𝐕 ; wild winds are death to the candle

932 50 8
                                    

title from 'the albatross' by taylor swift




౨ৎ・゚:*





"𝐒𝐎 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐅𝐀𝐑 DO YOU THINK i can spit off here?" leo asked me, looking over the edge of the railing. "how about if it goes like— that far, you have to kiss me."

"no," i told him, pulling him away from the railing by the collar of his shirt.

"come on!" leo said. "i bet i can spit farther than you can."

"fine," i said. "let's see then, valdez."

leo practically sprang at the railing, ready for the challenge. i wasn't planning on spitting off the railing, but i would allow leo to make a fool of himself.  i didn't feel like fighting him on it.

i leaned against the railing and leo prepared, but before he could manage to spit, a storm churned into a miniature hurricane. funnel clouds snaked toward the skywalk like the tendrils of a monster jellyfish. before i could process what was happening, leo and i lost our balance. my heart leapt out of my chest as i felt myself fall backwards. i reached for leo as jason appeared and pulled us by our jackets away from the railing.

"thanks, man!" leo yelled.

"i owe you my life, jason!" i yelled over the wind.

"go, go, go!" said coach hedge.

piper and dylan were holding the doors open, herding the other kids inside. piper's snowboarding jacket was flapping wildly, her dark hair all in her face.

jason, leo, coach hedge, and i ran toward them, but it was like running through quicksand. the wind seemed to fight them, pushing them back.

dylan and piper pushed one more kid inside, then lost their grip on the doors. they slammed shut, closing off the skywalk.

piper tugged at the handles. inside, the kids pounded on the glass, but the doors seemed to be stuck.

"dylan, help!" piper shouted.

dylan just stood there with an idiotic grin, his football jersey rippling in the wind, like he was suddenly enjoying the storm.

"sorry, piper," he said. "i'm done helping."

he flicked his wrist, and piper flew backward, slamming into the doors and sliding to the skywalk deck.

"piper!" jason tried to charge forward, but the wind was against him, and coach hedge pushed him back.

"coach," jason said, "let me go!"

"jason, camille, leo, stay behind me," the coach ordered. "this is my fight. i should've known that was our monster."

"what?" leo demanded. a rogue worksheet slapped him in the face, but he swatted it away.

"what monster?" i asked.

the coach's cap blew off, and sticking up above his curly hair were two bumps—like the knots cartoon characters get when they're bonked on the head. coach hedge lifted his baseball bat—but it wasn't a regular bat anymore. somehow it had changed into a crudely shaped tree-branch club, with twigs and leaves still attached.

dylan gave him that psycho happy smile. "oh, come on, coach. let the boy attack me! after all, you're getting too old for this. isn't that why they retired you to this stupid school? i've been on your team the entire season, and you didn't even know. you're losing your nose, grandpa."

the coach made an angry sound like an animal bleating. "that's it, cupcake. you're going down."

"you think you can protect four half-bloods at once, old man?" dylan laughed. "good luck."

𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗘 ━━ l. valdez Where stories live. Discover now