Forever & Always || Redlyn

Tornado Warning

Both Big Red and Ashlyn were back to school on January 4th, which came far too early, in their opinions. They were back to their old routines. Classes, meeting up after they both got out, often stalling going back to their dorms (they were hopeful to find an apartment together soon enough).

It was far too stormy out to meet up this particular day, so they were FaceTiming instead. There was a tornado watch this day, which soon enough turned into a warning. Just as Big Red had learned about Ashlyn's claustrophobia, Ashlyn soon learned about Big Red's fear of tornados. The fear made sense, but he was freaking out.

"Calm down Biggie." Ashlyn advised him through the phone. "There probably won't be one. And if there is, I'm sure it won't do much damage."

Big Red nodded, listening to Ashlyn. "I guess." He knew it was true, but couldn't help but feel scared.

A little smile grew on Ashlyn's face. "Alright. Just try not to think about it. So, like I was saying—" The power, from the strength of the storm, went out. They couldn't see each other, but they could still hear each other, which Big Red was grateful for. "That doesn't mean anything. Happens all the time from storms." Ashlyn reminded him. "Right, so then he told me—"

"Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you'll stay safe."

"I'll try my hardest." Ashlyn assured him.

"Thank—" Big Red wasn't sure if her phone died or the internet connection cut out (it was the former), but the FaceTime ended. "you." He finished anyways. He was now panicking more. Ashlyn had been keeping him calm, and the fact he could know she was safe helped.

His roommate, Lizzie, sat next to him. "Dude, calm down. There won't be any damage." She said. Lizzie was down to earth, but was sometimes oblivious. She and Big Red were super close.

"Ashlyn." Big Red shakily said, not looking at anything in particular. "A- Ash..."

"She's not here, and she can't be."

"I know." He said. "I just wish she was."

"The storm will probably be over soon enough."

"The warning lasts for h- hours."

"Well, yes..." Lizzie trailed off. "It's fine. You need to distract yourself."

"I guess." He nodded. I need Ashlyn, he thought, or to know she's okay.

"We can watch something on our phones?" She asked. Big Red nodded. "K, who's phone?"

"I don't care." It was a full lie. If Ashlyn managed to get in touch with him, his phone couldn't be dead.

"Okay." She shrugged and pulled her phone out, putting something on. Big Red tried to focus on it, eventually succeeding, before hearing crashes outside, terrifying him. He let out a small, quiet squeak. "You really hate tornadoes, don't you?"

"Duh." Big Red nodded frantically. "Ash- Ashlyn..." He muttered under his breath. She was always the only person he could think of in situations like this.

"I told you, she'll be fine."

"You don't know that." He protested. "She could get hurt and I wouldn't even know." Saying it out loud only made him think it more.

Contrary to Big Red, Ashlyn was fairly calm as far as tornadoes go. The only thing she was worried about was how he was doing.

"Sit down." Her roommate advised her. Ashlyn was pacing the room, muttering nonsense about Big Red being stressed out. "Pacing won't help either of you."

"Fine." Ashlyn sat on her bed, but she was restless. "But he's probably so worried!"

"I know. You've been saying that for the past 10 minutes."

"Shut up, Sophie." But a small grin appeared on her face for a moment. "But thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome. I guess." She smirked.

"Whatever." Ashlyn managed to keep herself calm, knowing worrying about someone worrying was unnecessary. However, she should've been worrying about the storm, because a moment later, she couldn't see anything, and not because of the power outage.