by J. J. Dean
"How, though? How can you possibly be afraid of flying on a plane? You aren't scared of flying with your wings!" I chortle, really digging into him for several reasons. One, I find it entirely too funny and worthy of picking at. Two, we haven't had a good verbal sparring match in too long. Three, Devon hasn't released the arms of his seat since takeoff, so I thought if I poked fun at him, maybe him getting angry at me will distract him. No such luck.
Through gritted teeth, he snaps, "It's fucking different, Luna. I've already explained why I'm-"
The plane jostles slightly, hitting a brief spot of turbulence and effectively cutting off Devon's sentence. His mouth clacks shut, the audible sound of his teeth hitting together with the force of his mouth's closure from across the plane. His eyes snap shut, and I allow myself a brief snicker because it really is that funny.
"It's just flying with metal around the space in which you're flying. It's no biggie, Dev. You'll be fine," I tell him, watching as he starts muttering to himself quietly. Is... is he counting backward?
"Never thought I'd see the day an angel was scared to fly," Eli comments with no short amount of amusement. Honestly, I can't blame him. It's ticking the shit out of me.
"If it helps to know, you're more likely to be eaten by sharks than you are to be a victim of a plane crash," I dutifully inform him, wincing when I watch his hands tighten and hear his teeth grind. That clearly didn't help.
Eli perks up, turning to face me on the little stool we gave him since his back is still sore. With more interest than someone should take in these things, he asks, "Wait, so if we crash and land in the water, there's more chance we're going to become shark bait instead of dying in the actual crash?"
"For fucks sake," Devon mutters, looking as though he's ten seconds away from upchucking the contents of his stomach.
I send Eli a look, and he bites his lip to keep from laughing. Those dimples pop out, and I'm momentarily distracted. That is until another wave of turbulence jostles the plane, and Devon has a near damn conniption.
"Alright, this is stupid. Let me try something," I mutter, standing from my seat and marching towards Devon. While his eyes are closed, I snap his belt off and move back a fraction in case of flailing arms and legs.
Dev's eyes pop open in more alarm than I've seen on anyone, and despite my efforts not to laugh at his fears, I can't help it. He looks positively ridiculous right now. With his voice a higher pitch than usual, he practically yells, "What in the fuck are you doing, Luna?!"
"Relax. Just trust me, okay?" I laugh, holding my hand out for him to take. It's as steady as a neurosurgeon’s, and I send him an encouraging smile.
He glances at my hand then back to me. I don't like the look he's giving me. His eyes practically scream I'm crazy- "You're out of your mind if you think I'm getting out of this seat." Dick.
"Trust me," I plead, pushing my hand further towards him. I wiggle my fingers, and a wave of power rolls over them. He must see it too because he slaps his hand in mine so fast he almost knocks me to the floor.
Laughing, I drag him up, feeling his entire body shake like a leaf in a thunderstorm. I have no idea what compels me to do it, but I find myself trying to relax him by brushing my thumb over the back of his hand, hoping it does something to ease him.
As soon as he's out of his seat and looking ready to bolt back to it, I ask, "Dance with me?"
The look he sends me makes me feel like he thinks I'm crazier than before, and I narrow my eyes in a challenge. I maneuver his hand so he's holding it in the way a dancer would. I lift his other hand and place it on my waist. Then, with a smart ass eyebrow raise, I comment, "Thought you were doing the whole trusting me thing, Dev. Really letting me down here."
I can see a war playing out in his mint green eyes, the urge not to back down to a challenge battling with the need to return to his seat where he feels safest. Without giving him much time to war with himself, I start to sing.
Drawing on my power easily, I begin to sing “Shut Up And Dance” by Walk The Moon, suddenly moving us in a playful dance in the center of the aisle. He's as stiff as a board, so I start pooling my power into my song, feeling it flow through the lyrics as I sing and dance with the angel who's confusing me as of late.
The effect my power has on him is almost instantaneous. His shoulders relax, his hand folds around mine into a snug fit, and he draws me closer as we dance like fools in front of the others. I laugh while I sing as we both squeeze ourselves into a spin in the aisle, sending more soothing power through my song towards Devon. It doesn't take long for him to relax entirely, his fear long-forgotten as he dips me backward and up, grinning the first toothy smile I've seen from him. It almost renders me breathless, and I blunder my words before catching myself.
He laughs at my misstep but keeps dancing with me following his lead all while I send my power to him. It's quirky, carefree, and fun, all words I never would have used to describe Devon. But I'm enjoying it. More than I probably would have thought I would.
Just as the song finishes, we receive a round of applause and I look over to find all three of the guys watching our antics. Eli's grinning like he hasn't witnessed anything as entertaining in his life before, Asher is trying to hide a smirk, and Noah is openly clapping and smiling as though he's truly enjoyed our dancing.
Playing along with their applause, I bow down as far as I can go, belting, "Thank you! Thank you very much. I'm here all week, folks. Buy tickets at the desk."
A round of laughter is my response, and I grin at them all before turning back to Devon. With a triumphant grin, I ask, "Feel better?"
"Much. Suppose I should thank you, even if we did look like idiots," he replies, heading back to his seat a lot calmer than when I dragged him out of it.
Rolling my eyes, I tell him, "Speak for yourself. I looked like I just stepped off Broadway. I can just hear my cell phone ringing now with agents and screenwriters wanting to hire me. Anyway, who's next? Do I have any takers? Any requests?"
I look the other three over and see them all trying to avoid eye contact. They've all just so happened to find other things interesting on the small table between the seats. There's nothing on the fucking table. Jerks.
"Suit yourselves. I'm an excellent dancing partner, so you're all missing out," I tell them, reclaiming my seat next to Devon instead. Why? I don't care to think about the reasoning, in all honestly. To dissect my feelings right now would only end in disaster. I'd rather the plane crash than force myself to sift through my thoughts and emotions just yet. It can wait. For now, I'll sit next to Devon the Dick, who's slowly turning into not such a dick, in peace.
"Want your book, Peaches?" Asher asks from across the aisle, holding the book I'd left on the side of my forgotten chair.
He wiggles it in his hand, looking particularly mischievous, but I nod anyway. "Sure. Thanks."
Asher hands it to Eli, who hands it to Devon, who then passes it over to me. When I have it in my hand, I see a small note sticking up from one of the pages. I'm pretty sure I didn't read that far along into the book, so curiosity wins out, and I flick the page open. There's a small piece of paper with a scribbled sentence sprawled over the otherwise bare piece.
I like this idea.
What idea?
I slide the piece over and skim through the text before I feel my cheeks grow from warm to scalding in a matter of seconds over the extremely explicit sex scene that has me squirming in my seat and needing a damn fan to cool myself off.
"You alright?" Devon asks, looking me over and noticing my colored cheeks.
Snapping the book shut and stuffing the note in my cardigan pocket, I blurt, "Yep. Just fine. Never better. I need to pee."
Leaving him baffled and somewhat adorably confused looking, I dart out of my chair and zip to the bathroom, shutting the door quickly after myself. As soon as the lock is down, I release a heavy breath and lean against the door only to hear very familiar snickering and laughter. Those assholes.
Chapter 22
Devon
Of all the things I was expecting Luna to do, she did only one of them, and that was trying to start an argument with me by pissing me off. It almost worked, but sadly my first time flying in a plane is going down about as well as the first time I met the purple-haired angel.
I wasn't expecting her to use her power to help me, though. Least of all to pull me out of my seat and get me to dance on her while we soared through the sky at a speed too fast for me not to control. Honestly, that could be where the problem lies. With my wings, I'm in control. I set the course; I see where I'm heading, and I'm in sole control over the entire travel. Right now? I'm in a giant tin can with no way to see where the fuck we're going other than through the tiniest windows known to man. It's no wonder I'd been on the verge of losing my mind until Luna started singing and dancing with me.
It's the first time I've actually let loose enough to enjoy myself since landing on Earth. And I'm only a little surprised that it was because of Luna and her antics. Or more so her compelling nature to help others even though she will deny it more than I'll deny just how much I enjoyed myself if ever asked.
Sitting in my seat as everyone goes back to their previous activities now that the show is over, I settle back and turn my head to check what Luna's doing since she's gone quiet. When my eyes reach her face, I find her red-cheeked and fidgety.
"You alright?" I ask, a little concerned with how red she's now turning.
"Yep. Just fine. Never better. I need to pee," she rushes her response, snapping the book she has in her hands shut before barreling out of her seat and into the bathroom. I turn to the others, two of which seem to be holding in their laughter to the best of their ability. Noah looks as clueless as I am. "What's up with her? She was fine just now. Then she got all weird and twitchy. And red."
Asher and Elijah lose their battles with their laughter, snickering behind their hands. I don't even know what in Heaven is going on anymore. Noah mirrors my confusion, smiling at the other two with equal parts confusion and amusement.
When they don't answer, I shake my head and settle back into my seat, resting my eyes for however long I can until I grow restless and antsy. That shouldn't take long since I can feel Luna's power wearing off, and the anxiety is beginning to fade back in like the slowest wave ever. But it's coming. I can feel it in my quickening pulse, the stiffness of my back against the seat, and the way I seem to be holding onto the armrests a little tighter than before.
I'm an angel from Heaven, a being of God, who can create and wield weapons of great divinity. I have the ability to create protection circles, warding off evil. And yet I can't fly on a plane without freaking the fuck out. I've never felt more pathetic than this very moment.
"Hey, you okay? You're not looking so great again," Luna's sweet voice sounds from in front of me. My eyes pop open, and she instantly nods before lowering herself back into the chair she's claimed beside me.
In an unexpected move, she shimmies her hand under my arm and snakes it under my clammy palm, peeling it from the armrest and taking it her own. Her fingers lace through mine, and when the plane grows unsteady once more, I can't help but tighten my hold on her.
Luna rises out of her seat slightly, only causing me to grip her a little more firmly. She sends me an amused smile and tugs out her phone from her back pocket. I watch her closely, keeping my focus on what she's doing and not the trembling tin can I've found myself encased in.
Scrolling through a music app, she picks a song and begins singing along to the song that she's selected. Tilting her phone to me, she shows me it's a song called “Piano” by some Ariana something or other. I wouldn't know of the artist, but as soon as Luna begins reciting the words to the song, I decide there and then that no singer on Earth could ever compete with her.
With her hand held comfortably in mine, she sends her power through me, the feeling easy to recognize at once. I relax impossibly fast, my body melting into the soft cushioned seat. The only thing that doesn't relax is the hold I have on Luna's hand. We sit like that for at least five songs before she mindlessly begins to rub her thumb over the back of my hand, and it does something incredibly unusual to my chest, just as it had the first time she did it.
After some time, I'm completely at ease, not a worry to be had. My mind isn't battling with the idiocy of being afraid to fly unnaturally. Luna's singing has turned into a sweet melodic humming as she reads her book, still strumming her thumb softly over my hand. She's also moved our joint limbs to sit just beneath her book to hold it up while she both reads and comforts me.
The beauty of this woman isn't lost on me, and I've caught myself realizing it more and more since meeting her. It's a hindrance, but I'm slowly losing the will to care. Instead of sitting back and watching me panic over something that no angel should ever be afraid of, she helped. She's taken time away from the others to help the only man of the four of us who's been nothing but an asshole to her. She's a rare find, I'll give her that.
"Feeling better?" she asks around a yawn, pausing her humming to ask the question before returning to her soft lullaby.
I nod, telling her, "A lot better. I appreciate you helping me."
Though genuine, I sound as stiff as a board and completely unpracticed. I'm not exactly used to accepting help, nor am I used to offering my gratitude, yet I've done so several times since barging into Luna's life. Just another thing I've learned since coming to Earth on His orders.
She offers me a smile, her make-up free face lighting up with it. Her gray eyes are like molten silver and completely mesmerizing, but I turn and face away when I feel like I've looked at her for too long. With a voice near a whisper, she mutters, "You're very welcome."
A light squeeze of my hand draws my eyes back to her, but she's already fully engrossed in her book once more and humming like she hasn't a care in the world.
Taking advantage of the brief moment of peace and comfort I've had since climbing into this death trap, I get comfortable in my seat and close my eyes, opting to rest a little while longer while I have Luna's blessed ability keeping me sane for however long she'll provide it.
***
Blinking my groggy eyes open, it takes a moment to work out where we are. I look around and find myself in the very same spot on the plane I must have fallen asleep in. My eyes dart to the others, seeing Noah and Eli playing a game of cards while Asher appears to be missing.
"He's catching some Z's, if you're wondering," Eli tells me, only turning around briefly to send me a friendly smile. I jerk my head in a nod, sitting up in my seat.
Only, there's a body resting on mine, and I can't seem to move all that much.
I look down and find a silver-haired menace with her head resting on my shoulder and the hand that wasn't clasped in mine now fully enveloped by my larger one. It also happens to be resting over my chest as if we were... oh shit, have we been cuddling? When did she fall asleep? How long have we been in this position?
"Yes, you've been cuddling. Asleep an hour, and she's been down for the count for just under that. She accidentally fell asleep not too long after you passed out. I don't even know how you got in that position but have fun trying to recover from it," Eli comments, not bothering to turn around. He answered every question though. Maybe I said them out loud. I don't really give a damn since my focus is on Luna and how I'm going to move from underneath her without waking her and things getting awkward. It's the only way things can go, I'm sure of it.
While I think of a plan, I feel Luna stiffen. Guess she's awake, and things are about to get as awkward as they can get. Fuck my life.
Luna moves slowly, lifting her head away from me but keeping her hand in mine. She turns her head and catches me watching her, no doubt looking like a pitiful deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. She raises her eyebrows, looks at my shoulder, and mutters, "Well, you’re comfier than you look."
I hear Eli snort, but I keep staring at the she-devil like she just spro
uted a new silver-haired head. Looking away, she finds her book on the floor. Luna bends to reach it but realizes her hand is still stuck in mine, clenched tightly against my chest. This could not get any worse.
"I'm going to need my hand back if you're done pissing your pants," she teases, wiggling her fingers to emphasize her point.
I lied. It got worse. Especially when Noah joins in on the laughter. Damn this woman. I would wring her neck if I wasn't so grateful to her right now.
Quickly, I release her hand and sit taller in my seat, doing my best to move away and give her space. She must take it the wrong way since she rolls her eyes and grumbles, "I don't have cooties, Devon. Don't worry about scooting your ass so far out of the seat you might fall out of it."
Before I can explain, she's out of her seat and stretching out the kinks in her back and neck. Then she makes her way over to Eli, giving him a kiss on the cheek while she stands behind him. I watch her intently, noticing she doesn't put pressure on his back. She doesn't even seem to realize she's doing it, but I spot the gesture nonetheless. It's an endearing thing to witness. Or it would have been if she didn't embarrass me for the millionth time since our meeting.
Luna raises her hand and scratches the back of Eli's head briefly before leaning over and dropping a small kiss to Noah's cheek while he's looking down at his cards. His face shows surprise, but there's a small smile dancing on his lips.
Something stirs in my chest, a feeling I'm not used to and don’t particularly care for. If I were to guess, I'd say it was envy. Maybe jealousy. But why in the Heavens would I be jealous? And of what? The blatant show of affection the two received from an angel whose sole mission in life is to piss me off? Surely I'm reading that wrong.