More than you see -Tonga Loa
A couple weeks have passed since I started traveling with the guys. I had started to become really close to them.
Loa had become one of my best friends, he was always there when I needed to rant or get something off my chest.
Solo and JC.. They could always make me laugh when I was in a bad mood or when I was stressed about something.
Talla and Tama had become like protectors. If someone even looked at me wrong they were getting stared at.
Now, Sophie would have that too since we were traveling together for the first time since she was now on summer break.
By the time we had gotten through security, I saw the guys walking toward one of the airport coffee shops. Sophie walked along side me as we followed them.
Solo was teasing JC about somehow managing to juggle three bags at once without dropping anything, while Loa was already eyeing the pastries like he hadn't eaten in days.
"So... this is what it's like traveling with them?" she asked, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Yep," I said with a laugh. "Welcome to the chaos. Don't worry, they're harmless... mostly."
"There they are," Tama says, finally noticing us when we had caught up to the group.
"Everyone this is my daughter Sophie." I say introducing her to them.
She waves shyly at first but the guys almost immediately pull her into a group hug
"About time we met the famous Sophie" Solo says
"Your mom doesn't stop talking about you, you're making her proud," Loa says
"I know, she tells me that all the time," she says honestly
"And we're proud uncles. Your mom was telling us how you made varsity cheer as a freshman?" Tama says
Sophie nods, "a week after we get back from Europe starts cheer practice,"
"Well, Enjoy your two weeks in Europe, sounds like you'll be busy when you get home," Solo says
"I can't wait though. I love cheer so much. I can't wait to be back on the field cheering,"
"Until then, Enjoy your vacation. Yeah it's going to be hectic since we're having shows every night, but you get to watch from backstage," I say
Sophie laughed, nodding. "That actually sounds amazing. I've never been backstage at a show before."
Loa smirked. "Oh, you're going to get the full experience. Waking up early, traveling, working out and then finally getting to the show, just to do it again the next day,"
She laughs, "Sounds like my life during cheer and Soccer seasons,"
"Except you get even less sleep. I've seen her pull an all nighter to finish schoolwork," I say
"I got a thirty minute power nap during lunch and survived," She says
"No all-nighters this trip. We'll make sure she sleeps on the plane or bus," JC says
"Hopefully I can sleep. I usually don't in moving vehicles. Especially if I can't get comfortable."she says
"You don't sleep on planes? Oh nah, we gotta fix that immediately."Loa says
Solo smirks, glancing over at her. "Yeah, that's not gonna work. These flights are long. You will sleep."
"If not I have summer assignments I can work on, it's not the end of the world," she says
"Of course you'd bring schoolwork," Tama teases
"It's kinda a last resort if I get really bored and can't sleep tactic."
"What seat are you in?" Solo asks
Sophie shifts the strap of her bag on her shoulder, thinking for a second. "Um... I think I'm in 23B?"
"You're between me and Tama," Talla says
"You say that like it's a bad thing," I say
"Nah, I want to make sure she's comfortable and actually rests for a while," He says
Sophie looks between the two of them, a little amused, a little curious. "You guys are really taking this seriously, huh?"
"Yep, I think your mom would kill us if we didn't at least try to look out for you," Tama says
Sophie laughs, "I'm sure she would. She's very protective of me,"
"Damn right I am. You're one of the few things I have left,"
Sophie's smile softens as she looks at me, "You've got more than just me mom,"
"She's right," Tama says.
I glance over at him, and there's no teasing in his voice now. None of them are joking anymore.
Loa nods from behind us. "You've got all of us too."
JC shrugs like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Yeah. You're stuck with us now."
Sophie smirks, "I'm still her favorite though,"
I laugh, "You are sweetheart. I don't want to even think where I'd be without you,"
"Flight 4291 bound for Barcelona is now boarding,"
Sophie's eyes light up instantly, her grip tightening on my hand. "That's us."
"Don't worry Leah, she's in good hands," Tama says
"She better be or else I know who to come after,"
Tama grins like he's not even a little worried. "I'd expect nothing less."
Sophie laughs softly between us, clearly loving every second of this.
We move up with the line, one by one getting our boarding passes scanned. The soft beep sounds, and just like that, we're heading down the jet bridge.
"Looks like you're stuck next to me," Loa says as my boarding pass clears, falling into step beside me.
I glance at him, smirking. "Stuck? You sure about that?"
"Yeah," he shrugs, completely unbothered.
"You talk less than Tama. I'm winning." I say
"Hey," Tama calls from behind us. "I heard that."
"You were supposed to," I say
We walk on to the plane and walk back to Row B. "You want aisle seat or window seat?" Loa asks
"Aisle seat. Looking out the window freaks me out. I hate being able to look down tens of thousands of feet and see the ground,"
"I didn't know that about you," he says
"There's a lot you don't know about me,"
"Well, I wouldn't mind learning. I mean we have a 14 hour flight ahead of us,"
I look across to see Sophie settling into her seat. Tama and Talla are doing everything they can to make her comfortable
I buckled my seatbelt and waited for the others to finish boarding so we could finally take off. By the time the plane starts moving, I'm gripping my seat, closing my eyes
I feel a rough calloused hand over mine, gently comforting me until the plane reaches cruising altitude. I look over across the aisle and see Sophie trying not to panic. Not only was it her first time out of the country, but her first time on a plane in general.
"Don't worry, she's in good hands," Loa says
"I know, I just hate that she's scared and I'm not there to protect her,"
"No, but my brothers are, and by the looks of it, she's clinging to Tama,"
Tama looks over at me and smiles. "Don't worry, she's safe, just a little spooked from takeoff,"
"At least the plane is level now, you can relax a bit," Talla says
"Sorry," Sophie says quietly
Tama gives her a small squeeze, his voice softer than usual. "Nothing to be sorry about. First time's always the worst part."
"I just don't want to bother either of you. It's not your fault you got stuck next to me ," she says quietly
"We aren't stuck. One of us could have easily switched seats," Talla says
"So just relax, cover up and try to sleep. We have a long flight ahead," Tama says
One by one, all of them fell asleep. Talla first, head tilted back, arms crossed like he's done this a hundred times.
Then Tama, head leaning against the window one arm still resting close enough to Sophie like some part of him refused to fully check out.
Loa snored quietly beside me, but I was still awake. As was Sophie. In an effort to let the guys sleep, I texted her to make sure she was okay.
A second later, her phone lights up in her hands. She reads it, then looks over at me, offering a small, reassuring nod before typing back.
Me either. Can't get comfortable and don't want to wake Loa by moving.
Same. I'm scared if I move I'll wake Tama and Talla
I glance over, watching as she carefully adjusts the blanket by like... half an inch, moving slow enough it's almost funny.
I bite back a small laugh and text back.
They're knocked out. I know from experience that they don't wake up easily.
Her fingers pause over her phone for a second, then she types back slowly, almost cautiously.
Good... I don't want to accidentally disturb them
I grin a little, reading it, and reply.
You'd have to really try to wake them. Trust me. Even a nudge probably wouldn't do it.
She lets out a tiny laugh, the tension in her shoulders easing just a bit.
Okay... then maybe I can finally relax a little.
Get some rest Soph. If you need anything, text me or wake me up
My phone buzzes a few seconds later
After a while even she dozes off, but I stayed awake. My body refusing to sleep.
Eventually, Loa stirs beside me, stretching his arms slowly before letting out a quiet yawn. His eyes blink open, still heavy with sleep.
"Morning... or... something like it," he mutters, his voice thick, not fully aware of where we are. He glances at me, noticing my wide eyes. "You... still up?"
I give a small shrug, keeping my voice low. "Yeah. Couldn't sleep."
"At least Sophie is asleep," he says looking across the aisle.
"Yeah, took her a while but she's asleep,"
Loa lets out a quiet exhale, leaning back slightly in his seat. "Good. She needed it. I could tell she was tired,"
"I think everyone was. Shit I'm exhausted, but I can't get comfortable,"
"You can stretch out across the empty seat if you want,"
"Even that probably won't help. I'm cold and my back is stiff from sitting for hours,"
"Get up and walk a bit, go to the bathroom or something," he says gently
"I've already done that like four times,"
"I can rub your back if you want, or you can lay your head on my shoulder,"
"Loa, you don't have to do any of that. I mean it sounds nice, but I don't want people getting the wrong idea about us,"
"I don't think anyone would. But let them think what they want. We know the truth and that's all that matters,"
"I just.. I don't want them to think I'm sleeping with you or something to advance my career. Some of the girls already think we're dating which is bad enough,"
"Dang I'm that bad huh?" He teases
"It's not that. I just, I'm terrified to put myself back out there. Yeah it's been almost fifteen years, but what if you turned out to be like him, I say quietly
"Leah.. you'd never have to worry about that. I'd never hurt you or Sophie, but I'm also not going to pressure you into something you aren't comfortable with. I care about you, more than a friend should."
"I... I don't know if I can trust that yet," I admit softly.
"I get that, no matter what, I'm here for you."
"Can I still take you up on your offer to lay my head on your shoulder?"
He smiles, "Of course. You want under my blanket? I know you mentioned you were cold,"
He reaches over and pulls the edge of his blanket toward me, letting me slip under it. The warmth hits immediately, spreading across my shoulders and down my back. I let out a small, relieved sigh as I settle my head back against his shoulder.
"Better?" he asks softly, his hand brushing lightly over my arm.
"Much," I admit, closing my eyes for a moment.
Without even thinking, he rubs my back under the blanket and I slowly start to drift off to sleep.
When I wake up as the plane touches down, Blinking a few times, I stretch, disoriented for a moment, before noticing the others Talla, Tama, JC and Solo all smirking at me.
"You looked comfy asleep on little bros shoulder," Tama says
"I was. And he offered because I couldn't get comfortable,"
Sophie was still sound asleep in her seat. Talla gently shook her as the plane went over to the gate where we would get off
She was still groggy as the plane started to empty. "How long was I asleep for?" She asks
"You were out when I woke up, you didn't move the rest of the flight," Tama
"I know I didn't wake up, that's why Im stiff and have to go to the bathroom," she says
"Don't worry, we'll stop at the bathroom before boarding the bus to head to the hotel," I say
"Then once we're at the hotel we need to discuss what we're eating, it's dinner time,"Solo says
"I'm hungry too, but I can't wait to get a shower and go back to sleep" Sophie says
"We'll discuss all that once we get to the hotel, let's get off the plane, the bus will be waiting on us,"
Getting off the plane and walking again felt amazing. We walked through the airport following behind the guys as they head toward baggage claim.
Once we approach a women's bathroom, Sophie and I go inside, the others not even paying attention and continuing to walk ahead.
By the time we had caught up with them, they had all of our luggage off of the carousel.
"There you are, ready to get on the bus?" Tama asks
I nod, "let's get to the hotel,"
We were some of the last ones on the bus. It was loud and full of other wrestlers from our flight. Sophie and I found a seat near the front while the others walked to the back. Unfortunately we weren't sitting together again. She found a seat next to Carmelo Hayes, and I sat across the aisle next to one of my best friends, Rhea.
"You want me to switch with you Leah so you can sit next to your daughter?" Melo asks
"Nah it's okay, but thanks for offering Melo,"
"She just doesn't want to sit beside the cool kid," Sophie says, making the three of us laugh.
"You're stuck in a hotel room with me for the next two weeks, this is the closest thing to freedom you'll get," I say
"I know, I know," she says
"Hey I could have left you with your grandparents for two weeks and come alone,"
"You're right, unless you were mid semester. Can't have you missing two weeks of school and practice."
"Yeah Coach Barnes would kill us both,"
"Exactly. Luckily for you, it's June and you don't have school,"
"Thank God. I needed a break. Last year was rough."
"And you're about to enter high school too which is even worse than middle school,"
Sophie groans immediately, dropping her head back against the seat.
"Don't remind me," she says. "I'm trying to enjoy my life before it gets ruined."
Melo chuckles beside her. "High school's not that bad."
She turns her head slowly to look at him. "You're lying."
"I'm not," he laughs. "It's just... different."
"Different how?" she presses.
"More freedom," he shrugs. "But more responsibility too."
"Just no boys," I remind her
"Ooh when is she allowed to start dating?" Rhea asks
"After she's married, and even that isn't happening until she's like 40,"
Rhea laughs, "Overprotective much?" She asks
"Damn right. She's still my little girl, even if she's a teenager and has an attitude,"
"Where do you think I learned that from?" Sophie asks
"Definitely your grandma," I tease
"Nope, I learned from the best,"
The bus pulls up outside the hotel before I can respond. We slowly walk off and get our bags from the storage underneath the bus before walking into the hotel to check in.
Of course, there was a booking error and Sophie and I were booked in separate rooms. I was going to be sharing a room with Loa, she had been booked in a room with Tama.
After trying for a while, they couldn't get it sorted. I almost wanted to breakdown and cry from being exhausted and jet lagged. It's not that I didn't trust Tama, I just didn't want to leave Sophie in a room alone with him, knowing that she'd panic.
I shake my head, "Rooms got messed up, Soph is supposed to room with Tama and I'm with you,"
"It's just one night, it won't hurt," he says
"I just don't want her to be a bother to him or to freak out I'm not with her," I sigh heavily, "This trip is already a disaster,"
"You guys ready to go eat?" Tama asks, coming over to where I was waiting by the desk.
"You guys go without me. I'm trying to figure out rooms. Soph and I got separated and it's stressing me out,"
"They put her in your room," Loa says to his brother
"Leah, I promise she'll be safe with me. It's not a big deal,"
I shake my head, pacing a little near the desk. "It's not that I don't trust you, Tama. I do. It's just... she's never stayed away from me overnight, and now she's in a room alone with you. What if she freaks out?"
"Then she calls you or comes to your room. I mean you could just have her sleep in the floor," Tama says
"I'd feel like the worst mom ever if I did that. I'm already going to be sleeping on the floor myself,"
"You are not sleeping in the floor, the bed is plenty big enough for both of us," Loa says
"Oh you're stuck in his room? This is too perfect," Tama teases
I shoot Tama a glare, but it's more playful than angry. "Ha ha. Very funny."
Loa smirks, clearly enjoying my reaction. "Seriously, Leah. There's plenty of space. You don't have to do the floor thing."
"And Sophie will be fine in my room for a night," Tama says
I bite my lip, still pacing a little. "I know she'll be fine... it's just... new place, new room, and I'm not there. I hate leaving her like that, even for one night."
Loa steps closer, resting a hand lightly on my shoulder. "Leah... she's with Tama. She's safe. You're overthinking it, seriously."
Tama nods, a reassuring smile on his face. "Exactly. I've got her. She might text you once or twice, but that's normal. She's okay."
I let out a shaky breath, finally letting some of the tension leave my shoulders. "Okay... okay. I trust you both. It's just hard, you know?"
"We get it, but don't worry, you're both safe. Now let's get your bags upstairs," Loa says
"Hey Sophie, you're rooming with me tonight kid," Tama says
Sophie's head pops up from where she's fidgeting with her backpack, eyes lighting up. "Really? For real?"
Tama nods, grinning. "Yep. You and me. Just one night. You'll be fine."
Her face relaxes instantly, a huge smile spreading across it. "Okay... okay, that's way better than I thought!"
By the time we had returned from dinner, all of us were exhausted. I walk with Sophie to the room she was sharing with Tama.
"If you need anything, call me or text me, I'll be here in less than two minutes,"
"She'll be fine, you're worrying too much,"
"I'll be okay mom," she says
"I'm serious, if you need me I'll come get you and you can sleep in the floor of my room,"
"I'll be okay. I have Tama with me and I trust him,"
She says. She hugs me tightly before they disappear into their hotel room.
I walk back to my room with Loa trying not to break down.
"Everything is going to be okay Leah. Tama already texted me and told me that she's getting ready for bed. You have nothing to worry about," he says
"I know, I just don't like that she's not right here with me."
He puts a finger against my lips which is soon replaced by his lips. His kiss was soft and slow, but it awoken something in me I hadn't felt in a long time.
Tagging: @terrortwinunicorn @sharmelasworld @darkangel-madness @xnightmarexpunkx @jeysslut
