Regal

One day, he would have his own helicopter, he reasoned. Something that he could park on the roof of a – admittedly probably larger – townhouse and access easily, able to go wherever he wanted to go at a drop of a hat. But having a helipad nearby where they knew him and understood if he wanted to spend a little time in the air? Kind of a godsend as well, he couldn’t deny that. And when he could spend time with a friend, t was even better. “Not today,” he agreed with a laugh and a nod, looking down at the ground below as they flew.

He took them out across Green Acres, first, knowing some of the best views were out that way, across the fields, pointing out Circle B Ranch and the campground, then out across the lake, smiling to himself at the way the water shifted in the sunlight. “It’s pretty, right? And everything does look miniature,” it had a sort of magic to it, he supposed. Either way, it was a nice sight. “We’ll head out towards the ocean now, sometimes if you’re really, really lucky, you can spot dolphins, so… let’s hope you’re Lady Luck today.”

After years of living in the city, Lana hadn’t been sure about moving to a smaller town, although, Bayview definitely had it’s busier parts. Still, she had always been in a more heavily populated, bustling area, so this was a definite change of pace. But she was a hippie at heart and getting more in-tune with her environment was exactly what she needed. Experiences like this just reminded her of that. “Good. That might take some preparation from both of us,” she laughed.

Gerard spotted hanging out with Lana. Another case of just friends or something else?

We’re up in the air with this one… literally. Normally we would say that it could just be the case of two people who are friends (they have mutual friends, so it makes sense, right?), but then there’s the fact that they took a helicopter cruise of Bayview, which seems to imply a little bit of alone time, and a little birdy told us that there may have been dinner afterwards, too?

Gerard couldn’t help the low chuckle that slipped past when Lana mentioned making sure that she had some excitement to share with everyone, he knew that there was a good chance he would be able to give her that. “Don’t you worry,” he confirmed with a nod as he checked everything over a final time, and noticed her thumbs up, realizing that they were good to go, and feeling his nerves melt away as the instinct of knowing what he was doing took over. Many, many hours and years of practice meant that he could get them up and around safely. And that was just what he intended to do.

“Bungee jumping,” he shouted over the sounds as he began the lift-off, carrying them up into the sky steadily, moving forward away from gray and concrete and towards green fields and tree tops, instead, “I hope you’re okay with sky diving, instead of bungee jumping,” he teased, a loud laugh replacing his words soon after. “No, no, I promise we’ll be okay,” once they had reached the altitude he was hoping for, he gestured with one arm towards her side of the helicopter. “There’s your first sign of ant people, below us, we’ll go see if the lake looks like much more than a mud puddle, next.”

It seemed pretty obvious she was mostly joking, but it never hurt to have a good story to tell. Especially with the amount of conventions and panels she did, it was always nice to have something new to talk about. Plus, they had mutual friends, so it would be fun to recollect, regardless. “Not at all!” she agreed, peeking behind her at the rest of the aircraft. It was nice, even if she’d just be in the same seat for the journey.

Gerard had to admit that he was a bit nervous heading into the day; it had been a while – a hot minute, as the kids said – since he had gotten behind the wheel to take control of an aircraft, but he had completed the training years ago, had gotten his license at last and had enough faith in his ability to know that he could easily tool them around Bayview with no problems. And besides, there was no better time to find out than when someone who was new to town, and had thus far been incredibly friendly, wanted to have a tour from the air. Stepping back after their greeting, he let out a scoffing laugh. “We’ll see if you’re still saying that in a moment… no, I’m kidding, it will be great,” he gestured towards the helicopter and made his way back over that way, stopping on the passenger side to be sure to offer her his hand to help her up inside.

Making his way back around to his own side, he hopped back up, pulling the door closed and beginning the rigorous process of getting ready to take off. Seat belts, checking all of the knobs and gears and everything in between, his headset, making sure to breathe… good to go, he figured. “I figured we’d start out here, out over Green Acres. Then I’ll just show you a little bit of everything. The views when you get closer to the ocean are absolutely breath-taking, too, so you’ll love that,” a beat as a small smirk crossed his face, “you’re not afraid of heights, right?”

Work had kept her rather busy since her move, so she had not had much time to get acquainted with her new home. This seemed like the perfect way to kill a few birds with one stone--only metaphorically speaking, of course. She would see more of Bayview, go on a fun ride, and get to know an acquaintance a little better. “Well, I am hoping for some excitement, so I can tell everyone about the time you nearly got us killed,” she joked. Taking his hand, Lana stepped up into the buzzing helicopter.

He probably wasn’t going to kill them. At least that was what he had told himself the other two times that week that he had folded himself up into the cockpit and spent a few hours tooling around in the sky. Years ago, he had taken an interest in flying, wanting to conquer the air so that it left less to the imagination, so much less in the ‘unknown.’ Granted, all it left him with was a feeling of frustration when he was on an airplane and wanted to take over and fly it himself. But this was different, this was a joy ride with someone he had known – at least casually – for a litle while and was getting to know a little bit better now that she was in the same town that he was living in. And what way to get to know a person and a town better than up in the air?

Thankfully, he had friends in high and low places, and that benefited him today, when he had arrived to the heliport around back of the airport in town, running through his check and being led out to the 'copter that they would be taking out for the day, smiling when he realized everything was in order and ready to go. The only thing missing was… there she was. Lifting his hand in a greeting, as well, he stepped down from the pilot seat to make his way over to her with a wide smile. Kissing one cheek and then the other, he gestured towards the helicopter. “Glad you made it. I ran through all of the safety checks, got everything lined up… we’re pretty much ready to go, as long as you’re still trusting me,” his smile grew a little more wicked at that, then.

She was a bit of an enigma. Lana was never quite sure where exactly she belonged or fit in, and so, she tried to just be present, more than anything. Sometimes she was incredibly outgoing, and sometimes just needed to be on her own. And she was starting to learn that was okay. One thing that remained consistent, however, was that she was always excited about a good adventure. That was exactly what was in-store and a perfect way to get acquainted with her town and someone she would like to get to know better.