xxxxvi. BRAS & BANANA BREAD

There was a twelve hour time difference from the East Coast to Hong Kong, which seriously made me want to visit space without a helmet. Fortunately, I was able to sleep on the plane to be ready in the morning when we arrived. I woke up after being tousled on the plane through some slight turbulence.

The flight log said there was about an hour left. Standing up, I stretch out my sore limbs. Everyone was asleep except Xavier and I. Hell, even Ace had finally taken a nap. The golden eyed boy leaned back against the seat across from mine, sleeping upright with his arms crossed.

Chase was curled up in the back with a sleeping mask on. Not gonna lie, the sleeping mask protruded out a little so it looked like he was wearing a bra on his face.

Skye was sprawled out across two seats near Chase with junk food wrappers covering the floor beneath her. There was an unoccupied fuzzy blanket by her side that I took. Hesitantly, I wrap the warm blanket around Ace's shoulders.

He'd been through a lot these past couple of days. He wasn't sleeping, even less than usual, and there were small bags beginning to appear beneath his eyes. Up in the very front was Xavier. "You've finally woken up," he muses. When my gaze flickers to him, he's reading something in Mandarin. To my surprise, Daniel's head was leaning against Xavier's shoulder.

I raise an eyebrow. Xavier rolls his eyes. "This dumbass' neck was about to crack so I went to get him a pillow, but then his head slipped off the pillow."

The Interpol agent's chest was slowly rising and at peace like a kitten. I wanted to document this; though if I did, Xavier would kill me. Instead I hide a smirk. "So, do you still hate Daniel?"

"Do you still hate Ace?" Xavier challenges.

I raise my hands defensively. "Fine. You don't want to talk about it... Are you gonna try to kill him again?"

"I'll do it when he's not defenseless."

"How sweet. What are you reading?"

"The Art of War." He's also holding a bottle of alcohol with Chinese characters sprawled all over it. In reality, I didn't care about what he was reading, I just needed a distraction. Without even asking, I quickly snatch the bottle for a taste.

"For the love of all that is good and gravy, what the shit is that? It tastes like if ethyl alcohol is pregnant with the third trimester twins of cement and beverly hills hair extensions." My mouth instantly rejects the taste.

Xavier deadpans me. "Don't steal a man's drink. It's maotai, you uneducated American. And it's mine."

"Yeah that is way too strong to be considered safe. You can probably power a tank engine with it," I wince. Xavier responds by staring me dead in the eye while he chugged a shot without even reacting.

I roll my eyes. "You truly do belong here. You were born here right?"

He furrows his brows. "How did you know?"

I shrug. "Just guessing." The truth was, after finding out about Skye's past from Thirteen, I may or may not have hacked into case files about each of us. Let's just say that I am quite opposed to whoever wrote my file. You know what they put as my physical fitness ranking?

A fucking negative 3. How do you even get into negatives?

I'm at least a solid 2.

"Well yeah," was Xavier blunt response. I give him a targeted look. "You know this is the part where people will elaborate to continue the conversation. Even for someone as socially awkward as you are, you should know this protocol."

The assassin begins to glower at me. "There's nothing to say."

"Are you going to... visit your parents and relive your childhood?"

Xavier pulls up a paper bag for vomiting. "Well here's your hometown; why don't you go relive your childhood and leave me to read?"

"Fine. One last question," my eyes scan the cabin. "Do you have a sharpie? I haven't been able to find one on this entire private plane."

Xavier winks and tosses me one from his bag. "Be classy with its power."

I don't catch it when Xavier throws it to me due to my lack of hand eye coordination. Alright, so maybe the negative three was not a gross exaggeration. "Is a knob too vulgar?"

Xavier chuckles. "You've gotta be a little more classy than that. Ace will never be able to wash it off."

I grin. "Alright. I know exactly what to draw."

Five minutes of pure, unadulterated artisanship later, there's a masterpiece drawn in sharpie on Ace's forehead. I take a picture of the blissful moment. There were a couple of times when I almost stabbed him in the eye, though mostly, the process was painless.

What did I draw? A loaf of banana bread.

Daniel soon woke up. As he yawned stretching his arms, he didn't comprehend that anyone was next to him. He then physically jumped out of his seat when he recognized Xavier was right there. I'd never seen a man so disheveledly bewildered.

"Are you kidding me?" Xavier grimaces. "I've been your pillow for the last eight hours and this is how you thank me?"

"You tried to kill me just a couple days ago. Sorry I'm scared to wake up next to an assassin," Daniel spits.

"You wouldn't have gotten another chance to wake up to me anyway."

I burst out laughing. Christ I'm immature. Though Daniel and Xavier both give me a what-the-fuck look at my outburst. Stop talking Octavia. This is too pure. You're going to ruin it if you open your mouth.

"How did you even get here?" Daniel rubs his eyes, turning his attention back to Xavier. "I'm pretty sure I didn't sign up for a free trial subscription for Deadly Pillows Monthly."

He coughs. "Excuse me? You should be glad. I'm a goddamn cover model for both Deadly Pillows Monthly and Soft Pillows Weekly."

"You're right," Daniel rolls his eyes. "You are pretty soft. Means you're getting a bit chubby."

Ace soon wakes up from our loud talking. A piece of hair sticks up so he has a cowlick. He pulls up the warm blanket against his face. As he gauges the situation, his eyes fixate on the sharpie in my hand.

"What the hell did you do Cupcake?" He groans, rubbing his face. "You didn't draw a knob, did you?"

"None of you are British," Daniel says. "Just call it what it is. Stop stealing our words, Yankees."

"Sorry, I couldn't hear what you said over the sound of firing fireworks, allying with France, and dumping your tea down the harbour," Skye groans. "Now give me some time to regain homeostasis before you useless paper coffee table coasters start arguing."

Chase rubs his eyes, sits up, then takes off his bra-esque sleeping mask. "What year is it? Why is the sun still out?"

"Nice mask bra-face," I smirk.

"It's too small to be a bra for anyone but you," Chase spits with acidity.

The other guys burst out laughing. Skye, on the other hand, shoots him a dead look which I appreciate. Clouds start to pass by our windows, surrounding us in white fluff. The fasten seatbelt signs turn on with a note. None of us take the warning seriously. Or at least, I don't want to, but Ace pushes me down into a seat and straps me in.

"What the shit Blackwell?" I state. "How come none of you have to buckle in?"

"None of us got a negative three on our physical fitness assessments," he smirks.

"Wait," Skye purses. She glances at the flight log. The first rural islands weren't even in sight, and it seemed too early for any turbulence. "We have like an hour left before landing."

Chase frowns. "I'll go check with the pilot."

Suddenly, the plane jerks back and forth, causing everyone to crash into the walls. It's almost ironic that I was safe since I was strapped in. Clouds started to whiz by the windows much faster than normal. In a split second, Chase ran back from the cockpit with a terrified expression.

"The pilot... she's dead. The plane is falling towards the city."

Octavia: "Vote and I'll draw on Banana Bread."

Sophie: "Click on the link in my profile to access merchandise designs on teespring!"

Ace: "Wait, what if these people are broke?"

Sophie: "Alright... In that case... Use the promo code CUPCAKE for 10% off. Items are limited. I also made some things cheaper than others to accomidate different price ranges. Check them out <3"

Xavier: "I'm so offended why isn't it CHEESECAKE?"

Ace: "Shut up you traitor. Having a crush on an interpol agent..."