Staring at the sun // 1D & 5SOS

Pilot

Louis’ P.O.V

“Ladies and gentlemen..” for the first time since I sat down I look up from my phone, on which I’ve been playing Angry Birds for the past half hour. A young man standing in the aisle in front of him and I can’t help but stare. The man is absolutely breathtaking. The two top buttons in his shirt are unbuttoned and the tie is hanging loosely around his neck, almost as if he was in a hurry to get dressed, but he doesn’t seem to care and neither does the other flight attendants. “Welcome aboard British Airlines flight number 777. Please make sure that all carry-on items are stowed either in an overhead compartment or completely beneath the seat in front of you. If you have problems with the proper stowage of your items, please let a flight attendant know and we will be happy to help you. If you are seated in an emergency exit row, please read the information on the passenger safety card which is located in the seatback pocket in front of you. If you do not meet the criteria for seating in this row, or if you do not wish to assist in an emergency, let a crewmember know at this time and we will be happy to reseat you. Prior to departure from the gate all cell-phones must be turned off and stowed. To operate your seatbelt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seatbelt, and if you don’t know how to operate one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised. Should the cabin lose pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the overhead area. Please place the bag over your own mouth and nose before assisting children or adults acting like children. Once again, we welcome you aboard.” The flight attendants disappears out of sight and soon after that the plane starts moving. I close my eyes and try to think of anything that doesn’t include the plane crashing during takeoff and exploding.

“You alright over there?” I open my eyes and turn to the left, my blue eyes meeting a brown pair. “You look kinda scared.” The boy seems to be a few years younger than me and he has some kind of accent, but I can’t be bothered with asking where he’s from, I’m way too busy trying to stay alive to care.

“I’m fine, not very fond of takeoffs that’s all”

“Who is? This is definitely the worst part of the whole flight, this and the landing. I do have a friend who loves takeoff and landing, he’s weird. But then again so am-” He gets cut off by a voice coming through the intercom.

“The captain has turned off the fasten seatbelt sign and you may now walk freely in the cabin. flight attendants will start serving drinks shortly. we recommend you keep your seatbelt fastened for the duration of the flight and if the captain turns the fasten seatbelt sign on again, you are required to return to your seat and fasten your seatbelt. Also, we do feature a smoking section on this flight; if you must smoke, contact a member of the flight crew and we will escort you to the wing of the airplane.” The boy next to me almost falls out of his seat laughing and I can’t help but smile myself.

After a few hours I’ve gotten to know the boy sitting next to me. His name is Calum, he’s 19, he’s on his way home from the US, after a short stop to see his grandma in London, and he really really likes almonds, he didn’t actually tell me the last thing but he offered me a handful when we were watching a movie together and he’s been eating them since then. Not much has happened except for a really strange message from the pilot who asked someone named Harry, someone who might been the young flight attendant I may or may not have checked out earlier.

“So what movie do you wanna watch now?”. Calum asks me but before I can answer I get distracted by the flight attendant I think is called Harry as he walks by, holding a little girls hand. They walk over to the small bathroom in the back of the plane, just three rows behind us, and I turn my attention back to Calum.

“Let’s watch uh...Die” He nods and I look back at the now locked door behind me. I promised myself that this journey would be about me and nothing else, but looking won’t hurt, right? It’s not like we’re gonna see each other again after this flight anyway.