Hidden Beneath Brown Eyes (A Zayn Malik Fanfiction)

Chapter 50 - 30000 Feet

Four hours into our nine hour flight and I'd grown used to the unusual sound of the plane jetting through the air, thirty thousand feet above ground. It was a kind of silent noise, hard to explain really unless you've heard it before.

Jack had been asleep for almost an hour, yet the movie he had been watching still flashed on his screen and his headphones hung out of his ears. He had been hyper for about an hour after take off, but after that he just got sleepier and sleepier, until he finally fell asleep at the beginning of the Spongebob Squarepants movie.

A small smile formed on my lips as I watched him sleep. I envied him for being able to sleep, knowing full well that I wouldn't get even a second of it on this flight. I reached over and very gently pulled his headphones from his ears, and paused his movie. He would be able to finish it when he woke up, if he woke up before we landed. I covered his body with his blanket and made sure that there was a pillow beneath his head before giving him a small kiss on his forehead.

After tucking Jack in for the night, I was able to finally relax somewhat. I felt the muscles in my shoulders and back ease up slightly, enough for me to notice but not enough for me to be entirely comfortable. I squirmed in my small seat, moving into multiple positions in an attempt to find one that would suffice. Finally, after a few minutes of uncomfortable shifting, I found a position that wouldn't kill my neck and would be comfortable enough for at least an hour.

I settled into my seat, pulling my blanket up to my chin and tucking my legs to the side. One of the benefits of being short was having the ability to comfortably squeeze your entire body into any size chair. I plugged in my headphones and turned on my screen. I was greeted by a map of the world, with a little plane icon slowly making its way across the Atlantic ocean. According to the map, we were approaching the center of the ocean. I felt anxiety start creeping its way into my chest.

This was always the worst part of the flight for me. I wasn't terrified of flying, but I would be lying if I said that it didn't scare me at all. For most people, they either didn't think twice about it or it was something exciting for them. I don't know, but there was just something about the possibility of falling out of the sky and crashing into the ocean only for us to sink down into the unknown never to be found, that just scared the hell out of me.

I sighed and rolled my eyes when I checked the little countdown clock in the corner of the screen, seeing that there was still over five hours left until we landed. I hated how long these transatlantic flights were. How am I expected to sit still for nine hours?

The longer I looked at the map screen, the more annoyed and anxious I got. So I switched it off and decided to scroll through their extensive selection of music. Even if I couldn't find anything to listen to, scrolling through the list itself would certainly kill some time.

Aerosmith, Alanis Morissette, Avenged Sevenfold...

I read off the names of the bands and artists in my head as I scrolled down. I didn't really know what I was in the mood to hear or if I was even in a mood for music at all - but I continued my search, hoping that something would catch my eye.

Jewel, John Lennon, Justin Timberlake...

I considered, for a second, turning on some J.T., but ultimately decided against it when I thought about what it would remind me of; dancing around Liam's kitchen while, unbeknownst to me, Zayn watched from the doorway.

I mentally slapped myself for allowing Zayn's name to cross my mind. I'd been doing a good job at avoiding any thoughts about him so far. Honestly, I hadn't thought about him once, and I wasn't about to start.

I went on, scrolling through the list. I went from A to Z, hesitating every so often to debate whether or not I wanted to listen to a certain song or artist. When I finally got to the end of the list without choosing a single song, I checked the time, and groaned quietly upon realizing that it had only taken me eight minutes to finish the list.