Wish I Knew You Sooner

chapter nine

Harry's P.O.V

July 11, 2020

I'm rushing out of the plane gate, and I have my team behind me. Mitch is by my side, and Sarah is right next to him. I swear if we miss this flight, I'm blaming Mitch, because he made us late this morning. I know that being late to the first flight has nothing to do with being late to this one, but I'm still going to blame him.

He had to stop for starbucks before heading to LAX, which made us all late to the ATL flight, which led us to where we are now, so I WILL blame him.

Running across the giant Atlanta airport will forever be a maze to me, but we finally find the gate that leads to our flight. Right as they are about to close the doors, I run up and slam my ticket on the desk. I instantly feel bad for startling the woman, so I apologize out of instinct.

"I'm so sorry, we had a connecting flight, but we are here." I say to the nice flight attendant lady. I am still breathing heavily between every few words. She gave us all a sympathetic smile, and let us through the almost closed doors. Relief washed over me, "Thank you so much again!" I said back to her as we walked down the hallway leading to the plane doors. I checked my plane seat, and nearly let out a groan when I noticed that I was all the way in the back. I hate being in the back, since those are the last people to leave the plane. Stress has been building up lately, and the slightest things are starting to irritate me easier. I head back there, and notice a blonde girl, sitting in my seat.

"Excuse me... I think you're in my seat." I inform the young woman. She looks up at me, with the most beautiful blue eyes, with a look of shock behind them.

"o- oh.. i'm sorry, i thought I was going to be sitting alone.."she stammered out. She seemed flustered by my quick confrontation. "I just get nervous sitting on the aisle seat." She has a southern accent that gives off an act of innocence.

I let her know that she can stay there, but I may have to peak around her. I have a slight fear of airplanes, mainly for when they take off, but I'd rather her feel safe, considering that she seems young. I introduce myself, trying to be a friendly seat neighbor for this long ride. I'm glad that I was placed with someone who looks to be around my age, so we don't have to sit through the awkwardness that arises sometimes.

"My name is Oakland, Oakland Pierce." She lets me know in her sweet southern tone. I'm charmed, and sense that she is fine with light conversation, which is a relief.

"Oakland, like the city?" I asked. I remember driving through that city once while trying to get to San Francisco, so it was weird to hear the name. She nods, and tells me about the origin of her name. Her big blue eyes are locked on mine, and I'm captivated by her presence.

"Well, that is a beautiful name for a beautiful girl." I tell her. I think that if you see something or like something about someone, and it could possibly make their day, then you should tell them. To treat people how you would want to be treated. With kindness.

She smirked at my words, and looked down at her fiddling hands. The flusteredness washed over her makes me smile. She gave me a small 'thank you', and I caught myself staring at her profile for a little too long. I reached down and pulled out my laptop, opening it up to my music editor. I wanted to let out a sigh, since the writing process has been a little harder than expected. Good thing we are on the way to Jamaica. I don't want to deal with this right now, so I looked over at her screen, seeing that she was watching something. Maybe talking to her could take my mind off of my stress. I asked what she was watching, since it seemed to be a movie.

"Oh, it's some random movie called After. My sister and I like to hate-watch teen romance movies, since we know that it isn't really like that in real life." she tells me. I've never heard of the movie, but it sounds weird. I laugh at the term she used. she has a goofy feel to her, and I am glad I can spend this time with her, instead of being consumed by my thoughts.