Faith smiles as she was strapped into the landing chair. The past three days had flown by. After the first day she and Taylor had set out to seriously explore the ship. Which meant playing every game they found, including ping-pong, and even chess, despite the fact that neither knew how. Faith had won. The only exception was an old candyland set (though why it was on the ship no one knew), which Taylor had refused to play, even though Faith had accused him of just being afraid of losing. Not even this had changed his mind, though.
She looked up as the ship started shaking, and saw Taylor across the room. He saw her at the same time, and grimaced at her. She grinned. Then she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pressure being put on her body by the landing of the ship.
She'd given Taylor her address on earth, as well as her phone number. He'd given her his number as well, though he warned her they were away from home a lot, and his private e-mail. They had also decided to explore the fair together, if it was at all possible. Taylor didn't know if he would be allowed to walk around by himself, despite the fact that being mobbed in a world where no one had ever heard of him was not a large possibility. Faith knew she was going to be busy helping her mother. So it might be difficult to find time.
But they hoped to find it anyway. These past few days had been really fun for both of them. It had been just...joy, and games, and joy and games are necessary in life. They had, the last day, talked seriously about their hopes and worries for the future. Faith wanted to become a famous doctor, and find the cure to diseases. Taylor wanted to keep doing what he was doing, but with more freedom and respect than he and his brothers got now. They both wanted to be remembered for something after they were gone, and to make a difference.
"It's funny how we got so close so fast," he had said, that last hour on the ship. "I talk to you more than I do some friends I've known for years."
"Not really. Strange, I mean. Everyone on this shuttle has gotten pretty close, and I we're the only ones our age on the ship, I think." She kept her voice matter of fact, and not show him how much his words had meant to her. She had also felt very close to Taylor, but she didn't know if that was just her, or if he felt it too. He had already become one of her best friends, and she wished it could always be like on the ship, and that the world didn't have to seperate them when they returned. And if her emotions for him went any deeper, well, then....she didn't know what she would do. It would already hurt too much saying goodbye to him as it was.
What she said though, it was true too. Being the first humans to go to an alien planet, or at least some of the first, had drawn the passengers together in a kind of odd family. People were nervous, despite all assurances of peace, and excited too. They didn't want to be alone.
The last thing that Faith had Taylor do before heading for the boarding/landing room was sign her cd. She had dragged him to her room and presented it to him with a foolish grin on her face. He had signed it with a florish, and then made her sign the sleeve of his t-shirt.
"For when you're a famous doctor," he had said.
Now Faith opened her eyes and looked at him again. His eyes were squeezed shut, whith his face pulled back rather strangely from the pressure. Faith was amused by this until she realized she probably looked the same way. She closed her eyes again.
Faith lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. It curved slightly, making the room look larger than it was. It, as well as the walls, was painted a creamy color that contasted nicely to the red cotton sheets on the bed. Red was apparently a popular color in this world, since she had seen it painted on all sorts of things on the bus ride over. Taylor must love it.
The bed itself was simialar, yet different, from the ones on earth. It was lower to the ground, and quite large. The pillows were bigger and softer, and there was a canopy around the bed that closed it off comfortably from the room. It was red too. The canopy draped down over the sides of the wooden frame, but had no top, which allowed more circulation of the air in the room. This was a warm planet, and especially warm these summer months, so that was appreciated. They apparently didn't have mosquitos, so that was another blessing.
The people that brought them here, to this hotel, had been very pleasant. They looked like humans, and weren't frightening at all. One man in an ornate robe had stepped forward and addressed them all in stiff English; welcoming them. They had all made polite noices back at him, too tired by the landing to really talk, or ask questions.
There had been crowds of people lining the roads as they passed. Some were cheering; some were just watching. Most had seemed friendly, but among the smiling faces Faith had caught glimpses of men glaring silently at the buses, or smirking at them. Faith tried to ignore these faces, but one especaily stayed with her. This man had smiled slowly at her, and the pure nastiness in the smile had chilled her.
Still, her overall impression had been favorable, expecially after the delicious dinner that had been prepared for them had been eaten. The beautiful room hadn't hurt, either.
Someone knocked. Rolling reluctantly out of bed, Faith stumbled through the heavy folds of clothe toward the door. There was no peephole so she hesitated to open it, though.
"Who is it?" she called out.
A voice came back, too muffled to hear clearly. That was no help at all.
Noticing a little handle on the floor, she pulled it. A little block rose up, about three inches from the center of the door. It would keep the door from opening anymore than that, and could not be lowered from the outside.
Feeling safer now, she opened the door. Peering out of the crack, she was delighted to see Taylor. Kicking down the block, she pulled the door open and jumped out.
"Hey! You're here!"
Taylor was relieved at her welcome. He had been a little nervous about coming. Sure, they'd had a lot of fun during the trip, but he'd been afraid she had just been being polite when she mentioned getting together.
Faith couldn't believe he'd actually come. On the ship she hadn't doubted that he would, but once he was gone, driven off in a beautiful car-type thing, she'd begun to wonder. She'd decided that he had probably just forgotten about her the minute he stepped off the plane.
Acting on implulse, which seemed to be the only way she acted around Taylor, she reached out and hugged him. Surprised, he awkwardly put his arms around her and hugged her back. A little embarassed by her own action, Faith reluctantly let go. A second later, so did Taylor.
Taylor cleared his throat. His voice slightly more raspy than usual, he invited her to look around the fairgrounds with him.
"I mean, there probably isn't much up yet, but it might be interesting, you know, just to see something of this world," he finished, blusing slightly. He hadn't blushed for months, and had hoped that he had finally gotten over this embarassing habit. Apparently not.
Fait smiled, won over. He looked so much more human when he blushed, and he looked so hopeful and uncomfortable that Faith couldn't resist him. It reminded her of the early interviews that she had seen, where he had been very shy and uncomfortable, and very sweet. In more recent interviews he seemed so much more at ease, and used to it. There was nothing wrong with that, but it had been the sweetness that had convinced her to buy the cd, and the cd that had made her a fan. MMMBop had finished the job that he had started in that first interview she saw, and she had become a dedicated fan of the boys. He had looked so uncomfortable, a bit like he did now, happy and nervous all together, and it was a look that she couldn't refuse.
" I would be honored to go with you," she said formally, with a feeling filling her that words couldn't describe. When asked later, she said that that was probably when she had started to fall in love with him.