Forget Me Not | ATEEZ Zombie Apocalypse!AU

prolouge

''You got the drinks?''

''I do, hold on a second!''

Fea sighed as she leaned against the door of the RV, her arms crossed over her chest. Turning her head slightly to the left, she caught a brief glance at the digital clock that stood on top of the kitchen counter.

23:26 PM.

Almost midnight.

The RV was definitely a piece of junk. In fact, it had seen double the lifetime she had, and Fea would only be starting her second semester in her first year as a junior in college. The poor vehicle even looked the part; slanted doors, the once white colour that took on a sad tinge of beige, windows that needed more cleaning than she liked to admit. But, despite its weathered condition, it was hers. A gift from her grandpa when he closed his eyes and sang goodnight forever. A gift that told more stories than any of her other possessions she had acquired over the years. A gift that had been terribly expensive as well.

It was very much rundown when Fea first got a hand of it, and frankly, she would've most likely never even lifted the dusty cloth that spanned across the RV if her best friend had not offered a hand in polishing that thing. As far as they could manage, that was. The entire summer break, they spent hours on hours under the slanty shed that hid the RV from the world. It was certainly a test of patience, but they laboured through, and after many long hours of work and empty pockets, the RV was as good as it could be.

''Alright, I got the drinks, and I found these as well,'' Beth said as she walked out of the door with one crate in her hand and two bottles of what seemed to be beer in the other.

Fea gave her a questioning look as she looked at the bottles, taking one of them in her own, ''From which year are these, 1809?''

Beth rolled her eyes as she ignored Fea, moving to walk to the back of the RV where the ladder was, ''Are you coming or not?''

With a light chuckle, Fea shook her head and followed Beth.

That same year, they had planned for a road trip around the country. It would've been around spring break, just a simple week away travelling to all the places they wanted to go with the RV. Expensive, but totally worth it, they thought. Until the old thing broke down not even after half an hour on the road. Their trip came to an abrupt stop, and although it was a sorrowful loss, they never let go of trying to venture on the roads with the RV.

And so, on the night on which everyone in the world would all find the same purpose to celebrate, they finally got the rusty machine out of Fea's garage and drove to the largest hill they could find in town. There, they would be able to have the best view of the night sky being decorated by thousands of flashes of coloured lights in a matter of minutes, and even though the temperature gave a dreading chill, they spared no thought to it.

Both the girls climbed atop the roof of the RV and settled on the makeshift rooftop lounge they had set up with blankets and cushions. Fea couldn't help but smile as she glanced around and the small touches they had added; handmade lanterns, pillows with faces of their celebrity crushes they had gifted each other a long time ago, and more mismatched items. Her eyes drifted to the roof where her little 5-year-old self had carved in the word 'rats'. To strangers, it would've been weird, but to her, it was the one inside joke she still had with her family. A reminder that even in the loneliest of moments, there was always something to laugh about. Silly, but meaningful.

''I think I've earned this,'' Beth said as she dropped down onto the blankets with a dramatic sigh, taking a swig from her bottle before handing the crate over to Fea. ''Here's to finally putting this scrap piece of junk to use and still being friends.''