Sun and Moon Oneshots (and maybe Eclipse)

Standstill

PT 2 to 'Nature'

As you (maybe) guessed, most of this will be from Sun's POV unless stated otherwise.

Aaaand just an fyi, 'you' is Moon, and the one talking in 1st person is Sun.

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"..."

A sudden flash of blood red static covered everything, along with an almost deafening noise, but as soon as it appeared, it vanished.

Let me tell you a story.

My name's not important. Never liked it much anyways.

I was driving that night to visit a friend on the other side of the mountains. I'd never met them in person before, but they needed my help. That was all that mattered. This place was really out in the middle of nowhere, though. Not a sign of civilization to be seen.

I was messing around with the radio when I saw you.

A scrawny thing in dirtied clothes, sticking your thumb out.

So I... So I decided to stop.

What the hell, y'know? I felt bad for you. Maybe you really needed the help. I don't think I could've lived with myself if I abandoned someone in a bad spot. So I flashed my headlights, and pulled over beside you As soon as I got out of the car, I could tell I made the right call.

You looked like shit. The knees of your pants were all scuffed, and your whole body was smudged with dirt. You needed help. Badly.

"Hey, you alright? Where are you headed?" I asked.

You looked at me with a blank stare, as if I was saying nothing but meaningless noise. I sighed, and took a step forward. You eyed me warily.

"Look, you need a ride, right? If I'm taking you somewhere, then can you at least give me a direction?" I spoke.

You seemed to consider this for a while. You ran your nails up and down your arms, as if you were scratching at something. After a bit, you finally looked at me in the eyes.

".... Is there a town nearby?"

I could tell just by listening to you that you desperately needed a drink. Unfortunately, I didn't think the half-empty soda sitting in my cupholder would cut it.

"Nearby? Uh..... Not for a while yet," I replied. "But there should be a gas station at the next exit. About a twenty-minute drive or so."

You bit down on your lip in silence.

"... Do you want me to take you there?" I asked wearily.

You nodded, slowly.

"Please." You said.

So I stepped back towards the car and opened the door to the backseat. Better safe than sorry. You stared at me for only a moment before climbing inside.

"Hey." I spoke up.

"..... What?"

"Seatbelt." I said.

And... No response.

I turned around in my seat and pointed at the belt buckle.

"Put it on. I'm not moving this car until you do."

You blinked at me, slowly, below pulling on the seatbelt. You examined it like it was a foreign object as you crossed it over your waist and hooked it into the buckle.

With a sigh, I turned back towards the wheel and started up the engine.

The radio still wasn't working. It was kind of starting to piss me off.. I guess there wasn't much signal that far out. And all the while, you hardly made a sound. It was like you weren't even there. We drove for miles. Endless stretches of the same road, the same trees, the same dark expanse. For all we knew, we could've been driving in place.

Things started getting blurry. My eyelids were heavy from the weight of all the hours on the road. I didn't want to risk falling asleep at the wheel, so I went ahead and downed the last of my energy drink (aka the soda). It was long since flat. The sugar and gunk and artifical flavors all stuck to my teeth.

".... Gross." I mumbled.

Still nothing from the backseat. I adjusted my rearview so I could get a look at what you were up to.

I could barely see a thing.

... My throat closed up.

What had I been thinking, letting you into my car? I had no idea who you were, what you wanted, or what you were capable of. For all I knew, you could be hiding my body in a highway ditch somewhere by the morning.

You were just a-

Another red flash of static appeared for less than a split second.

-total stranger. How far were we to somewhere safe? If something happened, would anyone come to help? And as these thoughts swarmed my head...

.... I heard you moving around in the backseat.

My chest felt tight as panic surged inside of me. I swore that I could feel your breath on my neck. Were you about to kill me? I had to do something.. Now.

So I spoke up.

My mouth suddenly felt very dry, with a deep breath, I spoke.

"... What do you think you're doing?"

And almost as soon as the words left my mouth...

.. Your arms wrapped around my chest from behind, and something cold and sharp pressed against my neck.

"I am merely taking precautionary measures." You said.

I gripped the steering wheel like it was my last chance. Blood roared in my head.

One flinch, one speedbump. That's all it would take for this stranger to slit my throat. As I swallowed, my skin sunk a bit deeper into the blade.

"How- How so?" I managed to choke out.

"Simple. You could stop this car and kill me at any time, or drop me off somewhere to rot in captivity," You hissed out. "If you so wished, you could even crash this car and watch me burn, safe behind an airbag."

Now didn't seem like the best time to mention that I took the airbags out of this thing years ago...

You continued to talk. "But this way, you cannot kill me without killing yourself, and in turn, I cannot kill you without killing myself either. Thus, we are even. Does that make sense?" You waited for an answer.

You have a point.

I wracked my brain for any good answers, and I came up empty. I couldn't really argue with that, now could I?.. I sighed, trying not to think about how close I was to dying at any moment as I drove.

".. I admit it. You do have a point there. But, uh-" I paused for a moment, letting the words fill my brain. "... What happens when we make it to the gas station?" I asked.

"Hm?" You hummed.

"Y'know. What's keeping you from killing me as soon as I stop the car?" I asked. You huffed.

"I have no reason to. All I need is the ride." You said.

"Sure... I guess. But why should I believe that? You're already threatening to kill me and all.." I replied.

"... You would just have to trust me."

"Trust you, huh?" I managed to spit out a bit of a retort.

"Well, we're strangers, yeah? I don't know a thing about you. Trusting you is a pretty big ask. So.... Can I really afford to do that? If I stop this car, I'd be throwing away the only leverage I have against you right now." I said.

"Then... By that same logiv, if I take away this blade, I would be making the same foolish mistake." You said.

We sat there in silence.

I soon spoke up. "I guess... We're at a standstill then, aren't we?"

Your nails dug into my shoulder, the scalpel nicking at my skin.

".... I suppose we are."

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End IV
Standstill