the brave ones // h.s.

epilogue

A month later, Eden finds herself at the Orlando International Airport preparing to board a red-eye flight to London's Heathrow. To say she's anxious is an understatement; her knees haven't stopped bouncing since she and Harry sat down at their gate. In her hand is her plane ticket, crumpled from her idle hands continuously messing with it.

Harry returns from buying overpriced airport snacks and plops down next to her, a plethora of items in his hands.

"Got you those crisps you wanted," he says, tossing her a bag of barbecue chips. She takes them quietly, her hands clenching around the bag until she hears a loud pop. Her gaze falls to her lap, where a layer of barbecue crumbs is now covering her leggings.

Harry looks at her in mild confusion. "You feeling alright?" he asks while gently swiping the mess from her pants.

"I'm nervous," she says quietly. She shows him her wrinkled ticket. "I've never been on a plane before."

"What are you nervous about?" he asks, throwing an arm on the seat behind her and gazing down at her patiently.

She bites the inside of her cheek. "Mostly the heights part. But also being in such a tiny space, surrounded by people I don't know, and not being able to walk around or really do anything for several hours. It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."

A shaky breath passes over her lips. "Is that silly?"

"Not at all," he replies candidly. "But let me put your mind at ease."

"Go right ahead and try," she mumbles, rolling her eyes. She plucks a chip off her leggings and tosses it into her mouth.

"The heights part isn't so bad once you actually get into the air, because being in the clouds is like being on another planet. You kind of forget the ground isn't there anymore," he muses. "As for the tiny part, yes the planes are usually quite small and you don't really get a lot of leg room, but overnight flights tend to have bigger aircrafts so they aren't quite as confining. If it helps, I think our row has only us two so you should feel more comfortable."

She nods wordlessly, eating another chip off her pants. Harry releases a breathy laugh and sweeps the rest of the crumbs off her legs. "Stop eating those, love, I have other snacks for you."

"Are you one of them?" she asks, her cheeks immediately flushing red hot when she sees the surprise on his face.

"Sorry," she says, laughing nervously. "Couldn't help myself."

Harry shakes his head, a small smile on his lips, and hands her a bag of popcorn. She dives in, methodically eating it piece by piece while trying to use his words to calm the worry in her head.

Suddenly she feels his arm tighten around her shoulders, and she lifts her head to see him glaring off in another direction. When she follows his gaze, she spots a group of frat boys standing off at the other end of the gate, their eyes raking over her like she's a piece of meat.

"Gross," she mutters, leaning into Harry and looking back down at her popcorn. "Can't they see we make such a cute couple?"

"Couple?" Harry echoes in amusement.

Eden momentarily fumbles over her words. "Well, y-yeah," she stammers. "I mean, you know how I feel about you."

He nudges her playfully. "And how do you feel about me?"

Her cheeks grow even hotter. She wants nothing more than to hide her head in the bag of popcorn like an ostrich in the sand. "I . . . I like you," she says quietly. "Very much."

"Really now?" he says in faux surprise. "How coincidental, I also like you very much."

Eden can't help the inhuman squeal that erupts from her mouth and sends Harry into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. His body shakes next to hers, drawing the attention of the other travelers around them.