The Fate Game We Play

Chapter 3 - Fight or Flight

"All passengers, please be reminded to switch off all electronic devices and fasten your seat belts to prepare for takeoff thank you"

From the second i felt his presence next to me, I immediately turned my back towards him and faced the window. Plugging in my earphones, I put on heavy metal music on high volume. I was pretty sure he got the memo and was prepared to spend the next 9 hours alone peacefully with the sight of fluffy clouds and my not so peaceful music. However, I guess I hadn't thought my plan through because for obvious reasons I had to put it away. With my music gone, I was sure my sanity would be gone too. Not only was I confined to a small seat, but next to me was the man I detested to the core.

Well, it was not exactly his fault. The fact was that, over the years, no matter how hard we worked, it was not enough. The best facilities, coaches and funding all went to the men's team. We had to make adjustments just so that they could perform their best. Nico winning and getting a placing in the games just made it worse. All efforts were dedicated to him and no one even bothered about us anymore. We have worked hard and challenged our limits, hoping that that could all change with this life-defining games, for not only us but the generations to come.

Obviously, our little run in the cafe did not help his situation as well. At that time, I was familiar with the all star but just knew him as one of the promising stars. In the place we thrived in, as long as you were there, you were an upcoming top player, hence, it was natural for me to not memorise everyone's faces and names. Yet, till this day, I wish that I had remembered him sooner, I wished I could have skipped the incident as a whole.

"Hey, you need to fasten your seat belt" a voice reminded me. Startled, I took a moment to comprehend the situation and come back to reality. Immediately I fumbled to fasten my seat belts and continued to tap a beat on the arm rests.

Soon, we are flying in the air and I could not help but admire the white fluffy clouds which had turned into a cotton candy pink. With the warm sunset surrounding us, it was becoming quite an admirable atmosphere. A small part of me also wondered if it would burn our flight or cause a fire. As I pondered it's likely possibility and prepared myself to warn the cabin crew, a smiling stewardess handed me a set of headphones.

Thank goodness there was some form of entertainment to keep me occupied, otherwise I might have just jumped out the window due to boredom. Pleased, I clicked the little red button. I was almost about to jump in my seat as I thought about the exciting possibilities I could spend my precious time with.

Deciding to watch Captain America: Civil War, I plugged in my earphones and clicked play. Despite having watched it a million times before, I was ecstatic. I was almost about to jump in my seat just thinking about my favourite scenes. I hummed to the tune as the marvel logo appeared on the screen.

Despite being able to remember every note of the song, I could not help but notice, I wasn't hearing anything. Clicking on the sound button, I realised the volume was at 75%, which was pretty loud. Sighing, I moved it up to a 100% hoping my ears won't be blasted. However, even as the opening scene came on, there was no audio. It was like fate was playing with me, and I was obviously losing. How could I watch one of the epics of the cinematic universe as a silent movie. During the action scenes and the famous dialogues, I am suppose to be at the edge of my seat reacting to the sound effects but now all I could do was sulk at the corner.

After the first scene, I was completely restless. I knew that even if i was offered a million dollars there was no way I was going to finish the movie. With still a long journey ahead of me, I pondered my options hoping that a few hours would fly away just like that. Unfortunately, even after going through my list, which consisted of stare at the clouds and close your eyes to pretend to sleep, a few times, only a minute had passed.

Boredom was killing me would be an understatement. Every time I checked my watch, only a mere ten seconds would have passed. On rare occasions, a minute would have flown by, but hey who's counting. Just as I was planning my escape route off the plane, I heard a high pitched hello causing me to turn around. There I saw the air stewardess leaning down towards the mighty king. I swear she was doing it just so that she could give him a good view. With disgust, I turned away until I heard something particularly interesting.

"Hello Ma'am, my headphones happen to be spoilt, do you mind getting me another pair? Thank you." stated Nico as charming as ever. Just by hearing I could sense he had his signature smirk on, ready to dazzle anyone in its way.

"Of course!" chirped the air stewardess, oblivious to the spell he casted on her.

Okay maybe I was being a tad dramatic but I swear there was a high possibility it may have truly happened. Anyways, I realised this was my way out of my boring situation. Immediately, I decided to pitch in as well and asked for one. The stewardess simply nodded and walked away. Pleased with myself and excited to continue my to-be-epic marathon, I turned back to the screen. Within a minute the air stewardess returned. Etching with glee, I looked at her as she held out one set of headphones.

"I'm so sorry, we ran out of headphones. We only have a pair of earphones. I was hoping you could work it out. Once again, I'm so sorry!" she stated sympathetically and walked away.

My dreams were crushed. I had one wish, one plan, was it that hard to execute. With the pair of earphones in his hands, I thought of a plan to get him to give it up. After much thought and considering he was staring at me, I decided to play the sweet girl card and politely asked for it.

"Throughout the entire journey till now, you wouldn't even look my way. Even when I called you many times at the start, you simply ignored me. Even after I helped you with your bag, you didn't even say anything and simply went to your seat. Yet, now you expect me to totally give up my entertainment even though I was the one who asked for it and you just pitched in." he said with exasperation and a look of haha-what-you-gonna-do-now.

Hmm, looks like I had been a bit rude, but it wasn't my fault, he totally deserved it. Well, I couldn't tell him that, I needed those earphones. Somehow I had to get them without hurting my ego. Luckily, I was a good actress. " Okay fine, I'm sorry. Can you be the bigger person here?" I said with utmost sincerity and humility or so I hoped.

"Apology accepted. As the bigger person, I'm not totally going to give up free movie time, but I am open to sharing if you are" he replied. I was not okay with the arrangement, but what other choice did I have.

Reluctantly, I asked him if I could choose the movie. He agreed but said that giving me full control would be unfair and hence, asked me to close my eyes and pick one. Rolling my eyes at his childishness, I picked one and asked him what it was with my eyes still closed.

"Fault in Our Stars. I didn't pin you out to be a rom-com kind of girl. But hey, everyone has a secret side to them."

Could this journey get any worse. The last thing I needed at that moment was cheesy lines and unrealistic romances. All I wanted to do was indulge in some thrillers or action movies and have a good time. "I'm not" I muttered and plugged in the earphone as he clicked play.

Author's Note

Hello everyone!!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, do comment and vote :)) I know that the chapter doesn't have like a interesting ending, that's why I have also posted the next chapter along with it. So do continue reading because I promise it would be worth it. Seriously, till now is like the groundwork but from now on the real story begins so I hope you like it!! Let me know if y'all have any thoughts! Have a great week ahead!

With love, 

foodbourne  💕