Ephemeral

chapter 12-19

Chapter Twelve

Brooke took a seat at the wheel as the others stretched out in the back. There was a weird atmosphere in the air. Between the suspense of whether or not they'd be dying today and the suspicion they all held for one another there was barely oxygen to breathe. Brooke wasn't a cautious driver, but it didn't seem to really phase the passengers. It wasn't exactly like they were going to hit anyone... Although these was the nagging feeling that Veeno couldn't ignore, reminding him of his mortality... or perhaps "lack of" would be better phrasing.

Nate was fidgeting, his fingernail was carving shapes into the plastic floor of the van and his leg was tapping, he wasn't used to sitting still and he didn't like it. He wanted to start a conversation but the strangers accompanying didn't seem the most friendly and Claire had already stretched herself out and closed her eyes, taking advantage of the remaining time she had away from the wheel. He looked at Veeno who was sitting across from him, his limbs were drawn in close to his body and a sad expression was plastered across his face, an expression Nate hadn't seen the man stray far from. He couldn't imagine being so sad all the time... no Veeno wasn't sad... he didn't actually look sad- he looked annoyed. The idea of that made Nate feels even worse for him. He must have been staring to long because Veeno was looking back at him with his eyebrows furrowed with a mix of confusion and aggravation. Nate's instincts told him to turn away and look at something else, but he fought against them and instead smiled at Veeno, which only added to the awkwardness of the moment, which Nate ignored with ease. Veeno rolled his eyes and turned his head to look out the window. Nate started picking at the skin around his nails. The skin had already turned red and blistered and the damaged skin splintered away from his fingers, Nate had given up on trying to break this bad habit. Nate pulled one of his outstretched legs towards him as he shifted his back up straight against the van wall and leant his head back, staring at the roof.

Veeno hadn't meant to look back at Nathan, but he couldn't help feeling like he was being watched despite Nate's attention clearly being focused elsewhere. He couldn't help but feel odd around Nathan... he didn't feel like a real person, maybe more like a doll. It was like watching an underdeveloped character on your favourite show dragging away attention from all the good ones and Veeno hated him for it. It wasn't long before he noticed how fidgety Nathan was, constantly locking his attention onto something new and picking at his fingers, Veeno stared at his companions' nails, watching tiny specs of blood rise to the surface. He was almost relieved to see the crimson red, allowing him to finally put aside the intrusive thoughts telling him that Nathan might be some sort of advanced AI or extra-terrestrial. Nathan's hair was streaked with lighter shades of blond contrasting against the darker strands, his curls bounced a little as they drove over bumps in the road. Veeno noted how none of the curls were tangled, quite unalike his own hair which he had suddenly became overly aware of, and irritatingly self-conscious. Nathan changed how he was sitting for probably the fourth time in 2 minutes and started staring at the window, bopping his head as he made a spec on the glass jump over the poles lining the highway like a cheap video game.

Veeno kicked his legs out, mimicking Nathan's new position. Veeno tilted his head as he looked at Claire who was completely sprawled out across the floor. Nate's hoodie was spread out like a blanket across Claire's chest. Veeno hadn't noticed that Nathan had put the hoodie over her, nor had he realised that he was no longer had it on, but he was certain that a matter of minutes ago she had not been wearing it. He wasn't particularly sure why he was now becoming so interested in his company, but he suspected that he was internally looking for more reasons to hate them. A heavy breath from Claire signified that she was actually asleep and Veeno wondered how someone seemingly so responsible and cautious could let herself fall asleep in a van full of strangers without so much as a second thought. Veeno could never do that.