Sunshine (Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x OC)

Chapter 20

The sand brushed between my toes as I sat out on the beach, needing some time to think about everything that has happened in the past few weeks. My eyes were focused on the soft crash of the waves a few meters ahead of me, calmness surrounding me. That was until my phone rang and the peace was disturbed.

"Hello, Nicole" Daniels voice rang through the phone and into my ear.

"Hi" I replied blandly, waiting for him to get to his point of the call.

"I want to come to your graduation, when and where is it" he started with questions.

"I told you this three weeks ago" I sighed in annoyance.

"Well I forgot, okay?" He shot back at me defensively.

"Yeah, we're you even listening?" I mumbled the question so he wouldn't hear it. "It's at the Top Gun in two weeks" I told him simply, too tired to argue with anyone.

"That's pretty far away" he commented with clear annoyance at the distance he would have to travel.

"Yeah, it is" I agreed sharply.

"I'll see if I can make it there" he grumbled back before hanging up without even a goodbye. I set my phone down and fell back into the sand with a huff, looking up at the stars above.

"Bad time?" Roosters voice spoke up from close by.

"No, actually my boyfriend is coming to our graduation" I explained, looking up at the stars while he sat beside me. He nodded along as a silence fell over us, Roosters gaze drifting to the night sky as well. "Why did you want to become a pilot?" I asked curiously, eyes still staring at the stars.

"Well, my father was a pilot, I wanted to follow his steps and keep his legacy alive" he claimed calmly with thought. "What about you?" He looked over at me.

"When I was a girl my mom worked for the navy, she always wanted to be a pilot but my father held her back from it, then she had me. She always used to tell me storys of her two friends Maverick and Goose" I smiled at the memory as Roosters face fell slightly, watching me carefully as I didn't know his relation to the aviators.

"So you wanted to be just like Maverick?" He wondered his voice stern with anger as he looked out in front of him.

"No" I laughed at his assumption. "I was actually inspired by Goose, always protecting his best friend from danger, going along and getting in trouble with him just to have his back" I continued with a fond smile, Roosters face growing soft once again.

"Well, from where I stand you are the best backseater anyone could ask for" he laughed. "Always putting up with my bullshit"

"My father and Daniel don't want me flying." I stated. "They think that my mother put 'silly ideas' into my head and that now I have to come back to reality and be a good little housewife" I mocked my fathers gruff voice. "But they don't understand the thrill of being up in the sky, flying through the clouds" I sighed dreamily as Rooster listened closely with interest. "It's like everything else disappears when we're up there, you know, it's just you and me. No Daniel, no father, just you and me"

~~~

"Okay, aviators, this is hop 31. Two weeks to graduation. Top Gun trophy is still up for grabs, so every point counts." Cyclone told us. Rooster and I looked over to Hangman and Coyote as we flew up at the early morning sunrise, having to work together despite our differences.

"Well, it's bottom of the ninth, the score is tied. It's time for the big one." I reported like a sports game.

"You up for this one, Rooster?" Hangman asked Rooster with a smirk.