a while, unusually, she decided to stop at Starbucks for a coffee pick up before she began her admin task. Even more unusually she decided to sit in and see if she could make a start on her job. She sat down and started up her laptop, she sipped her coffee as she allowed everything to open up. She began looking at the list of people who were available to work and any special events happening. Her mind lost focus on the task as she started to think about Brandon and what he was doing half way across the world. She checked the time as she took another sip at her coffee. It was 10am, so it was about 6pm with Brandon. She thought about texting him, but resisted, she didn't want to be the one to always contact him. Instead, Martha typed Brandon's name into her search engine and smiled to herself as she hit enter.

Killers frontman Brandon Flowers enjoys cozy chat with starlet Chloe Scott. Read more...

Martha froze when she read the top hit story headline. She shakily clicked on the story to see images of smiling Brandon standing beside a beautiful, tall, blonde woman. Martha gulped at her coffee, spilling some on to her shirt. She grabbed a napkin and started to dab at the stain that was settling into the white fabric. While she was fussing over herself a strange calm fell over her. She looked at the pictures again, he was only standing with her and the story was a pretty vague tabloid attempt at getting something for nothing. However Martha realised this is what it would be like, to be with him. He would be away chatting to beautiful celebrities and she would be in Vegas snooping on her laptop. She was fed up of waiting around, jumping at every text and moping around at home listening to music. Meanwhile he was off living his dream. Martha closed the lid of her laptop and pulled out her phone.

Martha: Hi, how about that coffee? x

Mitchell: Great! How about turning it into a lunch? x

Martha: Sounds good! x

Mitchell: I'll meet you tomorrow at The Mirage reception, 12.30? x

Martha: See you there! x

Martha breathed and packed up her stuff, she was letting go and she actually felt free.

"What's up with your face?" Dave asked Brandon at their last dinner in London.

"Nothing," Brandon said quietly, "Just thinking about the flight tomorrow,"

"At least wait till we get to the airport before you start terrifying yourself!" Dave smirked.

"You've not really been yourself for the past few days, Brando," Ronnie said through a mouth full of chicken.

"Martha hasn't answered my text from yesterday or the day before and it's not like her, that's all," Brandon moaned feeling sorry for himself.

"Maybe she has realised she's too good for you!" Dave laughed.

Brandon made a face at Dave and looked at Ronnie for reassurance.

"Maybe you should call her?" Ronnie said sitting back in his chair.

Brandon nodded, walked away from the table and clicked on her number. He sat in an armchair in the lounge, listening to the ringing.

"Hello?" Martha's voice finally came through.

"Hey, how are you?" Brandon said his heart beating fast.

"I'm good, how are you?" Martha answered.

"I'm fine, just getting ready to fly home tomorrow," Brandon said a little breathlessly.

"You'll be fine!" Martha said quickly.

"Are you OK?, you seem distracted, are you at work?" Brandon felt the panic rise in his chest, he wasn't used to Martha being short like this.

"I'm just about to meet someone for lunch, sorry," Martha answered.

"Oh OK, well I'll call you when I get back to Vegas," Brandon said hopefully, "Who are you meeting?" Brandon said it before he even thought about it and he was already afraid of the answer.

"Mitchell," Martha said after a short pause.

"Is it a lunch date?" Brandon giggled, but he felt his throat constrict with jealousy.

"I don't know..." Martha said anxiously.

Silence.

"Brandon?" Martha asked into the phone.

"Yeah, I'm here," He said, the gloom filling up his heart as he realised he had left her hanging too long, "That's good, I'm pleased for you, you know? You deserve to be happy."

"Well it's only lunch, but thanks for saying that," Martha said quietly.

"How's my jacket coming along?" Brandon asked feeling the need to quickly change the subject.

"Almost finished!" Martha said with excitement, "You'll be able to try it on when you get home,"

"Great, did you get the pheasant feathers?" Brandon asked, trying to hang on, knowing their conversation was going to end soon.

"Yes, all gathered, no animals were harmed in the making of this jacket!" Martha laughed.

Brandon's heart was starting to crack and his throat was getting tighter. Ronnie and the guys were heading over to his table and he knew his feelings were written all over his face.

"Well, maybe get a sign that says just that on the back of the jacket," Brandon said with a forced giggle.

"Hey, there she is!" Mitchell said in the background and Brandon felt his whole body tense up.

"OK," Martha said matter of factly, "Call me when you are home and over the jet lag and you can try it on,"

"OK, Will do," Brandon could hardly manage the words.

"Bye" Martha said as Brandon hung up and held his head in his hands, throwing his phone loosely on to the table top.

"I have fucked this up!" He said peeking out at his friends from behind his hands.

"Yup," Ronnie agreed with a nod.