Only The Brave {A Louis Tomlinson Fanfiction}

Chapter Ten: The Last Plane Out Of Sydney

Louis' POV

We headed back to the hotel and packed up all our things. I looked out the big window that overlooked Sydney City. I felt Alli's presence behind me and I heard her sigh. I turned around to look at her but she kept looking out the window.

"You okay?" I asked her. She nodded her head and gave me a soft smile. I didn't believe her, though. 

It was written all over her face that she was going to miss home. She was doing something crazy. Something most girls would die for. She was running away from probably all her fears. 

I walked over and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into a warm hug that was obvious she desperately needed. Alli hugged back even tighter. After a minute or two, she pulled back.

"Thanks," she said. "For being there for me these last few days. I'm so grateful for you."

I smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Well, we have to go now. Wouldn't want to miss our flight to Melbourne, would we?"

"Of course not!" She giggled, pulling herself out of my arms and picking up her suitcase. "You know, I have a friend in Melbourne so I might drop by at her apartment at some point."

"Oh, okay. Well, let's go!"

We raced to the elevator and she tried to beat me to the button for the ground floor. "You snooze, you lose," I smirked, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'll get it next time."

We exited the building and got in a taxi to take us to the airport. My crew were on their way in a different taxi behind us. The car ride was pretty quiet, except the driver was playing an Australian band called Cold Chisel on the radio. Alli was dancing to herself in her seat and mouthing the words, really getting into the song. 

I left my heart to the sappers 'round Khe Sanh
And the soul was sold with my cigarettes to the blackmarket man
I had the Vietnam cold turkey from the ocean to the Silver City
And it's only other vets could understand

She caught me looking at her. "It's called Khe Sanh by Cold Chisel," she explained. "Their music is my childhood. As much as I love pop music, I love 80s rock too."

About the long forgotten dockside guarantees
How there were no V-Day heroes in 1973
How we sailed into Sydney Harbor, I saw an old friend but I couldn't kiss her
Well, she was lined, and I was home to the lucky land

Alli looked out the window. She was very clearly taking in the last glimpses of the city that she'd called home her whole life. I felt kind of useless because I couldn't help her how I wanted to take her pain. She was going to miss this place.

Well, she was like so many more from that time on
Their lives were all so empty 'until they found their chosen one
And their legs were often open, but their minds were always closed
And their hearts were held in fast suburban chains

I started to get into it myself and she turned away from the window to look at me and smiled.

"I knew you'd like this song," she said. "Even if I played it over and over for you to like it, I always had the feeling that you'd like Cold Chisel."

And the legal pads were yellow, hours long, pay-packets lean
And the telex writers clattered where the gunships once had been
Car parks make me jumpy, and I never stopped the dreams
Or the growing need for speed and Novocain

I laughed. "Guess you're right. I like them. They're not hardcore rock like AC/DC and their music is more upbeat than INXS and they're both good bands from Australia. What other songs do they sing?"

So I worked across the country from end to end
Tried to find a place to settle down, where my mixed up life could mend
I held a job on an oil rig, flyin' choppers when I could
Oh, but the nightlife nearly drove me 'round the bend

She tilted her head in thought. "Loads! 'Flame Trees' is very similar to INXS style,  but other songs like this would be like 'Ita', 'Cheap Wine', 'Forever Now, and another good one is 'When The War Is Over', which is also very similar to INXS."

"Oh, okay. When we land in Melbourne, remind me to blast those songs in the hotel room so loud we get noise complaints."

"I won't!" She gave me a mock horrified look and I gave her a mock offended look.

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I never said that." But her eyes had mischief in them and she spoke with a gentle smirk on her face.

And I've traveled 'round the world from year to year
And each one found me aimless, one more year the worse for wear
And I've been back to Southeast Asia, and the answer sure ain't there
But I'm drifting north, to check things out again

The taxi pulled up to the front of Sydney Airport. Surprisingly, we had beaten the paparazzi here. If we were quick enough, we could make it through customs where they'd be stopped by airport security.

We scanned our tickets and made our way through the airport. This place was a literal maze. We stopped at McDonald's to get something to eat before the flight and I reached out to tap my card on the machine.

"Are you gonna let me pay this time?"

"Nah."

Well, the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
And it's really got me worried, I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone

Half an hour later, our plane was called. The two of us stood up and boarded the plane. Once we'd sat down, Alli sighed heavily. I knew what she was thinking so I put my hand over hers, my '28' tattoo facing upwards.

She stared blankly at the tattoos on my hand and arm. "I'll be okay," she said, without me even asking. "I'm doing this for the best."

I nodded. "And I'll look after you."

Her face broke out into a smile and her face turned thoughtful as they closed the plane door and the plane began to move. "There was never a doubt."

The next lyric of the song.

Well, the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
No, it's really got me worried, I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone