Chapter Text
“Calling all passengers to New York, the plane is now boarding.”
The feminine voice emerged loudly from the speakers dotted around the building.
Thomas sighed in relief and grabbing his satchel (which was currently stuffed to the maximum, full of a few necessities for the flight and little bits that wouldn’t fit in his suitcase). Standing from the uncomfortable metal seat, Thomas stretched his lanky legs outwards before heading in the direction of the plane that would take him home.
It had been a long few months filming for the latest film that he was starring in. Of course, Thomas loved acting, he always would, but it dragged on for so long sometimes and all he wanted to do was go home and relax.
In a month or two, there would be interviews with the cast, but until then Thomas had no plans other than to catch up on sleep and maybe begin decorating his new apartment. He’d recently moved from England, away from all of his family and most of his friends, to bustling New York. Mainly for the better acting opportunities but he’d also wanted a change of scenery.
Nearing the end of the long tunnel-like corridor, Thomas looked out to what he expected was his plane. Sure enough, as he rounded the last corner, he found himself drawing closer and closer to the large vehicle until he was practically stood inside it.
A queue of boarding passengers had formed, the air hostesses checking people’s seat tickets and directing them in the correct way. Thomas smiled to the woman checking his ticket, trying his best to hide the sleep-deprivation that was slowly taking over his body, nodding as she pointed out his seat.
Luckily, since Thomas’ seat was by the aisle, the other two passengers sat beside him were already on board. Shoving his weighty satchel onto the rack above his head, Thomas slid into his designated seat and settled down.
It didn’t take long for the plane to start its engine up, the air hostesses running through their safety demonstration, and before Thomas knew it they were up in the air. Clouds drifted by the small windows, looking quite like cotton wool.
Knowing that it was a long flight, Thomas allowed himself to get comfortable. He leant his head on the backrest, stretching his legs out as far as he could in the small space given, and closed his eyes.
Although Thomas was an actor, a well-known one for that matter, he preferred to act as regular as possible whenever not ‘on the job’. Therefore, he’d chosen to fly on a normal plane with regular citizens rather than with the posh, snobby 1st class crowd.
Taking a deep and slow breath, Thomas felt his mind numb as he slipped peacefully into a deep sleep.
An hour or two must have passed by the time Thomas eventually woke up. Most of the other passengers were a lot quieter now, either sleeping too or just simply settling into the flight. The two people sat beside him were an older couple, both of whom were asleep just as Thomas had been.
Checking out of the window, Thomas saw that it was still light. The sky was an aqua blue, almost completely covered by white clouds. It looked nothing like the usual dreary grey of New York’s sky.
The thought of New York reminded Thomas of his apartment. It was in a wealthy area of the city, and although it was on the large side it was quite homely. Maybe that was because of Thomas’ excessive amount of decorative cushions and paintings that he’d hung on the once bare walls.
He couldn’t wait to return home and start working on painting those bland walls. Beige was such a cold, boring colour – in Thomas’ opinion. He wanted each room to be bright and vibrant, emitting a personality through colour.
A loud rumble from Thomas’ stomach brought him out of his thoughts of home, and he quickly glance at the couple sat beside him before standing up and pulling his bag down. He’d packed some snacks in preparation of the long flight.
Pulling out a bag of crisps and a bottle of water, Thomas shoved his bag back onto the rack and quietly began to eat his food. He was just enjoying the sensation of eating after not having anything but coffee in the past couple hours, when he felt a tickling feeling on the back of his neck – almost as though someone was watching him.
Turning his head to look behind him, Thomas caught sight of a young man with dark brown hair looking directly towards him. When Thomas’ eyes met the other man’s, the stranger turned away blushing. Thomas, being used to this sort of attention, assumed the guy recognised him from one of his roles and simply went back to eating his crisps.
But after another few minutes, he felt the tension of being watched again. Yet again, it was the brunet. However, this time the man didn’t turn away; instead he met Thomas’ gaze and held it.
The brunet smiled, his lips pulling back to reveal rows of pearly white teeth. But as quickly as the smile began, it disappeared, and Thomas found himself feeling somewhat disappointed. Shaking the feeling away though, Thomas gave the man a quick once-over.
He was wearing tight fitted jeans (Thomas could guarantee that half-way through this flight they’d be uncomfortable), scruffy white trainers, and a black batman t-shirt. There was a leather jacket slung on the back of the man’s seat, and Thomas could only assume that it was his.
Moving to the guy’s face, Thomas noted the small amount of new stubble visible from his seat across the aisle. He also appeared to have deep brown eyes, framed by bushy but well-shaped eyebrows and hidden behind a pair of bold black-framed glasses. It was then that Thomas noticed how one eyebrow was quirked upwards in a curious expression, the man now realising that Thomas was (quite obviously) checking him out. Embarrassed, Thomas tuned away and pretended to be interested in a mark on the seat in front of him. Though, his mind was still on the unnamed passenger.
All-in-all, the man was quite attractive. Okay, no, he was very attractive. There was no doubt about it.
Unfortunately, the end of this flight will lead to Thomas going to his apartment and the stranger travelling to who-knows-where, and neither will cross paths again, most likely. Why should they? It’s not like they were destined to meet like some ridiculous fairy-tale or anything like that.
And so, with an unusual sad heaviness in his heart, Thomas tried to fall back asleep. But the odd burning feel of eyes still remained on the back of his neck, sending prickles down his spine.