Jiley Oneshots

Flying Fears [f]

Season 3- going to Miami

James linked his hand with his girlfriend's, feeling her clammy skin and knowing she was nervous about the upcoming flight. They kept towards the back of the group as their team walked through the airport. Once they reached their gate they all found seats.

Riley, who was growing increasingly anxious by the minute, sat on James' lap instead of beside him. He wrapped his strong arms around her body, holding her securely on his lap and pressing a tender kiss to to head.

"It will be alright babe" he whispered in her ear, "I'll be next to you the whole time, I promise"
Despite her nodding into his chest Riley felt her heart racing beneath her ribs. She closed her eyes in attempts to forget where she was: about to board a death trap.

"J-James" she breathed, feeling her head spinning. She looked up at her boyfriend, her eyes wide with fear and silently begged him for help. Having witnessed her anxiety panic attacks before, James immediately recognised the signs. Reaching into his bag he pulled out a bottle of water.

"Have a drink baby" he instructed, watching worriedly as she unscrewed the cap and took a sip. Unfortunately, while it soothed her dry throat the water did not dull her panic. James watched as her breathing quickened, taking both of his hands and placing them on her cheeks.

Cupping her face in his hands and resting their foreheads together, he looked deep into her eyes.
"Breathe with me Ri" he told her, "focus on me, nothing else"

Determined to not make a scene in the airport terminal, Riley tried to mimic his breathing. James complimented her and caressed his thumb over her cheeks to remove stray tears. As she looked into his eyes, Riley felt safer. Cliche as it may be, James was like the anchor that kept her steady in the storm that was anxiety.

When she had finally regained some control over her breathing, she minimised the gap between their lips, whispering "I love you" before connecting them. He kissed her back, forgetting where they were and that they were surrounded by people.

Surprisingly, no one said anything. A Troupe all knew about Riley's anxiety and most had previously witnessed her panic attacks before. Those who had also knew that James was the best at helping her in those moments. So they let the couple kiss. Not one teasing comment or joke was made.

Eventually the speakers announced that their plane was boarding and Riley pulled away from James in a new wave of anxiety. They stood up to join the boarding queue and James held her tightly in his arms.

A short time later, they were seated on the aircraft. Riley was sat on the aisle seat so she couldn't see out the window and be reminded of how high up they were. James was sat beside her, with Max next to him at the window seat. In the row in front, Eldon, West and Noah were together.

Michelle sat across from Riley, reading a magazine. She shared a row with Thalia and Giselle. In front of them, adjacent to the three boys, sat Amanda, Cierra and Stephanie. Miss Kate was sat in the aisle seat behind Michelle, diagonal from Riley.

Eldon, West, Noah             Amanda, Cierra, Steph
Max, James, Riley              Michelle, Thalia, Giselle
                                               Miss Kate

From the moment she fastened her seatbelt, Riley felt worse than ever. She wasn't permitted to sit on James' lap or lift up the arm rest separating them until they were higher in the sky. After what seemed like hours, (it wasn't), the seatbelt sign vanished and Riley undid hers immediately. Raising the arm rest between them, she snuggled into James' side.

"Wanna watch a movie Ri?" James suggested, rubbing his hand up and down her side comfortingly. She nodded, wanting a distraction from where they were. As he predicted, less than half an hour into the film Riley was fast asleep. She lay her head on his lap and he combed his fingers through her short blonde, brown hair.

He forgot about watching the movie, instead focusing his full attention on his sleeping girlfriend. He watched her peaceful expression, waiting to see the crease of her forehead or something to indicate a bad dream. She slept for at least an hour, only waking up when Max scooted passed her to use the toilet.

James glared at his friend for waking her up, his frown vanishing when Riley climbed onto his lap properly. She nestled her head in the crook of his neck, sighing exhaustedly as she re-closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep again.

"God could you get any closer?" Max laughed when he returned. This comment triggered many of their teammates to turn and look at them too.
"Aw" Thalia cooed, "you guys are so cute!"
"Is Riley sleeping?" Stephanie asked and James nodded, "she looks so comfortable"

Miss Kate looked up from her book and smiled at the couple. Occasionally she found it hard to comprehend how far they'd come. She remembered them as little baby ballet dancers who were absolutely not friends. Yet something changed one day and they had matured into a beautiful couple.

"When's the wedding?" Cierra teased, snapping a photograph of the pair.
James rolled his eyes, "yo send me that when we land"

The next hour passed slowly for James, who peacefully watched Riley nap in his arms. He listened to some music, mainly just to tune out the loud voices of other passengers on the aircraft.

"Ladies and gentlemen, with a tail wind we are set to arrive in Miami earlier than scheduled. Local time is 14:20 and you can expect warm weather" the pilot announced down the radio.

"Ri" James whispered, lowering his head next to her ear as best he could. She didn't stir so he gently kissed her temple and nudged her shoulder. "Baby?"
"Mmm?" Riley hummed halfheartedly, not raising her head out from where it was buried in his neck.

"We'll be landing soon babe, you'll have to get off my lap I'm afraid" he informed her, feeling suddenly cold when she sat up straighter on his lap and was no longer insulating his torso. She pouted, slipping off of his lap and onto her cold seat beside him.

Chuckling at her fatigued appearance, James licked his thumb and wiped a spot of smudged mascara from her her eye.

"You look beautiful" he told her, pressing a kiss to her nose before lowering the arm rest and dividing their seats.
Riley wrinkled her nose in response and stretched her arms out, yawning. "You're delusional if you think I look anything but disgusting right now" she laughed, flattening her hair down with her hands.

"Then I must be delusional" James shrugged, leaning over the arm rest to hover closer to her face, "because you're still the most beautiful girl in the world to me"
Riley cackled, ignoring the strange looks she received from surrounding passengers. She rolled her eyes and pecked his lips lightly, "thank you. You're pretty hot too you know"

Nodding confidently, James had to dodge a playful slap on his arm, "hey! I can't help it if I know about my devilishly handsome appearance. I do own mirrors"
Riley scoffed, opening her mouth to protest when James saw an opportunity to kiss her passionately.

They continued to kiss until they were jolted apart by a large bump. Looking out of the oval window, they both saw they had landed.
"We- we're here?" Riley blinked in surprise, "but I wasn't anxious about the landing and that's usually the worst part for me"
She looked at her boyfriend in shock and was met with a smug expression.

"Clearly I'm just awesome at distracting you" he smirked, unfastening his seatbelt despite the speakers reminding him not to. He raised the arm rest between them and engulfed Riley in a tight hug.
"I'm so proud of you" he whispered quietly in her ear, "I know how hard it was for you to get on this plane, but you did it and I couldn't be prouder"

Riley blushed, kissing his lips once more. "I couldn't have done it without you" she told him, believing every word she said. "I love you"