Ethan
Jonathan's family had given us some water and boxes of food for us to have for the next part of our journey. However, what surprised us was that they were giving us their car.
"Are you sure about this?" Riley asked, "Won't you need it?"
Jonathan's father laughed and said, "What use is it for us now? Our son is back home and so is our daughter. We're together now and that's all we could ever ask for."
"I feel bad for taking your family car." I said.
"It's fin," said Jonathan's father, "Besides, even if we did keep it, there's not much we can do with it in three days." He handed the keys to Riley and pointed to Aaron, "Besides, you still need to take this kid home."
"Thank you, sir." said Riley as he took the keys and placed the last of the supplies in the rear compartment.
"What better way to head back home than a car?" said Aaron.
"Not to mention the break from biking in this heat." I said as I looked at Riley.
"The tank is full, and there is a full canister as well. Should be enough to get you boys to wherever you need to go." said Jonathan's father.
"We can't thank you enough sir." said Aaron.
"Just get home safely," he replied, "All of you."
"Hey," someone shouted. "Who the hell are these guys?"
The owner of that voice was from the townhome next door. Looking over the balcony were three young men, drinking liquor straight from the bottle.
"No clue," said one of the men, "They don't live here."
Jonathan's father sighed and told us, "Don't mind them, they've been like this for days."
"I can't blame them," I said, "How else would people normally pass the time before the world ends?"
The guys on the balcony continued to laugh and yell incoherent babble at each other, so we decided to pay them no mind.
"Hey guys," called Jonathan as he emerged from his house, passing right under the men's balcony. "Here's some more snacks for the road." He held a fairly large gift bag in his hand.
"Fuck off, asshole," screamed one of the men. Apparently something happened because now they were fighting. Fighting is an understatement, this was a full drunken brawl.
They were pushing, shoving, punching, you name it. What worried us was one of the men was holding a half full whiskey bottle. While the others were trying to pry the bottle away, the bottle slipped and fell over the balcony. Jonathan was right underneath them and the bottle was falling towards his head.
Suddenly the impossible happened. Time seemed to slow down. The bottle slowed its descent and everything, including us, moved in slow motion. Everyone except Aaron. He rushed towards Jonathan at normal speed and tackled him to the ground safely. The bottle however hovered mid-air as everything stopped for a second. Once time flowed again, the bottle landed on a patch of grass without suffering a single crack.
"Riley," I turned to him, "You saw that didn't you?" I asked him because I couldn't believe what I saw and wasn't sure I imagined it."
Riley was speechless and all he could do was nod his head, confirming that what we all just saw actually happened.
Aaron
Those bastards almost killed Jonathan. I couldn't explain what happened. All I know is I saw the bottle falling towards Jonathan's head and I just reacted. But it was more than that. I felt some sort of tingling sensation and suddenly I felt like I willed time itself to stop. I didn't even take a second to ponder how I did that or even if I did make that happen.
All that was running through my head was to save him. And that is what I did. I ran towards him, "Watch out!" I grabbed Jonathan and moved him out of the bottle's path. As we were falling I pulled him close and made sure that I fell to the ground first then rolled over to protect him. After a few moments everything went back to normal and the bottle landed on the grass with a soft thud.
I looked back and everyone was shocked. Jonathan's father started cursing at the men on the balcony, telling them to be more careful.
As I held Jonathan in my arms, I looked at him and asked, "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine." he said, clearly shaken by the experience.
"I didn't hurt you or anything, did I?"
Jonathan shook his head. "No, you didn't"
"Those assholes." I said angrily, but I felt Jonathan's hand on my chest. I look at him and he silently pleads for me to calm down. Seeing him like this makes me forget my anger. I pull him close to me, holding him tight, grateful that I didn't lose him.
"You better get going." he said to me.
As we got up, I planted a quick peck on the lips and walked with him to the car.
Riley had started the car as I was getting in. "Alright, let's head out." He said.
"Thanks for the snacks." said Ethan.
"It's the least I could do for bringing me back home." said Jonathan. He then came to my window and took out a piece of paper. "For you." he said as he handed it to me. I looked at it and on it was Jonathan's number and his social media account info. "If the world doesn't end, hit me up."
I have never found any man cute before but Jonathan surely is when he smiles and blushes like that. I smile back at him and say. "I will. I want to see you again too. I believe we will get through this. Remember? Last night? We sent out our energy to stop the meteor."
Jonathan chuckled and nodded, "Yes, we did."
I turned to Riley and said to him, "Hey Riley, you didn't join in last night. Come on, you too."
Riley laughed and said, "Seriously?"
Ethan looked at Riley as if he was daring him to do it.
"Ready?" I asked him. Defeated, Riley chuckled and nodded. "GO AWAY, YOU STUPID METEOR!!! BLOW UP OUT IN SPACE!!!"
Riley and I shouted this a few times until Riley said he had enough. "Ok, let's go." he said as we pulled out onto the street. Jonathan waved goodbye to us. I kept looking at him as we got further and further away. Shakespeare was right, parting is such sweet sorrow. I never understood the meaning of that phrase until now. It also made me aware of how I felt for Jonathan. I was in love with him. My first boyfriend, and hopefully my last and only.
Jonathan
As much as I love my family and wanting to be with them for our final days, I wanted Aaron to be here as well. But I couldn't ask that of him. He had his own family too. I won't lie and say that I was fine when he left. When he left, I felt that a part of me left with him. Normally, we probably never would have met, but I am grateful that we did. One of the things that made me fall in love with him was that he never gave up hope after he felt all was lost. He had told me how he wanted to end it all after Dani died, but meeting Ethan and Riley had changed that for him. Even now, he still hopes that the meteor will be stopped. He believes it is a certainty that it will not hit.
I wave at them as they leave, fighting back tears as I see the car go further and further away, and Aaron's face looking at me from the back window. I also cling to that hope that we will see each other again. Not just Aaron, but Ethan and Riley.
Ethan
After a good four and a half hours after we left Jonathan's house, we finally made it to Galveston. Luckily the car didn't waste too much gas, we were down to a little under half a tank when we arrived.
During the whole trip here, Aaron was asking us for advice on having a boyfriend.
"Seriously guys," he said, "I have never had a boyfriend before and I'm a bit nervous."
Riley and I proceeded to tell Aaron our story and how we dated, broke up and reunited. All the advice we gave him was if he truly loves to never let him go.
We ended up near the coast and saw many people there on the beach.
"You can stop here," Aaron said, "My house is close by here."
Riley pulled over and as soon as he parked the car, Aaron opened the door and got off.
"Ok," he said, "Thanks for the ride guys."
"Wait," I said, "Hold on. Are you sure you don't want us to take you home?"
"How am I supposed to explain you two to my parents? Granted they might not even care, but still. Besides, I don't want things to get too depressing."
"Ok then," I said, "Get home safely ok?"
"Hey Aaron," Riley called out to him. " I'm sorry about all this, really."
Aaron just smiled and said, "It's all good. I got one hell of an adventure out of it. I met you guys, and Jonathan. I got to say goodbye to Dani, and ended up with a boyfriend. See you guys."
As Aaron was walking away, Riley called out and said, "Hey, don't trust any more strangers online ok?"
"I won't," he replied, "We'll see each other again. That I promise you."
Aaron walked towards the boardwalk where people have gathered. And just like that, Aaron disappeared into the crowd.
I turn to Riley and ask, "What was he?"
"No Idea," Riley answered, " I don't want to think about it. Stuff dealing with the supernatural kind of freaks me out."
"But you saw all those things right?" I asked him, "I still say he's a witch."
Riley and I laughed at the thought. "Even if he was," Riley said, "You think he's powerful enough to deal with a meteor?"
Riley and I both look at the sky and see the meteor in the sky. It almost looks like the moon when it's visible in the daytime, only it's bigger and the shape is not spherical. We have two days left after today. If anything, we have one full day tomorrow before the meteor hits the morning after. And now, our journey is nearing it's end. Now it's just Riley and myself. Finally we are alone together.