Tommy Joe Ratliff sat in his bunk, his back straight as a rod, lost in a nest of blankets. His wide brown eyes grew wider as thunder boomed so violently the bus shook! A tiny whimper escaped his lips when the bus was lit up with lightning... Lightning means thunder... A certain glam-god crossed his mind and he climbed out of his home aid shelter, scampering to Adam's room. He didn't think to knock, he just ran in and jumped on the bed just as thunder boomed loudly overhead. Adam sat up, ready to bitch at whoever tried to wake him up at four in the fucking morning. All feeling of anger drifted away, concern replacing it as Adam's eyes fell on the tiny bassist who clung to his waist for dear life.
"Tommy! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" He tried to pry the little guy off him, but Tommy wouldn't let him.
"Please... Please, just hold me. Hold me for a minute..." Adam couldn't help the excitement that he felt at Tommy's words. Was this it? Was Tommy finally going to confess to liking him?Adam did have his suspicions... Could he have been right all along? But when thunder boomed overhead, Tommy's hold on Adam tightened, proving the taller man's thoughts wrong.
He sighed. "What's the matter, honey?"
Tommy buried his face in Adam's throat, wrapping his arms around his neck, his legs around his waist. "Please don't laugh... Don't laugh at me, I mean it!" He pulled away and looked into Adam's eyes. "I-... I'm afraid of-" as if on cue, the thunder boomed its loudest, causing a whimper to escape Tommy's lips, although he felt a little better in Adam's arms. "Is it cool if I stay in here tonight? I can sleep on the floor, I don't mind... I just wanted... I wanted to be close to you." Tommy admitted, biting his lip as a blush spread across his face.
Again, Adam took this the wrong way. "Of course its cool! There is no way you're sleeping on the floor. You'll do fine right here. Now lets get you under the blanket, you're shivering!" Tommy nodded, grinning as he crawled between the sheets. Adam immediately pulled him close to his bare chest. "Feeling better?" he asked. Tommy nodded, his lips parting in a slight gasp as thunder boomed. Adam took this opportunity to lean his head down to kiss the blond.
At first, Tommy responded naturally, allowing himself to enjoy it... but then he pushed at Adam's chest. "What are you doing?" He asked, his voice rising in pitch.
Adam gave him a bewildered look. "Well, i thought we-" "You thought we what, Adam? I don't want you to kiss me! You're a fa-!" he gasped, hoping he didn't just say all that... but the look on Adam's face confirmed it.
"I'm a what Tommy?" Tommy kept his eyes down and clamped his mouth shut, teeth over his tongue until he tasted blood... Fuck you, Tommy... Fuck you... "Say it." Still, he didn't reply. "I'm a faggot, is that what you were gonna say? Were you gonna continue to say 'you're not like me', and that I'm 'disgusting because I like to shove my dick in some random guys asshole, rather than a girl'spussy?'"
Tommy flinched as Adam practically shouted at him. How could he have been so stupid? Of course Tommy didn't have feelings for him! He's straight, for god sakes!
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend-"
"Maybe you should go now, Tommy." Adam pulled the blanket up to his shoulder and turned, his back facing Tommy.
"No, please! Don't make me go!" Adam was silent. "Do... Do you still want me to leave?" Tommy's small voice quivered after a few minutes of silence from both ends and Adam's heart lurched in his chest and banged against his ribcage.
"I want you to go," he lied, "but if you're still scared, you're welcome to stay."
Tommy took a shaky breath. "Adam, I'm really sorry... You just caught me off guard is all! I didn't mean it, honest! I'm so-"
"I'm trying to sleep." Adam mumbled, not bothering to wipe away the silent tears that fell from the corners of his eyes. Tommy sat still for a moment before scooting closer to Adam and wrapping his arms around him tightly.
Adam wiggled outof his grasp. "No, I don't want your pity hug."
"I'm so sorr-"
"Quit it! Let me sleep before I drag your pussy-fucking ass out of here and throw you into the street!" His snappy words hurt Tommy...
"It's not my fault a faggot likes me! You think I want that? It's fucking unnatural!" Tommy shouted, grabbing a pillow and blanket, pulling them off the bed and onto the floor as the bus started to move again. He didn't even stop the sobs as they came. He hoped they kept Adam up all night! The bastard deserved it! Tommy knew that he and Adam would patch it up eventually, so he didn't even bother feeling guilty.
Meanwhile, Adam's silent sobs shook his whole body. He felt both pain, hearing Tommy's words over and over in his head, and remorse as he heard Tommy's loud sobs. All he wanted to do was climb off his bed and hold the blond in his arms, telling him how sorry he was and how everything was going to be ok... but he wasn't sure if that was true... The two sobbed until they fell asleep; Tommy first, Adam second. The back room of the bus finally fell silent as the two dreamed of better days...
The roads were slick from the storm, tree trunks and various other items were scattered across the road. It was very difficult for the bus to maneuver around the items... The tire caught a plastic recycling bin and it wedged itself in-between the wheel and the axel, causing the tire to stop rotating. The bus swerved on the slippery road as the driver lost control. It ran sideways on the two-lane blacktop, catching a fallen tree branch and flipping seven times while the passengers slept inside...
What is that? That annoying beeping sound? Why won't it stop? Make it stop!
Tommy's eyes fluttered open. The first thing he realized was that he had no idea where he was. Then he noticed his mother, Dia, at his side, squeezing his cold hand. "Mom?" Dia sat up, sniffling.
"Yes baby?" He tried to look around, but he couldn't move, his vision pinned on a white ceiling.
"Where am I?" Dia's sniffling turned into sobs.
"Y-you're at the hospital..." Tommy frowned.
"Why?" Dia brushed his hair out of his face.
"The b-bus. I-it fl-flipped." Dia sobbed into the scratchy sheets.
"Why can't I move?"
"The doctor injected you with some sort of numbing medication."
His frown deepened. "Why?"
Dia wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Because you kept waking up screaming... Y-you were screaming 'the p-pain! the pain! I can't stand it!' It was horrible seeing you like that!" She buried her face in her son's arm.
"What happened to me? Am I ok?"
Dia sat up again and stared into Tommy's eyes. "You hit your head very, very hard... the doctors are concerned that you may have lost some of your memory, but they aren't sure how much. A-and... oh god..." she buried her face again.
"What? Tell me!" Tommy begged, panicking.
"A-Adam is dead... I know how cl-close you two were... I'm so, so sorry Tommy!"
Tommy frowned, finding the strength to sit up and stare into Dia's eyes. "Who's Adam?"