Half a World Away

28 - Cassidy

"So how do you know where Zack is flying out from?" Cassidy questioned Jasmine as they drove towards the city, trees whizzing past the car on the outside as Jasmine sped down the highway.

"I have my connections," Jasmine replied slyly, giving Cassidy a sneaky sideways glance.

"Who?" Cassidy was curious but also dubious to whom her connections could be. She was worried her connection was the media, which would mean every fan girl would be lining up to see Zack and she really didn't want that label to her name.

"You remember Zipline?" Jasmine answered, keeping her eyes straight ahead on the road.

"The band that opened Zack's concert," Cassidy thought aloud.

"Well, you know how I got kind of personal with one of their members?"

"You mean you slept with him," Cassidy corrected.

"Anyway," Jasmine skipped past Cassidy's comment, "We exchanged numbers. So, I messaged him and asked him what Zack's movements were."

Cassidy stared out her window, hands clasped tightly in her lap. She was feeling anxious, nervous, excited and unsure. So many different emotions were flowing through her body. Cassidy wanted to see Zack and talk to him, but at the same time she was apprehensive to seeing him. Why did he block her on the messaging application? Maybe he didn't want to see her and it was his way of telling her to leave him alone. But she couldn't believe after all they had meant to one another and how he poured his heart out to her the previous weekend that he was so willing to just walk away without even a proper goodbye.

Jasmine did her best to distract Cassidy on the hour-long trip to the airport. Her first attempt was to play music on the radio, that plan was faltered when Zack's latest hit came on. They settled on discussing their final assessments for their courses, before they began their final year of university.

Once they arrived at the airport, Jasmine parked her car with the general public, but instead of leading Cassidy into the main entrance, she directed her to one end of the building that was gated off.

"What are we doing here?" Cassidy asked.

"Just have some patience and trust me, will you," Jasmine complained, looking around.

Cassidy sighed and sat down on the edge of the gutter. They were out of view from traffic, but Cassidy could see the plane sitting at the last gate of the airport.

While sitting there waiting for what felt like eternity, Cassidy thought more on what she was going to say to Zack. She still had no idea what she wanted in terms of their relationship, but she knew she couldn't leave things the way they had.

Jasmine interrupted her thoughts by clearing her throat. A black SUV drove up the small road and stopped in front of them. All four doors opened and out climbed one security guard and all the members of Zipline. They walked towards where Jasmine was standing, as a side door behind her opened. Cassidy stood up beside her friend and watched as they approached.

"Zipline?" Cassidy asked, trying to hide her disappointment.

"They are our way in," Jasmine smiled at her.

One of the Zipline band members introduced himself to Cassidy as Daryl. He wrapped Jasmine in an embrace and kissed her passionately in front of the others, who hooted and wolf whistled at the pair's public display of affection towards one another. With an arm slung casually around Jasmine's shoulders, Daryl lead Jasmine through the open door, after the other band members and Cassidy followed in line, the security guard bringing up the rear, closing the door behind them.

They walked down a private corridor of the airport which soon opened up into a large room with an airport security screening just like the one public went through. The band members put out their belongings on the small conveyor belt to go through the screening, before taking turns at walking through the metal detector.