Make Up Your Mind • Sean & Kaycee

2. Arrival

The flight from LA to Boston is about 5 and a half hours, long enough to get some sleep in. Kaycee took the aisle seat, with Bailey at the window, and Sean sandwiched between them. Once they hit a steady altitude, the pre-flight buzz wore off and they settled into their seats. She decided to listen to some music for a little while, sleep not quite calling her name just yet.

Sean, though, was another story. He had nodded off a while ago, snoring softly. His head kept falling forward and sideways, sometimes slowly, sometimes all too fast. Then he’d jerk a bit, and sink back into sleep.

“You’re going to get a neck cramp or something.” Kaycee murmured to no one in particular, knowing he was too far gone to hear her.

She reached over the other side of his face, planning to push his head down to her shoulder. But then she remembered that she was short, and this would probably just make his neck hurt even more. Kaycee paused for a moment, thinking, her hand still on his cheek to steady his head.

Oh, I got it.

She put her head on his shoulder, then pressed his head down over hers. Just the perfect height. With a steady base, Sean subconsciously settled. She could feel his body slowly lose tension - his head grew heavier, his breathing deeper - as he spiraled into deep slumber.

Kaycee’s earphones had grown uncomfortable, pinched between her ears and Sean’s shoulder and head. She tugged the out and decided to catch some shut-eye. She listened to Sean’s breathing and the hum of the plane.

Every now and then, Kaycee would feel him twitch in his sleep. So she’d reach up to soothe his cheek and his hair until he grew still again.

Hey eyes were growing heavier by the minute as sleep started to pull at her senses. She lazily looked around the cabin, and saw Alex and Josh still wide awake. Alex had his phone pointed at Josh, who was speaking to the camera. She caught Alex’s eye, and he turned the camera towards her.

She probably looked like a zombie with her half-closed eyes, but she managed a weak smile, before sleep finally pulled her under.

Kaycee woke up when they were already descending. Bailey had the window up, and she could see that the sun was already high up in the sky. Or at least bits of it. Bits that she could peek at through Sean’s hand hovering over her eyes, blocking the harsh morning light.

Slowly, she lifted her head from his shoulder, and cracked her stiff neck.

“Ooof, that doesn’t sound good.” Sean cringed at her.

“Shut up. This would have been you if I hadn’t been your human pillow.” Kaycee groaned, rotating her shoulders and her neck.

Sean just laughed at her. “Thanks, I guess. I feel great.” His boasting earned him a smack on the arm.

When they were cleared to disembark, Kaycee stood from her seat and opened the overhead compartment. The carry-ons got a bit dislodged during the flight, and ended up further back than she could reach without having to stand on the seat.

With only an exchange of looks, Sean got the hint and nudged her over. He pulled out his and Bailey’s bags, which were closest to the front of the compartment. Then he tugged out Kaycee’s and handed it over to her.

“Do you think we’ll have time to nap before rehearsal?” Bailey asked, sliding into the aisle in front of Sean. They were waiting for the line to start moving out of the plane.

“Dude, seriously?” Sean said, reaching over to help Kaycee with her sweater hood, which was stuck between her back and her backpack. He absentmindedly shoo-ed her hands away, and gave the hood a few firm tugs to get it out from under there. “You slept the whole flight!”