Chapter Text
When Branch sat down at one of the only empty seats in the airport, he wasn’t thinking a lot about the pink-haired girl he sat down next to. After all, it was an airport, and she was a stranger. Typically, the strangers he sat next to at airports left him alone.
Not this girl, though. Almost as soon as he pulled out his phone to check the news again, she grinned at him and said, “Hi! How’re you doing today?”
And honestly, Branch just wanted to be left alone. So after a couple minutes of polite conversation, he excused himself and went to go sit in another section of the airport.
He wasn’t expecting to ever think about her, or see her, again.
But as he watched her look at her ticket, look at the number above his seat, look back at her ticket, and sit down next to him, he realized that wasn’t going to be the case.
“Oh, hey! It’s you again!” she said, grinning wide again. Why was she so happy? This was just a flight—nothing exciting. Her attitude was especially strange now, what with COVID-19 spreading around the globe.
Managing a small smile, he said, “Um, yeah, it’s me again.”
“Well, since we’re going to be stuck with each other for a while, why not introduce ourselves?” she said cheerfully. “I’m Poppy! What’s your name?”
“My name’s, uh, Branch,” he said, wondering if he should be telling this stranger anything about himself.
“Oh, cool name!” she said. “Nice to meet you, Branch! What are you doing on this lovely flight?”
“Going home,” he said, trying to be as vague as possible. The idea that she wanted his personal information made more sense with every passing second—after all, nobody that he’d met, or even heard of, in his whole life, approached strangers with this kind of exuberance.
“That’s funny! I’m just leaving home.”
Even though he was planning on being as cold as possible until she left him alone, that statement was enough to make him turn to her and say, “Isn’t that dangerous? With the coronavirus spreading?”
She just shrugged. “Well, I mean, I was trying to take advantage of the cheap plane tickets. And I’m only 24, and healthy. I’ll probably be fine.”
“Yeah, but you could spread it to someone who won’t be fine.”
“Don’t worry, I’m gonna be careful about hygiene. See, I have hand sanitizer!” She pulled a small bottle of Purell out of her purse to show him.
“COVID-19 is a virus,” he pointed out. “Hand sanitizer can only kill bacteria.”
“Oh. Yeah, I guess you’re right. But at least I’ll be bacteria-free!” She grinned at him.
Branch could tell he wasn’t going to get anywhere if he kept arguing with her, so he sighed and turned to look out the window. Not that it was any more interesting. They weren’t moving at all.
Nearly an hour later, they were still sitting there, the plane in the exact same position as it’d been before. Branch was reading a book, and the pink-haired girl next to him—Poppy—was making a friendship bracelet.
“Hello, everyone, this is your pilot,” came a voice through the PA system. Poppy looked up from her crafts and grinned. “HI!” she yelled.
Branch really tried not to make a judgmental face.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the virus that’s going around,” the pilot’s voice said. “I regret to inform you that we’ve run into some complications with it, and as such, this flight has been delayed. It might be a while, so feel free to get off the plane at wait at the gate. We will announce boarding time when we’ve tackled the problem. In the meantime, try to enjoy yourselves. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Branch heaved a sigh. This was ridiculous. He’d just wanted to get home before stuff like this started happening.
“Aww, why so grumpy?” Poppy said, noticing his reaction. “It’s only a little delay.”
“It’s only a matter of time until the entire flight is canceled and I’m stuck here,” he told her. “Why aren’t you grumpy? Your vacation is being sabotaged by the stupid virus.”
She shrugged. “Eh. I mean, I knew something like this might happen when I was buying my cheap plane tickets. Besides, I’ve never had anything like this happen before! It’s like an adventure!” She was obviously excited about this, for some reason. “Well, hey, I think I’m gonna go buy myself a donut. You want something?”
“Uh, no.” Since when did strangers on planes offer to buy each other snacks?
“Okay, well, do you have any allergies?”
“. . . No . . .” It wasn’t a lie. “You don’t have to get me anything, you know.”
“I know. See you later!” With that, she hopped up and got off the plane.
He went back to his book, refusing to fixate on this bubbly stranger.
The next thing he knew, he was being tapped on the shoulder. “Hey! I’m back! And I know you said I didn’t have to get you anything, but I know a lot of people say stuff they don’t mean, so I got you a glazed donut, because I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like those! Anyway, here you go! And don’t worry, I didn’t touch it or anything, because I know you’re worried about getting the virus and all that.” She handed him a glazed donut using a napkin.
Tentatively, he took it. “I—Poppy, you didn’t—you spent money on a donut for me?”
She nodded. “Yeah?”
“A complete stranger?”
“Yeah. Does it matter?”
“Most people don’t do that,” he told her, slowly, almost confused that he had to explain it.
“Well, more people should!” she said cheerfully. Then she pulled out her phone, dialed someone, and said, “Hi, Dad!”
Branch tuned her out as he pulled out his phone to check if there were any updates about the coronavirus, and bit into the donut she’d gotten him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anything, and bit his lip anxiously. What if he wasn’t able to go home?
Would he have to find a hotel room? How long would he have to stay there? He couldn’t afford to stay in a hotel for too long. Not to mention all the germs he’d pick up there. It would be so much better if he could just get home and practice safe social distancing.
But right now, the only thing he could do was count on the airline not to cancel the flight.
He didn’t like feeling so powerless.
The next thing he knew, Poppy was leaning on him, her arm clumsily thrown around his shoulders. “Look! This is my airplane buddy, Branch!” She was FaceTiming her father now, tilting her head against Branch’s shoulder to get both of them in the frame. “Branch, this is my dad!”
“Um . . .” Branch tried to wiggle out from under her grasp without looking rude. “Hi.”
“Hi!” said her dad merrily. “I’m sorry to hear your flight was delayed.”
“Uh, yeah, it’s too bad,” Branch said, still very uncomfortable. “I was just on my way home.”
“I hope you’re able to get there! Make sure to wash your hands and stay safe!”
“Yeah, I will.” He nodded.
“Oh, Poppy,” said Poppy’s father, and Poppy moved back over to her own seat. “I wanted to tell you that since you’ve left the house, I’m going to drive back home. I love you, but it’s your house and I don’t want you to bring back the virus.”
“Okay, Dad! You can take anything you need, like toilet paper.”
“Are you sure, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, of course! I’ll just go to the store when I get back. Make sure you stay safe!”
“And you too, Poppy. I have to go pack my suitcases, but I’ll let you know when I leave, okay?”
“Perfect! I love you, Dad!”
“I love you too, Poppy.”
From his peripheral vision, Branch saw Poppy enthusiastically waving as she hung up.
She turned to him and sighed, putting her phone away. “Welp, looks like we’re stuck on the plane together for a while. How’s your day been going?”
He sighed as well. “Not so great,” he mumbled.
“Aw, I’m sorry. Wanna talk about it?”
“Uh, nope.”
She looked a little surprised, as though the strangers she normally met on airplanes were ready to tell her their life stories. “Okay. I’ll just tell you about how my day went! You know, I was just on the phone with my dad, and he told me he was gonna leave my house. He was just helping me move in this past week! I get to live on my own now! Which might be a little boring if I have to self-quarantine, so I’m living it up and traveling until I can’t anymore. I know you said you’re going home, but why were you out here in the first place?”
Branch shot her a strange glance. At this point, he was less convinced that she wanted his personal information. He didn’t know what to make of her. “Um, I’m going home—or trying to—from school. It got canceled because of the virus, so . . .”
“Oh, that makes sense. Are you happy about that, or no? Some of my best friends are excited to get to go home for a while, but I know not everyone is.”
“Yeah, I’m not the biggest fan of the corona break,” he told her. “I’d rather be in my dorm than my hometown.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. You know, if this flight gets cancelled, you could come stay with me! It’d be perfect, because then I wouldn’t have to be lonely in my new house, and you’d have somewhere to stay! And we could be best friends!” She leaned over and gave him an enthusiastic hug.
“I typically don’t go off to live with strangers on the terms ‘we could be best friends,’” he said to her sarcastically.
“Aww, come on,” Poppy said, laughing a little at his remark. “But I’m just adorable!” She scrunched her nose at him, grinning.
“Seriously, who taught you about stranger danger? Because they did a horrible job.”
“Okay, I know about stranger danger,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But not everyone you meet is going to try and kidnap you, or whatever. It makes me much happier to see strangers as friends you haven’t met yet!”
“Well, regardless, it’s a little hasty to make plans before the flight is even canceled. For all we know, in a couple hours I’ll be at home and you’ll be on vacation, and we’ll never see each other again.”
“Yeah, that’s why we have to bond right now! Should I give you my phone number?”
“No thanks,” he told her, raising an eyebrow. He kind of doubted that there was anyone else that acted this way on the entire planet.
Over the PA, they heard the pilot’s voice again. “Passengers, this is your pilot. I’m very sorry to say that due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, this flight has been canceled. You will be able to retrieve your luggage at this airport’s baggage claim. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.”
Branch groaned as Poppy threw her arms in the air and said, “Aha! I knew it! I knew it would get canceled!”
“Why are you celebrating that? You can’t go on vacation now.”
“No, but I can hang out in my new house, all by myself!” She leaned down and put some of her crafts in her bag as Branch started searching for hotels on his phone.
“See, you don’t have anywhere to stay! Come stay with me!” she said.
He looked up at her. “Seriously?”
“Yeah! It’ll be fun! We can quarantine together!”
“I thought you didn’t want to quarantine.”
“Well, clearly this cheap vacation thing is not going to work out. And you need a place to stay! No, come on, it’ll be fun!”
“You already said that.”
She shot him a look. “Because it will be! I have a room for you and everything! And it’ll be free!”
“I—” Branch hesitated. It sounded like a good deal, but at what cost? “Poppy, I just met you.”
“Well, I’m not a psychopath or anything like that,” she said, sounding a little annoyed. “I mean, you ate that donut I gave you, and you’re not dying.”
Branch had a smart remark on the tip of his tongue, but then he noticed Poppy’s frustration. It seemed like she was more desperate for a roommate than he was for a place to say. His worries dissolved. Reluctantly, he said, “Okay . . . I guess I’ll come stay with you.”
A wide smile lit up her face. “Yay! Thank you!” She leaned over and hugged him for the third time, then jumped up from her seat. “Do you have anything in the overhead compartment?”
“Uh, no—”
“Perfect! Let’s go grab our suitcases!” She was already dragging him by the wrist.
Had accepting her offer been a mistake?
Well, it looked like Branch would find out.