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Writer's Block (2AM_Club and Josu_T)

Drew smiled and nodded as she said she would like the window seat. Then she surprised him by asking what he prefered, adding a question about travelling with someone or alone. He yawned and shrugged. When he looked back at her she seemed slightly more interested than he expected. It didn't matter to him though. He shrugged again as he answered. "Ah, I usually just sit in whatever seat is stated on my ticket. If someone wants to switch I will, but if not, I'm fine with whatever."
 
Veronica looked away after Drew answered. She pretended to be busy looking at a sign about airport safety but it was really to hide her disappointment at not finding out if he were single or not? Had he not answered on purpose? Was it possible that he was hiding something? She was frustrated with herself for being upset about not knowing. It wasn't her business. And so what if he were single? There was no way he would ever be interested in her? She was basically there working for him. She told herself to remember that this wasn't a vacation. It was business. "Oh, ok," she murmured, not wanting to appear rude by not acknowledging his statement.
 
Drew could immediately tell she was not happy with his answer. He figured it was probably too cryptic for her. He chuckled. "Well, unless I am travelling with a production assistant, or someone else working with me, I am alone." He smiled softly at her and wondered how that answer might change her reaction.
 
Veronica nodded, knowing that she'd given herself away with her reaction. She pretended that she was now completely indifferent. "Oh, well, that must not be very much fun. To only be with people you're working with or alone. You know, since you go to so many great places and everything. The line moved forward again and Veronica stepped ahead of Drew to have her boarding pass cleared so she could walk through the metal detectors.
 
Drew was surprised by the change in response of Veronica. She had him quite confused. With a shrug and a sigh he waited for her to be through the security. Then he went through himself. He passed through the metal detector without a problem and emerged on the other side and rejoined Veronica. He checked for where their gate was and started in that direction. As he did he continued the conversation with Veronica. "It is not bad flying alone. I usually just sleep the entire time."
 
Veronica confirmed the gate location and followed Drew down to it. They had made it to the airport in good time. It helped that they didn't get caught up in the security line. She nodded. "Well if you're sleeping then your seat definitely doesn't matter" she replied understanding his comments from before. "I usually only do that on long flights. How long will this one be?"
 
Drew nodded at her comment. Then she asked how long their flight would be. He thought about it for a moment. "It will be less than an hour. Not long at all. My home town is not far from here. It is just easier to fly than drive." They got to their gate and Drew found a pair of seats. He dropped his carry on bag and plopped himself down in one seat. He then looked up at Veronica and smiled.
 
"Oh. I hadn't realized that you lived so close. Do you go home often?" she asked. She took a seat down next to him. "Why stay at a hotel when you're home?" she asked confused. She thought it made more sense for him to go to his house. It would also be cheaper, especially now that she was accompanying him.
 
Drew shook his head. "My home town is close. My family no longer lives there any more. My old house is abandoned a little way out of town. So we could stay there, but it would not be very comfortable. I just feel it would be easier to stay in a hotel." He shrugged. His family had moved out of there quite a long time ago. It was still his home though. It was where he had grown up and had all his childhood memories.
 
Veronica listened attentively. This was definitely news to her. She would have never considered a location without her family as home. She nodded to indicate she understood. "Well, maybe our next stop would be to see your family." She smiled. "I bet they had a lot to do with you getting into writing." She leaned back in the chair. "Do you remember the first thing you wrote?"
 
Drew shrugged. "We could. I mean, it is a possibility. I'm not sure how much inspiration it would be though, not really with the kind of things I write about. But hey, it is worth a shot I guess. As for the first thing I wrote, it would have probably been a short story in high school or something like that. I don't really remember." He shrugged again and stared up at the ceiling blankly. He hoped the flight would board soon.
 
Veronica watched Drew's reactions. Disinterest in his voice. Shrugging twice. Looking away from her. Staring blankly up at the ceiling. To put it simply, Drew was displaying classic signs of : You bore me. I don't give a fuck. It made Veronica cringe inwardly. This wasn't exactly how she thought things would happen. It wasn't like she had a concrete vision, but she thought Drew would be happy to have her as company. Or that he would at least pretend. The trip felt so personal, the two of them going together, going alone. Veronica had to remind herself that it was a business trip and not vacation. She wouldn't invest anymore into this trip than Drew would. His job was on the line, not hers. She was doing her best to help. She wanted to joke that maybe he should buy an energy drink and get some pep. Perhaps that would help him write a book. She was wondering why he hadn't been liking what he'd been writing. It was probably too dry and cynical compared to his other novels. She stared down at her boarding pass, deciding it was Drew's job to figure things out.
 
Drew sighed. He wasn't bored with Veronica. He just didn't know what to say. He had no idea what to talk about. He was so used to being on his own all the time that he forgot about how to make new friends and meet new people. He had friends who he spent time with, but they had been friends for years. He had very few new friends. He glanced over at Veronica, hoping she wasn't feeling ignored. He cursed himself inwardly for his inability to have a proper conversation with her.
 
Veronica played with the boarding pass in her hand. She hated the silence, so she cleared her throat. "Have you thought about going to another production company?" she asked. That was assuming that her help would fail and that his contract would actually be terminated. It wasn't an optimist thing to do, but Veronica was the kind of person who liked to have a back up plan. Plus, she felt frustrated at the situation. She didn't feel control and that was something that made her uncomfortable. That discomfort put her on edge and made her a bit testy. "I mean, have you thought about what is going to happen if you don't write again? Are you good at anything else?" she asked bluntly.
 
Drew listened as Veronica asked him about whether he had looked into any back ups. Then as she asked about what he would do if he didn't write again. He smiled over at her. "That isn't going to happen. I can still write, but nothing is coming out as good as my previous work. If I am unable to come up with something good and lose my contract, I will submit other work under a pen name. I just don't want something that is not as good to be publised in my name and tarnish my reputation."
 
Veronica raised her eyebrows skeptically. He seemed so sure of himself. Then what did her need her for? "How do you know it isn't as good?" she asked. It occurred to her that if such a long time hadn't gone by he wouldn't have any problems. Some people get so caught up with authors or certain plots that they just expect for them to be good. Or they're so popular that people love them regardless of the quality. Drew had certainly been popular enough for the latter. But that was about a year ago. The tide had turned. "So you're willing to create a pen name that has the possibility to fail?" She shook her head slightly. "So what is the point of all this? Why am I even here?"
 
Drew miled and aughed a little at the confusion and surprise that Veronica showed. At her questions he shook his head. "Do you really think I want to do that? Hide behind a fake name? No! That is a last option. I know I can do it, but I wouldn't like it. It would be shameful. I would also have to hide that it was me behind the pen name. As for knowing what I've written is not as good, I just know. I know my previous work and I know that what I've come up with so far is no where near as good. You are here to halp me and avoid your company losing me as a writer. As you said, they don't want to drop me and I don't want to be dropped."
 
She set her jaw. "I don't know what you really want to do or not do, Drew," she said simply. Of course she had an idea and it didn't seem like something he would do, but she wasn't ready to admit that. She was about to suggest that he simply stopped writing but she decided against it. He reminded her about job within the company, further solidifying the intention that the interaction was all business. She nodded and cleared her throat, standing. "I'll be right back," she muttered. She walked off to the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror before splashing some water on her face. She took a deep breath, telling herself she was being too anxious and should clam down. She walked out and back down to the gate.
 
Drew shrugged as Veronica got up and left. He was giving her answers for the sake of giving answers. He really didn't know what he would do. He refused to really think about it. He was sure he could come up with something, he just didn't know how. When Veronica returned he smiled at her. Before he could say anything though their gate announced that boarding for their flight was beginning. He got up and gathered their things. He looked to Veronica to make sure she had her boarding pass and then went toward the line of people waiting to get onto the plane.
 
When Drew smiled at her, Veronica forced herself to smile back. "And here we go," she said, after the announcement that they could board the flight. She helped Drew collect their belongings and waved her boarding pass at him to ensure him that she had everything under control. She stood behind him in the line and once her pass was scanned they both walked down the ramp and onto the plane. She stowed her things and settled into the aisle seat next to him. She made herself comfortable wishing the flight were longer so she could get a quick nap.
 
Drew handed his boarding pass to an airline employee and then entered the plane. He made sure all their stuff was securely in the overhead bin and then sat by the window. He glanced over at Veronica and smiled. She seemed to be relaxing. He decided not to bother her. He watched as the plane quickly filled up. It was not a very big plane, but it was not going far and was not going to a major airport. He had not expected a large plane. It still took time to get going though, so he took the airline magazine out of the seat pocket and started to flip through it.
 
Veronica took a deep breath and settled back into her seat. Although she liked to travel, the take-off and landing always made her nervous. She tried not to show Drew her anxiety. She closed her eyes and focused on taking deep breaths. She gripped the armrest as the plane started to move. Taxi-ing usually felt like it took a long time to her because she was always anxious for the plane to get into the air. She didn't like that sudden feeling of being off the ground. Her stomach would give an unpleasant turn. The trip had been so last minute that she hadn't brought her any medicine with her to calm her down. And it was such a short flight that she didn't it would be too bad.
 
Drew relaxed in his seat. He had no problems with flying. The first few times had been tough, but he had flown enough by now that he was completely used to it. Every once in a while an unusual movement or vibration would worry him slightly, but mostly he was fine. Taxiing took forever. He ignored the safety talk. He knew it completely already. Then came take off. He still relaxed as the plane picked up speed. As it took off he felt a short feeling of worry as he always did, but then relaxed once they were fully off the ground. He got settled into his seat. He looked over to see how Veronica was doing.
 
Veronica felt her body being pushed back into the seat as it left the ground. She took in a shaky breath, holding the armrest tighter. She swallowed, forcing back her nausea. She blinked her eyes back open and took another deep breath. She let herself relax in the seat. She never worried about anything happening in the air, it was only the take off and the landing. She glanced over at Drew and gave him a small smile. "Nerves," she admitted. "I can never get to the feeling the first time. You know that whole thing that if humans were meant to fly we would have wings." She shrugged. "Normally I take something."
 
Drew smiled softly and nodded. "Well, take off is done now. Glad to see you are fine. Wouldn't want you getting freaked out or sick. So, how to kill an hour on a plane? No movie or show of any kind because it is too short." He shrugged.
 
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