[ shorter kind of filler chapter. sorry. but I had a job interview today and it went really well! ]

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WHAT'S THAT GOT TO DO WITH TORNADOES?

THE NEXT DAY, Rio was back at the gas station with the Storm PAR team. She was sitting with Boone in the bed of Tyler's truck, eating a bacon biscuit from the diner and listening as he told her what he'd learned about tornadoes over the years. He was patient any time she had questions.

"So, what do you all mean when you say wind shear?" she questioned.

"See," he said, looking at the mostly-clear sky, "it's when winds blow in all different directions at different heights and stuff. And it can increase the updrafts created by unstable air masses."

Rio stared at him, a little smile on her face. "I don't have any idea what you just said, but you looked pretty saying it."

She was lying, of course, as he'd said it in simple terms. But she wanted to see how he'd react.

Boone rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, avoiding eye contact as his cheeks burned. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable last night."

"You didn't," she assured him. "It was sweet."

"Good," he breathed out. "'S what I was going for."

She chuckled and shook her head before nodding to the light-colored clouds in the distance. Currently, Kate was staring at them. "Think it'll give us anything?"

"Maybe in an hour or two. Let it develop some more," he shrugged. "Like I said, Tyler does all the major tracking. I like being behind the camera. Documenting it all."

"That'll be real neat in a few years — having all these memories to look back on," she said, smiling at him. "Your channel's like a little scrapbook. Wish I had something like that."

"Well, I'm sure you got some good pictures and videos from being in college."

Rio's smile fell. She did have pictures and videos. Ones of Jeb and Praveen. Sweet ones of her with Addy, wrapped in each other's arms. She knew Javi even still had the video that Jeb took the very day he died. But she couldn't stomach looking at them.

As for her time after her freshman year, there was hardly any proof she existed aside from educational articles.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Don't really have anyone to take pictures with."

"Well, let's change that, Darlin'," he said, reaching for the camera he used to film for the channel.

"No way," she said as he turned it on. "You don't want me on your show."

"Sure we do," he said, flipping a few switches. Then he pointed the camera at her. "Okay, introduce yourself to the people."

Rio stared at Boone, who was looking at her encouragingly, nodding his head. Then she sighed and rolled her eyes before smiling.

"Hi, people. I'm Rio. I'm a grad student at Texas A&M," she told them.

"And what brings you to Oklahoma, Rio?" he asked, treating it like an interview. "Besides my handsome face?"

That made her laugh, and he adored the sound. "Well, I'm here learning about the effects tornadoes have on climate change and ecosystems. But also for Boone's face, I guess."

"Yes!" he said, counting that as a win. Then he kept on going. "Now, what's your favorite color?"

Again, she laughed. "What's that got to do with tornadoes?"

"Everything," he said with a goofy grin.

"Blue. Hence the Jeep," she said, pointing back at the car, and Boone panned the camera to look at the car. "What about you?"

"Red all the way, baby," he said, grinning, glad that she was also taking interest. "Okay, now, tell me more about your grad studies and whatnot."

After a second, Rio dived into it, getting excited as she talked about the recent soil samples at the orchard she'd been taking before coming to Oklahoma. She went on about the effects of climate change on agriculture and the ways they could combat it, and Boone just listened with wide eyes, hanging on every word. He'd never seen someone so passionate about dirt, but he loved that she loved it so much.

"I guess you can guess why Kate calls me Dirt Grub," Rio said, chuckling a bit. "Our friend Jeb came up with it after watching an episode of Always Sunny."

She didn't realize her mistake until he was asking about it.

"Who's Jeb? Another college friend? Or a storm chaser like Kate?"

Rio froze, her mouth parting a bit as she blinked repeatedly. Then she cleared her throat uncomfortably, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace. "He's a — was, um, he was a friend from college. I'd rather not tell you about him though."

Boone might have been a little dense at times, but he wasn't completely emotionally stunted. He could see how her eyes grew misty and her jaw clenched tightly. Clearly, this Jeb was a sore subject.

"Hey, you don't gotta," he said softly. "We all got people we don't wanna talk about."

"Yeah, but not Tyler for you," she said, trying to change the subject. "You were singing his praises last night."

"Well, he deserves the praise," he said, looking over his shoulder at Tyler, who was walking up to Kate, likely to bother her. "We've been best friends since — hell, I can't remember. And when he started chasing, I was right there with him, always down for some dumb shit, you know?"

Rio smiled and drew her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them as she listened.

"Then one day, after he got out of college and all, he visited home, and there was this big ol' storm on the radar. We thought we'd go after it, and that time, I decided to film it just so we could remember. Tyler's daddy thought the talkin' and screamin' and swearin' was funny, so he told us we should put it up on the YouTube. Next thing you know, we're famous. Lily, Dani, and Dex joined us soon enough."

"That's nice," she said softly. "Y'all are like a little family."

"Well, you and Javi and Kate are like one too, aren't ya?" he asked, not really knowing how distant they'd all been.

"I, um, actually, I ain't talked to either of them for about five years now," she admitted.

Boone's thick eyebrows furrowed, it coming as a shock. She seemed real close with Javi and Kate, so that surprised him. "Why'd you stop—"

"Hey, Boone!" Lily cut him off, coming over with her huge and fancy drone. "Check the connection on the new camera on Cairo for me. It's getting glitchy."

"Oh, yeah," he said, instantly setting the camera he was using to the side, focusing instead on the drone. But he hadn't forgotten about Rio. "Come on, see how this all works. We wouldn't be able to catch half the cool shots without this little buddy."

"It's name is Cairo?" Rio asked in amusement while scooting closer, her shoulder brushing Boone's.

"His," he stressed while fiddling with the wiring. "He's a boy."

She put her hands up innocently as Lily snickered. "My bad. My apologies, buddy."

"Thank ya for the respect," Boone nodded before getting back to work.

Rio was amazed by how much he knew about video equipment. Maybe he wasn't college educated, but he was bright in his own ways, understanding things that made no sense to someone like Rio, who thought solely in terms of nature and the environment. She'd never been good with any form of technology.

Soon, he was finished with the drone and handing it — him — back to Lily, who thanked him. But Lily didn't leave them alone once again like Boone — and secretly Rio — wanted her too. She was enjoying her time with the man, surprisingly.

"So, Florida," Lily said, leaning her hip on the truck, "Why was Javi being so uptight last night?"

"Ain't Javi always uptight?" Boone asked, chuckling.

"He didn't used to be," Rio admitted, knowing she probably shouldn't have shared that. "He used to be... wild. Would've fit right in with your crew."

"What? Nah," Lily said, a doubtful look on her face. "Not a suit like him."

"Well, the suit used to be a total loser slacker slob," she said, laughing.

Boone frowned and put his hand to his chest. "You think we're total loser slacker slobs?"

"No," she giggled, "but you can't tell me you probably were all like that at some point in your life."

"That hurts, baby," he said, shaking his head. "I'd never call you a loser."

"Yeah," Lily said with a smirk. "He thinks you're too pertty to be a loser."

Boone rolled his eyes and moved to kick Lily, who backed out of the way just in time. And as they messed around, Rio caught a glimpse of Kate, who was running away from Tyler, an excited look in her eyes. And when she caught Rio's gaze, she subtly motioned for her to come over to her.

"Hey, uh, I'm gonna check in with Kate real quick," Rio said, cutting the two bickering people off as she slid off the truck bed. But she still made time to smile at Boone. "Thanks for teaching me all that stuff."

"No problem," he told her.

Surprising both of them, Rio stood on her toes and kissed his cheek before taking off after Kate, leaving him with cheeks that felt like they were on fire.

Boone looked at Lily with wide eyes, unsure if it really happened. "She kissed me."

"On the cheek," Lily clarified.

"But she kissed me!" he exclaimed. "Whoo doggy, what a day! And it ain't even lunch yet."