Chapter 7
A/N: So I finished this last night and my laptop was being stupid but here you go!(:
Joey’s POV
We pulled up to the curb at LAX and began pulling our small bags out of the trunk.
“Thanks again Jordan. You’re the best, man!” I told him after giving him a quick bro-hug.
“Of course! Anytime dude! Just tell me when you guys are coming back okay?” I nodded and I set off into the airport with Brian. We walked straight up to the counter to check in with the young woman scrolling on her phone and chomping her gum. As we approached, she kept her eyes glued to the screen, so I politely cleared my throat. Her eyes slowly traveled up. Upon seeing us, she rolled them and stood up.
“Last name?”
“Richter,” I answered a bit too quickly. She typed into the computer and began checking everything.
“I’m sorry sir, but your flight has been delayed. You’re layover has been cut down by a lot.” The woman looked back at the two of us with the same bored look on her face. However, I was outraged.
“Delayed?! How can a flight leaving from LAX at two in the morning be delayed?” I slammed my fist onto the counter in anger. The woman just continued chomping on her gum.
“I don’t know sir. I can’t control any of that.” I mentally rolled my eyes this time, sighed, and put my hand on my forehead.
“How much time do we have in between flights with the delayed one?” With my eyes closed, I heard the clicking of nails hitting the keyboard.
“Thirty minutes.” Thirty minutes?! That’s when the plane would start boarding! I looked up at Brian who wore practically the same shocked expression that I was internally. I took the time to think about it. I was so determined to get back to Lauren. I couldn’t be any later than I promised.
“Give us the tickets,” I demanded. Once the tickets were in our hands, we began to walk away to security.
“Dude, are you insane? What happens if we have to switch terminals or something? Thirty minutes? That is no time at all!” Brian exclaimed. I stopped suddenly and whipped around to face him.
“Look, Brian. The love of my life is approximately two-thousand miles away from us. I need to get back to her as soon as possible and if that means an insanely fast plane change, then so be it.” I slowly turned back around and began walking again. When we arrived at security, nobody was in line except for two people. It didn’t take us long to get through to the other side and find our gate. Once sat down, I turned to Brian again.
“So, what’s wrong? What were you not telling me before?” He looked over at me, sighed, and looked down at his hands in his lap.
“It’s kind of a long story…” he trailed off quietly.
“Well, we have a lot of time,” I reminded him.
“Um… Well… Tal and I broke up. I guess, we just were never meant to be with one another. And seeing you chase after Lauren, I guess it just makes me jealous. You two are so perfect for each other. Everyone knows it. And, I just… I don’t know.” He hung his head and stared at his hands. I was stunned. Speechless. What was I supposed to say to him?
“Uh, wow. Um… I don’t really know what to say…” I stuttered.
“You don’t have to say anything. It’s fine.” I nodded silently and pulled out my phone, preparing myself for the long airport wait ahead of us.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Thank you for flying with us and welcome to Dallas.” As soon as I heard the familiar click of the seatbelt sign turning off, I hopped up and grabbed my backpack. Brian, however, took his time.
“Come on Brian. You know we don’t have much time to get to the next plane!” He grumbled but picked up his pace. Soon we were both flying out of the plane and into the terminal.
“What gate do we have to go to next?” Brian asked as I stared up at the hanging screens.
“C45. We’re at B10. Come on let’s go.” I took off towards the trams with Brian struggling to keep up. I was set on my destination. I stood outside of the trams tapping my foot when it finally arrived and we clambered on. Impatiently I pulled out my phone to see how much time we had. Practically, none. As soon as the doors opened to our stop, I was off again just as fast as before.
“Last call for flight 4783 out of gate C45 to Chicago. Last call,” a voice rang out. I could just see the gate. At the last second, I shoved the tickets in the lady’s hand and sighed in relief. “Welcome and have a great flight!”
I smiled and turned to Brian who was still panting as we took our time walking down the jetway. We had made it. The shortest layover in the world, but it was a success. Soon I would be on our way to Chicago, to my little LoLo. We found our seats and settled in. I closed my eyes and mentally prepared myself for the flight that would get me back to where I needed to be.
Lauren’s POV
“I think it’s time you get some sleep Lo,” Clark said as the next movie ended. I looked at the clock.
“But Claaaaark, it’s only 2 am,” I whined.
“Exactly, it’s 2 am. And you have a big day later. You need to get some sleep.” I looked up at Clark and huffed loudly. I put on my best puppy dog face and he frowned. “Fine, one more movie.”
“Yay!” I cheered as he got up to switch movies. As soon as it began to play, and I had comfortably rearranged myself to lay down on the couch, my eyes began fluttering quickly. My eyelids began to drop as they became heavier and heavier until finally I succumbed to the wonder of sleep.
