Dance In The Rain

~34~ The Eye Is Coming

We all get into the room, and Nico sighs dramatically. "I'm 'bout to get to know the Thompson's better than I ever cared to!"

When Kenna clears her throat, Nico smiles at her. "And Kenna...."

I look around the small room, and wonder how this will ever work. Seriously, this is going to be awkward and long..

Nico sets his bags down on the sofa and claps his hands together. "This is mine, and ain't nobody gonna try'n steal it from me.....I'm gonna go stretch my legs for a bit!"

He winks at Holden and leaves, and Holden blows out a breath. "Okay...I guess Tate you're with me in this bed..You girls are there....." he says as he points to the bed closest to the door.

"I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you," Tate groans as he slumps down on Nico's "bed".

"Tate, there isn't a choice, dude.... I promise I won't play footsie with ya...." Holden says with a smirk.

Tate rolls his eyes as he get on his phone and ignores us for the next hour.

Nico comes back a while later and brings pizza and soda.

"I knew you were my best friend for a reason," Holden teases as he takes the pizza boxes out of Nico's hands and sets them on a little table.

"Pshhhh......" Nico grins as he hands out drinks, and sits on the couch as he grabs a slice.

"So word on the street is we might have a wee situation," he mumbles around a mouthful of cheese.

"Oh yeah?" Holden groans as he sits on the bed and eats his slice.

"It's movin' off course a bit......"

"Moving off course which way?" Holden asks with an edge to his voice that I don't understand.

"Our way"

Holden closes his eyes and sets the plate of pizza on the bed. "Are you alluding to the fact that I might have just moved these kids into danger, and not away from it?!?!"

When Nico simply nods, Holden curses loudly as he leaves the room slams the door. When the silence around us settles, Nico clears his throat.

"You two don't know how much my boy loves ya. He's the one that wanted to leave to keep you safe...He's feelin' guilty for leavin' his girlfriend and Quinn behind....I hope you know how much you mean to him."

"If he was the one that wanted to leave, why did you?" Tate asks after a moment.

Nico looks Tate dead in the eyes, and for the first time has the most serious expression I've ever seen from him. "'Cause he's my boy, and I'll have his back till the day I die....."

~*~

Holden comes back an hour later and looks sick to his stomach. "You're right, it's turning. That mom next door caught wind and already left to try to go further inland. You can have the room back," he says as he hands Nico the key to the room next door.

"You wanna stay here?" Nico asks quietly.

Holden shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know what the hell to do. The hurricane was supposed to be about to our town by now, and it's not...It's heading for us. If we would have stayed they would've been safe....."

"How much time do we have? Can we get out?" Nico asks.

Holden shakes his head. "Look out the window, dude....."

Nico gets up and moves back the curtain, and curses loudly. When we look out, we see bumper to bumper lights and can hear honking.

"That mom never should've left with those kids...she's not getting out in time."