9
This hurricane's chasing us all underground
Hurricane
30 Seconds to Mars
Z
Kamata gave me very little time off. He waited just long enough to make sure my head injury wasn't going to give me seizures and I wasn't going to do something stupid after he made me help him with murder and sent me out again. This time I had a new babysitter; a thin, tall guy that had a habit of staring at my breasts when he thought I wasn't looking; even the murder I was with the other day during the incident was more professional than this guy. He was younger than my former watchdog and I didn't like it. The other guy was more likely to chastise me for speeding like a dad than he was to try and get in my pants. I was honestly scared to be alone with the new one
The reality was I might end up alone with him for a long time; there was a hurricane barreling for the coast due to make landfall at any time
The first bit of rain started when my Yakuza babysitter and I were a few miles away from the warehouse to drop the duffel bags I was running for Kamata. It quickly worsened to the point where I couldn't see out my windshield. It was coming down so hard that the trip from my trunk to the warehouse left me soaked to the bone and freezing cold.
After dropping off the bags and the Yakuza at a warehouse filled with stolen goods, I was told to stay or go home. Home sounded so warm and comfortable and inviting, but unfortunately, it was halfway across the city. The storm was making it extremely difficult to drive and I knew it would take at least two hours to get there with the wind as fierce as it was. The Yakuza knew this and was already pushing two couches together to make a bed.
I was feeling the same icy cold feeling in my veins as I was when Kamata took me to be appraised and I knew I would rather die in flood waters than stay. Without telling the Yakuza, I slipped out and ran to the car.
With nowhere else to go to get out the storm, I turned towards Han's. I thought about calling Twinkie, to tell him I was coming, but multitasking just wasn't a good idea.
The lightning and wind had worsened by the time I parked in front of the club. The parking lot was completely empty; apparently, the party was canceled and Han had put his Mazda inside. I got a spot close to the wall of a neighboring building where the wind was blocked and the car was covered by the building's roof, but there was no way I wasn't going to get resoaked when I made a run for the door. I debated calling Twinkie now that I wasn't driving and telling him I was there and to make sure the door was unlocked, but a bright flash of lightning struck something nearby with an earsplitting crack. Spending another minute in my car didn't seem very safe, so I decided to risk it.
With a deep breath of preparation, I opened my door and flung myself out in the rain. The water flowing through the lot completely covered my poor battered Converse and made running difficult. The last few feet to the door were taken in a headlong leap as I tripped over something covered by the water. I caught myself on the doorknob and started yanking at it only to find it was actually locked.
I groaned as I pulled out the bobby pin holding my wet bangs out of face and rammed it in the door lock. I paused for a second as I mentally debated whether or not Han would care that I was picking his lock, but then another flash of lightning lit up the sky. I just decided I'd tell him he left it unlocked.
The door swung inward with no resistance as the wind hit it and I had to struggle to reclose it. I made sure to relock it before I leaned back against it, shivering from the touch of the cold metal.
The few minutes spent out in the rain had left water running out of my hair and dripping off of me. A puddle was already forming at my feet, and I could feel the water getting soaked up by my socks as it seeped through my drenched Converse. I leaned my weight against the door to start pulling my socks and shoes off before I tracked the water everywhere.
"Ellie?" A voice called from the doorway of the storage room into the dark club.
"Oh, shit!" I screamed as I jumped at the shock of seeing Han, who had apparently come to check out the noise of the door slamming open, a few feet away from me. The tiny movement knocked me off balance and I slid straight to the ground.
"What are you doing here?" He asked as he helped me up. I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
"I had a run. It was late and dark and the storm hit and this was closer and I'm really sorry, I should have called." The words tumbled out between the chattering off my teeth.
"He sent you out in this weather? God, your soaking wet." He muttered as he rubbed his hands on my arms to warm me up.
"I was supposed to be back before landfall, but the wind slowed me down," I explained quietly. "Sorry I just showed up; home was too far," I added as an afterthought.
"There's always room for another person here. Besides, we're going to be stuck here for a few days; I need someone sane to talk to." He answered kindly. I moved a little bit closer to him for the body heat he was emitting. He noticed and pulled me into a hug. "Is your car okay? How'd you get in?"
"It should be. Parked it against the other building where it would block the rain. I really don't want to go move it right now." I felt his chin dip closer to the top of my head as he nodded. "I got in with a bobby pin, but it won't hurt your lock." I answered as I smushed myself against his warm, dry chest. I was still shivering.
"I don't care about the lock." He said in exasperation. "Why didn't you call?"
"I couldn't talk and drive with all of that." I waved my hand at the door. A well-timed crack of thunder sounded. "And the lightning was so bad I didn't want to spend another second in my car."
"It's supposed to get worse." He said as his hand moved up to brush my wet hair out of my face. I groaned.
"Great." I said sarcastically. "I'll go home when there's a break." I told him. He let me out of the hug and started pulling me towards the VIP Room. I dropped my shoes and socks by the door so they wouldn't drip anymore than they already had.
"You're not leaving until it's over." He said firmly. I snorted as I pressed myself against his side, not caring that I was getting water all over him. "You're probably going to be sick until then anyway." He added as he looked down at me, which was pointless because none of the lights were on. There was only the glow from the streetlights outside coming in from the high windows, but they were blurred with all of the rain.
"It's just a little water." I responded nonchalantly as we pushed through the door into the garage, even though I was still shaking and trying to soak up ever bit of body heat I could from him. He chuckled humorlessly and shoved me towards the bathroom.
"Go take a hot shower. You left your laundry here; I can just toss you some clothes in." He commanded.
"I'll clean up the water when I get out." I responded. I could barely see him in the dark, but it looked like he shook his head no.
"I got that; you just get warm." He told me firmly.
Z
Half an hour later after thawing out under the warm water and making sure every trace of water was gone afterward with Reiko's hairdryer, the cold feeling hadn't completely left. My head was also pounding right behind my eyes and at the base of my skull as a migraine started.
I kept my aching head down in my hands as I stumbled out to the loft. It had to have been three in the morning at that point, and everyone was asleep, so I was careful not to bump into anything as I made my way to the couch.
I was almost to it when a shadow moved in the low light. My muscles tightened when it startled me, but then relaxed when I realized it was Han after a flash of lightning.
"You have got to stop scaring me." I muttered quietly as I felt behind me for the couch opposite his. I found the edge of the cushion and perched on it.
"You scare too easy." He replied in amusement.
"You keep popping out of the shadows." I countered. He chuckled and carefully stood up, skirted around the coffee table, and came to stand in front of me. He felt out in front of him for me, and I gave him my hands. Before I knew it, he had pulled me up and was steering me towards the hallway his room was on.
"You might be right about me being sick for the rest of the storm." I muttered as I snuggled my aching head further against his side as he put an arm around me. I felt less like I was going to fall down the stairs when I was that close to him.
"I figured." He replied quietly. "You were soaking wet and shivering; plus, the fact that you don't eat or sleep doesn't exactly help either."
"I'm sure Twink'll force feed me all sorts of weird Japanese food while I'm here, so that'll fix the not eating thing; though I'm not sure I'll get much sleep with him, Earl, Reiko, and Sean around." I joked.
"No one will bother you in my room. I'll be careful not to wake you up in the morning." So he was staying there with me. I had wondered if he actually would. I had been expecting the "you're underage" conversation from him to happen any day. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he brought it up while I was in bed with him.
Han maneuvered us to his door in the complete blackness. After he opened his door, he slid in first and gently guided me around a laundry basket on the floor. He helped me get settled on one side of the bed before he walked around to get on the other.
My eyelids drooped as I got comfortable. They completely dropped shut when Han dragged a blanket off the end of the bed and covered us. I was actually a little glad that the I didn't make it home.
The wind seemed to pick up speed it slammed into the closed garage doors below and lightning struck something nearby. I briefly thought about my car, then quit caring; I had several others and my Skyline was my least favorite.
The storm could rage on as long as it wanted for all I cared; right now, I was completely comfortable and safe drifting off to sleep right beside Han.