Airplane

"Here?" I pointed to two empty seats in row sixteen.

"Yup, those are ours, Babe." Taylor said cheerfully. I was delighted to see that one of them was near a window. Unfortunately, I was unable to happily place my butt cheeks in that seat, for an extremely large woman was blocking my path. Now, when I say large, I don't mean overweight- the women also looked as if she could simultaneously bench press both me and Taylor. Her wide shoulders bulging tensely, she was busy struggling to put an extremely large suitcase into the compartment over our seats, without much luck. Three other suitcases were stuck in our seat aisle as well.

She might as well get a square peg and try to cram it into a round hole, she'll have more luck than getting all of those in that little space.

"Can you ask her to move, please?" I whispered over my shoulder to Taylor.

"You ask her, she's right in front of you!" He hissed back at me with a look of annoyance on his face.

"Hey, I'd like to get to my seat before the plane takes off, if that's ok." Someone yelled from behind us in an irritated voice. Eesh, travelers this time of year don't seem to have very much holiday cheer, do they?

"Umm.. Excuse us." I lightly tapped the woman on her shoulder. Her arm muscle felt as hard as a rock and I swallowed.

"What?" She glanced over at her shoulder and snapped at me. I jumped back at the harshness in her voice.

"Ohhh... " I found my voice again. "These are our seats right here. Would you mind moving a little so we can sit down?"

"Yeah, yeah." She obliged. "Hurry up."

"Taylor?" I asked him in a sweet-sounding voice, maneuvering my way around the lady's suitcases and pausing in front of the first seat. "May I please have the window seat?"

"Yes, just sit down already!" He exclaimed.

"Oh! Sorry." My hand flew up to my mouth and I laughed, sliding over two more seats and plunking down in front of the window. I have to say, coach seats certainly aren't the leather-covered lazy boys we'd passed in first class. It felt like the backbone of mine was made of cardboard, as with the cushions as I was nearly launched back out of the seat after sitting down on it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, Maggie." Taylor said as he sat next to me. "It's just that I was blocking everyone's way when you stopped. The last thing we need here is a hostile mob situation. "

"That's ok." I replied. "Can you grab me a pillow, by any chance?"

"Never happy with what you have, are you?" He asked sarcastically, standing up again.

"Nope."

"Geez.." He winked at me, turned around, and sighed at the sight in front of him. Although the small crowd behind us had passed, the woman had gone back to her wrestling, now with her second suitcase. She'd gotten the first one in though. That must be some form of progress.

"Excuse me." I never felt prouder of my boyfriend than when he spoke firmly, reaching past her and grabbing a pillow from the overheard compartment like he did. I guess that's not saying much about our relationship, but hey, it's the small things that make the big difference.

"Thank you, sweeti-" I started to say when I was suddenly in the face attacked by a pillow. "Ahh-mumph. Taaywuh, ah keen buh-reeve!"

"What?" Laughing, Taylor removed the pillow from its suffocating position over my mouth.

"I said, I couldn't breathe." I stuck my tongue out at him. "Now, just give me the damn pillow."

"Well, someone's ungrateful now." He handed it over to me.

"You want gratitude?" I asked him warily, my eyes twinkling and mouth pulling into a wicked grin.

"Uhh.. I'm not sure anymore." He admitted with caution. I couldn't blame him for being wary.

"Tough." I grabbed his shirt collar roughly with both hands, pulling him down quickly to me and planting a firm kiss on his lips, holding him tightly for a few seconds. I also couldn't blame the stunned look on his face when I finally pulled away for some oxygen and smiled, wiping the edge of my lips free of smudged lipstick. After glancing at his face, still frozen with shock, I burst out laughing.

"I uhh... wow." He exhaled loudly. "I'm honestly not sure if I should be scared of you or not after that."

"What are you honestly feeling though, Taylor?" I asked, smiling coyly up at him.

"Incredibly happy." He replied quickly with a grin of his own. "Oh.. was that outloud?"

"You goof." I punched him lightly in the middle of his chest with my fist. "While you're still standing, would you mind sticking my coat up in the compartment?"

"Now there's the Maggie I know and love," his face cracked a grin as he took my coat in his hands. After one quick glance at the woman, who nearly whacked him in the head while lifting the third suitcase into the compartment, he shook his head and threw it back at me.

"Not a chance." He reported. "There isn't an inch of free space left up there."

"You're kidding!" I hissed at him. "That's so not fair."

"It's fine. Just hold your coat."

"Who does she think she is anyway?" I glared at her over Taylor's shoulder as I watched the woman move to the compartment across the aisle from ours. "Like ours wasn't big enough."

"I said it's fine. Just forget about it and relax for once, Babe."

"Relax?" I asked him incredulously. "She's got more luggage here than I'd need for an entire month and I certainly didn't bring any suitcases of mine on board."

"And I, among others, appreciate that." He rolled his eyes. "Seriously, don't worry about it. There's one of them on every flight."

"One of them?" I echoed his words.

"Yeah.. People who don't want to go down to the baggage claim area so they carry all their luggage on board."

"Can she do that?" Didn't seem fair to me.

"Technically no, but who's going to stop her? She could level a small city. King Kong's finally met his match." I giggled at his response and settled back in my seat. But I wouldn't remain still for much longer, for I found another source of amusement.

"Taylor, look!" I pointed to the ceiling panel above our heads.

"What?" He asked with frustration as he tried to settle in the seat next to me.

"We have our own air conditioning." I twisted a nozzle above me and delighted in the cool stream of air that hit me right between the eyes, blinking furiously when it dried them out.

"Yes.." He said slowly, mocking my excitement. "And we have lights too. Ooh, look, they turn on when we push the button!"

"Shut up." I replied, aiming the air right into his face. Just for fun, I turned the other two jets on and aimed them at him.

"Now cut that out." He made a face at me and reached up to turn them off. As soon as he did, I reached up and turned them all back on again, giggling at his obvious frustration.

"Maggie.." He warned me. "You're loosing all window seat privileges if you touch those again."

"You are no fun. None what-so-ever." I pretended to pout, but reached up and turned them off for him.

"Well, you are are annoying the living daylights out of me." Before I could answer 'Good,' I was suddenly struck with the urge to go to the bathroom. As in, the can't-wait-have-to-go-now kind.

"Taylor, stand up." I commanded, rising to my feet.

"What now?" He looked up at me in exasperation.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"Wonderful timing." He grumbled as the flight attendants began reviewing the safety procedures. "You better hurry, we're taking off soon."

"I will." I promised. "Just move so I can go!"

"Some people.." He muttered in my ear, smacking my backside lightly as I brushed past him. I cast a warning glare over my shoulder at him and nearly tripped over someone, slamming into them and crying internally as the man's suitcase flew from his hands and landed on the tip of my toes. As I bit my lip to prevent a string of profanity I knew I'd regret an instant after the words flew from my mouth, I sighed as I heard Taylor laughing behind me. At least one of us was amused.

"Umm.." I stared at the outside of the bathroom door, trying to figure out how to open the darn thing. There didn't seem to be any handle on the front of it. Running my fingers over the panel, I pushed in the right side and sighed with relief as the door popped open. However, the bathroom certainly wasn't empty.

"Excuse me!" The woman from earlier huffed at me, squatting on the toilet in all her glory. My face nearly turned purple when I recognized her.

"I-i'm so sorry." I fought the irresistible urge to laugh.

"Fine. Just shut the door!" She snapped at me.

"Oh-sorry." I quickly slammed the door in front of me and stood with my mouth covered and shoulders shaking from repressed laughter. Didn't help that the plane had started wobbling back and forth as we casually backed out of the terminal. Fortunately, the stall across from hers became vacant, I realized as the door swung open and hit me in the backside, smashing my body into the other stall's door.

As If I'm not flat-chested enough.

"Oh, sorry." A little boy replied cheerfully as he brushed past me and returned to his seat. I seized the moment and grabbed the bathroom door as it swung itself closed and stepped inside.

"Man.. is it crowded in here." I mumbled as my elbow smacked against the back wall. The entire area had to be no more than two fee square, consisting of a sink and a toilet, which..

Does that thing have any water it in? I stared down into the toilet with fascination. How am I supposed to use it then?

"As long as it flushes, that's fine with me." I said, tipping sideways as the plane turned. Testing the handle, I was relieved when I saw blue-stained water quickly flush through the toilet and completely empty out of the bowl. The entire process was quite odd, I assure you, occurring in under two seconds.

"Whatever." I pulled my jeans down and sat down. I couldn't help but notice, during my "business," that the plane had started passing over quite a few bumps, and I lurched to the side again as it felt like we were picking up a bit of speed. I could only pray that my current situation wouldn't get messy -- literally.

"Flight attendant please prepare for takeoff." I heard faintly through the bathroom door.

Oh shit.

"Hurry up, Maggie." I scolded myself as I fumbled with the button on my jeans. Lucky me, the damn zipper had also gotten stuck in the bottom of the line beyond the reach of my fingers. After multiple swear words escaped from my mouth, I finally freed the trapped zipper and quickly zipped up my pants. I quickly washed my hands, flushed the toilet, and pushed the door to open it. Nothing happened.

What the hell.. I pushed harder on the door. Still nothing.

"Ahh!" I pounded heavily on the door. To my relief, one of the flight attendants knocked on the door to my rescue.

"It locks automatically." I heard her say. "You have to unlock it from the inside. The metal lever on the left."

"Oh.." My face turned crimson-colored. Suddenly I wasn't so sure if I wanted to come out of the bathroom anymore, out of sheer embarrassment.

"Ohmygosh." I squealed loudly as the entire cabin began to rumbled and shake as the engines started up. Images of Beavis and Butthead soaring back into the flight attendant's area flashed into my mind as I quickly stumbled my way back to my seat from the little bathroom adventure.

"There you are." Taylor sighed at me as I squeezed over him. "I was afraid you might spend the whole flight back there."

"Not the whole flight, just most of the take-off." I grinned at him. He just sighed again, shook his head, and reached into the compartment on the back of the seat in front of him. Taking out a magazine, he settled back in his seat and started thumbing through the pages. A few seconds later, he glanced up at me and frowned. I smiled faintly.

"What happened?" He asked, a look of mock concern in his eyes.

"Umm.. nothing. Why?"

"Your face is all flushed."

"Oh, that's from running back to our seats. I was worried that I wouldn't make it back in time." I half-lied.

"As long as you're all right." He raised his eyebrows and patted my shoulder softly, his voice soaked with mock sincerity before adding in a mutter,

"And not on your period. The last thing I need is you climbing over me every five minutes to change a freakin' pad."

"What?" I stared at his bluntness.

"I'm serious. It is the year two thousand: just pop a tampon in there already. They last like six hours."

"Just pop a tampon in there? Jordan Taylor.. I'm so afraid of you right now. How come you know so much about this.. stuff?" Funny that the subject was uncomfortable for me and he felt free as a bird to talk about it.

"I have three younger sisters, one of whom is entering the realm of puberty. Trust me, it's the newest 'thing' for Jess to discuss, even with us guys. Comes with the territory of having girlfriends too, I guess." He shrugged.

"I remember that phase.." I smiled as my voice trailed into a memory before correcting myself. "My first period, not about having girlfriends."

"Well, I'd hope that you've never had a girlfriend. Otherwise we need to have a completely different discussion." I stared at him momentarily with the realization that he didn't know about Mia. The corners of my mouth twitched upward in a knowing smile but I decided a change of subject was more appropriate:

"Hey, did you know that I got my first period in front of you?" I asked.

"You did?" Taylor frowned, trying to remember. He obviously didn't, for the crease never left his forehead.

"The afternoon Sarah, Tammy, and I tried out for cheerleading."

"Oh, I remember." Taylor moaned. "We nearly got mobbed by cheerleaders that day."

"Hey, I don't remember hearing any complaints from you guys." I grinned.

"Can you blame us? Wait.. was that outloud too?"

"You dork." I lightly slapped his arm.

"Well, I got the best one of them." He laughed, punching me roughly on the shoulder.

"Gee, thanks." I turned my head to speak into his ear in a low voice. "Hey, did you know that the toilets on the plane don't have any water in them?"

Taylor looked at me blankly for a second, before replying,

"I never really noticed, but now I guess now I'll always check for that in the future, thanks."

"Sorry, it just seemed weird to me, that's all." I defended myself.

"No it's not." He rolled his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Mags. We're in an airplane. Water in a toilet would really make a mess in the bathrooms when we hit turbulence." He rolled up his magazine and bonked me lightly in the forehead with it.

"Oh..." was all I could reply, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid. "That makes sense."

"Why don't you just look out the window or something. You're the one who bugged me about the seat, remember?" He reminded me.

"Ok, ok." I retorted quickly, sticking my tongue out at him again. As soon as I glanced out the window, I gasped with surprise. My eyes were glued to the tiny menagerie of twinkling lights below. It was amazing, during our conversation I hadn't noticed us finally taking off into the air. With my cheek pressed against the window I started, unblinkingly, at the tiny festival of Christmas lights below.

Then, suddenly, dark shadows wisped over the view of Tulsa as we ascended higher into the cloud layer. Just as quickly, we were thrust into the clear navy air, illuminated stars now twinkling around us.

"Taylor," I breathed, tapping his arm and pointing out the window. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Uh-huh." He spoke distractedly, glancing up where I was pointing for a fleeting moment, then turned his attention back to the magazine he was still flipping through. Obviously, he wasn't as impressed by the sight as I was. Feeling a little depressed about his lack of enthusiasm, I chose to ignore my apathetic boyfriend and curled up against the window, resting my head against my arm. After staring outside for a moment, I suddenly found my eyelids drooping slowly, my vision blurring. It wasn't longer than a few seconds later before I fell asleep peacefully. Too bad it wouldn't last.

"Mmm..." I groaned slightly in my sleep. Although it felt like I was sleeping soundly, the nightmare I was having seemed anything but peaceful.

"Where the hell am I!?" I screamed loudly at the darkness that surrounded me. Again with the terrible dream.

"Maggie..." That voice trailed around me, again carried on wisps of fog. At least, I thought it was fog, as it circled around my ankles and snaked across my body. It wasn't until I inhaled some of it did I realize it was smoke. Coughing and choking as it swirled around my face, I suddenly felt panicked, like a trapped animal.

"Maggie.." The voice called to me again. This time I felt myself being lifted off my feet and thrust forward, until I slammed into someone else, a figure blackened from view.

"You're such a beautiful little bitch, Maggie." My breathe leaped down the back of my throat at those words.

No.. not again.

"No!" I struggled to move away but the figure reached out and grabbed me roughly by the shoulders. My body frozen with fear, I raised my eyes to recognize Justin. His dark eyes burned down at me, causing me to shake uncontrollably.

"Maggie.." He shook my shoulders roughly. ".. Do you want peanuts or pretzels?"

"No! Leave me alone!" I felt tears pricking my eyelids and struggled to break free again.

"Maggie.. Maggie, wake up." Taylor said forcefully, his cheeks blushing at my loud outbursts.

This is getting embarrassing, he thought, as he looked apologetically to the flight attendants standing over him and staring rudely at us. He wasn't even going to glance around the cabin to see who else was staring, guessing that it was pretty much everyone.

"No.." I whimpered softly, a lone tear sliding down my cheek.

"Maggie." He shook my shoulders violently. Instantly, my eyelids flipped open and I gasped loudly.

"What!?"

"Finally. Geez, what's wrong with you?" Taylor looked at me.

"I.. I don't know." I lifted my fingertips to my forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Glancing around, I noticed everyone had their full attention focused in our direction.

"Taylor.." I whispered in his ear. "Why is everyone staring at us?"

"Because you were screaming like an idiot." He replied in a whisper, leaning forward and kissing the tip of my nose softly.

"Now.. Question of the day, do you want peanuts or pretzels?" He asked with a smile.

"Huh?"

"Peanuts or pretzels, Ma'am?" The flight attendant, in all her bleached blonde glory, asked me impatiently.

"Oh!" I smiled apologetically. "Pretzels please."

"Here you are." She whipped a package over to me and pushed her beverage cart past our seats with a huff.

"I ordered you an orange juice too, since you don't drink pop." Taylor handed it over me.

"Thanks." I accepted the drink and pressed the cool plastic against my forehead instead of drinking the juice.

"Headache?" He stated the obvious.

"Uh-huh.. What happened?"

"You had another nightmare. When I tried to wake you up, you started screaming at the top of your lungs 'No, no, no.' Are you all right?" All it took was Taylor's arm sliding warmly across my shoulders to bring the tears to my eyes. I squeezed shut them quickly.

"I-i think so." I whispered, burying my head into his shoulder.

"Doesn't sound like it to me." He spoke gently, wrapping his arm around my waist in a hug as I began trembling slightly. The two of us sat in silence for a few seconds, until my breathing returned to normal and embarrassment took over.

"I'm ok." I sat upright in my seat again, wiped my eyes, and looked down in my lap.

"Are you sure?" Taylor's eyes looked full of concern as he searched mine for some kind of explanation of my rash behavior. He knew full well that I'd been having them for the last couple of weeks, but patiently hadn't brought the issue out in the open.

If only I can keep things that way.

"Yeah," I forced a smile. "Thanks for the comfort."

"No problem." He picked up my left hand and laced his fingers between mine.

"Taylor.." I sighed quietly.

"Yeah?" He tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear and brushed a soft kiss on my forehead.

"I.. don't deserve you. Thanks." I whispered my usual response, leaning my head against his shoulder. Although I'd wanted to tell him more about the nightmare, our conversation a few weeks ago about my past being over repeated through my head.

My past should be just that.. so why isn't it?

Worse, I knew this was something I would have to sort out without Taylor. He obviously wouldn't ever understand, comfort or not.