Crash.
Pansy pulled the pillow out from beneath her head and dropped it on her face, pressing it down on either side as she screamed into it. She turned her head to the right and lifted the edge of the pillow so that she could see the clock.
3:00 AM
"Who in their right mind is awake right now?" Pansy grumbled, pulling the pillow back over her face as she rolled onto her side. "Why fireworks?"
She shut her eyes and waited for the next crash to echo through the small bedroom of her loft. When she realized the silence remaining, she pulled the pillow off her face and let out a sigh, lifting her head to slip the pillow underneath.
Boom.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Pansy hissed, sitting straight up and covering her face with her hands. She glanced up at the ceiling through her fingertips and growled. "I'm going to kill whoever is responsible."
She swung her feet off the side of the bed, slipping them into her slippers before pushing herself up from the mattress. Pansy grabbed her robe from the end of her bed and pulled the door to the bedroom open, slamming the doorknob against the wall in her wake.
"Oops," Pansy mumbled, glancing back over her shoulder. "As long as the wall's not damaged it should be-"
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
Pansy rolled her eyes, making her way through the rest of the loft, and stormed out her front door. She made her way down the hall quickly and took the steps to the roof two at a time until she reached the top. Pansy paused by the door for a moment to gather her thoughts and adjust the front of her robe. She didn't know who she was going to find on the other side of the door and since she was rather new to the building, she wanted to make a half-decent first impression.
Crash.
"That does it," Pansy huffed, pushing the door open. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the lighting and a chill ran down her spine. In the distance, she could see a group of people gathered around a small fire. She nodded her head and made her way across the roof toward them. She could hear them shouting and one of them leaned down toward the fire.
Boom.
"1. 2. 3. 4! JFK!"
"FDR!"
Pansy watched as they all ran around the fire, jumping onto different pieces of furniture and chugging whatever drink they had in their hands. One of them missed, landing flat on his face on the concrete. She watched as he rolled onto his side and let out a sigh.
"Oh my god," Pansy muttered, pulling her robe tight around her waist as she rushed to his aid. She knelt beside him, pressing his shoulder down so he was laying on his back. "Are you okay?"
He pinched his eyes shut tight and let out a groan, letting go of the bottle of beer he had held. The glass clinked against the cement and Pansy watched as the beer poured out of the mouth. She shook her head and studied his face. There was no blood to be seen, but that didn't mean he wasn't bleeding internally.
"Nick, you need another beer!" someone yelled, jumping onto the empty chair where the man on the ground had tried to land. "Whoa, what happened?"
"Is this Nick?" Pansy asked, glancing up at the guy on the chair. He was wearing a slim-fitting V-neck and a pair of jeans. The shirt was way too tight for him and he looked uncomfortable.
"Yes, that's Nick and I'm Schmidt," he replied, studying her face. "What is your name, you beautiful goddess of the night?"
Pansy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm Pansy, but your friend here could be in serious pain." She reached down and cupped his cheek gently, brushing her thumb against his cheek as she spoke. "Can you hear me?"
She was met with a groan and he tried to roll away from her.
"You shouldn't do that," Pansy replied, "you might have a few broken ribs. I don't see any obvious signs of blood, but I didn't want to take your shirt off if you were unconscious."
"You can take my shirt off any time," Schmidt said, jumping down from the chair and offering a hand to Pansy. She took it reluctantly and rose to her feet.
"Can you do me a favor," she paused, thinking about his name for a moment. "Sch-?"
"Schmidt," he replied eagerly. "I'll do anything you ask of me."
"Go get me some ice and water for your friend," she replied, offering him a gentle smile and nudging his shoulder softly. She saw another man out of the corner of her eye. "Hey you," she said, motioning toward him with her finger. "Can you come here for a second?"
He nodded his head and ran over to her. Pansy watched as Schmidt took off toward the stairs at a run, laughing at the way he ran. It was very obvious that these three had been drinking for a few hours before they started setting off fireworks. The other man on the roof had made his way over to Pansy in the time it took Schmidt to disappear. He offered her a hand and smiled when she took it, shaking firmly.
"What's your name?" Pansy asked, returning the smile as she batted her eyelashes at him.
"I'm Winston," he replied.
"Winston," Pansy mused, taking a deep breath. "Can you help me get Nick up and onto the chair? I need to see if he has any more injuries. He might have a concussion, but I can't figure that out until I can get him to wake up."
"Nick! You were so young, it wasn't your time!" Winston yelled, dropping to his knees beside Nick's body. He draped his arms over his friend and started weeping as he clung to Nick's body.
"You've got to be kidding me," Pansy huffed, rolling her eyes as she leaned down to pull Winston off of him. "He's not dead. you idiot. He just needs some coffee. Help me pick him up."
"Oh," Winston replied, shaking his head and scrubbing a hand over his face to wipe away any tears on his face. He nodded his head and watched as Pansy slipped an arm under Nick's. Winston repeated her actions on his other side.
"1, 2, 3," Pansy said, lifting Nick's dead weight up, relieved when she felt Winston lifting him from the other side. It took them a few moments to get him into the chair, but once Nick was on the chair, both Winston and Pansy moved away from him.
Pansy began unbuttoning Nick's shirt to check for bruising. She had no idea where Winston ran off to, but at that exact moment, she didn't care. Once his shirt was opened, Pansy could see a faint bruise starting to form on his left side. "Idiot," she mumbled.
"I'm not an idiot," he responded, his eyes slowly fluttering open.
"Yes, you are," Pansy laughed, shaking her head, "but at least you aren't an unconscious idiot anymore. How are you feeling?"
"My head hurts," Nick said, carding a hand through his hair. He glanced down at his other hand, noticing it was mysteriously empty. "What happened to my beer?"
"You dumped it on the ground," Pansy replied, laughing when she saw the wave of panic take over his face. "You should probably lay off the beer for a little while. I think you might have a concussion. I know you have at least one broken rib."
"How do you know I broke my rib?" he asked, furrowing his brow. Nick rubbed a hand along his ribs, gasping as a jolt of pain radiated from his rib cage. "Ouch! What the hell?"
"Told you," Pansy shrugged, reaching out to brush his shirt to the side. "I'd probably say you've broken at least three ribs. You need an x-ray to know for sure."
Pansy heard a giggle coming from behind her. Just as she turned on her heel to look, she heard a loud hiss moving up into the air. Her eyes went wide when she saw Winston holding a sparkler, looking up at the sky as a faint white dot soared into the air. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!"
She clamped her hands over her ears as she waited for the crash.
Pop.
Crash.
Crash.
Pop.
Boom!
Pansy jumped up from the seat and stormed over to where Winston was standing, grinning like a moron at the sparkler in her hand. She had grabbed a beer off the table on her way past, cracking it open. Grabbing the sparkler out of his hands, Pansy dumped the beer over the fire and watched it fizzle out.
"What was that for?" Winston said, pouting his lower lip.
"If you do that again," Pansy growled, taking a step closer to him as she narrowed her eyes on him. "I'll throw you off the fucking roof."
Winston took a step away from her and glanced over the edge of the room, taking in the view.
"What are you doing?" she hissed, taking another step towards him.
"Checking to see how high the drop is," Winston replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Seeing if it's worth it."
"Trust me," Pansy growled, grabbing his collar and pulling him toward her. "It's not."
"I've got the - what's going on?" Schmidt's voice pulled Pansy's attention away from Winston. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and noticed the ice in his hand. Letting go of Winston's shirt, she made her way over to Schmidt and took the bottle of water and ice from him.
Pansy made her way over to Nick and took a seat beside him, offering him the ice and water. "You should drink this."
"Thanks," Nick said, taking the bottle from her and twisting the top off, lifting it to his lips and taking a long sip. "What was your name again?"
"Pansy," she said, smiling softly. "I live in 4C."
"We're in 4D," Schmidt chimed in, moving to stand beside where Pansy was seated. He reached down and rested a hand on her shoulder. Pansy glanced at his hand and then up at him, biting back a laugh when he tucked his hand back into his pocket and took a step away from her.
"Why are you setting fireworks off at three am?" Pansy asked, glancing at Winston who had finally joined them back by the fire. "Normal people would be sleeping."
"We're not exactly normal," Nick said, laughing for a moment before grimacing in pain. "It hurts to laugh."
"You're gonna be in pain for a while," Pansy said, shaking her head. "The next time you decide to set off fireworks, can you at least give me some warning so I can get a pair of earplugs? I've gotta get up for work in two hours."
Nick nodded his head, pushing on the couch to adjust himself as he turned to face Pansy. "How long have you lived in the building? I don't think I've ever seen you before."
"Not long," Pansy replied, resting her elbow on the back of the couch. "I moved to the States from London a few months ago, I just happened to luck into one of these lofts.
As Nick and Pansy continued talking, getting to know one another, Schmidt and Winston made their way back to the pile of fireworks on the far side of the roof. They each grabbed a handful of explosives, attempting to stay as quiet as drunkenly as possible before making their way to the other side of the roof, behind where Pansy and Nick were seated.
Winston popped the top off two beers and handed one to Schmidt. A toothy grin pulled at the corners of his lips as he tilted the bottle toward Schmidt.
"1, 2, 3, 4!" Winston yelled, cheersing Schmidt's bottle.
"JFK!" Schmidt yelled, lifting the bottle to his lips and downing half the bottle.
"FDR!" Winston cheered, lighting the fuse at the bottom of the fireworks. He took off in a mad dash away from the explosives and motioned for Schmidt to follow him.
Hiss.
"Oh no," Pansy groaned, glancing over her shoulder.
"What's going-" Nick began, following her eyes before hanging his head. "Damn it, Winston."
Click.
Boom!