-fireworks (a short story)

"who the hell discovered fireworks anyway?"

eleven thirty two pm .. thirty-first of december twenty-eighteen

"race you up to the country club!" 

"oh, you are soooo going down lana, watch me—"

nathan's words were cut short by a squeal as he spiralled into an impeccably trimmed boxwood bush.

lana bit her lip at the sound of branches being crushed behind her, and spun on her heel, running back to nathan.

"is it a habit of yours to attack innocent bushes?" lana joked, lifting an embarrassed nathan out of the thick of the bush.

nathan sighed and dusted himself off, throwing her a knowing look.

she giggled. in the thirteen years she'd known nathan, she'd seen him tumble into some form of wildlife at least once a week. 

and yet, as of late, every time she'd hoist the 16 year old out of the bushes, a jolt of adrenaline would shoot through her veins, and make her feel like she was 1,500 feet in the air, and her head would almost start spinning. she dismissed it at first. but lana was no fool.

she liked him.

somewhere between the lines of helping him out of bushes and throwing monopoly pieces at him when she lost, lana's stupid teenage brain had decided she was attracted to this boy, this boy she'd known since she was three years old, this boy with the halo of dark swept hair, this boy with the eyes like a galaxy, this boy who was supposed to be nothing but a a god damn family friend. ugh.

lana could accept it though. she didn't have a chance with him. and as for tonight? normal night. normal new years. same as every year. the merravisi family came down to zeptana point to watch the fireworks from the country club, with lana's family. 

"no more race, i'm guessing" lana mused.

"not if i can help it" nathan replied.

the two walked up to the grassy patch out the front of zeptana point clubhouse, and being teenagers, selected a point far away from their parents as possible to watch the display. it was situated right up the back of the sprawling grass, just in front of the tennis courts and adjacent to the gazebo. it was a mainly deserted area. only fifteen minutes remained until 2019.

her feelings burned in the back of lana's mind. they were an inferno, and a hungry one; consuming each rational thought and replacing it with nathan, nathan & nathan. her raging fire was suddenly interrupted by none other than nathan himself.

"hey lana" nathan asked plainly.

"hey yeah?" she replied, combing through her long blonde hair.

"i have a very important question to ask you"

lana's fingers dropped from their activity. a very important question? uh oh. here came the inferno, except this time her mind was a chamber covered in gasoline and the inferno was every possible love related important question he could ask her. her mind raced and fingers twitched nervously, barely able to choke out a reply—

"who the hell discovered fireworks anyway?"

oh. okay then. resume normal thought process.

"how the hell do you expect me to know?"

" i don't know! i was just wondering" he laughed. his laugh sent shivers up and down her spine, but good ones.

"there's something about fireworks that bothers me. it's like, this tiny rocket, and then suddenly you put fire or something on it and it makes a loud noise and puts weird lightning in the sky?"

lana laughed. "well, you're not wrong i guess" she muttered.

the next 7-10 minutes was spent discussing the intriguing science of fireworks. until this happened.

"i think they're kind of romantic"

lana gulped. 

enter our resident inferno. was that romance it heard? well then, romance was the theme in lana's mind. flames licked each and every thought, birthing it into a transforming phoenix of him and her, together—

"me too" she said quietly. 

silence consumed the area for around thirty seconds. lana could hardly breathe.

she was the first one to break it. "it's 11:58pm. two minutes til new years!" she cried.

"two minutes til we leave year 10 behind us" nathan said, rolling his eyes.

"two minutes until a new beginning" lana said dreamily. 

they were situated on their backs, only a centimetre between them, staring at the amaranthine sky, coated black and sprinkled with stars, soon to be consumed with colours and light.

"hey lana?" nathan said for the second time that night.

"hey yeah?" said lana.

"do you have any new years resolutions?" he asked, now looking at her. 

lana avoided his eyes. they were way too dreamy to look at right now.

"i haven't really thought about it, i guess" she said in a monotone voice, mainly because that was all she could muster right now.

"i only have one so far" he replied.

"really now? spill" said lana, laughing.

"it's to take my chances. and as soon as that clock strikes twelve, i'm going to take one"

this time, the inferno didn't come. lana didn't fidget. a lump did not reside in her throat. instead, she simply sat up and looked at nathan. she looked at those galaxy eyes, that smile tugging at the corner of his lip, and the way the moonlight lit up his face.

he sat up to meet her. 11:59pm. around 10 seconds until 2019.

hopeless romantics.

suddenly, the clock chimed. a single firework lit up the sky, a golden burst of lightning streamers in the air.

nathan wasted no time. he stared for a millisecond into lana's insistent hazel eyes, before he took her face in his hands, and lips met lips. lana wrapped her arms around his waist and melted into him, savouring every moment they were connected.

and as the fireworks lit up the sky and cheers erupted across the park, all lana could hear was the ringing in her ears as the jolts of electricity lifted them both 1,500 feet into the air and adrenaline raced through each of their veins, flowing from one person to another.

when they finally broke apart, breathless and staring, nathan smiled and looked at the girl seated in front of him.

"happy new years, lana"

the end.