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harmonic-tempest · 18 days ago

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Twisterversary (Day 2) - "Healing After Heartbreak"

Themes: Rebuilding Trust After Betrayal, “I didn’t think it’d be you”.

Pairings: Javi Rivera x OC (Exes, Strained Friendship, OC is the daughter of Bill and Jo Harding and a close friend of Kate and Javi), Tyler Owens x OC (beginnings of a romantic relationship).

Warnings: A lot of cursing, fighting, a little bit of blood, panic attacks after a tornado.

Takes place in the aftermath of the rodeo tornado at Stillwater

Summary: In the immediate aftermath of the tornado that tore through the Stillwater rodeo without warning, Elizabeth “Tempest” Harding not only has to navigate the debris that was left behind, but a minefield of emotions as unpleasant conversations take place and unwanted revelations are made. An explosive argument between Elizabeth, Kate and Javi leaves both Kate and Elizabeth gutted and heartbroken, and leaving Tyler to pick up the pieces. Will Elizabeth ever be able to forgive Javi? Will Kate?

***

Her ears were still ringing as she climbed out of the pool with help from Kate and Tyler. Her hands were shaking, her knees wobbly like a baby deer’s. Triple doses of adrenaline flooded her system, causing her heart to continue to race.

Elizabeth Harding had been in tornadoes before, since the time she was a little girl. But this one had been one of the worst, second only to the one from five years ago. Unlike the one at the drive-in movie that her parents had told her about that had only grazed them years ago on a night like this, this one had been a direct hit. Had come with so little warning.

She could already tell that she was going to have trouble sleeping tonight. After an adrenaline rush like that, she felt like she’d drank six shots of espresso with nothing else in her system. Her head ached, though how much was from her earlier fall where she’d hit the ground and how much was related to the slowly fading adrenaline high she couldn’t say.

Just a few moments before, Elizabeth had nearly broken down when the other Wranglers had first found them in the pool. After she got out, Lily and Boone were on her immediately, each one pulling her into a tight hug and murmuring gentle thank yous and other kind words to her. It made Elizabeth nearly collapse, being almost completely overwhelmed emotionally.

“It’s okay, Tempe, it’s okay,” Lily said soothingly as she gently patted Elizabeth’s back. “It’s over, you’re gonna be okay.”

Even though she’d only known Lily for such a short time, just like Kate had, Lily had become a good friend, almost like a sister to her. “Thank you, Lily.” Elizabeth whispered hoarsely.

“No, Tempe. I should be thanking you.” Lily murmured. “Tyler wouldn’t be here without you.”

Boone was next. He pulled Elizabeth into a bear hug, squeezing somewhat tightly. “Lily’s right, Tempe. You saved his life.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help the soft sob that worked its way loose as she returned Boone’s hug. “He saved me first, Boone.” She managed to say. “Besides, it wasn’t just me.”

Nearby, Kate let out a huff, having heard the exchanges. Though she didn’t say anything, the barest trace of a smile could be seen.

Dani was the next person to pull Elizabeth in for a hug. “Thank you, Tempest,” she said quietly. “When we saw it on the radar, we thought for sure…”

Elizabeth shook her head before returning the hug. “We’re okay. That’s what’s important.” She said firmly.

***

She and Kate were standing with Tyler, Lily and Ben when Javi pulled up with the rest of the Storm Par crew.

“Kate! Tempest!” Javi shouted.

Kate and Elizabeth shared a look before they both turned to Tyler. “We’ll be right back,” Kate said to him. He scarcely nodded. Kate turned to Elizabeth, “C’mon.” she said.

Javi hugged Kate fiercely when he reached her. As he pulled away, he spoke, his voice shaking slightly. “When I saw the size of it on the radar and where it was headed, all I could think was –“ he said, but Kate cut him off.

“Javi, I’m alright. I’m alright.” Kate reassured him gently.

Elizabeth walked over, having been a few strides behind Kate. Javi turned to her and pulled her into another hug that felt more than a little casual. Maybe a little guilty. “Tempe, what about you? Are you okay?” he asked.

As they pulled apart, Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. More than a little shaken up, and I got hit in the head by somethin’ so now I got a migraine that would kill a bull, but I’m okay otherwise.” She said.

“I’m glad you’re both okay.” Javi said, before his gaze wandered to where Tyler stood, still over by the pool, along with Lily and Ben.

“So, where did you stick it out?” Ben asked Tyler.

“Right down there,” Tyler pointed to the horse trailer that had landed in the pool behind where they’d sheltered down by the pipes. It had been split-second reactions from both Kate and Elizabeth that had saved the lives of a woman and her young daughter, along with Tyler, and their own lives.

“Good call,” Lily noted as she looked down into the pool.

“It was all Kate and Tempest.” Tyler said, before looking over at the latter with a look. One that anyone with eyes could tell was filled with a certain level of reverence, but also love and affection.

“You two been with Owens the whole time?” Javi asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Kate answered.

“Why?” Elizabeth got a little defensive.

Javi just made a face, not particularly thrilled with their choice of company. He looked at Elizabeth. “You sure know how to pick ‘em, Tempe.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Elizabeth’s voice grew sharp.

But before Javi could answer, they were joined by Scott. Elizabeth was burning to be able to grill Javi, mainly over what he knew or suspected, but also to give him hell over his obvious feelings for Kate.

“Javi, apparently this place was family-owned, so I’m gonna start working on some numbers. Riggs is gonna want those first thing.”

Before Javi could respond, Elizabeth snapped. “The fuck is wrong with you, Scott? People just died here tonight. Others have lost everything, including people they love. Don’t you care about anything other than numbers?” she demanded, her hazel eyes blazing with barely restrained anger, laced with thinly veiled disgust.

Scott just sneered at her as Javi got between them before blows could be exchanged. “Okay, man, I’ll catch up with you,” Javi said to Scott.

“Yeah,” Scott said before walking off, casting another dark look at Elizabeth over his shoulder.

“Prick.” Elizabeth growled. “What was that you said about knowin’ how to pick ‘em, Javi?” She added.

Kate huffed as she watched Scott leave, before turning to Javi. “Javi, what is Riggs getting out of all your data collection?” she asked.

Elizabeth by now knew almost exactly what was going on, having done her own research after talking to Tyler back at Crystal Springs. But she stayed quiet.

“What – what’s the matter?” Javi started to sound nervous. Like being backed into a corner. Elizabeth could see he was starting to crack. Like he knew where they were going with their questions.

“Is profiting off of peoples’ tragedy part of your business plan?” Kate demanded. “Why are you doing this?”

“You better start talkin’, Javi. And don’t fuckin’ lie to me, or to Kate. I’m not in the mood.” Elizabeth practically spat.

“Wait, hold on,” Javi was starting to get defensive. “Riggs has offered these people a chance to move on with their lives.”

“Bullshit. I suppose by that you mean moving on with their lives by buying their land for cheap and then making a killing when he develops it later?” Elizabeth snarled her lip in disgust.

“He’s swooping in and taking advantage of people who have just lost everything.” Kate agreed, her voice shaking with outrage. “Y-you have no idea what that’s like.” She continued.

Javi’s expression changed from nervous and defensive to cold, hard anger. His eyes were hard. “I don’t know what that’s like?” his voice was as sharp if not sharper than Elizabeth’s.

“How about losing three of my best friends while you two were trying to land a big fat grant for your science project?” he snapped. Then he homed in on Elizabeth. “And you were so busy trying to get out of your parents’ shadow?” he added.

The effect of Javi’s words was immediate. Elizabeth felt like she’d been shot. Or stabbed in the back. Is that really what he thinks? She thought. How long has that been bottled up? Since Muskogee? That bastard!

A glance in the periphery told her Kate was just as bad off, if not worse. The pain in her eyes was palpable. She saw Kate flinch once, ever so slightly.

Then Javi seemed to realize what he’d said, having seen the pain flash across their faces. But it was too late to take it back. Words were like bullets. Once fired, they couldn’t be taken back. And what Javi had said was tantamount to betrayal.

“Kate.” Javi said, “Kate, I didn’t-“

He didn’t get a chance to finish, because Elizabeth had recovered from the initial shock, and in her rage, her right hook caught him in the jaw, almost laying him flat. She pulled her hand away, her breathing heavy. Practically her whole body was shaking as pure fury took over. The commotion drew attention to the argument.

“You son of a bitch!” Elizabeth spat. “I can’t believe you just threw that in our faces, Rivera. As I recall, you wanted that grant money too, just as much as we did, so don’t give me that bullshit.” Tears burned the backs of her eyes as she spoke.

“Kate’s right. You don’t know what it was like. You weren’t with us that day, in the car. You didn’t reach back for Addy, only to have her hand ripped out of yours when you got hit by debris. Your significant other didn’t die to protect you and your best friend –“ she ranted.

“Jesus Christ, just shut UP!” Javi shouted, taking a step back from her, one hand cupping his jaw, where a bruise would no doubt soon form. “This is why we didn’t work out, Harding! I don’t know what I ever saw in you, even now, and I sure as hell never should’ve asked you to come back out here!”

Those words hurt worse than what he’d led off with. Calling her out on trying to get out of her parents’ shadow was one thing. But now he’d really crossed a line. She wanted to punch him again, wanted to make him feel the pain she felt, with everything being aired out, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The fiery rage that had burned so hot at first was dying out, leaving a smoldering wreck in its wake.

“You know what, Rivera? Fuck. You. At least I have the free will and integrity not to get pulled into riding the coat tails of a money hungry rat. Come find me when you get your head out of your ass and realize you’re being fuckin’ played.” Elizabeth said, her voice low and hard, before she turned on her heel and stormed off.

***

During the entire exchange, Kate was silent. Losing three of my best friends while you were trying to get money for your science project. Javi’s words echoed in her ears, gutting and true.

Without uttering a word, she turned and walked away. The tornado might have been gone, but Kate could barely hear Javi calling her name over the rushing in her ears. The sound just wouldn’t stop. There was no escape from the storm. Or the guilt she carried.

It was her fault. It was her fault that Addy, Praveen… and Jeb… were dead. She’d always known that. But hearing Javi blame her though, it was like a knife to the stomach, reopening a wound that had barely begun to heal.

She couldn’t stay here anymore. She had to leave. She only knew one place to go.

She pulled the keys to Lion out of her pocket, unlocked the truck and got inside. She didn’t even wait for Elizabeth, or see if she was even coming. She just started the truck and pulled out of the wreckage of the motel parking lot, pulled out onto the highway and drove away.

***

Elizabeth’s hands were shaking as she searched her pockets for her own truck keys. Tears made her vision swim as she patted her pockets. Her head hung low as she tried to find them, before another commotion got her attention.

***

Tyler watched as Kate drove away. He didn’t quite hear what Javi had said to her, or to Elizabeth, but whatever it had been, it must have been something awful, because he’d turned around just in time to see Elizabeth deck Javi as hard as she could. Damn. Talk about a mean right hook. He thought.

He started to walk towards Elizabeth after she’d stormed off to her truck, but an unwanted voice got his attention. He turned towards the source, and spotted Scott with some of his Storm Par teammates. They all had beers out – Tyler supposed they’d decided to call it for the night before resuming their ‘data collection’ in the morning when it was light out.

He was about to turn away when he heard that dickhead Scott say Elizabeth’s name. And of course, the asshole didn’t have anything nice to say.

“I don’t even know why Javi even bothered with Kate or Elizabeth. Especially Elizabeth,” Scott sneered. “She can’t even get near a tornado without having a panic attack. And the rest of the time, she’s a reckless loose cannon. How’s she supposed to help us get data on tornadoes?” he added with a scoff as he took a swig of his beer.

His Storm Par teammates snickered in agreement.

Tyler immediately saw red. He wasn’t about to let anyone talk shit about Elizabeth. Not even some high-class MIT prick like Scott. The other Wranglers were gathered nearby, and Boone spotted Tyler as he stormed over to where Scott and the Storm Par guys were. “T, man, don’t!” Boone tried to stop him, but Tyler didn’t hear him. Or he simply ignored him.

“To say nothing of her questionable loyalties –“ Scott was cut off when Tyler shoved him hard with both hands, causing him to fall back a few paces.

“Shut your fuckin’ mouth, Storm Par!” Tyler said angrily.

“What’s your problem, Owens?” Scott demanded angrily as he leveled a glare at him.

“My problem? Keep my girl’s name out of your mouth asshole, ‘specially if you ain’t got anything nice to say about her.” Tyler nearly growled.

Scott just smirked. “Oh, I get it.” He said slowly. “See, I overheard Javi and Dandelion Girl talking about you two.” He sneered. “Star-crossed lovers.” He added with a snort. “You think you’re the hot shit, don’t ya, cowboy?” he got in Tyler’s face. “Nah. You’re nothin’ but a fuckboy with a camera, Owens.” He smirked.

It only took a split second for Tyler to lose what little bit of self-control and restraint that he had left. His fist made contact with Scott’s jaw before he could even fully process where his thoughts were headed. Scott stumbled back a couple of feet, two of his teammates helping to steady him.

Tyler was on him as soon as he was back on his feet. He threw a second punch, this time giving Scott the beginnings of a black eye. Then Scott finally fired back, catching Tyler across the jaw and splitting his lip open. Then he followed up with a potshot to Tyler’s gut, landing a heavy blow that damn near knocked the air out of his lungs.

Both men stood up, slightly stooped, and Tyler could feel the bruises beginning to form. He threw one final punch, driving Scott back before Boone grabbed him from behind and pulled him away from Scott. “Tyler! T, you gotta stop, man!”

“You keep Elizabeth’s name outta your fuckin’ mouth, Scott, or next time I won’t go so easy on you.” Tyler spat before turning away and pushing angrily past his teammates. Then his eyes landed on Elizabeth, who had been watching the entire time.

***

Elizabeth turned back to her truck, resuming the search for her keys. She heard heavy footsteps, and knew Tyler was approaching. She wasn’t afraid of him, even after seeing him essentially getting into a no holds-barred brawl with Scott. She hadn’t heard what Scott said to set him off, but she’d heard Tyler.

She felt he didn’t have to do that. But a part of her was grateful that he had.

She found her keys, finally, but before she could get into the truck, she fumbled, dropping them at her feet in the mud. “Shit,” she hissed as she knelt down to get them. As she stood, a gentle hand landed on her shoulder.

“Belle.” Tyler’s voice was rough, but gentle.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Elizabeth said quietly.

“He was talkin’ crap about you, darlin’. I’d be doin’ you a disservice if I didn’t set him straight.” Tyler argued.

“Set him straight? You could’ve beaten each other to a pulp if Boone hadn’t intervened.” Elizabeth said in disbelief.

“Can’t you just thank me for defending you?” Tyler asked, exasperated.

Elizabeth sighed. “Thank you.”

“Could you turn around and look me in the eye when you say that? Can’t help but think you’re trying to ignore me.” Tyler’s voice softened slightly.

She let out a breath as she turned around, only to be confronted with the sight of how rough Tyler looked. “Ty…” she said softly, taking in the bruise forming along his jaw, his split lip. She took his hands in hers, looking over them. His knuckles were beginning to bruise, but no blood, thankfully.

That was when she became aware of the stinging pain in her right hand. She flinched.

“Are you okay?” Tyler asked gently. “Is your hand okay?”

Elizabeth huffed a laugh. “I should be asking you that, Tyler. You got into a full blown fight. All I did was deliver a right hook to someone who deserved it.”

“And yet your hand looks worse than both of mine. You got a first aid kit in that truck?”

“Yeah.” She released his hands, unlocked the truck, and pulled out the first aid kit from the back floorboard and set it on the front passenger seat, pulling out a couple of alcohol wipes, a few gauze pads, and Coban wrap.

“Hope you got a decent amount of pain tolerance, Belle. This is gonna hurt a little.” Tyler warned.

“I’ll live.” Elizabeth tried to keep her voice light, but as Tyler took one of the alcohol wipes and began cleaning her knuckles, she sucked in a sharp breath. Her free hand moved as if on its own accord, grabbing his wrist as she bit down on her lower lip.

“Sorry. I’ll try to make this quick.” Tyler said, before he went and finished cleaning the blood off. Once he’d finished, he put a thin layer of antibiotic ointment on them before carefully placing a gauze pad on and securing it with the Coban.

“I think you missed your calling, Cowboy. You’d make a pretty good EMT with that bedside manner.” Elizabeth teased. Tyler just chuckled as he set the unused medical supplies aside and gently kissed her bandaged hand.

“You’re lucky you didn’t break anything. Didn’t know you had such a mean right hook, Belle. Remind me never to do anything to deserve that.” Tyler chuckled.

Elizabeth laughed softly before her eyes drifted up to the bruise forming along his jaw.

“Hang on, I’ve got some ice for that bruise.” She said, pulling away and reaching back into the truck. She opened the little cooler she kept her water and other drinks in, fished out a chunk of ice about the size of a baseball, and a sandwich baggie.

She bagged the ice, wrapped it in a paper towel, and handed it to Tyler. “Here. It’s not a cold compress, but it’ll work. After some of the swelling goes down I’ve got something that’ll help speed the healing process.”

“Thanks,” Tyler gratefully held the ice up to his bruised jaw, wincing a little as the cold of the ice hit his skin, but letting out a low groan as the aching, throbbing sensation began to ease up a little. “So where are you headed? Don’t tell me you’re stayin’ here.”

“No,” Elizabeth said softly. “I need to go home.”

“To the city?” Tyler asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. “Wakita. I need to go see mom and dad.”

Tyler nodded thoughtfully. “Can I take you?”

“You don’t have to, Cowboy.”

“I know. But I want to. I’m not ready to let you out of my sight just yet. Besides, I haven’t seen your parents in forever.” He finished teasingly.

Still, Elizabeth could see a hint of something under the surface, a hint of vulnerability in his sage-green eyes. She could tell that he knew she was trying to isolate herself as she dealt with everything that had happened tonight. She was touched by his concern.

“Okay. Let’s go.” She said with a small smile.

“Don’t have to tell me twice, Belle. Give Lily your keys – she’ll take care of your truck.”

Thankfully, Tyler’s truck hadn’t been damaged in the storm. It just needed a good wash. Elizabeth tossed the keys of her truck to Lily, who promised the truck would be in good hands. After, Tyler guided her over to his truck with one hand hovering near the small of her back.

“Tempest,” Javi called. She could hear the apology in his voice, but it was an open wound she couldn’t deal with right now.

“Not now, Javi,” Elizabeth was startled by the hardness of Tyler’s voice and it apparently startled Javi, too, because he stopped, reluctantly turning away as they got into the truck.

Elizabeth looked back over her shoulder to see Lily and Boone waving after them as they pulled out of the parking lot.

“Will they be okay without you?” Elizabeth asked quietly.

“Who?”

“Your team. Lily and Boone and the others.”

“Yeah, they’ll be fine. They don’t really need me. Leader in name only.” He joked self-deprecatingly.

Elizabeth knew that wasn’t true. She’d seen how much the other Wranglers respected Tyler. And more than that, they were a family. Like her parents’ team had been. Like her and Kate’s crew had been.

She let out a soft, sad sigh that she thought Tyler didn’t hear as she rested her head on the window, watching emergency vehicles fly down the road towards where they had just left, caught up in her thoughts.

The all-encompassing darkness of Oklahoma roads soothed Elizabeth’s raging emotions, or at the very least, dulled them temporarily. Lost in her own thoughts, she had no idea of the time. Glancing toward the clock on the dash, she was surprised that thirty minutes had passed.

Tyler hadn’t said anything since they’d pulled out onto the highway, allowing her to process everything in silence, which surprised her. Normally he was talking her ear off about this and that, especially after they’d been apart for as long as they had. But a glance out of the corner of her eye told her that he too was deep in his thoughts.

She shifted slightly in her seat so that she could get a better look at him in the darkness. A lot about him had changed in the last four years since she’d seen him. After they’d parted ways that night when she’d broken down in his arms, unable to tell him anything about what had happened with her crew. But time had been good to him, too. The hardened edges she remembered when she was in school had softened with time, though there were also times when that hardness would come to the surface. And there was no denying how much she’d missed him over the last four years.

There was obviously more to Tyler Owens than met they eye, as Elizabeth had tried to point out to Kate. Yeah, he was confident, wild, and a little crazy, but he knew what he was doing, thanks in part to Bill Harding’s teachings. But he also had the natural talent for it, even if he did make mistakes. And it was clear he loved doing it – Elizabeth could tell by the way he spoke at the rodeo tonight. He loved it the way she did. Or, the way she used to.

Yet beneath the wild, crazy exterior he put forth when it came to interacting with the fans or when doing one of his videos, Elizabeth knew the kindness and gentleness that hid underneath, only coming out when his team went to work in tornado-ravaged areas to help those who had lost everything, like looking for a lost dog and handing out food and clothing, even checking in on a couple of almost-strangers with food and an invite.

Even if the invite hadn’t turned out the way he’d intended. Bottom line, Elizabeth knew that Tyler Owens was more than the YouTube-famous cowboy tornado wrangler. And she hoped that Kate was starting to see it too.

He caught her looking at him, and smiled. “How are you holdin’ up, Belle?”

“I can’t believe you remember that nickname.” Elizabeth smiled slightly.

“How can I not? I’m the one that came up with it, remember?” Tyler countered.

“How come you only call me that when it’s between you and me?” Elizabeth asked.

“Figured it was just somethin’ between us and didn’t need to be shared with the world. ‘Sides, you know I’m the king of nicknames. You never know what will come next.” Tyler finished with a teasing smirk.

It wasn’t quite enough to make her laugh, but her smile was genuine, and Tyler could see she was in a better mood.

Until he asked, “you wanna talk about what sent you running back there?”

Elizabeth let out a breath in a sigh, turning away.

“Sorry, never mind.” Tyler backtracked. “It’s none of my business, and I can tell you don’t wanna talk about it.”

He wouldn’t hold it against her if she didn’t tell him. She knew he wasn’t that kind of guy. And maybe it was time she finally told him.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I didn’t know about Riggs,” she said quietly. “Not until Kate and I did some research after what you told us.”

“Ah, shit, Belle, I’m sorry. I thought ya knew who Storm Par chased for.”

“It’s okay. But I don’t work for Storm Par. Javi’s… an old friend, and he needed my help, and Kate’s. In hindsight I should’ve asked more questions instead of going in with blind faith.”

It was clear from the cloudy look of anger on Tyler’s face that he thought Javi should have told her more. Had told them both more, for that matter. But he appeared to drop it. “So what happened tonight, then?”

Another deep breath. “Kate and I confronted Javi about his data collection for Riggs, how it was taking advantage of people who’ve lost everything. He fired back with some truths that neither of us were ready to hear.” Losing three of my best friends while you two were trying to get money for your science project… and you were so concerned with getting out of your parents’ shadow… Elizabeth could feel her heart starting to race again for all the wrong reasons, panic starting to bleed through again.

A hand landed on her arm, just as Tyler’s voice broke through the haze.

“Belle, come back to me, darlin’.”

She let out a sharp gasp. “I’m sorry,” she choked out.

“Don’t be. I shouldn’t have been so hard on you and Sapulpa about Riggs. It wasn’t fair of me to assume you knew.” Tyler dropped his hand to the console between them.

“I’m glad I know.” Her voice grew hard. “I don’t want to be in the dark about this anymore.”

The silence that followed lingered between them for a few moments. Then Tyler spoke again. “Belle, can I tell you something?” he asked finally.

She turned toward him. She’d never heard or seen him so serious. Not since… not since the accident. “Of course.” She said softly.

“People like Riggs are a sensitive subject for me.”

“Why?”

“My parents owned a ranch in Arkansas near the Oklahoma/Arkansas state line, if you remember. I thought I’d grow old there. Not that I regret where I am now, but… I resent how we lost the place.”

Something twisted inside of her at his words. “What happened?”

Tyler’s expression darkened. “’Couple years of drought, wind-damaged crops, increasing seed prices. It was a perfect storm of sorts for the Arkansas equivalent of Riggs to swoop in and buy it out from under us. It was after that that we moved to Oklahoma for good. To Wakita.”

When they were teenagers. Just before they’d started high school. A lump formed in her throat. She remembered the day her parents had told her that Tyler and his parents were moving to Wakita. She’d asked them why, but neither had said a word. She remembered Tyler being in one of his moods, until she’d found a way to get him out of said mood.

She reached for his hand that rested on the console, twining their fingers together and squeezing gently. “I’m sorry, Tyler.” She said softly.

“It’s not your fault.”

They continued on in silence for a few more minutes. It wasn’t awkward. It was… comfortable, as Elizabeth processed everything from tonight. Everything Tyler had told her.

Still, the truth of what had happened five years ago was welling to the surface. The day after the storm, she’d been in the hospital, fighting through the haze of pain meds, recounting what had happened. To her parents, to Kate’s mom, to Javi. But it had been an abbreviated version of the truth. Since then, she was reluctant to talk about it.

But something about this quiet moment with Tyler made her want to tell him. He’d asked her four years ago to tell him when she was ready. She’d meant to tell him before, when she’d told him about her and Kate’s disagreement with Javi, but her panic had overwhelmed her. And then he’d shared something of his.

“What’s goin’ on in that beautiful brain of yours?” Tyler asked gently. “I can hear you thinking from over here.”

Elizabeth bit her lip. Came to a decision. “Do you remember what you asked me four years ago, when I ran into you at that bar in the city?”

Tyler looked at her oddly. “What do you mean?”

“When you said that I looked like I’d lost something. I told you I didn’t feel like talking about it, and then later…” Elizabeth swallowed hard. “You said you weren’t gonna push it, that you’d wait till I was ready to tell you what happened.”

Tyler nodded, not speaking, though he squeezed her hand reassuringly as she took a deep breath.

“Five years ago, Kate and I were part of another crew of chasers, part of a research team exploring tornado dynamics and ways to disrupt them.” She began.

“I knew Sapulpa was a chaser. She’s got that touch, like you.” Tyler said excitedly. “Disrupting tornadoes – you were lookin’ at ways to kill a tornado?”

“Tame them,” Elizabeth whispered.

“What methods were you using? Nothing’s been able to match the strength of even an EF1 so far. Were any of the trials successful?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No,” her voice cracked.

Tyler realized in his excitement that he’d missed the signal that the subject was upsetting Elizabeth. That in what she was saying, there was still more, and it was only about to get worse.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Belle. Keep going, if you want to.”

“We were after an EF1, just a small storm to test what we had. It seemed perfect. CAPE was good, inflow and shear… everything that we needed. There were six of us in all: Kate, me, Javi, Addy, Jeb and Praveen.” Elizabeth swiped roughly at the tears that had begun to fall with her free hand. Her friends’ last moments repeating over and over in her mind. “It should’ve been simple. Drop the barrels, get the data, and win the grant money to keep going, to learn more.”

She knew she wasn’t being totally clear. Tyler had no idea what the research had been focused on, and she wasn’t fully explaining it. But she couldn’t stop, though. It just kept flowing out of her.

“After we dropped the barrels, visibility went to shit. Debris was flying everywhere, but we still deployed. Javi was in the spotter van a ways off, collecting the data. The rest of us were in the thick of it. Kate and I were so sure that it would work, that the storm would collapse in on itself after deployed.

10,000 feet. 40,000 feet. 70,000 feet.

“I was wrong. We were wrong. In the field, when it really mattered, we got it wrong. So fucking wrong.” Elizabeth’s voice shook as she let go of Tyler’s hand and clutched at her chest as she started gasping. “It wasn’t an EF1. It was an EF5. Jeb lost control and crashed the car after we got hit with some debris. There was no shelter anywhere, except for an overpass, and the tornado was closing in fast. Praveen didn’t even make it very far. He was just… gone.”

“Addy… she was right behind me. Kate and Jeb were up above me as we were trying to climb the abutment. I reached back to help Addy, had just grabbed her hand, when debris came slicing through the tunnel. Something got me in my shoulder, forcing me to let go, just as she was carried off with the debris. Then something got me in my side. I couldn’t hardly move I was in so much pain, and in shock.”

Elizabeth’s voice cracked again as Addy’s screams echoed in her ears. “Jeb pulled me and Kate into the space between the abutment and the side of the road. I had one arm wrapped around the bar, the other around Kate, both in a death grip. He told us to hang onto the rail, bracing himself over us. Then just like that, he was gone, too.”

It's gonna be okay. I’ve got you guys. Elizabeth put her head in her hands, her eyes squeezing shut as she tried to block out the echoes of the howling wind, the screams of her friends, even Javi’s angry tirade from before, as she sat in the passenger seat shaking and sobbing softly.

“Hey, hey, Belle, listen to me. Take a deep breath for me, sweetheart.” Tyler’s hands landed on her shoulders, tapping out a soothing rhythm. “You’re safe, sweetheart. You’re not under the overpass anymore. You’re right here in my truck on the side of the road.”

His words pulled her from the deep panic that she’d fallen into. Tyler dropped his hands so that he could unbuckle her seatbelt. Hands on her hips, he gently shifted her body towards the open door. She’d been so deep in the panic attack that she hadn’t noticed he’d stopped the truck and come around to her side. “Belle, honey, can you open your eyes for me?”

She shook her head, a couple of tears escaping. With her eyes closed, she could pretend she was anywhere else. Someplace where she hadn’t seen her friends die. Somewhere where Tyler hadn’t almost died tonight. How could it have happened again?

It’s gonna be okay. I’ve got you.

“Okay, Belle, we’re just going to sit here until you’re ready,” Tyler said. He soon began tapping a steady rhythm on her hips, occasionally humming lyrics under his breath.

A few minutes passed before Elizabeth lowered her hands, letting them land on Tyler’s forearms. She felt the warmth of his presence. He was here. He was safe. The tornado hadn’t taken him like it had Jeb and the others.

A deep sob escaped her before she could stop it. Her head dropped onto Tyler’s shoulder as she buried her face into his neck, arms wrapping around his torso. He responded immediately, holding her in a tight embrace, just letting her cry and let it all out. Finally.

Panic attacks had happened frequently enough over the last five years, but aside from the one from four years ago with Tyler, the two she’d had tonight were the worst in some time. Crying was rarer still. Tyler was one of the few people who made her feel safe enough to let those pent-up feelings out.

It didn’t mean she wasn't mortified as her sobs subsided, though. She was uncomfortably aware of the dampness on his shirt from her tears and snot, the red puffiness of her eyes. And that had just been the physical impact. She’d also unloaded years of trauma and grief on the man who had been back in her life for all of maybe two days.

“Hey, out of your head, sweet girl.” Tyler admonished gently as he rubbed up and down her back.

“I – what?” she croaked.

“I can feel you beating yourself up, sweetheart. Don’t.” he leaned back slightly, gently wiping tears from her cheeks. “Thank you for telling me what happened.”

“You should stay away from me,” Elizabeth’s voice was hoarse, yet filled with remorse and anger. “I got my friends killed for some stupid dream that we could make a difference.” Her voice became bitter. “Sooner or later I’ll end up hurting you, too.” She dropped her gaze.

“Belle, look at me, please.” Elizabeth raised her watery hazel eyes to his. “You know these storms as well as I do, sweetheart. They shift, they collapse, they grow… no matter how much we know, how much we learn, we’ll never be able to predict everything. I know, it’s unfair, and heartbreaking, especially given what’s happened, but it is not your fault.”

“It is my fault. I led them out there, along with Kate. Javi was right-“

Tyler swore softly, his eyes flashing with anger, not directed at her, but at Javi. His tone with her, though, when he spoke, was calm and steady. “I’m sure Javi feels his own guilt, and he put that on you when you backed him into a corner. It’s not fair, and he’s wrong.”

“But-“

“No, Belle. He did what anyone would normally do in his situation. He got backed into a corner and lashed out in fear and in anger. Should he have done that? No, definitely not. But just because he did that doesn’t necessarily mean he meant it the way he said it. People lash out when they’re scared or angry or all the above. But eventually they realize they’re wrong, and that’s when they need to be forgiven.”

***

Javi walked toward the two of them – Kate and Elizabth – looking more than a little uneasy. And guilty. He shot a look toward the house, toward where Tyler stood, before Tyler went back inside in order to keep the peace.

“Hey,” Javi greeted the two of them. “Uh, ‘bout what I said earlier, I didn’t mean any of that.”

“It’s fine.” Kate mumbled, even though it wasn’t. Elizabeth remained silent, expression unreadable.

“If there’s anything I can say or do to make it better…” Javi trailed off.

“Give us your PAR data,” Kate said as Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s a start.”

Javi nodded solemnly before walking to Scarecrow, heading for the back door. Scott clearly didn’t look too thrilled.

“What’re you doing?” he asked, clearly irritated.

Javi looked at him as though he’d asked a stupid question, and for one brief second, Elizabeth saw the old Javi again. “I’m giving this to them. What does it look like?”

Scott just let out a huff as Javi came back, handing the hard drive over to Kate. Then Javi looked uncomfortable, before he spoke again.

“I needed money to start Storm Par. That’s why I went into business with Riggs. I want to help people too, guys, I really do. And I said what I said ‘cause I… I carry that guilt with me too, every single day of my life. I’m sorry. For what I said to both of you.”

“I’m sorry for what I said too, Javi,” Elizabeth said softly, making him look her way. “You… you were out there that day. You lost just as much as we did. You just didn’t see it happen firsthand.”

“Tempest, I owe you another apology, too. I was wrong before – about asking for your help. I made the right call by having you come out here. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry about bringing our past relationship up for the world to hear and for saying you were trying to get out of your parents’ shadow.”

“I accept your apology,” Elizabeth said calmly. “But that doesn’t mean I forgive you, yet.”

There was an awkward silence between them for a few moments as they both processed what had been said.

Then Kate broke the silence. “Javi, why don’t you stay and help us?” she asked. “We can finally solve this together.”

Though Elizabeth didn’t say anything, she silently pleaded in agreement, her eyes locked on Javi.

But Javi’s expression twisted into one of sorrow, and guilt as he chuckled sadly, knowing he couldn’t just leave Storm Par behind after everything he’d put into it to make it happen. “You know, there was a time when I’d do anything for you, Kate, and you, Tempest.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth could see the hurt in Kate’s expression, and she hated it. She’d known for years that Javi had feelings on some level for Kate, even back when Jeb was alive. Still, it hurt to see those feelings being put on a back burner because of the tight hold that Riggs and Storm Par had on him.

“Javi,” Scott called from the car. “Let’s roll, we’ve got a storm developing out near Enid. Team’s waiting.”

“Alright, I gotta get back to work.” Javi muttered. “The more data I get, the better for business.”

Kate nodded before pulling the keys to Lion out of her back pocket. "Sorry I took your car."

“It’s alright. ‘Long as Tempest didn’t drive it any.” Javi said, a teasing edge filling his words as he looked from Kate to Elizabeth.

“Didn’t really need to since I had a ride, Javi. ‘Sides, it would’ve been kinda hard for me to drive the other night since I was suspected to have a concussion.” Elizabeth snorted.

Javi chuckled. “Look, be careful out there. Both of you.” He said before walking away.

Elizabeth hesitated as he walked away, torn between following Kate back to the barn or trying one last time to get Javi to change his mind. Instead she found the middle ground. Her feet moved before she fully thought it out.

“Javi,” Elizabeth called. Javi turned around just as Elizabeth hurried over to him. He jumped slightly when Elizabeth threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

“I didn’t think it’d be you,” Elizabeth said quietly. “I figured something was off with Riggs, and definitely Scott, but not you. You’re still my friend, Javi, even if we’re not… not together anymore.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Tempe. You know that, right?” Javi said in a low voice as he hugged her back.

“Yeah,” Elizabeth choked up a little bit. “Yeah, I know. I’m glad you asked me to come back and help, Javi. It means a lot. I didn’t think so at first, but I really needed this.” She added.

“Hey, hey,” Javi’s voice was gentle as he patted her shoulder after she pulled away. “I’ll be okay, Tempe. I promise. But you gotta take care of yourself, too.”

“I will, Javi. I promise I will.” Elizabeth nodded. “Just… if you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.”

Instead of the sad, guilty look from before, or even a look of confusion at her words, a knowing, almost hopeful look crossed Javi’s face. He nodded wordlessly before turning and walking towards his truck.

I hope he makes the right choice. Elizabeth thought as he left. And soon. For all our sakes, especially Kate’s.

#twisterversary #twisters fanfic #javi twisters #tyler owens #twisters 2024 #twisters fanfiction #twisters #twisters movie #kate carter

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harmonic-tempest · 25 days ago

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Twisterversary (Day 1) - "Friendly Rivalry"

Theme: Meteorology department rivals Pairing: Kate Carter x Female OC (Unlikely friendship - OC is the daughter of Bill and Jo Harding) Takes place before the beginning of Twisters

Author Notes: I'm changing things up a little with my first Kate Carter fanfic here. Also, I don't have a degree in meteorology and went to a school that didn't offer it as a major, so I had to do a little research for this one. The classes that Kate and my OC take are loosely based on ones listed in the program outlines for the University of Oklahoma's Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology and North Carolina State University’s meteorology program.

Summary: Elizabeth Harding didn't think she would have that many friends when she started her major in meteorology at Muskogee State. She figured that everyone around her would assume that she got in because of her parents' legacy and not by her own merits, or that she'd been pressured into going into "the family business" as a storm chaser. As time passes, a friendly rivalry with fellow meteorology major Kate Carter softens the blow of the loneliness she feels, marking the beginning of an unlikely friendship.

Freshman Year

It took everything and then some not to let loose with one of what her father called the 'forbidden words' growing up. Elizabeth Harding was running late to class - of course, it wasn't her fault that the alarm failed to go off - resulting in her sprinting to her first class of the morning, lungs feeling like they were being boiled in the summer heat, the air sticky with humidity. It was only a week into her first semester, and she was already slipping? Not a good way to go.

"'Scuse me, sorry," she panted as she sprinted past other students, some letting her by without much input, others letting out indignant grunts or shouts if she happened to bump into someone. She might've seen the bird flipped her way a couple times if she hadn't been running like someone was chasing her.

Finally she reached the building where all meteorology classes were being held. She was definitely going to be late. If the circumstances were different, it wouldn't have mattered. The class was a somewhat mundane one. MET 1003: Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences.

Knowing what she knew, from constantly watching the skies growing up, from tidbits of information thrown around by her parents on chases (which she didn't get to do until she was a junior in high school, but it was worth the wait), she could've slept through it and probably still have passed.

But the perfectionist in her refused to let her slack in a class that would be key to being able to get her degree and, one day - she hoped - her doctorate.

Why didn't I choose the afternoon option? I'm not that much of a morning person, no matter how much Mom tried to make me into one. Oh, right, because that section was full and even if there had been seats open, I didn't want to get heat stroke going to class. The voice in her head was being extra snarky today.

She darted inside as someone opened the door ahead of her. Letting out a wheezy 'thank you' to the kind soul she hurried down the hall, slowing to more of a fast walk than a full blown sprint since technically running was discouraged in the halls.

The professor teaching Intro to Atmospheric Sciences had her back to the door when Elizabeth snuck in, claiming a seat towards the back. She silently prayed that the attendance hadn't been done yet - this particular professor was a stickler for attendance. The high standard felt like a choke collar. Hence the life-or-death sprint Elizabeth had just pulled off.

"Alright, everyone, I think that's enough time to let everyone trickle in this morning." the professor said as she turned to the assembled class - numbering about twenty-five in all. A nervous chuckle rippled through the room.

Elizabeth was still breathing a little heavily and didn't join in. The professor must've clocked it, because she furrowed a brow in concern. "Miss Harding, are you alright? You're looking a bit flushed." she said.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm fine. Just had to run a little to make sure I was on time." Elizabeth said before taking a sip from the water bottle in her backpack.

"Like she needs to be here." a brunette in the front row sneered. "I bet she could've skipped this class and gotten an 'A' just for being a legacy."

"You know that ain't true." a boy next to the brunette argued. "She has to work for it the same as the rest of us."

"All I'm saying is her connections could've gotten her out of this class. Just goes to show that that only goes so far."

Elizabeth lowered her head, cheeks flaming red not only from running but also from embarrassment. Luckily she could blame it on the running, but only for so long.

"That's enough, Elise. Everyone deserves the opportunity to take this class without unfair judgment from their peers, even if some have a unique background that they bring to this program." the professor said sharply.

Elise just rolled her eyes. Elizabeth had to fight the urge to snicker. She figured Elise was likely one of those Barbie doll-types that only cared about the program because of the recent attention storm chasers had been getting. And meteorology in general.

"Figures. She's the teacher’s pet." Elise muttered. Elizabeth had to bite her lip to keep from firing back. What is this, high school? I thought once we started college that shit ended? she thought.

"Now, if there are no further side conversations, let's go over the material from last night's reading, assuming that everyone had the foresight to actually read it this time." the professor said, drawing attention back to the front.

Elizabeth took a deep breath as she pulled out her textbook and notebook along with a pen. Just focus on class. Don't let them get to you. She told herself.

When it was time to leave class, Elizabeth made sure she was one of the first to clear out, despite being in the back. Unexpectedly, a girl's voice called out her name, making her stop. I swear to god, if it's Elise… she thought, but the person who'd stopped and waited for her wasn't Elise.

This girl was an inch or two shorter than Elizabeth, with blonde hair (mixed with a few streaks of brown) that went just past her shoulders and dark brown eyes.

"Sorry about Elise." the girl said. "She clearly doesn't know when to shut up."

"I've dealt with people like her before, no need to apologize." Elizabeth sighed.

"True." the girl said. "I'm Kate. Kate Carter."

"Nice to meet you, Kate." Elizabeth replied, shaking the hand Kate offered.

"So, I know you get this question a lot, but seriously - did your parents push you to go into this major?" Kate asked carefully.

Elizabeth shook her head. "They told me to keep my options open, and if I chose something other than meteorology they would have my back. I just kept coming back to it." she said.

"What else did you consider?"

"When I was little? Wanted to be a firefighter. Or a cowgirl." Elizabeth chuckled.

"Okay. That's a far cry from meteorology." Kate laughed.

"Like I said. I kept coming back to it. Might as well say it was my first love." Elizabeth replied.

"Sure sounds like it." Kate agreed.

Junior Year

Two years had passed since she’d first met Kate Carter, and Elizabeth couldn’t decide if she considered Kate to be a friend, or a rival.

The two of them had decently hit it off in freshman year, bonding over idiot classmates and, of course, meteorology. Elizabeth did her best to try to steer conversations away from her parents, especially any allusions to storm chasing.

Something of a friendly rivalry had developed between them over the years. Whether it was playful ribbing when comparing grades, or bickering over an assignment, they still ended up working well together.

“Have you thought about what you want to do when you graduate?” Kate asked one day over lunch, having taken a break from studying.

Elizabeth shrugged, her mouth full of a bite of the sandwich she’d hastily thrown together as part of her lunch for the day, so she couldn’t answer straight away. After swallowing, she replied, “Not really. I mean, I hate public speaking, so broadcast meteorology is definitely out.”

Kate laughed before sipping from her water bottle. “That’s something I’ll agree to. Maybe something in research, then?”

“Yeah. Dunno if it’d be in the field or somethin’ like workin’ for National Weather Service or Storm Prediction Center, but there’s plenty of opportunities out there. Unlike other majors.” Elizabeth said.

“Ever think about storm chasing, like your parents?”

“It’s come up a couple of times as I was growing up.” Elizabeth said.

What she didn’t say was that it tended to be a bone of contention between the three of them – between Elizabeth, Bill and Jo. On the one hand, if Elizabeth made the choice herself to chase storms, her parents backed it, and would likewise support her if she chose a different calling.

But there was also some tension over Elizabeth’s potential decision to be a chaser. In her parents’ day, close calls meant getting a little too close and getting sideswiped by downdrafts and microbursts, or having a truck picked up out of an irrigation ditch only to be tossed onto the road above.

It had changed so much since then. When Elizabeth had been slightly younger, in her early-to-mid teens, one of the deadliest days for storm chasers had taken place in another part of Oklahoma, over in El Reno. On May 31, 2013, Tim Samaras, his son Paul and his longtime friend and research partner Carl Young were killed when they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Bill and Jo had never interacted personally with Tim Samaras, but they did admire what he’d done with his HITPR probes, which took the challenge of trying to get in situ measurements from inside the tornado to a whole other level beyond what they’d accomplished with DOROTHY.

After El Reno, Bill and Jo were hesitant to encourage Elizabeth to go into storm chasing. They had no problem letting her go with them on chases with their old team, but to chase on her own with her own team was different.

But they also knew that Elizabeth was stubborn enough not to back down from wanting to follow in her parents’ footsteps and make her own mark.

Elizabeth shook her head as she pulled out of her thoughts. “I just gotta do some soul-searching figure out what I wanna do.” She said finally.

“Well, you have a year and a half left.” Kate said.

“Yeah, I know. Unless I do an internship towards the end.”

“Think you’ll have time?”

“It’d be nice if I did. Having some real-world experience could help.”

Without much more conversation, their focus turned back to their books and notes as they studied on, occasionally quizzing each other or bouncing answers to questions off each other.

Soon after the rest of their group arrived – Jeb and Addy and Praveen and Javi. The plan had been for all six of them to get together since they were in the same class – albeit different sections under the same professor.

Senior Year

When the lights flickered in the apartment, Elizabeth let out a groan. It had been raining all afternoon, with thunderstorms nearby, but none passing that closely to campus. Kate was in class – the one class they didn’t share because Kate had chosen the elective but Elizabeth hadn’t.

She’d been feverishly working on a research paper all afternoon for a paleoclimatology class – one of the few areas outside of severe storms that she’d shown interest in – when the storms had hit.

Apparently there were power outages a few towns over from Muskogee State, but the prevailing thought had been that campus and the apartments nearby wouldn’t be affected.

They were wrong.

She pulled her phone out. Texted Kate.

Power is flickering at apt. Going to take books and laptop to coffee shop in library. Meet me there?

Kate immediately fired back a response. No go. Going on a date with Jeb early this evening after class.

In this weather? What could they be doing for a date? Elizabeth shook her head as she turned back to her phone.

Okay, have fun. I wanna hear about it all later. 😉

Kate simply replied with an emoji rolling its eyes, along with, Of course you will.

Elizabeth locked the screen on her phone and put it away, smirking. Kate and Jeb had been dating since the end of the previous year. If she didn’t know any better, she’d have been willing to bet that here before long, they were going to be hearing about a proposal by the time graduation came along, or shortly after.

She was happy for Kate. She really was. But sometimes she couldn’t help feeling a little bit of loneliness at times. Being single sucked. Especially when you had a long-distance crush on your childhood best friend. She shook her head again. Focus, Harding. You need to get back to work.

She had just finished her second to last paragraph when the lights flickered again, then went dark. Elizabeth cursed under her breath as she saved her paper to her computer’s desktop, then put it in sleep mode as she got on her phone to report the outage before bagging up what she needed and headed out the door. A quick sprint to her truck later, and she was on her way to the campus library.

She reached the coffee shop around 5pm, and as she stepped into the coffee shop, the door swinging shut behind her with a soft chime, she breathed in the scent of coffee, thankful to be out of the downpour outside. Her clothes were slightly damp, hair sticking to her forehead, but she didn’t care. What mattered was that she made it.

Even at 5pm, the place was relatively empty, save for a handful of students hunched over laptops with coffee cups next to them, and a barista or two wiping down tables and counters. Clearly she wasn’t the only one who had thought of escaping to the library coffee shop.

Her phone buzzed as she set up her laptop at one of the tables, then pulled out the textbook and notebook from her paleoclimatology class. She needed to make it quick since she was pressed for time finishing her final paper.

It was Kate. Elizabeth frowned when she read the message.

Kate: Jeb cancelled our date ☹ guess the weather was worse than we thought for what we wanted to do. See you in a few?

Elizabeth: Sure. I’m at our usual table by the window. Can’t miss me.

She smiled slightly as Kate responded. She paused in writing her paper to take a sip of the coffee she’d ordered. A few minutes later, as Kate promised, she arrived at their usual table, sliding her backpack off her back and setting it at her fee.

“Hey. How’s the paper?” Kate asked.

“Almost done. I’m down to my last paragraph, then I just gotta do a run-through before I submit it.” Elizabeth answered.

“You want me to proof-read it?” Kate offered.

“Sure. Could use a second set of eyes.” Elizabeth answered.

A few minutes later, she finished the final paragraph, scanned through it and made a few adjustments here and there, and then turned the computer around to face Kate. “Here. Just add any comments you have and I’ll go through ‘em. I’m gonna grab me some more coffee – you want anything while I’m up?”

“Nah, I’m good, but thanks.” Kate said before diving into Elizabeth’s paper. Elizabeth just smiled and shook her head as she got in line. After a few minutes, she retrieved her coffee from the barista and walked back to their table.

“This is really good, Elizabeth. I don’t have any notes for you.” Kate said.

“Really?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yeah. And I’m not just saying that. This is really good. You made all the points you talk about in your thesis, your research is solid. I don’t see why you would get less than an ‘A’ on this.” Kate replied.

Elizabeth smiled. “Thanks, Kate.” She said, reaching for the laptop. She turned it around, scanned through the paper one last time and made a few more adjustments, saved her changes, and emailed the paper to her professor. “Done, finally.” Elizabeth sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

Kate laughed. “Harding, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re a workaholic. That, or you put this off til the last minute.”

“Neither of the above, Carter. More like I needed to sort out the system but didn’t quite get far enough.” Elizabeth groaned, eyes having drifted shut. Then they popped open. “Oh, so what happened to your date with Jeb? Your text said he cancelled?”

Kate suddenly looked… guilty? “Yeah, about that…”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. “What’d you do, Kate?”

Kate sighed. “It’s just… you sounded a little put off or a little upset when you told me to have fun with Jeb and that you wanted to hear about it later.”

“And I do. Really.” Elizabeth said.

“Maybe so, but I could still tell you were in an off mood.”

“Just feeling a little homesick, I guess.” Elizabeth said. She wasn’t far from the truth. She was homesick to a degree. She missed her parents, and Muskogee State was a good ways away from home in Wakita.

But that wasn’t the only thing that had her feeling lonely, not that she would ever admit that to Kate. As much as she trusted Kate and as well as they got along, she didn’t quite feel up to opening up regarding affairs of the heart, as it were.

“So what’d you do?” Elizabeth asked.

“I told Jeb it sounded like you were having a rough day and he asked if we needed to postpone. The weather was already pretty nasty out, but more importantly I figured you needed a friend. Even if just for moral support getting a paper done.” Kate explained.

Elizabeth smiled, a soft, rare smile that few people around campus got to see over the years at Muskogee. With the exception of the band of friends that she now had thanks to Kate – Jeb, Addy, Praveen and Javi – very few people saw that look.

The one that meant she’d let her guard down. Had let go of her preconceptions that she wouldn’t find any friends in a place that her parents had already left their legacy behind, only for her to try to fill their shoes as she made her own way.

Her friendship with Kate had come quite a ways over the past four years, slowly building over time. And she had a good feeling that they would be very good friends for a long time to come, even if it came with a little friendly rivalry every now and then.

Author’s post note: I meant to get this out during the Twisterversary event but with a demanding work schedule and the research I had to put into this for some of the meteorology classes it just wasn’t possible. I’ve got a few more in the works based on prompts from Days 2 and 3 of Twisterversary, so I’m gonna try to keep ‘em coming!

#twisterversary #kate carter

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harmonic-tempest · 1 month ago

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Twisterversary (Day 2) - "Never Let You Go"

Themes: "Stay with me. Please."; Write/Depict the same scene from two perspectives (kind of). Color: Blood Red.

Pairing: Tyler Owens x Female OC (Daughter of Bill and Jo Harding)

Takes place in the aftermath of the El Reno EF-5 (before the end of Twisters)

Summary: After risking her life to help Kate tame the EF-5 tornado before it could destroy El Reno, Elizabeth "Tempest" Harding wakes in the hospital after being unconscious for more than a week. After a heart-to-heart conversation with Tyler, emotions are running high as both confront what they felt during the events at El Reno, and after.

***

As Tyler walked into the hospital room, he saw again how battered and beaten Elizabeth looked. Cuts and bruises littered her face and arms. He could just see the edges of bandages wrapped around her torso and upper thigh, causing a pang of guilt to lance through his chest.

No matter what anyone told him, no matter how many times or how many ways they said it, this had been his fault. He hadn't gone after her, hadn't stopped her from making the choices she'd made. He'd pushed her out of the way of the trolley, only for her to almost die trying to tame the tornado.

He managed to sit in a chair at Elizabeth's bedside, then gently took one of her hands in his and squeezing it gently, wincing slightly at how cold her hand was.

"Hey, Belle, it's me," Tyler said quietly, his voice still a little hoarse. "I'm here, honey. I'm right here. I don't know if you can hear me, but I had to try."

He softly kissed Elizabeth's bandaged palm. "I love you, sweet girl. I love you so much that it hurts. More than my knee right now, and you know how I get." he tried to laugh. "Doc says it's gonna take a bit for you to wake up. No rush, of course. You need your rest after what you've been through." he whispered.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm as he sat there, as he talked to her. "I'm not angry, sweetheart," he murmured, giving her hand another squeeze, "but what the hell were you thinkin' back there? I pushed ya out of the way of that trolley so that you wouldn't get hurt. You didn't have to go and almost get killed taming the tornado to repay the favor. A kiss would've done the trick," he tried to soften his words with a joke.

"But it worked, Belle. The theory that you and Kate cooked up, the changes we made with the silver iodide, it worked. The tornado vanished. I know we don't have any data to prove it, but I saw it happen with my own eyes. And I'm willin' to bet you did too, before you lost consciousness out there."

Another deep breath.

"I can't begin to understand what drove you to do this, Belle, and maybe that's the pain talkin', but I also know that you saved my life out there, and everybody else's, by taming the tornado. Even if I am a little upset you took my truck to do it. I'm just glad the roll cage did its job and you and Kate didn't get crushed when the truck got rolled."

Anything else he wanted to say in the moment was cut off by the lump growing painfully tight in his throat. He forced himself to get up and walk a few steps away from Elizabeth's bedside to regain his composure. He walked back to her bedside, choosing not to sit down this time, and leaned in, softly whispering in her ear.

"I'll be here when you wake up, sweetheart. I promise." he said softly.

He had to take a few deep, shuddering breaths to steady himself as he left the room.

***

1 week later...

The first thing Elizabeth Harding heard was the monotonous but steady beeping of a heart monitor, which quickly became annoying. Even before opening her tired eyes, she felt something heavy on her right arm, the weight of someone using her arm as a pillow.

With a soft groan, she fully opened her eyes, briefly blinded by the harsh lighting of the hospital room. That was where she was - the hospital - she quickly realized.

Her eyes skimmed the room, first finding the bandages wrapped around her left upper thigh and lower left torso, which led to a grimace. Then she kept looking, seeing that Tyler was lying across her right arm, sound asleep and snoring softly. She smiled softly at the sight.

In a chair in the corner sat Kate, flipping through a newspaper. But when Elizabeth cleared her throat by coughing quietly, it got Kate's attention. "Hey," Kate whispered, immediately getting up and coming around to her side. "Hey, you're finally awake, Tempe."

"'Finally'?" Elizabeth asked, voice hoarse and throat sore from lack of use. "How long... how long was I unconscious?"

"Give or take, about a week." Kate replied. Elizabeth's eyes grew wide with alarm, but Kate quickly shook her head. "Don't worry. Javi and I and your parents contacted the SPC and got everything sorted. You're currently on medical leave. Pending your full recovery, you'll still have a job."

Elizabeth let out a relieved sigh before giving Kate a weak smile. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah," Kate said nervously. "You... you took the worst of it." she admitted. "Everyone's been worried sick. The Wranglers' YouTube channel has had to do without this one for the past week, but at least the viewers are buzzing about his new partner in crime."

As Kate nodded to Tyler as she spoke, Elizabeth looked back over at him. A feeling of guilt bubbled up in her stomach. She hadn't wanted to get in the way of Tyler's work, but she adored him even more for staying with her, even though the chances of her actually waking up while he was there in the room had been slim at best.

"Are my parents here?" Elizabeth asked after a long moment.

"Yeah, they're down in the cafeteria. You want me to get 'em? Let 'em know you're awake?"

"In a little bit - I've got a lot to process right now, and... I'd like a little time alone with this one before they come in." Elizabeth answered, gesturing to Tyler with her free arm.

"Good luck," Kate said, before giving her friend a gentle hug, careful to avoid the bandages around her torso.

After Kate walked out, it was silent in the room for a few moments. Then Elizabeth gently reached for Tyler's cheek, his face scrunched up in worry even in his sleep. God only knew she'd given him enough to worry about. She gently grazed her fingertips over his cheeks, watching his eyelashes flutter for a moment.

"Tyler," she whispered gently, trying to ease him into waking up. "Wake up, Cowboy." she added teasingly. When he finally roused enough to realize who was waking him, Tyler sat up quickly, eyes wide and taking in her eyes, which were finally open after a week.

"Belle," he breathed out. "You're awake." He gently cupped her cheeks in his hands, looking carefully into her eyes. "What'cha need, sweetheart? Water? A nurse? Something to eat?"

Elizabeth chuckled softly, covering Tyler's hands with her own. "I'm okay, Tyler. I didn't want to wake you since you looked so peaceful, but I wanted to see your smiling face." she replied.

Tyler's eyes went slightly misty as he pulled her in for a gentle hug. Elizabeth closed her eyes, feeling the warmth and affection coming from him. "Don't ever scare me like that again, sweetheart." Tyler said softly before pulling away.

She opened her eyes, looking at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. And I'm sorry 'bout your truck, too."

Tyler snorted as he shook his head. "Not that big a deal, Belle. It can be repaired - it ain't a total loss. Besides, you know I don't care about that truck as much as I do about you."

"Don't give me that, Tyler. You love that truck." Elizabeth countered.

Rather than reply, Tyler simply gave her a look, one that had her stomach twisting slightly as she read between the lines of what he was leaving unsaid. "Oh," she said in a small voice, suddenly feeling very anxious.

Her parents came in a few moments later. Tyler stood up and walked away from Elizabeth's bedside to give them room, but at Elizabeth's pleading glance, he didn't leave the room.

Amid the relief that Elizabeth had survived, Bill and Jo did ask at one point why she'd taken such a risk. She looked over at Tyler. He looked back at her with a pleading expression. Tell them the truth. He seemed to say.

Taking a deep breath, she explained to them that while she had a reason, she didn't feel comfortable talking about it yet, given everything that had just happened, and asked for some time to process. They agreed, though it did little to quell the concern on both their faces.

After her parents both hugged her gently, they left the room promising to visit again later. Jo left after giving Tyler a thankful hug for what he'd done, trying to keep Elizabeth alive to make it to the hospital.

Once her parents left, Elizabeth turned to Tyler. "How much trouble am I in with you?" she asked quietly.

"What do you mean, Belle?" Tyler countered with his own question.

"Tyler, I helped Kate steal your truck, only to almost total the damn thing taming that fucking monster tornado, and almost got myself and Kate killed in the process." Elizabeth said seriously. "You have every right to be angry with me, to hate me, even."

Tyler huffed slightly, shaking his head with a small smile. "Sweetheart, the only thing that matters to me right now is that you're alive, and that you're gonna recover. Am I a little upset with you right now? Yeah, I am. But you know me well enough to know that I could never stay mad at ya for very long. Not with how much I love you." Tyler told her gently.

"Even after I scared the ever living shit out of you?" Elizabeth asked, a guilty smile on her face.

"To be fair, I scared ya first, what with getting pinned under that damn trolley." Tyler pointed out. Elizabeth's smile quickly faded as she looked down. She could just see the bandages through the hole in his jeans, the dried blood around the edges of the hole, making her wince slightly.

"Tyler... your leg... is it...?" Elizabeth trailed off.

"Getting pinned by the trolley busted the hell out of it, and it still hurts like a bitch. Doc said runnin' on it didn't help any, nor did giving you CPR, but he said that there shouldn't be any permanent damage. With therapy I'll be able to walk normally again, but I'll be a damn human barometer the rest of my life."

"Join the club, Cowboy. I've been one since Muskogee." Elizabeth smiled half-heartedly.

"Nah, you've always been a human barometer, honey. Just like your daddy. That just made ya more of one." Tyler chuckled.

Elizabeth laughed softly in agreement. But her eyes were beginning to burn with tears at the same time. When she leaned her head back, Tyler saw the tears and became concerned.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong, honey?" Tyler asked gently, stroking her cheek. "Talk to me, honey, what hurts?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Nothin' hurts - thanks to whatever meds they got me on - it's just... my emotions are a fuckin' mess right now, Cowboy."

"You feel like talkin' me through them, then? Maybe I could help you sort through them?" Tyler suggested, still stroking her cheek, occasionally catching tears as they fell.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. "I was so scared back there, Tyler." she began softly. "I thought for sure that was gonna be it - whether the barrels worked or not - that I wasn't gonna make it back. But a small part of me kept screamin' not to give up. That I had to believe in it, believe that I would survive, like I did last time."

"You mean with the Muskogee tornado five years ago?" Tyler asked quietly. Elizabeth nodded. "Why though? Why'd you take that kinda risk, honey?"

"I had to try. We had to try. Not for the science, not to prove that it would work in order to win a grant, but because we were trying to save lives. That was the ultimate point behind the Tamer project - to save peoples' lives when the big ones come."

"I knew I was taking a risk when I went with Kate. We both knew the risks. But I also knew that if we didn't try, and more people died, especially you or Javi or the other Wranglers, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did mange to survive another EF-5, only to lose you because I was too scared to try to fight back. And that scared me more than the tornado did." Elizabeth's voice nearly broke as she finished speaking, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Belle, honey..." Tyler carefully pulled Elizabeth into his arms, just as Elizabeth finally broke down, crying softly while her tears stained his shirt as she buried her face into his chest. "Shh, it's okay, honey. I'm right here. I'm right here." he murmured in a low, soothing tone as he gently rocked her back and forth, rubbing one hand up and down her back.

Tyler wasn't about to sugar coat it. He'd been terrified. He was pretty sure that he'd aged at least ten years back in El Reno. He hadn't put himself in harm's way to protect Elizabeth only to almost lose her. In the heat of the moment, he hadn't understood what madness had driven her to tame an EF-5.

But now, holding her close as she broke down in his arms, after hearing her explain everything, Tyler understood. He understood what had driven her to such an extreme decision. The fear of losing him might've overridden her rational thought, but her heart had been in the right place, and she'd ultimately succeeded.

After a few moments, He felt Elizabeth's quiet sobs begin to subside, her breathing calming to a more sedate rate. "I'm right here, Belle. I'm right here." he said softly.

Despite her emotions spiraling inside her like bits of glass in a kaleidoscope, Elizabeth felt safe in Tyler's arms, and let his warmth help ground her in the moment, help calm her, and as her sobs subsided, she let herself relax as she felt and heard his heartbeat against her ear.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Tyler murmured gently.

"Yeah, I think so." Elizabeth whispered as she closed her eyes for a moment. "Sorry I got your shirt wet." she added with a hiccupping chuckle.

"Don't worry about it." Tyler replied as he brought one bandaged hand to his lips, softly kissing her knuckles. "I would've been more worried if you'd told me you were fine, 'cause I'd know you were lying." he admitted.

"God, I'm a fuckin' hot mess." Elizabeth groaned as Tyler pulled away, pouting as his warmth vanished, making him chuckle.

"Maybe so, but I'm no better." Tyler replied. Elizabeth laughed softly through the tears that had lingered. "There you are, sweetheart. I was waiting for that beautiful laugh of yours. No more tears, okay? I hate seeing you cry, and I hate seeing you in pain. Hurts more than my leg does."

"Okay, no more tears." Elizabeth replied as Tyler gently dried her tears with his thumbs. She took a couple of deep breaths. "I've got a lot of shit to work through, but I'll be okay. It's just gonna take some time." she said.

"And I'll be with you every step of the way, sweet girl. Always." Tyler said gently. "I love you so damn much, Belle." he added. Then he cupped her cheeks and began kissing all over her face, making her giggle softly as he repeated it between kisses. "I love you. I love you."

Finally, he kissed her where she wanted him most. Elizabeth melted into him as she kissed him back, reaching for his shirt and grabbing hold, pulling him closer.

Unfortunately, though, the longer Tyler kissed her, the faster the beeping on the heart monitor grew, and Elizabeth couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the proof of how much he affected her. It made Tyler chuckle into the kiss before pulling back. She held on tightly to his shirt, almost afraid to let him go.

Tyler gently propped her chin with two fingers to meet her gaze. "Don't worry, sweetheart." he said softly, loving how pink her cheeks were. "I'm no better."

"I know."

There was a knock at the door a moment later. Both Elizabeth and Tyler turned to see the doctor coming in to check Elizabeth's vitals now that she'd been awake.

Tyler stood to stretch his legs, but a hand grabbing hold of his stopped him from walking out of the room. "Don't go," Elizabeth pleaded softly. "Stay with me. Please."

Tyler gave her a soft, loving look as he sat back down at her bedside, squeezing her hand gently while the doctor ran his checks on her vitals. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm not goin' anywhere. And I'm never letting you go again."

#twisterversary #tyler owens #tyler owens fic #twisters #twisters fanfiction #twisters 2024

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harmonic-tempest · 1 month ago

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Twisterversary (Day 1) - "I'll Be There for You"

Themes: mutual pining, friendly rivalry (I know, not a prompt but thought it was fitting), childhood friends to lovers (slow burn)

Pairing: Tyler Owens x Female OC (Daughter of Bill and Jo Harding) – Takes place before the beginning of the movie and just after the EF-5

Summary: Elizabeth “Tempest” Harding grew up in her parents’ shadow and in constant competition with her childhood best friend, Tyler Owens. Though their paths diverged when Elizabeth went to college and Tyler became a bull rider, they stayed in touch. A year after a devastating tornado took the lives of three of her closest friends and left her scarred, Tyler comes back into her life just as she’s hit her lowest point. After finding out a bit about what she's gone through, he tries to show her that he'll be there for her no matter what.

Author note: My first fanfic! I’m excited and nervous all at once – I’ve written a little here and there, but never posted online. It’s only fitting that I give this my first shot while writing for Twisterversary.

***

7 years ago…

She’d grown up in her parents’ shadow, living with the reputation of being a storm chasing legacy, and yet all Elizabeth Harding wanted was to do something for herself. She was in her sophomore year at Muskogee State, of course, majoring in meteorology.

While she didn’t have very many friends, the few that she did have often called her Tempest, poking good-natured fun at her parents’ legacy, and her own potential.

There was one friend in particular, though, that always seemed to get under her skin without even trying.

Sitting in the library at one of the tables, her Cloud Microphysics textbook open to a particular chapter, right hand stained with streaks of highlighter from marking important information as she feverishly scribbled some notes in the margins, she let out an indignant grumble when she felt her phone vibrate next to her hand.

If it’s who I think it is… she thought. She glanced at the Caller ID, then let out a quiet snort. Tyler Owens. Of course.

Elizabeth had known Tyler since childhood, whenever he would come up to Wakita with his family from Arkansas during the summer months – his parents being old friends of Bill and Jo’s.

They’d spent quite a few summers together, chasing storms and chasing each other, before Tyler, who was a year older than Elizabeth, ended up moving to Wakita the summer before they both were supposed to start high school.

Despite being a year apart in age, Elizabeth was incredibly smart, had been able to skip a grade in middle school, and as result was taking more advanced classes by the time she’d entered high school. It became a friendly competition between her and Tyler when it came to their classes.

In spite of the rivalry between them, they were inseparable, frequently spending time together outside of class, and, just as when they were kids, chasing storms during the summer months, even going on some chases with Bill, Jo and their old team on occasion the summer before their junior year.

By the end of junior year, however, their paths began to split. Tyler had gotten involved in rodeos, first as a bronc rider, and then by senior year had started bull riding, while Elizabeth stayed focused on the academic side, earning a full ride to her parents’ alma mater, Muskogee State, aiming to study meteorology.

Of course, Tyler gave her a hard time about going into “the family business” of storm chasing, but of course he was only teasing.

Her Great-Aunt Meg had said time and again that she’d inherited her father’s knack of being a ‘human barometer’, able to tell what a storm was ‘thinking’. It was the other reason why she’d gotten the nickname Tempest.

Lost in thought, Elizabeth jumped slightly when her phone vibrated again, jarring her back to the present. She’d missed one call from Tyler, and apparently he wasn’t giving up, as he was calling a second time. Rolling her eyes at his stubbornness, she finally answered.

“You know the rule, Cowboy, you’re not supposed to call during study hours.” She said in a low voice, her tone light and teasing as she leaned back slightly in her chair.

“You and I both know you’d be in the library till midnight studyin’ till you’ve got equations floating around your eyelids, Belle. Consider this your reminder to take a break once in a while.”

The warmth in Tyler’s voice and his tell-tale Arkansas twang made Elizabeth’s stomach flutter, which she tried to ignore. Especially when he used that nickname he had for her, instead of Tempest.

“Either that or you’re just trying to distract me.” Elizabeth said, her tone dry.

“Touché. So how’s it goin’ up at Muskogee?”

“It goes. I’m in the middle of studying for a test, so I need to keep this short, ‘specially since I’m meeting with a friend to finish up.”

“Well at least you’re not a total hermit up there. Just make sure none of your friends end up replacing me.” There was an unfamiliar edge to Tyler’s tone for a moment. Elizabeth frowned, but didn’t remark on it.

“You wound me, Owens. You’re still my best friend, you know that.” Elizabeth went with playfully annoyed that he would suggest it.

There was an awkward pause in the conversation. There had been a few times in the past few years, at least to Elizabeth, where it felt like there was the potential for her and Tyler to be more than just friends.

But neither had really done anything about it, had laughed it off when classmates in high school had teased them about being a cute couple, particularly at homecoming or the prom.

Did she feel something for Tyler? Maybe. But how was she supposed to act on it without ruining one of the longest-lasting friendships she’d had?

“You still there, Belle? Or did I put ya to sleep?” Tyler teased over the phone, jarring her again out of her thoughts.

“Sorry, what did you say? I was jotting down some notes.” She lied. Though if Tyler could tell, he didn’t say anything. He only chuckled.

“I said you’re not the only one out of the two of us going after a meteorology degree anymore.” Tyler said.

“Wait, are you serious?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yep. Figured it’s about time I use my head for other than something the bulls can stomp on.”

“Tyler, are you sure? I mean, you’ve loved it since you started when we were in high school…” Elizabeth trailed off.

“And all good things come to an end. It’s better that I finally go to college before the next bull completely crushes my skull. You saw what happened two years ago. I’d rather not go through that again.” Tyler’s voice hardened a little.

Elizabeth shivered. Of course she remembered. It had been a night she wanted to forget. “So where did you get into?” she asked, keeping her tone light. “Oklahoma? Muskogee?” she added hopefully.

“Neither. U of A. They offered me a full ride.”

“Wow… Tyler… that’s amazing.” Elizabeth said, though her voice faltered slightly when she realized he wasn’t coming back to Oklahoma.

“You don’t sound all that happy about it.” Tyler noted.

“I am, really, it’s just… U of A… it’s so far…” Elizabeth said hastily.

“You know I’ll come up over the summer like I used to.”

“I know, it just feels… different. Like something’s changed. Or about to.” Elizabeth admitted.

“Just ‘cause we’re in different states doesn’t mean things have changed that much, Belle. I promise.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment. Then her phone buzzed with a text. It was one of her friends, Kate. I’ll be there in five with snacks. “Hey, I don’t want to cut this short, but my friend’s almost here to study. Maybe we could pick this up again later tonight?” Elizabeth said.

“Sounds good to me. Maybe we could do a video call. I’ve missed seeing your smile.” Tyler suggested.

“I like the sound of that.” Elizabeth agreed. “I… I’ve missed you too.” She found herself admitting.

“I know. I could tell by the tone in your voice. I’ll talk to you soon, Belle.” Tyler said.

“Okay. Bye,” Elizabeth said softly before hanging up. She scrubbed her face with her hands, groaning as she took a sip from the water bottle she’d brought with her, just as a familiar head of blonde hair came from around the nearest bookshelves. “Hey, Kate. Glad you made it.” she said.

***

5 years ago…

She was staring up at the sky, captivated by the intricate details of the clouds as they gathered and shifted above her. Each one seemed to tell its own story, but one continued to hold her attention above others. Its story was loud and clear.

A tornado was coming.

She heard footsteps behind her, prompting her to turn in time to see her best friend, Kate Carter, a smile plastered on her face. Kate stopped at her side, raising and aiming her camera at the gathering storm ahead of them.

The two of them shared a look – grins identical – knowing that this was it. “We’ve got one.” Elizabeth said. She’d been waiting all week to say that.

The calm before the storm. It had always been especially beautiful to her. One moment, the sky could be peaceful, and then the next… well, most people knew what came next.

They were finally going to do it. They were going to tame a tornado. That had been what Kate and Elizabeth were focusing on for their PhDs – wanting to disrupt a tornado, though they preferred the word ‘taming’ over ‘disrupting’.

She loved working with Kate. Kate had been one of the few people who saw beyond Elizabeth’s family name and the reputation that came with it. Most of all, Kate respected her skill as a chaser, never comparing her to the likes of her parents.

She felt the wind fluttering in her golden-brown hair as she looked back up at the sky. She wondered whether her parents would be chasing that day. Knowing her mother, Jo, had it been thirty years ago, she’d have dragged her whole department into the field, and forgotten about everything else in the process.

Then her thoughts drifted to Tyler, wondering what he was doing now. It had been a few years since a bull ride gone wrong led to his decision to study meteorology a couple of years after she’d started undergrad at Muskogee State. Over most summers in between terms, Bill Harding would take them both under his wing, teaching them both everything he knew about storm chasing.

But since Tyler had graduated, communication between them had dwindled. Last she’d heard, a few months ago, Tyler was still in Arkansas, having formed his own chasing team.

Her hand unconsciously went to a necklace she wore, a gold chain with three charms – a miniature tornado pendant, a gold disk with an ‘E’ for her first name, and a peridot – her birthstone. A gift from Tyler from a past birthday. But up until now she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him. Really missed him.

***

“Jeb, are you sure you’re recording? I don’t see a red light.” Kate said as Jeb operated a video camera, Elizabeth waiting patiently at Jeb’s side near where the barrels were staged on the trailer.

“Oh,” Jeb looked down towards the camera, tilting it back towards him. “Yeah, recording.”

“Okay.” Kate said. “Blah,” she added, sticking her tongue out as she tried to settle down, which only made Jeb and Elizabeth laugh. Kate joined in for a moment. “Don’t make me laugh, stop it.” Kate complained.

“Ah, but you make it too easy, Kate.” Elizabeth teased, earning a playful glare from Kate.

“Okay, um,” Kate cleared her throat. “Today, our science team from the Tornado Tamer Project is out in the field, about to chase the storm southwest of us,” she pointed towards the gathering storm before Jeb turned back to her. “Our experiment is designed to decrease the moisture inside a tornado to see if we can make it collapse.”

“Tell the folks how you do that, Kate,” Jeb said.

“Well, first we gotta find a tornado to suck up our super-absorbent polymers in these barrels,” Kate began, slapping the top of one with her hand.

“Diapers,” Addy whispered from over near Jeb and Elizabeth, before the former moved his camera to face her, but she was still trying to whisper to Kate. “Tell ‘em it’s the same thing they use in diapers.” Then Addy realized the camera was on her and smiled, “It’s non-toxic!” she finished, high-fiving Kate and then Elizabeth as she walked past.

Praveen squinted at the computer screen, brow furrowed. “Uh, the Doppler doesn’t show a storm ‘til the afternoon.” He pointed out.

“Well, data doesn’t see what Kate or Tempest see, remember?” Addy called over her shoulder as she gathered trash. Elizabeth could only smile.

Javi sat nearby, working on a sensor, before glancing up lazily. “How about Kate and Tempest see a few more hours of sleep.” He quipped, a smirk playing across his lips.

Elizabeth chuckled, playfully shoving Javi’s shoulder. “You can sleep as much as you want to after today, Javi. Ain’t like you’ll need to worry about tornadoes then.” she teased.

Meanwhile, Praveen, still engrossed in the data, set the computer on top of the weathered barrel of DOROTHY V, which contained sensors that would be released into the tornado along with the polymers to get data readings from inside the funnel. Javi let out an exasperated sigh. “Praveen, what’re you doing? DOROTHY’s not a desk.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile. It felt like things were coming full circle. Her parents had made history with DOROTHY IV and getting the first instrument pack to survive a tornado more than 20 years ago. Now, using that technology, along with something more, she and her friends were about to do it too.

***

“Kate and Tempest were right,” Praveen said from the back seat, eyes flicking between the laptop and the sky outside the car. “Southeast winds are picking up.”

“Yeah, they are,” Kate agreed happily from the front. Elizabeth was seated between Addy and Praveen.

“It’s really building up,” Jeb noted, looking out and up at the clouds. Then there was a flash of lightning.

"One Mississippi... Two Mississippi..." Addy counted out loud before the rumble of thunder came.

Praveen shook his head. "That's not a thing, Addy."

"Yeah, it is." Addy argued.

They continued back and forth until Elizabeth shut them both up. "Praveen, it is a thing, tried and true. May not always work, but it's a thing, okay?"

"Thanks, Tempest," Addy said.

Up front, Kate's phone began buzzing in her pocket. Glancing at the Caller ID, she answered. "Hey, Mom, what's up?" she said brightly. "Yeah, just chasing weather around. Yes, we'll be careful, I promise."

Jeb leaned back from the wheel towards the rest of the group. "It's Mrs. Carter," he announced.

Elizabeth, Praveen and Addy all grinned, their faces momentarily lighting up. "Heyyyy, Mrs. Carter!" Addy said.

"Okay, I'll tell 'em." Kate said. "Gotta go, bye." she pocketed her phone before turning to the others. "Uh, she says there's barbecue at the house when we're done." No sooner than she said that, everyone cheered.

Kate looked out the window at the growing storm. "Man, I love Oklahoma." she said with a grin.

"You and me both." Elizabeth said from the back seat, grinning. Wherever there was a storm was where Elizabeth felt most at home. And that was always Oklahoma.

"Alright," Javi's voice came over the radio, "How we getting this thing? I need a southeast position to read my sensors."

Jeb grabbed the handset. "Yeah, coming right up."

Just then there was another flash of lightning. "One Miss-" Addy began to count, but the loud cracked of thunder that followed cut her off. "Ohhh!" she laughed, excited. Elizabeth chuckled beside her.

"Oh, the wind shear is strong!" Praveen said, peering out the window before glancing back at the laptop.

Addy glanced over his shoulder at the laptop, then turned back to the window. "That's some serious energy building in there," she said before letting out a whoop and rolling her window down. The wind whipped her hair wildly as she pulled out her phone, angling it to film the swirling, black clouds. Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the turbulent sky.

"Hey, buckle up!" Jeb called back.

"Don't lean out the window," Praveen agreed, leaning over Elizabeth to try to grab Addy. "Addy, back in, please?"

Addy rolled her eyes. "Ever since you got struck by lightning you're no fun," she complained before getting back in.

"Yeah, well, that's what happens." Praveen replied.

"Dude, that's been your excuse for way too long," Elizabeth snorted.

Kate's eyes remained fixed on the sky ahead. "Okay, we should get the mixture ready," she said.

"Shouldn't we wait for the rain to hit first?" Jeb asked, just as the sky opened up and rain began to pour. "Okay, um, we should get the mixture ready."

"Yes, we should."

***

"Usually it works." Javi said. Addy had been trying unsuccessfully to open DOROTHY V to make sure it worked.

"Ugh, this thing is so old," Addy complained.

"Hey, show some respect, Addy. Remember, my parents came up with this tech." Elizabeth teased.

"Well, I mean it's old, but it's field-tested, okay? Unlike Kate's science project over here." Javi said.

"It's our science project," Praveen corrected him.

"There's no time, Javi. If DOROTHY's not working, then forget the data, we'll get it later." Kate said as she and Jeb hurried to prep the mixture.

"Forget the data?" Javi questioned. Elizabeth raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Tornado's not gonna wait for us, Javi." Jeb said as he helped put lids on the barrels.

"There's a death ridge setting in. Probably our last chance for the season! No matter what, we gotta get these barrels in the air and see if they can make a tornado vanish, okay? It's more important." Kate pointed out.

"Whoa, wait, no. How 'bout it's equally as important we do both, right? Look, if you make a tornado vanish with this," Javi pointed to the barrels, "but you don't get the data with this," he gestured to DOROTHY, "who's gonna believe it?"

"Javi's got a point, Kate," Elizabeth said, "data's gotta back up observations or it's nothin' more than word of mouth and therefore useless."

Just then, Addy pressed down on the button again and opened DOROTHY.

"Fine, get us the numbers," Kate relented. "Whatever we need to win a big, fat grant."

"Well, you know I'm all about that cash money right there," Javi said with a grin before he and Kate did their signature handshake.

Javi stayed behind as the others loaded up into the car and took off toward the storm. "Hey, be careful!" he called after them.

***

Elizabeth felt something off immediately after they'd stopped to drop the barrels. She looked up into the oncoming storm as the first prickles of fear ran down her spine.

"We gotta go!" Addy shouted, snapping Elizabeth out of it. She ran back to the car and jumped into the backseat. As Jeb floored the gas, Kate grabbed the radio.

"Okay, we've dropped the trailer, Javi." Kate said breathlessly.

Behind the storm, Javi sat in the doorway to the back of the van, laptop balanced on his lap as he watched intently. "Alright, let's see if it takes the bait." he said.

"C'mon, baby, c'mon," Elizabeth almost growled.

Addy turned around and looked back towards the trailer, already obscured by rain. "What if there's no tornado? What if it's just a dense wave of hail?"

Kate and Elizabeth spared a look before the latter heard the barrels open explosively. Both could just make out the mixture getting sucked up into the heart of the vortex along with DOROTHY's sensors.

Just then, Javi's laptop started recording the data being received from the sensors as they swirled up into the funnel. "Yeah, baby! We just shot up 10,000 feet!"

"Okay, that's not a hail wave," Addy said.

Jeb turned to Kate, then to the others. "We did it, guys." he said. But his expression turned serious as he looked in the rearview mirror, seeing power lines popping behind them at an increasingly faster pace. "It's getting closer."

Javi radioed again. "Sensors are rising to 30,000 feet."

Kate furrowed a brow in confusion. "The polyacrylate should be active now," she said.

"Something's not right." Elizabeth whispered, still looking back behind them.

Addy radioed Javi. "Are the winds weakening, Javi?" she asked.

"DOROTHY can't tell you that," Javi answered. "Lagrangian mechanics - a moving sensor can't give you the exact measurement of wind speed, but," he glanced at the laptop. "Aw yeah! 40,000 feet, your tornado isn't shrinking, guys. 50,000 feet..."

A moment later Elizabeth vaguely heard the sound of beeping and Javi cursing. "Holy shit... nah, nah, that can't be right." Javi said, and the palpable worry in his voice sent chills down Elizabeth's back.

"Javi, talk to us." Addy radioed in. No response. Kate and Elizabeth shared a look of worry. "Javi, talk to us." she repeated. Still nothing.

Elizabeth grabbed the handheld radio from Addy and keyed up. "Talk to us, Javi, what's going on back there?" she asked firmly.

Javi finally responded, breathless and sounding terrified. "Sensors just shot up to 70,000 feet.

Everyone in the car was stunned. "What?!" Elizabeth's voice grew sharp.

"The NEXRAD velocity is 200 miles per hour." Praveen announced.

"That's impossible." Jeb protested.

"Unless it's an EF-5..." Kate trailed off.

"Can't see a fucking thing back there." Elizabeth said nervously. "We gotta get out of here, guys, we're in a bad spot." she added.

"Guys," Javi radioed them. "Guys, whatever's in there is big - it's big and it's moving fast - DRIVE!"

***

Her head was spinning after the car had come to an abrupt stop, slamming into something. "Everybody okay?!" Jeb shouted. There were groans in response. "We can't stay here!"

Praveen pointed toward something ahead of them. "There!"

Elizabeth felt the blood drain from her face. "Are you out of your mind?!" she nearly shrieked.

"Overpasses are the worst in tornadoes!" Kate agreed.

"What do we do?" Addy asked, panic in her voice. They were running out of time, and they were out of options.

"This car's gonna fly! Come on!" he said, getting out of the car. The others were close behind him.

"Jeb, Addy, Praveen! Kate, Tempest! Guys, you gotta get outta there, you copy?" Javi shouted over the radio as the car was sucked up into the approaching funnel. "Kate!"

The five of them sprinted towards the unfinished overpass, the wind howling and pulling at them, trying to suck them in. Just as the group closed in on the overpass, Praveen lost his footing and was sucked into the tornado, vanishing in a heartbeat.

Jeb reached the overpass first, Kate and Elizabeth hot on his tail, and began scaling the concrete slope. "Guys, come on!" he shouted, his voice barely audible above the wind. Kate and Elizabeth both struggled to climb up side by side, Addy further behind.

Then a shard of metal debris sliced into Kate's upper thigh, causing her to scream in pain.

"Kate!" Elizabeth cried out. She saw Kate grabbing at her leg, Jeb trying to help her up from above. Elizabeth turned back and realized with horror that only Addy was behind them. Praveen was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Praveen?!" Kate screamed over the wind.

"Kate! Tempest!" Addy cried out, desperately trying to climb. But she couldn't get traction.

"Addy! Grab my hand!" Elizabeth reached back for her, holding a hand out for Addy to grab.

But just as Addy grabbed Elizabeth's hand, another chunk of debris - maybe the post from a stop sign - tumbled through the overpass, striking Elizabeth's shoulder and glancing off of her torso, causing her to scream as she lost her grip on Addy's hand. Then, more debris shot past, taking Addy with it.

"ADDY!" Elizabeth nearly screamed herself hoarse.

Jeb grabbed Kate and pulled her higher, pushing her ahead of him before reaching back and doing the same with Elizabeth, who had all but frozen in shock. Kate and Elizabeth reached the rail, the gap just big enough for one, maybe two people.

"Get your arms around the rail, it's gonna be okay!" Jeb yelled over the wind as he forced them both to get in under the rail. Elizabeth kept one arm wrapped around the rail, the other holding onto Kate, both in a death grip. Above them, Jeb was doing his best to hold onto the rail while covering Kate and Elizabeth both. "It's gonna be okay! Keep holding on, I've got you! I've got you, guys, I've got you-"

In a split second, Jeb was yanked from over top of them, out from under the overpass, and into the tornado. Elizabeth scarcely heard Kate screaming over the wind. "Hold on tight, Kate, don't let go! Don't let go!" she pleaded.

***

4 Years Ago...

It had barely been a year since the disaster. A year since Elizabeth Harding had lost three of her closest friends. And while the other two had survived, they too were gone. Javi had gone back to Miami. Kate had packed up her things from their apartment off campus and had gone god only knew where.

She was alone.

She'd been the only one to finish her PhD. She and Kate were supposed to do it together. But instead, Elizabeth stood alone receiving that honor. Her parents had been there, sure, but it wasn't the same.

She was Dr. Elizabeth Harding. And yet she wanted nothing to do with chasing. She'd reluctantly taken a job with the Storm Prediction Center near Oklahoma City. But she didn't chase.

She found herself in a bar one night after work, having intended to go there with some co-workers, but instead found herself alone, nursing a whiskey in an attempt to drown her sorrows.

The last year had been hell. Three funerals, the relentless stares and whispers around campus. Her parents had tried to help, but all she did was shut them out. The final blow had been losing Kate and Javi.

She felt the walls closing in, more often than not. She tried to get out, to be social, to shut out the hurt. But when she was alone, it would come back with a vengeance.

Until that night.

"What's a pretty girl like you doin' all alone?" a man asked behind her. Elizabeth steeled herself before turning around. It hadn't been the first guy she'd had to shoot down that night. And probably not the last.

"Look, I'm sure you're nice, but I'm not in the mood-" she said, then froze after turning around.

"Belle?"

"Tyler?"

There was no mistaking it. It was Tyler. Her childhood best friend, all grown up.

"It's so good to see you." she managed to say, before Tyler pulled her in for a hug.

"It's good to see you too, Belle." Tyler replied. "What're you doin' here all alone?"

She scoffed, tried to play off the fact that she'd been alone. "I came with some co-workers, and they abandoned me. I guess I was too much of a mood-killer." she tried to joke.

But Tyler couldn't miss the dark circles under her eyes, the lack of the usual sparkle in her eyes that he remembered. Something was different. He couldn't quite put a finger on why, but she wasn't the same Belle he'd known for most of his life.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Sure." Elizabeth said. He sat across from her, noticing the glass of whiskey she'd been sipping.

"So what have you been up to since I last saw you?" Tyler asked.

"Well, I've been working for the Storm Prediction Center for about 9 months." Elizabeth said.

"You got your PhD?"

"Got it last fall." Elizabeth answered.

"Congrats, Belle, I'm so proud of you. You definitely earned it." Tyler grinned.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"Are you okay?" Tyler asked gently. "You don't seem as happy as I remember. It's like you've lost something."

Elizabeth bit her lip. She wanted to tell him off. Instead she decided to change the subject. Make it about something other than her.

"How have you been?" she asked, her voice a little too light. "Last I heard you had a chase team back in Arkansas. How's that going?"

"Oh, the Tornado Wranglers?" Tyler said, a bit suspicious that she was deflecting. "We've got a good thing going. You seen any of our videos?"

"Videos?"

"Yeah, we've posted videos of some of our chases on YouTube. You should check 'em out."

"Okay."

"You could join us if you want. I'm sure you'd have a blast." Tyler offered. "Kinda like the old days."

Elizabeth felt a lump rise in her throat at the mention. "No, that's fine. I don't think I'd be able to get time off to do that." she said quickly. "Could... could you give me a minute?" she asked, getting up and heading to the bathroom without waiting for a response.

He wanted to write it off that maybe she'd had a rough day and was trying to put on a brave face. But Tyler Owens knew Elizabeth Harding well enough to know that this wasn't like her, bad day or not.

While she was in the bathroom, Tyler pulled out his phone and clicked open his browser. He typed in Elizabeth Harding into the search engine and waited for the results. What he found unsettled him.

Tragedy Strikes: Three College Students Killed in Tornado During Storm Chase

He felt a pit open in his stomach. No, it couldn't be. Against his better judgment he clicked the link to the article, dated nearly a year ago. There was a photo near the top of the article, one of two women. One had blonde hair and dark brown eyes. The other, Tyler knew on sight.

"Belle..." he whispered. She looked like she'd been through hell. Shirt torn, left shoulder and side bloody, cuts and scratches littering her face and arms. He swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat before he forced himself to read through the article.

With every paragraph he read, he began to understand. She'd lost three of her friends. Doing the thing she'd loved most when they were younger. No wonder she'd reacted the way she had to his invitation. She'd gone through something horrific, and Tyler suspected she didn't want to chase ever again.

He felt sick. Now it all made sense. The dark circles under her eyes... she probably wasn't sleeping well, likely due to nightmares. And the deadened look in her eyes... like someone had sucked all the joy out.

Because she'd been robbed of feeling safe doing something she loved, something that was so much a part of her, not just from her parents, but something so uniquely her.

"Hey," Elizabeth's voice jarred him from his thoughts. He turned to see that she'd returned. She looked like she'd been crying, which made him fight the urge to flinch. He hated that she looked like that.

"Hey," Tyler said. He locked the screen of his phone before she could see the article. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I've just been having a rough week."

"I wanna take you somewhere, if that's okay." Tyler found himself saying.

She tilted her head curiously, not sure where this was going. "Okay?"

"You know, just to get some fresh air, get away from the havoc." Tyler said. "Get out of the city for a bit."

"Oh. Sure." she was warming up to the idea.

"Great. I'll pay for the drinks and then we'll go." Tyler said, grabbing for his wallet.

"You don't need to do that." Elizabeth protested.

"True. But maybe I want to. Consider it a favor for an old friend." Tyler smiled gently.

***

"This isn't some plan to take me out into the middle of nowhere and kill me, is it?" Elizabeth joked as they headed out of town in Tyler's truck.

"No," Tyler snorted. "What do ya take me for, Belle? A serial killer? You wound me." he complained.

"Well, it's definitely not the most spontaneous thing you've ever done, I'll give you that." Elizabeth chuckled.

"Keep laughing, Belle." Tyler fought the urge to roll his eyes. But at least she was smiling.

"Okay, then will you at least tell me where we're going?"

"Is it a bad thing that I wanna take my best friend stargazing like old times?"

"Stargazing?" her eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Why not? It's a nice night out for it."

"Tyler..." her voice trailed off. He glanced over at her. "Thank you." she said softly.

"You know I'd do anything for ya, Belle." Tyler said quietly.

"Yeah, I know." Elizabeth replied.

They reached their destination - an open field somewhere near Bridge Creek - a short while later. The night had cooled off somewhat, so Tyler had grabbed a couple of blankets from the back seat of his truck in case they got cold while sitting on the tailgate.

For a little while, things were going well. Elizabeth and Tyler talked for what seemed like ages, trading stories back and forth - Tyler with his last days in the rodeo, Elizabeth with some wild stories from college - before the sadness began to creep back into her demeanor.

"You know," Tyler said, getting her attention. "I've really missed this."

"What, telling embarrassing stories back and forth?" Elizabeth chuckled half-heartedly.

"Nah, I mean just spending time together out in the middle of nowhere. Away from all the chaos."

"Oh, yeah."

"Hey," Tyler nudged her arm. "You know I know you well enough to tell when something's bothering you. You don't have to tell me right now if you don't feel up to it, but I'll be there when you're ready."

Elizabeth nodded, swallowing hard. "Thank you." she said quietly. She leaned over and laid her head on Tyler's shoulder. "I've really missed you, Tyler." she added softly.

"Me too." Tyler agreed. More than you know.

A faint rumble of thunder sent the hair on Elizabeth's neck standing up. "That a storm coming in?" she asked, sitting up a little too straight.

"Yeah, looks like it's not much of one." Tyler said, pulling up a radar app on his phone. Elizabeth visibly relaxed, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She squeezed her eyes shut a moment, trying to keep her breathing under control so Tyler wouldn't notice. In for four... hold for four... let it out slowly...

Tyler felt her shaking. He moved without thinking - reaching over with one hand and taking one of her hands in his, squeezing gently. "Hey, Belle, look at me," he said quietly. She shook her head. "C'mon, sweetheart, lemme see those beautiful eyes." he pressed gently.

She shook her head again. "It's okay, Belle. We're safe - the storm's not close enough to hurt us. And we can get into the truck and get somewhere safe if we need to." he promised.

He felt her hand ball into a fist in his hand, as she took a deep breath before opening her eyes. "There you go." Tyler breathed as her eyes met his. "You're okay, sweetheart. I've got you. It's okay."

"I wish you hadn't seen that." Elizabeth whispered. Tears were welling up in her eyes. She looked away, trying to blink them away, furious that she'd slipped.

"Look at me, Belle." Tyler said firmly, taking his free hand and hooking a finger under her chin, making her turn her head to look at him. Though his chest ached at the sight of tears in her eyes, he didn't waver.

"I don't know the full story about what you went through, but I know it must've been somethin' awful. And like I said before, you don't have to tell me now if you don't feel comfortable talking about it yet, but I'm not letting you go through this alone." he said gently.

It was a like a dam burst inside of her. She let out a soft sob before Tyler pulled her into his arms, and she buried her face into his shoulder. He could feel her shaking like a leaf in the wind, even as she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. It made his chest ache something fierce, knowing that she was hurting, and helping her through it wouldn't be easy. But in that moment, Tyler Owens was determined to be there for the person he cared about most.

#Twisterversary #tyler owens #tyler owens fic #twisters fanfiction #twisters 2024 #twisters

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