Brontophobia.
One.
Ashley shuffled further into the corner as the thunder rolled in outside the window. He hated how he reacted when weather like this happened; he guessed it must’ve started up when he’d been walking home during a thunderstorm when he was small. The lightning had scared him witless, having been only about five years old at the time. He hugged his knees close to his chest, glancing through the darkness at the doorway. He was waiting for Jarred to come back from work, so he could cuddle up next to him and block out the sounds and lights from outside. There was a sudden flash of yellowish light and Ashley buried his head against his knees, blinking away tears of fear. He silently willed Jarred to hurry and get home.
The rain beat down upon the windows, leaving thick, dribbling tracks behind. Ashley let out a jagged, worried breath, standing up on shaking legs and stumbling over to the window. He stared out into the back garden, his blue eyes wide with fright. More lightning forked down from the heavens, slicing through the grey clouds. He jumped away from the window, shaking in fear. Beads of sweat clung to his brow desperately as his chest heaved, letting his breathing settle down to a normal rate. He staggered as far away from the window as the room would allow; in the furthest corner, where he couldn’t see the window at all.
As much as Ashley wanted to face his crippling phobia, he knew he’d never be able to stand more than one roll of thunder and a lightning strike. He silently cursed to himself that Jarred had taken the job whose offices were all the way across town. He would always worry that weather like this would cause some disaster on the roads which would mean that Jarred couldn’t get home. He heard another crack of thunder echo through the sky and he whimpered in fright, hugging his knees to his chest. His shoulder length blonde hair flopped over his eyes as he rested his forehead atop his knees. He just wanted Jarred to get home.
Meanwhile, not so far across town, Jarred was stuck in a traffic jam, behind an articulated lorry. To make matters worse, his boss, Zeke, was clogging up the phone with a meaningless call that Jarred was sure was just to stop him from calling Ashley.
“So I want all of that paperwork done for tomorrow, understand?” His boss barked down the line. Jarred didn’t reply; he was far too distracted by worrying about Ashley to care about what his boss was saying.
“Jarred. Jarred? Are you listening?” His boss demanded.
“Mmhm.” Jarred replied absently “I’ll get it done for tomorrow, Zeke. Now I gotta go.” Before Zeke could protest, Jarred had hung up and was feverishly punching in Ashley’s mobile number. He tapped his foot impatiently as the dial tone began. Fear ran through his body as the answering machine picked up instead of Ashley. He feared that anything could’ve happened to him; Ashley never went anywhere without his mobile. Jarred swallowed nervously, redialling his boyfriend’s number and staring out into the road before him. The lorry driving in front of him finally took a different turning to Jarred and he whooped quietly in triumph; the damn thing had been slowing him down for forty minutes and the road ahead of him was nice and empty; plain sailing, some might even say.
Back at the house, Ashley was still slumped in the corner when his mobile rang for the second time. On an ordinary occasion, he would have sprung up and gone on a mad hunt for said phone, but we must remember the situation he was in. You could probably describe him as being paralyzed with fear. His phone bleeped loudly, illuminating a section of the room as it signalled the arrival of a new voicemail message. Ashley sobbed softly into his knees as the thunder continued to crash outside the window; he knew it was Jarred calling, and he felt horrible because he knew not picking up would make him worry even more than necessary. He shifted so he was kneeling down and crawled feebly to the window. He stared outwards into the murky sky, the tear stains on his cheeks becoming visible with every flash of lightning.
“Why do you do this to me?” Ashley wailed at the sky through the window, He pushed himself up onto his feet and leaned forwards, pressing a sweaty palm to the glass. Shivers ran down his spine as the thunder boomed in the distance as his breath hitched in his throat. He stumbled to the back door as another flash of yellow light lit up the sitting room. This was possibly the worst storm Ashley had been through in his twenty two years of life, thus it had prompted the severest reaction. Normally it was a brief panic attack or issues with his breathing; this time it’d been a longer panic attack and he could’ve sworn he was close to hyperventilation.
He placed a shaking, sweating hand on the back door handle and fumbled with the key in the lock. He couldn’t understand why he was doing it as he turned the key and gingerly pulled the door open. At that exact moment, Mother Nature decided to release yet another crash of thunder. Ashley whimpered, hot tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn’t want to do this, but he knew he had to.
He placed one Converse-clad foot on the doorstep, staring out into the bleak environment before him. He placed his other foot beside the first, now almost outside in the weather that scared him stupidly. He tried to block out what Jarred would be saying if he could see what he was doing. Several words came to mind; irrational, foolish, stupid. But Ashley didn’t care, if it meant he was rid of this fear then it didn’t matter to him.
He stepped out into the backyard, into the pouring rain and crackling lightning. Within a few mere moments, his blonde hair was sticking to his pale face, due to a mixture of sweat and fresh rain. He knew it was only a matter of time before he was tested to the limit. Almost as if nature had heard his thoughts, a sudden flash of lightning shot down from above. Ashley jumped in shock, but his breathing returned to normal far quicker than usual. He smiled to himself, a small sense of accomplishment rising within him. Thunder boomed above him, and he squeezed his eyes shut and began to breathe slowly. Now he was getting somewhere.
Jarred, meanwhile, was still five minutes away from home and was getting increasingly worried by the second. It wasn’t like Ashley to not pick up. Was everything okay? He glanced up nervously as the car was briefly bathed in an electric yellow light. Now nature’s just trying to scare him.
Ashley, who had experienced the same lightning, had merely stuffed his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans and kept his eyes squeezed shut. Sure, he’d still whimpered, but the effect on him wasn’t as strong because he didn’t actually see the light. That was half the battle with Ashley. He opened one eye tentatively, half expect to want to scream and run back inside. But he didn’t.
A sense of pride grew inside him and he did a tiny jump of glee. He was incredibly close now; so close he could almost taste the victory. He stared up at the sky, waiting with baited breath for the next strike.
Jarred’s car squealed to a halt in the gravel drive and he jumped out, hastily pressing the lock button on his car keys as he pelted for the front door. He fumbled with the keys impatiently, worry getting the better of him as he dashed inside.
Lightning illuminated the backyard - including Ashley - at that very moment, casting light through the window and leading Jarred to panic and begin to shout Ashley’s name throughout the house. Ashley on the other hand, was jumping up and down in the yard with glee. Jarred heard his woops of joy and went racing down to the garden.
“What are you doing?” He screamed at his younger boyfriend when he caught sight of him “You know it’s not safe for you to be out here!” Ashley grinned widely at Jarred and pulled him outside, embracing him in a rain-dampened hug.
“I don’t think I’m scared anymore!” Ashley squealed. Jarred’s jaw dropped in shock, his black hair sticking to his face due to the rain.
“Ashley… Seriously?” He asked, dumbstruck. Ashley nodded furiously, like a child who’d just learned to write his own name.
“That’s great!” Jarred squeaked, throwing his arms around Ashley and hugging him tight. And at that point, stood in the storm in the arms of his boyfriend, Ashley knew he’d never be scared again, so long as he was with Jarred,
The rain beat down upon the windows, leaving thick, dribbling tracks behind. Ashley let out a jagged, worried breath, standing up on shaking legs and stumbling over to the window. He stared out into the back garden, his blue eyes wide with fright. More lightning forked down from the heavens, slicing through the grey clouds. He jumped away from the window, shaking in fear. Beads of sweat clung to his brow desperately as his chest heaved, letting his breathing settle down to a normal rate. He staggered as far away from the window as the room would allow; in the furthest corner, where he couldn’t see the window at all.
As much as Ashley wanted to face his crippling phobia, he knew he’d never be able to stand more than one roll of thunder and a lightning strike. He silently cursed to himself that Jarred had taken the job whose offices were all the way across town. He would always worry that weather like this would cause some disaster on the roads which would mean that Jarred couldn’t get home. He heard another crack of thunder echo through the sky and he whimpered in fright, hugging his knees to his chest. His shoulder length blonde hair flopped over his eyes as he rested his forehead atop his knees. He just wanted Jarred to get home.
Meanwhile, not so far across town, Jarred was stuck in a traffic jam, behind an articulated lorry. To make matters worse, his boss, Zeke, was clogging up the phone with a meaningless call that Jarred was sure was just to stop him from calling Ashley.
“So I want all of that paperwork done for tomorrow, understand?” His boss barked down the line. Jarred didn’t reply; he was far too distracted by worrying about Ashley to care about what his boss was saying.
“Jarred. Jarred? Are you listening?” His boss demanded.
“Mmhm.” Jarred replied absently “I’ll get it done for tomorrow, Zeke. Now I gotta go.” Before Zeke could protest, Jarred had hung up and was feverishly punching in Ashley’s mobile number. He tapped his foot impatiently as the dial tone began. Fear ran through his body as the answering machine picked up instead of Ashley. He feared that anything could’ve happened to him; Ashley never went anywhere without his mobile. Jarred swallowed nervously, redialling his boyfriend’s number and staring out into the road before him. The lorry driving in front of him finally took a different turning to Jarred and he whooped quietly in triumph; the damn thing had been slowing him down for forty minutes and the road ahead of him was nice and empty; plain sailing, some might even say.
Back at the house, Ashley was still slumped in the corner when his mobile rang for the second time. On an ordinary occasion, he would have sprung up and gone on a mad hunt for said phone, but we must remember the situation he was in. You could probably describe him as being paralyzed with fear. His phone bleeped loudly, illuminating a section of the room as it signalled the arrival of a new voicemail message. Ashley sobbed softly into his knees as the thunder continued to crash outside the window; he knew it was Jarred calling, and he felt horrible because he knew not picking up would make him worry even more than necessary. He shifted so he was kneeling down and crawled feebly to the window. He stared outwards into the murky sky, the tear stains on his cheeks becoming visible with every flash of lightning.
“Why do you do this to me?” Ashley wailed at the sky through the window, He pushed himself up onto his feet and leaned forwards, pressing a sweaty palm to the glass. Shivers ran down his spine as the thunder boomed in the distance as his breath hitched in his throat. He stumbled to the back door as another flash of yellow light lit up the sitting room. This was possibly the worst storm Ashley had been through in his twenty two years of life, thus it had prompted the severest reaction. Normally it was a brief panic attack or issues with his breathing; this time it’d been a longer panic attack and he could’ve sworn he was close to hyperventilation.
He placed a shaking, sweating hand on the back door handle and fumbled with the key in the lock. He couldn’t understand why he was doing it as he turned the key and gingerly pulled the door open. At that exact moment, Mother Nature decided to release yet another crash of thunder. Ashley whimpered, hot tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn’t want to do this, but he knew he had to.
He placed one Converse-clad foot on the doorstep, staring out into the bleak environment before him. He placed his other foot beside the first, now almost outside in the weather that scared him stupidly. He tried to block out what Jarred would be saying if he could see what he was doing. Several words came to mind; irrational, foolish, stupid. But Ashley didn’t care, if it meant he was rid of this fear then it didn’t matter to him.
He stepped out into the backyard, into the pouring rain and crackling lightning. Within a few mere moments, his blonde hair was sticking to his pale face, due to a mixture of sweat and fresh rain. He knew it was only a matter of time before he was tested to the limit. Almost as if nature had heard his thoughts, a sudden flash of lightning shot down from above. Ashley jumped in shock, but his breathing returned to normal far quicker than usual. He smiled to himself, a small sense of accomplishment rising within him. Thunder boomed above him, and he squeezed his eyes shut and began to breathe slowly. Now he was getting somewhere.
Jarred, meanwhile, was still five minutes away from home and was getting increasingly worried by the second. It wasn’t like Ashley to not pick up. Was everything okay? He glanced up nervously as the car was briefly bathed in an electric yellow light. Now nature’s just trying to scare him.
Ashley, who had experienced the same lightning, had merely stuffed his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans and kept his eyes squeezed shut. Sure, he’d still whimpered, but the effect on him wasn’t as strong because he didn’t actually see the light. That was half the battle with Ashley. He opened one eye tentatively, half expect to want to scream and run back inside. But he didn’t.
A sense of pride grew inside him and he did a tiny jump of glee. He was incredibly close now; so close he could almost taste the victory. He stared up at the sky, waiting with baited breath for the next strike.
Jarred’s car squealed to a halt in the gravel drive and he jumped out, hastily pressing the lock button on his car keys as he pelted for the front door. He fumbled with the keys impatiently, worry getting the better of him as he dashed inside.
Lightning illuminated the backyard - including Ashley - at that very moment, casting light through the window and leading Jarred to panic and begin to shout Ashley’s name throughout the house. Ashley on the other hand, was jumping up and down in the yard with glee. Jarred heard his woops of joy and went racing down to the garden.
“What are you doing?” He screamed at his younger boyfriend when he caught sight of him “You know it’s not safe for you to be out here!” Ashley grinned widely at Jarred and pulled him outside, embracing him in a rain-dampened hug.
“I don’t think I’m scared anymore!” Ashley squealed. Jarred’s jaw dropped in shock, his black hair sticking to his face due to the rain.
“Ashley… Seriously?” He asked, dumbstruck. Ashley nodded furiously, like a child who’d just learned to write his own name.
“That’s great!” Jarred squeaked, throwing his arms around Ashley and hugging him tight. And at that point, stood in the storm in the arms of his boyfriend, Ashley knew he’d never be scared again, so long as he was with Jarred,