Please Mind The Gap #1

2: Please mind the burn

2: Please mind the burn

—- banner by @Dreamerrific —-

"Thank God," Teddy sighed, reclining her chair. She turned to Nathan who was watching the moving map on his screen intently. She smirked. "Why so serious?"

He started at her voice then grinned half-heartedly. "Oh, yeah..." he trailed off. He looked and sounded a little worried, thought Teddy. "And you forgot your seatbelt, Ted."

"Stop calling me that!" She inched away from him and closed her eyes. "And I don't do seatbelts."

"Ah," said Nathan. "The classic rule-breaker. Seatbelts save lives, you know."

"Whatever."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the seatbelt sign is now on. We are now starting our descent into Sydney, Austalia," the captain's voice deadpanned through the speakers.

Nathan was practically beaming like a three-year old as the captain said this. "I'm goin' home, baby!" He cheered. His serious façade was gone.

"Did you just call me baby?" Teddy said disbelieving.

"What, you want me to?" Nathan cracked a grin. "I knew it. Ya like me do ya?" He batted his eyes like an idiot.

"NO!" She exclaimed. The other passengers turned and stared. She glowered back at them and they all shrank into their seats. "No," she repeated more softly. "Are you crazy?"

"You're turning red."

"I am not! That's just the light!"

"Hmm," he said, shrugging. "Whatever."

The plane swerved downwards as it began its descent into Sydney. It landed, a little bumpily on the runway.

"Uh, this is a little bumpy," Nathan said, voicing this out. His hands gripped the armrests tightly.

Teddy made a pssh sortof noise and scoffed, "Seriously? This is nothing-oomph!"

She shot out of her seat and made an uncomfortable face plant on the back of the chair in front of her then crashed into the hard, thin carpeted ground. "Owww," she moaned. Then she glared at Nathan. "'A little bumpy'?" She demanded furiously. "That is the biggest understatement ever!"

Nathan looked at a random passenger nearby. "Is she always like this?"

The poor guy looked terrified, shook his head and shrugged, then moved away hastilly. Nathan smirked and turned back to Teddy. He coughed something out that sounded a lot like "seatbelt".

Teddy opened her mouth to say something incredibly rude when the PA system sounded, saying that they have now landed, don't take off your seatbelts until whatnot, blah blah, Teddy wasn't listening. Now she was thinking about the money she'd win after crushing Nathan aka Brownie. She would buy a world tour plane ticket and travel around and sign autographs to tennis enthusiasts. She would buy a lifetime supply of sports stuff. She would be invincible.

"Right, Ted," Nathan said as they walked down to the taxi line carrying their bags and equipment. "Where're you staying?"

Teddy walked straight ahead, telling the address to the taxi driver instead, leaving Nathan totally behind.

"G'day," Nathan greeted the taxi driver as they entered the car.

"Crikey, mate, you're an Aussie too!" the taxi driver roared as he drove along the road. "Thought you were English or somethin' just like this right bunch of sunshine over here." He indicated Teddy.

"I know you're being sarcastic," Teddy muttered.

"Be nice," Nathan hissed.

"Negative point zero zero zero zero zero one nice, more like it," she retorted. Nathan groaned silently.

"Alrightie, mates, this is your stop." The taxi pulled over after a while.

"Erm, can you just stay for a tiny moment, please? I'm just dropping her off here for a sec."

"Sure thing."

Nathan pushed Teddy to the entrance with all her luggages to the dingy inn proclaiming the words: PARADISE INN. He glanced sideways at Teddy then back at the small building with peeling paint. "Are you sure you'll be staying here?"

Not for the first time, Teddy put on a disgusted look. "Yes, you idiot. Bye."

"Wait!" Nathan hurried after her. "I'll go in and help you."

She smiled fakely. "Hooray."

They entered the so called Paradise Inn. Inside was a grumpy fat man who greatly reassembled the expression on Teddy's face, a bunch of dusty sofas, and old men swigging on beer.

Teddy stormed right to the fat man who was apparently the concierge. "This is Paradise Inn?"

"Yep. Whatchor name?" The man burped.

"Teddy Errol, here to, er, check in."

"Teddy Errol, ya say." He ran a finger across a yellowish paper. "Nope. You're not here."

"WHAT?" Teddy exploded so loudly that the old men slopped beer all over their shirts. "I reserved a room here!"

"Too bad, sweetheart," drawled the man.. "You gotta go now, the guests are being disturbed." The old men were grumbling.

"I AM NOT LEAVING WITHOUT MY ROOM!" Teddy snapped. "GET ME A ROOM!"

"Sweetheart, you got to go," the fat man said. "Good-bye."

"Listen, fat man!" erupted Teddy. "I reserved to sleep in this crummy dungeon! Now get me a room!"

The man rose. "Did ya just call me fat, sweetheart?"

For the first time, Teddy's confidence wavered. "Er..."

A second later, they were shoved out the door, shouted at never to come back, and shut out. Teddy was red-faced and furious.

"That went immensely well." Nathan said as he and Teddy started back to the taxi.

"Stop being sarcastically optimistic," Teddy growled. "I hate this day."

"Sir," Nathan began to the driver once they were back in the taxi. "My house is in..." He rattled that off to the driver then the taxi zoomed away.

"Oh, I get it," said Teddy after a while. "We're going to your house and well, see, I have a tiny problem of WHERE TO STAY."

"You could, maybe, stay with me, for a bit." Nathan shrugged then looked out the window, away from Teddy. "My parents won't mind."

She was shocked into silence. Then, "Stay with you?" she burst out. "Well, erm, alright, I guess-" she hesitated, biting her lip. "-Thank you."

"Gasp!" he said, exaggerating a little, widening his emerald eyes and raising his eyebrows. "She said it again! Those thank yous are music to poor Nathan's ears."

"You are such a drama queen."

"That's right," he replied cheerfully. "You can come right up to my stage. You would make a wonderful prop."

"I can't believe you just said that," Teddy said.

"Believe it then because you just got BURNED!" Nathan turned back to her and pointed at her triumphantly.

Even the driver joined in. "Preach, mate, preach!"

"Shut up!" Teddy snapped. They dutifully ignored her and exchanged a loud high five.

She finally gave up getting them to shut up, made a grrr sound, then slouched down in her seat to accept the burn.