Thanatophobia (H2OVanoss)

Chapter 1

"You sure about this?"

Luke looked at his friend. His blue eyes were focused on the opposite wall, his gaze wavering as he clutched his laptop tightly. He nodded slowly.

Luke sighed and stood up. Jonathan was like a brother to him, and he trusted his judgement, but he didn't want him to rush things.

He walked into the kitchen to where his computer sat on the island. Messages popped up rapidly as his friends spammed the group chat.

Hoodini: This is gonna be so great •0•
Extreme_Spoats: ikr. We r so lucky
Squeaker4Life: There r 5 rooms. How do u wanna split up???
TheLaddd: How about me and Tyler, Lui and Daithi, Brock and Brian, and Evan and Luke can have the other 2?
Squeaker4life: Fine with me. I'll start setting up.

  Luke hesitated before typing.

CaRtOoNz: Is it cool if I bring a friend with me?
Squeaker4life: Sure. Who is it?
CaRtOoNz: Jonathan.
Extreme_Spoats: OMG we get to meet the legend :0
Hoodini: Is he really as good as you say he is?
CaRtOoNz: Yep. He could beat you with his eyes closed, any game any time.
Squeaker4life: Yessssssssss I can't wait :$
CaRtOoNz: We have to go pack for our flight tomorrow. See ya soon.

  He closed the computer and decided to get lunch started before they packed. Their flight was at five the next day, and they had barely gotten anything done. Typical.

  He pulled a spinach pizza out of the fridge and popped it in the oven, setting the timer. Jonathan was on his computer scrolling through Tumblr in the living room. His home page was compiled of video games, cat gifs, and stupidness.

Luke sat next to him on the couch and got on his phone. He had a few videos ready to be uploaded since he was taking time off, so he was free to hang out. He lazily scrolled through his twitter feed to pass the time.

  When the timer went off he went and got the pizza out of the oven and put it on a large plate. Jonathan followed him into the kitchen and immediately grabbed a piece. They ate in silence, but not uncomfortably, and then went to their separate rooms to finish packing.

  By the time they finished it was around seven so they quickly ate the leftover pizza and went to bed.

  When they woke up in the morning they had about an hour to get ready. As a joke, Luke gave Jonathan one of his VG shirts which practically swallowed him. Jonathan wore some jeans and his blue hoodie, and Luke put on a red sweatshirt and his converse.

  They left and got to the airport at around five, and were just in time for their flight. They got seats in one of the back rows and sat down.

  Luke glanced over at his friend, who was staring out the window in wonder as they took off. He knew he was worried, with good reason, but he trusted his friends. He had known them long enough that he could trust them to act nicely, he just hoped that they would accept Jonathan. From what they had said in the group chat, his gaming skills were enough to at least get them interested. He prayed that the trip would be perfect.

  After an hour or so, Jonathan pulled a blanket out of his bag and curled up in his seat. Luke moved the armrest between them up and let Jonathan's head rest on his shoulder. Though he thought he should probably sleep, he got his game boy out and started to play random games.

  A little while later a waitress came and served lunch, so Luke woke Jonathan up and told him more stories about his friends who he referred to as 'The Banana Bus Squad'. By the time they landed, Jonathan was bouncing in his chair.

  When they got off Luke called an Uber taxi and told him where to go. The man who drove them was pretty nice, and pointed out interesting restaurants and clubs as they passed by. Luke wasn't really sure what Lui had planned, but he bet it involved at least one of the places the driver mentioned.

  He let them out on a sidewalk leading up to a huge beach house with blue paint. Small waves crashed on the beach and the birds that flew overhead were calm. They were both amazed by the clearness of it all; it was a nice change from Carolina.

  The taxi drove away as they walked up to the wooden double doors. Luke looked at Jonathan.

"There's no going back now."

  Jonathan gave him a weird look, almost as if he was sarcastically saying, Well what do you know?

  Cartoonz chuckled slightly and lifted his hand to knock twice on the door.