Cloud Chasers

fourteen | nighthawks [pt. two]

The fifth time her phone buzzed, she woke up. She squinted as her eyes struggled to adapt to the sunlight streaming through her window. It was four p.m. and she had five unread texts. She sat up when she realized they were from Chase.

Blackbird, you can come meet me at the vape shop at 4 today.

We're running out of vape juice. Maybe I should meet that guy again and grab some more.

Well, the guy was unavailable. I'll try another day.
I'm waiting for you btw.

You there? In case you replied, you should know that I didn't get any of your texts. In case you didn't, I hope you're alright...?

She groaned and typed a quick reply.

I'm sorry, Chase. I slept through the afternoon. I'm coming. If you're still there.

She stood up and rushed clumsily around the room, sniffed her armpit and cringed. She picked the first gray sweatshirt she found and stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was all over the place, so she combed it rather poorly and left the apartment soon after.

Chase replied: Of course I'm still here. I'll wait for you.

As she walked through the people-filled streets, with the sun playing hide and seek through the skyscrapers, she couldn't help but feel anxious. Which Chase was she going to meet? A broody one? A Chase in denial? The same old Chase? She put her earbuds on and listened to Vaporwave. The thoughts lost themselves in the sound of music.

Chase was waiting outside, vaping with his back against the wall.

"Hey," she said with a soft voice.

"Hey," he said, smiling and shoving his hair away from his face. He had bags under his eyes and the stubble was starting to turn into a beard.

She hugged him and he hugged her back, patting her shoulder as if to say it wasn't necessary.

"How are you?" she asked.

He gave her a soft smile. "I'm good. Want to go to Edysium?"

She agreed and followed him across the street.
It was curiously warm on the rooftop. Chase paced around with his head up, looking at the blue sky.

"You, um, don't want to talk about it?" Joyce asked, eyes fixed on him.

He turned to her and stared without blinking, which was rather disturbing. "There's really nothing to talk about," he said.

She screwed up her face. "I mean, Chase. It's your mom..."

He shrugged. "Yeah, it was."

"You know I'm here for you, if you want to talk about it. I'm not forcing you, but I think it would make you feel better if you did," she said.

"Look," he raised his voice and her stomach knotted. "I told you I'm good. I don't need to talk about anything. As a matter of fact, I don't want to think at all. So can we please go to the Lobby?"

She stared at his unblinking eyes. "Alright..."

They vaped and the purple clouds obscured the blue sky to transport them to the Lobby, where the sky was the usual dark shades of magenta and violet.

"Finally," Chase said, walking on the digital surface, when the world around them started to flicker.

"Oh, no," Joyce said, looking at the night sky glitching out.

"What's going on?" Chase asked before the scenery completely shifted into the Cyberspace.

Chase looked around the dark room nervously, scouting the gray silhouettes with the bright iPads in their hands. "Where the hell are we?" he panicked.