Fiadh

Chapter 1: airport

'Will you get up we are going to be late for our flight you tart!' I jolt awake after my sister Eithne (enya) shakes me like an actimel and sprints out the door of my room nearly tripping over my half open suitcase and backpack.

'I'm up, I'm up,' I shout back, I sit up straight in my bed drinking in the last time i will wake up in my own bed. I loosen the bobbin out of my hair and look out the window, typical, its raining in Ireland, who would have thought?

'Will you get out of bed we are a half an hour behind schedule!' Eithne shouts at me, as she pokes her head around my bedroom door frame her mouth covered in foaming toothpaste.

'You look like you have rabies,' our younger sister Sadbh laughs.

Eithne rolls her eyes and walks down the hall to the bathroom. I hear the door slam and a very annoyed sigh come from the main bathroom as the immersion starts running.

I roll out of my bed to get a ready for the airport. It's only 5:45 I don't know why Eithne is getting so upset we only live half an hour from the airport and the plane doesn't leave for four hours.

My bag is already packed and ready to go but i cant find my old camera. I was always taking pictures on this old kodak camera but i never got them developed. I wanted to before i left for Chicago but never had time. It must be over five years old. I always loved photography but since i got my Zikon camera I forgot about my old Kodak.

'Oh there it is!' I find it on the top shelf of my wardrobe covered in dust, 'the memories stored inside this old box must be endless' i think to myself as I pack it away carefully in my north face backpack.

'Passport Dad,' I say as I hand him his maroon passport which had his driver's license peering out of the top like a bookmark.

'Ah great job, I knew I was forgetting something,' he laughs as he pats his jeans and coat pockets to make sure he has everything.

My mam sees him checking for everything so naturally she puts her handbag up on the kitchen counter to look and make sure she has everything aswell. Practically dumping everything onto the counter. She seems satisfied that she has everything and then yells at Eithne to hurry up, typical, she always takes the longest. First one up last one out.

Sadbh comes running back into the house 'the taxi man is getting impatient, will you hurry up!'

'Everyone have everything they need,' dad practically says to himself as all of us are already outside in the taxi by the time realises he is the only one left in the house. He locks the door and knocks on the old oak frame before jumping in the front beside the driver.

I look up at the place i spent the last fifteen years of my life in as the taxi pulls out of the lane. As we drive down the autumn leaf covered streets through the rain and hail. Just one day of good weather is too much too ask in this country.

We pass my secondary school, well I suppose it isn't anymore. 7 a.m. most of the teenagers in this town are only getting out of bed now, while I'm getting ready to leave the country. I continue to look our the window with my air pods in, reminiscing in the last few moments here at home.

The van comes to a sudden stop, I look up shocked to see that we are at the airport already. We had just passed the school.

But I looked at my apple watch that I had gotten for my birthday and see that it was half seven already. We lifted our suitcases out of the boot of the van, each of us only took one carry on bag with us as we had sent majority of our belongings to Chicago a week or so ago so they would be in the house by the time we reached the states.

I highly doubt that it's going to go that smoothly though, the last time I trusted anyone but myself to do something important I lost a county championship final.

Learned my lesson after that one.

I walked up to the security line which was relatively short, which was great considering that you could be standing in line for 45 minutes some days. 'I wish people could just abide by the law for once, we're in a rush,' Eithne complains as a man is patted down because the metal detector buzzed so loud you could swear there was a steel sheet stuffed up his t-shirt.

Turns out he had about twenty piercings instead, less exciting, but cool to look at. He had six in both ears and had his eyebrows, tongue and lips pierced and god knows what else.

It was finally my turn, I threw my belongings into the grey box and lifted my suitcase onto the conveyor belt. I took off my hoodie my team jersey riding up my back a little I pulled it down swiftly placing my hoodie in the box I turned around to spot some guy in the queue eyeing me. I glared at him and his eyes wandered back to my face, he realised he was caught and went red in the face. I smiled to myself, perv. "Fiadh !" Eithne whisper shouted my name the angry look in her face telling me to get a move on.

How does she whisper and shout at the same time, thats just freaky.

I put my phone in the box and walked through the metals detector. Silence. The woman that was operating the machine smiled at me and told me to go on.

I gathered all my belongings. Mainly stuffing them into my backpack that I had brought with me. I turned quickly and headed down the hallway, minding my own business, keeping my eyes either straight or on the floor. I hate it when you make eye contact with a random person and don't know whether to look away or maintain contact. So I have come to the conclusion of just avoiding contact with everyone. Should work okay, right?

"Hey you!"

I kept walking along the halls, mam said that she and dad were going to the duty free because thanks to Eithne, we have two hours before our flight leaves. (Note the sarcasm)

"Hey!" I feel a tap on my shoulder, "I was calling you." I turned around to see this human wall in front of me, I took a step back to see him properly. It's tough being a wall in front of me, I'm not exactly short. Standing a little over five foot ten. That's the main reason I play basketball, because the hoops not that far away. But this man was huge, he was at least six five, he looked around my age. He was holding something in his right hand. We stood there looking at eachother for about thirty seconds, but it felt like forever.

I felt like it was my turn to say something but I was kind of dumbfounded, I swallowed looking up at the boy in front of me, his dark blue eyes staring into me, "sorry I didn't realise."

"It's fine," he says his lips tightening into a thin smile, "I was just trying to give you this you left it in the security box," he handed me my songbook.

"Oh my god, I didn't even realise I left it behind, thank you so much you have no idea how much this book means to me," I splutter. I was smiling like an idiot in front of this man who probably thought I was delusional the way I was blubbering on.

"Hey don't worry about it," he was smiling properly now, god he was handsome.

Then I had a great idea. NOT. But it was too late. My mouth already moving by the time I realised what I was saying. "No there has to be some way I can repay you, anything, literally anything. I'll buy you some of the duty free's overpriced coffee." You'll do what now!? I was mentally hitting myself in the face. I just embarrassed myself in front of this gorgeous stranger.

He looked at me his eyes lighting up but only for a split second, if I had have blinked I would have missed it. He looked around the airport looking up at the humongous clock to his right. He smiled his sharp jaw line tightening. He could slice air with how sharp it was.

"Anything, huh?"
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A/N: how was the first chapter

If you liked it please vote.

If there were any mistakes don't be afraid to point them out.

Thanks,
Kellie.