eight | come fly with us

(@dionnestanley via instagram stories!)

viewed by taracarrigan

WAKING UP AT THREE IN THE MORNING TO CATCH A FOUR-THIRTY FLIGHT WAS NOT DIONNES IDEAL WAY TO SPEND HER SUNDAY. Especially when it meant she was going to be stuck with her boss and co-worker for a week straight. She liked Korra, don't get her wrong but she wasn't the first person she'd pick to go on a Vegas trip with her (actually, she's not sure she'd even pick Vegas—especially when Hawaii was right there). She'd only insisted Korra come so that there'd be a buffer between her and Timothee. There was only so much small talk and lingering touches she didn't ask for that she could handle before she'd snap. Having Korra around would give him less chances. (Plus it's like travelling tip number one: don't go places alone with strange men).

She'd not bothered to look more then barely presentable for the flight, it was fourteen hours so comfort over fashion always. Dionne donned the baggiest, most worn in sweatpants she owned with a matching hoodie. The brunette had barely even washed her face before dragging her overstuffed suitcase out the front door to meet her Uber. They were only going for five days but she was a chronic over-packer.

Korra and Timothee, a seat between them as they both listened to music seperately through noise cancelling headphones, were already at the terminal when she'd made it through check-in. She waved her hand in front of their faces to get their attention. "Oh, hey Di," Timothee grinned, biting back a yawn as he stood up and gave her an unexpected hug.

Pulling back very quickly, she turned to Korra, "so, who's claimed the window seat then?"

This made Korra frown as she pulled her headphones back on, Dionne looked to Timothee for an explanation and he sighed. "'Cause she was a last minute addition, I couldn't get her a seat next to us," he stated, trying to sound casual.

It turned out that not only was Korra not sitting with them, she was right at the back of the plane across from the bathroom. Dionne would've offered to switch but she doesn't think she could cope with the smell for six hours. Still standing in her seat, she looked down the rows to where Korra was sitting looking defeated and waved. She returned it with a thin smile before sliding her sleeping mask on.

Sitting down, Timothee patted her hand. "Do you get nervous flying?" He asked, resting his hand next to hers.

Pulling her hand to her chest, she shook her head. "No, why?"

His cheeks went a light shade of pink. "I do," he admitted. "I'm sorry if I freak out whenever there's turbulence."

And freak out he did. With nothing but the vast expanse of the ocean to be seen from her window, she almost jumped out of skin when she felt Timothee grabbing her hand. "We're experiencing some mild turbulence, please remember to remain seated," came the pilots voice over the speakers, making a baby cry (he couldn't have used the company's card to put them in first class?).

Even when the plane was smooth sailing again, he didn't let go. That was, until she snatched her hand and gave him a quizzical look. "Oh, sorry. I forgot where my hand even was," he joked but she looked nothing like impressed. When she continued just staring him down, he let out an awkward cough before turning to the screen in front of him. "Let's watch a movie," he suggested, flicking through the options.

This flight may be seventeen hours but she was sure it was going to age her seventeen years by the time they finally landed. He didn't ask her to choose the movie and instead threw on the first romantic comedy that came up. Begrudgingly she took the headset he offered her, settling back into her seat as the opening credits played. She supposed watching a movie with him wasn't bad, it meant they didn't have to talk.

However, an hour into the film she wished she could take that back as she'd clearly jinxed herself. She'd never been that into romance films so she'd been disassociating most the time when the plane hit another round of turbulence and his limp head fell into her lap. She looked around, seeing if anyone else was seeing this fuckery but all the strangers were engrossed in their own lives (understandably so). Every attempt to pry him off left him falling further into her lap until she accepted this was her fate. She knows it's not really his fault he fell but you'd think someone with a fear of flying would wake up from that.

Resigned to her fate, she balances her computer on his face and begins typing out some notes for interviews over the weekend. This would be her first time covering meeting the teams so she wanted to be extra prepared. While they were mainly focused on Queensland teams—being Brisbane based—her and Timothee had strategised drawing in other fanbases might help grow the audience. She couldn't help but ignore the Broncos page of her document, not wanting to remind herself of a name on her list of potential interviewee's.

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(@ppaattyycarrigan via instagram stories!)

THE BOYS HAD BEEN IN THE USA FOR OVER A WEEK NOW, MAKING A PIT STOP IN LOS ANGELES. Although he'd been in this country during the off-season, there was nothing like experiencing it with his entire team—especially seeing the wide eyed looks of those who'd not travelled much. Training in the NFL facilities, rubbing shoulders with some of the most high profile athletes in the world had sent him through a loop. He'd only wish to reach the level notoriety that American athletes did.

It was time to get to business now, however, they'd had their fun in Hollywood. The flight from LA to Vegas was much shorter and way more pleasant then the flight to The States even though it wasn't business class like the former. Experiencing the warmer and more dry Vegas air as he stepped out of Uber made him feel at home again; like this was merely another game at Suncorp. The hotel they'd put all the teams up in was far fancier then the one in LA, it being attached to a casino he supposed it had to be to draw in the big spenders (though, he's not sure how smart it is to shove nearly a hundred athletes into a casino but that was NRL integrity units problem if anything bad happened). Everything about Vegas was unreal to him, he'd purposely kept it off his itinerary during his off season travels to experience it with the boys as.

They all stood awkwardly in the lobby while their team managers worked on checking everyone in (with nearly fifty people, there was a lot of standing around to be done). He was ever-so-grateful that the club did not offer to pay for significant others or children and those wishing to bring them would have to pay out of pocket for flights, room upgrades, etc because that would've only tripled the wait (he felt for the average joes stuck waiting behind them already). Marty Tapau was the only one who'd bothered, disappearing with his wife into their room long before their group had even half checked in.

Standing next to Jordan Riki, his perpetual roommate for away games, he glanced around the lobby and took it all in. The years of hard work and sacrifice really had paid off. Here he was in Vegas, about to play to a stadium they claimed to be nearly sold out (look, he was grateful but the pessimism still had a death grip on him.

"This place is pretty alright, aye," Jordan had been saying excitedly and Patty just nodded faintly as his talking faded into background noise.

The elevator, with its gold doors and bedazzled buttons, had caught his eye. Or, he should be more specific, the person waiting for it to open. Unfortunately, he could recognise that annoying smile anywhere and the way it made his stomach want to churn.

Dionne Stanley was in Vegas. He should've put it together when he'd seen her post—of course she was here to get insider information for her stupid articles and even more ridiculous interviews. He wondered which of his teammates she was going to hold hostage next.

"Pat? Are you coming?"

Snapping his gaze back to Jordan, he gave him a dazed and confused look. "Sorry, what were we talking about?"

"We're on level twenty-four," Jordan repeated, raising his sculpted eyebrow at his friend. "Ah, and we missed the elevator," he groaned, nodding behind Patty.

The athlete spun around just in time to catch one last glimpse before the doors shut on her. Great, now he was going to have to be looking around corners all week.

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🌸 KARLA YAPS !

i am proud to say i have completely planned this book out chapter by chapter (which i never do with books because of laziness) but with everything being loosely planned out, it means i'll be able to write this so much easier & faster. this chapter was lowkey filler but we must prevail & set the ground work so that the pay off is worth it.

all i can say is: what happens in vegas, stays in vegas.

also if you know what the chapter title is referencing you get a gold star (hint: come die with us).

anyways, the next one shouldn't be too far away <33
lmk what you thought