Heavenly- Bradley Bradshaw

2 - dreams

Song- Dreams / The Cranberries

The sunshine poured like honey out onto the horizon, the light purple and red fading into the dimly lit sky above the runway filled to the brim with multi million dollar aircrafts.

I sat quietly in my chair waiting for the rest of us to arrive at the base. My notebook was placed on the table in front of me, along with my metal water bottle, a pack of aspirin and the F-18 NATOPS. A dreadful hangover greeted me this morning, making it increasingly harder to get ready for work.

Around 25 minutes had passed since my arrival, I had somehow managed to get on base almost an hour early. I tapped my pen nervously against the table, watching the birds pass by and the clouds slowly move across the sky as my head throbbed in pain. I reached for the pack of aspirin and water, quickly taking a pill in hopes of soothing my headache.

"Glad I'm not the only early one." A voice called out from the hefty metal door leading to the hangar. I turned around, to see Rooster stood by the door, slowly shutting it behind him so it didn't slam. "Mind if i sit next to you?" He asked, making his way over to me.

"I don't see why not." I smiled, taking my bag off the chair so he could sit down. He walked in between the two rows and took a seat next to me, placing the NATOPS, a notepad and a few pens on the table.

"So, what happened last night?" I chuckled, turning to look at him.

"Well after I sang Great balls of Fire, Hangman plugged the stereo back in and you sat down next to the pool table and talked to Bob, all smiley and giggly. Until, of course Phoenix dragged you home" He smiled, looking down at the table.

"I don't even want to know what I was talking to Bob about." I laughed, rubbing my eyes and looking back at the runway.

"So, How are you?" Rooster cleared his throat as I tilted my head back to look at the ceiling. I could just barely see him from the corner of my eye as he glanced over before quickly diverting his gaze.

"Tired. Dehydrated. Not in the mood to deal with everyones bullshit today." I smiled, looking at him once more.

"I could say the same." He smiled back, a little amusement in his tone.

Silence filled the air as the awkward tension between the two of us grew. As I reached to pick up my water bottle, Rooster's eyes darted to me.

"Hey, Are you okay? You've got something on your neck." He asked, reaching towards the collar of my jacket. The water bottle fell from my hand as it reached for my neck, my palm smacking over the top of my collar. "I'm fine." I spoke, looking at him in the eyes as I pulled my top back up and fixed my collar.

A look of worry shot across his face, "If you say so. But I'm always here for you. Even later on, You know if we make it out of this mission alive maybe we'll all go and have some fun while on leave." He smiled, brushing a hand through his hair.

"We use the future to distract ourselves from the present. Don't lose yourself in that future Bradshaw, Cause it's never certain you'll like it." I gave a slight smile.

"Wise words, very wise." He laughed as the metal door slammed open "Could you open that any louder?" I whined, placing a hand on my head which now was hurting more than before

"You are so welcome." Hangman grinned as he walked towards the seats and slumped down in the chair right at the front. "How long have you guys even been here?" He turned around to look at us, "45 minutes." "Around 20 I think." We both laughed at the look on Hangman's face.

"Christ, I thought being nearly 8 minutes early was good." he scoffed as the door opened once again, pilots coming through along with 2 Generals. "Surprise surprise, Alora made it to base on time." Bob grinned as he took a seat on the left row, Phoenix sitting down next to him. "Wonder how she managed that." Fanboy laughed, sitting next to Payback at the front of the other row.