sirens - david dobrik

chapter sixteen

It was late at night and the beach bonfire had gone just as planned. David still needed footage, and Sophia had the perfect idea. She waited until he fell asleep before she creeped out into David's kitchen. Natalie was up late, FaceTiming her boyfriend and going through David's emails. Sophia crossed her arms as she looked around the kitchen.

"What are you looking for?" Natalie wondered, munching on some popcorn.

"David's hard drive. I want to fake kidnap it and take it hostage as a prank. It'll be here the entire time, I just want him to have to drive around town until he realizes where it is."

Natalie covered her mouth to muffle her laughs, shaking her head. She wasn't sure if David would find it funny or not, but she loved any chance she could get to mess with him.

"It's on that table under the TV."

Sophia walked over and grabbed it, taking some duct tape and placing it under the couch. She got some flash cards and markers and immediately went to work. She snatched her keys from the counter and said her goodbyes before jumping in her car to buy an identical hard drive.

-

David woke up the next morning, raising an eyebrow when he noticed the empty spot next to him. He reached for his phone, getting even more confused when he didn't see any messages from Sophia. He brushed his teeth and washed his face before walking out into the living room. He walked over to his laptop to continue editing when he cracked the widest smile. Sophia had pranked him yet again.

if you want your hard drive you're gonna have to go on a little scavenger hunt. text me for your next clue, dobrik.

He laughed loudly, running and grabbing his camera to film the note she had left him.

"I'm gonna text her now and see where I have to go."

He sent her a quick text, receiving his next clue almost immediately.

"She said that I need to go back to where it all started. What the fuck does that mean?" He wondered, losing it when she sent a picture of the hard drive in her passenger seat with the seatbelt on.

After he changed and got his stuff together, he jumped in the car and started thinking. He set up his camera on his dashboard and started recording.

"So, I first met Sophia at her apartment. I'm gonna head over there now."

The drive to her place was short, and he filmed the entire process as he knocked on her front door. Marcia opened it, holding in her laughter as best she could. She called for Apollo, who had the next clue wrapped around his collar.

Hope you've got your hiking shoes on. Climbing time.

David groaned, running back down the stairs and heading over to Jason's house, He figured she was referring to the trails in his backyard.

Once he got there, he climbed to the top of the peak and texted her a photo. She giggled as she texted him the next clue.

Time to pay a visit to your childhood idol. He'll reveal your next clue.

David knew she was doing this whole prank to give him content, and he genuinely found it super funny. He wasn't worried about how long this would take to edit. He found it so cute that she went through all the trouble to do this. He drove all the way across town to get to Josh's apartment, where he opened the door with a wide smile.

"David, you've finally come to your final clue. What you do next will determine whether or not you get to see that hard drive again," Josh said dramatically, David recording him excitedly.

"You have the option to only eat Chipotle for the rest of your life or to just never eat Buffalo Wild Wings again. What do you do?"

David shook his head and laughed, thinking about all of their fake fights about what to order for lunch.

"No more Buffalo." David chuckled, Josh screaming in excitement.

"Your next clue is the following. David, you are a dumb bitch. This was all for nothing. Your hard drive is stuck to the cloud." Josh whispered ominously before theatrically shutting the door in his face.

David walked back down to his car, trying to figure out what that clue meant. He drove back to his house in complete confusion, not knowing what else to do. He considered texting Sophia for help, but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction.

He walked into his house, plopping down on his couch and laying his head against the cushion. That's when it hit him. He had a Cloud couch. He grabbed his camera and began to search frantically, laughing as he threw around the cushions and flipped over the sections. He screamed in excitement when he found it taped to the bottom of the couch.

Sophia ran out of his room, showering him with the confetti from a confetti popper and dancing excitedly.

"Congratulations David! You found your hard drive. How does it feel?" Sophia asked excitedly, recording his reaction with her own camera.

"You made me drive around town for like 3 hours." He laughed, pointing his camera at her.

"Wanna hear the best part?" She said, hugging herself as she cackled.

"What?"

"The hard drive never left your house. I just bought the same one to trick you to drive around all day."

"Fuck you, Soph." He joked, laughing loudly as she pulled out the replica from her back pocket. They turned off their cameras and picked up the mess they had made together.

"Hey, that was actually really good. Thanks, babe." David smiled, taking her cheek in his hand and pecking her lips lightly. She blushed at his words, looking down at her feet.

"If that's my reward, I'm gonna start pranking you every day." Sophia giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his.