Outbreak
5. The Reunion
There was that headache again. Just like the one she'd had when dehydrated the day after the prom, an overpowering pain that surrounded her mind. Only this time, it didn't stem from behind her eyes, but from her right temple. It was a sharp pain, almost like a blade was slicing in and out of the side of her brain but, although agonising, it was nothing she hadn't experienced before. After eight months, you tend get used to the feeling of hurt.
Her eyes were shut and she kept them that way, submersing herself in the comfort darkness and allowing her mind a blank canvas of black to think on. She'd been unconscious, she knew that much. The reason why was still a mystery. She didn't remember what she'd been doing before the darkness, before the pain. She remembered waking up earlier that morning and visualised the breakfast she had shared with Taylor. Stale Cornflakes that they'd found in the pantry. They never got food from the pantry. But they were running low on supplies…
The puzzle pieces came tumbling together. Snippets of her memory that had gone missing in the haze of unconsciousness were flooding back in an unexpected rush. The shop. The Unspeakable. The ambush. She'd tried to fend them off but there were so many. Her baseball bat was no match for their lightening-quick hands and she hadn't even blinked before one had lashed at her, catching her head with one of his razor sharp claws. That's when it all went black.
She should have been dead. Maybe she was. As much hope she put into her best friend, she doubted that she would have been able to take on all six of the Unspeakables alone. Taylor was a strong girl but—
Taylor.
Where was she? Had she survived? What had happened to her?
In a sudden flurry of urgency, Gabriella opened her eyes and sat upright. She'd been vertical for no more than a second before a wave of dizziness almost knocked her right back down. Her eyes rolled around in their sockets like something out of a cartoon and she had to shut them again to regain her balance. Still swaying, a supportive hand was placed on each of her shoulders and held her upright. She relaxed into the warm grip and allowed herself a second to breathe before opening her eyes.
What she saw was not what she'd expected. She'd expected to be greeted be Taylor's concerned frown. But instead of her best-friend's warm, brown eyes, she was met with mesmerising blue. A uniquely clear and heavenly blue. A shade of blue she never thought she'd see again.
"Am I dead?" She groaned. Her migraine and every fibre of logic in her being screamed yes. But his touch, his scent and those crystal blue eyes told her otherwise. Not even a dream, and she'd had many dreams of him, could be this real. So either he was actually there in front of her or she'd died and gone to heaven. Both seemed plausible.
A smile broke across his face, dazzling her with white. He treated her to an amused and heartfelt chuckle before shaking his head, a grin still stretching from ear to ear. She examined him with her eyes, blinking every so often to make sure her vision was as clear as it should have been. He looked a bit different to how she remembered him. But it was him. It was Troy.
And he was getting nearer. His face got so close to hers that he became nothing but a blur. The warmth of his breath tickled her chin for a second before the soft skin of his lips grazed her own. He leaned closer still until their mouths were pressed comfortably together, like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, fitted into one.
It was like torture for him to pull away, this being the only thing he'd wanted for the most part of a year, but he didn't want to overwhelm her. She had just woken up. He separated his lips from hers, savouring the last of her scent.
"Hey." He smiled.
Eight months they'd been apart. Eight unbearable months. And that had been his greeting. A sheepish and almost childlike 'hey'. He was feeling wary. Because things could be different. People changed and she may have moved on. But despite the doubt and underlying fear, he'd never been happier. And that one-word greeting, to him, was all that needed to be said.
Gabriella must have agreed because a manically wide grin burst across her face and she threw her arms around him and held him as close as she could. They absorbed each other. They absorbed all the time they hadn't spent together. This was a hug worth eight months. A hug worth all the hugs they hadn't had over that dreadful space of time. He relished in the feeling of her hair on his cheek; the way stray strands would tickle his nostrils when he inhaled. She took comfort in the way their chests would briefly press together when they breathed to the same rhythm.
"I thought you were dead." She whispered. And, at that thought, something within her shivered. He felt her body tense as she cast her mind back to the grief she had endured.
Once again, he forced himself to pull back and ended their embrace. He stared deep into her eyes, searching them for trust. When she met his gaze, he knew he had her undivided attention. "I'll never leave you." He said. His eyes didn't leave hers. He let the promise sink in.
She nodded and then, for the first time since waking up, had a look at her surroundings. It was pretty dark, probably night outside, but with the aid of a small, battery-powered lamp, she could see that she was in a relatively large room. Other than the couch she was sitting on, there was nothing much else but a low coffee table.
"This is where I live." Troy explained, sensing her understandable curiosity. If he'd known he was going to have such an important guest, he would have tidied up. Thankfully, Gabriella didn't seem too bothered by the pile of dirty laundry in the corner or the crumby plates that littered every surface.
She frowned as she caught sight of her bag and baseball bat by the door and another question came to mind. This time, she had to voice it, so she turned back to Troy and spoke. "How did I get here?"
Troy sighed and leaned back on the sofa, trying to figure out a way to cut the story short. "I went out shopping, heard some noises and found you." He explained. She nodded and appeared to be deep in thought. "Didn't realise it was you until I'd carried you here."
The panic returned to Gabriella's face as she turned away from Troy again to peer frantically around the room. "Where's Taylor?" She demanded. Her heart started pounding as she noticed the absence of her best-friend and expected the worst.
Troy smiled knowingly and let his gaze wander to a closed door on the edge of the room. "In there." He nodded in that direction before turning back to Gabriella and raising his eyebrows suggestively. "With Chad."
He couldn't help but laugh at the eyes-wide, mouth-agape, half-gasp-half-grin that Gabriella stared disbelievingly back at him with. Noticing how she must have been gawping like a fish out of water, Gabriella regained some fraction of dignity and shut her mouth.
"You two've been living together?" It was more a shocked and pleased statement than a question. When he nodded, she laughed breathlessly. "God, what are the chances? Anyone else?"
Troy shook his head. "Just us." He took her hand and she leaned back on the sofa so her head rested on his shoulder. They both stared blankly ahead, simply thinking blissfully.
Something in the mood, some part of this dream-like situation, told them both that the future was going to be good. For the first time in a long time, there was no fear. They were comfortable, confident. And unfathomably overjoyed. This was what perfection felt like. This was hope.
After a few minutes, Troy broke the pleasant silence. "Hungry?" He asked. Gabriella's empty stomach grumbled in reply.
"This bed is way too small for two people." Taylor groaned as she scrutinised the view above her.
The ceiling would have been cream coloured had it not been for the various dark brown leak stains that covered it almost completely. To accompany the overall filth, the plaster was cracked and riddled with unstable-looking holes that revealed the wooden boards underneath. There were cobwebs in every corner that dangled down into the walls. A solitary light bulb with no lampshade hung a few inches from the centre. Altogether, the ceiling was clearly neglected and like something out of a derelict old shack.
It had their full attention.
Chad and Taylor lay beside each other on the thin, springy mattress of the single bed, both of them on their backs staring upwards. They weren't talking. Nor touching. Just lying there in an uneasy silence in the dim, uncomfortable room.
"So…" Chad cleared his throat and rolled onto his side as best he could in the small space. "What do you feel like doing?" He knew what he wanted. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to feel her in his arms and have her lips on his. The more he looked at her, the more he craved her warmth. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, and he wasn't even sure that could be possible. Maybe it was just his imagination, but one thing he was sure of was that absence had certainly made his heart grow fonder.
Taylor followed his lead and turned to face him. The second she met his gaze, she couldn't help but smile. He'd grown a lot but still seemed like the same old comfort-hungry boy. He probably didn't realise that he was licking his lips with passion evident in his eyes. Yep, same old Chad. And she knew exactly what he wanted.
She leaned forward to close the small gap between them. The second their lips made contact, it was as if a spark went off in the room. All the feelings that had been suppressed; the longing for intimacy and the desire to be touched, it all came rushing out, flooding the dank room with colour and light and love. The ceiling above them became a swirling, euphoric blue sky, beyond which, the unknown future shone through with optimism. The bed they lay on was no longer the rickety, rusted mess of wood and springs, rather a cradle of velvet and silk, softness and perfection. Amongst it, they were as one. Entangled. Together again, at last.
And once she had a taste of him, Taylor couldn't stop. She wanted more. She leaned into him with even more enthusiasm, eventually rolling him onto his back. His tongue parted her lips and began to explore her mouth as she leaned over him, now on her hands and knees. With growing hunger for him, she crawled right on top of him, never once breaking their kiss. He reached up and clutched her back with both of his searching hands. His grip turned its attention further south and his fingertips began to near the waistband of her shorts. Her hands were on either side of his face. Occasionally a finger would slip into his tied-back hair or toy with the stubble on his chin. They were breathing heavily; never bothering to break for air, too ravenous for each other. Too caught-up to notice they had company.
Troy and Gabriella had always had a way of interrupting at the worst possible moment. They stood in the doorway, watching their friends, unsure of whether to disturb the two or just turn around and try hard to erase these images from their memories.
Had it not been for the smell of soup in the air, who knows how much longer Troy and Gabriella would have stood there? Chad smelt it first. He opened his eyes and looked as far as he could to the door without moving his head. He only had to see the light from outside flooding in to know that they weren't alone. With shock and embarrassment he groaned against Taylor's lips and turned his head away from her. Still oblivious, she proceeded to place gentle kisses on his jaw and cheek. It wasn't until Chad removed his hands from her waist that she pulled back with disapproval. And only then did she realise that something else had caught his attention.
With curiosity and a hint of irritation, she followed his line of sight to the door. Gabriella and Troy stared back at her, clearly torn between disturbed and amused. Gabriella took one look at the mortified surprise on Taylor's face and burst into a fit of giggles. Troy had one eyebrow raised as he playfully shook his head at Chad.
"Just came to tell you," Troy said, his voice sounding strange and stifled behind his attempts not to laugh. "I made us all some dinner."
The room remained in silence as Chad and Taylor both struggled to get their breath back and regain their composure.
"So," Troy continued, turning his attention specifically to Taylor. "If you wanna…" He paused. His eyes lit up as he found he word he'd been searching for. "Dismount." Taylor gasped as she realised she was still sitting on top of Chad. Lying beneath her, he covered his face with his hands in shame. "We'll be at the table."
Gabriella began to laugh hysterically. Troy wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her back to the eating area but not before sending a final glance to his best friend. A glance that said something along the lines of; 'Unbelievable…'
Chad bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck as Taylor attempted to climb off of him. Any ounce of dignity she had been wishing to preserve was instantly quashed as, in her haste to separate herself from him, she managed to get her foot caught in the blanket. Before she knew it, her struggle against the tangled material ended as she was sent tumbling off the bed and onto the floor. She landed on her rear with an ungraceful thud.
"You alright?" Chad called, still unmoved from where he lay.
She could hear the laughter in his voice and could just imagine the smug little smile on his childish face. "What's funny?" Getting onto her feet and peering down at him with her hands on her hips, she challenged him to say something 'witty'. She pursed her lips with her most fearsome don't-even-try-it glare.
"I guess you were right." He surprised her with. He managed to keep his face completely straight and look her right in the eye with an unfaltering seriousness. "This bed is too small for two people."
And, with that, his sober attitude fell apart, and he crumbled into uncontrollable laughter. Despite herself, Taylor could not maintain her disapproving pout and she joined him with amused giggles. Even next door, unaware of what had happened, Troy and Gabriella shared a contented smile upon hearing their friends' delight.
All at once, the demons disappeared. All that had happened to them meant nothing. Together again, their outlook on the future had changed. Hope had found its way back into their hearts.
Things would never be the same. But with the joy, would soon come pain.
A/N: Ended with a rhyming couplet there, that was unintentional. Hope you enjoyed the latest installment!
xX M Xx
