Work Text:
In the clouds
“We shouldn’t be doing this… Michelle’s going to kill us!” He sighed, still focused on the road.
“I know, but… please, please just trust me, James”.
Trusting Erin wasn’t difficult, as it was hardly like her intentions were harmful to him, at least not in the short term. A few months on from their interrupted kiss though, Michelle was always watching their pair of them whenever they got too close. There’d not been another kiss at all, and his cousin was constantly trying to force them onto other people, to forget about each other. That venture hadn’t been successful, neither James nor Erin wishing to hurt someone else just to satisfy Michelle’s wishes.
For months, there was just… nothing.
When she’d slipped the note to him the day before, when the gang were all in her room, he’d not been able to protest, to afraid of the proximity of Michelle to them. If she heard them even so much as speaking outside of normal greeting gestures, they’d be in for it.
Luckily, last night was a Friday night so Michelle was out for most of it, and also therefore completely rat-arsed drunk when she got in. Allowing James the chance to be able to slip out of the house undetected the following morning, he’d somehow managed to start his new car without waking her up, the turquoise Peugeot 106, bought brand new by his mother, during her latest attempt to show how she cared. Or as Michelle put it, buying him off because she didn’t really love him.
Picking Erin up a couple of streets away from her house, where she’d slipped out without being challenged too, there was a clandestine feel to the plan that he did not quite understand. Erin being secretive about anything was usually a bad omen.
“Can you at least tell me where we’re going?”
“No”. She stood her ground. “Ye’ll know when we get there”.
“Well… I’ve never ever been to wherever this place is, how am I going to know!?”
“Just trust me”.
If he didn’t care so much about her, he’d have turned the car around a good couple of miles back. He would have been well within his rights to as well. It was his birthday, and there he was at nine o’clock in the morning, chauffeuring around the girl he could not be with, unable to say no to her as usual.
“Take a left down here”.
The road that she’d pointed to ahead to was almost a farm track, single lane, seemingly heading off into the arse end of nowhere. Wondering what the hell she could possibly be playing at, as the responsible driver of the vehicle, James could not stay silent.
“What? Down there… what the bloody hell’s down there!?”
“Would ye just take the damn left!?” An irritated Erin snapped back.
“Alright!”
Realising that whatever it was, was enough to make her proper worked up, he complied with the instruction, taking the left turn down the road that crested the brow of a small hill, without him knowing what was beyond. Erin hardly knew the area herself but had checked her Granda’s road map thoroughly enough to know that it was the right road to be on. It would have been mortifying if she’d have gotten it wrong, especially after the effort she’d gone to.
Driving up to the peak of the hill, James still did not have a clue where they were going.
“I still don’t see what could pos-”.
As soon as his eyes reached the peak along with the front end of the car, his mouth shut. The pronounced descent in the land hid what was below very well, perfectly so in fact when there was little to no indication about what lay beyond. Nervously fidgeting with the seatbelt in the passenger seat, Erin didn’t dare look the fella that she really liked in the eye, stupidly afraid of his reaction. She shouldn’t have been at all, not for this. Not when she knew just how much he’d wanted to do this.
“I… no way!”
The tight bend after the brow of the hill nearly took a victim in the 106, but he managed to steer around it, driving the other hundred metres or so down to small car park at the bottom of the road. How anyone was supposed to know about the site, he did not know, not a single signpost for it out on the main road they’d been on.
There was silence in the car as they drove into the car park, but not a strained, uncomfortable one. No, the lack of conversation was simply because he could not find the words, so stunned at what he was seeing. Erin was so nervous, she was properly wringing her hands together, forehead adopting a clammy layer. There was a reason she’d forced him to come out with her so early in the day on his birthday, one she hoped he would appreciate.
Parked up, he remained flabbergasted. Sat forward, staring ahead with his hands still on the wheel, he let out a little laugh of what could only be described as disbelief.
Eventually though, he turned his head, to find Erin shiteing the tights, practically curling herself up against the window.
“Erin… you… you did this?”
“Ye… ye were always bangin’ on about wantin’ to go on a hot air balloon…”.
All of her nerves faded completely though, when she watched his face light up. So rarely had she ever seen him so happy, only able to remember the times he was when only she was with him, except on the day he came back.
That was enough to tell anyone what she thought about him.
So excitable to be able to finally live out one of the dreams he’d held for so long, James undid the seatbelt, exiting his car without even bothering to lock it. She soon joined him when he stopped in front of the car, the hot air balloon just the other side of the gated fence about fifteen metres or so in front of him.
“How did you afford it? It was so expensive when I looked and… and I know your not…”.
“My job”.
Taken aback by the confession, he stared at her as if she was crazy. A week or so after the eventful trip to Donegal, Erin took a job working at The Card Factory on a Saturday. She’d always said it was because her Mammy wanted her to start paying her way at home, which none of them questioned at all. Getting a job to pay board, made sense.
“I don’t understand”. He freely admitted, hands in pockets.
“I didn’t… I…”. Gesticulating more than speaking, Erin was in a right panic. “Mammy didn’t want any money. I took the job to… to save up for this. For you”.
When she looked up into eyes as she finished, there was a vulnerability in hers that pained him. They’d been forced apart from each other only seconds after accepting their feelings for one another, leaving so much unsaid even with his promise to wait for her. She was the one who’d let him down though, and it only took her a couple of days to realise that she didn’t want to let him slip away at all.
So scared of ruining their tightly knit group of friends after Michelle’s riot act was read to them, she kept herself in check just as he did, only a few fleeting, longing looks shared ever since.
But Erin couldn’t wait any longer.
Once again unnerved by his silence though, she spoke up like an affection-starved fool just to make it less tense for herself.
“Ye’ll like the fella operatin’ it, he’s English”.
The comment wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t anything important either. Temporarily it distracted him, as James dropped her a confused look at why she decided to tell him that. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know there were other Englishmen in Ireland.
She had to correct herself, with one thing she very much had to say.
“Happy Birthday, James”.
The next five seconds were not lost to confusion though, as the wee English fella closed off the gap between them, pulling her up to his lips with one hand, another firmly placed on her waist. If it was actually possible, which for at least three weeks after in her own mind, Erin did not think it was, this kiss was better than the first one. This time they both knew how the other felt, nothing left to chance as they nipped at each others lips.
When they did pull apart, their foreheads rested against each other, noses brushing together softly.
“James, I don’t…”.
“I know”. Having taken her by the hands, he squeezed them. “Thank you… for this. For being you”.
Her heart must have detached itself from her chest as he spoke, Erin no longer able to hear it beating, only hearing the dulcet tones of her wee English fella.
“I don’t want to wait any longer either. I… I can’t”.
Lost to the sheer tenderness of his voice, Erin couldn’t help but reach up to snog the face off him, the full package this time as mouths were opened, tongues jostling. The bloke operating the hot air balloon was left shaking his head at the two absolute eejits necking each other over the other side of the gate, the same pair he was going to be spending the next hour or more with. This was not what he’d hoped for his Saturday at all…
The aggravated screeching of tires made the young lovebirds jump apart though, both frantically drawn to the car that was thundering down the hill towards the small car park. From a distance, they could see exactly who it was behind the wheel. The face of unfiltered anger.
“SHITTTT!” James exclaimed.
Erin was ready to burst out into tears, the day about to be absolutely ruined. It was supposed to be a special day for James, a day where he could be happy with her, but there was a force against them that wished to deny them that joy.
The one time they’d broken their word, they were of course caught out.
“Erm, you two might want to bloody get in!”
The hero of the hour was the fella operating the hot air balloon though, who seemed to read the situation with immaculate ease. Shouting to James and Erin with a slight Brummie twang to his voice, he stopped them from being rabbits in headlights.
Bolting over to the gate, James helped Erin up first, as the car tore into the car park, coming right towards them. There was no space left next to the gate though, which meant it would have stop a little further away, the occupant needing to cover the last metres on feet to be able to get to them in time.
Safely into the hot air balloon, Erin reached out her hand for James, as he started to climb the gate. At that moment though, the raging voice behind him could be heard.
“OI! FUCKO! ERIN! DON’T YOU DARE!”
Frantically, Erin looked at her fella, but there was no need for her to panic, as he grasped her outstretched hand, bundling himself into the hot air balloon with time to spare. All they needed to do was get off the ground, the two of them glaring at the bloke operating it to get them on their way. The conditions were favourable at least, but time was not on their side.
“YE SLY FECKERS! YE THINK I WOULDN’T HEAR YER CAR, JAMES!”
They could see Michelle now, three or four metres away from the gate to climb over herself. Erin, closing her eyes, prayed that the Lord would have mercy on them and allow her to fail.
Her prayers were answered if the biblical feeling of James’ hand slipping its way into hers was a sign that it would be their day.
“NO! NO!” Michelle roared. “NO DON’T YOU’S FUCKING-“
At that, Erin opened her eyes, finding herself to be a few feet higher than her friend was, the hot air balloon ascending out of Michelle’s grasp.
James would have his day after all. They would have their moment, climbing up higher, finally being where they needed to be; in each other’s arms.
In the end, a few months apart, was more than worth the wait.
“FUCK!”
That was the last that they heard of Michelle though, too high up in the sky to either hear or care what she had to say. It was just the two of them… well and the bloke behind them operating it, who was completely ignored.
Kissing passionately with eyes on the world around them as they breached the clouds, it was the best birthday surprise James had ever had. Not just because of the trip in the hot air balloon, but because he was spending time with Erin.
Erin Quinn, the friend he’d fallen head over heels for.
Try as she might, seeing the hot air balloon disappearing into the sky, Michelle knew she would not be able to stop them when the depths of their feelings were abundantly clear.
There was no mistaking at all, Michelle thought to herself.
She did not have a right to stand in their way, threat of a breakup or not.
They were in love.