33Just a little (-cough- long –cough-) oneshot to get my Mom off my back. She wants to see what kind of 'crack pot writing' I'm doing. Enjoy and don't forget to review for yours truly!
She peered out the classroom anxiously as her History professor droned on. It was starting to rain and she didn't have an umbrella. Realizing that, she slammed her forehead against the desk, her dark collar bone length hair splaying around her head like a shroud. The last thing she needed was to get soaked on the way back to her dorm which was on opposite side of the enormous campus.
"Class dismissed." The grizzly of a man finally said.
She cheered inwardly as she shot out the room like a bullet, shoving several bystanders aside in her mad rush for the door. By the time she slammed the building's door open the rain was already pouring heavily, the sound analogous to a thousand drums.
Her entire face fell. Several students brushed past, giving her an irritated glance as they went by. They obviously were harboring a grudge for her rudeness earlier. She sighed. It was raining and she had no umbrella. Her jacket was still in her dorm, probably shoved somewhere under the bed. To make matters worse a bolt of lightening flashed across the sky, it's brilliance illuminating a mountain of a cloud.
In a matter of moments the entire building was empty as it closed down for the day. An angry looking janitor shot her a look as he leaned against his mop impatiently. Giving a sheepish smile, she quickly squared her shoulders and prepared to run like mad.
Unfortunately, running wasn't much of an option on the slippery pavement. After falling twice she gave up the whole institution and settled for brisk walking.
Walking in the rain wasn't so bad, if you didn't mind being soaking, cold, and generally miserable for a whole fifteen minutes or more. She preferred to keep a cheerful outlook on life, even if life preferred to screw her over at any time possible.
It was while she was having those pleasant thoughts that the rain suddenly stopped. Wait, it didn't stop… something appeared above her. A plane? She peered up anxiously but saw only black. "Am I dead?" she asked aloud.
To her surprise something, or somebody chuckled. Glancing to the left sharply she saw a guy standing there with his arm raised in the air. It took her a few moments to realize that he was holding his umbrella over her. She blushed in embarrassment. "Thanks."
He nodded once. During that brief interchange she took the liberty of studying him, a strange habit of hers. Whenever she met someone new she would study little things about them, their hair color, clothing style, etc, and in doing so she would learn a little about their personality.
The guy looked to be a year older than her, a junior. His hair was only three or four inches long and messy, but somehow it looked good on him. His clothes were slightly wrinkled; he obviously didn't have time to iron. He wore comfortable fitted jeans, he wasn't too fashion consciences but preferred to fit in and he wore a dark blue polo shirt. Around his neck he wore a corded threat with a single sea shell on it. He had some fashion sense, but didn't care too much for it.
All in all he looked like a decent guy who was just trying to make it through life. She smiled her approval. "Thanks."
He nodded shortly.
"Nice weather eh?"
The guy raised an eyebrow at her but gave a half-smirk anyway.
She frowned. He was obviously not the talkative type. She was known to be obnoxiously loquacious, so dealing with him would be quite a problem. This wasn't going to stop her though. She was never one to back down from a challenge, no matter how great. "You know what's weird, rain. I don't hate it or anything, but sometimes I'd wish it'd wait until I asked it to rain. I mean today would've been totally fine if it were just sunny. Then again I guess I oughta be grateful…" she slowly admitted with a shrug "Without rain there would be no plants or flowers… I guess I can deal with being miserable, it's being broke that I hate worse."
This time the guy looked slightly confused. He hadn't expected a full two minutes of babbling to come from her. He thought she'd remain quiet, with the exception of giving him directions to her destination. What a strange person… He grunted in response.
"I'm not poor!" she blurted out defensively "Just… not rich either. My parents have always struggled for money, so me going to school up in Washington was a major problem. Still we managed to get by, and I'm very grateful. I wish that my job would pay more. I do a work study job and work at a local department store and it still isn't enough. I can't even afford an umbrella! I've eaten off the McDonald's dollar menu for the past three days. You don't know how sick I am of McChickens!"
"I wish that money came a little easier… I mean, without becoming a hooker or stripper or whatever. Are you rich?"
He shrugged.
"So you're kind of rich?"
He smiled and nodded.
"Are you mute?"
He shook his head.
"I guess you just don't feel like talking, right?"
The answering smile he gave her was dazzling.
"Wow… you have pretty teeth you know that? I mean, my teeth are prettier after two years of braces, but yours look natural. Are they natural? I thought so. Turn left at this street. So anyway, another downside to being poor is not having much company. My parents were smart. They realized ahead of time that they had financial issues and decided on having only one child. If I had a sibling, I bet I'd still be in Kansas working at a fast food restaurant, my face on an 'employee of the month' plaque. Even though I miss the extra company, I guess I'm pretty lucky to be an only child. Do you have any siblings?"
He shook his head, his dark brown eyes thoughtful.
"Hmm… I guess that makes two of us, eh?"
They picked up their pace as the rain poured even heavier than before. She winced, wondering how long their little umbrella would hold up against the elements. A huge gust of wind blew, messing up her already drenched hair and getting several locks plastered inside of her mouth.
"Yuck!" she cried as she spat her hair out "That's one thing I hate about long hair. Well I guess you can't say it's long, since it barely reaches past my shoulders. I wish that I could cut my hair as short as yours. It must be pretty convenient. Yours is a really nice color, it's like brownish blonde…eh? Are you Irish? No? Oh I thought you were since you had freckles."
He shot her a strange look, his eyebrows raising way up.
"Sorry! It's a common… oh I always had a problem with recognizing races or gender. I dated this one person for two weeks before I found out that it was a girl. Talk about embarrassing!" she chuckled at the memory. Of course at the time it hadn't seemed very amusing at all. She still received merciless taunting from her peers and relatives.
It took her a few moments to realize that they were standing outside her dorm building. She straightened out her book bag and shot her rescuer her best smile. "Thanks so much! You don't know how much I appreciate you doing this for me!"
He shrugged sheepishly and smiled. It was the least he could do. Besides, he hadn't minded the trip too much. Her talkativeness amused him.
"I'll see you around I guess. Well, I don't guess since we attend the same school, but there are a lot of other students… Oh whatever. Bye! Thanks!" She waved before hurrying inside the building and disappearing from view.
Smiling to himself, he turned around and marched home.
Several days had past but she still thought about the incident. She wondered if she would ever see him again and then she wondered why she even cared. It wasn't like he had much to add to the conversation. Still, something about the way he just patiently listened to her really made her feel special. Most people got annoyed and told her to shut up, her best friends included. When she mentioned that day to her best friend she got the reaction that she had expected.
"Are you high?" her best friend, Diana, asked.
"No…" she answered meekly "Just confused."
"Don't be. Men aren't worth it." Diana flipped her long, dark brown hair and smirked at her as though that were the answers to all life's problems. Of course no one could really trust her word seeing that she as a self proclaimed feminist.
"Are you sure?" she twirled with her own hair, which was surprisingly short in comparison with Diana's waist length tresses.
"Positive. Do you want some coffee?"
Since she got no special insight from that inspiring conversation, she decided to keep her thoughts to herself. Best figure things out alone than get bad advice. Besides, she'd probably never see him again. It was a large campus.
The chances of her ever being bothered were 1 in 10,000. She grinned, slightly reassured by the odds. Now she could just focus on her studies and maybe bring her grade point average up some, otherwise her Mom would chew her head off.
'Look out books, her I come!'
"It's raining." She murmured absently as she drew little spirals on her notebook cover.
The girl seated in front of her turned and glared "Gee Captain Obvious, what tipped you off?"
She stuck her tongue out, but refused to get angry. Comments like these came at her all the time they made life more interesting. Class seemed to drag on. She always had an excellent understanding of Calculus and didn't see the need to take the class. Still, it always paid to have an extra A amongst her varied grades.
She twirled the pen in her fingers once the notebook space was taken up. The teacher seemed to be talking in slow motion as he repeated himself once again. "We get the point already." She whispered angrily. She just wanted to get home.
Once again she had forgotten an umbrella, and jacket.
'Will I ever learn?'
'No.'
"I want you guys to study page 256-270. Make sure that you have everything down pat. I also want a report on-"
She didn't hear the rest of what he had to say. She was too busy packing up. She made it to the door before anyone else. The rest of the students were delaying as they wrote down their assignments. No need, she knew this stuff like the back of her hand.
She glanced down at her hand.
'Since when did I have a mole?'
She burst out the door just as the rain poured down harder. If she were in any other situation she would've laughed at the bitter irony of it all. Just as she prepared to march she felt the rain lessen above her. She glanced up instinctively to see black once again.
"Whoa." She said in surprise "Talk about déjà vu."
The guy chuckled while using his free hand to push her into motion.
She grinned and easily kept pace with his lazy stride. "You're like a guardian angel or something, except you only protect me from the rain."
He grinned.
"I feel so special." She clutched her heart dramatically.
He began coughing. After a second she realized that his coughs sounded suspiciously like poorly disguised laughs.
"Are you laughing at me?"
No response.
"Oh whatever, I don't care if you laugh or not. Lots of people laugh at me. Like whenever I trip, which I tend to do a lot. I never asked to be clumsy, it just happened. I knew I was cursed from the day of my kindergarten graduation."
He raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief, his face clearly stating his thoughts.
She smiled "Yeah I know, graduation? For Kindergartners? What did I graduate from, coloring in the lines? Eating snacks and taking naps? Geez…" she laughed along with him "Anyways, it was during that graduation, once they called my name I skipped up front. Yeah, I was an overzealous student. I was clear until I reached that last step and did an embarrassing face plant in front of the whole class and their parents."
"It wasn't so bad, I mean the parents were polite about it, but most of those kids I graduated with still remember that day. To make things worse, my Mom had it on video and even sent it to America's Funniest Home Videos one year." She grimaced at the memory "Actually she tried sending almost all of our home videos there. I always managed to do something embarrassing."
He reached over and did something strange. He patted the top of her head like a grandparent would do to their grandchild.
"I guess that was a pity pat."
He didn't say anything, but his grin gave it away.
"You know, for someone so silent you sure grin a lot. Are you sure you aren't mute or something?"
Yes. He thought.
She gasped. "YOU JUST SAID SOMETHING!"
He winced at her shriek and shot her a glare. She clamped a hand over her mouth and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry… you just surprised me."
He blinked at her. He hadn't even recalled saying anything. It must've been a slip up. Oh well….
"You have a pleasant voice." She remarked offhandedly as they continued walking.
He didn't even realize that they had stopped.
"You should use it more often." She advised, waving her hands animatedly as she talked "Just not to interrupt me or anything! I like it that you actually listen, it makes me feel special. Do you like animals?" She noticed his facial expression and frowned "I guess not. Too bad, I LOVE animals… especially manatees. I know… they're not the most popular animals, but something about their gentle grace appeals to me. When I was ten I had a manatee themed birthday party. It was great. Too bad no one else enjoyed it as much as I did. Mom suggested that for my eleventh that I do something more popular so I had a princess party."
She visibly shuddered "No I'm not cold!" she squeaked as soon as she saw him start to remove his jacket "It's just…bad memories. I don't like princess stuff. Did you know that more than half of those famous history princesses were beheaded or died a gruesome death? It was awful! I'm glad that I'm not a princess. Imagine being forced to marry a sixty year old geezer!"
He smiled tightly.
"Let's see." She stopped mid-step as she thought "You're a dude so you'd be a prince!"
He gave her a look that clearly said 'no duh'. They paused to look both ways for traffic before crossing the usually crowded street.
"You'd probably marry some seventy year old princess!" she proudly stated with an air of finality, her whole face glowing in pride.
Why was she so happy about it? He wondered.
She folded her arms tightly as a cold wind blew "It'd be cool for you because you could take her riches once she died and just use it for your own personal gain!"
How the heck things change to talking about marrying old ladies? He stared at her, confused.
Her eyes widened "Did I say something wrong?"
He shook his head slowly, still not understanding the point of their conversation. Well, it couldn't really be called a conversation since she was doing all the talking.
"Well, we're here!"
It was his turn to blink owlishly. Already? He gave her a disgruntled look.
"I wish you'd just voice your opinion." She stated impatiently "Oh well, not like it matters." Her eyes widened as she realized what she said "NO! You're opinion does matter! Really it does! I just meant… you could be quiet if you like! I really do enjoy your company!"
She does?
"Uh…" she searched for something to say. His gaze was making her uncomfortable. She didn't mean to get all mushy on him. Maybe… maybe he needed company too? Perhaps he was lonely… "Are you lonely?" she suddenly blurted out.
What?
"I mean… uh… most people don't just hang out unless they're… oh forget it." She blushed, feeling exceptionally stupid. "Um… next rainy day then?"
He nodded, shifting his weight to his left foot restlessly. He really needed to get home.
"Great it's a date!" her eyes widened in horror at her words "I don't mean a date! I don't want to sound presumptuous! I mean… oh…darn…" she groaned, "Uh… maybe next time you'll do some talking?"
He smiled.
"Bye again!" she quickly headed inside the door only to pop out a moment later. He stepped closer, covering her with the umbrella.
"Guess what?" she asked eagerly, looking like a soaked puppy.
He quirked an eyebrow.
She sighed at the lack of response. "Well… I have a friend who says they've seen you before. Therefore, I know your name! Ha!"
He rolled his eyes. Was that it? Her big revelation?
"I know it sounds minor… but it makes me feel like I know you already!"
Crazy girl. He patted her head once more before she headed back inside.
Over the following two months, something of a routine was formed. She rarely saw him around campus, yet whenever it rained he was always there, waiting with his black umbrella. The one time she had seen him on campus he was standing with another guy, talking while flipping through a history textbook. She smirked as she realized that it was the same one as hers. He took the same class as her. Surprise, surprise, She was surrounded by her three closest friends but that didn't stop her from waving to him. Surprisingly he had waved back. Two minutes later she was cornered and closely interrogated by her friends.
Rainy days came more often as it entered the rainy season. She should've come prepared; since she was in the rainier of the Peninsula's, but somehow she had the feeling that if she ever did come to class with an umbrella that he wouldn't be there. Bringing an umbrella was taboo. It would break the spell.
During those rainy days, a strange friendship was formed. They would walk together to her dorm, her chattering all the way, and he would listen. Only on rare occasions would he say something, but somehow his single sentence meant more to her than a page full of poetry. She never really cared for poetry. She was more of a Romantic Comedy person.
Due to her affiliation with him, she was the center of gossip. Apparently several girls had tried getting close to him, only to be blown back by his stand-offish behavior. It was strange but she had never found him cold, only interesting. She guessed that was what made them different.
"Are you two, like, dating or what?" her gorgeous blonde friend asked one day before class.
"No…" she frowned. It couldn't really be counted as anything. Could it? Life was too confusing.
"Good." Her friend, Michelle said decisively "Because whether you like him or not, make sure he likes you first. You don't want to come across as like, a ho or something. Comprende?"
"Si." She sighed.
Michelle smiled and gave her a one armed hug "Great. I'm glad we had this little discussion. Bye!" she waggled her fingers before sashaying off.
That left her thinking for a while. What exactly was there relationship? Why would it matter anyway? She decided to save such thoughts for a rainy day. Laughing at the pun, she skipped off to class.
On the next rainy day, as soon as she skipped out of class she was met with his stunned expression. She smiled shyly and tugged on her recently cut hair. "You like?"
She hadn't wanted it cut too short, and found herself admiring Rihanna's haircut from her video 'Shut up and Drive' so she had it cut similar, the back cut short and her hair growing progressively longer as it came to the front. It looked better than her than it did Rihanna at least she thought so.
He shrugged slowly, an undecided look on his face.
She glowered "Typical male reaction. Why don't you ever tell people how you really feel?"
He patted her head, his hand lingering as he tried to get used to the new cut. He decided that he liked it. It was new and did look good on her. He frowned lightly at the two streaks of dark blue.
"It's for a raven effect." She explained quickly "My hair stylist said it'd look good. I know, you don't like hair dye but it does kind of match my eyes."
She was right, although her eyes were technically a lighter shade of blue than that. He decided that for her sake he would not criticize. He smiled and gave a thumbs up. She beamed in response.
"So…" she fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt as she approached an awkward subject "Speaking of feelings… my friend Michelle wanted to know if we were um…" her voice trailed off. She took a deep breath "Shewantedtoknowifwewereslasharedating."
He gave her an exaggerated confused expression. She laughed tensely and punched his arm. "She wanted to know if we were um are…um… dating." She bit out the last word, her eyes shut tightly.
She felt uncomfortable at his silence. Well, he was usually silent but this time it terrified her. "I mean, I understand if you don't feel that way at all! I mean, who needs dating right?" she spoke rapidly, sounding like a chipmunk on speed "We could totally be friends or whatever, unless you like me but I know you don't so let's not worry about it okay! So how about that weather?"
He stared at her with an amused expression on his face.
"Uh… the weather?" she tried desperately to change the conversation before things got even worse.
He patted her head, causing her to freeze mid-step.
"I like you."
Her whole body stiffened. He did? She stared up at him, awaiting a confirmation. He patted her head once more before continuing his walk. It took a second for her brain to react. She quickly followed after him, making sure to stay under the umbrella.
She couldn't believe it.
If Michelle were in her shoes, she'd probably go ahead and kiss him.
If it were Diana she would suggest a place to go out for dinner.
Despite her easiness with words, she could find nothing fitting to say, so she merely walked along with him. To the casual observers eye, they looked perfectly normal. Only two things were different. One, he was smiling triumphantly. Two, she was at a loss for words. Besides that, the continued walking as they usually did.
Today they would walk to the dorm. Maybe he would ask for her cell phone number.
Maybe tomorrow they would go out to dinner. Nothing fancy, just a casual meal.
Maybe one day they'd get married.
Until then, she'd wait for the next rainy day and they would go walking together, with her talking and him listening intently, enjoying her company. Most people would become impatient with the slow progress, but not them. After all, that was just the way things were.
Who were they to change it?
-End Story-
So there you go, a small piece of my crack-pot writing, lol. Honestly I felt dissatisfied, but maybe somebody will like it. Notice I make sure that neither of the main character's names are mentioned. I did that on purpose (duh –smacks forehead-) second the dude only says one line. How awesome am I? –crickets chirp- Okay I get the hint.
Oh, today I saw The Dark Knight. If you have not seen that movie yet, I urge you to see it. It is awesome. Absolutely mind blowing. Heath Ledger was amazing. I left the theater in awe.
Good news to all Twilight fans, Breaking Dawn is finally out! I looked for it at Books A Million and found you had to have it on reserve and even that would cost like 20 dollars. Don't waste your money and wait forever. I found a billion Breaking Dawn's at Wal-mart, in hardcover for 13.88 I've been buying my Twilight books from there.