Getting Under Nathan

33: "Life's so unfair sometimes."

Chapter 33 - "Life's so unfair sometimes."

**Dedicated to pahirulzz, not only because we're both in very similar situations with regards to our boyfriends, but also because she left two lovely comments on the last chapter about the frequency of my updates and how she doesn't mind re-reading the last few chapters if it's been a while! **

Gatwick was busy. It made me realise that more people must go away for Christmas than I thought. Maybe I just assumed that most people would stay at home with their families rather than jet off somewhere else.

"Yes, but have you considered that these people might be in the same situation as us?" Nathan said after I'd voiced this thought out loud to him whilst queuing to go through security.

"What? Everyone in this lounge?" I asked incredulously.

Nathan shrugged. "Lots of people have relatives abroad. Some people just prefer to spend Christmas abroad. Some people might even be going to Australia for it so they can soak up a bit of sun!"

I pulled a face at that. "No way. A sunny Christmas is just wrong. Christmas is about snow and keeping warm by the fire. Think about all the Christmas cards! A stereotypical Christmas card is all about snow."

"Well maybe Australian Christmas cards are different," Nathan said with an amused smile.

"What? Beaches and sunshine?"

"Who knows? Maybe you'll have to ask one."

I'd been on planes plenty of times, but I was always a little bit anxious before passing through the metal detector. I was definitely one of those people who took off absolutely anything that could activate the machine, like shoes, hairclips and even jewellery. I went through first, breathing a sigh of relief when it didn't beep.

As I waited for my bag to pass through the x-ray machine, I watched as Nathan got pulled over by the security men to be searched. He stood there as still as a statue, completely unfazed, as they patted him down. I also noticed that his bag was redirected down the opposite conveyer belt to mine, out of our reach.

Nathan sighed to himself quietly as he noticed this, but he didn't seem concerned. His bag was emptied out and searched, and his mobile phone scanned.

"It's just a random security check," the man explained.

Maybe it was a male thing, but Nathan stood there so calmly and patiently whilst all this was going on. If it had been me, I'd have been panicking and wondering whether they were going to let me on the plane.

"Enjoy your flight," the man said eventually, pushing Nathan's stuff back towards him.

"You seem very calm," I commented after Nathan had packed his back and we were heading towards the departure lounge.

"No such thing as a random security check," Nathan said to me afterwards.

"What do you mean?"

"I get randomly searched every time I go through security," he said simply. "And if they're randomly searching the same person, then it becomes apparent that it's not random."

"So why do they always search you? You don't exactly look dodgy."

"Criminal record. They probably think I'm smuggling drugs." Then he shot me a twisted smile to keep it light-hearted.

I smiled back but it still bothered me. Nathan had changed so much that it was easy to forget he'd had such a dark past. I often forgot he'd taken drugs, had run-ins with the police and earned himself a criminal record. If I thought about it too much, then it did bother me. But I'd learned not to think about it too much. Everyone had a past. Nathan had changed, and that was the important thing. He wasn't that person anymore.