Chapter Text
For as long as Ricky can remember, he’s always loved the chase.
Whether it be in his personal endeavors, past relationships, future plans, whatever—he needs a burning snap of adrenaline in order to function throughout his day-to-day life. Sometimes, it’ll manifest in a cup of disgustingly-dark coffee. Other times, it’ll be reflected by his decisions more than anything.
He lives for the thrill, after all. He breathes for a buzz within his veins and searches for that light-headed daze wherever he can find it. He wants snap after snap, bang after crash, an endless stream of excitement until his bones burst. Then, when he reaches the end, he could say he lived a fulfilling life.
Most of it all bleeds into his main hobby, which rules his life more than anything else.
Ricky chases storms.
Ever since childhood, Ricky had become obsessed with the never-ending uncertainty that existed within the weather. However, he had a certain interest in storms more than anything else.
He remembers fond memories of sitting under umbrellas with his mother when storms would rage. Ricky convinced her to let them sit outside in their garden, protected by the thick and clear glass. Ricky spent most of his time underneath the main greenhouse atrium, right in the center of the garden.
Ricky held onto his mother’s hand with each crack of lightning, feeling his heart zip and beat with each pit-a-pat of rainfall.
She remained calm and still. He tried to mimic her demeanor, yet still shook from excitement.
Those are the earliest signs of his love of uncertainty. As he grew up, he ventured out further and further underneath the clouds until he became lost in the forest surrounding their home. He stopped holding onto his mother’s hand when he got scared, because he stopped getting scared at all. He only became more and more intrigued as he got older.
Nothing about lightning is scary. It wasn’t back then and he doesn’t think so now, either. He knows how the weather works and finds the scientific explanations even more fascinating.
From then until now, he still stares up at the cloudy skies and scans the horizon almost as if he could predict the sway of the winds. He’ll predict which way the clouds will float, which direction will be burdened by rainfall.
Somedays, he truly felt like he could. Whenever he gets an ache in his calf, he knows that if the clouds aren’t darkened already, they soon will be.
He’s become obsessed with the thrill of predicting when the next storm will hit. He loves when he’s proven wrong more than when he’s proven right. That means there is still so much for him to learn, so much for him to start understanding.
Yet, sometimes the weather cannot be explained by simple means. He loves that, too.
When he eventually made a career out of the euphoria of standing underneath and chasing lighting, everything felt natural. It all felt so right, even if his family didn’t quite understand. If they didn’t approve of his plans just yet.
He could convince them if he tried, but he isn’t that interested in any debate—especially not with his father. That’s why he went to college and graduated just like he promised them, even if it wasn’t something he was entirely that stoked for.
He became more excited when he quietly shifted his major from business economics to meteorology. He could drop out and his parents probably wouldn’t notice, but the idea of them finding out he changed majors to something he actually cared about brought that thrill back to his life.
A little anxiety is all he needed in order to build that drive. When he stood on that stage with his meteorology degree after a grueling four years, something new began to flicker in his stomach. That drive mixed with newfound excitement at the realization he could finally start working towards what he felt passionate about.
He didn’t want a quiet job pushing pens and reading boring charts. He didn’t want to accept being heir to his family's fortune with no work put in. His sister deserved that cushioned life, he thought. Though he knows better than anyone just how driven and passionate she is, too. She has worked just as if not harder than him to get to where she is.
But Ricky didn’t want any of that, he wanted to forecast. Except, he didn’t want to sit behind a camera and recite pre–written lines for some cable show. He longed for and actively dreamed about something greater than that. Something bigger and more exciting.
Because, Ricky wanted to be the best. He wanted to chase storms and correctly predict where they’ll go next. He’ll watch and note every single trend, every shift in the wind, whatever it may be. He wants to be the one doing all the work on the ground. He wants to be better than all the machines in the world.
He’s already so far ahead due to his weird talent of knowing when it’s going to rain. If could find out the science behind it, he could finally understand the gift he’d been given.
He’s dramatic, sure, but he genuinely believes it to be a gift. For some reason or another, he’d been given a strange quirk where his muscles will ache or his finger will crack and that’ll tell him everything he needs to know.
That means something’s coming. The harsher the ache, the louder the crack, the larger the storm. Ricky’s learned that by now.
When he’s hit by it, that’s when the mantra his mother made when he was a child starts to chant in his head.
Just chase the lightning, Quanrui. Chase the lightning.
When muttered under his breath, he’d run into the misfortune of having to explain what that meant to people who didn’t quite get it. Several of his friends from college were used to his antics after the first few interactions, though.
He’s afforded the luxury of being weird because he’s so hot. (Those were his best friend Hao's words. Ricky isn’t sure he agrees with the weird label, but he supposes a compliment is a compliment.)
One time during sophomore year, Ricky ran out in the middle of the night while a storm hit their campus. He sprinted down the flooded streets with a make-shift anemometer and barometer, squinting at the numbers as he made his way closer to the eye of the storm.
Ricky always ran after clouds and wrote down as many notes as he could. He’d take his instruments anywhere he went. Everything fit snug in a classy black suitcase that remained by his side or in his car wherever he went.
Ricky lived for the chase, even if most of it was all pretty meaningless. He had to make the decision if running after it could be even worth it most of the time.
Time and human curiosity brought new machines to take away the thrill from people like him. He enjoyed figuring everything out the old fashion way—that being with his instruments and the ache in his calf.
He’s become rather exceptional at predicting the weather. His body has almost become attuned to it, in a weird, non-science-y way. He could never tell any of his friends or professors—or heaven forbid his mother—but that made this strange power a little more special.
Because at its core, there was no power. He’s not any more special than anyone else, but his passion and interest makes him feel like he is. Nothing about him is supernatural, but something about his love of the chase blends in with his desire to understand the unexplainable and that leads him to imagine himself to be just that.
It’s something he’s only ever told one person before. The only time he’d ever opened up, fully and completely to someone he trusted. On the night of his graduation, he’d let himself believe that someone else could understand him. There was someone else who loved him and wouldn’t be afraid of his ambition. Unafraid of his quirks and what comes with that.
Ricky won't make that mistake again.
One too many hard conversations with that person left Ricky annoyed more than anything else. It reinforced his belief that he could not be understanded in the way that he understands other people, and that is okay. He never pictured himself settling down or longing for marriage, but he cannot lie to himself and say that it doesn’t sting.
He just needs to learn to keep his secrets closer to his chest. Protected and secure from anyone who could hurt him.
Despite all that work he’d put in to getting his degree and how excited he’d been to venture out into the real world, Ricky was tired. His recent breakup left him frustrated, the desire to leave California growing stronger and stronger.
He’s never felt as if California really suited his tastes. San Francisco is beautiful, especially in the summer, but… Ricky wasn’t sure if he wanted to live there forever.
Immediately after graduation, he packed all his bags. Ricky had been planning on moving for a long time, but he could never quite decide where it is he wanted to go. Boxes lined his room for months as he spent the summer looking for someplace to spend a few months.
With his parents' money, he could go anywhere he wanted. He didn’t enjoy leeching off them more than he had to, but even he understood he’d need it in order to start the life he’d dreamed of—or at least for a little vacation. He honestly wanted a little break while he decided what to do with his future.
He didn’t really dream of anything tangible, though. California felt too small sometimes, but it’d been his home since birth. His parents moved their corporation mostly to grow their bank accounts, but also for him and his sister. He’s grateful for all the sacrifices they made to help him get to where he is, but he still wants to be the one to choose his future.
Ricky doesn’t really know how he feels about fate—if he believes in it or not. Sometimes, it feels like he’s just been in the right places at the right time. Other times, it feels like certain things have been predetermined for him.
His childhood had been one carefully guarded with schedule after schedule of what his day would look like. His teenage years brought a little more freedom, but not much. He’d mastered the art of sneaking out by sixteen.
When he went to college, the entire world opened up along with it. Despite that, he still stayed between state lines. Everything had become so predictable and boring. He studied and repeated the same routine every day.
That’s why he enjoys lightning so much. Well, another one of the reasons.
He could talk about his love for storms and chasing them all day if someone asked. However, Ricky likes to keep his cards close to his chest. He doesn’t indulge in conversations about his interests that often due to the fact he is a complete and total nerd about it.
Ricky enjoys the facade of being a classy, refined and mysterious person. Only his sister and a few of his friends are the only ones who know the extent of his passions. Other than that, he’s more comparable to an enigma than anything else with most people in his life.
It’s easier to move around that way, which is his plan. After what happened with his ex boyfriend after graduation, Ricky’s become rather uninterested in making new friends or bonds.
The more he reveals about himself the harder it is to move. That’s what he thinks, at least. He’s stuck between longing for some sort of connection and instead focusing on his time on predicting the weather.
Or, more accurately running after it.
For now, he spends the summer laying low as he searches for what’s next. He may not know what it exactly looks like, but it doesn’t matter much. All that does matter is that he’s trying.
He just needs to find somewhere to go.
“I really don’t get why you don’t just go abroad,” Hao says with an exasperated sigh.
Hao has been repeating those words every single time they talk. Or rather, whenever Ricky complains about not knowing where to go.
Hao has been vacationing across Europe all summer. After graduation, he explained that he needed to ‘find himself’. Ricky still doesn’t know whatever that means. He just lets Hao talk and talk while he listens.
Ricky thinks he just wanted one final vacation paid for by his parents before he had to enter the real adult world. Hao offered to take Ricky along, but Ricky never enjoyed that kind of display of extravagance.
Also, the last time he went to Europe he was a child and accidentally threw up on the plane ride. Needless to say, he doesn’t want a repeat of those events even if he’s almost a decade older and can hold his lunch after an altitude change.
“And go where, exactly? Paris? Prague? Helsinki?”
“Hold on, you might be onto something with Prague. I’m writing that down for myself.”
Ricky rolls his eyes with a groan. “I don’t want to go to Europe.”
“I didn’t say Europe! Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you have to be, too. What about a trip to China? When's the last time you went?”
Ricky wraps his finger around the curled landline cord. “I think it was four summers ago. After I graduated high school, my parents stopped going as much.”
“Their golden child spent all their money, that’s why.”
“I’m not their golden child, you should see how they treat Xiaoting.”
Hao just laughs. “Trust me, I’ve seen it. They just want her to take over the family business because they know you won’t do it anymore.”
Ricky considered that. When he graduated high school, his parents made it clear they wanted him to be next in line for the seat of CEO of their company. Ricky never cared much about pushing pens and much less about selling deals, so he’s never been interested.
Over the years, he’s made it more and more clear that is not what he wanted. They stopped talking about it so much after three years of college. Ricky thinks that graduation put the final nail in that coffin. Now, Xiaoting’s the only one who wants it and is actually eligible.
It should have been hers from the start, but Ricky digresses.
“I think it’s a little bit of both.” Ricky wraps the phone cord around his finger. “They like her more and they want her to take over the business. She is the rightful heir, after all.”
Hao laughs. “I like her more, too.”
“Either way, I want to just stay somewhere in America for right now. I don’t want an actual vacation. I just can’t find the perfect place.”
“You should give up on any notion of perfection. Stop looking for a dream and settle on something more grounded in reality.”
Ricky rolls his eyes. “I don’t even have any dreams about where I want to live. And this is only temporary while I figure my life out.”
“I’m just saying, you’re trying to find the right fit when maybe you need to just play it by ear. You’ve been studying so long that I think you fried your brain.”
“Okay, rude. My brain isn't fried. You’re right, though. I don’t know why I’m so stressed about this. It’s not like my parents are going to kick me out or anything if I stay a little longer than I planned. It’s just that being home has been… weird.”
“Did they find out about your career change?”
“I think my father always knew I didn’t give a shit about business or economics. My mother… well, I don't really know what to say to her.”
“I think that you’re overthinking this all. Your parents love you. I’m sure if you told them that you want to become a weatherman they’d accept it. They might be ridden with guilt and embarrassment, but they’d get over it.”
“You are so amazing at making me feel better, seriously.” Ricky says in a monotone voice.
“I’m kidding, but I’m honest, too. You have all the time in the world to find what you want.”
“I don’t want to be a weatherman, by the way. Just because I enjoy makeup more than the average man doesn’t mean I want to be a television star.”
“You would kill it on cable, though.”
Ricky’s considered that, too. He doesn’t want to be in the public eye, though.
“Maybe I should close my eyes and throw a dart at a map. Wherever it lands is where I’ll live for the next few years.”
“Great plan, but I’m sort of confused. You got a meteorology degree and tortured yourself with physics for four years just to take a glorified vacation?”
“Technically it’s called atmospheric science, and I’m not going on a vacation. I’m going to… broaden my horizons. Study a little more.”
Hao pauses for a few moments. “It sounds like you’re just bored.”
Ricky sighs. “I am just bored. I don’t want to live in California for the rest of my life, you know.”
“That trip to Europe is still open. I can get you a flight out tonight. You seriously need to get your mind away from all this.”
Ricky cringes. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m perfectly happy suffering here a little longer while I figure everything out.”
“Alright, but don’t say I never offered! In all seriousness, I hope you figure this out. I’m sure the right fit will fall into your lap when you least expect it. Try not to stress too hard. I know you’ll figure it out.”
Ricky’s expression softs as he leans against the counter. “Thanks, Hao. I’m sure everything will work out, too. I hope you’re enjoying your little vacation.”
Ricky can sense Hao’s beaming smile from the other end of the phone. “More than you know. I’m still trying to pick out what postcard to send you from Milan! They’re all just so pretty.”
“I’ll be waiting for your love letters. I should probably let you go, I’m sure you have a lot planned for today.”
“I can always make time to talk to my favorite person. I do have an aerobics class scheduled in an hour, though. Apparently they do it differently here!”
Ricky chuckles. “Italian aerobics? Are you serious?”
“Hey, I need to stay in shape! The resort offers it, so. The travel guide was telling me that they teach an entirely different style. I’m always open to broaden my horizons.”
“Sounds like fun. Enjoy your class, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Talk to you later. Bye bye, love you.”
“Goodbye, I love you too.”
Ricky hangs up the phone, placing it back in the holder before running a hand through his hair. He always feels better after talking to Hao, even if their conversations go in circles half the time.
He knows him better than anyone and doesn’t take his frustrations personally. Ricky’s never on edge much, but lately his failure with his search is making him a little grouchy.
He stands up from the table, turning around to find Xiaoting standing in the doorway.
“Love letters?” She smirks.
Ricky doesn’t jump because he always expects someone to listen in on him. Finding out it was Xiaoting actually eased his nerves instead of heightening them. “Eavesdropping is rude, you know.”
“You’re on the phone in the middle of the kitchen,” she says, walking over to the fridge. “Excuse me for being curious.”
“Either way, there’s only one person you know in Italy right now. Not my ex-boyfriend.”
“I’m just teasing, jeez. Who got you so worked up? You’ve been so tense lately, it’s a little concerning.” Xiaoting grabs one of her special sodas before closing the fridge, leaning against it as she cracks it open.
“I’m stressed, you know that. I’m sure you heard the conversation, too.” Ricky sighs, resting his hip against the island. “I can’t figure out where to go.”
“I know you’re dying to get away from us, but I think spending the summer at home is a good thing. Mom and dad definitely missed you, I got so tired of hearing them complain.” Xiaoting rolls his eyes, taking a sip of her drink. “They take it out on me, you know that?”
Ricky laughs, shaking his head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean they make me do everything with them. I guess it’s my fault for living at home at my age, but I mean, really? They made me go see My Best Friend’s Wedding with them. Look, Julia Roberts is a good actress and all, but rom-coms are so not my thing.”
Ricky bursts out into laughter. The image of the three of them packed together in a movie theatre watching a romantic comedy is the funniest thing he could ever think up. Yet, it actually happened.
“Why would they force you to do that?”
Xiaoting faux sighs, shrugging. “They just missed their baby. Now that you’re back, everything is back to normal. I can go and do whatever I want without being jumpscared by one of them asking me to stay around for dinner. Or god forbid, help make it.”
“That… actually explains a lot. They’ve been hovering so much lately. I thought they just found out I switched majors.”
Xiaoting laughs. “Oh, they definitely know about that. Are you stupid? They literally called out what degree you got at graduation.”
“I sort of hoped they weren’t paying attention. Neither one of them said anything to me.” Ricky crosses his arms, wondering just how much he hadn’t noticed recently.
“I think they accepted that they can’t build you up into the next heir anymore. They’ve settled and accepted me as the future owner, finally.”
“I still don’t know why they thought I’d want to take over the business.” Ricky shakes his head. “When have I ever given any sort of indication I want that?”
“You’re a man, stupid.” Xiaoting rolls her eyes, but none of it houses any sort of resentment. “It doesn’t matter how ambitious I am, they’ll always look to you first despite the fact that I’m better and older.”
“But I’m gay and they know I’m gay. Doesn’t that cancel it out?”
Xiaoting shrugs. “I bet they still think you’re just confused. It’s all just a phase, after all.”
Ricky sighs, rolling his eyes. “You’re right, I’m pretty sure dad still thinks I’ll get married to a woman. Either way, at least we both are getting what we want now that I’ve graduated.”
“Don’t let it get to you much, they definitely still think my girlfriend from high school was ‘just a close friend’.” Xiaoting laughs. “But if you’re planning on moving out by summers’ end, I’ll have to prepare for being treated like a child again.”
“That’s my goal, at least.” Ricky says, trying to ignore how it’s already the middle of July and he’s still on self-inflicted house arrest. “I just can’t figure out where to go.”
“You’re planning on chasing storms, right?”
Ricky actually laughs, shaking his head. “I can never hide anything from you, can I?”
Xiaoting proudly grins. “I know you too well for that. I know you and I am the greatest sister ever, so I even did some research for you over the last two weeks.”
Ricky raises an eyebrow. “What, are you serious?”
Xiaoting nods, taking another sip of her soda. “I’ve had a little too much time on my hands to be honest. There are only so many soap operas to watch before my mind goes numb.”
“I still can’t believe you watch those. I can’t even picture it. What’s so enjoyable about the same plot re-used every single episode? And don’t you hate rom-coms?”
“You’ll never understand, Quanrui.” Xiaoting sighs, walking over from the fridge as she nudges her head towards the door. “It’s not about the plot, it’s about the emotional aspect of it. The suspense, the drama, the spectacle of it all. And rom-coms are not the same as dramas!”
Ricky drops his arms to his side, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’d say cheesy more than anything.”
“You’ve just never been in love, so you wouldn’t know what it’s like.”
Xiaoting isn’t being malicious.
The comment hardly causes Ricky to falter for a second, but it hits him how even she didn’t think his last relationship was anything special. It makes him wonder how much time he’d wasted chasing a feeling he wasn’t even able to capture.
Because Ricky thought he was in love. For a little while, at least. Until he realized that he could never love someone as much as he loved the buildup before it all. The clouds of romance swirling together, the thrill of the chase all culminating into one huge storm that’d electrocute his entire core with excitement.
Except, the clouds dissipate and the sky clears. The world continues to spin and Ricky’s left staring at the puddles on the ground. Completely un-electrocuted.
Needless to say, Ricky agrees. He’s never been in love and he wouldn't really know what that looks like. On top of the struggles of coming to terms with being gay, he’d been much more focused on the thoughts and emotions that were easier to decipher. Such as storms and the drama that comes with chasing them.
Either way, Ricky just rolls his eyes again and shrugs it off.
He may not know what love feels like but he knows what he wants.
Instead of opening a discussion about his love life, he deflects. “Like you’ve ever been in love, either. Your kindergarten boyfriends don’t count.”
Xiaoting gasps. “How dare you talk about…”
Xiaoting’s voice trails off as her expression falls back to something more neutral. “Okay, so maybe I forgot their names.”
“See? No love.”
“I think we’ve steered off track because there is love. It’s the familial love I have for you!”
“Oh, I’m so lucky.”
Xiaoting rolls her eyes. “I made a list, okay? I did research all over looking for places with weird weather… phenomena. I cut it down to a single place that I think will be perfect.”
Ricky’s eyes go wide.
For as much as they joke around with each other, no one else in his life has done as much as Xiaoting does. It’s more of a give and take, except neither one of them ever expects anything when going out of their way to help one another.
No words come to the front of lips, so he just smiles. Xiaoting returns it.
He doesn’t know how to tell her how thankful he is, but she already knows that. She wouldn’t have helped him if she didn’t think he appreciated it.
“Come on, I’ll show you.”
Ricky has no better options, and Xiaoting always knows exactly what she’s talking about. He follows her to the study, holding onto the hope of finding the answers he’s looking for.
Astoria, Oregon.
Approximately eight-hundred miles away from San Francisco, sitting right along the coast and facing the ocean.
That’s where Xiaoting narrowed it down to. Some random town in a random state that no one would ever know the name of.
Oregon, a state that Ricky himself had never given much thought towards. Granted, he lives within his own bubble within California most of the time. Only rarely will he venture off thinking about other places whenever there are interesting weather phenomena happening.
Ricky can be honest and admit that Xiaoting really does know him extremely well. There were countless newspapers that their father had kept over the years, which is one of his habits. There were short excerpts of news about the weather in that town in a few of them.
And the weather reports there were weird.
Frequent, unexplainable storms and severe shifts in weather that leaves no room for preparation. Months of endless downpours that bled into months of drought.
As soon as Ricky read it, he’d realized that this is where he needed to go.
Granted, it’s not like he had a lot of other options. There was a town on the east coast that Xiaoting brought up but Ricky enjoys the timezone he lives in, so he didn’t really feel like moving that far.
He packed up a few suitcases and started planning to leave the first week of August. He thought it would have taken more convincing on his part to get his parents to agree, but Xiaoting must have worked more magic on that part, too. They didn’t even question it, and they both even offered to drive up with him.
He didn’t want to burden them anymore than he already has, so he declined. He could make it there on his own as long as he had a place to stay.
As soon as he talked to them about it and they shared a hug, his plan was officially confirmed. All he had to do was find a place to stay.
A few forum searches and phone calls later brought him to a cabin sitting right on the lake on the edge of town. The person selling it must have really wanted him to have it because the price was next to nothing. Ricky’s not that out of touch—not yet—and it all seemed too good to be true.
He doesn’t fall for scams but he supposes he’ll just take this chance and trust that they just really wanted it gone.
With his bags packed and trip mapped, he left on a sunny Thursday morning.
The drive honestly wasn’t that bad. Granted, he spent most of it blasting heavy metal music to keep himself awake the entire time. Twelve hours turned into fourteen because traffic always gets worse whenever Ricky needs it not to be. He picked a random weekday in hopes of easing the traffic a bit, but California roads are always riddled with bad drivers.
Ricky enjoys driving, though. He enjoys the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair while his hand grips the wheel. Ricky’s always been a fan of the worn leather of his mother’s hand-me-down convertible, overly familiar with the tightly stitched seats.
He just kept humming along and thinking about what he might find there.
Ricky doesn’t have any expectations. He doesn’t even really know what he’s hoping to find. Weird storms and crazy weather, most of all. Other than that, he’s more so treating it like a glorified study vacation.
He can’t fight the excitement in his bones. He doesn’t even want to. For half the ride he’s almost vibrating from it, mind racing with the endless possibilities.
He just needed to get away from the city. He needed a break from the same orange and blue lights painting the skyline. He wants something more slow-paced, yet something that still has flickers of excitement.
A coastal, dead-end town with weird weather reports is just the kind of thing he needs. Frequent unexplainable storms are definitely the kind of excitement he’s looking for, with the freedom of a sparse town.
Anything else he finds is just a fated bonus.
There he goes, thinking about fate again. It’s a strange habit as of late. The older he gets the more he thinks about it. How much control does he have over the future he’s paving the way towards?
He doesn’t know the answer to that. Ricky chose this and he’ll be the one to find whatever it is he’s looking for.
As soon as Ricky sees the cabin, he instantly understands why the previous owner wanted it gone so badly.
To call it a fixer-upper would be an understatement. The walls were worn and wooden, stained with age with the faded paint peeling off what remained. The trail up towards the house was overgrown with weeds and flowers, hiding the entire stone walkway. The house also looked a little smaller than how it was described, but…
It was perfect. The view was gorgeous, too. The cabin overlooked a stunningly clear lake, surrounded by tall trees. The entire landscape looked pretty in the dark, too. The sun had long since set, painting the entire sky in stars.
He’s a little disappointed that rain wasn’t falling. He half expected to arrive in the middle of a tornado, but driving twelve hours meant he had ample time to let his brain run wild. He enjoyed listening to the sounds of crickets as he opened his car door, taking in the sights once more.
It was exactly what he needed. Something small and home-y without all the spectacle of too many rooms or space that he genuinely didn’t need. Something detached from town but close enough to where all it took was a five minute walk. The actual cabin might need some work, but Ricky can deal with that.
All it needs is a little love and it’ll be as good as new.
Ricky’s not that good at giving love but he supposes it’s easier giving it to a house rather than another person. He’ll have to do a lot less compromising and arguing.
Those are thoughts that he doesn’t want to deal with right now so he instead focuses on lugging his suitcases up the grassy steps. He left his need for love back in San Francisco with his ex-boyfriend. He’s here to focus on the strange phenomenon only.
He brought his suitcase and a thick journal, ready to note any strange things he discovers. He has nothing else on his radar, much less forging new relationships.
Ricky makes it up to the porch, glancing back to look at the trees surrounding him. He takes one final deep breath as exhaustion finally catches up to him.
His entire body collapses as soon as he unlocked the front door, dropping down onto the dusty couch in the center of the living room. He’s glad there’s something a little softer than the wood floor, but when dust and probably a few dark age diseases fly up his nose he wonders if he should’ve just slept in his car for the first night.
But Ricky can take a shower and burn all his clothes later. Maybe there’s a doctor in town who can pump his lungs, too. At that moment all he needs is to sleep until the exhaustion in his body disappears and his bones stop aching.
Ricky falls asleep to the sound of crickets outside. He wanders off into dreamland much faster than he has in a while, visions of clouds and rain drifting him through the night.
His dreams start out soft and slow. Drizzling rain easing him throughout the dream until the clouds start to darken. The drizzle turns into a downpour and then thunder starts to roar. The wind picks up until his entire body shakes in the eye of the storm.
He looks up at the sky with his fists clenched tight. The thunder gets louder and louder, until lightning strikes.
Ricky instantly wakes up with a groan, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as it continues to strike. Except, it’s not lightning. It’s not even loud at all.
He glances over to the front door, being met with the sound of a faint knock. It’s barely audible, and Ricky’s amazed that he even heard it.
He shifts his body to sit on the edge of the couch, hunching over as he takes a deep breath.
Time to introduce himself, he thinks.