Dark Blue | l.h au|

chapter four

CHAPTER FOUR

  When Jessica saw the envelope neatly tucked underneath her pillow she quirked an eyebrow at Luke. Through the computer screen, Luke watched carefully as Jessica tugged at the corners of the paper. She bit her lip trying to hold back a smile. She was in awe that he had purchased her a ticket. She didn't know why and had no idea how to thank him.

  Luke smiled as Jessica's eyes lit up. He couldn't see much because of the horrible lighting in her bedroom at the time but as soon as she switched on her lap to get a better look at the plane ticket he slowly fell deeper into lust. Jessica was just thankful for his gesture and saw it as nothing more than friendship.

  Around 6am that day, Jessica walked into Heaththrow Airport to catch her flight. A few short hours before Luke had watched from another continent as the brunette rushed around her small, messy bedroom shoving various clothing items into her suitcase. She managed to be packed in fifteen minutes. Luke was amazed because it normally took him a good hour or so to pack his carry-on.  Jessica ended the Skype call due to her needing a shower and having to finish getting ready. Luke waited patiently for the next 24 hours.

  Jessica was sat beside a blonde haired woman who looked to be in her mid-forties. The woman smiled at her as she sat down beside her, Jessica returned the gesture. She was nervous to be on a plane as it was only her second time. Her first time flying was when she was thirteen years old and going to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida with her parents and brother. She hadn't been scared because she was in the reach of her father's hand and her mother's love. She was all alone this time with no guidance but she was ready. Jessica picked at the dark blue nail polish on her fingers, the woman beside her spoke up.

  "Are you alright, hun?"

  "Hm?" Jessica looked to her left where the woman was sitting.

  "Are you alright? You look a little nervous." Jessica took notice of the woman's accent. She wasn't from Europe, that's for sure.

  "I think I'll be okay, thank you. I just haven't flown since I was thirteen."

  "Ah, I see. You'll be alright though, don't you worry. I'm here if you need anything."

 Jessica thanked her and smiled. She then proceeded to pull her knees to her chest and plugged in her headphones. The plane was about to take off. Jessica gripped the seat handles tightly, putting her feet to the floor and waiting. Suddenly, Jessica felt a hand on her arm.

  "It's okay." Jessica relaxed a bit as the plane took off. She stared out the window as the plane rose. She was amazed with the world beneath her slowly disappearing from her view. She let out a deep sigh.

  "What's your name, Hun?"

  "Jessica." She mumbled, still in awe with the ground being completely out of view.

  "I'm Liz." She said happily.

-

  "So where are you headed too?" Liz asked.

  "New York City." Jessica smiled, remembering why she was going there.

  "Coincidentally, that's where I'm headed too."  She smiled. "I'm going to visit my son."

  "I'm going to visit my..." Jessica hesitated for a moment. She was sure what she considered Luke. She didn't know if he was a friend, an acquaintance or a kind stranger. The more she thought about it, she didn't really even know him. She wanted to greatly but she couldn't quite bring herself to admit it. "My friend." She decided

  Calling Luke her friend seemed simple but effective. If she said a lover there would have been an extreme back story and if she had said acquaintance she would have gotten mixed opinions more than likely.

  "What's their name?" Liz asked, trying to make conversation with the teenager. She felt a little upset that someone so young was travelling alone, even though Jessica wasn't in the need of traveling with a parent.

  "Luke." Jessica smiled slightly. Liz just assumed it was a coincidence that Jessica's friend and her son were both named Luke and that the two of them just so happened to be on their way to New York to visit their Luke's.

  "What's he like? Liz asked. She was worried she was asking too much but she had never had a daughter so she never had to deal with boy issues from her teens or have girl talk. Jessica liked the fact Liz was asking so many questions. It made it easy for her to get it off her chest. She could never talk to her mother or father about boys. They were always just too busy and had more important things to do. Her brother on the other hand listened occasionally.

  "He's really sweet." She started off. Jessica wasn't really too sure what to say about Luke. "He's really good at listening and he's really my only friend right now I guess you could say. The only one who cares anyways."

   Liz nodded and listened to Jessica babble on about her friend Luke. Jessica reminded Liz of herself when she was younger. Independent bored of life, seeking adventure.

-

  Someone tapped Jessica's shoulder, her eyes fluttering open.

  "We're going to land soon." Liz said beside her. Jessica nodded her head, buckling her seat belt. She didn't remember falling asleep but she knew she'd regret it later. Jessica clicked the home button on her phone. It had adjusted to the time zone automatically. It was 9am and Jessica was practically dead at this point.

-

  Liz and Jessica had bid farewell. Their flight friendship had made Jessica extremely happy, she wished it could continue. She had never met anyone so nice in such a short amount of time. Jessica moved her hair out of her face, behind her ears and followed the signs to find her bags.

  She had landed at the JFK airport in New York. Her bones were electric. Forever engraved into her mind was the bird's eye view of the city below her. The yellow sunrise had officially become her favorite sunrise to witness.

  Jessica collected her bags without a problem. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to text Luke when she saw a head of blond hair running towards her with a big smile.

  "Jessica!" The pair ran towards each other and embraced one and another. Jessica felt awkward at first then molded into the hug. The smell of Luke's cologne filled her nose and the sent stuck to her shirt.

  "Welcome to New York, it's been waiting on you." Luke whispered into her hair, quiet enough for Jessica to not hear, kissing the top of her head. 

+

I'm SO sorry this literally hasn't been updated for four months. I needed time and I started a few new writing works which you should check out (as Ashton fanfic along with a calum one.) I've literally re-written this chapter about four times now. My old laptop literally went haywire on me and I STILL haven't retrieved any of my old files which makes me want to cry because I want all my luke pictures. I've also recently had the pleasure and opportunity to visit New York City on December 30th which was on my bucket list and I am forever grateful to be able to witness the city. It's honestly breath taking and I am SO happy I'll be able to actually put it into my writing without having to always use google as a reference!!! Again, i am sosososoososos sorry for the lack of updates but hey, I'm back at it again! 

- gillian