chemical bonds / 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥

ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳ ⁴

                                            Dream's Pov:

          8:02 PM

         The four of us sat at the table, waiting for the waiter to return with our check. I could feel myself getting drowsy from the jet lag.

        "To clarify, I'll pay and then you guys will venmo me back, right?" Wilbur asked as the waiter walked back over. "Yes can we just get out of here?" I snapped back. When his eyes softened at me I instantly realized what I had done, "Sorry, that was rude- I'm just tired."

         "It's fine, I'm tired too." Wilbur replied as he handed off his card.

          I looked over at Tommy and George who appeared to be having a staring contest. Jokingly, I lifted my hand in front of their views.

        "Ugh, Americans ruin everything," Tommy muttered.

     George seemed to suddenly remember I wasn't from here.

           "How was your first day, American?"

           "Better than the last time I was here. Fuck rocks."

           "Stonehenge?"

           "Oh yeah is that what it's called?"

         Before George could reply the waiter came back and we were free to leave. The chair scuffed on the old wood as I pushed it in and made my way out of the restaurant. The night air was crisp, demanding I put back on my sweatshirt I had stripped off hours ago. The others who had trailed out after me started off down the street.

        "Hey don't ditch me in a foreign city!" I shouted, speeding after them.

         "Oh sorry. We were going to take the tube home." George replied.

          "That's the subway, right?"

            "Yes, much cleaner than anything you're used to I'm sure." Tommy said snarkily.

          "Do you think I'm from New York or something? I have no trains to compare it with."

        A block later we came upon the descending staircase and made our way down. It was surprisingly quiet so Wilbur had no problem hopping over the rail instead of paying. He must be a bad influence, as we all did the same. The car was practically empty but Tommy felt the need to stand, grasping the bar next to him every time the train clambered to one of its stops. 

        I could feel a stare and turned to see a girl a few rows to the left of us. She was young and didn't quite look like a crackhead, so I put my back to her and hoped she didn't recognize us. George and Wilbur were both looking down at their phones. I glanced down to try and get a look at George's messages.

       "You know, some people like personal space," he said through a smirk.

        "Okay well tell your friends I said hello."

         He rolled his eyes and went back to texting. I had trusted Wilbur to get us off at the right stop but naturally he failed us.

        "It's fine, we can get off here and we're still only a 15 minute walk from the house!" He said, trying to reassure the tired group. Off of the train, we climbed the set of stairs and came out into a pretty neighborhood.

       "This area reminds me of that one movie with- oh, uh, what's her name? I forget but Hugh Grant's in it" I stated.

        "Notting Hill? Yeah I would hope it does considering that's where we are," George replied casually.

        The streetlights gave the sidewalk the appearance of a stage, and I could tell Tommy had noticed. He bounded a few pases in front of us and spread his arms, diving like a biplane as he spun, humming a tune. I smiled at him and then peered back down at George who had one hand in his pocket and the other once again scrolling through his phone. 

       I thought for a moment about some witty screen-time remark I could make but before I could a deafening scream stung my ears. I turned back to see Tommy curled over on the pavement, face in his palms. The faint sound of footsteps sprinting away faded over his wails. 

      Wilbur rushed to meet Tommy on the ground and try and tend to the pain. I felt completely lost, what had just happened? It took me a moment before I finally saw the side of Tommy's face.

                             Acid attack in Notting Hill.

          I thought back to that newspaper headline in Tesco. Well fuck, what do you do when someone gets acid attacked? Before I could react George had swooped to Tommy's level. I panicked, feeling completely helpless- thankfully some homeowners had come outside, reacting to the cries. I hurried over to a couple on their front porch and asked them to call for an ambulance. 

         The man hurried back inside to get his phone while his wife and I carried out cool towels and ice-packs. It was instinctive, realistically we had no idea how to help someone in Tommy's place. I rushed over to the growing huddle on the sidewalk and pushed to get Tommy the towels and adhesives. It was passed off to Wilbur who helped Tommy clear off his face. 

             I pulled myself out of the crowd, trying to give him space to breath. The neighborhood that had been so peaceful minutes ago was now completely illuminated. I turned back and made eye contact with a flustered George as the sound of sirens grew nearer.