@endlessstorms - Tumblr Blog

Chasing Chaos Pt. 2

scott miller x fem!reader

summary: after the stillwater tornado, you're forced to not only process the trauma it gave you, but the way the team treats you after. the way scott treats you. on top of the now unavoidable feelings for him, you're struggling to handle it well

warnings: angst, age-gap, power imbalance, swearing, canon divergent (i think i'm using that right), canon typical violence/destruction/injuries/death from tornadoes, panic attacks, jokes about death/dying, reader goes to therapy!!, reader has PTSD and bad coping habits, brief mention of a past relationship, reader wears makeup, brief descriptions of what reader's wearing (sorry if i missed any!)

word count: 21k

a/n: i have no idea how this got so long but i just couldn't shut up because i love their dynamic lmao it took me a while to figure out what direction i wanted to take this in, but i'm pretty happy with the ending!

divider credits to @pixopix!!

part 1

If you’d been asked two weeks ago, you would’ve stood firm in your opinion that Scott Miller is a Grade A asshole.

Now you’d say he’s tolerable.

Which might be worse, actually. Because at least when he was an asshole it was easy to dismiss your very small, very insignificant, barely there crush on him.

It’s harder to do that when he’s actually trying to be decent, has said the words ‘I care about you,’ and admitted he was worried when you were in a life-threatening situation.

Which is why you’re still awake at 3 a.m., staring at the ceiling of the shitty motel room as Kate snores softly in the other bed–something she adamantly denies every time you poke fun at her for it.

It’s been two full weeks since the Stillwater tornado. Since Scott and Tyler had come to some weird unspoken agreement to soften the feud. Since Kate had found that the near-death experience was what she needed to be reminded just how much passion she has for storm chasing. Since she and Tyler started ‘secretly’ seeing each other.

Only fourteen days since you experienced something that shook you so badly Scott made Riggs include your new therapist in the company budget.

You argued against it–said you were fine and didn’t need more therapy. But the ultimatum given to you by Scott and Javi was to attend therapy or take a mandatory leave, and there was no way you were doing that. Plus, Kate was presented the same ultimatum and agreed to therapy with no qualms, and knowing you wouldn’t be alone in it helped.

You both took a few days off, but by halfway through day two you were itching to get back to work. Sitting in a stuffy motel room was doing nothing for the mental aspect of your recovery, and you were lucky enough to only get cuts and bruises that didn’t require much downtime.

But all going back to work did was cause a new problem.

Because Scott will not stop watching you.

It’s unnerving, truly. Like his eyes were designed purely for him to see you. It should make you giggly and shy–the guy you’ve thought about when you can’t sleep for the last year paying such close attention to you. But all it does is piss you off.

Because it’s not good attention. It’s not like he’s looking at you because he likes you or thinks you’re pretty.

He’s watching you because you almost died and now it’s like nobody trusts you to be alone.

So you’ve resorted to staying awake well past everyone else, reveling in the solitude that comes with the night.

- - - -

You wake up at 7 a.m. to the blaring alarm from your phone where it’s charging on the nightstand. You groan and cover your face with a pillow, then blindly slap at your phone, hoping to turn it off without looking. You can hear Kate chuckle from the other bed.

“Want some help with that?” You just grunt in response, but she takes your phone and shuts off the alarm for you. After a moment of silence, she asks softly, “You stay up late again?”

You sigh and take the pillow off your face, turning to face her. She’s already ready for the day. “Yeah.”

“What time?” Her voice and face are so soft, so gentle. It makes you want to scream.

You shrug, looking to the side now. “Three?”

She sighs and tilts her head. “You can’t keep functioning on such little sleep, Sunny.”

You clench your jaw and sit up, letting the blanket pool in your lap for a moment before pushing yourself out of bed. “I’m fine, Kate.”

“You say that every morning, but it’s obvious you’re not.”

You grab your clothes from your bag and take them into the bathroom, shutting the door behind you without responding. You look in the mirror, noticing the deep purple bags under your eyes that have been there forever, but seem darker lately.

You get changed into your blue polo and a pair of jeans, put on deodorant, brush your hair and teeth, and leave the bathroom looking slightly more human than when you went in.

She looks up when you come back out, eyes tracking your movements with furrowed brows as you slip on your socks and boots. “We’re not meeting until 8.” She glances down at her phone. “It’s only 7:15.”

“I’m going for a walk,” you reply flatly, focusing on tying the laces.

She hums. When you stand and grab your key, slipping it into your pocket, she simply says, “Okay.”

You bite your tongue, resisting the urge to sarcastically ask what, not gonna insist on coming with? Because it’s not her fault. And she’s been understanding about everything. But it’s not fair. She recovered so well–perfectly–from the same situation, meanwhile you keep feeling worse and worse.

You leave the room without another word. The crisp morning air causes goosebumps to erupt on your arms and you welcome the feeling–something so small, but reminds you that you’re alive.

You close your eyes and bask in the sunlight for a beat before starting to walk. The only sounds are the chirping birds in the trees that line the road the motel sits off of and the crunch of dirt under your boots.

It’s perfect.

You walk for the entire 45 minutes, getting back to the motel just as the rest of the team gathers in the parking lot for the usual pre-chase briefing. You make your way to stand between Andy and Peter, intentionally avoiding both Scott and Javi’s questioning glances when they see you come from the road.

The briefing is quick, likely just confirming plans for today’s chase, but you don’t hear much of what’s said. The talking all drones into a monotonous hum in the background of your brain.

The second Javi claps his hands together, signaling the end of it, you move to get into the passenger seat of Scarecrow, sinking down into it. The rest of the team stands around chatting for a minute, then Scott slides into the driver’s seat. He looks at the side of your face when you don’t turn toward him. “Where were you?”

“A walk.”

“Since when do you take walks in the morning?” There’s that fucking concerned tone.

You shrug, still staring out the windshield. “Since today?”

He studies you for a moment. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” It’s quick. Reflexive.

He scoffs. “Right.” He keeps looking. “When’s your next appointment with the therapist?”

You turn your head halfway now, glaring at him. “None of your business.”

“Except it is my business, because it’s a condition of your employment.”

You turn back to the windshield with an eye roll. “If I knew you were going to hold it over my head like this, I would’ve just agreed to the leave.”

He adjusts in his seat, his body turning towards you. His tone is sharper now, but there’s a sort of desperation underneath it. “Okay, seriously, what is your problem? I thought we finally figured out how to work together.”

Your jaw tenses, then you turn to look at him with a sigh, keeping your face carefully neutral. “I don’t have a problem, Scott. I’m tired. That’s it.” At his disbelieving glance, you force the tension out of your shoulders and soften your voice. “I’m fine. Really.”

He keeps his eyes on you for a few more moments before rubbing his jaw, finally turning away to start the engine. “Fine.”

- - - -

You manage to keep your frustration contained for four more days before you finally reach your boiling point.

It comes after a chase. A tornado that shifted paths, turning toward yours and Scott’s PAR position. You got out of the way fine, that wasn’t the problem.

The problem was that he was watching you.

And then he kept watching when you’d all realized a small town was hit and decided to offer your help.

Watched while you performed first aid on a young girl who wouldn’t stop crying.

Watched while you helped a family salvage photo albums from their damaged house.

Watched the entire drive back to the motel.

And he’s still watching when you pull into the parking lot.

You’ve gotten used to the feeling of eyes burning into you, but that doesn’t mean you appreciate it.

You’re trying to be more civil because he’s doing the same. So you don’t say anything as you hop out of the car, grabbing your bag from the backseat.

Or even when he opens the other back door and you can see him glance at you multiple times as he grabs his own bag.

But then he opens his mouth and that’s what does it.

“You okay?”

Something hot and suffocating in your chest explodes and radiates through your entire body, causing you to drop your bag back onto the floor of the backseat.

“Why do you keep fucking asking me that?” It comes out loud and raw.

You watch his eyebrows draw closer together just as you notice the sudden silence around you as the rest of the team stops what they’re doing, shocked by the outburst.

“Because you keep acting like you’re not.” He says it so annoyingly calmly. You want to punch him.

You scoff, narrowing your eyes at him. “That’s what you got from staring at me all the time?”

He pulls back just slightly, confusion flickering across his face. “What?”

“Do you seriously think I can’t see you–feel you watching me constantly?” An incredulous laugh bubbles out of you and the backs of your eyes start to burn. “Everyone! Everyone is constantly watching me! Like–like I’m gonna break or something!”

Javi joins Scott at the other side of the car, looking at you from across the backseat with a concerned expression. “Sunny, kid, nobody thinks you’re going to break.”

You throw your hands in the air, unable to stop the tears that gather along your waterline. “Well, if they did, they’d be right! Here you go! Is this what you were all waiting for? Hm? For me to explode, prove I’m–I’m traumatized?” You grab your bag, swallowing around the lump in your throat as you slam the car door shut.

When you turn around, everyone is–shocker!–watching. They all look around sheepishly, pretending they weren’t just doing the exact thing that set you off in the first place.

Javi jogs around the vehicle, stepping in front of you, hands raised like he wants to touch you but isn’t sure if that’ll make things worse. “Hey, come on. Let’s talk.”

You roll your eyes and throw your head back, sniffling. “I don’t want to talk to you. You already make me talk to a therapist, isn’t that enough?”

“Clearly not,” Scott says from where he’s joined at Javi’s side.

You snap your head back to look at them, locking onto Scott, anger flaring hot in your chest. “Excuse me?”

Javi’s eyes widen as he looks at Scott, trying to silently communicate, but Scott keeps his eyes on you. “You’re having a public meltdown right now. Does that seem like something someone who’s doing well in therapy would do?”

“Oh please,” you spit out. “Like you know anything about therapy.”

“Okay,” Kate interjects, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and physically pulling you toward your shared motel room. “Show’s over, everyone.” You try to shrug her off, but she only tightens her hold on you. As soon as the door shuts behind you, she lets go and faces you. “You wanna tell me what that was about?” It’s not accusing, but it’s not as gentle as her usual tone when you’re upset.

You throw your bag down onto the floor and sit on the edge of the bed, bending over to untie your boot laces with more force than necessary. “No.”

“No?” She crosses her arms, studying you.

You sit up with a huff, pushing your hair back from your face where it stuck due to the tears. “No.”

“Look,” she sighs, uncrossing her arms as she shifts her weight. “I get that you’re upset, but this,” she gestures at you, “isn’t going to make it go away. You can’t just shut down.”

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.” It’s not as sharp as you want it to be.

Kate takes a step closer. “What happened?” Her voice is soft again.

You look up for a moment, squeezing your eyes shut, which forces a tear down your cheek. You wipe it with the heel of your hand before looking back at her. “Why are you fine?” At the confusion on her face, you continue. “You just… got over it. And–and it’s not even about the stupid tornado anymore. It’s about the fact that everyone won’t stop watching.” Your voice cracks on the last word, but you keep going. “It’s like nobody trusts me when I say I’m okay!”

“Can you blame them?” She sits on the bed next to you. Not touching, but close enough that you could easily bump her shoulder with yours. “You’ve been off ever since. Do you think nobody’s noticed how little you’ve been sleeping?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have to stay awake so late just to have a little alone time if everybody would stop watching me,” you retort.

“You’ve been snappy.”

“I’ve always been snappy with Scott–“

“Not just with him. With me. With Javi. With Tyler and the Wranglers. I may have only known you for three weeks, but I know this isn’t you.”

You stare at your hands in your lap, starting to pick at your fingernails. It’s weird—being known so well that someone who hasn’t even known you for a month can see through the facade you’ve tried to keep up.

It makes you wonder just how much the rest of the team has picked up on, too.

Probably all of it, now that you’ve blown up in front of all of them.

The thought makes your face burn as you feel embarrassment wash over you. You drop your head with a sigh. “That was embarrassing.”

She nudges your shoulder with her own. “It wasn’t embarrassing. I just wish you’d said something sooner. I’m sure everyone does.”

You both just sit in silence, reflecting for a few moments before you get up to take a long, hot shower. The water soothes some of the tension in your muscles and clears some of the fog in your mind. You come out of the bathroom, still drying your hair with a towel, and stop short when you see Scott and Javi sitting on Kate’s bed with her. Your stomach drops.

“Hi,” you say slowly, moving to sit on your bed. Kate stands, giving you a sympathetic look before going into the bathroom and turning on the shower. Once the bathroom door shuts, the brief moment of silence is suffocating. “Am I being fired?”

“You’re not being fired.” Though the way Scott says it isn’t exactly reassuring.

You tuck one leg under you, eyes darting between both of them. “That didn’t make me feel better.”

“You’re not being fired,” Javi reiterates, gentler. Your shoulders drop slightly. “But you are taking at least three days off. Plus a therapy appointment.” Your eyes widen and you open your mouth, but he cuts you off. “It’s not a suggestion.”

“Look,” Scott says before you can say anything, his voice softer but tight, like he’s working to keep it that way. “Nobody is mad at you, all right? But it’s obvious that you need more time off. To deal with what happened.”

You scoff. “I’ve dealt with what happened just fine. Have you seen me flinch or hesitate in the field? No. I freaked out because you guys keep treating me like a baby.”

“We’re not treating you like a baby–“

“You are, though!” You cut Scott off. “You all are, but especially you. I have felt you watching me nonstop and it’s driving me insane. I have talked it out with the therapist, processed what happened, and gotten over it. But I can’t do anything now without, like, twelve pairs of eyes on me!”

“We just want to make sure you’re okay–“ Javi starts, but you cut in again.

“Then why don’t you guys do the same thing to Kate?” Your voice rises an octave, desperation laced underneath. “You don’t baby her! You don’t watch her! So what’s the difference? Because she went through the exact same thing.”

“Because you’ve only been doing this for a year.” Scott’s voice hardens, but, to his credit, doesn’t raise. “And from what I understand, most of us who have been doing this ten times as long haven’t even seen something to that degree. Kate has.” He pauses, then points at you. “You haven’t.”

You open and close your mouth a couple times, trying to come up with a rebuttal, but now everything just feels like it would come across as childish. Eventually, you settle on, “You guys aren’t doing me any favors by making me feel like…” You trail off, searching for the right words as you chew on your bottom lip. “Like I can’t handle this.”

“We know you can handle this,” Javi assures. “We just don’t want you to feel like you can’t tell us if you’re struggling.”

“I’m not struggling! That’s my entire point!” Your voice is at its normal volume, but the frustration is evident. “You guys have been acting like I should be, but I’m just not. I was–at first. But it’s really fucking hard to recover when nobody will give you the space to.”

Scott rubs his jaw while Javi sighs before saying, “Look. I get it. I do. And I’m sorry–truly. We never meant to make you feel like we didn’t trust you or like you weren’t capable of doing the job. But we’ve all seen how exhausted and snappy you’ve been. You can’t blame us for being concerned.”

You let out a long exhale through your nose, shoulders slumping forward. “I’m exhausted because the only time I’ve been able to have any sense of privacy is after everyone has gone to sleep.”

Javi’s face softens as a guilty look flashes across it. “We’ll get you your own room.” Scott opens his mouth to protest, but Javi pushes on. “And you can take the three days to decompress.”

“I don’t want three days off. And I don’t care about getting my own room–Kate is the most tolerable person here. I just want to exist without feeling like my every move is being monitored.”

“At least take tomorrow off, then. Please,” Javi pleads. “Catch up on sleep, take the time alone, and we’ll talk with the team.” He looks at Scott, nodding as he continues. “We’ll make sure everyone gives you some space, yeah?”

Scott just looks at him for a beat before nodding slowly, almost hesitantly.

You look at Scott directly. “You need to start trusting me.”

His head snaps back to face you, eyebrows drawn close together. “I trust you.”

“No. You don’t,” you counter, but it’s less defensive than before. It’s tired. You open your mouth to continue, but Kate comes out of the bathroom then.

She looks between the three of you–noticing your slumped shoulders, Scott’s stiff posture, and the concern etched on Javi’s face. “Is everything okay?”

Scott looks like he wants to say something, but Javi stands from the bed quickly. He walks over to Kate and places a hand on her elbow, gently guiding her toward the door. “Let’s go get dinner, hm?” Nobody else even gets the chance to say anything before the door is clicking shut behind them, leaving you and Scott in a heavy silence.

The silence stretches before he finally speaks. “I do trust you.” His voice is rough, but quieter now.

You search his face, trying to figure out what’s under his tone. “Then why does it feel like you’re waiting for me to fail? Every time I look at you, you’re already looking,” your throat feels tight. “And I can see it–you’re just waiting for me to screw up.”

He lets your words hang between you for a moment before he sighs. “That’s not what it is.”

“Then what is it, Scott?” The backs of your eyes start to burn again and you mentally curse yourself for being so emotional, clenching your fists. “Because, to me, it feels like we went from you not being able to stand me because you thought I was incompetent to you being scared of me fucking up. And I hate that–I hate it so bad.”

He swallows hard and takes his hat off, running a hand through his hair. “I’m not scared of you fucking up.”

You wait a beat for him to continue, scoffing when he doesn’t. “Am I going to get any explanations? Or just you telling me I’m wrong and that’s it.”

“I just…” he groans, looking up at the ceiling. “I just know that that tornado was really intense and it would make sense if you weren’t okay.” The words tumble out, almost like he doesn’t want you to actually hear them.

You repeat the words in your head, letting them sink in, before feeling the corners of your mouth turn up. “Can you say that again?”

He groans again and lowers his head to glare at you, but the twitching of his mouth gives him away. “Don’t.”

Your smile widens and you tilt your head in mock innocence. “No, no, I just want to make sure I heard you correctly. Because it almost sounded like you’re worried about me.”

“You’re putting words in my mouth,” he deadpans.

“No, I’m summarizing.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’m just saying, I’ve been keeping an eye on you because it’s only been a couple weeks and nobody would be shocked if you were still processing it.”

“And I’m just saying that I am still processing it, but I’m fine to be working and wouldn’t have blown up if you guys weren’t being so overprotective.” You raise your eyebrows, hoping your firm but gentle tone convinces him.

He sighs, closing his eyes for a moment and rubbing his forehead while he takes in your words. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. We’ll…” he trails off, pursing his lips while he thinks over his next words. “We’ll try to back off. Give you space to recover, or whatever.”

He leaves shortly after with an awkward bye, and with Kate and Javi still gone, it gives you some time to think. About how embarrassed you are, firstly. Then about how lucky you are to have such supportive teammates–people you’d consider family more than anything.

And then you think about Scott. About how–for the first time ever–having a serious conversation about your feelings didn’t feel like pulling teeth.

And, well, isn’t that just horrible for you to realize?

Because now you know he’s capable of listening. Actually hearing what you’re saying and internalizing it.

It gives you hope.

And hope is dangerous.

You don’t get too long to spiral about that, thankfully. Kate comes back and you tell her all about the conversation, to which she listens intently with a new gleam in her eyes.

You ignore that.

And for the first time in weeks, you go to sleep at a decent time.

- - - -

Waking up to find Kate already gone makes you disoriented. You fumble for your phone, squinting at the brightness of the screen, and are shocked to see it’s nearly 11 a.m.

You slept for 12 hours.

You scroll on your phone for less than an hour before deciding you’re bored.

Just because you weren’t allowed out in the field today doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to work.

So you dig your laptop out of your bag and pull up the SPC convective outlooks, trying to get an idea of how tomorrow’s chase will be. You’re thrilled to see a level 5 risk across a large portion of the state.

You pull up every forecast you can find, map out potential routes, and try to predict which areas are most likely to develop tornadoes.

You’re practically buzzing by the time you’re done, looking over your notes and routes, excited to share them with the rest of the team…

Then you see it’s only 1:15 and groan, flopping back against the pillow.

Next idea is taking a walk.

So you change into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, slide on your sneakers, and head out, popping your earbuds into your ears. The sun beams down on you, a cool breeze keeping it from being too hot. Based on where the team is chasing today, you figure you have at least two hours before the system they’re tracking reaches you and takes away the sunshine.

This motel is in a more populated area than the ones you usually stay at, so you decide to walk the short distance to some nearby shops and look around.

You don’t usually get much time to explore the cities you stop in. Most nights you arrive late and leave early the next morning. And if you stay in the same city multiple nights, you spend almost the entire day out chasing. It’s nice being able to explore something local, even if it’s just a small town.

The first store that catches your eye is a coffee shop. When you step inside, you’re hit with the smell of coffee and inhale deeply. The low lighting and soft music make the small seating area feel cozy rather than suffocating.

You give the barista your order and look around at the display of trinkets for purchase at the counter while you wait. Stickers, notepads, pins. You pick up a sticker that loudly declares “Hello Sunshine!” with a pastel rainbow and sun with a small smile on your face. You buy it, because duh, then grab your finished drink to continue your walk.

It’s nice. Really nice. No one is asking if you’re okay–no one is watching.

After an hour, you can hear distant rolling thunder over your music, signalling the system picked up speed. You pull up the radar on your phone as you pull out your earbuds, seeing that it also looks like it weakened–now only producing small thunderstorms instead of the severe ones it was initially projected to. Which means the team will likely be back soon since there’s nothing to chase.

You start the walk back, letting the thunder be the soundtrack this time.

- - - -

Sure enough, the team returns shortly after you get back to your motel room. You hear commotion outside and look out the window to see everyone unloading the vehicles, then rush out the door, practically skipping over to them with a smile on your face.

“Hey, guys! Okay, I know the chase today probably wasn’t great because the system weakened, but I did a bunch of planning for tomorrow and I think we have a really good shot at catching something big. Also, I’m sorry about my meltdown yesterday–it was really embarrassing and I know you were all only watching because you care.” The words tumble out in little more than one breath.

The rest of the team turns to look at you with a mixture of amusement and relief at your sudden energy–a drastic difference compared to your behavior over the past three weeks. The only person who seems… suspicious? Concerned? Is Scott.

“Jesus, kid, relax,” Javi chuckles. “First–give us a minute to unload stuff, then we can go over your plans for tomorrow. Second–don’t apologize. We understand.”

You nod and shove your hands into your pockets, rocking on your heels. “Sorry, got a little excited.” You huff out a laugh, catching Scott’s narrowed gaze briefly before looking away.

As they finish up, you run back to your room to grab your laptop and bring it out with you. You set it up on the tailgate of Javi’s truck, already pulling up your notes as the others start to gather around.

“All right,” Javi says, clapping his hands together once everyone’s ready. “Show us what you got.”

You pull up the note file on your laptop with your half-finished thoughts, explaining them more in depth, along with the outlooks and forecasts. It quickly becomes a discussion, everyone throwing out their opinions on your proposed routes.

When you share your thoughts on which route would be the most promising, you’re shocked when Scott–who’s been surprisingly quiet so far–agrees with you. “It’s right along the system’s projected strongest edge. Unless something big changes, this area here,” he steps forward and traces a circle with his finger on the screen, “is most likely to see the worst of it.”

You stare up at his concentrated face for a moment, feeling a sudden warmth in both your chest and face at his agreement and physical proximity to you. You blink a couple times and force your attention back to the rest of the team, vibrating in anticipation. “So, unless something changes, do we have a plan?”

They all glance at each other before nodding. “We have a plan!” Javi cheers, to which you pump your fist. “Glad to see you’re back to bouncing off the walls.” That causes the others to laugh.

“You know, there’s a bar just down the road. We have a night off, Sunny’s back, and tomorrow’s gonna be a big day…” Kate trails off, wiggling her eyebrows at the others, who immediately jump at the suggestion.

Everyone practically rushes off to their rooms to get ready, leaving you standing there, chuckling.

Well, everyone except Scott.

You turn to shut your laptop when his deep voice says, “You put a lot of work into that.” It’s closer than you expect.

You shrug and your face burns once again. You stay facing away from him, not wanting him to see the effect he has on you. “I was bored.”

He hums and takes a step back, pausing. You finally turn back to him, tucking your laptop under your arm. “Good job.” He gives you a sharp nod and turns away, walking toward his room, leaving you with a traitorous, flipping stomach.

- - - -

After you shower, Kate insists on dressing you up. She digs through your bag, frowning and grumbling with each item she pulls out that she doesn’t deem suitable for a night out. You sit on the edge of your bed, towel wrapped around your body, picking at your nails in your lap.

It’s been months since you’ve actually gone out with the team, and even then you never cared much about dressing up. And, based on the texts in your group chat with Dani and Lily, it sounds like a bunch of other teams are going to be there, too.

Kate makes a pleased noise, snapping you out of your thoughts. You turn to see her holding up a fitted shirt with a deeper neckline than you're used to, far from your typical style. “Where have you been hiding this?”

You huff out a laugh. “I forgot I even had that.”

“Okay, well,” she grunts as she pushes herself off the ground, holding up the shirt and a nicer pair of jeans. “We have your outfit.”

You roll your eyes, but take the clothes to the bathroom. Once you’re changed, you look at yourself in the mirror and feel your stomach turn with anxiety. Not because you’re not happy with how you look.

Because you are.

But everything feels tight, and even though you know nothing you’re wearing shows too much skin, it still feels revealing.

You slowly open the bathroom door, seeing Kate is dressed now, too. She’s wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a fitted black one-shoulder top. You wolf whistle, which makes her laugh as she looks you up and down.

“You look hot!”

Your face burns in embarrassment as you wave her off. “Says you.”

She rolls her eyes at your deflection and gestures at the desk chair. “Sit.”

You draw your eyebrows together. “Why?”

“So I can do your makeup, duh.” She shakes her head as if it’s obvious.

Your eyes widen and you shake your head. “Uh, no thank you.”

She shoots you an unimpressed look. “Why?”

“Because I don’t wear makeup, like, ever.” You try to laugh it off, but it comes out a little shaky. Why are you so nervous?

She notices–of course she does–and her face softens as she studies you for a moment. “Okay. We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

You sigh, running a hand through your hair. “No–I…” You breathe out a laugh again. “Sorry, I’m, like, really fucking anxious about this for some reason. Um, you can do it, if you want. Just, not a lot of it, maybe?”

A grin forms on her face and she nods, grabbing her makeup bag and gesturing for you to sit. She kneels in front of you and digs out an eyelash curler, a tube of mascara, a lip liner pencil, and lipstick. She starts by curling your eyelashes, letting the silence hang for a minute.

“So,” she drags out as she reaches for the mascara. “Apparently a bunch of teams are going out tonight.”

You furrow your eyebrows. “Yeah…”

“And you look hot…”

You start to roll your eyes, but she makes a scolding sound. You force yourself to sit still, fighting the urge to pull away at the mascara wand hovering dangerously to your eye. “No.”

She whines. “Why not? You’re young! Single! And all you do is work. I asked Javi, he said you’ve never even attempted to date someone in the year you’ve been here.”

“I liked you better before you started dating Tyler,” you deadpan.

She gasps in mock offense, screwing the cap onto the mascara before reaching for the lip liner. “Ouch.” She starts lining your lips carefully and you try not to smirk. “I’m just saying. Have you ever even been in an actual relationship?”

You glare down at her, not speaking until she pulls away the pencil. “Yes, I have, thank you very much.”

“And?” She looks up at you expectantly.

You shrug. “Just didn’t work out. Then I moved here, and… I don’t know, I care more about the job than trying to date again.”

She hums thoughtfully, forcing your lips apart with the lipstick before starting to apply it. “Then don’t date.”

“Tha’s what I’n doing,” you mutter with your mouth still open, confused at the sudden backpedal.

She rolls her eyes and tilts her head. “No. Then don’t date.”

She lets you sit in confusion for a few moments before it finally clicks. You gasp and smack her shoulder, causing her to smear the lipstick onto your chin. “No!”

She laughs loudly, grabbing a makeup wipe to fix it. “What! It’s an option!”

You shake your head as soon as she pulls away the wipe. “No, it is not.”

She’s still laughing, wiping an exaggerated tear from her eye. “Okay, okay.”

- - - -

The bar is packed.

Kate was right. A bunch of teams did decide to go out tonight.

You have your arms crossed over your middle as you both walk through the front doors, looking for the rest of your team. Kate spots them first and points them out, crowded around a high table near the back. She grabs your arm to drag you with her, but the second you see Scott you dig your heels in.

“Nope. Just decided I actually don’t want to do this.”

Your sudden stop pulls her back with you, and she turns back around to look at you, alarmed. “What? Why?”

Your wide eyes are locked on his back and your entire body feels like it’s on fire. He’s wearing a black t-shirt that is criminally tight on his biceps, blue jeans, and a backwards hat.

Backwards. Hat.

“Oh, Kate, I’m gonna throw up.”

She tracks your line of sight and a knowing smirk creeps onto her face. “I knew it!”

You shake your head frantically, turning at her, eyes still wide. “I can’t.”

“You can.”

You try to turn back toward the door, but she doesn’t loosen her hold on your arm. “Kate, I’m going to die.”

“You’re not going to die.” Her voice is firm, but there’s a hint of amusement in it.

“My boobs are out!” You squeak.

“Barely.” She gently spins you around to face her and grabs onto both of your upper arms, bending slightly to be at face level. “You look hot.” You shake your head and her grip tightens. “Yes you do. And you aren’t too exposed.”

“I feel too exposed,” you whisper.

Her face and tone soften. “You’re not. I promise.” Her grip loosens slightly. “Okay, how about we have one drink, and if you still hate it we can leave.”

You hesitate, then slowly nod, chewing on the inside of your cheek. “Okay.”

She smiles widely, patting your arms before letting them go. “There we go. All right, come on.” She lets you stand for another moment before starting to head toward the table, checking to make sure you’re with her. You roll your shoulders back and take a deep breath as you follow closely behind her, plastering a casual smile on your face.

You both get a few up and down glances from some of the others as you greet them, but nobody outwardly says anything, which eases some of your anxiety.

You pointedly avoid looking anywhere near Scott.

After the initial greetings, you’re quick to offer to run up to the bar for you and Kate. She gives you her order and you slip through the crowd, making your way to the crowded bar. You get stuck a few people deep in the crowd and know you’re going to be waiting for a while.

When you’re standing alone, you use the time to focus on the thumping of the music, trying to let it pull you out of your head. You only get a few seconds before an arm is unceremoniously thrown around your shoulders, knocking you off balance.

“Sunny!” Boone’s voice booms in your ear.

You squeal and laugh loudly, grabbing onto his shirt to steady yourself. “Boone!”

He laughs and grabs onto your arms to steady you. “I thought you were never gonna show up,” he shouts over the music and crowd.

“I was getting ready with Kate,” you say back, jabbing your thumb toward the table where Kate is.

You glance over to see the rest of the Wranglers have joined your team. Tyler stands pressed against Kate’s side, doing a very poor job at attempting to look casual. You chuckle at that, but stop short when your eyes move over to see Scott already looking at you and Boone. You look away quickly and cross your arms back over your middle.

You both chat while waiting, which takes far longer than you’d initially hoped, but gives you plenty of time to start to feel more comfortable in the environment. By the time you get your drinks, you’re genuinely laughing along with Boone and not consciously covering yourself up anymore.

When you make it back to the table, everyone is in a passionate discussion about the system that’s supposed to come through tomorrow. You set Kate’s drink down in front of her, taking a sip of your own as Peter is about to say where you guys are chasing tomorrow.

“Ah–!” You cut him off with your hand out, turning to look pointedly at Tyler with a smirk. “You know these guys like to steal our ideas.”

All five of the Wranglers protest in mock offence, which makes your team laugh. Tyler wraps an arm around you, putting you in a loose headlock. “Take it back.”“Never!” You can’t stop the giggles that come out, thinking in the back of your mind that you’re glad you decided to come out tonight.

There’s some more back and forth before Tyler finally releases you with a defeated sigh when you refuse to take it back–leaving you smiling triumphantly.

- - - -

Eventually, the large group splits up. Kate and Tyler sneak off, you decide to stick with the rest of the Wranglers–minus Dexter, who decides to call it a night–, and the rest of your team stays near the table.

Two drinks later, you’re feeling pleasantly tipsy on the makeshift dance floor with Boone, Dani, and Lily. The thumping music, flashing lights, and sea of bodies keep you grounded in the moment.

You’re in the middle of laughing at Boone’s ridiculous dance moves when another team you vaguely recognize makes their way over. You shift to make room in your small circle, and they quickly fill the space.

“Hi!” The tallest of the group greets you all loudly over the music. “I’m Jack, this is Landon and Adam.” He points at his teammates, who shoot you guys polite smiles and waves. “Y’all are with Tyler Owens, right? The ‘Tornado Wranglers?’”

Boone nods with a proud smile, gesturing between himself, Dani, and Lily as he introduces them. “That we are.” He points at you. “She’s cheating on her team right now.”

You roll your eyes playfully, leaning closer to Jack so he can hear. “I’m with Storm PAR.” You give him your name. “But most people call me Sunny.”

“No shit,” he says, studying you for a beat. It doesn’t feel predatory, but you still shiver. “That’s Miller’s crew, right?”

“And Javi’s, yes.”

He hums thoughtfully. “Heard they’re pretty selective about hiring. You must be pretty damn smart,” he says with a light chuckle, but you tense anyway. Was that a compliment?

“I’d like to think so.” You shrug, keeping your tone light, then turn your focus back on your friends.

Jack seems to take the hint, dropping the topic. The three of them spend the next few songs chatting, getting to know you all. Just when you think you’re safe, Jack turns his attention back to you, leaning in and stepping just a little too close.

“So, how long are you guys gonna be in town?”

“Not sure,” you shout over the music, taking a half step back. “Depends on the forecast.”

“Well we plan on staying a few days… how about you and I get dinner if you end up staying?”

Your stomach flips. “Oh!” You look at the rest of the Wranglers wide-eyed, trying to silently communicate what’s happening. “Um–” you laugh, mind racing through ways to let him down easily. “Yeah, sure.” The words tumble out before your brain catches up.

You blink.

Oh fuck.

“Great!” Jack exclaims, pulling back to look down at you. You shoot him a smile despite screaming internally. He doesn’t seem to notice. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and hands it to you with a new contact pulled up. “I’ll text you after the chase tomorrow and see if we can try to make something work, yeah?”

You chuckle nervously as you type in your number with shaky fingers and hand the phone back, the pit in your stomach growing larger. You can feel Dani, Lily, and Boone staring at you in shock. You’ve never given a stranger your number during a night out.

You politely excuse yourself from the group, wincing at the tightness in your voice once your back is to them, and make a beeline for the table where the rest of your team is.

Kate’s still missing, so you plant yourself firmly between Javi and Peter across the table from Scott, who’s tall enough to block you from the others still dancing. Your eyes rapidly flick over the drinks on the table–all beer, of course–and you take a large gulp from the nearest bottle with your eyes squeezed shut.

“Uh, help yourself, I guess,” Javi says. You barely register the words as you take another gulp.

You finally lower the bottle with a grimace at the taste, wiping your lips with the back of your hand. When you open your eyes, everyone is looking at you with a mixture of concern and amusement.

“Thought you didn’t drink beer,” Scott says dryly.

“I don’t,” you deadpan.

“So why the sudden change of heart?” Javi asks.

“Because I just accidentally gave a guy my number and told him I’d go out to dinner with him if we stayed in town past tomorrow, but I actually don’t want to do that. And I don’t know why I don’t want to because he was nice and kinda cute, I guess, so I should just go for it since Kate said I should, but–“

“Jesus, relax,” Javi cuts you off with a chuckle. He grabs your forearm, squeezing once before dropping it. “Just tell the guy you don’t want to.”

You look at him incredulously. “Are you insane? I can’t just tell him I don’t want to.”

“Why not?” Peter asks, eyebrows furrowed.

“Because I already said yes! And he, like, basically implied I don't belong on the team!”

Scott’s beer pauses halfway to his mouth. “He what?” His voice is tight–tighter than you’ve ever heard it outside of an argument with you.

Your eyes shoot to him, surprised by the reaction. “I–I’m being dramatic. He didn’t actually say that. He just said I must be ‘pretty damn smart’ since you’re so… selective with hiring.”

He slowly lowers the bottle, letting it hit the table with a clink that’s louder in your ears than the music. “Who was it?”

You shake your head frantically, both hands flying out in front of you. “Nobody. Seriously, it’s nothing. I’m just freaking out because it’s been so long since I’ve been on a date. Really, it’s not a–“

He raises his eyebrows, leaning slightly over the table. “Who?”

“I…” You trail off, drawing your arms back in and picking at your nails. You look around Scott and point with your chin. “Tall guy, green shirt, white hat.”

Scott turns halfway to find him before turning back to you with a carefully neutral expression. “You said yes to a date with Jack Brooks?” He sounds unimpressed.

“I didn’t mean to!” You squeak out, but when you register his tone, you tilt your head, suddenly a little offended. “Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”

He raises his eyebrows and shakes his head, taking another sip of beer. “Nothing.”

You whip your head from Javi to Peter. “What does he mean by that?”

Peter holds his hands up in mock surrender and slowly steps back, joining the rest of the team behind you. You click your tongue in betrayal and turn your full focus to Javi, arms crossed over your chest.

Javi’s eyes widen, his eyes flitting between you and Scott. “I don’t know!”

“Scott.” It comes out whinier than you intend, and his jaw clenches. Hm. “What did you mean by that?”

He shrugs and takes another slow sip. “Just didn’t think he was your type.”

“He–” You splutter. “Okay, first off, I don’t have a ‘type.’ Second, I feel like I should be offended by that. What do you think my type is?”

He hums. “Not him.”

You pout and cross your arms over your chest, feeling a little childish, but a lot irritated. “Just for that, maybe I will go out with him.”

You can see Javi out of the corner of your eye, his head going back and forth like he’s watching a tennis match.

His eyes flick to where your arms sit, then back up to your face. He shrugs again. “Okay.”

You stare at him, waiting for literally anything else.

He just stares back.

“Dude.”

“What?”

“Why are you being weird?”

He shakes his head, lips pursed. “I’m not being weird.”

“Yes you are!” It comes out high pitched, but you don’t care. You’re getting really fucking annoyed.

“Okay,” he says your name, taking another sip of beer.

You turn to Javi, who just shrugs.

“Awesome. Helpful, as always,” you mutter, shaking your head. “Whatever. I’m leaving.”

“Wait–” Javi starts.

You hold up a hand, effectively cutting him off. You grab the same beer bottle as before, take another large gulp of the truly disgusting liquid, wipe your mouth with the back of your hand, and head for the door.

The cool night air is an immediate relief after hours inside the stuffy bar. The walk to the motel is short, but just enough time for you to replay every moment with Scott.

By the time you lock your motel room door behind you–thankful Kate and Tyler must have decided to go to his room–your body is still thrumming with frustration. You lean back against the door, hand in your hair.

But there’s something else under it, too.

Because, yeah, he was irritating.

But he also looked so fucking good.

You need a shower.

Or a lobotomy.

You push off the door and grab pajamas, then strip out of your clothes, throwing them vaguely in the direction of your bag.

You turn on the shower and let it warm up before stepping in. The heat and steam from the water help relieve some of the tension in your shoulders, but now you’re left with just your thoughts.

Thoughts of Scott and his stupid fucking backwards hat.

And the way his voice dips when he’s talking to you–actually talking, not arguing.

The motel room door slamming shut has you jolting out of your thoughts, grasping onto the shower wall for stability. You try to slow your breathing and stop the pounding in your ears so you can listen, hoping it’s just Kate stopping in to grab something before going back to Tyler’s room.

But when you don’t hear the door again within a couple minutes, you silently curse, resigned to the fact that Kate’s back for the night and you won’t get to wallow in your thoughts.

You wash your hair and scrub your body before getting out. Once you’re dressed in your pajamas, you step back out of the bathroom, spotting Kate getting comfy in her bed.

“Where’d you sneak off to?” You ask her slyly, pretending your entire body isn’t still tight with tension.

She flushes, a smile creeping onto her face. “Nowhere.”

You chuckle, shutting off the overhead light. “Bullshit.” You get settled into your own bed. “You and Tyler have fun?”

She tosses a pillow at you, which hits you square in the face. “Shut up,” she says over your giggles. “How was your night?”

Now it’s your turn to flush. You toss the pillow back onto the end of her bed and shut off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness. “Uh, it was fine.”

“Fine?” You can hear her shuffle, like she’s turned to face you.

You hesitate. “Um, I got asked out.”

She sits up so aggressively you know the exact motion without even seeing her. “You what?!”

- - - -

The next morning is rough.

You and Kate stayed up far too late discussing your potential date with Jack–with her opinion being that you should at least give it a chance as long as you feel comfortable–and only got a few hours of sleep.

You still hadn’t made a decision by the time you fell asleep and are very grateful to discover he still hasn’t texted when you wake up. But knowing that he likely will after the chase makes your stomach knot.

When you and Kate finally drag yourselves out to the parking lot for the morning briefing, you both look worse for wear. Once the convective outlooks for the day are pulled up, though, you all immediately lock in. The level 5 risk area has grown larger and everyone knows there isn’t just a risk for tornadoes anymore–there’s a risk for devastating damage.

Since you came up with the initial plans for the routes, Javi and Scott let you take over that portion of the briefing and make the final call–which you’re both shocked and extremely touched by.

Scott hands you his tablet so you can look over everything closer. You take a minute to review the outlooks, current radar, and your route plans. “I think we should stick with the route we talked about yesterday.” You turn the tablet around to show the others the current radar and zoom in. “The models are projecting the same track, just stronger. We could maybe head out earlier, push a little further east to give ourselves a little more distance, but I think we go with the same general plan.”

You look between the others for approval, gaze lingering on Scott and Javi a beat longer. Scott holds his hand out for the tablet. You hand it over, and he scrolls through the pages. He tilts the screen to show Javi as well and they share a few hushed words before Scott gives a nod. “Then we need to move. Pack up–we’re leaving in five.”

Everyone jumps into action and you guys are on the road three minutes later. Scott insists on driving since you ‘look like shit,’ and you don’t even try to argue.

You slide into the passenger seat, eyes locked onto the radar on the tablet in your lap for the first few minutes of the drive. You finally look up once you realize there’s no music playing, not trusting your thoughts to not wander in the silence. Then you spot a familiar can in the cupholder.

“Since when do you drink those?”

“What?” He follows your gaze briefly before turning his attention back to the road. “That’s yours.”

You furrow your eyebrows. “No it’s not.”

“Yes it is.”

You hum sarcastically. “Considering the fact I didn’t buy it, I’d say it’s not.”

He huffs and rolls his eyes. “I bought it for you.” He says it like it’s obvious.

“What?”

“Jesus, are you deaf?”

You shake your head. “No, I’m not deaf, asshole.” You wince. “Sorry–trying to be nice. Um, thank you. But why? And when?”

He smirks when you catch yourself. “This morning. And because you seemed pissed when you left the bar, which meant you wouldn’t sleep. And today is not the day for you to be off your game. So… caffeine.” He gestures toward it.

You study the side of his face long enough to recognize that you definitely should’ve said something by now, but your mouth and brain seem to have lost their connection. He finally turns to look at you and his eyebrows draw together at the look on your face. “What?”

“Nothing,” you say quickly–too quickly. “Thank you. That was… weirdly nice.”

“I can be nice,” he argues defensively, eyes returning to the road.

“Sure,” you say, eyebrows raised, cracking open the can and taking a long sip. You deliberately focus on the taste of the fruity carbonation instead of the way the entire exchange made you feel.

You set the can back in the cupholder and press play on a random playlist on your phone, then pull up the radar again. You get a minute to study it before Scott says, “So, you going on that date?”

You freeze. “Why do you care?” It’s meant to be snippy, but it comes out smaller than you’d like.

He shrugs, but you can see the familiar tick of his jaw. “Just making conversation.”

You let out a long exhale, focusing intently on the tablet in your lap. “I don’t know yet,” you admit quietly.

“Why not?” His voice is tight.

‘Because I don’t even know the guy.”

Dumbest reason to pick, Sunny, good job.

“Yeah, that’s usually how first dates work,” he deadpans.

“Just– drop it. Please.” You try to keep your voice even, but you’re sure he can pick out some of the panic in it. “We have this to worry about.” You hold up the tablet.

He doesn’t look at you, but you can see his jaw unclench just slightly before he nods and you breathe out a sigh of relief.

- - - -

Nothing could’ve prepared you for what the system turns into.

One second you’re watching a small funnel descend from the clouds–cheering and planning your interception–and the next you’re staring down the biggest tornado you’ve ever seen.

The radar goes dark. Lily hops on your team’s channel–quickly followed by the rest of the Wranglers. Her drone was taken out by lightning. The visibility is practically nonexistent.

You’re fucking scared.

And then the monster in front of you shifts–heading straight for a nearby city.

So all four Storm PAR vehicles and three Wranglers’ vehicles change course.

Kate’s voice crackles through your headsets. “Okay, guys, there’s nothing we can do to stop it, but when you get there, make sure people get to a safe place.”

“All right, where am I headed?” Boone asks.

“There’s… there’s a… There's a kids' park on Main,” Dani says shakily. “Make sure to get people to basements, uh, big buildings, no windows. Stay away from windows. No cars, all right?”

You zoom in on a spot on the radar and hold it up for Scott with trembling hands. He looks at it briefly before nodding, pushing the pedal down a little harder and turning onto the city’s main street. You tap your earpiece. “Scott and I are going into downtown. We could use more hands–looks like there’s a lot of shops, a movie theater, places that’ll be full.”

“Kate and I will follow you,” Javi says.

“Me too,” Tyler confirms just as the sirens start.

You and Scott share a look–the one that tells the other to stay safe without actually saying it–before he parks haphazardly just outside a farmers market. Javi and Tyler’s trucks screech to a stop behind you, and the five of you climb out.

The wind whips everything around, and for just a second, you’re back. Back in the empty pool, clinging onto a skinny pipe with stinging hands, prepared to die.

Then you get pulled down, and you look up just as a tent flies over you. Scott is pressed to your side with an arm wrapped around your upper back, keeping you crouched. You look at him with wide eyes, faces close enough that your noses bump briefly, before he releases you.

“Get these people inside,” he shouts over the wind.

You nod once and spring back up, rapidly scanning the nearby buildings. “The theater,” you call, pointing toward the building. “It’s the biggest building with no windows!”

Tyler claps your shoulder before bolting off, directing people toward the building. You split up to do the same.

You run up to a group of younger teenagers who are visibly panicking, not sure where to go. “Get inside the theater,” you shout at them, arms outstretched as you herd them forward. “Go! Get inside, stay low!” They follow your instructions, sprinting toward the double doors that Dexter is holding open, ushering people inside.

You turn to get more people, then notice just how much stronger the wind is. You take a second to stare at the large wedge that’s already at the edge of town before your attention is pulled away by a loud screech of metal. When you turn back, you see a trolley car being blown down the street.

Directly toward Tyler.

You watch in horror as it collects debris and rolls onto its side just as it reaches him.

You run toward him, hearing Kate scream his name through the wind. She must’ve seen it, too.

His lower half is pinned beneath a pile of wood, which is held in place by the trolley car. Both you and Kate grab onto the underside of the wood, grunting as you try to lift it.

You know it’s useless. You know you’re not strong enough. But you are not letting this be how it ends for him–not alone.

Behind you, a car flips, but the sound barely registers. All you hear is the blood rushing in your ears as you strain every muscle in your body to lift the wood.

A loud crash above manages to break through. You shoot your head up and see a large piece of equipment hit a leg of the water tower in front of you. You watch as the support beam breaks off and crumples, landing close enough for you to feel the vibrations under your feet.

But you still don’t leave. Neither does Kate.

“You got to get inside!” Tyler says helplessly from the ground.

“I’m not leaving you!”

“Shut the fuck up!” You shout, cutting through Kate’s nicer words.

You adjust your grip, straining against the wood again.

“Guys,” Tyler warns, looking behind you.

You turn around to see the entire tower starting to collapse. Then feel a sudden shift in the wood under your hands.

Your head snaps back to see Javi with debris wedged under the wood for leverage. “Lift!” He shouts, and you and Kate do just that.

You pull Tyler free just as the water tower falls onto a nearby building, then splinters as it hits the ground, sending a rush of water at you.

The four of you are slammed back in the wave. You swallow a mouthful of water, coughing and spluttering as you flail to grasp onto anything to get yourself back upright. But your eyes burn, and you can’t hear over the wind, and the water just keeps flowing around you, tearing at your grip.

Arms hook under yours and haul you off the ground, pulling you forward before your feet are even solidly on the ground again. You grab blindly onto whoever’s still wrapped around you, letting them drag you inside the theater.

You know you’re inside when you can hear panicking instead of only wind. You rub furiously at your eyes and open them to see Javi standing in front of you, hands still on your biceps to keep you steady. You surge forward and wrap your arms around him, chest heaving as you try desperately to catch your breath. Your shaky hands fist into the back of his shirt as he holds tightly. You hold onto him like you’ll float away if you let go.

Because you might.

Boone’s shouting nearby, directing people out of the lobby, pulls you from your momentary relief.

You’re still in this fucking tornado. And it’s your job to help. Not panic.

So you let go of Javi, push yourself upright, and turn to the group that’s too big for the space you’re all in right now. You ignore the way your clothes cling to your skin uncomfortably, the way your hair is plastered to your neck and forehead.

Your head whips around, taking inventory of the doors you can see from the middle of the crowd. Six auditoriums. Plus staff spaces and bathrooms.

It’ll have to work.

You shove through the crowd and scramble your way onto the concessions counter. “Hey!” You shout, your voice barely cutting through the chaos. Almost every head snaps toward you. “Split into the auditoriums! Fill them! When they’re full, get into a bathroom or staff room! Do not stay in the lobby!” Everyone starts to move, the noise ramping up again. “Stay low!” You add before hopping off the counter, You scan the crowd with wide eyes, hoping to find anyone you know.

Strong hands grip your shoulders from behind, spinning you around. You look up to see Scott. His eyes rake over your body, frantic and wide. “What the hell happened?”

“Tyler got trapped,” you explain, shivering now that you’re standing still. “Water tower fell.” You gesture at yourself instead of saying any more.

“Are you okay.” It’s not a question.

“I’m fine, so is Tyler–”

“I didn’t ask about Tyler,” he interrupts sharply.

“I…” You trail off, mentally cataloguing everything you feel. Your arms are weak from the strain of trying to free Tyler, your lungs burn from the amount of water you inhaled, and you aren’t sure why your entire body is shaking. Still, you nod. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

His eyes stay on yours for another moment, and you can see he doesn’t fully believe you. But he doesn’t push anymore. “Okay, then we need to move.”

His hand wraps around your upper arm, dragging you forward. The crowd has thinned significantly, giving you both a clear shot of Javi, Kate, and Tyler ushering people into an auditorium.

You join them, getting the last few stragglers inside before shutting the door behind you. You run all the way inside, Frankenstein still playing on the screen, when a large section in the middle of the ceiling collapses. People scream and duck to cover their heads.

“See if you can find a basement!” Tyler shouts at Kate and Javi before they all take off in different directions.

You spot Lily, Dani, Boone, and Dexter as they rush around the room, doing what they can to keep people safe. You immediately rush to the middle of the room to see if anyone got injured from the ceiling.

While you frantically look people over, a sudden gust of wind from the front of the room catches your attention. You lock eyes with Scott where he stands a couple aisles back and both run in that direction.

You stop short when you see Tyler, Javi, and Kate in front of an open door. The tornado is close–too fucking close–and your senses are overwhelmed once again by the wind. Tyler runs back into the theater.

“This theater isn’t built to withstand what’s coming!” Javi shouts.

He’s right.

But you will do your best to make sure people are as safe as possible here.

So you run back, jumping in to help Tyler and Dani as they lift a woman who’d fallen. “There you go,” Dani tells her gently, helping her regain her balance.

The ceiling continues to crumble at the front of the auditorium, so you start working on getting everyone toward the back rows of seats and onto the ground. You and all of the other chasers start physically moving people, shouting at them to get low, cover their heads.

You all go to join them just as chunks of the wall behind the screen start getting ripped out–within seconds, the whole wall is gone.

You drop onto your stomach and grab onto the leg of a chair, eyes squeezed shut as the roar of the wind is louder than anything you’ve heard before. You can feel people pressed against both of your sides, but you don’t know who’s where.

You can hear chairs being ripped from the ground–chairs only a few rows closer to the missing wall than you–and screaming as people get sucked into the wind. Then, the row in front of you goes, leaving you all exposed to the wind.

You think you’re screaming.

The person on your right suddenly isn’t pressed against you anymore, and you recognize Lily’s voice as she screams out. Your eyes snap open and you see her flailing in the air, the only thing preventing her from being sucked into the tornado is Tyler, who’s holding onto her tightly with both hands.

Your eyes follow his body, seeing he’s only secured by one boot hooked around the loose leg of a seat. You don’t even think before dragging yourself along the floor, wrapping one arm around the chair his foot is hooked on and the other on the chair behind.

You feel arms wrap around your legs, but keep your face pressed into the hard floor, eyes and jaw clenched tightly. You’re only letting go if you’re physically ripped from this position.

It feels like years later when you think the wind starts to die down. It’s a gradual decrease at first–you think you’re imagining it, coping with the situation.

Or maybe you’re dead.

And then it’s so silent your eardrums feel like they’re exploding.

You don’t open your eyes until you feel someone gently prying your arms from around the chairs. When you look up, you see Dani knelt in front of you. “Come on, Sunny, you’re okay.”

She grabs onto your hands and tries to pull you up, but your legs give out, so she helps you maneuver into a seated position on the floor before rushing off. You look around frantically, trying to find everyone else.

You spot Scott first, directly next to you. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that he was the one who grabbed your legs based on his position.

You’ll come back to that.

Kate and Javi are holding onto each other from their spots on the floor. Boone is propped up against a seat, laughing a little hysterically. You can’t help but smile–of course that fucker would laugh after almost dying. Dani and Dexter are moving around the theater, helping people.

Then you spot Lily and Tyler. Before you even process the actions, you’re pulling yourself off the ground using a seat back and marching over to Tyler, shaky legs be damned.

“You idiot!”

His head snaps up at you, eyes wide. “What?”

You bend down to shove him, almost falling onto him in the process. He grabs your arms and tries to gently pull you down next to him, but you rip them out of his arms. “‘You got to get inside?’ Really? And your boot?! You thought your boot would keep you from flying into a fucking tornado?”

“I was trying to save Lily!” He defends.

“You can’t save Lily if you’re dead, dipshit!” You round now, pointing your finger at Scott. “And you!”

“Me?” He points at himself, confusion written across his face.

“Yeah, you!” You step closer, looking down at him for the first time ever. “Why would you move to hold my legs when there was nothing covering you?”

He looks even more confused. “Sorry–you’re mad at me for protecting you?”

“Yes!” You put your hands on your hips, looking at him like it should be obvious.

He stands with a grunt, towering over you as usual now. You don’t step back or back down. “The only thing keeping you from being sucked into that thing was two chairs that were seconds away from being airborne.”

“And the only thing keeping you from being sucked into that thing was me!” You argue. “If I went flying, you would have, too! Seems pretty fucking stupid to me.”

“Okay, let’s just celebrate the fact that we’re all alive, hm?” Javi tries, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

The contact makes you immediately deflate, loosely wrapping your arms around him. “Sorry,” you mumble against him, making eye contact with both Tyler and Scott.

Tyler stands and pulls you from Javi’s grasp into a hug. You wrap your arms around his middle tightly. “I’m sorry for scaring you,” he says quietly into your hair.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you. Now go kiss your girlfriend or whatever it is you gross couples do,” you say as you gently push him away. He barks out a laugh at that before making a beeline for Kate.

You turn to Scott, whose eyes are still on you. His eyes flick up and down your body a couple times before the corner of his mouth starts to turn up. “Now who doesn’t know how not to be an ass when they’re worried?”

You bite the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from smiling. “Shut up.”

- - - -

Somehow, the vehicles survived.

Most have body and chasing equipment damage, but they all still drive. Scarecrow got the least amount of visible damage, which you feel weirdly prideful about.

On the way back to the motel, Scott lets you play your music with little argument. You turn it up just enough to be background noise, but focus mostly on the torn up earth and structural damage you pass.

Your text tone has both your gazes snapping to the CarPlay screen, showing a text from an unknown number.

“That Jack?” Scott asks casually.

“Who?” You pick your phone up and click on the notification to read the full message.

Maybe: Jack (7:28 pm): Hey, it’s Jack! I hope the chase went well for y’all today. Just wanted to reach out and see if you’re planning on staying in town and still wanted to grab dinner? Let me know!

“Oh! Oh, my god, I totally forgot about that.” You groan and drag a hand down your face. “Dammit.”

“What did he say?” You read the text out to him and he glances at you briefly. “Why ‘dammit?’ I don’t think he said anything bad.”

“He didn’t,” you sigh. “I just… I don’t know.”

He hums thoughtfully, letting you sit in admittedly painful silence for a few moments. Then he clears his throat and shifts in the driver’s seat. “You gonna go?”

“Kate will kill me if I don’t,” you mumble, thumbs hovering over the screen as you think of a response.

“You don’t seem too excited about it.”

“Can we… not talk about this, maybe?” You look up at the side of his face. “Sorry, it just feels weird.”

He shrugs, but his grip tightens ever so slightly on the wheel. “Fine by me.”

The music continues to play quietly in the background as you type and delete countless messages, before finally sending one.

Kate’s right.

You don’t need to be ecstatic about it, but you should at least try.

And it’s time to get over Scott–before it spirals into something you can’t keep shoving down.

You (7:41 pm): hey! the chase was pretty rough can’t lie lol but we’ll be staying in town for a couple days. we could do dinner tomorrow if that works for you

You put your phone on Do Not Disturb, lock it, and resume your staring out the window.

- - - -

You’re not sure when it happened, but a voice firmly saying your name pulls you out of your sleep.

You jolt, rubbing your eyes. “Hm?”

“We’re back,” Scott says quietly as he shuts off the engine.

You blink a few times to adjust to the contrast of the bright interior lights and darkness outside. You grab your phone from your lap and tap the screen, seeing it’s been over an hour since you last checked the time.

“Jesus, sorry.” You groan and wince as you stretch and try to roll out the knot in your neck from the uncomfortable position you were in. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You looked like you needed the sleep,” he says. It’s so gentle compared to his normal tone you’re not sure you’re not still dreaming. “Plus, I enjoyed the silence for once.” He shoots you a sarcastic smirk.

There he is.

You flip him off before climbing out of the vehicle, grabbing your bag from the backseat. Kate climbs out of the truck next to you with her own bag, and together you wordlessly make your way to your shared motel room.

Once the door is locked behind you, you drop your bag onto the floor and flop facefirst onto your bed. Kate chuckles tiredly before sitting down beside you. You sit in silence for a beat before you groan and reach for your phone in your back pocket, keeping your face pressed into the scratchy comforter.

When you pull it out, you lift your head just enough to see the screen. You open the stack of notifications from while your phone has been on Do Not Disturb and see that Jack did respond.

Maybe: Jack (7:50 pm): Aw, sorry it didn’t go well. You’ll have to tell me all about it tomorrow. How does 6:30 sound?

Kate rolls you onto your side and pulls your arm, angling your phone so she can read your text exchange. She tuts. “You text like you don’t care.”

“Yup,” you deadpan, sending a quick ‘works for me!’ back to Jack.

“You haven’t even saved his number?”

“Why would I save his number?” You retort, yawning.

“Because you’re going on a date with him.”

You shrug and push yourself up, pulling off your polo that’s now stiff since it’s dried. “It puts his name there automatically.”

She shakes her head, following your lead, peeling off her own clothes that are sticking uncomfortably. “Yeah, with a ‘maybe’ in front of it.”

“Still says his name,” you say with a sigh. Saving his number in your phone is so low on your list of priorities you genuinely didn’t even consider it before Kate mentioned it.

You both finish getting ready wordlessly before practically collapsing into your respective beds. You hear Kate’s soft snores within minutes, and you’re quick to follow.

- - - -

With no systems in the immediate area and the vehicles all needing body repairs, you have the day off.

When you finally wake, it’s slow. Peaceful. Nothing like your usual jolt to your alarm.

Until you hear your phone vibrate on the nightstand–causing Kate's head to snap up as well–and remember you have a date tonight. You grunt and roll onto your side to grab it, noting it’s just past 11, before scrolling through the notifications. You click on the text.

Maybe: Jack (9:23 am): Perfect! I can pick you up. There’s an Italian place nearby that I’ve heard great things about.

You do love Italian…

You (11:14 am): perfect!

You send the address of the motel, then look over the screen at Kate.

“Italian at 6:30,” you say matter-of-factly before pushing yourself out of bed. “I’m going down to help with shit beforehand. You coming?”

She groans and glares at you. “You’ll make me look bad if I don’t.”

You shoot her a wide, sarcastic smile before getting ready in the bathroom. She goes after you, and you both head out to the parking lot when you’re done, not shocked to see most of the rest of the team already out there.

“Thought you two would be asleep all day!” Javi calls teasingly when he sees you two approach.

You glare at him, but your body betrays you by yawning. “What do we need to do before they get taken to the body shop?”

Scott appears from around the other side of Scarecrow. He reaches into the passenger side before shoving a can into your hand, standing next to you with his arms crossed over his chest as he examines the vehicles.

You refuse to linger on the way your stomach flips at the gesture, cracking it open and muttering a thanks. You also very pointedly ignore the look you can feel Kate giving the side of your face.

Javi lists the damage that’s known so far on each vehicle–almost the entirety of Lion’s chasing equipment is missing or destroyed, Tin Man’s rear windshield is broken along with some of the chasing equipment, Wizard has a completely busted windshield, and Scarecrow has a cracked windshield.

You get to work on evaluating the equipment on the vehicles first. Determining what’s missing, what’s still functional, and what needs to be repaired. You’re on top of the guard rails over the bed on Lion when Andy speaks loud enough from the ground for everyone to hear.

“Since we have the next couple days off, we should go out again tonight.”

Everyone seems enthusiastic about the idea, but you remain carefully silent, focusing intently on a bolt you’re trying to undo.

“Sunny?” Andy asks, and you mentally curse.

You hum distantly.

“You gonna come out tonight?”

“Oh, I, uh–” Jesus, this bolt is screwed way too tight. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” Javi asks. His voice sounds disappointed, but you still refuse to look at any of them.

“I have plans,” you reply shortly, hoping they’ll just drop it.

But why would they do that?

“Plans?” Peter now.

“Yes,” you grunt, applying more force now. “Plans.”

“What kind of plans?” You’re pretty sure that’s Mike now.

“Oh, my god, I have a date!” You snap just as the bolt comes loose with a pop.

You could hear a fucking pin drop with the silence that follows–or a bolt, in this case, as it clatters into the bed of the truck, sounding more like a thunderclap.

You squeeze your eyes shut and take a single deep breath before hopping down from the rail, busying yourself with finding the bolt.

“Oh, you said yes to that?” It’s so much worse that he doesn’t even sound teasing, he sounds genuinely… curious? Surprised?

“Yes, Javi, I said yes to that!” You squeak.

“Wait, a date with who?” Andy asks as your fingers wrap around the bolt.

You snap up, ready to tell them to mind their own damn business, but smack your head on the rail you were just on top of. “Fuck!” You hiss under your breath, hand flying up to your head.

Scott steps up to the truck bed, hands extended. “Do you want help?”

“No, I do not want help! I want to stop talking about this!”

You finally risk a glance at him, expecting to see a smirk or teasing glint in his eyes.

You’re surprised to instead see a brief twitch of his eyebrows, no hint of teasing anywhere on his face. He watches your face for a second before nodding once, turning back to the others with a clap of his hands. “All right, back to work. We have to get these to the body shop by 4.”

You watch his back for a moment as he goes back to working on Scarecrow’s equipment and everyone else returns to their positions.

Huh.

- - - -

“This?”

“No.”

Kate huffs. “You didn’t even look.”

You sigh and crane your neck to look at the skirt she’s holding from her spot on the floor before dropping your head back onto the bed. “Like I said. No. Why do you even have that packed for chasing?”

She ignores your question and says your name firmly, which makes you raise your eyebrows and push yourself onto your elbows to look at her properly. “You have less than an hour to pick an outfit and get ready.”

You groan, but push yourself up anyway and start digging through your bag. “I was just gonna wear jeans and, like, a nice-ish shirt.”

“Nice-ish?” She asks incredulously. “I know you’ve been out of the game for a while, but people do typically try on dates.”

“All right, I think you’re being a little dramatic. I’m going to try, I just… don’t feel like I need to get all dressed up to go sit in a restaurant with a guy I don’t really plan on seeing more than once.”

“If you go into it with that mindset, yeah, you never will see him again.”

“Maybe that’s what I want,” you sigh, finally finding your nicest pair of jeans. “You can help me pick the shirt.”

“What about a dress?”

“Absolutely not.”

She groans dramatically as she dumps both your bag and hers out, digging through the shirt options. You get changed into the jeans and stand with your hands on your hips while you watch her critique every article of clothing.

Finally, she holds up one of her tops. It’s tight, but has more coverage than you were expecting, so you can’t complain too much.

“Can I at least do your makeup?” She asks once you're changed. You open your mouth to refuse, but she continues before you can. “Very minimal–no lip since you’ll be eating, just your eyes and maybe some blush. You don’t have to feel super confident about the date, but I want you to feel confident in yourself.”

You sit with that for a moment before narrowing your eyes at her. “You suck.” But you sit in the chair regardless.

- - - -

45 minutes later, you’re ready to go–and shockingly happy with how you look. If there’s one thing Kate’s good at besides storm chasing, it’s boosting your confidence with surprisingly little intervention.

When Jack texts that he’s in the parking lot, your stomach twists. But Kate practically shoves you out the door with a ‘have fun!' and an offer to steal Tyler's truck if you need to escape.

You plaster on a small smile as you climb into Jack’s truck. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he greets with a wide smile. He glances briefly at your outfit while you buckle. “You look nice.”

“Thank you, so do you,” you tell him honestly.

The drive is only a couple minutes, filled mostly by him with small talk. Inside, the restaurant is small.

It should feel cozy.

“So, what happened yesterday?” His voice pulls you out of your thoughts as you pretend to scan the menu after ordering drinks.

“Hm? Oh, the chase!” You launch into a ramble about everything that happened yesterday–how you ended up having to abandon the data collection to help, how close you all came to dying, how much damage the vehicles took. His eyes widen with every addition. “How was it for you guys?”

He chuckles. “Not nearly as exciting as that. Uh, we stayed pretty far back. But, we got some pretty cool pictures and videos.” He pulls out his phone and you lean over the table a little to be able to see.

By the time the waitress comes back to take your orders, you feel much more comfortable than when you first sat down.

“So, how long have you been with Storm PAR?” He asks once she’s gone.

“About a year. How long have you been with, um…” You trail off, realizing you don’t know the name of his team.

“Vortex,” he supplies. “Going on three years, now.”

Vortex? That’s the best they could come up with?

“Is it yours? Like–are you the founder?” You bring your cup to your mouth to take a sip.

He nods proudly. “Yeah. Landon, Adam, and I graduated from UCLA together and decided to just… go for it.”

You choke on your water. “UCLA?”

He chuckles at your reaction. “I’m sure you went somewhere just as good.”

You laugh. “Uh, no. I got my undergrad at a shitty state school in Minnesota.”

“Well, where are you getting your PhD?”

You hesitate. “I’m not.”

“Oh.”

You have no idea what to say after that.

And clearly neither does he, because the clinking of silverware and quiet murmurs at other tables is all you hear for several moments.

He clears his throat and shifts in his seat. “So. Minnesota?”

Your shoulders tighten again. “Yup. Grew up there.”

“I’m guessing you chose Oklahoma specifically for chasing, then?” He asks, taking a sip of his drink.

You nod, picking at your nails in your lap under the table. “Not much to chase up there,” you chuckle.

“How’d you get into Storm PAR?” He sets his glass back down carefully. You can hear the unspoken question. How’d you do it without a PhD?

You shrug. “Honestly, I was shocked I even got an interview. But Scott and Javi liked my passion. Said they needed more enthusiasm on the team.”

He laughs softly. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

You furrow your brows. “What do you mean?”

He shakes his head, lips pursed. “Nothing. So, are they making you go back to school at some point?”

You pause for just a second before shrugging. “Not sure. It hasn’t come up.”

He hums. “What’s your role on the team? Like, do you do data entry, or…?”

You narrow your eyes but chuckle, working to keep your tone light. “If I just did data entry, I wouldn’t have been practically inside a tornado yesterday. Um, no, I’m in one of the PAR placement vehicles.”

He raises his eyebrows. “No shit. Which one?”

“Scarecrow,” you say, taking a sip of your water. “With Scott. The point is to develop a 3D scan of the entire area, so we place radars in front of, behind to the left, and behind to the right of each tornado. Scott and I plant behind to the left.”

He nods slowly, seemingly taking in the information. This is starting to feel more like a business meeting than a date. Or maybe an interrogation.

“Sorry, I just–” He cuts himself off, looking up as if choosing his words carefully. “Doesn’t Storm PAR only hire people with PhDs. I mean–they’re, like, the snobbiest professional team out there.”

You blink at him, taking a moment to formulate a nicer response than the first one that comes to mind. “They hired me because I’m good. And we’re not snobby, we’re just serious about our work.”

He looks a little taken aback by the offended undertone in your words. “Oh– No, yeah, for sure–” He gets cut off by the waitress placing your orders down in front of you.

“Um–I need to use the restroom.” You push your chair back as soon as the waitress is gone and stand before he can respond.

Locking the stall door behind you, you clench and unclench your fists a few times, taking a few moments to gather yourself.

After a few deep breaths, you exit the stall and move to the sink–looking at yourself in the mirror to hype yourself up to go back out there.

You really do look good.

And you will not let a man–especially not one who apparently couldn’t come up with a better team name than Vortex–ruin your confidence. So with a final roll of your shoulders, you open the door and head back to the table with a tight smile.

He looks up with a sheepish smile when you sit, shoving his phone back into his pocket.

“Sorry,” you say briefly, settling into your chair, picking up your fork. “So, what do you do during the off-season?”

- - - -

You manage to get through the rest of dinner without any more comments like that from Jack, already having decided that there won't be a second date.

When you get close to your motel, you ask if he can drop you off at the bar down the street instead.

“Did you want to grab a drink?” He sounds hopeful.

God dammit.

“Oh–um,” you stutter. “My team is there.”

“Oh, cool! I’d love to get to know them better.”

Fuckfuckfuckfuck.

“I was hoping I could just spend some time with them… if that’s okay. Just–after everything yesterday, you know, and–”

“Hey,” he interrupts your rambling with a soft chuckle. “I get it. It’s totally okay. Promise.”

You sigh in relief, shoulders dropping. “Thank you.”

He turns into the lot, pulling into a parking spot. “I had a good time tonight.”

You give him a smile that you hope is convincing. “I did, too.”

He shifts in his seat to face you and your stomach drops.

You feel like you’re watching in slow motion while his hand comes up to cup your cheek as he leans over the center console.

You’re pretty sure you’re not breathing.

You’re frozen in place, not leaning forward to meet him, but unable to lean back to avoid him.

Your wide eyes stay locked on his–which are closed now–watching as he gets closer.

His lips brush yours in a short, almost tentative kiss, which you don’t return.

But it’s like this guy just doesn’t catch the fucking hint.

“I’ll text you later,” he says softly as he pulls back.

“Yeah–yeah, okay. Uh, thanks,” you stumble over your words as you fumble with your phone and the door handle.

You push the door shut behind you, walking off toward the bar entrance before you even hear it slam, eager to get the fuck inside.

The bar isn’t packed as full as it was the other night, but there’s still quite a crowd given the calm weather conditions across the country tomorrow.

You spot some of your teammates standing around the same tall table as last time, along with the Wranglers.

It’s still weird to see them all getting along.

You march through the crowd, straight for them. Before they can even notice you, you scan the drinks available on the table–once again, only beer–and point at a bottle with a trembling finger.

“Whose is that?”

“Scott’s, I think,” Javi says, whirling around as everyone registers your presence.

“Where is he?”

“Bathroom.”

“Cool.” You grab the nearly full bottle and drink as much of it as you can in one breath. You set it back down a little harsher than necessary, wiping your mouth with a grimace. “Why do I keep doing that?”

“Mine this time? Really?”

You spin around to face him and freeze like a deer caught in the headlights. “Sorry,” you squeak out.

He huffs at your wide-eyed expression and waves a hand. “I wasn’t really drinking it anyway.”

“I take it that means the date didn’t go well?” Kate asks gently,

You shake your head firmly, taking another large gulp of the beer before making a disgusted sound. “I’ll be back,” you say, setting the bottle on the table. “I need a drink that doesn’t taste like shit.”

Once you have your drink, you return to the table–squeezing into the tight space between Scott and Kate–where everyone is looking at you expectantly. “So?” Boone urges.

You keep your gaze locked on the glass as you set it down carefully, hesitating. “It just didn’t go well,” you say quietly.

“Did something happen?” Tyler asks, a sharp edge to his tone.

You shake your head, chewing on your lip. “No. He just…” You let out a humorless laugh. “It felt like an interrogation. He kept asking if I had a PhD–how I got hired without one. If I did data collection.” Your fingers tighten around the glass, swallowing hard. “And then he kissed me.”

The table erupts into loud, overlapping protests, but you keep your eyes pointedly fixed on the colorful liquid in front of you.

Away from Kate.

Away from Scott.

But you feel his eyes burning holes in the side of your face.

Kate grabs onto your arm tightly, shaking. “He kissed you?!”

You nod sheepishly.

“After grilling you about your degree?” Dani leans over the table to ask.

You give another small nod, staring into your drink.

“Jesus,” Javi sighs, shaking his head.

“I didn’t wanna say anything in case you actually liked him, but those Vortex guys have been nothing but elitist assholes since they started. Almost like you two used to be,” Tyler says, pointing between Javi and Scott with a smirk on his face. A giggle escapes before you can stop it, which he catches. “Hey, there she is!”

You shake your head, though there’s a small smile on your face now as you take a sip of your drink. “Well, needless to say–there will not be a second date. Or any dates ever again, as far as I’m concerned. This is exactly why I haven’t even tried since moving here.”

And because your stupidly attractive, asshole boss has had your attention.

Boone pouts from where he stands across the table. “Does that mean I don’t have a chance?”

Scott stiffens next to you.

You roll your eyes and chuckle, tossing a balled up napkin at Boone, which he dodges easily. “Careful, Boone. Keep flirting with me and people might start to take you seriously.”

He shoots you a wink, which you laugh off, before the conversation shifts.

You take the opportunity to just listen–to ground yourself in the moment. The overlapping chatter, clinking glasses, music you can feel more than hear–it all reminds you that you’re back in a safe, controlled environment with the people you trust.

The tension drains from your shoulders slowly but surely.

But it’s hard to fully relax when you feel Scott–who’s still stiff as a board–pressed against your side.

- - - -

The next few days are agonizing–personally and professionally.

You send Jack a carefully crafted, Kate-approved text with some bullshit about you’re not really in a place to start a new relationship due to the nature of the job.

He leaves you on read.

On top of that, not being able to chase has everyone on edge–seeing systems produce tornadoes in nearby states that you would’ve normally jumped on, but can’t.

It makes everyone stir crazy.

Then, the vehicles take more time than expected in the body shop, the equipment replacements get delayed, and–once you finally get the parts–the work ends up being way more difficult than expected.

“Just tighten it,” Scott snaps from where he’s standing in the truck bed in front of you, holding Lion’s new anemometer in place while you attempt to secure it.

It’s a job that should have taken two minutes tops. But you’ve had your feet precariously perched on either side of the guard rails for fifteen minutes now, and your legs are starting to cramp.

“I can’t,” you say through gritted teeth for the third time. “It’s the wrong fucking–” You groan, letting the hand that isn’t holding you in place fall to your side as you look down at him. “It’s the wrong size bolt.”

“It’s not the wrong size,” he grumbles.

“I’m sorry–are you the one trying to tighten it?” You snap back.

He rolls his eyes–something he’s been doing more than usual the past few days. “I got the right size.”

“Clearly you didn’t!” You throw your arm up, gesturing with the wrench. “I’m not totally incompetent, you know. I know how to tighten a fucking bolt.” You jump down from the rail, holding the wrench up to him. “I’m done.”

He looks taken aback, making no move to take it from you. “What? This is a two person job.”

“Then get someone else to help.” You gesture at the rest of the team working on the other vehicles nearby. “I’m going to work on Tin Man,” you mutter as you shove the wrench into his hand before hopping out of the bed.

His eyes track you the whole way until he finally snaps out of it and calls Javi over.

- - - -

You thought–hoped–the first real movement after the time off would break the tension that formed between the two of you.

You were wrong.

You manage to make it 20 minutes into the three hour drive to the new motel before breaking the suffocating silence with a loud huff.

“Okay. What?”

Scott glances at you out of the corner of his eye with furrowed brows before turning his attention back to the road. “What are you talking about?”

“Why does it feel like we’re fighting again? I thought we were, like–cool, or whatever.”

“We are cool,” he says with a shrug, but his voice is tighter than usual.

You stare at the side of his face, unimpressed. “You are a horrible liar. You’ve been weird lately.”

He meets your eyes briefly. “I’m not being weird.”

You drop your head back against the seat, groaning. “Yes, you are. It started with the Stillwater tornado. Then we finally got over that, just for it to happen again after Jack asked me out.” You loll your head against the seat to look at him again and find his jaw clenched. “And now you’re mad!”

He sighs deeply. “Not mad.”

You let out your own long exhale, sinking down in your seat. “Okay.”

You pull out your headphones from your bag and he glances over at the movement. “I’m not using the radio.”

“Don’t wanna annoy you even more,” you mumble.

He fully turns his head toward you for several seconds before snapping back toward the road. “Now you’re the one being weird.”

You whip your head toward him, glaring. “No, I’m not.”

“You’ve almost punched me just to control the radio. Now I’m offering to let you have it and you… would rather use your headphones? You’ve made me stay completely silent for an hour before just so you could sing along.”

You shrug, fiddling with them in your lap. “I haven’t been listening to much of the stuff we have in common.”

He scoffs. “So? That’s never stopped you before.”

You keep your focus on your lap, jaw tightening. “Well maybe I just don’t feel like it right now!”

He raises his eyebrows. “I’m not trying to fight with you. You realize that, right?”

You huff. “Could’ve fooled me.”

His grip on the steering wheel tightens. “I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong–because something obviously is. Is this about Stillwater again–”

You groan loudly and squeeze your eyes shut. “No, it’s not about fucking Stillwater.”

“Then what? Because you’ve been pissy since your date.”

This time, you don’t miss the way his face twists at the word ‘date.’

“What was that face?”

He spares you a quick, confused glance. “What face?”

“You made a face when you said ‘date.’ You’ve been off since the night in the bar–when he asked me out.” You say it slowly, like you’re figuring out missing pieces to a puzzle.

He stays carefully silent.

“Are you mad that I– I fraternized with the competition, or something?” You ask incredulously.

He keeps his eyes on the road ahead, jaw ticking. “Nope.”

“You are so fucking irritating,” you say with a humorless laugh. “Whatever, man.”

You pull your headphones over your ears and turn on the music full volume. You sink back down in the seat, arms crossed over your chest and eyes closed.

Maybe you’ll get lucky.

Maybe he’ll leave you alone for the rest of the drive.

Maybe when you get to the hotel you won’t have to speak to him.

Maybe you’ll both magically be fine by tomorrow’s chase.

Spoiler alert: You are not lucky.

No–you might actually be the most unlucky you have ever been.

Because suddenly there’s a bang! followed immediately by the car’s warning system screaming about a flat tire.

You take your headphones off, watching as he pulls over into the shoulder. “You’re fucking with me, right?”

He glares at you. “How could I fuck with you about a flat tire?”

“I don’t know!” You sit up straighter, looking at the rapidly deflating back tire in the side mirror. “Oh, my god, this is a nightmare,” you say under your breath, throwing your door open at the same time he does.

You kneel in front of the tire as he rounds the vehicle and joins you on the ground.

“Jesus,” he mutters, running his fingers along the large gash in the rubber.

You look up to see the rest of your team pulled over just ahead, now making their way over. Scott stands to meet them, while you stay put for another moment, staring at the tire like it personally wronged you.

Because it did.

You push off the ground with a grunt, joining the others with your hands on your hips. “We have a donut. We can use that to get to a shop, right?”

“The nearest shop is an hour away,” Javi breathes out as he looks at his phone, running a hand through his hair.

“An hour?!” You repeat, horrified. “Fucking Oklahoma…”

Scott drags a hand down his face, taking a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll stay here with the car. Javi can go get a tire and bring it back, the rest of you can keep going to the motel–Kate and Sunny can just hop in Tin Man.”

You spin to face him, eyebrows drawn together. “Why would you stay here?”

“I’m not just gonna leave thousands of dollars worth of equipment on the side of the road unattended,” he says in a tone that sounds a lot like ‘duh.’

“Let me sit with it, then,” you say with a shrug, not even really sure why.

He scoffs. “No.”

You narrow your eyes at him. “What, because you don’t trust me?”

He rolls his eyes, looking up at the clear blue sky for a moment. “Because I’m not going to let you sit on the side of the road for over two hours by yourself, idiot.”

“Well what if I want to?” You challenge. “Idiot.”

He stares at you for a few moments, teeth clenched so tightly you think his jaw might break. “Fine.” He gestures at Scarecrow behind you. “Be my guest.”

You shoot him a tight, closed smile before making your way back to the car, sliding back into the passenger seat and slamming the door shut.

He glances over his shoulder when you slam the door, his expression tightening before turning back to Javi. Kate looks between him and the car a few times before finally walking toward you.

She pulls open your door. “What the hell was that?”

You huff. “I called him out for being weird, he said I was being weird, we ignored each other–then bam. Flat tire.”

She blinks at you. “You’re ridiculous.”

You reel back. “How am I ridiculous? He’s the one with a stick up his ass for no reason!”

She looks up at the sky for a moment like it’ll grant her patience. “Why are you insisting on staying here?”

You shrug. “I want alone time.”

“Bitch,” she says flatly, rolling her eyes.

Your eyes widen. “Hey!”

She shoots you an unimpressed glare. “You want to sit in a vehicle you can’t drive on the side of the road in rural Oklahoma for over two hours… for alone time?”

You nod once, sharp and stubborn.

She scoffs. “You are so full of shit.”

“Kate!”

“Oh, come on! You know he won’t leave you here by yourself.” She glances around to make sure nobody is within earshot, then she leans further into the car, lowering her voice. “What’s this really about?”

You chew on the inside of your cheek. “He’s been weird since Jack asked me out.”

She shrugs. “He’s always weird.”

“No–” You sigh. “Like, really weird. It’s like he’s trying to start arguments but won’t engage in them.”

She tilts her head. “About the date?”

“Sometimes. That night–when he asked me out–Scott was saying he was shocked I said yes because Jack wasn’t my ‘type.’ I don’t even have a type! Then he kept asking if I was gonna say yes. And now he’s just been…” You trail off.

“Weird?” She supplies with raised eyebrows.

“Yes!” You bury your face in your hands. “It sounds dumb, but I thought we were finally getting somewhere.”

She stares at you for a moment before sighing. “Okay, I’m just gonna say it because neither of you are being smart enough to do it yourselves. He’s jealous.”

You snap your head up, a loud laugh escaping before you can stop it. “Yeah, okay.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but you catch movement out of the corner of your eye. Through the windshield, you see Javi walking back toward Lion and Scott making his way back to Scarecrow.

You blindly smack her arm, trying to tell her to shut up.

The driver’s side door opens and your head whips toward him. “Aren’t you going with Javi?”

His narrowed eyes flick between you–panicked–and Kate–calm with a smug smile–a couple times before answering. “No.”

“What? Why?”

He ignores your question, tilting his chin up, talking to Kate. “They’re ready to get going to the motel.”

She shoots you a look before walking off with a ‘thanks.’

He slides into the driver’s seat and shuts the door behind him.

You continue to stare at him.

After a few seconds of tense silence, you break. “Are you going to answer my question, or…?”

He shrugs. “Javi didn’t like the idea of either of us sitting here alone.”

“Okay, well I was about to have an existential crisis, so can we go back to the original plan?”

He looks at you with his eyebrows drawn together. “What?”

You drop your head back against the seat and groan, burying your face in your hands. “You need to get your hearing checked.”

“I can hear you just fine,” he grumbles.

“Then stop asking ‘what?’” You remove your hands to glare at him and sigh when you see the rest of the team pulling away up ahead. “Congrats, now you’re stuck with me for at least two hours. Plus the two-ish hours to get to the motel.”

He rolls his eyes. “Believe it or not, I can do math.”

“Some of your forecasts would beg to differ.”

He narrows his eyes at you. “We gonna do this the whole time?”

You shrug and give a noncommittal hum, shifting to get comfy in the seat as you scroll through your phone.

You leave your headphones off–curious to see if he’ll say anything if you don’t first.

You regret it almost immediately.

The silence feels all-consuming.

Soon enough you start to bounce your leg while he drums his fingers on the steering wheel, staring broodily out the windshield.

You have to physically bite your tongue multiple times to stop yourself from saying anything–refusing to be the one to break the silence like every time before.

But then you get left with your thoughts–so overwhelming you’re only scrolling on your phone for the motion, not able to take in anything you’re reading.

No matter how many times you try to think about something else, your mind keeps circling back to what Kate said.

He’s not actually jealous.

Right?

No. He’s just mad about Jack because he’s technically professional competition.

But Javi doesn’t have a problem with it…

But Scott and Javi are very different people. Scott is way easier to piss off.

But if it were a concern to the company, Javi would be upset too…

Okay, maybe he’s just mad because it was unprofessional.

Even though he’s had no problem trying to set Javi up with someone…

“I need air,” you say suddenly, shoving the door open and slamming it shut behind you.

You take a deep breath of fresh air, far too aware he can still see you.

You might throw up.

Your eyes flit around rapidly, looking for somewhere to escape to, but it’s just fucking cornfields.

This state is so stupid.

The car door slamming shut behind you snaps you out of your frantic searching.

You don’t turn to face him–you don’t think you can.

“So,” he says casually as he slowly stops next to you, arms folded over his chest. He’s clearly oblivious to your internal struggle. “You planning on just watching the corn for the next two hours, or…?”

“Kate said you’re jealous,” you blurt out.

Silence.

Your eyes immediately widen and you slap a hand over your mouth.

What the fuck?!

Why would you say that?!

Before you can second guess the action, your head whips toward him.

He’s frozen.

You don’t even think he’s breathing.

You really might throw up.

“I don’t– I don’t know why I said that,” you stutter, mortified. “That was stupid. That was so dumb. Let’s all point and laugh at Sunny!” You try to defuse the tension with nervous humor, but he stays completely still.

Holy shit, he’s broken.

You stare at him for what feels like hours, waiting for anything.

Nothing.

“Scott, I am begging you to start screaming at me right now.”

He still doesn’t move.

Should you call 9-1-1?

“Okay, so, obviously I fucked up, but–”

“Stop talking,” he finally says, interrupting your rambling.

Your mouth snaps shut with an audible clack.

He doesn’t say anything for a long, painful moment. You open your mouth to fill the silence again, but he holds a hand up, stopping you in your tracks.

“What exactly did she say?” He finally asks as he turns his head to look at you.

“I– nothing. Seriously, it was so stupid. I don’t even know why I said anything–”

He says your name so sharply you can almost feel it. “What,” he pauses for emphasis, “did she say?”

You swallow roughly, fiddling with your hands. “I just told her about how things have felt off since Jack asked me out and she… said you were jealous,” you mutter, staring intensely at a rock near the toe of your shoe.

He hums at that, and you wait for him to say something.

When he doesn’t, your mouth once again moves before your brain can catch up.

“Are you?”

You wince.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

He huffs, dropping his arms, shoving his hands into his back pockets. “What answer are you hoping for?”

You turn to him with your eyebrows drawn together. “You can’t just– just flip this around on me.”

He shrugs one shoulder, looking back out at the corn. “I’m just curious.”

“Why are you being so calm right now?” You ask him incredulously–angrily.

He looks at you, raising his eyebrows. “That’s not an answer to my question.”

“You’re being a hypocrite! I asked first! Are you jealous?”

You’re aware you sound childish, but can’t find it in yourself to care.

He’s being infuriating.

He releases a long sigh, turning back to the corn. “I think Kate talks too much,” he mutters.

You glare at the side of his face, crossing your arms over your chest. “Not what I asked.”

“I still stand by it.”

“Just say no,” you practically plead. “If the answer is no, then just fucking say it!”

He looks up as he takes a deep inhale through his nose. For a few moments he just stares at the partly cloudy sky and you wonder if he’s seriously avoiding the conversation by attempting to analyze the weather. “Why are you so hung up on it?”

You scoff, dropping your arms and shaking your head. “Yeah, I’m done.”

You turn to go back to the car, but his hand wrapping around your wrist stops you in your tracks.

“Let go,” you demand, refusing to turn and look at him.

His grip doesn’t loosen.

You turn halfway to tell him off, but the words die in your throat when you see his face.

He looks… scared?

“Yes,” he says, voice rough.

Your face twists in confusion. “Yes… what?”

He sighs and clenches his jaw. “You know what.”

A laugh bubbles up and slips out before you can stop it. “Yeah, okay.”

You shake your head, trying to rip your arm away as you turn from him again, but his grip tightens. “I’m serious.”

You pause.

Oh.

That asshole!

You whip around to fully face him, his hand still wrapped around your wrist. “You let me go on that date!”

He furrows his eyebrows. “Wha–”

“No!” You interrupt, pointing an accusing finger at him. “You let me go on that horrible date!”

He drops your wrist, holding his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t think you’d appreciate me telling you not to go.”

“Oh,” you scoff, crossing your arms over your chest. “So, what, you decided to be petty about it and hope I’d catch on?”

He looks taken aback by your sudden confident accusations. “That’s not wh–”

“Yes it is!” You cut in again.

“What was I supposed to do?” He finally snaps. “I mean–” He stops himself with a humorless laugh, scrubbing a hand over his jaw before starting again. “Do you seriously think you would’ve taken me actually telling you not to go well? I said I was shocked you said yes and you went out with him just to prove a point!”

That feels like information overload. Like he did consider telling you not to.

But he didn’t.

“I went out with him because I was trying–” You cut yourself off, realizing what you just almost accidentally revealed. You take a deep breath, mentally resetting. “I hadn’t been on a date in over a year.”

“I’m aware,” he says flatly. “Finish your sentence.”

You narrow your eyes at him despite the way your heart feels like it might beat out of your chest. “I don’t even know what I was going to say.”

He nods his head at where you’re picking your nails–which you hadn’t even realized you were doing. “You only do that when you’re anxious. You’re lying.”

“I’m always anxious,” you say immediately, defensively.

He rolls his eyes. “I’m aware of that, too. But your thumb is bleeding.”

“Maybe because you’re backing me into a fucking corner,” you spit, but it’s far less sharp than you intended it to be.

He takes a half step forward, which you immediately react to by taking a step back.

He sighs, taking his hat off briefly to run a hand through his curls before putting it back in place. “Okay–we’re getting nowhere. I was jealous, I didn’t say anything because it would be inappropriate, and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

You blink at him, replaying every interaction you’ve ever had in your head. “You. Are so. Stupid!”

He throws his hands up in defeat. “Okay, I give up.” This time, he turns to go back to the car, but you stop him.

“Wait–” When he turns to face you again, you hum, shifting uncomfortably. It takes a few more seconds to build up courage before you finally continue. “I've had a– a crush on you since day one. But you’ve been a total dick, so obviously I never thought you felt the same way!”

Now it’s his turn to blink dumbly at you.

His mouth opens. Closes.

“Well that’s just fucking stupid,” he finally says.

“Tell me about it!” You exclaim, throwing your hands up.

He works to keep the small smile pulling at his lips suppressed, but ultimately fails.

“I went to MIT,” he breathes out. “I have a PhD, my own company–”

“No need to brag.”

“–and I couldn’t even tell you felt that way,” he finishes, ignoring your quip.

“In your defense, you made it really easy for me to forget how hot you are with how frequently you made me want to punch you in the face,” you say with a shrug.

The small smile turns into a shit-eating grin. “You think I’m hot?”

“Right now is one of those moments, Scott,” you warn.

He takes a step closer, and this time, you don’t back up. “So… what now?”

You look at him incredulously. “Fuck if I know! You’re the one with the PhD.”

“Believe it or not, MIT didn’t offer classes on what to do after accidentally confessing your feelings for your employee,” he deadpans.

“Or your–” Your eyes widen. “Oh, shit.”

He looks bewildered by the sudden shift in tone. “What?”

“I’m your employee!”

“Yes,” he says slowly. “Have been for the past year. Are you just realizing, or…?”

You roll your eyes, but the internal panic continues to grow. “Obviously not, smartass. But– there’s, like, rules, right? I like my job!”

His eyes soften and he takes another step forward–close enough that you could easily reach forward and close the distance. “Hey. You’re not going to lose your job.”

“I might!” You bring your hand up to your mouth, chewing on your nails. “Oh, this is bad. Obviously we have to just forget this happened,” you say around your finger.

“Okay,” he says calmly, gently prying your hand away from your mouth. “Listen to me. You’re not going to lose your job. It’s just me and Javi. I’ll sit down with him, we’ll figure things out–do this the right way.”

You look up to meet his eyes, narrowing your own at him. “I don’t care how hot you are–I refuse to let it affect my job. So you better be serious.”

He tilts his chin down to maintain eye contact better. “Well, I don’t care how hot you are–I also refuse to let it affect the job. So I am very serious.”

The tension in your shoulders loosens and you nod once. “Good.”

He nods back, giving the wrist he’s still holding a slight squeeze. “Good.”

You continue to silently stare at each other for a few moments before your mouth twitches. “So… you think I’m hot?”

He shakes his head, laughing softly. “You’re so annoying.”

He gently tugs your wrist, making you stumble. His free hand flies to your hip to steady you and your breath hitches.

You have to tilt your head back to keep your eyes on his face. “This feels like a very compromising position,” you breathe out after your mouth remembers how to form words.

He swivels his head around dramatically and hums. “Funny, I don’t see anyone around to care.”

You glare at him, trying not to show how fast your heart is racing. “Ha ha,” you say flatly.

“You’re being very cocky for someone whose heart rate is, like, 150.” He smirks as he squeezes again, running his thumb pointedly along the inside of your wrist.

“Leftover adrenaline from the flat tire,” you lie with a shrug.

“Right,” he says, nodding with narrowed eyes, obviously not falling for your bullshit.

He lets go of your wrist, leaving your arm just hanging awkwardly between you. He slowly brings his hand up to cup your cheek and you stiffen.

“I’d love to kiss you right now,” he starts, voice rougher now, “but we can wait until I talk to Javi, if you want.”

You can’t choose a coherent response–thoughts jumbling together indiscernibly. “I–” You shake your head at the immediate stutter.

He starts to withdraw his hand, but your arm hanging awkwardly between you moves first.

Your fingers wrap around his wrist, stopping him.

“Getting some mixed signals here,” he says. Not rude–just clear.

“I–” You try before the words get stuck again. You take a deep breath through your nose, pursing your lips. “I want you to kiss me,” you decide with a single sharp nod.

“Are you sure?”

You nod again. “Yes. Very sure. Also very nervous. It’s been a long time–which you already know–so I might be bad, so I’m sor–”

His lips on your own cut you off–tentative, but intentional.

Your eyes remain wide open for a beat, brain rebooting as you process that he’s actually kissing you.

Then instinct takes over.

Your eyes flutter shut and you fist the front of his shirt in both hands as you kiss him back.

It’s clumsy at first–noses bumping and lips slotting together awkwardly.

But it doesn’t take long to find a comfortable rhythm, and by the time you pull away, you’re both breathing heavily.

You slowly open your eyes to find him already looking at you–his blue irises almost completely taken over by blown pupils.

“Yeah, that was awful,” he says dryly, face completely neutral.

You blink.

Your stomach drops and you open and close your mouth once before you notice the slight upturn of the corners of his mouth.

You click your tongue and shove his chest. “Asshole!”

But you’re laughing when you both make your way back to the car.

The next two hours fly by, and soon enough, Javi is pulling up with the new tire.

You both meet him outside and he stops in his tracks.

“Something is different.”

It takes work to keep your face neutral.

“Nothing is different,” Scott says, feigning normalcy easily.

Javi narrows his eyes and looks between the two of you multiple times.

You both stay completely silent, standing five feet apart–Scott with his arms crossed over his chest, you with your hands in your pockets as you rock on the heels of your feet.

You refuse to look at either of them.

Just when you think he’s going to give up, Javi gasps and points an accusing finger. “It happened!”

Your eyes widen. “What happened?” You ask, voice higher than usual.

“It!” He exclaims, gesturing wildly between you both. “Oh, my god, I win!”

Scott’s face twists in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I said you guys would break and confess before the end of the season during a high-stress event!” He looks ecstatic as he steps between you.

“Are you– Are you talking about a fucking bet?” You ask incredulously.

He nods eagerly, wrapping an arm around each of your shoulders, pulling you in tightly. “You just won me so much money.”

“You were betting on us?” You ask again, shoving his arm off at the same time Scott does.

“Oh, not just me,” he says with a chuckle. “The whole team. And the Wranglers.”

You finally look at Scott, who’s glaring murderously at Javi.

“I’m going to kill you,” he tells him, which Javi laughs off.

“I’ll split the winnings with both of you if you don’t,” he offers, wiggling his eyebrows.

Scott’s gaze flicks to meet yours. You look at each other for a few moments, having a silent conversation.

“...Deal,” you both say with a nod.

part 3 part 4

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