Lightning Moments

The clouds became like shadows, smoky and dark, creeping along the sky. Reds and oranges appeared among the black background. The heat became unbearable as the flames grew closer.

They began to suffocate me.

My throat was closing as the oxygen was being stolen from me. The inferno touched my skin, burning every inch that it seemed to brush. It tried to be a gentle kiss, but it failed. Fire could never be gentle. No matter how hard it tried to be something other than what it was, nature reminded it that it could never love, never get close to anyone, without harming them.

Quickly, I was feeling the effects of the blazing light.

Screams pierced through the smoke. They weren’t my own, but they sounded familiar. I wanted to reach the source, but my eyes were blurring. My legs felt weak with every step, as if I were moving through quicksand. My mind was turning into a muddled mess, panic flooding in every thought.

Everything stung, and an acrid smell filled the air. I had to escape, but my curiosity took over the need to survive. A noise rang through my ears, and it took me a few seconds to realize that it was my own screams. The sound was raspy and unfocused as if it served no other purpose than to express pain.

Then I heard it again. This time, it was much clearer, and the voice said a name. My name.

“Mika!”

Against my better judgment, I froze. That voice. It wasn’t just a random voice. The fire. It wasn’t just any fire.

The flames continued to take away everything I had. Soon, it would leave no evidence behind, and I would be ashes in the breeze. The pain became agonizing, and a sea of black claimed me for its own.

My eyes flew open, and my limbs were twisted in the sheets. Screams tore from my mouth, but I tried to muddle them by covering my face with the pillow. The tears streamed down my face, leaving marks like a network of rivers and streams.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and wished with everything I had that Liam was there. But, thanks to my stupidity, I never asked for his number. I needed someone, and my guardians weren’t going to help. I just couldn’t let them know about this. They would sooner think I was crazy.

I disentangled myself from the sheets and padded to the shower. My skin was covered in a dewy sweat, and my hair was plastered to my face. Jumping in the shower, I let my tears mingle with the droplets of hot water. I stood there, letting the water pelt my back and loosen the muscles. After allowing the water to stream down my body for countless minutes, my mind finally cleared enough for coherent thoughts to enter.

I remained under the warmth of the water until it became cold. I shut it off abruptly as to not let the ice water undo the progress of the steaming rain.

Picking up my phone, I twirled it in my hands before throwing it back on my bed and looking though my drawers for something suitable to wear.

I glanced at the clock and groaned. I had about an hour before the time I usually got up. It was that awkward time between putting on pajamas and actual clothes. Luckily, it meant that it wasn’t a highly unreasonable time to call Dani.

After putting my clothes on for the day, I searched my bed for the phone I threw, which took longer than expected because it decided to play hide-and-seek in my sheets.

I dialed her number and waited for her to pick up. By the fourth ring I heard her voice.

“This better be fucking good to wake me up at four in the fucking morning,” she grumbled.

I took in a deep breath and began to speak.

“I needed someone to talk to,” I said plainly.

“And you couldn’t wait another hour? Sleep is a beautiful thing, you know. You should try it sometime.”

“Dani, I had another nightmare,” I managed.

The line went quiet for a few moments.

“Shit. I’m so sorry. Sleep can wait. Tell me what’s up. I’ll be listening,” she replied seriously.

“Thank you, I whispered.

I told her about everything in my dream. I told her about the fire and the screams. I didn’t want to stop at just the dream. I wanted to tell her about Liam, but I wasn’t ready yet.

“So, do you know who it is?”

“Yes,” I supplied in a tiny voice.

“Are you ready to tell me?”

“I think you already know.”

“I know, but I want to hear it from you.”

I sighed.

“I’ll tell you at lunch today,” I said, running a hand through my wet hair.

“Alright, love. If you need anything else, just call me. I’m still picking you up this morning, yeah?”

“I think so, and okay. Thanks for everything.”

“No problem, my little American friend.”

I chuckled and said goodbye, clicking the phone off.

She knew how to make me feel better, even without doing much.

I fell back on my bed and closed my eyes, hoping for the nightmares to stop.



I walked through the empty halls, letting my steps echo throughout the corridors. The day seemed to drag on slowly, and I felt a headache forming. I stopped for a minute as a flash of red entered my mind again. I leaned up against a set of lockers and let my head fall back. I raised my hands and began to rub at my temples in a circular motion.

“Mika?”

I turned toward the sound of my name.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just fine. What are you doing here? I thought I said I would meet you at lunch. This is clearly a hallway.”

"Well, you weren’t there, so I was growing impatient and worried. Therefore, I went searching for you, and here you are, trying to run away from me. I get it. You don’t love me anymore. I’ll just wallow in the corner until someone comes along who cares,” she said, feigning sadness.

“Oh, stop being dramatic, Dani. I swear, you’re beginning to act like Louis. I was on my way. Just, let’s walk, yeah?”

She smiled creepily at me.

“What?” I questioned.

“You’re starting to pick up my speech mannerisms,” she replied with a grin.

I sighed and began walking ahead of her.

“I’m convinced that you and Louis are related.”

“Hey, wait!”

I continued at my pace until we reached the lunch room.

Most people chose to go home for lunch as we had an hour, but others just stayed to study or hang out with their friends.

I plopped down at an empty table and waited for Dani to join me. She went to grab some lunch before we spoke.

I saw her near the table with a tray of food for at least two people. I raised an eyebrow at her.

“It’s not all for me! Holy crap. I’m not Niall,” she stated, pointing to a brown-haired boy across the room with a tray piled high with various food items.

“I guess you have a point,” I said.

“I do. Now, eat. You need some food. I never see you eat at school.”

I scowled at her, but picked up a slice of pizza from the tray and started nibbling at it.

“Good Mika,” she said between bites, as if I were a dog.

I stuck my tongue out at her.

She rolled her eyes and said, “Alright, let’s talk.”

Swallowing the piece in my mouth, I began to let the words fall freely.

“I think it’s my sister again.”

“You think? I thought she died.”

“S-she did. I really don’t know what any of this means. I just want it to stop,” I said, dropping my head in my hands.

I felt a hand on my back, rubbing circles over the fabric. I looked up.

“Everything will be fine, Mika. You’ll see. Things happen for a reason, and I’ll be there for you, always.”

I wrapped my arms around her and placed my head into the crook of her neck.

Mumbling into her shirt, I said, “Thanks.”



The day was coming to a close, which meant that I had to retake my chemistry test. I was well prepared thanks to Liam’s help. Without him, my thoughts would have been a jumbled mess.

Ms. Spears was sitting at her desk with her glasses pulled onto her nose. She seemed to be grading papers as I entered the classroom.

I shifted awkwardly by her desk and waited for her to look up. A few moments later, she looked up and smiled at me.

“Hello, Mika! How are you today?”

“I’m fine. And you?”

“Just brilliant. Louis just passed in the writing assignment that was due a week ago, and let me tell you, it is something. I don’t think I’ve met a student that could make me laugh as much as him. I treat him as a special case sometimes. I feel like he wants to do well, but he is just bored. He wants to be able to entertain himself while he’s in class, and I’m afraid that most classes don’t offer that to him.”

“I think that might just be the case with him. He is very entertaining. I guess he does well in his drama class,” I replied.

“His drama teacher can’t get enough of him. She absolutely adores him. She goes on about how he is her favorite student nearly every time we talk,” she said with a chuckle, “Anyway, are you ready for that test?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Thank you for the opportunity to take the test again,” I said.

“Oh, it’s not a problem. Everyone has off days. Well, let’s get started!”

She handed me the test as I pulled out my pencil and calculator. I skimmed through the test, trying to find an easy place to start. A problem about penguins caught my eye. It was about ice melting and joules. I need to figure out if the ice will melt before the penguin could get to safety. Fortunately, the penguin was safe. Poor penguin. At least you survived.

I continued on through the problems and finished with five minutes to spare. It was fairly easy. I checked over my answers and drew a little smiley face at the end of the test.

I left my seat and brought my test to Ms. Spears.

“Done?”

“Yep! Thanks again. I really appreciate it,” I replied with a grin.

She chuckled. “It’s fine, love. Do you want to stay to see how you did?”

I glanced at the clock. I had plenty of time left.

“Yeah, sure. If you don’t mind grading it,” I said slowly.

“Like I said, it’s not a problem.”

I smiled at her and sat on top of the nearest desk.

As I waited for her to finish correcting, I heard a set of footsteps coming our way. They entered the room, and I looked up, my blue eyes meeting a pair of warm brown ones.

He stopped in his tracks and blushed. Shaking his head full of curls, he walked up to me.

“I figured you would still be here. I decided that it would be easier if we went to your flat together,” he said.

Ms. Spears looked up from grading and raised her eyebrows at us.

“I hope you two aren’t doing any questionable things,” she supplied with a questioning look.

We both reddened.

“N-no, you’ve got it wrong. We were just going to hang out for a little while. Liam helped me study yesterday and we just wanted to get to know each other better,” I said, but I immediately regretted it.

“‘Get to know each other better’?”

“That’s not what I meant! Ugh. I’ll shut up now.” I sighed, mentally slapping myself.

Liam was biting the inside of his cheek, trying to suppress a grin at my words.

Ms. Spears broke out into laughter. I looked up at her with my eyebrows knit in confusion.

“Oh, Mika. I was just kidding, dear. I know you wouldn’t do anything. Besides, if you did, it wouldn’t be any of my business anyway. Liam’s a fine boy. Well, I shouldn’t keep you guys from your date any longer. Here you go, Mika. Nice job by the way.”

She handed me the paper, and I sucked in a breath. 100

“Thanks you so much!” I exclaimed, running toward the door.

I stopped in my tracks when a thought passed my mind.

“Wait. It’s not a date.”

“Whatever you wish to tell yourself, love.” She gave us a cheeky grin.

I just shook my head and hoped Liam was following.

I heard a chuckling sound beside me that sounded like the strumming of a guitar, so sweet and beautiful, the chords ever so melodious.

“Ms. Spears is something, isn’t she?”

“She is,” I chuckled, “I absolutely adore her.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less. She’s my favorite teacher. She reminds me of my mother in so many ways,” he managed with his eyes shining.

“Hey, everything will be alright. If your mother is anything like Ms. Spears, then she must have been an amazing woman,” I said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“S-she was,” he replied, smiling. A tear rolled down his cheek, and I wiped it away.
His face flooded with a red tint as my hand left his cheek.

He looked away, and we continued to walk in silence as we made our way to my apartment. I fumbled for the key in my bag, but I couldn’t find it. I pulled up the mat and grabbed the extra key that we kept there.

Liam smiled shyly at me as I ushered him through the door. I threw my bag and coat on the couch, realizing that I wasn’t taking him into my room. It was a complete mess, and he wasn’t going to be subject to the explosion of clothes and sheets over the floor.

“Want anything to drink?”

He shook his head. “Do you have any tea?”

“Nope. Never heard of it.” I smiled at him.

He came into the kitchen and sat on one of the bar stools. He seemed to have relaxed.

“You’re funny, you know that?”

“Hilarious. Now what kind of tea do you want?”

“Erm, black tea if you have any? Bringing out the sarcasm I see? Well, at least I can tell when you’re using it.” He winked at me, causing my heart to skip a beat.

“Black tea it is,” I said, placing water in the kettle.

“I wish you were there last night,” he said, surprising me.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that things got pretty bad last night. I needed someone, but I forgot to ask for your number.” He passed his hand over his face.

“Same here.”

I let my eyes travel to his face, hoping he would look at me, and he did. His eyes held uncertainty.

“Really?”

“Yes. Which brings us to why we’re here. I wanted to talk to you about it. Listen, I trust you, and that’s a hard thing for me. So, just don’t take my trust and take it for granted. Promise?”

“I wouldn’t ever do that, I promise. I’m all ears. Tell me everything.”

I sucked in a breath, trying to figure out where to start.

I began at my first nightmare. I described everything, and told him every thought I had on it. I told him everything. Even what happened last night.

He looked at me with wide eyes. They softened as the words sunk in. I let my head drop. The tea kettle began to scream, and I walked over to shut off the stove. Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands turn me around and I was enveloped in a warm hug.

I didn’t realize I was crying until he pulled me over to the couch and sat me next to him. I took in his scent as I buried my face in his chest, letting my tears wet his shirt.

“It’s alright. Everything’s going to be okay. Even if it’s not, even if it won’t be, at least we know that something has to go right. I’ve only known you for a few days, but I know that you’ve had a pretty crappy life. Sooner or later, you deserve something good in your life. For now, I’ll be there for you. We’ll be there for each other,” he whispered.

I stopped crying, and looked into his brown orbs, inviting and warm. He lifted his hand to wipe the remaining tears off of my face. His hand was soft and I leaned into it subconsciously. I colored as I realized what I did. I leaned further into him and let his arm wrap around me, keeping me safe.

I felt my eyes grow heavy as the time passed. One thought rang through my mind before I fell into a dreamless sleep: We never got to drink our tea.