Chapter Text
Jack sinks into a seat, disappointed that he rushed to the airport to catch his flight, only to find out it got delayed two hours. He checks his phone with a sigh. He officially finished his first year at an arts college in Santa Fe, and is excited to see his friends and family back in New York. Sure, he made tons of friends in Santa Fe, but nothing compares to home. After sending a quick text to his mom, he gets up from his seat and slings on his backpack.
He wanders until he finds a small restaurant and goes in. Jack immediately notices the light brown tables and matching chairs scattered around the open space, with a counter to order food. He lines up and orders a sandwich. After paying and receiving his order, Jack sits by the restaurant’s brick accent wall, watching other people. He notes a child, begging their dad for a doughnut, and a woman, digging through her bag. His eyes stop when he sees a man across the room, fumbling with a notebook. The man quickly scribbles something on a random page, catching Jack’s interest.
Jack quickly finishes his sandwich, throwing his trash away as he walks towards the man. “Is this seat taken?” he asks after reaching the mystery man’s table.
“No,” he replies, not looking up from his notebook. Jack sits down, setting his bag on the floor next to him.
“Where are you heading to?” Jack asks. The man looks up from his notebook.
“Why do you want to know?” he responds. Jack shrugs.
“My flight got delayed, and I don’t leave for another,” he pauses, checking his watch, “hour and forty-five minutes. Why not do something a little out of the ordinary while waiting? What’s your name?”
“Um,” the man says. Jack notices the man’s confusion and discomfort.
“Look, you don’t have to tell me your real name, or anything identifying, really. Think of it like this, this just happens to be a chance meeting, and after today, we’ll never see each other again. All we have in common is the next hour and forty-five minutes,” Jack pauses. “You could be anyone you want, and I wouldn’t know otherwise. So, what’s your name?”
The mystery man weighs his options. He could bolt out the restaurant and wait by his gate until boarding time, or he could stay. He did not feel like sprinting to the other side of the airport though, so with his interest piqued, the man puts his notebook in his backpack.
“I’m Davey,” he responds, telling Jack a nickname his mom gave him. Jack holds out his hand for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you, Davey,” he says. Davey shakes Jack’s hand with a small smile.
“My flight leaves in,” Davey checks the time, “an hour and forty minutes, around the same time as yours. We’d both have to cut our time and head back to our gates about ten minutes before the flight leaves, so we can both settle in. What do you propose we do with this next hour and thirty-five minutes?” Davey asks.
“Well, before we go on any adventures or cause any chaos, I’d like to know you a bit better, just so I can gauge what you’re comfortable with,” Jack suggests. Davey nods.
“Okay, that makes some sense. Hit me.”
“What’s your mom’s maiden name?” Jack asks with a grin. Davey gasps dramatically.
“Oh no! Not the security questions!” he fake groans. “If I’m not mistaken, I’m sure her maiden name was Swift,” he jokes.
“Like Phil Swift?” Jack gasps, dramatically holding a hand to his chest. The two erupt into laughter.
“Where are you heading?” Davey asks curiously.
“East, to see my family.”
“Nice,” Davey acknowledges. “I was actually visiting Santa Fe to see extended family, but I’m going back east too.”
“Cool! I go to college here. I’m studying art.”
Davey smiles. “Could I see some of your work?” he asks.
“Sure!” Jack replies as he pulls a sketchbook out of his backpack. “Here’s the view from my favorite bench on campus,” he says as he hands Davey his sketchbook. On the page is a detailed sketch of a walkway leading to a fountain, surrounded by bushes and small trees. Perched on the fountain’s edge is a bird.
“Wow,” Davey says in awe. He hands back the sketchbook. ”If my college was half as pretty as that, I would stay there forever.” Jack grins at his comment, and checks his watch.
“What are you studying?”
“I’m undecided right now, but I’m leaning towards business.” Jack nods.
“Got any hobbies?” Davey’s face lights up.
“Yes, I do. Photography actually! I fell in love with it in high school, and it’s been a hobby ever since.” He replies as he pulls out a portfolio. “One of the relatives I was visiting is actually a professional photographer.” Jack carefully takes the portfolio and flips through it.
“Are these all pictures from Santa Fe?” he asks after glancing at a desert landscape.
“Yeah.” Jack turns the page and sees a picture of a street, leading to downtown Santa Fe.
“You make me want to ditch my flight and explore the city again,” Jack jokes. Davey chuckles. He reaches the end of the portfolio, noticing a few wallet-sized prints in a pocket.
“You can take some if you want,” Davey offers. Jack slides his hand into the pocket, and pulls out a photo of a busy street at night. He knows the street in the photograph, but instead of seeing cars rushing by, he sees light trails left by their headlights.
“This is so cool! I hope you keep doing photography, even when you have that business degree. These look amazing!” he exclaims and hands Davey back his portfolio.
Davey smiles, “Thanks. We should also get going,” Jack checks his watch and nods. The two gather their things, and leave the restaurant. “So, now what?”
“We have over an hour left,” Jack starts. “Tag! You’re it!” he shouts, tapping Davey’s arm.
“Jack, this is childish!” he yells as Jack sprints towards an escalator.
“That’s what boring people say!” he shouts back. Davey sighs, mentally preparing to run after him.
“I’m not boring,” he mutters.
Jack melts into a crowd as he rides the escalator up. Davey follows, going up the escalator and into a shop. Hopeful Jack ran in earlier, Davey looks around the souvenir shop. It has a few racks, displaying “Santa Fe, New Mexico” t-shirts and a wall of hats. Davey looks around, cautiously watching the customers. He spots someone of Jack’s stature, trying on a light blue baseball cap. Davey goes towards this man to confirm it is Jack, so he doesn’t tag a random person. The man turns around, his eyes widening under a pair of sunglasses.
“Tag!” Davey exclaims. “Nice disguise, by the way. I didn’t know we could do that.”
“Nothing’s off the table here,” Jack responds with a smirk.
Davey speeds out of the store as Jack returns the hat and glasses. He walks into a large crowd, and ducks into the restroom. Davey digs through his backpack, pulling out a grey hoodie, and slips it over his blue t-shirt. He slings his bag over his shoulder and leaves the restroom. Davey keeps his head down as he walks in a crowd towards the center of the airport. He finds a seating area and sits in a vacant seat. Davey takes out his phone, noting the ten minutes before they should board their flights. He gets up, looking around, making eye contact with Jack, who is a few feet away.
“I found you!” Jack calls as Davey quickly takes off his hoodie. He places it on a nearby chair.
“Jack, we need to get going. We should be boarding our flights soon.” Davey announces. Jack nods slowly. “Thanks for this, by the way. I had fun. I hope you have a nice flight home.”
Jack smiles. “Thanks for not thinking the idea was crazy.“
“No, I did, but why not do something crazy every once in a while,” Davey says with a grin.
“Well, thanks, and I hope you have a good flight too,” Jack says as Davey gathers his stuff. Davey turns his back to Jack and walks towards his terminal. Jack watches him as he leaves. Just as he is about to go to his terminal, he notices Davey left his hoodie on the seat. He rushes over, picking it up.
“Davey!” he yells. “Davey, your hoodie!”
Davey didn’t hear him. Jack desperately wants to run after Davey and give him his hoodie, but he knows time isn’t on his side. Instead, he takes the hoodie and turns around, quickly walking towards his gate.
On his flight, Davey digs through his bag, looking for his hoodie. He mentally retraces his steps, remembering he left it in the airport. He sighs, knowing it’s too late to go back and get it. Meanwhile, on his flight, Jack regrets not asking Davey for a way to contact him. If he did, he would’ve told him about his hoodie, and maybe even mailed it back to him. Jack safely puts the hoodie in his bag, preparing for takeoff.