Eces POV
Airports never sounded loud to me.
They sounded layered.
Rolling suitcases. Echoing announcements. Bursts of laughter. Shoes against polished floors. Breathing. Heartbeats.
Intentions.
We moved together through the terminal — chaos circling us like it always did. Section E was already arguing about seats. Mica and Ella had started filming. Keiren dragged Keigan toward a food stall while pretending he wasn't hungry.
Jay walked beside Keifer, their fingers intertwined. He carried her bag without even asking.
They looked calm.
Too calm.
My fingers brushed the pendant beneath my collar.
Warm.
My heart beat increased
This warmth is not normal.....
I slowed slightly, letting the group move a few steps ahead while my eyes wandered toward the reflections in the glass walls.
Nothing strange.
Families. Travelers. Children running.
Still…
The air seems heavy ....
Then someone walked past me.
Close.
A breath near my ear.
"He isn't alone."
My lungs forgot how to breathe.
I turned immediately.
Crowd.
Only crowd.
No face. No direction. No mistake.
My hand tightened around the pendant.
He ..... came ?
No… if it's him … so it means—
My thoughts stilled into a prayer.
Ma Kali…
( Goddess Kali )
jo andhere ko andhera rehne nahi deti…
( Who doesn't let the dark remain darkness)
Mujhe galat mehsoos mat hone dena...
( Don't let me feel bad )
Mujhe der mat hone dena.
( Don't let me become late )
My gaze lifted toward them — laughing, arguing, living freely.
inki hasi bani rehni chahiye, chaahe meri neend chali jayi…
( Their laughter shouldn't fade , even if I had to sacrifice my sleep )
chaahe mujhe khud andhere mein chalna pade.
( Even if I had to walk in darkness )
I exhaled slowly and walked back toward them.
No one noticed.
Not Jay smiling.
Not Keifer checking the boarding screen.
Not Keiren talking nonstop.
Good.
They shouldn't know.
Because if the whisper was true…
This trip wasn't just a trip.
Someone was waiting.
And this time —
He wasn't alone.
I tucked the pendant back under my collar and matched their pace, smiling just enough to look normal…
…but my eyes never stopped searching.
Third Person POV
Keifer watched her long before anyone spoke.
The waiting area was loud — announcements, footsteps, luggage wheels scraping tile — but around Eces there was always a strange kind of quiet. She sat near the window, hands folded in her lap, thumb unconsciously brushing over the pendant again and again. Not nervous. Not exactly sad.
Guarded.
Percy leaned forward first, elbows on his knees.
"Eces… you promised. You said when we leave, you'll tell us the real reason."
Jay sat beside Keifer, her shoulder lightly touching his arm, but her eyes never left Eces either.
"Yes," Jay said gently. "You told us you wanted to go back once… now we're going. Tell us why."
The chatter around them slowly faded. Even the others stopped arguing about snacks and boarding gates. Keiren sat straight. Keigan crossed his arms. Aries looked between them all.
Eces didn't look at anyone.
Her fingers tightened around the pendant.
For a moment Keifer thought she wouldn't answer.
Then she spoke — quiet, steady.
"I lived in India… for six years."
Keifer felt Jay stiffen slightly beside him. They all knew that already. But the way she said it — not casual, not distant — meant the real part hadn't come yet.
"I didn't stay there alone," she continued. "Someone was taking care of me."
Her voice didn't shake. That somehow made it heavier.
"And the day I told you all I needed to go back once…"
She paused.
Her eyes lowered.
"…was the day I found out they died."
Silence.
Not the awkward kind. The kind that presses into your chest.
Keifer didn't even realize he had leaned forward until Jay's fingers wrapped around his wrist.
Eces finally looked up — not crying, not broken.
Just… empty in a place she never let anyone see before.
"I have to go back," she finished softly. "That's all."
Nothing else. No name. No details.
And somehow that made it worse.
Keifer studied her carefully.
She wasn't avoiding pain.
She was protecting something.
Or someone.
He glanced at the pendant again.
This isn't just grief, he thought.
This is unfinished.
And whatever waited in India…
she was walking toward it knowingly.
Jay's POV
I don't know why… but after she said it, breathing felt heavier.
No one rushed to comfort her.
No one asked the name.
We all understood — if Eces wanted us to know, she would have told us already.
Then Keiren, of course, broke the silence.
He shifted closer to her, staring at the pendant like it held all the answers.
"So… Ate," he said carefully, "that person gave you this pendant?"
Eces looked down at it.
For a second her fingers tightened.
Then she nodded.
Just one small nod — but it felt bigger than everything she had said before.
Before the silence could fall again —
Denzel suddenly leaned back dramatically.
"Okay so basically," he sighed loudly, "we're travelling internationally with a mysterious girl who has a tragic backstory, a secret past, and probably hidden enemies."
Blaster raised his hand.
"I call dibs on not dying first."
Felix added, "Too late, you look the most sacrifice-able."
Yuri smirked. "Yeah the villain would definitely pick you first. Weak aura."
"Excuse me?!" Blaster protested.
The tension snapped.
People laughed. Even Keigan exhaled through his nose and Percy shook his head. I saw Keifer relax beside me — just a little.
Eces didn't laugh loudly, but I saw it — a faint curve at the corner of her lips.
Good.
She needed that.
Then chaos began.
Rory immediately pulled his phone out.
"Okay serious question — what should we NOT do there?"
Calix pointed at himself.
"I'm asking for everyone: can we drink tap water?"
"Will we get kidnapped if we wander?" Drew asked.
"Do I need vaccines?" Kit added.
Mayo: "Street food safe or death sentence?"
Josh: "Can I bargain? I WILL bargain."
Eman: "What if I insult someone accidentally?"
Edrix: "What if they insult me accidentally?"
David: "What if I accidentally get married there?"
Everyone: "WHAT?"
He shrugged. "I've heard things."
Even I couldn't stop smiling.
All eyes went back to Eces.
She looked at all of us — properly this time — like she was measuring responsibility.
"Don't drink water anywhere random," she said calmly. "Only sealed bottles."
She pointed at Josh. "And you — don't bargain aggressively. Smile first. Respect matters more than price."
Then at Mayo. "Street food is safe… but only where I say."
Rakki leaned forward. "Clothes?"
"Comfortable," Eces replied. "But modest in temples."
Grace raised a hand like a student. "Shoes inside homes?"
"Remove them," she said immediately.
Percy smirked. "And getting married accidentally?"
For the first time, Eces actually looked amused.
"Only if you agree."
Laughter burst again.
I glanced at Keifer. He was watching her carefully — not smiling like the rest of us.
Thinking.
Always thinking.
I slipped my fingers into his hand under the chair.
Whatever waited in India…
At least we were going together.
And then..
The announcement finally echoed through the terminal.
"Passengers for Flight 6E — now boarding…"
For a second nobody moved.
Then chaos.
"BAGS!"
"WHO HAS THE PASSPORTS?"
"DON'T LEAVE ME—"
Blaster almost ran in the wrong direction before Felix dragged him back by his hoodie.
Percy didn't even react.
Because Percy was staring at the black screen of his phone… using it as a mirror.
He adjusted his hair.
Tilted his jaw.
Turned to me. "Jay, be honest. Left side or right side better for airport lighting?"
"Board the plane."
He ignored me and checked again. "International flights require visual standards."
Aries pulled his collar. "You are not a celebrity."
Percy walked while still checking his reflection in the boarding gate glass. "I represent this group's visuals."
Keifer sighed beside me. "We should've checked him in cargo."
---
We stepped into the aircraft tunnel.
The air changed — colder, quieter, heavier with that strange feeling that always comes before leaving a country.
Keiren leaned toward me and whispered dramatically,
"Ate… last chance to run."
I nudged his forehead. "Board."
---
Inside the plane — more chaos.
Section E immediately turned the aisle into a traffic jam.
"THIS IS MY SEAT."
"NO YOU'RE 32B I'M 32B."
"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY B's?!"
Meanwhile Percy was blocking the aisle taking a selfie.
"Wait — airplane lighting hits different."
The flight attendant smiled politely while definitely reconsidering her career choices.
Aries shoved him into his seat. "SIT. DOWN."
---
Finally we settled.
Seating:
Keifer beside me (thank God)
Eces across the aisle near the window
Keigan next to her
Keiren behind us
Percy with Aries two rows back — still fixing his hair using the window reflection
The rest scattered but loud enough to still be one group
---
I buckled in and exhaled.
Keifer tilted his head slightly toward me.
"You okay?"
I nodded.
But my fingers instinctively held his sleeve.
The engines hummed softly now.
Across the aisle, I saw Eces staring outside the window — not at the runway…
At the sky.
Her hand was gripping the pendant again.
Her lips moved silently.
I couldn't hear her words.
But I felt they weren't excitement.
They were preparation.
Behind me Percy whispered loudly,
"If turbulence happens my face symmetry will get ruined."
Aries covered his mouth. "I hope it shakes only your side."
---
The plane door closed.
And somehow…
It felt less like we were going on a trip —
and more like we were crossing into something waiting for us.
+++++++++++++++
Guys , I am not getting enough response from you all , chapter wise views are going down as well as comments too.
So , please comment guys 🙏🙏 . It motivates me to write more chapters and good chapters too.
And , one thing more , I am already having a YouTube Channel but it was deactivated for more than 1-2 years ... And now I am planning to do comeback, you guys can find Kpop as well as Indian historic shows like Mahabharat and Ramayana content too .
So , what do you guys think that should I post Section E or other drama content on that channel itself????
Comment please..