that adorable leather jacket

e i g h t

I lay my head back against the seat, staring out the window of the airplane. Julie and I shared a row, with me at window seat and Julie at isle seat. There was a space in the middle which was claimed by our bags. Reggie sat on the floor under me, Alex on the floor in the middle, and Luke on the floor beneath Julie. I cast my gaze slyly over to Julie who was gazing at Luke longingly while he slept. We hadn't even taken off yet. Reggie shifted his head back against the seat and stared up at me with a smile.

"What?" I whispered with a grin. 

"Nothing, just admiring the prettiest girl I've ever seen." He winked at me.

I blushed, biting my lip and letting my focus avert back to the window. The airplane suddenly shifted backwards, pulling down the runway. I let out a nervous gasp, my hand grasping Reggie's sleeve. He chuckled and squeezed my hand.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I may or may not be slightly afraid of flying." I whispered nervously.

Julie reached over our bags and grabbed my other hand. "You'll be fine Kat." She reassured me with a loving smile.

I nodded, scratching the back of my neck. Reggie squeezed my hand again, resting it on my leg. I took a shaky breath. The plane lurched forward this time. It suddenly sped down the runway very quickly. I sat up in my seat, tearing my hand away from Reggie and pressing it to the cool window. Small water droplets slid down the glass of the window, the sun rising slowly in the distance. Wow. It was beautiful. Reggie must have saw me studying the scene because he pulled my hand down and kissed it affectionately. I giggled, leaning down to kiss the top of his head when Julie wasn't watching.

The plane lifted into the sky, making my stomach lurch. I closed my eyes and bit my lip, feeling a bit light headed as we ascended. The wings tilted as we turned through the air and I let out an uncomfortable whimper. Alex squeezed my ankle comfortingly. I sent him a small smile, letting out a slow shaky breath. I opened my eyes, peering over at Julie. She was watching Netflix on her laptop while Luke, who was now awake, shared an Airpod. Awee! 

Reggie turned around, leaning his back against the seat in front of me. He grinned at me, kicking my foot playfully. I smirked and kicked his foot back. Reggie stood, pushing Alex onto the floor under me and shoved our bags to the floor.

"Hey!" Alex yelped, rolling over.

I giggled as Reggie scrambled up into the seat beside me. Surprisingly, Julie hadn't noticed. I guess she was too busy being cute with Luke. I curled my arms around Alex's shoulders, pulling him into the seat. I ruffled his hair and smiled as Reggie leaned into me, his arm wound around my waist. I closed my eyes, letting myself be pulled into a much needed nap as the rising sun cast an orange glow on me and the ghost boys.

Time Skip

"Katie, Reggie." Julie whispered.

I opened my eyes sleepily. The plane was pulling through the runway, large hills surrounding the airport. 

"Sorry, I didn't want dad to see you cuddling with air." Julie giggled, packing her laptop away.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, turning it off airplane mode. Immediately, the time went from 10:00am to 1:00pm. I forgot North Carolina was three hours ahead of my normal time. Yup, this is definitely going to jet lag me. I stretched, leaning into Reggie as I did so. He blushed as I leaned my back against him and scrolled through Instagram. What? He's my pillow now. I raised up my phone with the camera flipped towards Julie and I.

"Say cheese!" I joked, snapping a selfie of us.

There was a slight glow behind me from where I was leaning on Reggie and that same glow on the floor beneath Julie. I posted the selfie on my story, making sure to add a few sparkle emojis for good measure. Once the pilot announced that we may leave, the boys scramble into the isle and wait. Julie and I stand up, slinging our carry-on bags over our shoulders.

"Julie." I grab her arm before she can leave the seats. "Hold your phone in you hand so if you get lost I don't have to search again." I teased.

She rolled her eyes with a smile and pulled her phone out of her bag, shaking it in front of me. I nodded in satisfaction and pushed her out into the isle. We made our way out of the plane, waiting at the gate for my dad and Carlos. When they approached us, Carlos lunged into my arms. I laughed, hugging him back.

"Did ya miss me? I only sat four rows away." I smirked, dropping him back onto the ground.

"I wanted to sit with you but Julie said I couldn't leave dad alone." He whisper pouted to me, giving Julie a side glare.

The boys laughed from behind me. My dad walked up to me, pulling me by the hand aside a bit.

"The flight okay for you? I know you get anxiety on planes." He whispered, guilt edging his voice.

"I'm okay dad, I promise." I threw my arms around his neck. "Julie helped me through it." I pulled away from the hug, smiling at him reassuringly.

"Good to hear." He turned back to my siblings who were playing the game 'sticks' with their fingers. "Let's go gang, we've got a three hour drive to the mountains!" My dad said cheerfully.

"What?! I thought we were here!" Julie complained.

"Nope, three hour drive." I paused before my eyes widened in realization. "Shot gun!" I screeched before any of my other siblings could.

"Actually, Kat...I was hoping you could drive?" My dad asked hesitantly.

"As long as Carlos can sit up front with me. Then you could take a nap in the back seat and not stress me out!" I smiled cheekily.

Carlos subtly fist bumped me, smirking at Julie victoriously. I giggled as my dad nodded after a moment. Julie rolled her eyes at me. I winked at her, watching as the boys gave ":O" expressions. (I said it like that because I literally have no idea how to describe that lmao)

I slid into the driver's seat of our rental car, buckling my seat belt and making sure Carlos did the same. When he was strapped in and I had my wifi hotspot set up on my phone, I put the address of our rental cabin into the gps.

Carlos played on his iPad, playing Minecraft with his friends. Julie was watching movies on her laptop in the back while Luke sat beside her. My dad had already fallen asleep on the car door, snoring quietly. Alex and Reggie were sitting on the floor in the backseat, ready to go. I smiled at them, plugging my airpods into my ears and shuffling my playlist before beginning the long drive to what I essentially referred to as "Paradise."

Wow! Two chapters in two days? Impressive Amelia, I know. In all seriousness though, I know this chapter is a bit shorter than the others but I wanted to keep y'all entertained since I won't be writing on Thanksgiving and as for Friday, it depends. I hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless and have a great Thanksgiving luvs! <3