Blue Side of the Mountain
Wilson x Brando | Storm Chasers
wilson taran (conan gray)
colton graham (mason gooding)
riley hayden (isabel may)
jackie vaughn (robert sheehan)
finley banks (max barczak)
brando saint (corey fogelmanis)
reese taylor (rudy pankow)
cherry linden (sophia lillis)
rosemary “rose” camperbell (mckenna grace)
trixie “trix” lovette (corinna brown)
Wilson Taran enjoyed the silence. He liked to listen to the way the wind rushed through the trees, the faint echo of metal clanging together from wind chimes in the distance, or even the way the rain fell upon the earth, carving its patterns within the soils.
Most of all, he loved the beauty of the southern storms.
He observed the scenery in front of him, the waving of the dark clouds was something he knew all too well. Moisture in the air sat hot and heavy, having Wilson breathe in as he raised up the camera to snap his line of sight.
As he walked back to the van, he couldn’t help but have a little skip, the adrenaline already starting to settle in.
Wilson entered into the back of the already open doors, allowing his body to drape over his boyfriend. Watching the man as his eyes attempted to open.
“Colton,” He whispered, causing the other to groan softly beneath him, “Cole wake up.”
“No.” Colton grumbled, his hands snaking their way around Wilson’s waist to pull him closer. “Just lay down with me.”
Wilson rolled his eyes, but still smiled nonetheless, “No, we have to go.”
This caused the other to finally open his eyes, “You find one for us?”
Wilson just nodded, the smile never faded from his face as he leaned down to press a quick kiss onto Colton’s lips.
Cole, however, just watched him fondly as he scrambled out of the vehicle to warn the others. His head shook as a soft chuckle escaped. He adored the way Wilson viewed the world. It was as if he personally held the earth in his hands with care, mapping out every detail he could manage.
Three loud honks shocked the others out of their sleep. Jackie Vaughn sat up, his hair tangled up and eyes squinted as they tried to adjust to the sudden light peaking in through the windows.
Riley Hayden brushed her hand beside her before they landed on her glasses. As she placed them on her face, she groaned as she stretched herself out, the effects of sleeping on the hard floor on a van showing as a dull pain spread through her spine.
“Storm’s here guys! We gotta get a move on!” Wilson exclaimed.
From the ground Finley Banks let out a loud noise of protest, “It’s way too early, and I'm still way too hungover.”
He pulled the blanket over his head before it was rudely snatched off by Wilson, “Come on, Finn! The day awaits!”
Finn just rubbed his eyes hard, “Buddy, my bed awaits actually.”
They are all up and wide awake now, moving around their camp site to separate what they did and didn’t need for their adventure. Finn, on the other hand, sat on a foldable chair inspecting one of the many pieces of their project Dorothy.
“Colton, babe, make sure the camera’s on I didn’t see the red light.” Wilson spoke as his restless figure stood in frame.
Cole flipped it around to see the red light blinking brightly back at him, “Wil, it’s on.”
“Now,” The older man said with a serious, yet joking tone, “Tell us the wonders of the world Doctor Taran.”
Wilson made a face at the sudden word, “Doctor, okay. Shut up, you’re gonna make me laugh.”
He shook his hands out and cleared his throat. Finally, after years of studies, their hard work is going to pay off.
“Our science team, Project Dorothy, is out on the field in Fort Worth, Texas.” The smile never left his face as he gestured out to the growing clouds beside them. “About to chase the storm just Southwest of us.”
His excitement never faltered, “This project is designed to understand what’s happening inside a tornado.”
“Tell them how you do that, Wilson.” Cole spoke out.
“We open up the lids here,” He tapped against the hard plastic, “And all of these sensors will go up into the funnel, measuring each part of the tornado simultaneously.”
“She’s gonna fly, baby!” Riley whooped.
Jackie jumped in from of the camera, hands on both sides to steady it on him, “We’re the riders of the storm, fuckers!”
As the cheering quieted, Finn took his chance to speak before the topic changed, “Okay, but it says the storm isn’t until the afternoon.”
Riley rolled her eyes while moving a bag out of their space, “Yeah, well, that data doesn’t see what Wil sees.”
“Can Wil see a couple more hours of sleep?” Finn begged before Riley pushed his shoulder playfully.
Jackie, on the other hand, basically slammed his laptop down onto the top of their project.
“Jackie!” Colton barked out, “Dorothy isn’t a personal desk for your shit!”
The boy just raised his hand in defense and took it off without another word.
Wilson, with the camera in hand, hustled everyone together into frame, “Say, riders of the storm!”
Wilson felt the cool air rush in through the cracked window, but his eyes were stuck on the horizon in front of him. The clouds continued to grow darker and the waving only sharpened. He couldn’t help but to let his legs bounce up and down with restlessness.
“Wilson was right,” Jackie echoed from the back, “Winds are increasing in the southeast.”
“See, what did I tell you?” He smiled wide, hands clenched together to ease the nerves.
Without looking, Colton took one of his hands off the wheel and grabbed onto one of Wilson’s. The boy instantly intertwined their fingers together before Cole lifted them up to press a kiss to the back.
The older man ducked his head to get a more clear view, “Oh man, it’s really building up.”
The soft sound of The Chain by Fleetwood Mac filled the car. In the back, Wilson could hear as Riley sang along. The airy sound of her voice easing something deep within them all.
A sudden ring cut sharp into the air, causing Wilson to jump lightly before he pulled out his phone.
“Hi, mom.” He answered brightly.
“Sunny, baby,” He could practically feel her warm smile, even from hundreds of miles away, “What are you up to?”
“Oh, you know, just chasing a storm,” Lightning lit up the sky in response, “So, the usual.”
A dramatic sigh cut in through the speaker, “It’s times like this that I wish you stuck with Astrology.”
Wilson huffed a laugh, “You know I’m a sucker for the adrenaline rush.”
“Of course, of course,” She let out a snort, “I just want you guys to be careful now, you hear?”
Wilson just rolled his eyes playfully, “Yes, We’ll be safe.”
He switched it to the speaker and looked around at everyone, “Y’all tell her we’re safe, we’ve done this a thousand times.”
“We love you, miss Hart!”
She chuckled in amusement, “I love you kiddos. Come back in one piece!”
“Love you, mom.” He hung up before looking back out to the sky. The clouds were starting to shift in a more circular pattern, preparing for the storm to come.
Wilson sighed in admiration, “Man, I love Texas.”
“Said no one ever, by the way.” Riley called out in the middle of her counting using the Mississippi method.
Jackie turned his head to glance at her quickly, “You know that doesn’t work, right?”
“Yes, it does. You’re just not on my level of smartness.”
“Smartness, you mean dumb scale?”
Colton chuckled at their bickering, but soon tuned it out once Finn was heard coming in through the walkie, “Alright, how are we getting to this thing? I’ll need a Southwest position to read my sensors.”
“Yeah, I’m on it.” Cole responded back. He quickly placed the walkie back in its spot before making a sharp right turn.
Finn, in the vehicle behind them, followed in suit. The lightning ahead of them began to flash brighter and stay more consistent, causing their line of sight to be locked in place on the bursts of white light.
“Oh boy,” Jackie said with an excited huff of laughter, “the winds here are really starting to pick up.”
Riley glanced over his shoulder at the data on his computer screen, “Got some serious energy building up!”
She leaned back and rolled her window all the way down, her seatbelt coming unbuckled while doing so. As she pulled out her phone to start recording the view of the winds blowing the trees sideways, she let out a delighted shout. Her energy sparks a chain reaction as they all let out a shout as well, a sound that they could compare to a pack of wolves.
“No wait, why are you leaning out the window?” Jackie asked in a panicked tone, “Hold on Ri-buckle up! No, you’re not funny, actually.”
The girl groaned before returning back to properly sit in her seat, “You’re no fun, Jackie, you know that? This is exactly why you almost got struck by lightning.”
“And I’m playing it safe, maybe you should learn a thing or two.” The girl just stuck her tongue out at him.
Wilson turned towards Colton, “We should get Dorothy up and ready.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the rain first?” He asked.
Except his question was already answered once the sound of the rain came pouring down. Wilson just grinned at Colton smugly, who in return shook his head at his boyfriend's confidence.
“We should get Dorothy up and ready.” Cole echoed back the reply.
“Wow, I hadn’t thought of that.”
They pulled off to the side of the road to a spot that didn’t have as much rain, their forms moving swiftly around each other as they got to work to set up the sensors. Riley stood behind the truck, repeatedly pressing the button as if that could open up the lid that refused to budge open.
Finley came up to her with his hands up to get her to step back. With a few harsh hits to the side he muttered, “Okay, now try that.”
She tried it once more, but once it didn’t cooperate again she threw her arms up in frustration towards the other boy.
Finn just shrugged, “That usually works.”
Riley groaned, “Why does this thing have to be so old.”
“Well, this has been field tested several times. Plus, this is Wilson’s science project.” Finn replied as he pointed to him, but he didn’t pay any mind to it.
“Actually,” Jackie gestured around to them all, “It’s our project.”
Wilson came around the vehicle, “Okay, well, if it doesn’t work this time that’s fine. This may be the last chase of the season, but we still got plenty of them ahead of us.”
Colton agreed, “Yeah, we’ll have enough time to truly perfect it, only if this once doesn't work in our favor.”
Before Wilson could move any further, Cole pulled him back by the waist. A small giggle escaped his lips as he turned towards his boyfriend properly.
“What’s got you all clingy?” He asked as they locked eyes.
The taller man shrugged as if he didn’t know what he was talking about, “I may have something for you.”
A small rectangular box was suddenly in his view, the wood having tiny details of random doodles; mainly flowers of variety colors, which he knew were Riley’s doing.
“Everyone helped design it, but I made the box.” He smiled as he placed it in the other boy's hand. “I wanted to make you something special.”
Wilson moved the object around in his hand, his smile only widening the more he took it in. His fingers itched towards the small latch that closed it shut, only to be stopped as Colton cupped his hands around his.
“Hold on, now,” He chuckled warmly, “I want you to open this after we make history.”
“Wow, okay, didn’t know you were such a romantic.” He wrapped his arms around Cole’s neck. “I love it though, thank you.”
Their lips met for a slow kiss, Wilson’s fingers curling to drag his nails down the other’s head just as Colton’s brushed against his lower back. Once they pulled back, Wilson immediately went to tuck the box into his side pocket to keep it safe.
Riley on the other hand let out a small woop in victory once she got Dorothy to respond, “Alrighty! Got her, finally!”
Picking up one of the sensors, Wilson held it out towards Finn, “It’s our time to shine Finney boy.”
The other took it with a grin on his face, “Okay, be careful dumbasses, I love all of you.”
He and Wilson clapped their right hands together, thumbs interlinking before sliding to join their pinkies together. They brought their hands down as if promising a secret until their index fingers made a swirling motion to indicate a tornado.
The rain poured down hard, the thick droplets making it sound as if thousands of pebbles crashed into them. The condensation causes the windows to fog. Wilson wipes at the glass with his hand to try and get a better look as they drive further into the storm.
“Okay, so,” Jackie cleared his throat, “We got a CAPE of four-thousand, a hundred knots gate-to-gate wind shear aloft.”
“Come on,” Wilson groaned, “Just give us a nice and respectable EF1. Hell, we’ll even take an EF2 at this point.”
“If any of them is a possibility.” The boy in the back muttered.
Wilson turned his head towards him dramatically, “Do you have no faith in me, Jackie?”
Riley huffed a laugh, “Just as long as we don’t get another one of those baby EF0’s.”
She then pulled out her walkie, “Finn, how is Dorothy’s GPS?”
On the other side, safe away from the storm, Finley checked the radar, “Dorothy’s coming in loud and clear, baby.”
They felt as the wind rushed past the car, debris starting to fly by. Colton swiftly dodged a large branch before steadying back on the road.
“Are we in the tornado?” Jackie said in a joking manner.
However, no one laughed back. Wilson studied how the wind was starting to get quiet the more they traveled down the road.
Panic seized in his chest as he glanced out the back window, “No, it’s behind us.”
“Okay wait,” Cole cut in, “Should I drive faster?”
“No, no, we gotta drop Dorothy in its path.” Wilson responded.
“Are we gonna see the path?” Jackie asked.
Just before Wilson could give a proper answer, a large hay barrel crashed into the windshield. The force of it caused Colton to be thrown off guard, his hands flying around the wheel to try and steady them, but ultimately failing as they went off into the grass.
They all groaned from the impact, but they knew they needed to move quickly. The two up front glanced back outside, except nothing was visible.
Wilson looked out beside him, seeing as the rain crashed down sideways, “This is the path.”
Bright lights flashed aggressively, breaking the silence that sat heavy with them. Jackie let out a startled breath, “That’s a lot of lightning.”
“Okay, you guys stay here,” Wilson unbuckled his seat belt and pushed open his door, “I’ll get it back up.”
“Hey, wait!” Colton called out after him, “Come on, let’s go help him!”
They all could feel their clothes immediately start to stick to their skin as the rain soaked through. The wind was so heavy it felt as if you could barely breathe.
“We need to hurry!” Wilson yelled out to them as he attempted to push it up, but no matter the amount of strength he put into it, it just wouldn’t budge.
“Hold on, we need leverage!” Colton yelled while backing off. He glanced around the area frantically, eyes landing on a long piece of metal that lay scattered on the ground. He picked it up before returning back to the others.
Jamming the bar beneath the trailer, he forced it upward. The pressure of him and the others quickly propelled it upright with a large crash.
They all cheered and high-fived, but their bodies moved as they tried to get the sensors in the path.
Riley pressed against the button harshly, “Come on, come on.”
The latch flew open making her let out a loud woop in response. Jackie on the other hand worked on getting the trailer detached from the vehicle, sighing in relief once it wanted to cooperate.
“We’re clear!” He exclaimed.
“Alright, let’s go, let’s go!” Wilson said as he and Jackie jumped back into the car.
Meanwhile, Riley and Colton stayed back to get a closer look at the storm. They noticed how it only seemed to be getting stronger by the second.
They sucked in a nervous breath and glanced at each other, knowing that it can’t be good. Nonetheless they followed everyone back.
“Okay, we dropped the trailer, Finn.” Wilson spoke into the walkie.
Colton sped off back into the road, Dorothy staying in its spot, but soon enough disappearing from their distance.
All except Cole watched behind them, attempting to spot something. Anything.
“What if there’s no tornado?” Riley spoke up, “What if it’s just a dense wave of hail?”
Finn, on the other side, noticed as the sensors activated. They flew up a respectable height. His eyes widened, “Yeah, baby! We just shot up ten-thousand feet!”
In the car, the other let out an excited laugh, it finally felt as if everything was coming out just as planned.
“Okay, that’s definitely not a hail wave.” Riley's shoulders shook in a chuckle, but also nervousness.
Colton turned towards his boyfriend, “We did it, Wil!”
His eyes wandered to the side mirror, watching as one of the poles crackled with electricity before being pulled up off the ground. He felt his heart rate begin to race, the smile wiped clean off his face, “Wait, it’s starting to get closer.”
Wilson stiffened in his seat, his gaze shifting towards the front as he watched the windshield wipers stuttered.
Finn's voice broke through, “Sensors rising, thirty-thousand feet.”
“Wait, wait, wait, no,” Wilson said with a huff, “That doesn’t make sense.”
Riley raised her walkie, “Are the winds weakening, Finn?”
“Dorothy can’t tell you that,” He answered back, “Lagrangian mechanics. A moving sensor can’t give you the exact measurements of wind speed, but-“
His head snapped to his laptop once it beeped loudly. Taking in the new data, he cut back in, “Oh, yeah! forty-thousand feet, your tornado ain’t shrinking Wil.”
Wil suddenly felt frozen in his spot, it was never supposed to get this big.
“Fifty-thousand feet.” No one in the car responded.
Finley only watched the numbers grow, his eyes widening and his enthusiasm dimmed fast, “Holy shit.”
“No, no, no, this can’t be right.” He jerked his body up to turn back into the van.
“Finn, talk to us.” Riley didn’t get an immediate response. The line on the other end stayed silent as Finn moved to look at his other monitor. “Talk to us.”
“Sensors just shot up,” His voice cracked, “Seventy-thousand feet.”
Everyone felt their hearts drop, a sharp chill ran down their spines as their breathing hitched at the weight of the situation.
“Uh, the-the NEXRAD velocity is two-hundred miles per hour.” Jackie attempted to keep his voice stable, but it was clear how terrified he was.
Colton replied quickly, “That’s impossible.”
Wilson, on the other hand, just locked his gaze on the dark grey atmosphere that stretched out behind them, “Unless, it’s an EF5.”
Finley darted to the window, his breath huffing out as he finally took in the size, “Guys, whatever it is, it’s big and it’s moving fast. You have to get the hell out of there!”
The car started to swerve greatly, strong wind and rain defying the movement of the vehicle. Colton attempted to gain control as everyone yelled in unison, “Go, go, go!”
“How did it become an EF5?” He spoke to no one in particular.
“Fuck, it’s getting closer!”
Cole slammed his foot down on the gas, seventy miles per hour. Breath caught in his throat as he prepared for the worst, one-hundred miles per hour. Yet it felt impossible to escape the reality of just how big the storm truly was.
“Look out!” Wilson shrieked in fear.
A large slab of metal crashed in the front of them, Colton swerving too late as the tires slipped against the rain and gravel, their vision spinning along with the car. With a sudden jolt, they crashed hard into a ditch.
Fast and terrified breathing echoed around them. Cole did a quick scan of his friends and boyfriend, “Everyone Okay?”
They just panted in response, adrenaline spiked to the max.
“We can’t stay here.” Colton said.
“There!” Jackie pointed ahead to the bridge just in their line of sight.
Wilson shook his head, “Overpasses are the worst in tornadoes!”
It was as if his mind went blurry, he focused on too much at once. This caused the words he wanted to say to get stuck in his mouth, he glanced nervously at Colton.
Cole, however, understood what he thought, “This car’s gonna fly! Come on!”
Their doors slammed open as they all rushed out together, rain smacking hard onto their skin, sure to leave red marks.
“Colton, Wilson, Riley, Jackie! You gotta get out of there!” Finn’s voice was overpowered by the storm.
They ran straight towards the overpass, not bothering to look back as they knew that the car was starting to levitate off the ground. Except for Colton, who risked a glance behind, seeing as the car no longer stood on the field.
Jackie, who was the furthest back, began to lose his balance. The wind pushed too hard, which caused him to fall forward. Nature adapted and sent his body up, struggling a scream from his throat as he barreled into the swirling mass of the funnel.
No one else noticed as they focused on saving their own lives. Hearts thumping loud in their ears and lungs stinging as their legs pushed them fast.
As they reached the steep slope, Colton and Wilson immediately began to climb. The rain and grass growing from the cracks of the concrete made it slippery.
“Come on!” Cole shouted to them.
Their forms struggled to ascend due to the traction on their shoes not being able to grip properly. Once Colton made it to the top, he sat himself down and turned back to offer a hand out if needed.
With Wilson a few feet behind him, he extended his hand before suddenly faltering when a sharp piece of metal pierced the side of his leg. He let out a scream of pain as blood spilled out from between his fingers that clamped hard around the wound.
Cole slid down to get within arms reach of his boyfriend, “Come on Wil!”
However, Wilson just looked back for the others, noticing the lack of them, “Wait! Where’s Jackie?”
Cole felt his stomach drop at those words. The tornado only continued to grow closer every second, tears welling in his eyes as he understood what happened with Jackie.
“Wil!” Riley desperately called out as her form continued to slide down after the progress she made, “Wilson!”
The boy steadied himself as he reached his hand down towards her, “Riley! Come on!”
“No, Wilson!” Colton yelled out. With how powerful the wind was, only one wrong move could cause something worse.
Riley finally was able to plant her feet on the concrete, an arm outstretched as she tried to not lose her balance again. Just before the tips of their fingers could touch, a large mass of branches slammed into the side of her.
She flew sideways, hurling straight into the tornado.
“Riley!” Wilson cried out. His body unconsciously moved downwards before he felt hands grip onto him, “Riley!”
“Come on!” He heard the yell in his ear.
Colton dragged them up to the top, Wilson letting out choked sobs while doing so. He was laid on his stomach to have better cover.
“Hold onto the rail!” Cole demanded. He covered his body over Wilson’s, offering an extra shield of protection.
They hyperventilated as the tornado swirled closer and grew louder, the howling of the wind making things impossible to hear. However, Wil could hear his boyfriend loud and clear, creating a calm within the storm.
“Wrap your arms around the rail! You’re gonna be okay!” His voice was steady and sure.
Wilson whimpered in fear as his hands turned white from how hard he held on. They were going to survive this.
Colton pressed his lips into the side of Wil’s ear, “You’re gonna be okay, I’ve got you! Keep holding on!”
Wind whistled throughout the overpass, causing even Cole’s voice to be drowned out.
“I’ve got you, Wil!” He assured his boyfriend, “I’ve got you!”
Air flew between them, causing their bodies to separate before Colton was suddenly soaring straight back into the mass.
“NO!” Wilson wailed out. A guttural screaming howling deep from out of his throat as he had to sit there and watch the naturally created monster take those he loved the most in the blink of an eye.
His shattering screams were drowned out by the roaring wind cutting through every crevice of every object. He felt the air wrap around his body to attempt to pull him back, but it only made his grip impossibly tighter.
He screwed his eyes shut as the little light he had left slowly dim, and the tornado began to pass over him.
Wilson didn’t know exactly when it happened, but the next thing he was aware of was his body slowly limping down the road. He could feel the thin layer of mud that stuck to his skin. The blood that streamed down his leg eventually dried up.
His gaze looked out into nothing, mind wandering off into another plane of existence. The boy paid no mind to the searing pain in his leg, nor the debris that littered his path.
The thought of it hadn’t quite hit him, yet. Just an hour ago, he was laughing and celebrating with his best friends over accomplishing something they have worked so hard on. Now, where once stood four, one walked out.
A soft humming of a vehicle was heard, the wheels crunching against the scattered bits. Wilson finally focused his gaze, only to be met with the heartbreaking expression of Finley.
Behind him, a cop car pulled up. Bright lights flashing, making Wilson flinch as it stung his eyes.
He continued to walk towards Finn, who met him halfway to wrap his arms around him in a comforting, yet careful hug. A small grunt escaping Wil’s lips as a dull ache spread through his muscles.
Once they pulled away, Wilson could bare himself to look at his friend. Instead they drew a line to his left pocket, the object causing a bump in the denim fabric.
He pulled it out gently to reveal the box given by Colton earlier that day. His fingers hesitating at the latch once again before he slid it open.
Inside was a ring, silver carved into spirals all the way around, indicating the wind. Tucked into the back of it were two individual scrolls. On one side it read ‘To conquering storms forever’. However, once he took in the next one, he couldn’t help but bite his lip as a hot tear fell down his cheek.
He took the ring out of the slot it comfortably sat. The silver was polished beautifully, but some edges were jagged; he understood it too well, though. He knew Colton’s design flaws like the back of his hand, but he always told him it added character.
With a small clump, he shut the box back to stick it safely back into his pocket.
And with the ring, he slid it gently onto his left ring finger.
Wilson used to enjoy the silence. Now, it just howled back at him as if it was one big joke.
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