Kick 'em where it hurts #1

Chapter 15 ~ Travel Sickness

"I know things are looking up, but soon they'll take us down."

~ All the right moves, One republic ~

"Get your butts on the bus!" Coach yelled, after hauling fifteen suitcases into the storage compartment beneath the minibus.

Today was the day they left for the tour. The twins had held onto her for a full half an hour that morning before she dropped them off at school, whereas Jeremy had been unusually absent. He was so relaxed and cheerful lately, but without his usual side effects from drug taking. "Have a great time sis and don't you worry; everything's going to be just fine!"

Their Mother had returned two days after she left. Her mascara was smudged and she was nursing one of her worst hangovers yet. All it took was one look at her and Sky was already putty in her hands.

The tour was only four days long but Sky could hardly contain her excitement for the first trip that she had ever been on. She took her seat next to Alex on the back row and settled back for the journey to the airport. Thankfully the school was taking care of expenses because there was no way she'd have been able to afford it if they hadn't.

Getting to the airport only took an hour on the bus, the flight was then an extra hour and a bit, and then it was another hour on the other side. Apparently that wasn't bad for a trip but it was still the longest journey that Sky had ever been on.

Coach yanked himself up into the drivers seat and called behind him, "Dublin here we come!" The team cheered and Skylar found herself absorbed into their chanting spirit. They sang old tour songs for the first ten minutes until everybody retreated back into their headphones and texting.

The first thing Sky did was check the tiny, flip-up phone that had belonged to Sophie when she was eight. Skylar was only borrowing it so she'd know right away if there was an emergency at home. She had no idea how on earth she would get home if something did happen to occur but if the time came she would need to figure something out.

There was only one voicemail waiting on the screen when she checked. It was from Nicola. "Hey Sky just ringing to let you know that I'm dropping the twins off at school like you told me, but they just wanted to say a few words before you got on the plane." And then there was a few muffled conversations between her and the twins which made Skylar laugh. "Yes, it's her. No you can't hear her because it's a voicemail- it means that she'll be able to hear it later. Yes, here you go."

"Hi Sky- Skylar!" their voices erupted at the same time. "We're missing you already! But Nicola's making us lasagne later! Isn't that awesome? We've never tried lasagne before have we? I don't think we have. Anyway, love you loads! You'll so beat anyone at football! Okay we've got to go into school now; Mrs Hayden- the one with the wonky eyes- is calling us over. Bye! We love you!"

There were more muffles and then Nicola's voice returned. "Hey honey, I forgot just how sweet that your gorgeous brother and sister are! Have an amazing trip and don't you worry because I've got things covered down on my end. Enjoy this time to yourself and show those idiot boys just how good a player you really are!"

Skylar smiled at her bosses words. She may not have had a normal childhood with loving parents and money on demand, but she did have some of the most amazing people around her. The team, Peyton, Mia, Sophie, Liam, Nicola, and even Simon, she wouldn't have traded them for anything.

Halfway through the trip, Alex's phone started ringing. Peyton's face lit up the screen, Sky peaked over and smirked as Alex picked up the phone. "Hey baby," he said and she made a retching noise which made a couple of boys behind her laugh. Alex elbowed her and then made a shocked face. "Sure okay, yeah, she's right here." He handed the phone to Sky and explained, "she wants to talk to you."

Smiling curiously, she took the phone from him and placed it to her ear which was a kind of foreign concept to her. "Hello?"

"Hey Skyyyyyyyyyy!" she dragged out her name happily.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" Skylar laughed and stared out the window.

Peyton was sat on the back of one of the toilets as it was the only place that she could get reception. "Well yes..." she said but then began to explain herself, "but I couldn't exactly pass this message on through any of the boys."

"Why not?" she asked sceptically.

"Do you remember that dress that you tried on a couple of weeks ago?"

Skylar furrowed her eyebrows. "Peyton you didn't!"

"I did... but hear me out okay! It's an early birthday present and you looked so gorgeous in it, so I couldn't resist. Plus Alex told me that you might be going out on one of the nights and you needed something to wear for that- so its an investment."

"Peyton I can't wear that!"

"Of course you can; it's in your suitcase already."

"How did you-"

"You need to learn never to doubt my abilities Skylar. There's also a small bag of makeup so you need to ring me and I'll guide you through it all."

Sky sighed and shook her head. "You've got to wear it, promise me. Otherwise there was no point in me going all the way back to the shop and buying it."

After rolling her eyes and cursing her mentally, Skylar said, "fine, I'll wear it if that's what you really want."

"Yayyyyyy- oh shit, I think someone just heard me. Okay gotta go, have a safe flight. Bye!" The phone cut off and Sky handed it back to Alex who seemed a bit put off that he didn't get a goodbye.

Skylar patted his shoulder and mused, "don't worry Al, I'm sure she's thinking about you really. It's just you know the saying chicks before... yeah."

Alex narrowed his eyes at her and muttered, "shut up Sky."

"Aw is somebody getting love sick?" Chris pouted and squeezed Alex's cheeks. Alex slapped him off and then grumpily jammed his earplugs into his ears and turned up the volume all of the way.

They almost didn't reach the airport on time. The whole group had needed to race through customs and security to reach the boarding lounge with only seven minutes to spare. Skylar was seated next to Tyler and Evan on the plane. She was nearest to the window, so she saw the runway flashing by as the plane picked up speed.

Grabbing the closest thing to her, Tyler laughed, "that's my hand."

"I know," she trembled.

Tyler looked at her and smirked. Her expression was halfway between excited and scared to death. He leaned closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Naw it's alright Sky, I'll protect you."

"How? Do you have an emergency parachute for when we inevitably fall out of the sky in a giant metal bird?"

He laughed again and then caught Scott's eye from across the aisle. "First time flyer," he explained in an amused tone.

Scott nodded once and then muttered, "feel free to undo her seatbelt." Tyler raised an eyebrow at him and although Skylar stiffened, she was relieved beyond words that he was treating her just as he did before.

Soon the seatbelt light flickered off and Skylar marvelled at the sight of her home so far below her. The houses were tiny and the roads cut so precisely that it felt as though she was reading it off a map.

After ten minutes of staring out at the towns so many feet below her, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine how Harper and Lucas would react to going on a plane for the first time. She took some pictures of the clouds outside of her window so that she could show them when she got back.

One day, she promised herself and them, I will take Harper and Lucas on a plane. Even if it was just to Dublin again, she wanted to see their faces as they took off, and she wanted to watch them as they left all of their worries behind just as she was.

Nice and short, hope you don't mind but there wasn't much to write about in this one. Skylar and the team are basically going on tour to Ireland for four days which is why they're on a plane just in case any of you missed that.

We are now exactly half way through the book eeeek. But don't you worry there's plenty of drama left to come!

Much love, Sophie xoxo