#ryder evercade

Melissa’s excitement was increasing as she stood in line to board the small, private airplane. She had never been to Spain before, but she had heard from her parents who had spent their honeymoon there eighteen years earlier, that the sights were breathtaking and the shopping was an experience all on its own. Melissa had made sure to leave plenty of space in her suitcase for any items that she might want to purchase on the trip, and she wondered how much of her time would be spent shopping, sightseeing, sketching and painting. She wanted to view as many sights as possible so that she could add them to her collection of sketches in her notebook; she knew that the New York Academy of Art would be impressed with her dedication to art if she submitted her sketches from Spain in her application. Melissa wondered how many of her peers had started thinking about college, she was sure Dallas had, but he had never voiced this to her. At the tender age of ten years old, when her friends dreamed of becoming princesses or astronauts, Melissa dreamed of being an artist. Painting and sketching for a living, like that of her idols Van Gogh and Da Vinci. She remembered the day she had decided to attend the New York Academy of Art, like it was yesterday. The image of her grandmother and her ten year old self wandering the campus, wide-eyed and inspired. Grandma Conan seemed to be the only one that supported and encouraged her dream, and when the old lady passed away a few years later, she made Melissa promise to apply to the college of her dreams. For both of them.

Melissa’s train of thought was interrupted as she was hustled onto the plane by a red-faced Miss Torres, who had taken to checking her students tickets and ushering them towards their row. Melissa followed a pale-faced Dallas, who was clutching his carry-on luggage rather tightly, but seemed to loosen his grip after she offered him a few words of reassurance. She would be seated next to Dallas Ward, one of her best friends, despite the fact that he was not an Incrowder as well as the friendly, but rather annoying Daily Heartland. She didn't have anything against the girl, but Melissa refused to discuss who was hotter between Mr Butler and Mr Prescott. Arriving at their row and after choosing an aisle seat, Melissa took a seat, storing her over-sized bag under the chair in front of her and putting her earphones in her ears, turning on her iPod. The familiar voice of John Lennon was all she could hear as she watched her peers board the plane, chattering loudly amongst themselves. She must have fallen asleep, because quite some time after they had taken off, she was awoken by a gentle shake.

Opening her eyes slowly she saw Ryder Evercade - who was seated next to Aeolus Hale and Easy Kane in the row in front of her – grinning down at her. She removed her earphones, looking at him expectantly, waiting to hear what was so important that she had to be woken up from her much needed nap. “I really thought you would be more fun during a nine hour flight,” He said, chuckling. “Although, watching you sleep with your mouth open is pretty damn hilarious. I already see it getting a million views on Youtube.” He winked at her, holding up her phone. An annoyed expression appeared on her face, as she made a grab for her phone. “Not only do you steal my phone, again but you also take a video of me. While I’m sleeping.” She responded, failing to grab her phone. She had already fought to get her phone back from Aeolus before the flight, so she didn’t particularly want to spend the rest of the flight fighting to get it back from Ryder. After a few mumbled words from a disturbed Dallas next to her, Ryder gave Melissa her phone back, but instead of turning his attention back to Aeolus and Easy his eyes stayed glued on Melissa as they engaged in playful and somewhat flirtatious banter. Something she certainly didn’t expect from Ryder.

When he offered to get her something to eat and she accepted, he got up to find an air attendant and as she waited for him to return she couldn’t help but overhear Illiana and Tabby giggling in the row behind her. After hearing the words ‘Mile High Club’ she turned around in her seat, interested in the two girl’s conversation. Little did she know, Easy was already having his first Mile High Club meeting in the bathroom at the back of the plane, with none other than Claire James. After Aeolus and Ryder found this out, they decided to eavesdrop on the whole escapade or rather, sexcapade, dragging Melissa with them and even using the voice recording device on her phone to record Easy and Claire. After Aeolus kicked in the bathroom door, finding a butt naked Easy and a horrified Claire, Melissa endured some technical difficulty – texting the recording to all the contacts on her phone. Leaving Claire in tears and Easy to drown his sorrows in a bottle of vodka.