#like i love thé concept. thé english tho? not great

[thedeathdeelers]

definitely not (super loosely) based on personal experience 2 weeks ago but like. juke randomly sitting next to each other on the plane >

it’s luke’s millionth flight and the boys are on their way to another city for yet another gig (sunset curve doing well they flying) but it’s only julie’s like 5th (or 100th time- irrational fears are irrational for a reason) time or soemthing. so understandably she’s nervous as hell. especially about the turbulence (and yes ray she knows it’s totally normal and is aware that it’s just like a car driving over potholes or an uneven street but it still freaks her out blame the anxiety)

julie’s kind of found a way to help her through the anxiety though: talk to literally anyone within her direct vicinity to distract herself from the bumpy flight. and usually it’s a friendly old man, or a woman in her mid-50s; and julie’s been pretty lucky with how friendly everyone is and how willing they are to help, and will be forever thankful to them

but the problem is, this time ‘round her neighbour is a super cute guy who’s kinda making her just as nervous as the accelerating plane that’s about to take off and julie’s starting to rethink her strategy..

maybe she can just do this herself-

the plane lurches slightly to the left as it leaves solid ground, the gusts of wind outside making it hard for the pilot to keep it as steady as julie would like.

she grips the seat armrests, tries to keep her eyes on the outside world through her tiny window, but her heart won’t slow down and she feels like she’s about to throw up-

“hey so um,” julie whips her head to the side, cringing slightly when she sees the guy sat next to her had his eyes already closed. “do you- do you mind if i just talk to you whenever there’s a bit of turbulence or uh-” julie swallows against the rising panic as the plane continues to shake from side to side the longer they fly through the clouds. “it’s just i- i-panic-when-there’s-turbulence-and-talking-can-sometimes-help-me-stay-distracted-but-it’s-fine-if-you-want-to-sleep-i’m-so-sorry-to-bother-you-maybe-just-ignore-everything-i-just-said.” julie rushes through that sentence in one breath, her heart ready to beat out of her chest as her eyes flick back to stare out the window.

she doesn’t dare to look back at her neighbour, too embarrassed and too panicked to even consider the situation she’s currently in.

okay julie, deep breath. this is totally normal, it’s totally fine. look at all the people sitting around you half asleep, completely relaxed. it’s fine, it’ll be alri-

the plane dips down and back up, making julie’s palms sweat and any thoughts of reassurance fly out her mind.

she closes her eyes shut, only to immediately snap them wide open again, gaze back to being glued to the clouds still surrounding them.

she doesn’t know what to do anymore, eyes scanning any hope of seeing the grassy fields below or maybe even a hint of an outline of land — anything she can focus on that isn’t a white haze.

and just as another considerable bout of turbulence hits, julie feels a warm hand coming to rest over hers, accompanied a second later by a low, gentle voice.

“hey, you’re good. i’m- i’m luke. what’s your name?”

julie turns her head at the voice, eyes tracing up from his hand resting on hers, all the way up to his worried gaze.

she can’t help but stare for a second, mind momentarily distracted by his hazel eyes.

“uh- i’m-” julie stops when her voice falters for a second, then clears her throat and tries again. “i’m julie. i’m really sorry for the way i uh- introduced myself earlier.” julie tries for a sheepish smile, but feels it turning into a grimace when she feels another substantial dip beneath her. she reflexively turns her head to stare out the window again, only to stop mid-way when she hears her neighbour — luke — speak up again.

“nah, that’s fine, no need to apologise. i get it. my buddy reggie used to be terrified of flying.”

“used to?”

“yeah we uh,” it’s only when he pulls his hand away to self-consciously rub at the back of his head does julie realise he had still been holding her hand. “we kinda fly a lot now that we’re getting a decent amount of gigs. we’re a band, sunset curve?”

julie thinks the name sounds familiar, but she can’t really trust her brain to function properly at the moment. she smiles at luke apologetically, shaking her head once.

“let me guess though,” julie let’s her eyes roam down the rest of luke’s top half, eyes lingering only for a second on his ridiculously exposed arms before landing on his calloused fingers. she’s about to look back up when she notices little smudges of ink colouring the tips of his forefinger and thumb.

ah, there it is.

“you….play guitar? and maybe hmm..write some of the songs?”

luke’s eyes light up at her words, the easy grin popping up on his face blinding her for a second.

jeez he was cute.

“how’d you guess?” julie smiles at his excitement, watching him as he sits up a little straighter.

“let’s just say…a fellow musician’s hunch?” julie shrugs. “something about you reminds me of someone.”

“you a musician? what d’you play?”

julie smiles sadly at him. “i used to sing and play the piano. now i kind of just,” julie‘a gaze shifts from his to the seat in front of her. “listen to music.”

she can practically feel his curiosity flowing out of him next to her, but is pleasantly surprised at his restraint.

“what kinda music you listen to?”

julie turns to answer, but freezes when another bad shake forces her to close her eyes.

she takes in a deep breath — in, out, in, out.

“i kind of listen to a bit of everything,” luke says, as if they hadn’t been interrupted. “but i try to focus more on whatever genre i’m trying to channel in my songs whenever i’m working on a new album.”

she feels him rest his warm hand over hers again, gently squeezing.

“this okay?” he asks quietly.

julie nods, eyes slowly easing open again.

“but yeah i like to think i’m pretty open-minded when it comes to all genres of music, although reggie kinda tests that when he slips in his country songs in my journal. like i get it? but maybe it’s just not for me? right now? i can see how i can get inspired by country in the future maybe for an album way way way down the line, but like. not now. but alex, our drummer, recently started getting into kpop and some of the arrangements i’m really digging so i’m thinking maybe testing that out…” he continues talking about experimenting with music, and all julie can do is smile at his attempt at distracting her. the least she can do is partake in this conversation.

“i listen to a bit of everything too,” she says, turning to smile at him. “my mom raised me on the classics, but always made sure i gave every genre a fair shot. she was a big, big fan of music.” julie pauses for a second, then continues. “she was my main inspiration when it came to writing and performing music. she was my driving force, you know?”

julie sees the moment the curiosity in luke’s eyes turns into sympathy as understanding finally dawns on him.

he smiles and nods at her, gently nudging her to go on.

and for the rest of the flight, julie finds herself opening up about her music and her struggles and her mom for the first time to what should technically be a complete stranger. some turbulence still hit during the flight, making her stop to quickly stare out the window, but luke was always there, squeezing her hand in support and finding something to say to get her to turn back to him.

at one point nearing the last stretch of their journey, julie chances a peak outside her window, only to be pleasantly surprised to see the sun shining uninterrupted through clear blue skies, with never-ending fields of green down below.

she smiles at the view, even laughs quietly at herself.

the clouds were finally clearing up.

and for the first time since julie started flying and speaking to strangers on planes, she may or may not have saved her new emotional support passenger’s number. and followed him on instagram.

and giggled a little when he messaged her the second they walked away from each other at the airport.

yeah, maybe flying might come a little easier to her from now on.

and maybe, just maybe, music will, too.