Chapter 3

Martha’s POV
                After about forty-five minutes I decided to listen to music and attempt to sleep. I was tired from waking up early and would soon be jet lag which I was not looking forward to. I turned my iPad to my Austin Mahone playlist. Managing to sleep for over an hour, I eventually woke back up. After fifteen minutes of my mind wandering aimlessly I decided falling back to sleep wasn’t worth it. I pulled up the photo albums I had downloaded before the trip and started to scroll through the pictures.

              Thinking about making new friends made me sick. I knew it wouldn’t be hard, but I wasn’t looking forward to it.

                As I scrolled from picture to picture I noticed Oscar’s eyes following the screen. I glance up at him; he met my eyes with a heartfelt glance. “It’s not easy is it?”
  Taking my earphones out I shook my head, “No.”

                “It’ll be okay though,” his face was twisted into a sincere expression. “You seem kind, smart, and funny and determine. Not to mention you are pretty.” His shoulders shrugged.

                “Well, thank you. It’s encouraging to hear that from a stranger.” I laughed. “No, truly it is.”

                “Are you leaving behind a boyfriend? – Cause that’s probably the hardest part. I travel all the time – it’s what split me and my girlfriend up.” His eyes flashed a speck of pain that was quickly blinked away.

                “No, I broke up with him a little over a month ago,” I muttered as I recalled my breakup. I scrolled to a picture of me and Cody, showing Oscar.

                “Awe, you look happy,” he grinned a supporting smile. “What was he like?”

                Staring back at the glossy iPad screen the boy I had once been close too stared back at me. His pearly green eyes looked dark and scary as his blonde hair made his skin look tan. His long face was flooded with his cheesy smile. “Well, I thought he was everything. He was always there to talk to and I could always laugh with him, but the more that I think about it the more that I find holes in the relationship we had.”

    I couldn’t believe myself – I was spilling my heart to a complete stranger. Better yet, Oscar was asking me questions, urging me on, and listening to my answers. Not even Mary and Sophia had been that caring about the breakup. They just figured it was because I was moving away.

                “Well if there is one piece of advice I can give you, it is never settle for anything. You are worth what you want. So don’t go for the guy less than your expectations…. That is as long as your expectations aren’t too high.”

                “Thanks, Oscar.”

                “No problem.” He smiled at me. It took my breath away. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, smiling at me once again.

                “What about you? Is there some lucky girl out there who gets to call you her boyfriend?” I winked slightly.

He laughed, catching my wink. “Not anymore,” his voice cracked slightly. “We, erm, broke up a little bit ago. I mean it was mutual but still hard as I’m sure you understand.”

                His jaw twitched. I knew the feeling that was overtaking his emotions. I knew it better than the back of my hand.

                “It’s like when you know it is the right thing to do, yet you don’t want to leave it behind because, well, because it scares you to know that once again you made the wrong choice. But even then it means you are one step closer to making the right one.”

                Oscar let out a deep breath. “Exactly. Not many people get it.”

                “No, you’re right. No one does,” I laughed even though it wasn’t funny. “My friends’ idea of comfort was willing me to think about the hot British boys I would meet. Sure, I mean…” I shrugged and Oscar chuckled.

                “It’s a selling point in some ways but it doesn’t make it any easier does it?” his eyes flooded with understanding. It was so hard for me to believe I’d only known him for a few hours.

                “Right on.”

Our conversation died down again, and after a while I pulled my iPad back out and started up the movie I had rented –The Adjustment Bureau.  It was supposed to be really good, and as it turned out, it was. Causing another two hours to fly by, once the movie ended I realized the plane ride only had a little under two hours left.

               Oscar had fallen asleep next to me. His stomach moving up and down slowly as his breathing slowed. By this time, I was fairly positive that my eyes were not playing tricks on me. His abs was defiantly there. This time, I let the thoughts linger in my head. His hair was messy and it was adorable. His jaw line was tight and rather perfect. His broad shoulders were visibly muscular. His torso was long and toned – and you could tell this with his shirt on.

Quietly I unfastened my seatbelt and slipped past Oscar, making sure not to wake up. I headed up the aisle toward the bathroom passing Ogge and Omar on the way. Ogge shot me a half-hearted smile as he was about to fall asleep. Omar gave me a wink which almost left me breathless.

                After returning from the bathroom, I noticed Ogge was completely out. Omar had his beats on and was listening to music. A quick glance at Felix and his mate told me they were deep in conversation, whispering to each other; their faces close. The plane was rather quiet. Many passengers were sleeping.  Upon returning to my row, I noticed a groggy looking Oscar meeting my eyes with his own.

                “You could have wakened me,” he grumbled in a low voice.

                There were dark circles under his eyes that I hadn’t noticed earlier. He was clearly tired.

“No, you are clearly tired. Sorry if I woke you.”

                He stretched his arms and swung his legs into the aisle giving me more room to get back in. “Thanks,” I muttered. “Why so tired?”

                “Been working all week. Constantly traveling and working with no time to really get used to the time change. All four of us just crash at random. Our bodied have no pattern –no schedule to go by.” He yawned. “It gets annoying.”

                “Ok,” I stared at him with inquisitive eyes, “I refrained from asking this early, but what kinda job do you have?”

                He chuckled a deep, low chuckle, “I’m in a band.”

                Instantly it all made sense –four good looking guys together traveling home.

                “Ohhhh!” I exclaimed. “That makes sense!”

                He rolled his eyes at my reaction. “Stereotypical boy band aren’t we?”

                “Not at all,” I said looking at the other boys, “Typical boy bands have one ugly member. I see no ugly member unless you are hiding your five mate.”

 Liam’s eyes filled with amusement. “So what is this bands name?” I asked.

                “The Fooo Conspiracy,” he informed me.

                “Are you big in Sweden?” I questioned.

                He shrugged. “We have our fans…”

                They way he said it made it sound like they weren’t so I let it drop. I didn’t want to bring up a touchy subject.

                “That’s cool. I’d like to hear you guys sing sometime.”

                Oscar smiled. Obviously singing was a passion of his. “That’d be cool.”

                The rest of the plane ride passed quicker than I hoped. I spent the last half hour laughing with The Fooo Conspiracy boys. I sat incredibly closer to Oscar as the five of us huddled together laughing. I was aware of his arm which rather close to my side as his shoulder and leg often brushed mine. I didn’t think he was doing it in a flirty way, but still when it caught me off guard it made my breath catch.

                It wasn’t long before there were only fifteen minutes left. The flight attendants told us to get back in our seats and make sure our seatbelts were fastened.

                I slide away from Oscar back into my own seat since we had been, well, practically on each other’s laps while talking amongst the other boys.

                As I slide away from Oscar, he too slid back into his seat but more towards me than the aisle.

  “It was nice meeting you,” he grinned cheekily after snapping his seatbelt. “I wish you the best of luck in London. It can be a crazy town, but it has so much to offer –including plenty of fun.” He winked and I let out a childish laugh.

                “Thanks, Oscar. It was nice talking to you, too. I appreciate, erm, well the advice you gave me too.”

                At that, he set his hand light on my shoulder, his thumb brushing back and forth along my collarbone. It was a small gesture that meant way too much to me. He was still, after all, a stranger. “Don’t worry about it, and hey, if you need a tour guide…” he paused reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a tiny piece of paper with numbers scratched onto it. “Seriously, if you need a tour guide or have a question, just text or call me.” I took the paper from his hand and smiled.

                “Thank you,” I smiled at him my cheeks slightly pink.

       The plane landed and we taxied to the gate. Once we had reached the gate, the doors were opened and we were allowed to move about the cabin. Oscar slid out of his seat and helped me into the aisle. He grabbed my bag from the overhead bin and set it on his seat. I thanked him and he smiled in response. Soon, people started leaving the plane. I turned to say goodbye to Oscar –to thank him for everything. He hadn’t even done that much but his extension of hospitality was greatly appreciated.

                “Oscar thanks for everything. I really appreciate it considering I know absolutely no one, and yet the first person I met was generally awesome to me.” I swore I saw a little color come to his cheeks.

                “It’s no problem. Really…” he smiled and held his arms out. I walked into them acceptingly. His strong arms enclosed around my back as I slipped my own awkwardly around him. Once we broke away, he placed his arms on each of my shoulders and met my own eyes with his own deep blue ones.

“Seriously Martha, if you need absolutely anything let me know. I’m here to help,” he winked again stoking my shoulder. “I know it can be crazy to move to a new place especially if you don’t know anyone. I’ve been through it before, and I am here to help.”

                “You have no idea how much that means to me.” I grabbed my bag off the seat and waved goodbyes to the other boys who met me smiles. I waved one last time to Oscar before heading to the door. Walking up the plane jet way the nerves suddenly hit me. I knew where I was going but the fact that I really didn’t know anything was overwhelming. I was so caught up in my mind as I strutted through the airport that I almost failed to notice the paparazzi that flooded past me. I quickly wondered who was here, but cared little enough to follow them.

                In my mind, I failed to make the connection that it was no coincidence that they were at NYC and London at the same time I was. My mind wasn’t functioning. Or maybe I didn’t want to believe the idea that had popped into my mind.