London Boy | Jamie Flatters

Four

"Holy shit, this is crazy," I mumble, squeezing Trinity's hand as we walk onto the plane. I'm so used to walking straight past first-class and right to economy, where the seats are squished together and the legroom basically non-existent, but we were stopped right at the front of the plane, where lush recliner seats sat, with more legroom than I could ever need.

    The seats are sorted into pairs of two, and they're almost like giant couches, with one giant armrest down the middle. "I'm going to sit with Bailey," my little sister informs me, squeezing my hand back before letting go. She's stolen one of my hoodies, hair twisted into braids that I'd done for her while we waited for our flight to board.

    "Okay," I nod, taking the row in front of them. The seats were as comfortable as they looked, with buttons on the side that allowed me to control the temperature and turn on the massage setting. Beside my seat is a fluffy blanket and pillow, as well as a bag of miniature toiletries for me to use during the flight.

     "Jamie, do you wanna sit together?" Lilly questions, sliding into the row across from Bailey and Trinity, diagonal from me. "I downloaded that show you were telling me about on Netflix. Figured we could watch it together?"

    I look up at Jamie, whose eyes are already on me, ring-clad fingers running through his hair as he frowns. He'd informed me last night that he'd be sitting beside me on the plane, claiming we needed to catch up, and the eight-and-a-half-hour flight would be the perfect time to do so. "Eden and I were actually going to sit together," Jamie admits, cheeks growing warm, "catch up and all, you know?"

    Disappointment flashes through her blue eyes so quickly I question if I ever saw it, a delicate smile replacing it in the blink of an eye. "Right, yeah," she nods, waiving her hand at him like it's no big deal, though her tone says otherwise. "Of course."

    "I'll watch Netflix with you, Lils," Jack offers, happily sliding into the seat beside her, breaking through the cloud of awkwardness clouding up the tiny plane cabin.

    He begins speaking to her, but my attention is taken away when Jamie slides into the seat next to me, grey-blue eyes silence all noise around us, my attention only on him. "Hey there, trouble." All of his awkwardness over having to say no to Lilly has vanished, though splotches of pink still linger on his cheeks, dimples on full display for me. "Ready to be stuck with me for the next eight and a half hours?" He teases, wiggling his brows at me.

    I think it over. Honestly... no. Eight and a half hours is a long time to be sitting next to someone who I'm actively trying not to have feelings towards. A lot can happen during that time, and that scares me. I can't afford to fall any harder than I already have. It'll only make being around him that much harder.

    Tone laced with sarcasm, I answer him, words holding more truth than he'll ever realize, "terrified." I admit, with a shake of my head. "Not sure how I'll survive to be honest."

    Jamie gasps, mocking hurt as he falls back into his seat, clutching his heart, "I'm hurt, trouble." He playfully whimpers, tone laced with just as much sarcasm as my own. His eyes are glimmering, shockingly blue, the grey disappearing the longer I look at them. "I thought we were friends."

    Friends....

   The word feels like a punch to the gut, a reminder of just how delusional my feelings towards him are, "who told you that?" I remark back, proud of myself for sounding so chill, a confident smirk toying at my lips as if I'm completely unfazed by that godforsaken word.

    "Ha, ha," Jamie mocks, playfully rolling his eyes at me, though I can tell he's really amused, trying his best not to smile at me, "you're hilarious, Bliss. Should be a comedian."