A limo picked Jade up from apartment the next morning around 5 am. She sighed, having helped the driver load her bags into the trunk, and laid her head back on the seat. She was so tired. She hadn't slept a wink the night before. She figured she could sleep on the plane ride, though. It was about an 8 hour flight after all. The limo pulled up in front of the airport and she looked out into the still slightly dark morning. She saw Rob and Joe walking toward the limo to grab her bags. She opened the door and the cold morning wind caught her hair. She huffed, and swiped it from her face. She smiled at the two men.
"Hey guys," she said. Joe smiled half-heartedly. Rob pulled one of her bags from the trunk.
"Morning," he muttered. So, she wasn't the only one who hated early mornings. She helped them lug her bags inside after smiling a 'thank you' at the limo driver. The warm interior of the building helped a lot. She went with Joe and Rob to check her bags and get her ticket. After doing so, she followed them to a small waiting area that the rest of Linkin Park was sitting in. She smiled at them all.
"Morning," she choked out. They all looked up from their respective palm-pilots, cell phones, and video games, and mumbled 'good morning' to her. She sighed and flopped down beside Mike who had his head tilted back, resting on the back of his uncomfortable plastic chair. He glanced over at her. She smirked.
"Morning, sunshine," he croaked. She laughed. He was so tired. She rested her elbow on the arm rest of the chair, and laid her cheek into her palm. A woman walked into the room. Chester looked up at her.
"We're ready for you," she smiled brightly, and everyone stood up to follow her. She took all of their boarding passes while they went through security like any normal person; taking off their shoes, putting all of their belongings into a box, walking through metal detectors. Their tickets were then taken and they walked out to board the plane. Once inside, they took their seats beside the people that were already there. Jade chuckled at them making such a fuss over the rockstars. She kept forgetting, however, that she was now one of them. They were treating her the exact same way. She sat down between Mike and Phoenix, buckled her seatbelt, and laid her head back on her seat. She looked over at Phoenix.
"I always hate it when planes take off," he said. She sniggered at him and the plane started to move. Meanwhile, a cool voice came over the intercom to welcome them, tell them about their trip, and go over the general rules of the flight. The guys of Linkin Park were obviously sick and tired of hearing these type of things as they were all putting on headphones and laying back their heads. Mike, on the ther hand, had his face plastered to the window, looking out as the plane got closer and closer to the runway. Jade sighed. She didn't like take-offs much either. Finally, the pilot threw the plane into overdrive and they started to drive down the runway, slowly at first and then faster and faster. Jade closed her eyes, and gripped her arm rests tightly. She didn't understand how Mike could be staring out the window the way that he was. After a few seconds of traveling at the high speed they were at, they titled upward, and lifted off the ground. Mike sighed and moved away from the window, laying his head back on his seat. Jade realized then what he had been doing. He had been savoring the last few seconds of being on the ground. She opened her eyes, and glanced over at him. He smiled at her.
Once they were at a high enough traveling level, Mike took out his laptop, and started to play solitaire quietly. Jade looked around and noticed that most of the others were already sleeping. Chester was snoring loudly. They hit turbulance a few times in the first 15 minutes, causing them all to bob from side-to-side, but never wake up. Jade yawned. Mike glanced over at her.
"You need a pillow?" he asked. She shook her head. She was now determined to stay awake. She wanted to watch him finish his game of solitaire. Soon, however, her head began to lull to the side, and she couldn't hold it up any longer. She leaned it onto the back of the seat, and when they hit turbulance again, it rolled onto Mike's shoulder. He chuckled, and gently placed the sweatshirt that he'd brought with him under her head. He finished his game of solitaire and closed his laptop. After a while, he started to get tired, and he laid his head on the window. The cool glass soothed him, and he closed his eyes. He listened to Jade breathe quietly on his shoulder, and drifted off.
A loud beeping from the intercom woke Jade from her slumber. She saw a dark sky, and realized that they must be landing. She couldn't believe how long she'd slept. She glanced over and saw Mike sitting up in his seat, reading a magazine, listening to his IPod. She lifted her head from what she realized was his shoulder. He looked over at her and smiled.
"Evening sleepy head," he smiled. She smiled at him and stretched.
"What time is it?" she asked. He smiled.
"In Germany or at home?" he looked at his watch. Jade smiled and buried her face in her sleeve.
"In Germany," she laughed. He chuckled.
"It's about 8:15," he told her. She nodded. The plane suddenly touched down on the runway, and came to a rolling stop. They looked around. The pilot pulled up to the airport, and once they were able, they got up, getting special treatment once more, before everyone else. After grabbing their bags, they were immediately ushered outside onto 2 large tour buses, where they were driven to their hotel. They all staggered inside, worn out from their plane ride. A man approached them, grinning from ear-to-ear. Mike smiled at him and walked up to him, shaking his hand and giving him a one-armed hugged. Jade wondered who this guy was. Mike smiled and brought him over to her.
"Jade, this is our tour manager, Mark Amato," he introduced him. Jade smiled, and shook his hand. Mark smiled at her.
"Evening, Jade," he said, "It's good to finally meet you." She smiled and nodded.
"It's good to meet you too," she said. Mike smiled and patted Jade on the back.
"She's just tired," he smiled, talking to Mark. Brad stood across the room, watching them talk. He couldn't help but notice the way that Mike had patted Jade's back, or the way that his hand had lingered there, rubbing soothing circles. Something was up, and Brad knew it. He didn't say anything to anyone else. Maybe he was just tired and frustrated from the trip. He sighed and grabbed his room key from the security guard and went toward the elevator. Phoenix, Joe, and Rob followed him, lugging their bags. Chester waited on Mike and Jade and took the next elevator.
"Get a good night's sleep," Mark called, "You've got one Hell of a day tomorrow." Mike laughed and the doors of the elevator closed. They rode to the 4th floor and stepped out, finding their respective rooms. Chester, who was carrying Jade's last bag, carried it into her room once the door was opened, and dropped it onto her bed.
"Thanks," Jade smiled. He nodded and walked out. Mike smiled at her.
"We're probably going to watch a movie," he said, "You want to come over and watch too?" Jade scruntched her nose.
"Not really," she laughed, "I kind of just want to take a shower, and head to bed. I'm really tired." He laughed.
"Even after sleeping for almost 8 hours on the plane?" he joked. She glared playfully at him.
"Yes, even afer that," she smiled. He laughed.
"Okay," he grinned, "See you tomorrow." He turned around and walked out, listening to the door close behind him. He was slightly disappointed that she hadn't wanted to watch a movie with them. It was interesting. Now that she was there in Germany with them, he felt a certain obligation to protect her, either that or there was some sort of pull within him to be around her all the time. He sighed. His feelings were starting to get complicated
