In Denial | Alex Turner

XIX

I was woken up by the fifth alarm I had set on my phone the night before. I knew I would be late if I also snoozed that one, so I just decided to throw myself off the bed.

The time was already 4am and I had to get ready in less than 30 minutes so we could drive to the JFK airport on time and not lose our flight.

I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face before realising I was going to be late. I rushed outside the bathroom with music still playing on my phone from inside the bathroom. I threw a black button-up shirt and a pair of of beige trousers on before grabbing my gold earrings and rings, wearing them in a rush. 

I applied some mascara and my mocha lipstick before I straightened my hair. I made sure to unplug the straightener before leaving the bathroom because I had once forgotten to do so and flied all over to Paris. Let's just say that apartment doesn't exist anymore...

My phone rang and I rushed over to the bathroom to pick it up.

"Jamie, hey!" I picked up the phone as I wore my pair of Mary Jane heels. I knew they weren't exactly the best option for travelling, but they looked good with my outfit.

"'Ello, love. Al is on his way to pick ya up," I could hear cars driving up and down the street. I could also identify Nick's and Matt's voices as they fought over who would sit on the passenger's seat.

"Weren't plannin' on goin' there with two cars but me van can't fit more than six people," he added before I heard him yell a loud 'shut your arses up' to the guys fighting.

"It's okay, Jamie," I said between laughs. I then heard a car honking outside my house. "Alright, I think Alex's here. I'll see you at the airport," and with that, I hung up on Jamie, making my way to my living room, where my suitcases were placed at.

I grabbed my beige knee-length coat and my black backpack in a rush, not wanting to make Alex wait. The idea of driving 45 minutes with him intrigued me and made me more excited than I already was.

I froze as I went to pick up my brown round glasses off the table. After thinking about it for a couple of seconds, I ended up picking Alex's black aviators and leaving my old pair of Ray-Bans behind.

"Mornin', love," he greeted me with his usual smirk. He was waiting outside the car with his hands on his hips.

"Morning," I replied cheerfully. I watched him open the trunk and I threw my black suitcases inside.

"Ya ready for LA?" he shut the trunk closed and walked towards the driver's door.

I nodded eagerly before throwing my coat and backpack on the backseats. I got in the car where Alex was already starting the engine and pulled his pair of shades down from my hair. 

"I knew I had forgotten 'em somewhere," he shook his head with a fine line formed on his lips.

"I like them. Not yours anymore," I smirked and directed my gaze to him.

"I'm very much fine with that, darlin'," he replied honestly and I could see his eyes sparkle behind his second pair of aviators.

"How many do you even have?" I asked with a laugh.

"A whole fucken collection," he chuckled as he started the car, driving at a normal speed.

"Would love to steal some of them, then," I redirected my gaze outside the window, where I could see the busy streets and the hundreds of cars passing by.

It was a busy Sunday and I was glad I'd leave for a while. Not being able to travel anywhere due to the lack of money made it hard for me, considering I loved travelling more than I loved myself.

"You've already stolen two t-shirts, don't think I've forgotten," he brought his index finger up and shook it next to my face. I rolled my eyes.

-

"What took you two so long?" Matt rolled his eyes as soon as he saw us entering the building. 

"Traffic," I groaned. Traffic had really  killed the whole mood, if I'm being honest, but walking in the airport fixed it immediately.

"We 'ave to board soon. The flight's leavin' in 20 minutes," Jamie pointed at the big board showing all the flights. 

The boarding was hard, considering that everyone was boarding last minute. We almost lost each other at our attempt to squeeze through everyone.

We finally reached our seats and everyone sat down. Everyone except for me who as soon as I was about to sit, Nick nudged my shoulder.

"You can't just let me rest, can you?" I hissed through gritted teeth. He then pointed at Elle sitting next to me and I got the message. "Fine, just tell me where you're seated or whatever," I rolled my eyes, grabbing the ticket off his hands. 

I walked over to the seat Nick had pointed at and found a familiar figure looking out the window.

"Didn't get to fight with you over the window," I dramatically sighed and collapsed on the seat next to the dark-haired man.

"What 'appened to Nick?" he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Not happy to see me? Fine," I started raising from my seat but he grabbed my wrist, pulling me back down. 

"I'm delighted to see you, darlin'," he grinned at me and softened his grip around my wrist.

"You better, because you're stuck with me for the next six hours and twenty minutes," I smirked, placing the black aviators on my hair.

"Sounds fine to me, love," he winked, earning an eye roll from me so I could hide my almost-rosy cheeks.

"I like what you're wearin'," he smirked, looking at me up and down. "Yer sure you're not going to hurt yer feet with these?" he pointed at my shoes and I laughed.

"I'm sure I will hurt them, Alexander, but beauty is pain," I shook my head with a chuckle. He stared at me with a warm smile.

"Where is Miles, by the way?" I asked after we had both fell silent for some minutes.

"He's meetin' us there tomorrow. He couldn't make it today," he informed uninterested in the conversation. He was too focused in the landscape laid in front of his eyes. It was beautiful, I'm not blaming him.

"Does stuff like this ever inspire you?" I asked, refering to the landscape.

"All the time," he answered honestly before turning his head around, facing me. His eyes were soft and tired and his smile was sweet.

"You're tired," I pointed out. "Try getting some sleep."

"Only if you will too. I don't want to leave yer alone for the next six hours," he put his right hand on my left one and I smiled.

"Bold of you to assume I wouldn't anyway," I laughed, earning a smirk from him. 

And with that, we fell asleep with our warm fingers intewrined. He gave me a strong sense of safety and I hated to admit it. So I didn't. I denied it.