Airport Christmas // Payne AU

1: Delayed

Chapter 1

"Attention, everyone. Flight 683 to Ireland has been delayed. Repeat: Flight 683 to Ireland has been delayed. We're very sorry for this circumstance, but we are still waiting upon the crew. The delay should be no further than two hours." The intercom speaker blared.

"What?" The girl exclaimed. She missed her parents and siblings dearly and couldn't wait to get there. The quicker, the better. But no, the flight had to be delayed.

She got up from her seated position on the cushioned chair and made her way towards the McDonald's she had passed by when she was sauntered to the waiting section for her flight. She might as well have some food since she missed lunch.

"One McChicken with coke and fries, please." She said courteously.

"That's all?" The woman behind the cash register snapped curtly. The girl was astonished by the cashier's behavior, but nodded. She paid for the order and went to sit at a two seater table.

Once her order was ready, she went to pick up her food, and started dining on it. She was eating like she'd never eaten before, not giving a care in the world about the mayonnaise smeared above her lip or her ketchup splattered palms.

"Wow." A voice came from behind her, startling her and making her jump in surprise.

"Sorry." She turned to see that it was the same lad from before - Liam. Her breathing became ragged and her heart thumped erratically in her chest.

"Um, hi." She stuttered. The boy chuckled before responding with a hearty "hey". He took the seat across from her, unwrapping his Angus BBQ and taking a humongous bite from it. How he didn't get smeared was a mystery to Courtney.

An awkward silence grew between them. The girl rubbed her elbow nervously, not knowing what to say.

"So what are you going to Ireland for?" The boy finally spoke.

"Well, I'm going to visit my parents and my sisters." He nodded, "What about you? Why are you going?"

"I'm going with my best mate, Niall. He already left yesterday, I told him I'd meet him on Christmas morning instead."

"Oh," She mumbled, not knowing how to answer that.

A few dreadful minutes, they both got up and dawdled over to the waiting space. There was about thirty minutes left until said flight, according to the lady who had spoke over the intercom an hour and a half ago.

"Attention. The flight crew that was coming for flight 683 to Ireland has some difficulties. They won't arrive till a few more hours. Your next flight will be approximately one o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Again, sorry for the inconvenience, have a nice night!" The same lady chattered in a monotone voice.

The girl fished out her phone from the pocket of her tattered jeans and dialed her mother's number, waiting for her to pick up.

"Mum? My flight's been delayed. And the next flight will be at one tomorrow afternoon! I'll miss Christmas!" The girl explained frustratingly, waving her hands all about.

"It's okay, honey. Calm down, you'll still make it home in time for dinner."

"Mum, it's a two hour drive back from the airport to the house. And we eat at seven!"

"Don't worry, we'll wait for you. Aunt Karina and your cousins are excited you're coming back, and I'm sure no one in the family wants you to miss out on dinner." Her mum noted calmly.

"Alright, bye mum. I miss you and dad and the girls lots."

Her mother chuckled," We miss you too. Bye sweetie, I love you!"

"I love you too mum." Courtney said before she ended the call. She strolled over to a sit on a vacant seat, and opened an app on her phone.

"Really? Temple Run?" Liam asked from behind her.

"Yeah. What's wrong with Temple Run? It's perfectly fine. Addicting too." She responded without looking away from the screen.

"Nothing's wrong with it. It's just a bit.. childish." He answered.

The girl scoffed,"For your information, I always play childish games. Deal with it."

"Aw. Come on! Don't get mad."

"I'm not mad."

The boy huffed, and sat down beside her. The girl tried to keep a straight face. Her heart rate picked up once again, almost as if it wanted to pump out of her chest, while some uneasy butterflies erupted in her stomach when Liam leaned in closer to observe the game she was playing on her iPhone. She could barely focus on the game. Every so often, her eyes would glance over at Liam.

She couldn't help but notice his well-defined muscles that was shaped on his tight t-shirt. Not to mention his biceps! She could've ogled over him all day. He was hot, he was hot indeed. And also a nice person, as far as she could tell. The perfect guy any girl could wish for.

"Like what you see?" Liam rose his eyebrow.

A blush crawled up her cheeks, embarrassed that he had caught her staring. Liam laughed, a cheerful melody that rang like jingling bells.

"Cocky now, are we?" She managed to reply.

The boy shot her a dazzling smile, one that gave her chills. She squinted her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. She checked the time on her phone, it was 7:43. Boy, this was going to be a long night.

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Written by Jessica.

Next Update: Next week Thursday.

A/N:

Hello :D I hope you all liked this chapter! [Though I know it was short.] I included a little moment between Courtney and Liam. Aren't they cute? No? Yes? Leave your thoughts on the comment section below!

~Jessica