I watched from the corner of my eye as Leon walked towards me. He stopped about four rows in front of me and sat down on the opposite side. Satisfied with the distance, I leaned against the window and prepared for the drive back to school. It would take almost an hour to make it there.

A couple of minutes passed before Ruby got on the bus and started talking to the driver. She wasn't going to be riding with us, but she would be following us in her car. She drove so she could transport some of the things we needed for the day.

I watched as they interacted with each other. The driver was nodding along and I couldn't help but smile when the two began laughing. They must've been good friends. Ruby finished talking and turned to us, wished us a good night, and got off. A few minutes later, the bus started up and we pulled away from the theatre. My eyes began to close and I let sleep overtake me.

I was woken up by a large creak from underneath the bus. I blinked a couple of times, trying to wake myself up. I sat up from where I was leaning against the window and yawned. Another creak sounded and I looked out the window.

Immediately, my heart dropped. We were on a bridge going over the Monongahela River and the bridge was creaking. I tore my gaze away from the window and closed my eyes, trying to remember to breathe. It's fine, nothing's going to happen. Bridges are sturdy.

Another creak. Reflexes made me open my eyes and we were only halfway across the bridge, directly over the middle of the river. Why was this bridge so long? I scooted over to the inside of the seat, trying to get away from the water, but it wasn't far enough. I was too close to the water.

My breath began to quicken as images flashed across my mind. Every movie scene of a bridge falling apart came back to me. In superhero movies, the people were always saved. But this was no superhero movie, it was a tragedy. If this bridge collapsed, we would drown.

I lost my ability to breathe, it was like I was under the water already, water filling my lungs. I was no longer sitting on the bus, but surrounded by water. It was cloudy with dirt, impairing my vision.

Another creak reminded me that I was still on the bus. My body grew hot and I began to feel trapped. I pushed my bag off the seat in an effort to make more room but only succeeded in grabbing Leon's attention.

He looked at me, startled as if he wasn't freaked out already. Why wasn't he freaking out? How can he be so calm? My eyes began to sting. This metal bus would be my death.

Another creak drew a whimper from my lips and another caused me to yelp. Leon appeared in the seat next to me.

"Cordelia, what's wrong?!"

With another creak and a yelp, the answer was clear. I saw the second he understood and he moved into the seat with me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and forced me to look him in the eyes.

"Breathe, Cordelia. Breathe."

I gasped for breath and it burned my lungs. Leon was so close, I could feel him take a deep breath, one after another, encouraging me to do the same. It worked and I began to get air back into my lungs. The stinging grew less and less until it faded.

Exhaustion flooded my body like a wave and my eyes closed. Leon leaned back, removing his hands from my shoulders and leaning back against the seat. When I felt semi-normal again, I opened my eyes and realized we weren't on the bridge anymore. In fact, I couldn't even see it anymore.

I pushed myself as close to the window as I could get and faced it, away from Leon. Five minutes passed before Leon asked the inevitable question.

"Cordelia, are you... afraid of water?"

To be continued...