Overkill // Joseph Quinn

50

December 30, 2020.

"Are you sure you have everything? We don't have time to come back."

I rummage through my bags one last time before slamming the trunk of the Uber shut. I make sure to go through my backpack as well, but Jo grabs it from me.

"Emphasis on the 'we don't have time'." He barks, tossing my opened bag into the back seat.

"You told me to make sure I had everything!" I grumpily reply.

I hop into the Uber and travel all the way to the back, grabbing my backpack along the way. Joseph waits calmly in the very back.

"Is he always like this when you travel?" He jokes in a whisper, trying not to challenge Jo.

"He's like this on a daily basis." I giggle.

It's finally the day we fly to New York City for New Year's eve. I'm usually not a fan of packing, but I spent the entire week organizing my attire for the next few days. To say I'm absolutely thrilled is an understatement.

Maya and Jo sit in front of us in the middle seats of the SUV. Their excitement is showing, despite Jo barking orders at me just moments ago. I'm excited to get together with everybody and finally relax for once.

I dress warmly in sweatpants and a crewneck, knowing that New York is going to be 10x colder.

We arrive at the airport and my nerves rise, but in the best way possible. We go through security and all of the usual airport requirements before we make it to our gate.

"Seems like we had plenty of time." I point at the screen that shows our flight boarding in an hour.

Jo rolls his eyes, both playfully and seriously. He's a stickler when it comes to time.

I find time to go through my backpack to make sure everything I need for the flight is at the top. I find my airpods, a book, and my noteb...

"Shit!" I mutter under my breath.

Joseph leans over to see what the issue is, "What's wrong?"

I look over at Jo who's walking toward a coffee shop. I bite my bottom lip and contemplate how I should go about this.

"I forgot my notebook at home.. Jo's gonna kill me." I rub my face in dread.

Joseph gets up from his seat and starts a quick stride away from me. I get up myself and go after him.

"I don't need it! Please don't tell Jo. I'll be fine without it, seriously." I plead.

He grabs his phone out of his pocket and starts messing with it, slowing down to allow me to catch up with him.

"I'll go and get it, shouldn't take too long. Do you remember where you put it?" He asks. I now see that he's on the Uber app trying to catch a ride.

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"It's on the coffee table in the living room. I'm sure Chelsea put it in the music room since it was out of place." I reply.

"What's going on?" Jo approaches us with a coffee in hand.

I freeze. This is the last thing I wanted to happen during our trip.

"Nothing! We are just trying to find some.. food." I laugh it off, but it makes Jo grow suspicious.

He narrows his eyes at both of us, switching his stare from Joseph and I multiple times.

"You forgot something, huh?" He guesses.