Anger Management (Adam)

[Deleted]

Derek took a deep breath and counted to ten. Then another one. It wasn't helping.

He glared at the lamppost in front of him and the crinkled aluminum that was once the hood of his car. The airbag didn't deploy. That was a lawsuit, he thought. But that was hardly the most important thing on his mind. However, what was on his mind was about 5 seconds of something so blurred that he wasn't entirely sure what had just happened. Well, evident by the state of his car and the crick in his neck, he knew what had happened....but the how he was a little fuzzy on the details.

It probably didn't help that he was still coming down from a wine buzz.

He was already dazed from that, but the world seemed to be spinning a little bit more now, what with his car having spun around and been stopped by a very helpful lamppost. Derek swallowed and tried to shake the daze away, then shifted to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the car. A crowd had formed, the annoying buzzards, just loitering around to see what happened next for their own amusement. Derek would bet money that not a one of them had called for an ambulance or police response.

He stumbled slightly from the car and pulled his phone from his pocket, scowling down at it. The screen had shattered. Perfect. He scanned the area for the other car involved, and headed over towards it at a brisk pace. Yes, he was concerned about that guy's well-being. Because Derek wouldn't be able to yell at him otherwise.

[Adam Deulane]

Adam's brain didn't restart until the airbag began to deflate. His chest and face tingled with the shock that promised pain in a few minutes. His flattened lungs finally remembered how to work, he gasped, and everything whirred to life again. He flailed against the airbag and managed to slap it into his lap, then stumbled out of his car.

Something dripped on the back of his neck. He felt half a second's terrified certainty that the back of his skull was laid open, but his hand came back covered in sticky white eggshells rather than gore. His groceries had catapulted out of the back seat and plastered themselves across his dashboard and the back of his head.

The second and a half of the accident seemed clipped neatly from his memory. He had slowed to take a left turn, and then he was making love to the airbag. He groped forward to examine his car. The corner of the right hood that contained the headlight looked like someone had tried to chainsaw it off. He swore under his breath, then again more loudly. "Shit!"

That was the point where he noticed the older man approaching. Still dazed, he made some effort to pull himself together and asked stiffly, "Were you in the other car? You're all right."

[Deleted]

It was the other guy's fault. Of course it was, because Derek was definitely following all the rules of the road. He had the right of way. The other guy just….came out of nowhere! Right into the path of Derek’s oncoming car.

No, Derek was not going 45 in a 35 zone. No, he wasn’t trying to make the light. Derek would never take such careless risks, even when he wasn’t in possession of all his faculties. It was definitely the other guy’s fault. That was Derek’s story and he was sticking to it.

He was going to make this guy get him a new phone along with the new car.

The man who emerged from the other car…as he suspected, Derek didn’t like him. He had no reason. Derek just didn’t like him. At least he wasn’t a meta, Derek could tell that with just a glance. That would have made him hate him even more.

Still, Derek tried to keep his aggravation under wraps. “Yes. I was. I am,” he said. Though he might get a stiff neck later. Back problems. He wouldn’t really know what problems there were until he’d had some time to rest a day. Right now, adrenaline was pumping through him and making his already bad mood even worse. “You should call an ambulance,” he advised with narrow eyes, slowing as he got closer to the other driver. They couldn’t count on pedestrians to have enough common sense to call for them. “My phone is broken.” He said it almost like an accusation. Damn, his head hurt.

[Adam Deulane]

Adam wiped more egg off of the back of his head as he tried to get his bearings. He'd never been in an accident before. Exchange information, take pictures of the scene... Paying little attention to Derek, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and, rather than call an ambulance, snapped a picture of his car, then turned and took a picture of Derek's.

Adam lowered the phone at Derek's snapped comment. His chest tightened and one of his nostrils twitched. "There's no need to call an ambulance," he replied stonily. "You're fine and so am I." He opened a notes section on his phone. "I need your name and insurance information."