Make You Better

“Keaton, look at me, just relax, okay?” Derick held my shoulders tightly as I stood in front of him, my heart pounding roughly in my chest as my eyes struggled to keep his outline in my sights through the darkness. Nodding, i lifted my hands up and felt the anxiety start to drop from my body as I felt my fingers brush against Derick’s scruffy cheeks. After a minute or so of this, Derick pulled me flush against his body and held me there, whispering into my ear that we’d be okay and that when he let me go, he was going to walk us over to the kitchen where he had remembered seeing a flashlight.

Nodding, I sucked in a deep breath and felt his larger hand reach down and grab mine. Pushing his fingers through mine, he pulled me along slowly behind him, through a hallway, and then into the into the kitchen. Swallowing hard, I looked up through the darkness and watched as the little bit of light flooded the room, creating drastic shadows on Derick’s face.

“Stand right here, I’ll grab the flashlight and then we’ll go look for some more candles and things, okay?”

“Of course, sure, yeah.” I breathed and felt his hand leave mine. As I stood there, my heart still racing, I watched the man move around through the darkness, and then after a moment of silence, there was a small click and the room lit up in a yellow hue. Scrunching my face, I watched as Derick held it in front of him, pointing it toward me. 

Smiling over at him, he nodded his head and then reached out to grab my hand again. Slipping my fingers back between his, he walked us around the kitchen, opening every possible cabinet with me, looking around to try to find other lights.

When we finished going through every cabinet and closet in the kitchen, we found three more flashlights, and six candles. After piling them up in the middle of the island, Derick looked over at me and smiled. After he reassured me that we would find more things, and everything would be fine, he gave me a small hug and then handed me my own flashlight.


“Are you okay to go search for some more candles and maybe some matches?” He gave me a worried look for a moment, but after a shook my hands and smiled back at him, he nodded and then gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Alright, if you need anything, just call my name, okay?”


“Deal.” I breathed and then flashed him one last smile before turning away from him and heading into the house, my flashlight tightly wrapped in-between my fingers.

Heading into the living room, I looked around and spotted a few candles that had been placed around in little decorative holders. Pulling them out, I piled them in my arms and then carried them back into the kitchen. Setting them down with the rest, I headed back out, checking the rest of the living room, and then heading downstairs to where the game room was.

Carefully going down the stairs, I felt my heart start to race as I looked up and noticed the long stretch of black that flooded my vision. Hands shaking, I held the flashlight up more and tried to even my breathing as I stepped off the last stair and started to walk around, grabbing a two more candles, and avoiding a few corners I could have slammed my leg into.

Halfway through the room, I heard a loud crash from the floor above me, which made a scream push through my lips. Dropping my flashlight, I slapped my hand across my mouth and looked up at the ceiling, waiting a moment before I heard a faint string of angry french.


“Sorry! I dropped a bowl.”


“Are you okay?” I could hear the shake in my own voice, I prayed Derick was far away enough that the shake wasn’t audible.


“I’m fine! Sorry again!”

Shaking my head, I bent down and grabbed the flashlight from the ground, thankful it was still working after the fall. Making my way around the room again, I noticed a few dura-flame logs in the corner and walkover to them. Pulling two into my arm, I grabbed the little box of fire starters, and then the large lighter and sucked in a deep breath. Leaving the other two candles on the table near the staircase, I slowly headed back upstairs.

Pushing the door open slowly, I shuffled across the hallway and over to the kitchen. Pushing the logs onto the island, I went to go search more of the house when a flash of light hit my eyes.

“I found like a few more candles and a few lighters.” Derick spilled the items onto the countertop and then looked over at the logs I had carried upstairs. “That’s good, there’s a fireplace in-“

“The living room, and your bedroom, or Lea’s?”


“Mats and I have one, I think Lea has one too.” Derick looked up at me and then quickly jerked his head back toward the counter.
“I’m thinking we should hold out in one room, and then just light all of the candles in there, maybe set up a path of flashlights to the bathroom.” He shrugged as he looked up at me again, his eyes locking on mine as a smile spread across his lips, showing that cute little tooth gap he had.

Cute? Keaton, now is not the fucking time to develop an even bigger crush on the only other person left in the Log Cabin. Get a grip.

Nodding, I sucked in a small breath and then rubbed my forehead, my heart throbbing in my chest as I tried to put the raging thoughts about Derick and I locked in this house all alone into the back burner of my brain. Derick suggested to light up his room before we came back down and tried to navigate the kitchen for food. Agreeing, I grabbed as many candles as I could and then looked up a Derick, who almost had everything else piled in his arms.

Giving him a nod, he headed through the house, checking to make sure I was still behind him about ten times. When we hit the stairs, he told me to make sure I was careful, then slowly headed up the stairs, again, checking every few steps to make sure I was alright.

Once we were finally on the top floor, we took a few steps down the hallway and then stopped at his bedroom door. Pausing, Derick pushed it open with his foot and then let out a low grumble as he flashed the light over a few mounds of clothes on the floor.

“Mats is like rooming with three college party boys…. What are they called?”

“Frat boys?” I chuckled as Derick nodded and then set the pile of things down on the bed.

“Frat boys… That’s what he is.” He rolled his eyes as he grabbed a few candles and one of the large lighters. Walking over to the dresser, he lined up a few candles and then started lighting them, making sure that the wick was engulfed in flames before moving to the next one.

“If he ever bothers you, just call him short.” Derick turned to me as I lit a few candles and smiled, “Okay?”


“He’s super nice to me, I don’t think I’ll ever have to do that to him.” I rolled my eyes as I set down the candles on the other dresser, and then grabbed a few more and started to line them against the wall. As we kept lighting the candles we managed to bring up, I felt my nerves start to calm down as the room gained a yellow hue.

Once all of the candles we brought up were lit, Derick walked over to me and sat me down on the bed. Hands on my shoulders, he sent me a smile and then spoke, “I’ll run downstairs and grab everything else. You chill out, okay? We still have like six more candles, and the fireplace, it’ll be like the lights never went out.”


“Sure, okay, thanks.” I nodded and then flashed the brunette a smile as he turned from me and quickly headed back down stairs. As I sat on the bed, the flickering of the candles around me calming my nerves, I let out a deep breath and leaned back on the bed, pulling my cell phone from my back pocket and holding it above my face,

Blinking a few times from the heavy light coming off of the screen, I noticed a text message from Mats, and felt my heart crawl up into my chest.

Quickly unlocking the phone, I went into my messages and clicked his name. Blinking again to adjust my eyes to the light, I pulled the phone closer to me and then let out a heavy sigh as the words flowed through my head.

”Made it to the lodge, they shut the highway down for the night. I’m stuck here until they clear the roads. Are you and Romeo okay?”

Rolling my eyes, I realized that Lea was the one texting for Mats, I assume his texting wasn’t that great in English. Going to respond to them, I typed out that the house had no power and Derick and I were huddled up in his bedroom with fifty candles when I paused.

Hitting the back button, I typed out a new message and then hit send.

Glad you’re all okay. House has no power but we’re fine. Turning my phone off until tomorrow morning, love you guys.

Just as Derick entered the room, my screen lit up again.

It’s Lea, I’m so fucking sorry. I love you too, take care of our little croissant. Hopefully see you tomorrow. I’m sorry again.

“You have reception?” Derick asked as he set up a few more candles after dropping the logs near the fireplace.

“Barely. Mats made it to the Ski Resort, they shut the highways down, they’re going to try to head back here tomorrow morning. I’m shutting my cell off, it should keep the battery.”

“We are very fucked, huh?”


“No car, no heat, no electric, barely an reception, and probably another foot of snow overnight?” I held my hands together on my stomach as I looked up at the ceiling. “Super fucked.” I whispered as I felt the edge of the bed to the right of me dropped down. After a few seconds, I looked over and watched as Derick set the flashlight down on the windowsill above the bed. Closing the window against it, I looked up and watched as the brunette smiled to himself.

Nodding to the brunette, he stood up and then held his hand out to me, “Want to go grab some dinner?”


“I’d be honored.” I joked and quickly grabbed my flashlight and stood up with his help. Keeping his hand on mine, he grabbed the flashlight from me and then swiftly led us back down stairs and into the kitchen. Once there, he set the flashlight down, angled toward the cabinets and fridge.

Shrugging his shoulders when I grabbed a box of cereal, I rolled my eyes and dug through the cabinets a little more, not finding anything that was really dinner food and already made. Since none of the appliances were working, there was no way to heat anything up, unless we tried to cook it over a dura-flame log for an hour or so.

In the end, after a few small conversations about what we could and couldn’t do with certain foods, Derick and I agreed on cereal. Most of the things in the fridge were alcoholic or water, the milk was the only real thing in the fridge that would go back with the lack of power.

Derick grabbed the cereal, milk, and two spoons and then smiled over at me. “Can you lead the way back to our cave? You can make dinner and I’ll start a fire.”


“Sounds like a deal.” I chuckled and then grabbed onto the hem of Derick’s shirt as I led him back over to the stairs. Once we were back on the second floor, I let go of his shirt and quickly walked back over to the bedroom. Derick walked in a second later and sent me a wide smile as he set the food down on the bed.


“Nature girl is afraid of the dark?”


“Amongst other things.” I shrugged my shoulders and watched as Derick nodded once and then looked around the room, his eyes squinting as he looked from the night stand to my spot on the bed.

“Can we balance cereal on the bed?”

“Of course, just be careful.” I nodded and went to examine the things we pulled from the kitchen when I realized we forgot the bowls. “Fuck, we forgot bowls. I’ll go get them.”


“Are you sure, I can-“

“You start the fire, I can manage. I’m a big girl.” I joked and then stood up from the bed and grabbed my flashlight. Turning it back on, I walked into the hallway and headed for the stairs when I heard my cell phone start to go off.

Sighing heavily, I pulled it out and looked at it. When I noticed it was Lea, I sucked in a deep breath and hit the green circle. Holding it to my ear with my shoulder, I shined the light down the stairs and slowly started to make my way down stairs as he laughter filled the phone.

Rolling my eyes, I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled when I finally reached the main floor. “Lea, hello?”


“Keay,” There was a muffled sound and then her voice came back into the phone. “Carl wants to threaten Derick’s life, can you pass the call to him?”


“I’m not in the same room, why does he have to be annoying even when he’s not here?” I huffed as I set the flashlight down on the counter and started shuffling through a few cabinets. “Can’t I just go to bed without-“


“Keaton, my favorite brunette in the whole world, how are you doing?” Carl sang into the phone, making my eyes roll as a slight pulse started behind my eyes.


“I’d be better if you weren’t so fucking ann-“


“Where’s my boy?”


“Upstairs.” I snapped as I grabbed two bowls and then moved over to the fridge. Grabbing a few bottles of water, I sucked in a deep breath and then shut my eyes as Carl started going on and on about something I had no interest in. As the hum of his voice flowed through my head, I grabbed a bottle of Honey Whiskey and piled it in my left arm.

Grabbing the flashlight, I let Carl keep talking into my ear as I made my way back upstairs and into the bedroom. When I noticed Derick sitting on the bed eating out of the Fruity Pebbles box, I smiled and then set down the bowl and drinks.


“Carl, shut up, here.” I huffed and then looked up at the brunette, smiling as his eyes widened when he noticed the phone being held out toward him. Mouthing a sorry to him as he took it, I plopped down on the bed across from him and grabbed a bowl. Pouring some Captain Crunch cereal into it, I went to pour the milk when I head Derick let out a long sigh.

Looking up, I watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose and then shook his head. “I can’t hear you, hold on, I’ll-“

Derick put the phone on speaker. Sitting back, he continued to munch away on cereal as Carl went on and on about nothing. Finally, when there was a moment of silence, the blonde on the other end of the phone sighed. “There’s like four condoms in my suitcase, feel free to use them.”


“Carl, what the fuck?” Derick and I scolded at the same time, causing our cheeks to burn an identical shade of red. After Derick snatched my phone from the bed, he took it off speaker and then quickly got off of the bed and walked into the hallway. Standing a few feet away, I heard his angry ramblings in French.

They lasted what felt like fifteen minutes. By the time the brunette walked back in, his cheeks were still bright red, and when he handed my cell phone back, he mumbled that he turned the power off so we could save it for phone calls that actually mattered.

Nodding along with his idea, I started eating my bowl of cereal again and looked over at him, his hand running though his hair a few times before he looked back over at the box of cereal he had been eating. Grabbing it, he looked at me and gave me a faint smile.


“Give me the bowl, Superman, I’ll pour it for you.”


“Superman, I forgot about that.”


“It was only a few days ago, it seemed.” I smiled over at him as I carefully piled the cereal up in the bowl and then poured in the milk. Once the ratio was even, I stuck the spoon into the milk and handed it over to the brunette. Thanking me, he crossed his legs, his body facing mine, and shoveled a large spoonful of cereal into his mouth,

The only noise that filled the room was the soft crackling of the dura-flame log and the hushed crunching of our cereal. When I had finally finished my cereal, I slurped up the milk in the bowl and then looked over at Derick, a wide smile on his face.

“Nice mustache.”

“I’ve been growing it for good luck.” I joked as i ran my tongue over my top lip and then looked down at my empty bowl. Twitching my nose, I leaned over and set it on the floor. Once I pulled myself back into an upright position on the bed, I looked down at my hands and felt my nerves start to quake under my skin.

What were we going to do? What were we going to talk about? We were stranded with no distractions, no cell phones, no computers or email, I was almost positive I couldn’t stream any Netflix now, especially if my phone was barely able to hold a phone call.

Derick and I could talk about random things, but how long was that going to last us? It was already eight o’clock, but what would happen when we got tired? Were we going to fall sleep with all of these candles burning? Were we going to fall asleep in the same room? The same bed?

I was almost in a full panic attack when I felt a pair of large hands land on my shoulders. Sucking in a deep breath, I looked up at the brunette and smiled when I took in his worried facial features. Shaking my head, I cleared my throat and then focused on my folded hands in the middle of my legs. “I’m okay, just started thinking about stupid shit, how was dinner?”

“Great.” He nodded and then paused for a moment, his eyes running over me a few times before they locked back on my eyes.

“Do you want to watch a movie on your laptop?”


“I don’t have a CD slot.”


“We can’t win tonight, eh?” He shook his head as he looked down and started picking at his fingernails.


“Well, it could be worse.” I looked up just in time to watch him mimic my movement. “We could be stuck with Lea and Carl.”


“Oh, poor Mats.” Derick shook his head as he let out a laugh, his teeth flashing from his wide smile. “I wouldn’t give this up for anything.”

We paused, smiling at each other through the flickering yellow light in the room. I wanted to start talking, I wanted to ask him about his family, his minor league team, even his car, but I was speechless. My eyes couldn’t leave his, my heart wouldn’t let up on its erratic beating, and the only thing I could think of doing was kissing him.

Why did I want to kiss him? Why did I want to give into what Carl and Lea put me up to? Why did I have such a crush on him? Why did I think everything he did was cute? I liked his smile, I like his eyes, his voice, his accent, and most of all, I liked the way he treated me. I barely knew him, but he made sure I was safe, make sure I as happy. He was unlike every other blind date I had ever been set up with.

That’s why.

He was perfect, to me, at least.


“Keaton, I… I’m sorry.” He breathed, his eyes dropping from mine when I finally realized we moved closer to each other. Our knees were nearly touching, and the smell of his cologne was the only thing I could focus on even with the different scents of candles burning up in the room. “I’m sorry this happened.”


I paused, my heart racing in my chest as I thought about what he would say next.

I have a girlfriend.

I didn’t mean to lead you on.

I can’t do this.

I won’t do this.

Not with you.

It figures that the one time Carl and Lea found someone I liked, the feeling wasn’t mutual.

I could have burst into tears right there and then if I wasn’t so used to being shut down.

“I’m sorry.”


“You have nothing to be sorry about?” Derick shook his head and then rubbed the side of his cheek with his hand. “I can’t… I won’t… I like you, more than I can put into English words.”

I couldn’t help but smile as the weight from my pessimistic mind lifted from my shoulders.


“I don’t want to like… push any… barriers… boundaries with you. Boundaries?” He looked up at me, a light red on his cheeks.

“Yeah, boundaries.” I laughed as he shook his head and mumbled to me that when he was nervous, he forgot a lot of the English he learned. “You’re not… I mean, we didn’t… You didn’t say or do anything?”


“But I want to…. That’s why I’m apologizing.” He breathed. As I watched him crack his knuckles, I swore I could hear his heartbeat pounding in his chest. I was almost positive he could hear mine too.

“You shouldn’t apologize.” I could barely breathe as I watched him move a little closer, his large hand reaching up and setting against the side of my face. Pushing my cheek into the warmth of his palm, I let out a deep breath and let my eyes flutter shut.


“Why not?” His voice was a whisper. I could feel his hot breath rebound off of my lips, making my spine shiver from the unfamiliar contact.

Shrugging one shoulder, I looked up at him, his face no centimeters from mine. As my eyes locked into his, I smiled a little and lifted my hand up to his cheek, running my fingers across his scruffy beard. Inhaling slowly, I leaned in a little closer to him and lightly pressed my lips against his.

As soon as he applied pressure back into the kiss, I felt every nerve in my body explode.

It was an experience I had never felt in my life.

And I wanted more.