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“Why is it ALWAYS sunny in the summer.” Dan complained, hiding under one of his parasols.
Daithi snorted. “It’s Ireland Dan. This is the first true sun we’ve had in weeks.” he responded. It was true. It had been an uncaracterisitcally cold summer this year. Dan had enjoyed it, being able to go out more in the summer. The other lads however were very happy with the sunny turn of events this day.
Dan crossed his arms, looking up at the old parasol above him. “You know that if this thing breaks I’m literally toast right?” he said wearily.
“You’ll be fine Dan!” Kevin shouted from up ahead. He’d grabbed a frisbee and was now throwing it for Seán to catch.
“Mmm, crispy vampire!” Brian joked. Dan glared at him.
“If I could I would punch you into the sun right now.” he said.
“You’d need to be able to be in the sun first Dannyboy.” Brian responded.
Dan sighed. As much as they were joking around, he did truly miss being able to go into the sun. He could barely remember what that type of heat felt like.
Maybe he could just? Self preservation and impulse started to fight. He slowly started moving his arm to the sunny area. If he was quick he wouldn’t get burned, right? He just wanted the warmth of the sun for one second. He’d missed it so much. His arm went got about halfway to leaving the shade before he came back to himself and pulled his arm back. Brian was still looking at him, now with a twinge of concern visible.
“You good there Daniel?” he asked. Dan nodded silently. Brian cocked his head, but Dan ignored him pointedly. Instead, he got up and walked over to Seán and Kevin. Kevin was still throwing the frisbee and playing catch with Seán. Dan grabbed another frisbee and threw it away in Seáns direction with all his might. Seán smiled widely, his sharp canines pointing through. He ran after it and managed to catch it with his mouth. And he looked so goddamn proud that Dan couldn’t help but smile. He quickly hid it though. But Kevin saw it.
“YOU SMILED! SAW IT!” he yelled.
Dan rolled his eyes. “Did not.”
“DID!”
In response Dan pulled the frisbee Kevin was holding out of his hand and threw it away. Kevin shoved Dan as revenge and bolted after the frisbee. The shove caught Dan off guard, and he tipped over, the edge of his elbow catching the sun. He instantly recoiled, the exposed patch of skin turning an angry red. He hissed in pain. Daithi floated over and looked at Dan’s arm.
“You okay?” he asked.
Dan nodded tensely, still clutching the burned patch of skin. “Remind me to really not go into the sun.” he said, gesturing at the burned skin. Then, he turned around and dropped himself onto one of the sunbeds he’d put out. “I,” he said. “Am not going to leave this spot for a while. You watch Kevin and Seán. I’m gonna read.” he finished. He pulled out his book from the bag he’d brought. Daithi nodded.
“Okay. Me and Brian are going down to the river in a second to check it out.” he said. Dan hummed. “I’ll keep an eye on Kev and Seán.” he said. But it only took a few minutes of reading for him to doze off.
He woke up with the smell of smoke invading his nose and yelling in his ears. He bolted up, right into chaos. Multiple of the parasols were on fire and it was advancing towards him. Dan screamed, jumping off of the bed and falling on the ground. Up ahead he could see Kevin, Seán and Brian arguing. Daithi had been arguing with them too, but he’d looked up as soon as he’d heard Dan screaming.
“You focking idiots! I don’t care who’s fault it is that the parasols caught fire, Dan is still here and if they all burn down Dan will burn with ‘em!” he yelled. This managed to shut up the other three, who’s heads snapped over to Daniel. He’d pushed himself against the pole of the parasol. His was the only one which hadn’t caught on fire yet. But it was quickly approaching.
“Doesn’t Brian have a build in fire extinguisher?!” Seán yelled.
“I”m a cyborg! Not a fucking fire truck!” Brian yelled back.
“Less yelling more putting out that fire or helping Daniel!” Daithi yelled. It was Kevin (the prime suspect for who started this whole mess) who finally jumped into action first. He ran inside and grabbed an umbrella.
While he was running back the parasol which Dan was standing under had started catching fire. Dan started coughing, the smoke invading his lungs. Seán and Brian were trying to get the hose working, but Dan remembered he hadn’t turned on the outside tap yet. Finally Kevin reached Dan. He opened the umbrella and pulled Dan under it. It was a tight squeeze, and if Dan moved too much he’d surely enter the sun partially.
“The-” a rough cough cut Dan off before he could continue. “The outside tap is turned off.” he finished. Kevin nodded, pulling on Dan’s arm gently. Dan was swaying, and before he and Kevin entered the mansion he (very shortly, luckily) touched the sun a couple of times.
Kevin directed Dan until he was sitting on the couch. Dan, even through his pain filled haze, could see the burns on Kevin’s arms. Normally he’d say something about it, but the pain of the forming blisters on his arms and shoulders took that desire away.
“I’m going to get some burn cream and bandages.” Kevin said, quickly and quietly exiting the room.
By the time Kevin returned Daithi, Sean and Brian had entered the mansion as well.
“Well, most of the parasols are toast.” Brian stated. He looked at Dan. His arms were blistered, and so were his shoulders and a spot on his cheek. Kevin wordlessly handed the bandages and burn cream to Brian.
“What happened? Have we not gone over what you shouldn't set on fire?” Dan asked. His voice was still a little rough from the coughing. Kevin and Seán looked at each other guiltily.
“It might involve Seán and I climbing up on one of the parasols and me accidentally dropping one of my lit lighters on it. And the parasol might have caught fire much quicker than we expected.” Kevin said. He looked pale. Guilt was visible on every part of his face. Now that Dan was a little calmer he could clearly see the burns on Kevin’s arms as well. Seáns hands looked a little singed as well, but they looked not nearly as bad as Kevin’s burns.
Dan pinched the bridge of his nose. “You two are replacing those parasols. And we will be going over what is appropriate to set on fire again Kev.” he said.
Kevin nodded, defeated. He felt so guilty. He really hadn’t meant to set this one fire! But yet he could have killed Daniel. He jerked away when Brian grabbed his arm. Brian frowned at him and gestured at the burns.
“Those need bandaging Kevin. You don’t want them to get infected.”
Kevin sighed and nodded. While Brian bandaged his arms Seán wandered over to the tv and grabbed a dvd.
“I think it’s a good idea to just stay inside for the rest of the day. Let’s watch a movie.” he said.
“What movie?” Daithi asked.
“Aquaman!”