Friday Night Fire (T.Riggins)

Chapter Four

Becca's outfit is in the external link! xo

Tim's POV

"I'm just saying, using boxed mix is cheating." I shrug, cracking a smile as Becca scowls in my directions. She tosses another two boxes of brownie mix in the cart I'm pushing, rolling her eyes at me.

"I'd like to see you make enough brownies from scratch to feed 130 people. I'll make you some homemade ones for the next game." She smiles, tossing some cake mix in along with frosting. "Hm, chocolate or vanilla?"

"Both." I push the cart along behind her, admiring the way she looks so thoughtful while shopping. As if she could ruin the entire party by picking the wrong flavored frosting for the cupcakes.

She nods, putting a few containers of frosting in the cart. "I don't know what else we need. We have the mix, I have the rest at home. I think we're all set." She smiles at me before walking towards the checkout line. 

She places the items on the belt, pulling out her credit card. I stand behind her, watching as she taps the card against the metal of the station, waiting for the kid to bag the stuff. "What the hell is that?" A lady says from behind us, pushing by me to get to the door.

I follow, looking back to Becca. "Stay here." 

The skies roll with dark clouds, wind whipping so hard the carts are spinning along the parking lot. My eyes widen as I look up, seeing the circular motion of the wind just above the trees, sucking in the leaves.

"Tornado!" An older man yells from the side, running into the back of the store. 

"Tim?" Becca calls, her eyes on me to see what I would do.

My first instinct is to get Becca to safety, back at her house where she can go to the basement. But, with the close proximity of the winds, I run back in the store, grabbing her hand in my own before pulling her behind me. 

"Follow me, drop everything." I yell, watching her hands drop the bags of groceries she was carrying. She runs behind me, her fingers tugging at my long-sleeve.

Thunder and lightning crack outside, the winds pushing against the glass of the store. "Get down." I call over the whipping winds, pushing Becca behind an isle of cooking supplies. She sits down, looking up at me.

I curl my body around hers, wrapping my arms around her chest to shield her. I'm crouching down, allowing me to loom over her smaller frame fully. Her hands clutch onto my forearms, her eyes squeezing shut.

People scream in the back of the store and before I know it the glass windows are being blown to shreds, blasting open from the pressure outside. The glass flies past us, my body coiling tighter against hers. 

I tuck my head in the crook of her neck, my shoulders covering her head from the winds blowing through the now open areas where the windows used to be. The winds cold and hard, nearly bruising as it brushes my skin.

"Keep your head down!" I press my shoulder further against Becca's head, her body pushing back into my chest. Another ear-splitting pang of glass shattering occurs, right above our heads at the high windows.

She's clutching onto me, making sure I'm still with her at all times. "We're going to die!" The woman from earlier screams, her eyes producing more tears than normal. She's in absolute hysterics, sending the younger kids into them as well.

I prop my knee up, covering Becca from the wind. She lets go of my shirt just long enough to grab my hand, pulling it against her chest. She entangles our fingers, flinching back at each strike of lightning.

The lights in the store flicker, the glass covering them shattering to the floor.

Items fly off the shelves, crashing to the floor to create a mess, blowing about from the wind. I can't figure out a way to get out of here, so I keep her curled against me with such a tight force I'm sure she'll have bruises tomorrow.

It takes only moments for the carts to zip past us and hit the back wall of the store, bunching up along the frozen section. She flinches back, relying on me for protection. I feel some glass brush against my back, probably cutting my shirt from the force. 

I stay on the ground for some time, finally hearing the winds slow outside. I keep my arms around her, lifting my head to see the damage. 

The store's a mess, a disaster zone with extreme damage. Rain tumbles down outside with abandon, the winds leaving town for good. 

I sigh, looking down at Becca. "Are you okay?" I ask, brushing some hair from her face. She nods, her eyes wide as she looks up at me. "Are you sure?"

She moves in an instant, throwing her arms around my shoulders and pulling me into her front for a hug. I hold her waist, trying to remember the last time I hugged someone. She nuzzles into my neck, holding me tight.

Becca's POV

"Where the hell were you?" Dad screams, walking out the front door as soon as Tim pulls into the drive. I get out of the truck, putting my arms out to hug my dad. He complies to it, pulling me in while brushing some debris from my shoulders.

"We were shopping for some groceries and the tornado just happened. We were about to leave. Daddy, Tim protected me. I'm okay because of him, so don't yell." I soothe, smiling up at my father.

He surveys Tim, noticing the messy hair and torn shirt. "Is it true, Riggins?" Dad asks, watching Tim get out of the truck and tuck his hands in his pockets. Tim nods, looking at me. "Then thank you. She means the world to me, I don't know what I'd do if something had happened."

"I wouldn't let her get hurt, coach." Tim mumbles, feeling almost overpowered by my fathers dominating stance. Dad puts a hand out, shaking Tim's before clapping a hand on his shoulder and going back inside.

I walk over to Tim, leaning against the metal of his truck. "Thank you, again." I hum, watching as he chews on his bottom lip. He finally looks back to me, taking a deep breath that makes his chest expand.

"I probably shouldn't have asked you to take me to the store. I should've waited until tomorrow or something. I'm sorry." I say, giving him a half smile.

Tim shakes his head, putting a hand on my wrist. "This wasn't your fault. I would've been worrying about you the entire time had I been at home." Tim sighs, shaking his head again. 

"Well, I want to thank you properly. Tomorrow night, dinner on me?" I hum, batting my lashes at Tim. He smiles and nods, licking his bottom lip.

"It's a date. I'll get you at 7."