Daniel entered the lounge almost as soon as Katrina left, while Roxanne was still shaken by everything she had heard.
“Hey, Roxanne… you okay?” He called out, looking at her dazed state in worry.
She stared at him blankly, not giving him the kind of reaction he expected.
“You’re not still mad at me, are you? Look… I already explained it was necessary. Why don’t I make it up to you? When we get to New York and-”
Daniel kept talking, but all Roxanne could see or perceive were his lips moving. She felt a pounding in her head and a loud ringing permeating her ear which distorted the sounds of everything else around her.
‘W-what do I do…?’ She questioned herself.
The resolve that she had already steeled herself for was beginning to waver. To have heard such news at a critical moment wasn’t helping Roxanne’s mental state. Still, Katrina had given her a choice which meant that things were not as dire as she feared.
‘I can’t back out now!’
After calming her anxiety, everything went back to normal, and Daniel was just concluding his words.
“… So, what do you think?” He beamed.
Roxanne, who had not picked up on anything Daniel was saying was clearly not thinking anything in line with his thoughts.
“W-wha…?” She let out, giving him a confused expression.
Daniel instantly realized that she had not been paying attention and felt a tinge of awkwardness permeate his body. Still, he didn’t want to make it a bigger issue.
“N-never mind…”
>Sigh<
Daniel looked at the time, seeing that it was about two hours and thirty minutes left before their flight, he realized that they would have to spend the time together from this moment on.
"So, Roxanne, do you want to go shopping or anything?" Daniel suddenly brought up the topic.
The question caught her off guard, since she was not even in that line of thought.
"No, not really…" She answered honestly.
'Whew. That's a relief…' Daniel heaved to himself.
Everything at the Airport was expensive, and since he was a Celebrity, he was only to be seen with the good stuff. Unfortunately, the expenses he had incurred so far were a little above the budget, so he wasn't meant to go further.
'Why did I even ask?'
"Hey, Daniel… do you think we can leave this Lounge? I'm a little uncomfortable…" Roxanne suddenly mumbled.
Her distracted eyes and the impatient movements of her fingers sent Daniel the message. Perhaps he had been thinking too much about himself and neglected to consider Roxanne's feelings. This was most likely the first time she was leaving her home, considering how remote Oregon was.
'I should be more understanding, I guess…'
"Okay then, Roxanne. Where would you like to go?" Daniel asked.
"Isn't there a waiting spot closet to where we need to board the plane? I don't know, like a lounge close to-" Roxanne was looking for the words, since she was still a little flustered.
Plus, it had been quite a while since she boarded a plane. The last time was when they relocated to Oregon to get away from it all. Her mother and her travelled together, and it wasn't a very pleasant experience since she was still not over everything.
"Oh, I see what you mean. Unfortunately, they're loading Passengers currently scheduled for this afternoon before us, so it's most likely occupied with people." Daniel answered.
"A-ah, I see…" Roxanne mumbled.
"Yeah. If we wait for another thirty minutes, we should be able to go there. Why do you want to leave this place, though? It's quite comfortable." Daniel asked.
Roxanne appeared hesitant for a moment, ruminating on her reason. If she was to state one, it would be so that she would be much closer to the plane, making her reach a point of no return.
"It's nothing. Let's wait here then." Roxanne responded.
Daniel had learnt already that Roxanne was a stubborn girl, so he decided not to pursue his questions any further.
"Thirty minutes, let's just wait for thirty minutes more." He whispered.
[Thirty Minutes Later]
Roxanne and Daniel went to the waiting point close to their terminal. Roxanne sighted Paul, who held their luggage, already waiting for them there. His usual stern face nodded as soon as he saw her. She smiled and nodded back, feeling awkward.
Daniel had gotten them shades, as well as chased off the paparazzi, so he somehow blended well with the crowd.
"That's a nice mustache you've got there." Roxanne teased, noticing the fake sprout of hair he had grown a few minutes ago.
"Hey, hey. You're the one who doesn't want attention." He replied, laughing lightly.
They both say beside each other, opposite Paul. The waiting area wasn't filled with too many people, since a majority of the flight passengers had yet to arrive at the airport, were busy exploring the malls and everything else within the vast place, or simply dining or eating around.
In any case, Roxanne didn't see up to a dozen people around her. It was only 3:09 PM after all. More would start pouring in when it was an hour or thirty minutes before the flight started.
"Whew…" She heaved a sigh.
'With this, I'm feeling a lot bette-"
Suddenly, Roxanne's heart thumped loudly.
'A-ah....!' Her thoughts rang.
The beating became very fast all of a sudden, seeming to race faster than ever before. Her mind was going blank and her vision blurred. Her hearing failed her as she began to feel drowsy.
The first thought she had was that this was somehow being caused by Asher, making her panic.
'Is he here? No, he can't be! Katrina said he's back in the Pack… did she tell him of my location?!'
However, after experiencing this feeling for a few more moments, Roxanne realized that it wasn't due to Asher's proximity. It had to so with their connection somehow.
Something was happening to Asher at the moment, something very serious!
'No, Roxanne… calm yourself!'
She only had to endure it for now. Once she left Oregon, once she arrived at New York, everything would be fine.
However, was there any guarantee of that?
Her body felt strange as conflicting ideas and thoughts clashed in her mind, and Roxanne feared she would begin to worry the people around her if she remained in the waiting area.
Mustering her strength, she stood from her seat, surprising Daniel. He looked at her, seeing her tighten her face due to enduring the numbing sensation enveloping her.
"Roxanne, are you okay?" He asked.
"Y-yeah, I just have to use the restroom for a second…" She slurred, not even looking at his face
Walking away from the waiting area, Roxanne looked around impatiently for the restroom, not wanting to collapse as a result of the pangs she felt. If this continued any more, she was bound to pass out.
Finally spotting the female restroom, Roxanne raced there, shocking everyone around her. Everyone all had similar thoughts once they saw her dive into the place impatiently z and somehow empathized with her.
"She really has to go, uh?"
Finally in the facility, she opened the door to one of the restroom cubicles and locked it.
Her heart was thumping louder than ever, and her sight was fading entirely. The ringing in her ears couldn't stop and if felt like her heart would burst.
"What's this? What's happening to me?" Roxanne wailed internally.