Brendon woke up to Dallon's arm around him. He sighed in relief, momentarily feeling secure. That moment was very brief, however, because the sounds of the storm quickly filled his ears and brought back memories of the previous night.

The dark figures in the shadows.

The bathroom window shattering.

The red eyes that met his in the mirror.

Brendon rolled over to look at Dallon. His eyes were open and tired. He blinded in surprise at Brendon's face. "Hey."

"I'm sorry I made you come here." Brendon nuzzled his face in Dallon's chest. The gentle rise and fall of his breathing took his mind off of the images from the previous night.

He could feel Dallon's arms holding him close. "I'm safe with you and you're safe with me, yea?" He asked, softly.

Brendon nodded. "Yea." He felt like shit already. He was supposed to be the one looking out for and protecting Dallon, not the other way around. He pulled his face away from Dallon's chest and looked him in the eyes. "Are you okay? How long have you been up?"

Dallon smiled, but there was a strain to it. "Not long. It felt better to have you to hold onto though."

Brendon pressed a kiss to his lips. "We could stay like this forever." He said as Dallon held him closer. "Stuck on the old gym floor while the world falls apart around us."

Dallon's smile appeared more genuine for a moment. As quick as it appeared, however, it vanished. He pulled his arm away from Brendon and pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked down at the floor while Brendon sat up beside him.

"Babe, I didn't mean..." He trailed off. He wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't even sure if it was his words that had seemingly upset Dallon or if it was something else.

"Heads up!" A basketball came bouncing across the gym floor.

Brendon held his hands out to catch it. Josh and Tyler were already up and moving, standing by the bleachers. Tyler had a blanket draped over his shoulders while Josh hopped up and down beside him. Brendon caught the ball and bounced it back. He took that moment to look around the room for Pete and Patrick.

Pete and Patrick rested a few feet away. Patrick was tiredly signing something Brendon couldn't understand while Pete watched intently. He signed something back, making Patrick smile.

"What time is it?" Brendon called out, bringing his hand up to shake through his hair.

"I dunno, my phone and laptop died." Josh shrugged. He caught the basket ball on its weakest bounce. He passed it back and forth between his hands. "We're stuck in the twilight zone." He grinned, but there were nerves visible in his expression.

"It's been awhile." Tyler added, "Hopefully the eye of the storm is coming soon; the beginning of the end."

Brendon nodded. The silent eye of the storm. A moment of calm in the chaos passing through. It marked a near midway point through the storm, despite its short length in comparison. "Maybe we slept through it."

Josh laughed. "Who slept?" He asked before beginning to walk the ball over to a basketball hoop across the gym.

"This isn't as fun as it used to be." Pete chimed into the conversation, "I regret this decision."

"You're not the only one." Josh's voice sounded faint as a boom shook the building. He hurried back to where Tyler stood, letting the ball drop to the floor and bounce off. "I don't want to stay."

"Kind of not an option at this point." Pete frowned. "There's no going out in that."

"Not until it's over..." Dallon spoke quietly beside Brendon. Brendon was sure he was the only one that could hear it. He reached out and took Dallon's hand in his own.

Tyler looked down at the floor. "It won't be too much longer..." He offered. Josh looked ready to argue, but a crashing noise down the dark hallway that connected to the gym stopped him.

Patrick signed something with wide eyes.

"We've gotta get the hell out of here." Josh brought his arms up and held tufts of his hair. "Ty, this was such a mistake..." His breathing picked up, and started to come out in gasps.

Tyler whipped the blanket from around his shoulders and placed it around Josh. "Hey, hey. We've made it this far." He took Josh's hand in both of his. "Don't forget to breathe. It's okay."

Brendon looked away from them. He never knew Josh to have panic attacks. Then again, they had never all been so isolated in a storm together. Back as kids, there was so much stimulation. There was so much to keep focusing away from the noises of nature's fury outside.

"It's okay, man."

Brendon looked up at the sound of Dallon's voice. Dallon was hugging Josh, who was shaking. They both seemed to be shaking, but Dallon looked like he was holding himself together much better than Josh. Tyler stood just to the side, looking down at the gym floor.

Brendon rose to his feet and walked over to Tyler. The dark haired boy looked up as Brendon stepped next to him. "We shouldn't have done this." He muttered, "This was a stupid idea."

Brendon nudged him with his elbow. "Yea, but we were all stupid enough to agree to it." He tried to smile, but it fell with the sound of cracking that echoed through the air. "Real stupid..."

"Next storm we're going on vacation." Tyler nervously scratched the back of his head, "This is too much."

"I second that." Brendon agreed, "We should just move away from this place all together."

As he said it, however, he knew he would never be able to do it. Part of him loved the chaos of it all, despite how he didn't want to admit it. Every year he could count on it happening.

"There's no leaving this place." Tyler shook his head, as if he shared the same thought that ran through Brendon's head, "Not even if we tried..."