Until Dawn One Shots

Emily X Matt - Five Years On

Emily cursed loudly as the taxi pulled to another slow stop, looking past the frustrated driver through the heavy rain to look at the long line of cars blocked up before them. She checked her watch for what had to be the billionth time that morning and jogged her leg up and down nervously as she watched the second hand tick painstakingly slow around the watch face. The cab jerked forward, throwing up water that sprayed against the window, only to come to another stop about a meter later and Emily sighed again.

"Are you sure there's no faster ways for us to get there? No back roads, or one way streets?" she asked the driver loudly for the third time, raising her voice to be heard over the deafening drumming of the rain. When he just sent her an annoyed glare instead of replying, she huffed and sunk back in her seat, crossing her arms.

"Fine," she grumbled to herself, running a hand through her short black damp hair, and pulling out her phone to tell her boss she was going to be late. The car jerked forward abruptly, before stopping just as quickly, and the driver let out a frustrated yell before mashing his hand down on the horn aggressively. Put off, Emily glanced out the window at the rain and the long train of cars before them, sighing.

An alert from her pocket drew her attention back to her phone, where her boss was telling her to be there in the next 30 minutes or not at all. She took another glance out the window at the rain, then to the traffic jam before them, and then back at the rain before sighing.

"Ahh, fuck it,"

She leant over to grab her briefcase from the other seat and undid her seatbelt, thrusting a 20 dollar bill at the cab driver.

"Keep the change," she told him over her shoulder, before pushing open the door and climbing out of the car. Before she even stood up fully, she was soaked through to the skin, and she wondered if it was smarter to just climb back into the cab or not, but the angry beeping of the cab made the decision for her as she hurried towards the sidewalk.

Water streamed down her face, and she thanked past Emily for putting on waterproof mascara that day, droplets clinging to her eyelashes before falling when she blinked them away. Her hair stuck to her cheeks and neck as she weaved her way in and out of cars, and she used it as a curtain to hide her face from those in the other cabs and cars that were surely staring at her. When she finally reached the sidewalk, she drew her drenched coat tighter around her, shivering, and pulled out her phone to determine how far from work she was.

When she saw that it was a 20 minute walk, she set off down the sidewalk, following the route set out on her phone carefully, eyes glued to the screen in case of any random turns or crossings. Before she even knew what was happening, she walked right into something large and solid, and went sprawling out across the wet concrete path. Her head hit the concrete hard and she let out a cry of pain, hand automatically going back to feel the back of her head for injury. Her fingertips gently searched for blood, and luckily there was none, only a bump that was quickly growing underneath her numb fingers.

"Shit, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" a male voice said to her, fear lacing his tone, and she froze. She knew that voice. That kind, fearful, concerned voice, that had told her to stay calm in a life threatening situation, called her out for being unkind or rude to any of their friends, appeased her when she was riled up and ready to throw hands. When she didn't reply, her assailant spoke again;

"Shit, are you okay?!"

Gloved hands took her own to pulled her to her feet, and when she finally looked up, she meet large warm brown eyes, wide with concern. They grew even wider as they recognised her, and the warmth from her hands disappeared as Matt released her.