[ someone made a comment (not a mean one) so I'm just gonna address it. I do still include a lot of Tyler and Kate dialogue. It wasn't all romantic between them, and their friendship in the movie is very important to me because he is part of the reason why she's able to heal from what happened — it was a combo of him, Javi, and Tyler's crew. so I'm not gonna just write that out of the story ]

☁︎

YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING

ACROSS THE STREET, the rodeo was in full swing. Carolina couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she sat between Boone and Tyler in the stands. Kate was fourth wheeling and sitting next to Boone, trying not to make a comment as Tyler slung an arm around her sister's shoulder and Boone had a hand on her knee.

The rodeo clown was riling up the crowd, and Tyler took the time to tease Kate.

"You've ever seen anything like this, City Girl?" Tyler asked her, leaning around the others to see as they clapped for the show.

Kate shook her head. "You keep calling me that. You know, I grew up on a farm? Yeah. Sapulpa. Couple hours from here. This ain't my first rodeo."

"Hey," Boone said, raising an eyebrow. "That's where Carolina's from."

Carolina and Kate snickered in sync, and finally, the younger of the two broke the news. "Kate's my sister, dummy."

She giggled as Tyler and Boone looked between her and a smirking Kate, trying to connect the dots.

"That actually makes so much sense," Tyler muttered under his breath. Then he shook his head and looked at them both. "So, tell me this. What was y'all's first tornado?"

"Tell me yours," Kate shot back.

"I was eight," he told them, thinking back on it. "Driving with my aunt. Sirens were going. All the sudden, this vortex just lowers down right in the center of the road. I was just mesmerized. Then I looked at my aunt — she's got this look on her face. I realized in that moment I was supposed to be scared."

"Were you scared?" Carolina asked softly. She'd always been scared of storms but just assumed she was surrounded by three fearless people. At least Kate used to be fearless.

"Yeah. Yeah, I was," he said, nodding to her.

"Wow, the Tornado Wrangler scared of tornados," Kate said, shaking her head mockingly.

Tyler just chuckled. "Okay, Sapulpa."

Then one of the bull riders caught Tyler's eye and did that ridiculous tornado motion. Both Kate and Carolina watched in disbelief as Boone just chuckled.

"You know him?" Kate asked, unable to believe it, especially since he wasn't from Oklahoma.

"I used to compete. Got my head stomped on by one too many bulls. Thought cars might be better for my brain," he explained. Carolina knew this, but still liked hearing him talk about it. She liked learning more about why he stopped.

"You're scared of tornados but not riding bulls?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Tornados, bulls. Same thing," he shrugged. "Here's the reason you do it. You don't face your fears. You ride 'em."

Carolina smirked and leaned in, whispering in Tyler's ear so that only he would hear. "Then I must be terrified of you."

As Tyler laughed heartily, Kate shook her head. "I didn't need to hear that in order to know that it was gross."

"Well, you ain't wrong," Carolina admitted while clapping for the bull rider.

"Hey, I'm gone get some popcorn," Boone said, getting up. "Y'all want anything?"

"No, but I'll come with," Carolina said, reaching for his hand.

He smiled as he intertwined their fingers before walking off with her, leaving Kate and Tyler alone.

"So, Sapulpa—"

"Shut up for a minute, Tyler," she said, giving him a hard look, making him raise an eyebrow. "Do not hurt my sister. I meant that. If you're just messing around with her for fun, then cut it out. She deserves better than just being a plaything for you two."

Tyler frowned. "Come on, you gotta see she's more than that. I mean, Boone's got stars in his eyes every time he looks at her. And hell, I — she's startin' to be all I think about. Well, aside from Boone. We like her a lot, Kate. So, you don't gotta worry about us hurting her."

Pleased enough with his answer, Kate let it lie, and they both paid attention to the show once more. Meanwhile, Carolina and Boone were in the long food truck line together. And Boone kept lifting their joined hands to kiss her knuckles, making her grin adoringly.

Boone knew he was falling and he was falling fast and hard for the girl next to him who was studying the menu. Falling so much that it scared him given that it'd only been a few days. But at the very least, he was relieved to know that Tyler felt the same way.

He was just scared that Carolina wasn't falling at the same pace.

"You know, you'll have to show me the pictures you take some time," Carolina told Boone. Tyler mentioning bull riding reminded her of Boone's other hobby.

"Awe, you don't wanna see those old things," he said, shaking his head. "They ain't much."

"I'll be the judge of that," she said, leaning into his side. "I bet they're amazing. Maybe I'll have to let you take a picture of me some time."

"Hmm, I could think of a few poses to put you in," he said with a sly smirk, making her laugh and elbow his stomach. Her cheeks burned at the implication, not too entirely sure she was put off by the idea simply because it was someone as sweet as Boone asking.

"I'll think about it," she said simply.

His eyes went wide, not thinking she'd take his joking request seriously. It instantly made him flustered, him thinking about her naked body spread out on a mattress, his camera in hand as he documented it. Photographs he'd stash away with the ones he had of Tyler.

Before he could say anything, she was stepping up to order two popcorns and some drinks for everyone. And even though their arms were full, Boone and Carolina still managed to hold hands, Boone opting to stuff two of the bottles of Dr. Pepper in his back pockets.

"Thank you," Kate said when her sister handed her a drink. Even though she didn't ask for it, Kate had a weakness for Dr. Pepper while Carolina's was Coke.

After she sat down, Tyler instantly reached for some of her popcorn, but she swatted his hand playfully. "You said you didn't want anything!"

He raised an amused eyebrow. "You don't think you can sacrifice a few pieces? After I was so generous earlier?"

Again, Kate was eying them with a disgusted look on her face. She really didn't want to know the details of what had her little sister blushing so hard.

Music continued to loudly play over the speaker as the rodeo went on, the barrel racers replacing the bull riders. But then the wind picked up, sending leaves from the nearby trees their way. Kate picked one up just as lightning struck.

"Are you tracking cells out this way?" she asked Tyler and Boone. Then she looked around. "Air feels heavy. This isn't good."

"Kate?" Carolina asked, wondering what her sister was feeling.

Before she could say something else, all their phones beeped with an alert. And Carolina didn't have to glance at her phone to figure out what it said.

A storm was coming, and sirens began blaring soon after the alert, the rodeo announcer coming over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, I've just received word that a tornado has touched down near the area. We need to evacuate this arena right now!"

People were panicking, and it made it hard for Tyler, Carolina, Boone, and Kate to stay together as they got out of the stands. Tyler and Boone made sure to keep the girls in front of them as Kate held onto Carolina's hand.

The last thing she could stomach was losing her little sister like she'd lost her friends.

"Keep moving, Care. Come on. Keep moving. Keep moving," Tyler said, his hand on her lower back.

All over, it was chaos as the bulls ran around the arena and horses escaped their enclosures, trampling people as they all tried to get away.

"Come on, Care!" Kate shouted as a woman tripped and fell. Tyler quickly helped her up while Boone grabbed Carolina's arm. "Come on."

People were foolishly climbing into their cars, crashing into each other in the mess. No one was driving away from this. So, the four of them headed back to the motel, which would be their best bet for a basement.

So long as a car didn't take them out. A truck honked at them and skidded to a stop.

"Woah, stop!" Tyler shouted.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Kate exclaimed.

Once they were clear, they ran for the motel. The sign outside was flickering, making it hard to see as rain began to fall. Boone opened up the door quickly.

"Keep going. Keep going," Tyler ushered them inside. Then he looked to the left and saw a mother trying to push her young daughter into a car. But that was the last place they needed to be, so he rushed to grab them. "Stay out of the car."

Carolina and Kate rushed into the motel first, where a young man was yelling at the manager about the shit AC in the rooms, all too unaware of what was going on outside. His girlfriend was there too, fanning herself with a magazine.

"Do you have a storm shelter?" Kate asked him over the yelling man.

"Or like a basement," Tyler said, coming up as well. "You got a basement?"

"No—"

"There's a line here, buddy," the boy said, annoyed with them.

"Fuck the line!" Boone shouted, his eyes wide.

"We need to get these people underground," Carolina said, raising her voice.

The girl in the corner just rolled her eyes. "Okay, there's no tornado. Nine times out of ten, it's a false alarm."

Then, Carolina looked out the window and watched as the entire stadium was torn up, disappearing into the sky. And a moment later, the sirens cut off, which was a horrible sign. It meant they'd been destroyed, but the girl didn't seem to think the same thing.

"You hear that?" the snarky girl asked, smiling smugly at them as the power shut off.

The boy with her groaned. "And now the power's out."

"No tornado," the girl said matter-of-factly.

Kate just ignored her. "We've gotta find shelter. Fast."

Kate moved first, running to the back room without permission to try and find something. Carolina followed after her, not wanting to part from her sister.

"Hey!" the manager yelled without stopping them.

There were no windows, which was good. But it wasn't good enough. Seeing a door and hoping it led to a hallway or storage room, Kate opened it up. Only for the wind to tear the doors open, revealing the mess outside.

Carolina ran up behind her and peered through the debris flying around. "Is that a pool past the gate?"

"Get everyone!" Kate yelled, knowing it was their best bet.

Carolina did as told, running back to Boone and grabbing his arm. "Everyone, come on!"

"Alright, follow her. Follow her!" Tyler told the mother and daughter, making sure they were moving.

And it was just in time as the speakers of the siren horn crashed through the window, nearly taking them all out. And that was enough to freak the girl out.

"There's a tornado. There's a tornado!"

"Obviously!" Boone shouted, over her attitude as they all ran outside.

The winds were insane, even worse than the one earlier that day. Kate reached the gate to the pool first and pulled it open, letting the mother and the daughter through, followed by Carolina. Boone took the gate from Kate, letting her through.

"Go, go, go!" he yelled at Carolina as Kate helped the other two climb down into the pool.

Then Tyler pushed Boone past the gate so that he could go in as well. He helped Carolina climb down the ladder, who looked up to see that the girl and boy from before hadn't followed. They got in their truck and were trying to drive away.

"No!" she shouted. "No, stop!" But it was too late as the truck flipped, crushing them in the cab. "No!"

"We gotta go! We gotta go!" Tyler said, coming over and pushing her down the ladder.

Kate was already at the low wall that had pipes attached to it along with the mother and daughter.

"Okay, hold on. You gotta stay low. Cover her eyes," she instructed.

"Okay."

"Hold on tight. Hold on tight! Okay, you're gonna be okay," Kate promised.

Carolina reached them along with Boone and then realized Tyler wasn't behind her.

"Tyler!" they both shouted.

He made his way toward them, only for the motel sign to drop down, narrowly missing him and cutting off the manager from getting to them. So, Tyler went back for him, and Caroline moved to follow.

But Boone stopped her, holding her back. "I'll get him, baby. You stay with Kate."

Her lip quivered as Kate held on to the back of her shirt, keeping her in place. The manager was crying out for help as Tyler got on his belly and crawled toward him, staying low. And Boone made his way toward them too.

"Help me!"

Tyler reached him, but then the manager raised his head, getting too high. The wind began picking him up.

"Stay down!" Tyler ordered.

But it was too late as the draft got underneath him and pulled him up right into the swirling vortex that was impossibly close to them now. Tyler tried to reach for him, but Boone forced his hand back down, not wanting him to be ripped away too.

Suddenly, the truck from before came flying out of the tornado, headed right for Tyler and Boone, making Carolina scream. When it almost crushed them, she ripped herself out of Kate's hold and went after them.

"Tyler! Boone" she shouted, reaching for their hand.

"Baby, get back!" Boone yelled as she got a proper grip on Tyler first, who then wrapped his arm around Boone, pulling him with him.

Suddenly, something rammed into Carolina's arm as it flew through the air. She cried out in pain and looked at the long gash on her shoulder where her shirt had been shredded. And it caused her to fall back, losing her grip on the boys.

The truck was tipping over, very close to falling onto them, which terrified her almost as much as the tornado as she scrambled back to her knees, reaching for them again, trying to ignore the burn in her shoulder.

"Boone! Tyler!"

Finally, Kate came behind Carolina and helped pull the boys up, and they all reached the wall just before the truck tipped over, stopped by the lip of the pool above them. It was inadvertently blocking them from some of the debris flying around.

Both Kate and Carolina held onto the pipes, and Boone and Tyler shielded them with their bodies, holding them tightly. All Caroline could do was clench her eyes shut and scream as both Tyler, who was the closest to her, whispered in her ear over and over again.

"I've got you. I've got you, Care. I've got you."

And then suddenly it was over, the winds dropping in speed and the rain letting up. And Carolina could still feel Tyler's body heat behind her, letting her know he'd survived. She quickly turned her head and looked at Boone, relief washing over her when she saw that he was there too.

She caught her breath and reached for Tyler's hand that was wrapped around her waist. "Ty," she said, her voice cracking.

He took in a deep, relieved breath and pulled her into a hug before helping her. Then Boone was on her, hugging her so tightly that she winced, feeling the pain in her shoulder.

"Shit," Boone cursed as Kate checked on the mother and daughter. He pushed the torn fabric of her shirt to the side, looking at the fresh cut that marred her skin. It was deep enough it might leave a scar. "We gotta get you some help."

☁︎

Ten minutes later, Carolina was sitting in the back of an ambulance, half her shirt off as an EMT bandaged her shoulder. It didn't need stitches but they recommended going to a doctor to get a tetanus shot. She hated shots.

Tyler and Boone were there with her, Boone holding her hand as she sat there. Kate was a few steps away, looking around at the destroyed arena and motel. All three were incredibly worried about Carolina, noting that her glassy eyes hadn't stopped shedding small tears since the storm. She was trembling and still terrified.

"It's over, baby," Tyler said softly.

"I know," she sniffed. "That was just... I ain't never been in one like that above ground."

She squeezed Boone's hand tighter, who brought her hand to his lips to kiss the back of it.

Shortly after the EMT finished bandaging her, two different cars pulled into the destroyed parking lot. The caravan and a Storm PAR truck. And of course, Carolina and Kate knew they needed Javi.

"Javi," Kate suddenly breathed out, spotting their friend who was heading toward them.

More tears welled in Carolina's eyes as she ran up to him, Kate following. Javi was there, catching her in a tight hug. Once he pulled away, he looked over their disheveled appearances and Carolina's injury. 

"When I saw the size of it and where it was headed, all I could think was—"

"Javi. I'm alright. Care too," Kate said before looking back at Tyler and Boone, who were talking with Ben. She was reminded of Jeb by the way they'd selflessly shielded them with their bodies, more worried about them than if the wind would sweep them away.

"You been with Owens and Boone the whole time?" Javi asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. He was clearly judging Carolina for her choice in company.

"Yeah," Carolina said, looking down at her feet. "What about it?"

"They ain't good for you, Care."

"And how do you know what's good for me—"

She was interrupted by Scott coming over. "Javi. Apparently, this place was family-owned. So, I'm gonna start working up some numbers. Riggs is gonna want those first thing," Scott said.

Carolina frowned, still unsure about Storm PAR's true purpose. She hadn't been with Kate when she did her solo research on Marshall Riggs.

Javi just nodded toward him. "Okay, man. I'll catch up with you."

"Yeah," Scott said with a nod. Then he spotted Carolina's shoulder and stepped toward her. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Just a little tornado," she said with a weak smile.

It was so clear she wasn't okay and yet he stupidly said, "As long as you're good," before walking off. Given that Tyler and Boone were close enough to overhear, both rolled their eyes and scoffed at his lack of true care for Carolina.

Kate huffed and watched him leave. "Javi, what is Riggs getting out of all your data collection?"

Carolina drew her eyebrows in, not understanding.

"What's - What's the matter?" he asked nervously. He knew where this was going even if Carolina didn't.

"Is profiting off of people's tragedy part of your business plan? Why are you doing this?" Kate asked.

"What?" Carolina asked, now looking at Javi with wide, accusing eyes.

"Wait, hold on," he said, getting defensive. "Riggs has offered these people a way to move on with their lives."

Kate just scoffed. "He's swooping in and taking advantage of people who have just lost everything. Y - You have no idea what that's like," she stuttered out, unable to believe Javi was defending the man.

Javi looked at her sharply. "I don't know what that's like? How about losing three of my friends while you were trying to land a big fat grant for your science project?"

In an instant, he regretted it, seeing the hurt flash across both girl's faces. Kate quickly turned away. "Kate. Kate, I didn't—"

"You can talk to her like that," Carolina said defensively as Kate walked away. "You don't know what she's been through after everything—"

"Neither do you," he said, glaring at her. "Not like she's made the time for you."

"Well at least she's not some sell out—"

"I so don't need this from you right now, Care," he said, shaking his head. "You don't know what's going on here—"

"Well, it sounds like your helping some asshole gentrify—"

"God, shut up, Carolina!" he shouted over her. "You're nineteen fucking years old. You done know shit about the world and what I'm doing! I shouldn't have even invited you out this week."

Carolina just scoffed and went after her sister, storming past Boone and Tyler, unaware that they'd overheard the argument. But when Tyler gripped her upper arm tightly to stop her, she looked up from the ground finally.

His mouth hung open, it feeling painfully dry. "You're fucking nineteen?"

She froze, feeling like a cold bucket of water had just been poured over her in the middle of a blizzard. Because this was what she was trying to avoid. The alarmed look on Boone's face and the furious one on Tyler's as they realized how young she really was.

Carolina swallowed her nerves and ripped her arm free, ignoring the terrified tears that pricked at her eyes. "I actually don't have to deal with you two right now," she muttered before running after her sister, trying to ignore the ache in her chest as she climbed into the passenger seat of the truck. She wiped her eyes as Kate took off. "Where are we going?"

"Home."