Daisy Chains || Ranboo (SLOW UPDATES)

20 || Amie

Amie wakes up late, curled into Reese's arms, though when they'd gone to sleep the two had been on opposite sides of the queen-sized bed. She catches a whiff of bacon and wonders if his parents are making breakfast. The thought is unfamiliar, knowing her family. At home it's probably fend-for-yourself, as usual, or everyone's still sleeping at 10 am.

Reese says a tired "happy late birthday to me," in her ear, pulling her back closer to him, and she smiles and closes her eyes, snuggling further under the covers.

"Happy birthday again, Maple Syrup."

Eventually they haul themselves out of bed— well, not out of bed, just out of the blankets. Amie stretches and stands. "Where are your parents?"

Reese yawns, then replies. "My dad's probably in bed, I think he worked graveyard last night at the hospital. My mom might be in the kitchen."

It is, in fact, the opposite. When the two migrate to the kitchen, Reese's father is at the stove frying an egg. The bacon Amie had smelled earlier is on a plate on the counter.

Reese's dad Leo looks exactly like a stereotypical doctor is supposed to. He is tall like his son, tan and clean-shaven with graying hair. At the moment he's decked out in pajamas (with a baking apron over them) and complete with horn-rimmed scientist's glasses. He has a very pronounced Adam's apple. He almost never frowns, and even his neutral face is a smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Eichenlaub," Amie says, brushing hair out of her eyes and offering a smile.

Reese echoes her, and is answered with a grin. "Morning, Amie and Reese. Did you sleep well?"

Amie gets the vibe that he's being a bit sarcastic, and the unspoken "when you finally got to sleep" hangs in the air. "Yes, did you?" She resists the urge to roll her eyes at the absolute absurdity of her question.

"Not yet, I just got home," Leo laughs. "Mary just wanted breakfast and said that you two had come home late, so I made extra." He then proceeds to carry two plates of eggs, bacon and toast in the direction of the master bedroom for Reese's mom. "Feel free to help yourselves, I'm going to bed."

When he's out of earshot, Reese smirks. "You heard that implication?"

"You really like your five-dollar-words, don't you?" She giggles, nodding. "And he thought."

Reese pulls a box of pop-tarts from the ever-bearing tall cabinet, which Amie is starting to liken to Hermione's bottomless bag from her favorite book of the Harry Potter series. "Ouch, and you really thought I've never had a girlfriend."

"I know you're a single Pringle, sprinkles."

He chuckles and seems to hesitate before saying, " I don't want to be."

Does he mean what she thinks? Amie isn't sure, and she looks away. Both of their faces burn, and the kitchen is silent save for the noise of the toaster button as Reese presses in an English muffin, her favorite.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

A while later, Amie steps into an unenthusiastically silent, motionless Norwood house; trailed by Reese, and promptly begins borrowing food from the cabinets, including slices of cake. They're off to Reese's quote-unquote favorite undisclosed picnic location.

The two hastily evacuate her residence at the sound of a loud sneeze from Cait and Joel's bedroom, snatching their peanut-butter sandwiches off the cutting board and apples from the table (not to mention Amie's sneaky theft of two Sprites from the fridge).

Once they're safely in the Volvo it begins to rain, misting at first as they drive past Reese's house. Soon it becomes a drizzle and eventually a downpour. "I don't think we can eat outside," Amie sighs, adjusting the radio volume. Reese grins instead.

"Plot twist, the secret location is the car," he laughs, lowering her seat so she falls backwards into the back seat.

She squeals and tries to sit up. "Reese, you're going to crash!"

"We're literally parked, idiot," he giggles, fixing her seat back to normal. The rain slants across the windows in the wind, and the calm pop music on the radio is suddenly stopped mid-song by a broadcaster's voice.

"Weather report from NPR. There is an unexpected hurricane rapidly approaching the California Bay Area. Citizens of the area are encouraged to find shelter, get off the roads, and stay inside. Stay safe, everyone." The radio cuts back to music.

Reese starts the car up, backing his Volvo out of the parking spot carefully. Amie inhales sharply, clenching her hand into a fist around the buckled seatbelt, her blue painted nails probably leaving marks in her palms. Reese glances at her worriedly, wanting to hold her hand and keep her grounded, but he holds the steering wheel instead. His knuckles are white.

The wind picks up speed, slamming huge raindrops and what looks like hail across the windshield. Amie's face is pale and her eyes are teary; and Reese looks nauseous as he meticulously steers the car down the road, sliding a bit on the turn onto his street.

They pull into Reese's driveway, waiting what feels like hours for the garage door to open. It's stuck. Amie opens the passenger door and runs up the stairs, ignoring Reese. Her throat is burning. She fumbles under the doormat and unlocks the door, then escaping into the house. Amie leans on the kitchen counter, letting a sob escape her and burying her face in her hands, her panic overturning her sanity.

Reese runs inside after locking the car, looking around frantically. He spots Amie and closes the kitchen door that she had left open, shaking his head to free his hair from the rain. "Amie?"

Remember to vote, loviesss!! -Chai