#just slapped some rough color on it and adjusted some scribbles after work hours

[byrjl]

Very rough sketches between working on Commission.

Ramattra says Cha Cha Cha.

[calpalirwin]

Ticket to LA

A/N: Inspired by Brett Young’s “Ticket to LA”

And away, and away we go!

11:50 pm

“Sorry, sir, we’re still delayed because of the rain,” the apologetic attendant working Gate 23 informed me.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and glanced at my watch- 11:50pm. “When I checked in, they had said it was only a 2-hour delay,” I explained, leaving out that part that I checked in at 8:30 for my 9:15 flight.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she said again. “We’ll let you know when we can start boarding, but as of now, we’re not sure when that will be.”

I nodded and tucked my ticket into my back pocket. I mumbled a thanks and adjusted my backpack on my shoulder, turning to leave. That’s when I noticed her.

The woman sighed as she paced along the wall sized window, trying to get a glimpse of anything beyond the rainy darkness. She turned on her heel, and went back to what I assumed was her seat.

It was less her beauty-although she certainly possessed what I could only describe as effortless beauty- and more the way she sighed, that made my feet move towards her. A sigh that was part agitation, part contentment. She was seated at Gate 22, but I didn’t see the harm in moving to sit by her. Misery was supposed to love company, after all. And I wasn’t that far from my own gate.

As I approached, I cleared my throat to alert her of my presence. “Uh, is it cool if I sit here?” I asked.

She looked up at me and offered a small smile. She gestured to the empty seat beside her, “Of course. Bit crowded in here isn’t it?” she joked.

I let out a small giggle as I sat down, setting my bag at my feet. When I had arrived hours ago, the airport had been busy, but as the clock crept forward, it had emptied, leaving only us. “I’m Ashton, by the way,” I said, offering her my hand to shake.

“Y/N. Nice to meet you, Ashton.” She took my hand, her slender fingers soft against the roughness of my palm. “So, where are you headed?”

While my ticket said I was heading to Seattle, my mouth said, “I’d go anywhere with you, Y/N.”

Her laugh rang out in the silent airport. “Smooth,” she marked offhandedly. She glanced longingly at the bar a ways off. “My flight’s delayed, so I’m gonna get a drink. Care to join me?”

“Sure,” I smiled.

12:00 am

She ordered a wine for herself while I played it safe with a water. “Sober?” she asked, nodding at my water over the rim of her wine glass.

“Yeah,” I said. Too many hangovers resulting from nights I couldn’t remember. And I wanted to remember tonight; I wanted to remember her.

She set her glass down and pushed it from her. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t drink in front of you. That’d be rude.”

I giggled. “It’s fine. I’m sober because I want to be.”

“Oh, thank God,” she said, reaching to pull her drink to her and taking a long drink. “Because what a day!”

I followed her gaze to the window. “Yeah, it’s really coming down now,” I commented. Then, “So LA? What’s in LA?”

“Sun,” she laughed.

I giggled with her. I could picture her in the sun, on some beach, the breeze blowing her long hair.

“So, what do you do, Ashton?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Oh, I’m a drummer.”

“Oh? Like famous or…?”

I shrugged. “You could say that.”

She laughed. “Modest, are we, Ash?”

My cheeks flushed. I liked the way she said my name. Hell, I liked her.

12:15 am

As she took the last swallow of her wine and asked for another, I asked, “What about you? What do you do?”

“I start law school in the spring.”

My eyes went wide, “That’s… wow, that’s something. Is that why you’re going to LA?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I have orientation. Then the joys of finding an apartment and hopefully a job.” She took another deep drink from her second glass of wine, as if mentally preparing herself for the stress she was no doubt facing.

“I have an apartment,” I blurted like the idiot I was.

“Here I was thinking you lived in the airport. Silly me,” she teased, her eyes sparkling.

I flushed. “I meant I have an apartment in LA. I live there.”

“That’s very forward of you...”

I wasn’t sure how much redder my face could get. “I just… I mean… once you get settled... If you ever need someone to show you around…”

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” she told me with a laugh.

I downed my water, hoping it would cool the heat in my cheeks. “So, where are you from?” I asked, trying to move past my stupid stammering.

“I grew up here.”

“Born and raised New Yorker, huh?”

“The very same.”

“And you’re going to law school in LA?”

“Yep. Gonna trade in Broadway stars for cute flustered drummers,” she winked.

I giggled. “That’s quite a change though, isn’t it? I know when I moved to LA, it was a bit of a culture shock.”

“Oh. Where are from originally?”

“Australia.”

“And LA was a bit of a culture shock?”

“Still has hot weather and beaches,” I shrugged.

She nodded, a warm smile playing at her lips. “True. Something I am looking forward to.”

12:30 am

Her glass sat empty as she glanced out the window. Lightning flashed and she jumped a little in her seat, a giggle escaping her lips. 

“Looks like we’ll be stuck here a while,” I commented. “Definitely not safe to fly.”

“In that case, more wine!” she smiled.

I giggled at the way her eyes lit up. I sent a quick prayer to whoever was listening that she’d be stuck with me all night. “What’s your favorite color?” I asked, needing to know everything I could about her, no matter how small.

“Blue,” she said, taking a sip of her third glass.

“And you like wine, I take it?”

“Mmm,” she nodded. “Very much so.”

“What else do you like?”

She brought a finger to her lips as she thought. “Puppies, chocolate,” she said, counting on her fingers. “Cute drummers with cute dimples and giggles.”

I couldn’t help myself; I giggled. “Your family? What are they like?”

“Just like any other family. I have a younger sister who I can’t stand sometimes, but would move the earth for. Parents are divorced, but are better off that way.”

“And the boyfriend? What’s he like?” I asked, even though I knew I wouldn’t like the answer.

“Non-existent.”

“Really?” I asked, hiding my surprise. No way a girl like this was single.

“Really. He wanted me to stay in New York. I wanted to broaden my horizons.”

I winced. I had plenty of those relationships myself. “That’s rough. I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “It is what it is. He’s a sweet man who will make some girl really happy. I’m just not that girl.”

“And what girl are you?”

“You tell me, Ash.”

You’re the girl I’d do anything to make laugh. The girl I want to sit right here next to me until time stops. The girl who has me wishing my own ticket was an LA bound one. The girl who I was going to miss my flight for, I thought to myself, glancing over at my own gate which was now boarding. Oh well. This was better.

1:05 am

The thunderstorm had passed, moving towards a light rain as we continued to sit there, our laughs echoing around the airport. My plane had left 10 minutes ago and I didn’t care one bit. I only cared about the girl sitting next to me, who after getting dangerously close to drunk after 3 and a half glasses of wine, was now sipping water. “He didn’t!” she was laughing at some story I had told her about my bandmates.

“True story,” I giggled with her.

Across the way, a flight attendant at Gate 22 got on the intercom. “Attention flyers, JFK to LAX is now boarding at Gate 22.”

“Oh!” she said, taking a last sip of her water, “That’s me.” She quickly pulled out some money to pay for her drinks, “Thank you!” she told the bartender, standing up and throwing her bag over her shoulder. 

“Have a safe flight, Y/N,” I said, smiling softly.

She smiled back at me before digging around her bag. “Let me see your arm,” she told me.

“What?” I asked, giggling, giving her my arm anyway.

“Trust me, Ash,” she said, as she uncapped a pen and scribbled on my arm. When I giggled at the ink scratching my arm, she tsked at me. “Stop being a baby, it’s only a pen. I’ve seen your tattoos.”

“It tickles!” I told her, still giggling as she released my arm. I peered down, admiring the number written across my forearm in blue ink.

“Give me a call, sometime.”

I watched her walk off, shaking my head. An hour. An hour and this girl was forever seared into my brain, her number etched upon my skin. The guys would be pissed to learn I had missed my flight to flirt with a girl, but I didn’t care. They were going to be more pissed when I told them what I did next. But, I didn’t care. There was only one flight I needed to be on.

Before I could think twice, I was running to Gate 22. I slapped my hand across the desk, breathing hard. “A ticket to LA, please.”