𝐕𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 || 𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐒

04 - Rained In

VALLIE

A slight chill of autumn seeped through the cracked windows of Nicholas' beat-up Ford Focus. The air in the car was awkward and quiet and I spent the first half of the car ride watching the trees as we passed them. Finally, I spoke up with a question that had been bugging me.

"So, is he always like that?" I asked obviously talking about Noah.

He hesitated and kept his eyes focused on the road, "No."

"Then what's his problem?"

Nick let out a long sigh, "You're like, like a threat or something, and he's just overly protective of the band." His right hand rolled in the air matching his syllables.

"Right." I nodded. My eyes wandering up to the messy bun he'd thrown his black hair into. "And that's because...?"

He breathed out in defeat and readjusted his hands on the steering wheel. "It's all he really has." He paused, maybe contemplating further disclosing to me. "The rest of us have other career paths we could fall back on. We all have back-up plans, but this band is all he has." He chose his words carefully.

"Oh." I replied quietly. This new information began to dissolve the distasteful words my brain had logged for him. I rested my arm on the door ledge and watched the fluffy clouds beginning to tint with charcoal. He had somehow found some back road I didn't know about. The route was quite scenic with tall pointy trees and distant mountains, it was extremely refreshing compared to the usual overcrowded LA skyline.

"What about you?" Asked Nicholas, snapping me out of my daze.

"What about me?" I furrowed my brows and straightened up in my seat defensively.

He glanced over at me briefly then back to the darkening road, "Are you always like that?" Flipping the question back onto me.

"Am I like what?" I replied sharply. Just because he was kind enough to drive me home didn't mean that he had just thrown out all his own feelings about the situation.

He rolled his eyes jokingly, "You know what I mean. Are you always, ya know" He stiffened his arms and facial features to mimic a... robot?

I couldn't help but grin and roll my eyes at his nonsense, "No. I'm not." I leaned back to my spot at the window, the grey sky was now nearly black. "You all are just kinda...mean."

He feigned offense with a gasp and a hand on his chest, "You think I'm mean Vallie?"

Nicholas was the first one out of the lot to actually call me by my name, it was nice.

I chuckled and lightly smacked his arm. I normally didn't let my personality show much with clients, especially so early, but his playful energy was contagious. With the way everything happened, I didn't really expect to get along with any of them, nonetheless have fun. But Nicholas made me feel comfortable already, he made it easy to settle in to the less-than-ideal circumstances.

-

When we arrived at my temporary home, it was pouring rain and it was only getting worse. "Fuck," I breathed out, trying to analyze the space between the car and my front door. "I can barely see a foot away." I said as I watched the sheets of cold rain come down blocking any visibility. I looked over at Nicholas who was doing the same as me, looking at the rain in extreme apprehension. "You can't drive home in this."

He feigned confidence, "Oh," blowing away the caution. "I'll be fine."

"Nick, you literally can't even see in front of you." I pointed to my hidden driveway. "Just come inside until it calms down?" I offered. "It's the least I can do for letting you take me home."