⚠️Warning: Contains scenes of natural disasters, mentions of trauma and drug use, and mentions of public nudity. If affected, please read with caution.⚠️
~~~~~
《1987》
*Mallory*
Why do we have to be the ones to check on him?" Vince groaned as we climbed out of Fred's car.
It was early in the morning and Nikki had missed another morning rehearsal.
Fred and Doug asked Vince and I to join him to find him, check and see that he's okay.
I came back a week ago from Tuscon after my father's funeral, and continuing to live with Mick, looking for a good medical school to move away to.
"Promise, guys, it'll be quick," Doug said as I then climbed out of the car.
I looked up at the house and froze as I stood there, looking at it.
I haven't been back here since.....
"Come on, he's probably sleeping off some hangover," Fred said as they walked ahead.
Vince then noticed I wasn't next to him and looked back, seeing I couldn't move.
"MJ?" He asked. "What's the matter?
I gulped and shook my head as I crossed my arms.
"I-I can't.... I can't go back in there...." I admitted, holding back tears as the others stopped.
He and the others looked at each other before nodding.
"I'll stay out here with you," he said to me.
Before I could respond, all of a sudden, it was like the ground started to tremble under our feet and I looked around as car alarms immediately went off and trees shook.
"W-What...?!" I said, holding onto my car as it started getting stronger.
"Fuck, EARTHQUAKE!!!" Doug shouted as people started running from their homes, those already outside just running around while the ground shook violently.
I then hear a loud noise as looked, gasping in shock as a street light was suddenly falling towards me.
"MJ!!!" Vince shouted and tackled me out of the way as it crashed down where I was standing and me and Vince landed on the lawn.
"Move, move, move!!" Vince said as he pulled me closer to the lawn, away from anything that can fall, Doug joining us.
I stared at the streetlight in horror, laying on my stomach as Vince hovered over my body, shielding me.
"Fred, get over here!! Get down!!!" Vince shouted. "MJ, stay down, cover your head with your hands!!"
I quickly did what he said as Fred rushed over to us.
I then hear a tree fall and crash loudly a few feet away from us.
"VINCE!!!" I screamed.
"Its okay, its okay," he assured. "Keep your head down!"
"Nikki's still in the house!!" I exclaimed.
As soon as I said that....
"AAAAAAHHH!! AAAAAAHHHH!!!!"
We looked over and immediately just see..... Oh god ......
Nikki ran across the lawn.... Screaming... Buck naked.... And something in his hand.....
It was another minute before the the shaking stopped and it was all still....
"....I-I think it stopped...." I said.
Nikki panted and looked around nervously, as if oblivious to the current situation.
Vince and Doug had helped me stand while Fred looked around.
"Holy shit...." he said.
Trees had fallen, and 2 other street lights as well, and telephine cables were also on the ground, a few injured people being pulled from their homes. The sidewalk was also pretty cracked.
All of a sudden another tremor his and I held onto Vince as the ground shook, but not as hard.
"Aftershock," Doug said, and then in a few seconds it was over.
"Okay..... Fuck..... Fuck, are you okay, MJ?" He asked as I held onto him for support, my legs still shakey.
"I-I'm fine, but.... We should probably get him inside...." I said, looking over at Nikki.
He looked over and pursed his lips as I saw a small crowd forming and a few people noticed Nikki.
"Good god...." Fred said.
"What was that what was that what was that what was that....." Nikki kept mumbling over and over again as we walked over, me pulling my jacket off.
"Nikki, Nikki, calm down, dude," Vince said, stopping him. "It was an earthquake, but its over now."
He stopped mumbling and looked around.
"Uhhh... Nikki....." I said quietly, handing him my jacket.
He frowned but then noticed the.... Situation..... and them looked over at his shocked neighbors before quickly grabbing my jacket and covering his crotch with it.
"Nothing to see here people, get back to what you were doing, its all good now," Doug called out as me and Vince helped get Nikki inside.
I then noticed what was in his hand as I opened his fist and sighed.
A crack pipe.... Of course....
"Come on," Doug said as we headed towards the house.
I sighed as I looked at the house, feeling dread overcome my body.
You can do this... It won't even be for an hour....
I shook away the feeling and continued into the house.
***
"Thank you, and again, sorry," Doug said to the security guys as they left and he closed the door.
Apparently the door locked behind Nikki and he ended up breaking a window to crawl in, getting the security alarm service coming over for what we found out was the 4th time this week.
I finished cleaning up a bit of broken glass when Vince came back downstairs.
"The big lug fell asleep the minute he had underwear on," He scoffed. "Almost had to drag him to his bed."
"News is saying there were a lot of injuries, but not many dead," I said. "A lot of homes were destroyed, though."
"Shit..." I sighed as I looked down. "We should probably call Mick, Tommy and Sharise, see if they're all okay..."
"Good point, but I'm sure they're okay," Vince assured me. "Phones are down, but we can drive over to Mick's place."
I nodded as then Vince spoke again.
"Oh, uuh, are you okay?" Vince asked. "I'm figuring that was your first earthquake?"
"Well, not really... I went through a few small ones when I first got here, but barely even felt most of them," I said. "This one was pretty big so far for me, though."
"Doesn't Arizona get earthquakes?" Fred asked.
"A few, but its barely. Over there, you can occasionally feel the ones in California from time to time. We do get landslides, but over there its mostly heatwaves, dust storms, and maybe during storm season a small tornado or two, but its kind of rare, and a couple of droughts during the dry season," I said.
"Well shit," Fred said.
"But seriously, are you okay? Do you need a doctor?" Vince asked. "Medics should be outside, I can flag one down..."
"Vince, really, I'm okay. Just a little shaken up, but I'll be alright, " I said, then smiled. "And, thank you.... You saved my life out there..."
He smiled, waving it off. "Its nothing. I'm glad you're okay... We can start heading out now if you want," he said.
"Let me make sure Nikki's okay, though....." I said, handing Fred the broom after he got the dust pan and headed upstairs.
I walked in, gulping nervously as I saw the messy room.
Nikki laid in bed, blanket over him, his hair pretty much a black ball of fluff on top of the cream colored bedsheets.
I walked over carefully and couldn't helo but smile.....
He always looks so innocent and peaceful when he's asleep.....
I then frowned as a tear fell down.
That damn smack..... It ruined the Nikki I knew.....
I sighed and stood up, walking out of the room and downstairs.
"We should head home.... I doubt we could have rehearsal after this fiasco," I sighed.
"I'll stay here, make sure he's fine," Doug said. "Fred, you can take them home."
He nodded as we then left.
"Hey... You sure you're okay?" Vince asked as we stepped out.
I sighed, crossing my arms.
"Honestly.... I'm not sure...." I shrugged.
He frowned quietly before pulling me into a hug.
I hugged him back, feeling calmer now.
"You can talk to me, you know," he said.
I nodded assuringly before we pulled back and headed to Fred's car.
~~~~~
Deleted scene is based off an entry from The Heroin Diaries.
In other words, Nikki really did once run out naked with just a crack pipe in his hand because of an earthquake. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Oh, and I'm from Florida and literally know jack about earthquakes (mostly hurricanes/tropical storms and the kind of crackhead shit you can do during/after it 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️), so sorry if I wasn't 100% accurate with describing an earthquake. 💀💀💀
Also, I honestly WAS planning to make these in order by year, but I have different years more advanced and almost done compared to others, so I'm probably just gonna mix things up a little. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
🎹 Currently in Sapph's playlist:
Motionless in White
"Somebody Told Me" (cover)
♡~ sapphire.