CHAPTER THREE.
OUTBREAK

    When Kit Lainey met Tyler Owens at a gas station in the middle of the night she would never have believed that he would end up being one of the most important people in her life. Yet 3 years later, that's exactly what he was. The night at the gas station he and the Wranglers had welcomed her into their little family and it pulled her into a whole new world that she never had expected to love.

    What started off as a way out of Oklahoma shifted into a place she felt she could call home. When she was with the team, she could almost forget the guilt she had within her of the fact that she was still alive.

    No one knew about the EF5, except for Boone. The only reason he knew is because 2 days into living in Arkansas he found her sobbing after she had gone chasing for the first time. She'd managed to hold it together while he filmed, but the minute she got back, Kit couldn't keep herself from breaking down.

    To her luck, Boone had promised to keep it a secret. Making her promise that she'd tell the team eventually. It was 6 months later when she told them she was in a tornado and lost people. She didn't give details and they never asked.

    The only thing missing in this new home Kit had found was music. She still couldn't bring herself to even sing a single note. She'd tried once, but she barely made it a single line before she choked up. Lily and Dani heard and came to find her. They didn't push, they just shared their own stories. Eventually Kit found herself willing to share more of her own.

    True to his word, Tyler took the challenge of turning her into a storm chaser and made it a goal. Kit still hated science, but now she could understand it and more than that, she found herself working on it. She'd started as someone who posted on social media for them and by the end of the first year, she'd turned into a full-blown Tornado Wrangler. Loving the feeling of adrenaline that waved through her every time Tyler drove them into a tornado. Despite her fear every time, she loved it. She wished Kate could see her now.

     Kate. Okay, music wasn't the only thing that was missing from her new home. She missed Kate more than she ever knew was possible. At some point, that feeling turned to frustration and abandonment. She knew it wasn't fair to blame her, but Kate had left. They survived and Kate left without even saying goodbye. They survived but she lost Kate anyway.

....

     It was a stormy day in Oklahoma when Kit received a phone call. The number said BLOCKED as it flashed across her screen. Kit squinted. She could have easily let it go to voicemail however in her half-asleep state she picked her phone up and swiped.

     "Hello?" she mumbled rubbing her eyes as she fought back a yawn. She did not want to be up yet.

    "Kit? That you?" it took her 2 seconds to sit up with wide eyes at the sound of the voice on the other end.

    "Javi?" The way she spoke made her voice feel strained. She looked around the motel room she was sharing with Boone, making sure he was still asleep. He was - which meant that Kit could sneak out of the room without him wondering what she was doing. "What the hell? it's been-"

    "Four years." He interrupted her. Kit didn't reply. She pulled on her sweater and boots and stepped quickly and quietly out of the room. "Your Mom said your number was the same."

"It is." The tone of her voice made Javi wince. Kit didn't know why he was calling, it's not like the last time they spoke it ended on good terms. "What do you want Javi?"

    "Can we meet up and talk?" He pleaded. Kit wanted to say no. She knew he was in town, but she didn't reach out because she didn't want to.

    Truthfully she'd already seen him, it was a chase a few days prior. He was there in some fancy button-up shirt with a truck that had the words STORMPAR spread across. Her anxiety kept her from saying hi and she almost regretted it, until Tyler - through a string of curses - explained that they were framing their work as regular data collection. Really, an investor used it to swoop in and buy property from devastated people. Kit didn't feel like saying hi to Javi after that. He wasn't the same person she knew.

    "Look, I don't really have time. I'm working and I just don't know if I can," she crossed an arm over her chest and bit down on her lip. It wasn't exactly a lie.

    "Kit, please? I'm trying to get Kate to come back to Oklahoma. I think she'll come if you help me convince her." A lump formed in her throat. "Please? The three of us? Back working together again. We could use your music like always."

    Whatever urge Kit had to say yes disappeared when Javi spoke those words. He didn't know that she didn't play music anymore. He didn't know anything about her anymore.

    "Look I hope it works for you." She forced herself to speak, finding it hard due to the fact that she wanted to cry. "But my answer is no." Javi tried to say something else, but Kit didn't let him. She was close to tears at this point and she knew if she said anything else she would break into sobs. So she said one thing before hanging up. "Goodbye Javi."

    She shoved her phone into her pocket before running a hand roughly through her hair. She tugged on it as she did so. Javi and Kate- storm-chasing again. The mere thought of it terrified her. What terrified her even more? The idea of seeing Kate again.

    Wiping stray tears that had fallen, Kit took in a deep breath, counting to 10 in order to keep her breathing under control. She went to open the door to her room, just as Boone opened the door- already ready for the day - and grinned at her. His smile dropped when he saw her face.

   "You okay Kitty?" She rolled her eyes at the nickname.

   "I'm fine Boonie, how are you already ready?" The speed of how he got dressed would always confuse her.

    "I slept in my clothes." Of course, he did. "Now come on, ya gotta get dressed, we've got tornadoes to chase." he shoved her inside their room and shut the door leaving her alone. Leaving her back to her thoughts.

    Kit hated her thoughts. She hated that only one conversation with Javi made her spiral. So once again, she shoved all those emotions that she hated, to the back of her brain and went to get dressed. She didn't need to worry about Javi, or about Kate. That was the past, the Wranglers were her future.

....

    It was 3 days after Javi phoned her that Dexter got word of a tornado outbreak a few hours from where they were. It wasn't unusual for Oklahoma to get them, but man did the rest of her team love it. It gave them content, Boone got to shoot rockets and this time they had a journalist along for the ride.

    Over the time that Kit had been working with her team, there had been a lot of journalists interested in interviewing them. For the most part Kit turned them down. They all wanted the same details. Then Ben reached out. A journalist from London who wanted to follow American Stormchasing. Kit barely had to say two words about him to Tyler before he said yes. So now here she sat, next to an English Journalist, in the back seat of Tyler's truck.

    "So you excited for your first tornado?" Kit grinned looking at the man. She pulled her hair back as she spoke, making sure it was done up tightly, before placing her ball cap over her head. Ben looked incredibly nervous.

    "Well, I'm excited to see what you Americans find so fascinating about it, from a distance of course." Kit didn't have the heart to tell him that Tyler was going to drag him into the tornado.

    She looked towards the front of the truck, looking at the mirror where Tyler's eyes met her and he grinned knowingly. She tried to keep in her laugh but it failed and she covered her mouth to muffle it. Ben looked immediately confused.

    "Boone start the cameras," Kit stopped laughing when Boone pulled down his glasses and began to film. Tyler motioned to Kit who leaned forward and pressed play on what she called, "Tyler's Chasing Playlist."

    The music blared. Sounds of "Ain't No Love In Oklahoma." played as Tyler sped the truck up, swerving into a gas station parking lot. Kit could already see the STORMPAR vehicles and she watched as fans of the Wranglers began to cheer and approach the vehicles.

    "Boone, do the thing." Kit urged him to point the cameras in the direction of the STORMPAR employees. He'd done it the last time and had been met with faces full of irritation. Last time she had missed it because she was dealing with the fact that she had just seen Javi. This time she wanted to see.

    Boone turned the camera towards her with a grin and she waved. Then he turned back to the STORMPAR employees and leaned out the window.

    "Hey, StormPAR." He shouted, the grin not leaving his face. "We're live on YouTube. Say something."

    "Blow me, Boone." A voice from the crowd came. Kit laughed as the words didn't affect Boone even a little. She grinned even wider when she saw the annoyed look on both Javi
- and his partner Scott's - faces.

    "Hey, smile, man. Science is fun, right?" The truck pulled to a stop and Kit shook her head as Boone turned the camera back at them. The fact that Javi was there and could see her, didn't matter to her. She just tried to avoid looking at him. This meant one thing. Kit didn't notice the blonde standing next to him.

....

    From a distance, Kate's eyes narrowed and she looked at the truck that was pulling up. The crowd around them seemed ecstatic. They were yelling and cheering as the truck came to a stop.

    "Who are they?" She voiced her question, turning to look at Javi. She didn't know much about the storm chaser scene anymore.

    "Chasers out of Arkansas," Javi replied shortly, there was a tone in his voice and Kate couldn't quite tell what it was. Annoyance maybe?

    "Hillbillies with a Youtube channel," The comment from Javi's partner Scott made Kate raise her eyebrows a little, but she turned back to the truck more interested in what was happening over there.

    The first one out was a man with hair down to his chin and a pair of wild glasses on. Boone- is what she'd heard him called. He was holding the camera as he spoke when a second man - in a cowboy hat - got out of the vehicle.

    "Hey T, How you feeling?"

    "I'm feeling pretty good, Boone." cowboy hat spoke and grinned looking around at the crowd. "And if you feel it..." He began and the crowd finished his words.

    "Chase it!"

    "I said if you feel it..."

    "Chase it!"

    Kate couldn't help but stare, watching as the rest of the people in the other vehicles got out She could hear Javi explaining that the guy in the hat was named Tyler Owens. Apparently, he called himself a Tornado Wrangler. Kate didn't even know what that meant.

    Her eyes followed, watching as a woman stepped out to offer merch. Kate wasn't sure what to think of this situation. When she looked back at Tyler, their eyes met and he tipped his hat at her. She would've just turned away but then another person caught her eye.

    Climbing out of the vehicle -behind a man in glasses- was a familiar face. The face of someone she hadn't seen in 5 years.

    "Javi," Kate looked at her friend who was getting ready to look at the scanners. Javi glanced up. "Is... is that Kit?" Her throat felt dry when Javi looked at where she was looking. There standing in all her glory, was Kassidy Lainey. Her Kit.

    Kit looked basically the same except for a few differences Kate noticed immediately. Her hair was longer, darker too compared to the light blonde she used to keep it. The cowboy hat that Kate was used to seeing was replaced by a ball cap. That was never Kit's style. Neither was going anywhere without her guitar bag strapped to her back.

    The biggest difference Kate noticed was that the woman was no longer sporting numerous bracelets on each wrist or wearing her typical flowy sundress. Instead, she was sporting a flannel shirt and a pair of jean shorts. Her one wrist was bare, while the other was held in a brace. Kate's eyes didn't leave it, she knew why Kit had it, and when she looked at it, guilt filled her body.

    Kit leaned on Tyler as he walked and Kate watched as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She felt a twist in her gut. How long had Kit known these people to feel so comfortable with them?

    "What the hell is she doing with them?" Javi's eyes narrowed, he racked his brain for any mention Kit's parents might have given him about her whereabouts or what she was up to. He thought back to his conversation with her from a few days before. There was nothing. Yet here she was,  leaning into Tyler Owen's side like it was an everyday occurrence.

    "You didn't know?" Kate questioned, she took her eyes off Kit briefly, but couldn't help but bring her gaze back. Javi shook his head.

    "No."

    Kit had yet to notice her. In fact, she had yet to notice anything. She was distracted by the crowd of fans who were gathered, asking Tyler for autographs. When Kate looked closer she could see Kit signing a few. How long had Kit been doing this? What the hell was she doing storm chasing after what had happened? Kate had a million questions and a million different emotions running through her at lightning speed.

    "Alright let's get ahead of this bunch," Kate was forced to tear her eyes away from Kit and she turned to Javi. She was here to help him and she knew that, but the fear of storm chasing again and now seeing Kit, she didn't know how she was going to do this.

....

    Kit stood with Tyler, a small smile on her face as the fans they were talking to walked away. It was a good day so far. Which was nice considering Kit hadn't been feeling the best since Javi had called her. So she wasn't exactly expecting anything else to happen. Then Tyler turned and looked off towards the grass. His eyes raised and he took off his sunglasses.

    "Whose the new STORMPAR?" Kit gave him a confused glance. What was he talking about? He pointed behind her and began walking in the same direction. The confused look didn't leave Kit's eyes until she turned around. Her breath caught in her throat.

    5 years. It had been 5 years since she had seen Kate Carter and now here she was, standing in the small field, holding a dandelion in her hand. For a moment it felt like nothing had changed, and then reality set in. It had been 5 years because Kate had wanted it to be. If they weren't here right now then it probably would have been longer. A bitterness filled Kit and she tried to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat.

    Tyler was walking towards her, and Kit followed slowly behind. Her body was shaking, she couldn't do this.

    "You know I used to do that too," Tyler said, startling Kate who turned around. At first, she looked at Tyler and then she found Kit's eyes. They met for a moment and then Kate looked away. "Compare the wind direction to cloud movement. Get you a feel for the sheer."

    There was another thing that had changed, not that Kate would know. Kit actually understood what Tyler was saying. He sounded arrogant half the time he said it, but still, she understood it.

    "Yeah, sometimes the old ways are better than the new." Kit didn't join in on the conversation. Kate was still avoiding looking at her and any desire Kit had to talk to her was best out by her frustration. "Where are you coming in from?" Tyler was always making small talk. Especially when people are interesting to him. She should know- that's how she ended up with him.

    "New York." Kate's reply made Kit narrow her eyes. Well, that was just a lie, Kate was not a New York girl. Sure she was dressed like one at the moment, but she was an Oklahoma girl through and through.

    "You're a long way from home city girl," Kit almost scoffed. "So you like working for STORMPAR?"

    For a second Kit paused, the idea of walking away was screaming at her. Kate had walked away five years ago, she should be able to do it now. She couldn't. Instead, she stepped forward, crossing her arms over her chest.

    "Who wouldn't like working for STORMPAR, I mean look at those fancy white shirts and classy vehicles?" She stood next to Tyler, her voice was layered with sarcasm. Kate's eyes met her again. She looked like she wanted to say something but Kit didn't let her. "Tyler, Ben's waiting. We should go."

    Tyler looked at her, it was a look he'd given her before as if he was asking what was going on. She rarely snarked at people. Especially outside of the team. Her doing it to this stranger was weird. When he didn't stop giving her the look, she shook her head. They could talk about it later - or hopefully not.

    Kate looked at her, but Kit wouldn't look back. Something in Kate's eyes had softened and she wanted to step towards Kit, to talk to her. It wasn't going to happen.

    "Tyler," Ben showed up at just the right time and Kit relaxed a little. Kate noticed and she flinched, she didn't like knowing she was the cause of Kit's clear anger. "Do we know what storm we're going after yet?". Tyler seemed to grin at the question and he looked over at Kate.

    "Well, why don't we ask...." He pointed over at Kate.

    "Kate."

    "Hi Kate, I'm Tyler." He pointed to Kit waiting for her to introduce herself. "This is-"

    "Hi Kit," Kate interrupted. Tyler looked surprised. Kit bit down on her lip.

    "Kate," she nodded, that was all she said and Kate's eyes flickered. There was silence and tension between them, it was fighting against the urge they both had to hug each other and never let go. "Ty, I'm going to go get ready, I'll see you at the truck." Kit turned on her heel and walked away. She knew Kate was watching but she tried to not care. She couldn't let old feelings come back, not when Kate was going to leave again.

....

   
    For the first few minutes of the stream, Kit didn't speak. She sat in the back of Tyler's truck, listening to his introduction and trying to ignore the emotions that had been brought up.

    She was staring out the window when suddenly she felt a swerve and she forced herself to sit up. Tyler had taken his opportunity and basically driven STORMPAR off the road. Her eyes widened and she couldn't help the brief panic that filled her chest at the idea of Kate - and Javi - being hurt. She watched as they regained control of the truck and sat back, breathing deeply.

    "Joining us today, per usual, got my chief storm hound Boone." Apparently Kit had missed the first part of Tyler's speech but now she was zoned in, just in time for her introduction. "In the back seat, we have our favorite girl who makes sure we don't run our mouths, Kit." She rolled her eyes at his words but waved at the camera nonetheless, allowing a small smile to take over her face.

    Tyler continued on his introductions and Kit laughed as he pointed the camera towards Ben.

    "Ben, you just came in from, uh, London yesterday, right?" Ben didn't seem to be expecting the camera on him so he looked towards it, rambling a little as he started speaking.

    "South London, Just between Streatham Hill and West Norwood." He stuttered with nerves and Kit leaned towards him when Boone turned the camera back.

    "You're doing great, don't worry." She assured him. She knew being on camera for the first time wasn't very easy.

     Tyler swerved the truck again at Dani's instructions and Kit held tightly onto the seat in front of her. It really didn't matter how many times she did this, when Tyler started speeding up, she needed to hold onto something.

    She held on even tighter as he got closer to where the tornado was circling. The excitement of Tyler and Boone in the front seat made her feel better like it always did but she still didn't let go. Not even when Boone started cheering and pointed the camera at her.

    "Come on Kit, your sense of adventure is gone today." Kit leaned forward, holding the seat while leaning towards the camera.

    "Don't let these idiots fool you, driving into a tornado may be exciting but it is also terrifying." Boone and Tyler both laughed at her and she could hear the rest of the Wranglers do so over the radio as well.

    "Stop being a drama queen Kit, it's on now." Tyler pressed the gas and the truck sped up, throwing Kit back into her seat. "You ain't in London anymore Ben."

    The one good thing about the storm-chasing today was that for a brief few minutes, Kit could forget that the girl she used to be in love with was here. If she thought about that then she would probably drive into the tornado herself.

    Hail started and debris started flying. The windmills from the field were falling apart from the winds. Tyler swerved back and forth, avoiding it closely every time. Poor Ben looked terrified.

    "Hey look," Tyler spoke to Kit and she acknowledged him. "STORMPAR is stopped," Kit followed where his eyes were and saw Kate and Javi parked on the side of the road. Javi was standing out looking frustrated and Kate was behind the wheel. Tyler of course chose to make a joke about it as he pulled up next to them. "Javi, What are you doing out here man? Tornado's that way." Kit would admit that she laughed. Javi looked mad and given the fact that they weren't exactly on speaking terms, she didn't have an issue with Tyler's joke. Until he turned towards Kate and greeted her.

    Kate looked pale. She was shaken up and barely spared Tyler a glance. Kit's eyes narrowed a little and worry clouded her eyes. This was Kate's first time chasing since the EF5. She was probably flashing back to that day. Kit so badly wanted to get out of the truck and go to her, but Kate wouldn't even look at her.

    Tyler didn't notice her change of emotion, he didn't notice Kate's clear panic. He just kept driving towards the tornado. When Boone went to turn the camera back to Kit, she shook her head. The image of Kate was stuck in her mind and she couldn't help but think about the look of devastation she'd had after the EF5. Boone complied but glanced at her concerned. She mouthed the word "later," and he went back to filming. Kit pulled on her harness and took a deep breath. Another day, another tornado.

.....

    "What the hell are they doing?" Kate watched the side of the road. Kit was inside the truck that was currently driving into a tornado. Javi didn't respond to her. Not until the fireworks started and she asked a second question. "Are those fireworks?"

    "Yep."  Kate wanted to call them insane. Idiots because who would drive into a tornado and shoot fireworks in it? She didn't say that though. Instead, she just watched and let her stomach sink. She'd run away from tornadoes, to New York. Here Kit was, driving into the tornadoes that she used to hate.

    When she climbed back into the car, she didn't say anything at first. Her mind only had one thing on it, Kit. Concern, panic, and anger at her for risking her life over something so stupid. Why would she do that after they had barely survived the last time?

    Kate didn't like this. She didn't like it at all. Most importantly she didn't like that Kit was out there risking her life in a tornado, without her.

note.
    three chapters in three days??? who am i??? oh my god. i don't think i've written this much in like two years.
   is it good? am i doing okay? what does everyone think?
    kate & kit <3 my traumatized girls who have yet to realize they're pining.
    please vote and comment! it's what gives me motivation to keep writing.
    i hope you enjoyed!