A Future To Look Forward To (Caulscott)

The Mourning After

The bright morning sun danced through the holes in the blinds, finding their way into Max's tired eyes. Drawing herself up from the bed, she pushed her legs out in front of her to stretch. However her stretching was stopped short by a loud thud from the kitchen. Quickly, she leaped from the warmth of Nathan's covers and dashed to the kitchen.

When she walked in, she did not expect to see the utter chaos that was now her kitchen. Pots and pans lay splayed out on the counters, and soft coats of flour and sugar covered the once clean floor. Carefully, Max ventured further into the kitchen seeking the cause of the havoc in her home. As she peeked around the corner of the counter, she found what she was looking for. Covered in the same substances that coated her floors, Nathan was digging through the lower cabinets for something. She tried to suppress her laughter, but you could still hear Max chuckling at the sight of the dirty boy.

Nathan snapped his head up from the cabinet and turned to look at Max. Instantly his face flushed and his words were caught in his throat.

"Sorry!!..I will clean it all up... I swear!" he mumbled

"Don't worry about it! However, I must ask. What in the hell were you trying to do?" Max couldn't contain her laughter at this point.

Nathan's face reddened even more than before. Max's curiosity piqued as she awaited his response. Nathan, however, took his sweet precious thinking of an answer that didn't sound bad. Finally, the flustered boy spoke.

"I tried to make you a surprise breakfast, but I guess I forgot how to cook after all these years..." he trailed off with a sad laugh.

Max was flattered by the attempt, and no longer was humored by the poor boy. She smiled kindly and left the room. When she returned, she held a broom in one hand and a mop in the other.

"As much as I love breakfast, I like a clean kitchen better. After we clean this mess up, you can try again, okay?" Max consoled while already beginning to sweep the flour off the floor.

Nathan smiled at her kindness, and gladly took the mop in his hands. They cleaned together in silence, but this was unsettling to Max. Quickly dashing back to her room, she found her phone. Max pulled up the music app and looked through her collection of songs and albums. Before long, she found an old playlist her and Chloe would listen to when they helped Joyce clean the diner. It was a combination of alternative, rock, and pop songs everyone used to listen to in high school. She placed her phone down on the counter, and Nathan gave her a quizzical look. Max only answered with a mischievous smirk. The first song began to play and she immediately knew Nathan recognized the song by the look on his face. He smiled widely back at her and they both went back to sweeping.

After all of the work was done, Max retrieved all of the ingredients she needed to make pancakes and returned to the counter where Nathan sat, watching her intently. Music still hummed in the background of the kitchen, so Max danced around, more than likely making a fool of herself. However, she knew Nathan would not judge her, and so she continued. Max mixed ingredients to the beat and handed the bowl and a whisk to Nathan. He laughed loudly and complied, whisking away as Max pulled out another clean pan and set it on the stove top. She turned up the heat and walked back over to Nathan to retrieve the mixture, but her dancing stopped when the song changed to a slower song.

Nathan's laugh faltered for a moment. Max had recognized the current song as well and was not sure as to how it would effect her clearly traumatized friend. It was "Car Radio" by Twenty-one Pilots, and Max remembered every word of this song for more reasons than one.

When Max got out of the hospital, she had some troubles reconnecting to people after all that went down. After seeing everyone die and living in multiple realities, Max struggled to grasp reality. This was one of the songs Chloe had played when it was her turn to play "mother" for Max. Chloe would sit Max down alone and blare this song until eventually, Max would feel well enough to turn it off.

Nathan sat and listened whole-heartedly to the words, but his expression never changed. He looked as if he were finally solving a huge puzzle he had been stumped on for months. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he looked down at his hands, that were folded and tucked into his lap.

I ponder of something great

My lungs will fill and then deflate
They fill with fire
Exhale desire
I know it's dire
My time today

I have these thoughts
So often I ought
To replace that slot
With what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole
My car radio
And now I just sit in silence

Sometimes quiet is violent
I find it hard to hide it
My pride is no longer inside
It's on my sleeve
My skin will scream
Reminding me of
Who I killed inside my dream
I hate this car that I'm driving
There's no hiding for me
I'm forced to deal with what I feel
There is no distraction to mask what is real
I could pull the steering wheel

I have these thoughts
So often I ought
To replace that slot
With what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole
My car radio
And now I just sit in silence

I ponder of something terrifying
'Cause this time there's no sound to hide behind
I find over the course of our human existence
One thing consists of consistence
And it's that we're all battling fear
Oh dear, I don't know if we know why we're here
Oh my,
Too deep
Please stop thinking
I liked it better when my car had sound

There are things we can do
But from the things that work there are only two
And from the two that we choose to do
Peace will win
And fear will lose
There's faith and there's sleep
We need to pick one please because
Faith is to be awake
And to be awake is for us to think
And for us to think is to be alive
And I will try with every rhyme
To come across like I am dying
To let you know you need to try to think

I have these thoughts
So often I ought
To replace that slot
With what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole
My car radio
And now I just sit in silence

And now I just sit in silence [x2]
And now I just sit

And now I just sit in silence [x3]
And now I just sit

I ponder of something great
My lungs will fill and then deflate
They fill with fire
Exhale desire
I know it's dire
My time today

I have these thoughts
So often I ought
To replace that slot
With what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole
My car radio
And now I just sit in silence

After the song ended, Max placed a comforting hand onto Nathans shoulder as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He looked up at her and stared into her eyes. His sudden actions startled Max, and when he placed his hands on each side of her face, she froze. What Nathan did next surprised the both of them. He pulled her face towards his own and planted his lips gently against hers. Max had no idea what was happening at first, but slowly, she melted into the embrace. Her hands found their way to his waist and his hands had wound themselves into her hair.

She pulled away and looked back into Nathans eyes, expecting to see regret or shame, but he only smiled. However, this was not one of the empty smiles that he would put on for show this one seemed... genuine. Nathan grabbed her hands, and held them tightly. He was the first to speak.

"Max, you got rid of my silence. You are my car radio... you truly saved my life."

Max couldn't speak, so she didn't. She lifted his chin and pushed her lips against his in another passionate kiss, and Nathan sweetly returned the gesture.

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A/N: Sorry if it sucks, i have never written romance stuff but i wanted to try.

btw: I obviously dont own the song mentioned in the chapter.