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The plane was quiet, almost peaceful.
It was weird.
There was a three day span in between challenges which left the two teams (and DJ) in a standstill.
Team Amazon took first class, meaning that Team Chris is Really (x4) Hot was stuck in economy class.
There were certainly worse places to be stuck— economy class still made the list of ‘pretty bad’ places.
Noah figured back pain was on the horizon if he slept one more night on the hard seats, he didn’t even bring up Owen’s snoring.
To make everything worse, there was nothing to pass the time. Conversation died out around the first day making the silence uneasy. Owen would usually fill the it with mindless chatter but, he was going in and out of sleep on one of the seats; it was curtsey of Alejandro’s hypnosis, Chef’s piloting skills seemingly getting worse the longer they sat on the death trap.
Noah sat with his back pressed to the metal wall. His arms were crossed, hoping to ignore the slight breeze coming from the vents. He was going crazy staring at Alejandro’s scowl for, what was probably, hour thirty six of their flight.
Alejandro was sitting alone, staring off into space. He was probably planning something, Noah couldn’t tell what from the blank look on his face.
Suspicious.
Noah knew Alejandro was someone to watch. It was why he caught himself staring at the man more than the others, he was watching, waiting for him to make a move.
His staring match with the side of Alejandro’s face was broken when he heard a sound coming from the vents above him— a loud sound. It was like someone fell, or was ricocheting off the vents like some sort of bounce ball.
Noah pushed himself off his seat, stepping back. He wasn’t about to eat another rat because he was too lazy to move out of the way.
“What is it?” DJ asked. It was the first word Noah heard him speak since they got back on the plane. He spent the passed day sitting with his knees to his chest, sulking. Noah figured it was because of the animal curse, if you asked him DJ was just unlucky.
“I don’t know.”
Noah stated the words carefully, eyes narrowing as he watched the vents move. The banging was softer but, quicker. Someone was crawling through the vents. There was a very limited pool of people who could be coming towards them— neither of the options seemed very appealing.
The noise finally quelled when it reached a small opening that settled where Noah once sat.
A quiet giggle emanated from the slits in the metal, the sound was overshadowed by the large clanging that came when they jumped out of the vents.
Noah only managed to catch a blur of orange and green shooting out on a downward trajectory.
It was Izzy, she held her hands up as she landed, wide smile on her face.
“Haha,” she said.
“What’s nutso doing in the vents?” Noah muttered. Izzy was gone to the wind the first day they got back on the plane, Noah wasn’t sure where she went and he didn’t want to know. It was peaceful without her craziness around to keep everyone on edge.
“How else am I supposed to sneak around without getting spotted,” Izzy giggled, actually acknowledging what he was saying for once. Noah was surprised, even if the answer didn’t clarify anything.
“I bet you didn’t even notice I was already in economy class,” Izzy bragged. Noah was unnerved, picturing her watching them as they sat in silence. The rest of the plane was hers, why did she have to torment them?
“You were watching us?” DJ asked, face paling.
Izzy didn’t directly respond to him.
“Look over there!” Izzy pointed to a spot on the wall above Alejandro.
Noah, along with DJ and Alejandro, nearly jumped out of his skin.
The thing in question was underwhelming, a small plant nailed into the wall hanging a couple meters above Alejandro. The area was close to a vent exit, probably why it sat in that specific spot.
“Wow a plant..I don’t think you’re suppose to nail them to the wall,” Noah deadpanned.
“I think it’s mistletoe…”DJ said.
“Oh,” Noah said, already aware of the fact.
“Well I’m not kissing DJ ,” Noah said. DJ was already backing away, a smart decision.
“Oh come on it’s over Alejandro, that means you two have to kiss,” Izzy explained happily. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet like she took three shots of expresso before bothering them.
Noah wondered why his brain shut down the second the thought entered his head. Kissing DJ was one thing but, Alejandro? The second he imagined it he felt a strange heat rise to his cheeks.
Kiss Alejandro? He would do anything else.
Noah wasn’t sure how to voice those thoughts so he stared at Izzy with his mouth agape, like a fish. It was stupid that he was blanking on a response when he usually kept three one liners ready on a whim.
“My friend where did you get this?” Alejandro asked. Thank God he wasn’t focusing on what she just said, Noah wasn’t sure why he felt frozen.
“Oh I found it in the cargo hold, hahah and now it’s part of my top secret mission,” Izzy said, dropping her voice to a whisper— Izzy’s whisper being speaking at a normal volume.
“And what is your secret mission?” Alejandro pressed.
Izzy leaned in closer.
“To get you two to kiss, I have a whole list and you two are the first on it,” Izzy said.
“Why us?” Noah finally asked, regaining some of his sense.
“It’s a secret,” Izzy said, putting a finger to her lips. She kept her eyes trained on Noah for a second longer, giving him a sly nod like they were in cahoots.
“Now kiss,” she said, stepping back.
Noah blinked, Alejandro doing the same.
“Yeah sure, I would love to,” Noah said sarcastically— it came across less than sarcastic.
“Why don’t you take that—“ Noah pointed to the mistletoe.
“To first class… away from us,” Noah muttered. He didn’t wait for Izzy to respond. He crossed his arms, trudging back over to his seat across from Alejandro.
Izzy being gone was a blessing in disguise he was craving that at the moment.
“Fineeeee…but you haven’t seen the last of me!” Izzy said, yelling like some sort of cartoon villain.
She snapped her hand like a snake, snatching the mistletoe before slinking out of first class; the normal person way.
“What was that?” DJ asked, head cowering. Noah didn’t blame him, she scared him on a good day.
“I do not know, she is not sane,” Alejandro said.
“Obviously,” Noah added. His heart rate still wouldn’t calm down, his palms felt clammy. It was probably residual fear due to the escaped mental patient known as Izzy. At least she went away, Noah couldn’t stand Alejandro’s eyes on him, for whatever reason.
“Why did she want you two to kiss anyways?” DJ asked after a moment. Noah’s heart rate spiked. Couldn’t they all drop it? He needed them to.
“What Alejandro said, she’s not sane it was probably a random list of people just to cause trouble..” Noah sighed, forcing a blank expression on his face.
“Sí,” Alejandro agreed.
Noah subtly swallowed the anxiety in his chest as Alejandro’s gaze turned away from him.
Izzy was weird, that was all. She couldn’t have another reason for wanting them to kiss, right?
Unless she caught the stares, the way Noah watched Alejandro when his back was turned, the subtle smile when he did something cool. She couldn’t have noticed that, Noah was subtle, so subtle that he barely acknowledged how he felt.
That he was crushing on the one guy who could end his run in the competition whenever he wanted.
Noah would never admit that he felt something, Izzy wouldn’t change that.
She would give up eventually and, Alejandro would never have to know.
Right?
Noah hoped so, he needed it to be so.
Noah went back to staring into space, the conversation dying out as quickly as it sparked.
Things would be fine.
He was calm.
—/ᐠ - ˕ -マ zZz—/ᐠ - ˕ -マzZz—/ᐠ - ˕ -マzZz—
Noah knew Izzy was on the prowl, he didn’t expect her next attempt to come so soon.
It was Izzy he was talking about. When she wanted something she got it, he should have known she was impatient.
The next time she struck was in the dinning hall—during dinner.
Noah was in the process of eating something that was supposed to resemble a vegetable when she struck.
This time it was a fishing rod, at least it was subtle.
Noah wondered where she even got a fishing rod. She probably stole it from Chris in Newfoundland, storing it for a rainy day. That sounded like her.
Alejandro noticed it first, fork hesitating before he ate the last bite on his plate.
“Amigo,” Alejandro said carefully, eyes aimed upwards.
Noah dropped his fork, looking up to see it hanging there. The mistletoe hung at the end of the line was tied rather tightly, a little higher than Alejandro would be able to reach. Izzy knew what she was doing, she wanted it to hang there, make things awkward.
Alejandro and Noah shared an uncomfortable look, Noah trying to remain calm lest Alejandro get any ideas that he wasn’t disgusted at the thought that ran through both of their heads.
“If we ignore it maybe she will grow tired of waiting,” Alejandro suggested calmly.
Noah nearly laughed.
“Yeah sure, we’ll be here all night,” Noah said. He stood up, carrying his half eaten tray to the trash. He wasn’t that hungry anyways, staring awkwardly at Alejandro for the rest of dinner didn’t seem that appealing to him anyways. He didn’t like Alejandro paying attention to him, not because his stare made him melt— that would be stupid.
Noah tossed his tray, turning to come face to face with Izzy. She must have teleported, no one was that quiet sneaking up on people.
Noah didn’t give her a chance to speak, face filled with annoyance.
“Can you stop with the mistletoe,” Noah said, trying his best not to make it sound like he was pleading.
“What are you talking about haha I was with big O the whole time,” Izzy said innocently. Noah wanted to punch the wall at her sudden brush off of the subject. It was uncomfortable, Noah felt bad— stomach twisted up in knots.
He took a hesitant breath.
“Please,” he said.
Izzy wasn’t serious but, it was the only card left. He doubted it would do anything but, he needed to try.
“Oh come on Noah, I’ve totally seen you stare at him, I’m giving you an excuse,” she reasoned. Noah hated how much truth there was to her statement.
“I’m not kissing him, just move on with your list I’m tired,” Noah said, with more force this time.
“Don’t worry I understand,” Izzy said, giving him a wink. Noah wanted to yell at her but, was interrupted by Alejandro of all people.
“Amigo are you alri—“ his eyes narrowed when he saw Izzy.
“Ah chica I thought you were manning the fishing rod,” Alejandro said.
“Oh right, haha,” Izzy said. She slunk away before either of them could say another word.
“I see she still hasn’t given up.” Alejandro commented.
“You don’t say,” Noah muttered.
“I’m going back to economy class,” Noah said bluntly. He was tired of being around people, Alejandro specifically. He didn’t like how fast his heart was beating, or how Alejandro’s eyes seemed to stare straight through him.
Maybe sleeping would help, it had to.
Or Noah was going to lose it.
—/ᐠ - ˕ -マ zZz—/ᐠ - ˕ -マzZz—/ᐠ - ˕ -マzZz—
Noah still wasn’t sure if sleeping would help, seeing as he wasn’t getting any.
He was curled on his side in the darkness of economy class— he gave up sleeping upright the first night they spent in the hellhole.
He could have been lying in a king sized bed with a fluffy blanket and he still wouldn’t be able to sleep.
Not with the thoughts swirling around in his brain.
What if Izzy was waiting to pounce? She didn’t come back after dinner so it was a possibility. Worse even, what if she made the kiss happen, what if Noah made a fool of himself— again. Noah wanted to glide through the competition, he didn’t want to think about the uneasy feelings Alejandro drudged up, or how it might feel to have Alejandro press his lips up against his.
The thought took over, Alejandro’s lips on his, his hand on his waist, his body pressed up against his.
Noah shook his head, curling on himself tighter. He just needed them to go away. He was tired, in every sense of the word. He managed to avoid any feelings for a good ten episodes, why did Izzy have to ruin things and get him thinking about it again?
Noah sighed, relaxing onto the cold metal seats. They weren’t provided blankets— being the losers— so Noah was freezing. The vent above him did him no favors. Maybe if he got hypothermia he could finally fall asleep, at least it would be a peaceful sleep.
That was when Owen began snoring. It felt like a screw you in regards to his wish of silence. Who needed racing thoughts when loud sounds filled the cabin.
Noah felt frustrated, he felt mad.
Why couldn’t he just sleep, he was tired of dealing with everyone’s crap. Izzy was enough to put up with during the day and now he had to put up with Owen at night? Noah wanted off the team— hell off the plane at this rate even if he knew it was probably the fatigue talking.
Noah didn’t let another thought enter his head, pulling his body up off the seat. He quickly slouched to the side, like a sack of flour, as his head spun. Maybe he shouldn’t have moved so suddenly.
The room around him was dark, his eyes struggled to adjust as his legs began to walk forward.
He couldn’t stay in economy class, he needed to go somewhere else— somewhere quiet.
Noah pushed the curtain away from him, seeing the hallway lay behind him. It was dark but, Noah’s eyes were half shut already.
He held his hand up to the wall, slowly walking along it.
He would find somewhere quiet, then he could finally quiet the thoughts in his head.
That sounded nice….
Really nice.
—/ᐠ - ˕ -マ zZz—/ᐠ - ˕ -マzZz—/ᐠ - ˕ -マzZz—
Noah awoke with a blanket thrown over top him.
He was laying on wood, as evident by the sharp something poking his skin.
He didn’t have a pillow but, his body was elevated. He could tell when he cracked his eyes open, not seeing the floor immediately. From the looks of it he was sitting in a crate— in the cargo hold.
Weird.
He must have been out of it, he could barely remember standing up, let alone walking down to the cargo hold. Maybe he was more tired than he thought. At least he felt well rested, his mind decided to stop assaulting him with anymore thoughts of Alejandro or Izzy or Total Drama in general.
Noah sat up, stretching out his arms. It was strange that he was covered with a blanket, it wasn’t even a blanket but a fabric covering meant to hold the crates in place.
He glanced around, eyes meeting with someone in the shadows. Their skin was a pale green color and their hair was scraggy. It was Ezekiel.
“Thanks,” Noah said carefully, pulling the fabric cover off of him.
“I needed that,” he admitted, dangling his legs over the side of the crate. Maybe the cargo hold wasn’t so bad, even if he probably swallowed a couple rats in his sleep.
At least Izzy couldn’t find him, nor could Alejandro. He didn’t want to think about him anymore— kissing him.
The dread returned as all his worries crashed back down on him. He would have to go back to economy class, back to the awkward silence, back to Izzy thinking she was helping when really she was only making things worse. She was too observant, Noah almost wished Owen was awake so he could distract her.
Sure watching them kiss made him gag but, at least she wouldn’t be bored. A bored Izzy was a scary Izzy.
Noah lined himself up, jumping down from the crate. His tennis shoes hit the metal with a satisfying pang.
Maybe satisfying was the wrong word as it hurt.
Noah cringed, pain shooting up his legs.
So much for a good start to the day, maybe the crate was higher up than he thought.
“Amigo are you alright?” Alejandro asked. He manifested in Noah’s vision, door behind him spewing light— it was rather dark in the cargo hold, the perfect spot to fall asleep.
“Fine,” Noah said, clearing his throat. He stood straight, eyes scanning Alejandro for any hint as to what he was doing in the cargo hold. Noah wondered how he even found him in the first place, he barely remembered walking in.
“What are you doing here?” Noah finally asked, unable to discern anything from Alejandro’s annoying attractive face.
“I need your help…you have a friendship with the oaf, I need you to calm Owen down my hypnosis is no longer working,” Alejandro explained.
Noah chose to ignore Alejandro’s usage of the word oaf.
“Fine..I was about to head back anyways,” Noah said.
“Why did you leave economy class last night anyways my friend?” Alejandro continued, realizing how odd it was.
“Owen’s snoring, maybe stop him from doing that the next time you try to hypnotize him,” Noah grumbled. He was too tried to be subtle.
“How did you not hear it, you were right next to him?”
Alejandro smiled, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two pieces of foam.
“I never go anywhere without these,”he explained.
Noah wasn’t sure why he felt butterflies flap in his stomach. It was clever, that was all. Alejandro was smart, that was old news. Noah liked it but, that also made him dangerous. Not someone who he should think about kissing for longer than socially acceptable.
“Can you lend me some, if I have to listen to that sound for one more night I think I might go crazy by the time we land,” Noah joked. He forced a smile onto his face, still groggy from sleep.
Alejandro looked like he was about to give a flirty response when a sound interrupted them.
It was the sound of metal bending.
“What is that?” Alejandro asked. His eyes scanned the area, alert.
Noah did the same, body frozen in place. Something felt wrong all of a sudden. The cargo hold felt brighter, Noah could feel a breeze whip his hair back and forth. That wasn’t there before.
Noah drew closer to Alejandro, unintentionally, eyes narrowed.
Then all hell broke lose. Noah felt his legs stumble forward. Wind was pulling him towards a newfound opening in the plane. It was a place where the bolts were loose, one of the metal piece removed to let air filter through.
Izzy was perched atop of a crate near the hole, able to plug it easily if she wished. She wore a maniac look on her face, holding that stupid plant above her head.
“I told you I don’t give up haha, you should kiss before everything is sucked out of the plane,”Izzy said, making a zooming motion with her hand. Noah wondered if she heard herself sometimes.
“Are you insane?” Noah sputtered.
The answer was yes, yes she was. He didn’t ask for her as a wingman, he didn’t need a wingman because he wasn’t acting on his feelings.
Noah turned to Alejandro. He was trying to back away from the suction, eyes wide. He actually looked afraid, not that Noah blamed him.
“If we hold onto one of the crates maybe we can crawl out of this room,” Alejandro reasoned.
Noah liked his sentiment even if its success was far fetched. The door was too far away and, Noah was already closer to the hole than he liked due to his skinnier build.
The wind kept pulling him forward, Alejandro reaching for his hand. Noah grabbed it before he could think about how the action would warm his cheeks. A life or death scenario was not a time to be crushing on the man candy that was Alejandro, not that Noah thought he was man candy— it was an objective term.
With their hands linked together Alejandro reached for the nearest crate, fingers slipping before he could get a grip. The action only caused them to slide with the crate, pulling everything back further.
Izzy watched calmly, waiting.
“We can do it amigo hold on tightly,” Alejandro said, determined. It was unfounded confidence as they were too far away to reach anything else.
Noah wasn’t kissing Alejandro, Izzy couldn’t make him. No matter how much he wanted to.
He would jump out of the plane without a parachute first. For his sanity, for his spot in the competition. If he revealed even a shred of attraction for Alejandro he would be gone. It was a weakness, a stupid weakness.
Alejandro was struggling, resorting to slowing their abrupt exit by pressing his boots to the metal. It only made a skidding sound, Noah feeling the chill behind them grow closer.
Noah’s heart was beating out of his chest, hand locked in a death grip with Alejandro. There was probably a way out but, there wasn’t time to find it.
They were doomed to fly out of the plane, he hoped Alejandro would accept that.
The look on his face told Noah otherwise.
He stopped fighting against the wind, looking calm despite the wind blowing his hair every which way.
He looked determined, Noah felt his heart nearly stop.
“Amigo we need to listen to her or she will throw us out of the plane,” There was a fire behind his eyes, guttural determination to stay in the competition, not let all his hard work go to waste.
He needed to stay in the competition, Noah needed to do anything other than kiss him.
“You should listen to him…” Izzy said, giggling. It felt like Noah was the only one not agreeing to it.
“No, it’s fine we can just—“ Noah tried to protest. He knew it was pointless. He wasn’t strong enough to resist the wind or Alejandro’s arm when he grabbed his waist, pulling him closer. Noah wished he could say he hated the feeling, that he didn’t feel a shiver run down his spine at Alejandro’s touch. It would be a lie to say that he didn’t huddle closer, feeling his built chest underneath him. It was perfect, perfectly horrible.
It was made worse (better) when Alejandro used his other hand to pull Noah’s head closer, their lips connecting amidst the chaos. Noah was filled with dread, pleasure, and longing all at the same time. He was kissing Alejandro, on live television. it felt good, too good. He didn’t want to stop. It felt like he was complete, like he was missing something up until that point.
Noah didn’t feel the crate covering the giant hole, or hear Izzy’s manic giggling, or smell the fresh air from the once exposed hole.
He only felt Alejandro’s lips on his, his hand on his waist. It felt perfect, the kiss wasn’t breaking and Noah wasn’t complaining. He knew it was a mistake to push back with such force— show it was reciprocated— but he couldn’t resist. It just felt so good, so right. This was why he was resisting, he knew it was a bad idea yet all the thought melted away from him with Alejandro’s touch. He wanted to do it all day everyday. Why was he so addictive.
Alejandro finally drew back, releasing Noah from his iron hold.
Noah’s face felt red, breathing heavy was he averted his eyes from Alejandro.
Alejandro did the same, panting could be heard across from him.
“Esa chica está loca,” Alejandro finally said.
Noah agreed, even if he knew he liked the kiss— what Izzy did for him.
“Finally, maybe you can stop staring at him now Noah haha.. now I gotta find Gwen and Courtney,” Izzy said, ducking out of the hold before Noah could get a word in.
He wasn’t sure what he even wanted to say. His heart was racing, he felt his face burn bright red.
“I—um…I…”Noah said, pathetically. She wasn’t subtle, Alejandro knew— he could put the pieces together that Noah wanted him, wanted to do that again.
“At least now she will leave us alone,” Alejandro offered, eyes twinkling as Noah turned to look at him.
“Yeah,” Noah said shifting his feet awkwardly. Alejandro wasn’t bringing it up so he wouldn’t either. Maybe he was playing koi on purpose, Noah could live with that.
“I apologize amigo, it had to be done,” Alejandro justified when Noah didn’t speak.
“I know… sorry almost dying and all didn’t exactly put me in a speaking mood,” Noah said lamely, drawing a reason out of his ass. If Alejandro was bluffing he could too.
“I understand,” Alejandro said. There was a small smile on his face, one that he was trying desperately to hide.
Why was he happy?
Did he like the kiss as much as Noah, or was he hallucinating. He could have been happy about discovering Noah’s weakness…
But he hadn’t let go when Noah deepened the kiss, he let it happen.
Alejandro leaned in closer to him, it almost passed for accidental if Noah wasn’t extra aware of his every move.
“Come on, we should leave in case she comes back…and Owen still requires your assistance, amor,” Alejandro said.
The last word slipped out, Noah only catching it once Alejandro turned.
Crap.
He was hooked.
Noah wished he never heard of mistletoe.