Max and Thea (A Max Irons Fan Fiction)

Prologue

Prologue

“Yes, mom. I packed all of my socks and underwear,” I rolled my eyes once again as my mom stressed about my departure. She motioned for me to come closer and then, in a hushed tone, asked, “And, do you still have all of the snacks I hid in your hand luggage?” Typical. As always, my mother couldn’t stop harassing me about my diet and whether I would maintain it once I left. She kept on going off about how far away I would be going, how close I would be to India without actually visiting it and how I would probably be returning from my “dangerous adventure” on a stretcher. Meet my mom: Neena Gupta-Kamau.

“You hid snacks in my bag?!” I gaped at her “ YOU KNOW THAT I HATE IT WHEN YOU DO THAT. I WILL GET FOOD ON THE FLIGHT!” I handed all the snacks back to her. What. The. Hell?

Now, this was the problem with Indian mothers, the worst thing in the world that could possibly have happened to me was me not having enough potato chips and pickles in my bag or that I would have to actually pay for my water. ‘Because water is really expensive and you shouldn’t have to buy it... it should be free’ as my mother puts it.

“She’ll be fine Neena... just let her go now,” That was my dad and part time professor at the University of British Columbia; David Kamau-Gupta. He looked at my mother with such love and care that I had to look away. I adored my parents but I didn’t like the lovey-dovey looks that they insisted on giving each other.

“Yeah, mom, bye! I love you.. etc,” I leaned in for an awkward hug that consisted of an awkward pat on the back and an annoying itch on my shoulder as my sling pulled me down slightly.

“Bye, Thea. Have fun and don’t forget to call!” My mom shouted as I started to push my trolley towards the check-in desk.

Finally, I thought, peace and quiet!

I was actually pretty excited about this trip since it was the summer before my first year of college and I was going to be a counselor at some fancy camp set up just north of the Great Wall of China. Was it exotic? Hells yeah!

I looked down at my phone while I settled into the Gate with my “expensive” water and Imagine Dragons sling bag. There were two texts; one from my mom (of course) and one from my longtime boyfriend, Lorenzo. It was a sweet ‘I’ll miss you and will count down the days until we meet again’ text. I smiled at how girly that sounded, especially since it came from someone that was usually so... macho.

“What do you mean, there were some mistakes with the seating?” I heard someone yell in a less-than-appropriate voice for the airport. Honestly, it was less-than-appropriate for anywhere.

“We’re terribly sorry but it appears we had to switch your seat from First Class to Business because of a small mix up with another passenger. We apologise for the inconvenience and promise to make it up to you by adding points to your skywards and giving you a complimentary bed and breakfast at a hotel of your choosing. Here is a letter with the details!” She spoke as if she were remorseful but her voice held the tell-tale sounds of happiness and encouragement that lousy airport staff everywhere liked to use. It was clear that she was eager to attend to the next person in line.

“Like hell you will,” I heard the guy mutter before inhaling and exhaling and starting again. “Can I atleast know the name of this person?”

“We’re sorry, sir, but-” Before she could finish, the guy next to her put a hand on her shoulder as if to say: just tell him.

“One moment, please,” The sound of her fake nails frantically scratching through a pile of papers was audible even from where I sat.

“Thank you,” The mystery customer sounded very polite, probably because the woman was finally doing something of worth.

“The person in your seat would be a: Ms. Theodora Gupta-Kamau,” Right on cue, my stomach dropped. I stared at my boarding pass before turning around to meet the light-green eyes of none other than Max Irons. Well...shit.

He was seated in the Gate not far from me and had turned around once the lady had said my name, probably to see if anyone had reacted to it. And, of course, I stupidly had. Great, great, great.

I referred to the little French I knew. “Merde.” The curse rolled off my tongue as I hastily got up from my seat and rushed for the ladies room. There was no way in hell I could withstand the wrath of a celebrity.

Was Max Irons attractive? Yes. Would I have killed to meet him on any ordinary day? Yes. Did I want to meet him when I had supposedly stolen his seat? Hells NO. Perhaps he hadn’t noticed me and I could still ask him for an autograph later? Yeah, like anyone could ever forget the gigantic mane that sat atop my round head; especially seeing as I had dyed it a memorable, maroon-brown colour.

I guess I was just going to have to avoid my celebrity crush for the rest of the flight... maybe I could sneak a picture when he was sleeping?

I heard the lady Max was speaking to earlier announce that all first class passengers could board the aircraft. I decided to stay rooted to the floor of the bathroom until they announced for the economy passengers since I really did not want to run into Max. 

During my time in hiding, I decided to text Coral - my self-appointed best friend - about the latest update on my trip (a.k.a, my issue with Max Irons) and, of course, a sexy-but-not-actually-sexy selfie. I made sure to describe how much hotter Max is in person, and nothing compared to what we saw on TV because, despite the whole situation, he was still absolutely gorgeous.

“Last call for Ms. Theodora Gupta-Kamau,” I ran out of the bathroom and made it to the boarding desk before my name could be announced to the world again.

“Welcome, you must be Ms Gupta-Kamau. May I see your boarding pass?” The blonde flight attendant asked me.

“Yes, here,” I awkwardly gave her the boarding pass and let her lead me to my seat.

Before she could leave, I asked her where Max Irons was sitting and whether he would be anywhere near me. She smiled knowingly before telling me he was shifted to Business class and it was unlikely that we could cross paths unless I decided to use the restrooms behind my seat. I assured her I wouldn’t.

With that, I tucked myself in for a long flight to China. To say I was excited was an understatement.

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