"Apparently the storms have moved west."
"Isn't that a weird way for them to move?"
"Do I look like a fucking meteorologist?" Louis asks me, pulling out his magazine again.
"How many times can you read the same issue?"
"How many naps can you take?"
"I've taken two, thank you very much."
"And yet, we're still on a plane." Louis motions to the business men and women around us.
"Half an hour left, though."
"And thank God, no turbulence."
"Imagine having turbulence though. That would be epic. Everything would shake. It'd be an earthquake in midair."
"You're a freak."
"How rude."
"Ladies and gentlemen," the pilot's voice comes on, and Louis and I look at each other.
"What a timing." I mutter.
"It appears we've hit those storms. Please make sure your seat belts are on. We may experience slight turbulence."
"Yes!" I say, excitedly. "Turbulence!"
"You're a freak!"
"Come on, Lou." I look at him after securing my strap. "This is exciting."
"This is life threatening."
"You're not going to die because of some slight turbulen-" the plane jerks up, and I nearly hit Louis. "Okay, maybe this is a little bit scary."
"You think?!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, we will stay on our route for the remaining twenty minutes of the flight." The pilot informs us, and people all around shout profanities as they try to wipe up the drinks they spilled.
"Should we put up our seats?" Louis asks, reaching for the recliner.
"Probably." I follow suit and set my seat upright, closing my tray table. "Hey, did they play a movie while I was sleeping?"
The plane shakes again, and Louis nods. "They played that new superhero movie. I wasn't paying attention to it, though."
"Damn, pity I missed it."
"Yeah, such a pity." He says, gripping the arm rests as the plane shakes once more. "Fucking pilot and his idea is keep on course."
"Not even twenty minutes left, Lou."
"I don't think you understand that I really, really do not want to die today."
"You're not going to."
"Are you sure? Because, like," the plane jerks, causing other passengers to begin shouting. "I'm not so fucking sure!"
"I'm sure, Louis." I let go of the arm rest to hold his wrist. "I'm sure."
-
"Holy shit, did you see that?" I ask, pointing toward the window. "That lightning lit up the whole mother fucking sky."
"That's what lightning does, Niall. It lights up."
"I never would have guessed." I deadpan, yanking at my luggage to get it around the stupid corner.
"We have to get my car before we can head back to school. It's only five, so we should get back at a decent time."
"Do you think we should stay at a hotel for the night?" I suggest. "The storm looks a little rough."
"Do you not trust my automotive skill, Niall?" Louis looks back at me, and I shrug.
"Just a suggestion. It's a four hour drive."
"We'll be fine, sunshine."
"Let's get your car, then."
Louis leads the way to the desk where we checked in his vehicle, and the woman behind it is nice enough to have someone drive the car to the entrance. Louis thanks her a thousand times, and she waves us off to help the next person in line. We wait for his silver Porsche to make an appearance, and when it does we book it outside. Louis tips the man who hands him his keys, and shoves his bags into the back seat.
"It's windy as fuck out, dear God."
"S'not raining though. That's good."
"That's very good. Thank you for the observation, Niall. Get the fuck into the car." He shouts to be heard over the wind, hopping into the driver's seat and turning the car back on. I follow suit, getting into the passenger's seat.
"Music?"
"You can pick it." He says, driving us out of from under the overhang and into the turning lane.
I grab the case of cd's he has in the glovebox and shuffle through them. He picked on the way down to the airport, and we listened to pop punk trash from the early 2000s. Now is my time to shine. I find a mixed CD I made him two years ago. Reading the track list, I bite my lip on a grin and slide the CD into the player.
"What'd you put in?" He asks, turning right out of the parking lot.
"Nothing in particular." I say nonchalantly, turning up the volume a little.
"Just tell me what you- Oh my God!" Louis let's out a laugh. "Not this CD, please no."
Hannah Montana pours through his speakers, and I lip sync to the beats of Hoedown Throwdown.
"Turn this shit off, Jesus Christ, Niall." Louis presses the eject button, and I laugh as he takes the CD and tosses it into the back. I choose another CD, The Heist. "What's you put in now?"
"Macklemore."
Louis bounces in his seat. "I met him, Niall. I met him."
"I know, Lou." I say, half laughing at his reaction.
"Macklemore is the High Priest of Please Bend Me Over."
Choking on air, I fight the prick of sudden tears in my eyes. "That's a new one."
"Hey, if you can tell dead baby jokes, I can discuss my feelings for Ben Haggerty."
"I have new Princess Diana jokes. Wanna hear those?" I ask, slipping off my shoes and bringing my feet underneath me.
"Not really, but you're going to tell me anyway, so go for it."
"What do French wine and Princess Diana have in common?"
Louis sighs. "I don't know... What?"
"They both come home from France in wooden boxes." I see Louis fighting back a smile. "Why did Elton John perform at her funeral?"
"Why?"
"Because he was the only queen that cared."
Louis laughs, frowning and flicking on his blinker to get us onto the highway. "That's awful."
"What do Princess Diana and red wine have in common?"
"Didn't you just say this one?"
"That was French wine."
"Oh, right sorry. What?"
"They're both really hard to get out of the upholstery."
Louis looks distressed, staring out of the windshield. "Hell, Niall." He says. "Hell is where you're going."
-
"Niall." I feel a poke on my shoulder. "Niall. Niall, I need you to wake up."
I open my eyes and blink a few times. I look over at Louis, who is staring expectantly at me. "Hmm?"
"I had to stop and get gas, but we're about an hour away from campus. It's raining now, really hard. I need you to be awake and talking to me, so I don't fall asleep or anything."
"Yeah, yeah." I sit up, yawning. "Yeah I can talk to you."
"I got you a slush, because we're at Speedway. Who can pass up a $1.50 ginormous slushy? Nobody, that's who." He grins, pointing to the drink holder in the middle where a large slushy and a Peace Tea sit.
"Thanks, mate."
"No worries." He says, starting his car again. "I just need somebody awake with me. It's dark, and I always get sleepy driving at night."
"How hard is it raining?" I ask, but soon get my answer once we're out from under the shelter of the gas station. "Oh. Right."
"Can you pick out more music? I had the radio on, and it got dull." Louis requests and I nod, yawning again.
"Lana good?"
"Lana's fine as long as you keep talking to me."
"Okay." I find the Ultraviolence CD I made him a few months back and slide it in. "I love this CD."
"I love CDs in general."
"I know, right? It's frustrating that everything is going digital. It's like, fuck iTunes. Give me some CDs and a stereo player."
"Maybe if I get a little red dress, I could sing this song." Louis suggests, and I laugh.
"You don't even like bourbon."
"Shh..." Louis shushes me. "Nobody has to know."
I laugh, and we're quiet for a little while, just listening to the music. About halfway through Ultraviolence, Louis speaks up.
"Okay, you need to keep talking to me."
"Sorry, right." I sit up straighter. "So, what are you and Grim planning for your reunion?"
"I'm not sure. He said its a surprise. I think that he's setting up a picnic thing on the old soccer field, though. Don't tell him I know, please. He thinks he's being sneaky."
"Is he?"
"I mean, he is being sneaky. But Luke has a big ass mouth. I heard them talking about it in the locker room before break." Louis explains, and I nod in understanding.
"The locker room is pretty echoey. You can hear anything in there, really. I've heard lots of things I probably shouldn't have."
"Wait! Did you hear us planning for your birthday party that one day?" Louis asks in disbelief.
I smile widely. "I definitely did."
He gives me an angry look, the squints at the road signs. "Our exit is up here. I'm getting off sooner than usual, because I don't want to pay more tolls."
"Fair enough." I nod, watching the road as Louis drives along, getting off the expressway and getting onto a smaller road. "Hey, I know this road. This is where my boyfriend brought me three years ago, remember that?"
"Oh, the night you lost your v card?"
"No, it was the third time I had had sex, actually." I laugh. "Eric was a mess."
"Harry is a mess." Louis hums. "You seem to have a type, for sure."
"He pulled over, and wow it's really windy. He pulled over and we made out by one of the trees. I couldn't tell you which one to be perfectly honest. It was just a big tree. Then I would have said it was cool, and he was hot, and I liked it. Looking back on it, that fucking tree-no pun intended- wasn't fun, and I have scars from the bark cutting my hands up."
"Poor Niall." Louis pouts. "He doesn't seem to realize that scars are what he gets when he has sex in the out of doors."
"Okay, but at the park I didn't get scars."
"You weren't slamming into a tree."
"This is true."
"We've learned something from this experience, I hope?" Louis glances over at me.
"Yes." I nod. "Don't top on a tree."
Louis let's out a loud laugh just as lightning flashes again. "Whoa, I am God. I can make it thunder and lighting."
"You're an idiot."
"I'm not the one who fucked against a goddamn tree!"
"It was an adventure."
"That led to scarred hands." He points out.
"True again."
"Does Harry know about your tree sexcapades?" Louis asks, grinning.
My eyes widen. "Jesus Christ, absolutely not. That is between me and you."
"And also Eric and the tree."
"You know what, you're a butthead."
"You love me." Louis laughs lightly.
"I do."
"You love me so much that you'r-"
The lightning flashes, and shards of glass go everywhere. I scream and try to cover myself from the large tree that falls into the windshield. The car screeches, and I feel lightheaded. Blood from my temple runs down my face, and I feel a salty taste in my mouth from where I bit my tongue. The lighting lights up the car again, and I scream. "Louis!"
The music continues to play as I try to get my legs out of the trap the tree set. I see sparks from electric wires the tree pulled down, and I scream again. "Louis!"
Finally getting my legs out, I can't stop shaking and everything is going blurry. I see a small fire started next to the car, and I turn to see if Louis is okay. "Louis! Louis!" I continue to scream, trying to push the tree trunk off of my best friend. I see his head, but he isn't responding to me. "Louis fucking Tomlinson, fucking ANSWER ME!"
I get some of the branches off of him, throwing them back at the windshield they came in. My hands are shaking, and I search for my phone. Dialing 911, I push Louis' hair out of his eyes. "Louis!" I feel my tears mix with the blood on my face. "Louis, come on. Answer me."
"This is 911, what is your emergency?"
"There was a tree that crashed into the car. My friend- my friend isn't responding to me!"
"Could you tell me your location, sir?"
"The road off exit 8. I'm not sure the exact name. I can't remember."
"Stay calm, and stay on the line. We have help coming your way. Okay? Is your friend responding yet?"
"No! I can... I can see his face, but his body is trapped under the fucking tree trunk."
"Don't try to move the trunk. If the branches punctured any major arteries or organs, you don't want to move them and cause more damage. Is your friend-"
"Louis! His name is Louis!" I push his hair out of his face again, where it keeps falling. There is blood on his nose, and in his eyeshadow. He's going to hate how bad he looks.
"Is Louis breathing?"
"I don't know. I can't tell."
"Do you know how to check a pulse?"
"On his wrist."
"Also on his neck. Can you see and touch his neck without moving the branches?"
I wipe the snot from my nose. "I...I think." I reach for his neck, and it's cold. "He's cold." I say, starting to cry harder. The rain finds its way into the car with us, and I want to scream at it to leave us be.
"Can you feel a pulse?"
"I..." I move my hand around, looking for a beat. Nothing. "No."
"The ambulances are almost there, sir. Can you hear the sirens?"
"It's fucking pouring down rain and thundering and lightening. I can't hear anything except you!"
"It's okay, sir. They're coming. I have to hang up. They're almost there." The lady says goodbye and the line disconnects. I throw my phone onto the passenger seat, and ignore everything she told me, trying my hardest to move the tree trunk.
"Louis. Louis, you can't die. Louis, you have to be okay." I cry, laughing I fear. "You're always okay. You're going to be okay." I manage to get more branches out of the way, but not the trunk. The fire has gotten bigger, and I can feel the heat of it on the side of my face. "You have a date with Nick, remember? You have to be there. You hate being late."
The music gets louder as the song gets into the chorus, and I scream at the radio. "Stop fucking playing! I don't need music! I need my mother fucking best friend!"