Travel (A Jack and Finn Harries Fanfiction)

The suitcase feels heavier the closer I come to the plane. The busy people around me are intimidating and I already feel nervous about the entire situation. My fingers fidget around the handle of my bag as I walk, trying to concentrate on the woman’s voice talking politely through the speakers above my head. I can’t help but ask myself “Why are you here?”

            As I take a seat in the designated waiting area for my specific plane, my mind wanders back to my parents introducing the idea of me going on this trip alone. I remind myself that I won’t be entirely alone, and that once I land in California I’ll be reunited with the friends and relatives I haven’t seen in years.

            The empty chairs around me are taken up quickly. I smile weakly at a woman and nod my head towards an older man, trying to be as friendly as possible. My anticipation for the plane ride is forcing me to be kind and optimistic, because it’s better than being awkward and scared. My heart is beating rapidly against my will, so I take soothing breaths to calm myself down. It doesn’t work.

            I’m clutching onto my suitcase when the woman over the speakers tells me that it’s time to leave. My legs feel weak but they somehow manage to take me to the desk. I show the woman everything I have in my hands and give her the ticket, just how my Mom instructed me to do. She checks each of them with a pleasant smile on her face and then nods her head.

            The plane is small on the inside and very compact. My eyes glance between my ticket and the seats, trying to find the right one. Thankfully I’m near the front of the plane, and my seat is right next to one of the windows. I try to determine if seeing how far up we are will be beneficial for me, but there’s nothing I can do. My suitcase is pushed tightly into the overhead compartment and my seatbelt clicks quietly around my waist. There’s no turning back now, I’m going to California.

            More and more people file into the plane, but no one takes the seat next to mine. A sigh of relief leaves my body. I’m glad I don’t have to have any awkward conversations or annoying habits to deal with. Minutes later, the door of the plane is secured and we start to move down the runway.

            My teeth clamp down on a single piece of gum as the plane jumps into the air. I’m not used to the feeling of flying. My fingers form around the armrests and I close my eyes. We continue to rise into the sky, and the higher we go the more apprehensive I become. I don’t like travel.

            Once the plane becomes stable, I open my eyes and release the arm rests. I take one glance out of my window before covering it up. Each hour comes with a new wave of nausea and uneasiness. To pass the time, I make a few lazy sketches and listen to music. I try to get comfortable enough to catch some shut eye, but I don’t want to be one of those annoying people that lean their chair back and piss off the person sitting behind them.

            So instead I think about all of the faces I’m going to see once I’m on the West coast. It’s been nearly a decade since I moved from California to D.C., and I wonder how much has changed since I was last there. Once or twice a year some relatives fly down to say hello on the holidays, but now I’m flying there to say hello for two weeks.

            What if I don’t get along with my old friends anymore? My interests have changed a bit since I was twelve. We’re all twenty-something-year-olds now, and everything feels different. I don’t know how I convinced myself that this was a good idea. My parents have been pushing me for a while to go on this trip, and I’ve been putting it off for long enough.

            After worrying about my old life taking over the present, I somehow drift off into an unsettling sleep. I turn and fidget in my chair, exhausted but still nowhere near comfortable. I open my eyes to see one of the flight attendants staring down at me with a bright white smile.