Escapade | Daniel Seavey AU

21

So this is what music festivals are like. The entire scenery in front of me was quite surprising, but thankfully it wasn't an uncomfortable surprise. Brennan had picked a good event and was almost like how she had described it. It wasn't overly crowded with extravagantly dressed people from different parts of America, but it wasn't entirely empty either. There was a comfortable amount of crowd in the green field, a small stage in front that was lifted so people in the back could see as well. Food vendors were scattered around the place, portable toilets a bit too far from where the stage was placed and even a few amusement park rides, but again, nothing too overwhelming.

Brennan and I had already parked the car in the motel across from the street of the venue, but it took a ten minute walk from there to the festival's venue. Nonetheless, I felt okay with this sort of crowd. The music was scheduled to start playing around sun set so Brennan and I walked around, her and I taking a few pictures or buying something to eat. It was thirty minutes into walking around when I noticed that she was breathing a bit too heavy, sweat beginning to form around her face.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, placing my hand on her back to rub small circles. "We can take a break, you know."

"I'd like that," she smiled. We settled on a spot not too far from the crowd that was beginning to form around the stage area, but still managed to gain a good view of it. "You know, I thought that we'd be able to walk around, explore and stuff without me having to get tired easily—I guess I jinxed it."

"No, no, it's okay," I reassured her, "and plus, the concert is about to start." I pointed out, turning our gazes to the stage that had begun to test the equipment. She nodded, taking a long sip of the water she was holding before leaning against my side, her head resting my shoulder. We sat like that for a while; my legs extended in front of me with both my hands behind me to support my weight, while she leaned to my side, her legs folded to the side with her head on my shoulder. Her heavy breathing was returning to its normal rate, but when I glanced to her, her eyes were closed shut. I almost thought she was asleep but once the music had begun, a small smile had appeared on her lips.

At that moment I knew that whatever was between us was more than platonical. More than a friend accompanying a friend to a music festival. I had formed feelings for this girl, much to people's dismay and at that very moment, I didn't think of what others would think. I didn't care about what Jack had warned me about. Or what Corbyn had said. I liked Brennan. I really liked her. Love would've been an extent, but possible.

"Hey, don't fall asleep on me," I chuckled, noticing the smile faltering a bit. "I'm too muscularly challenged to carry you." She let out a chuckle, but nothing humorous, instead it sounded sad.

I watched as her eyes opened, revealing the dark brown I've grown fond of. With the orange rays from the setting sun hitting her face at the right moment, I found myself lost in her brown eyes. The color complimented everything about her, her brown eyes described her as a person. I didn't care about any other eye color, I found myself being envious of her brown eyes because of the emotion that held within them.

The once bright, warm brown had turned dull in that moment, but only for a few seconds. A clear shield of tears had covered her eyes, before a stray tear collected itself in the corner of them and fell down the side of her nose, landing right above her lip before I reached out and swiped it away with my thumb. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Can we go back to the motel?" She asked, her voice shaky.

"Okay." The walk to the motel was quiet, the tension clear in the air as we entered the room we rented out. It was small, but luckily had twin beds if either one of us felt uncomfortable with sleeping in the same bed. She sat at the edge of the bed, her eyes staring at nothing before I sat beside her, unsure of what to do.

"I'm scared," her words cut through the silence. I've already seen her vulnerable, but this still took me by surprise—expressing her fear. "I'm not scared of dying, I've sort of... embraced it at this point, but I just... I don't know."

"It's okay to feel scared, Brennan," I assured her, "whatever you're scared of, you can pull through." I faced her and she turned to me, her once bright eyes filled with pure fear and sadness as tears brimmed at them.

"I've held this entire façade that everything was okay when in reality, everything was going to shit," she began to ramble, "how am I going to keep pulling through when the inevitable is lurking at my corner, just waiting to—" I didn't want to hear it, I didn't want her to cave into the sickness. She deserves to be happy, she deserves to live a healthy life but the world had a sick way of leading her life, and how it ended.

My hands found themselves by her cheeks, pulling her towards me before silencing her with pressing my lips against hers, in hopes that she won't say her inevitable out loud.