3This is dedicated to my real-life best friend, known here as Sebastian Osprey. She reminds me who I am. I'd be lost without her.
The rain began to patter against the sidewalk as the sky grew darker.
"Looks like rain," Amity said absently, lifting a hand and looking into the sky. Her dark hair flew behind her in a sudden gust of wind.
"Way to state the obvious," Dakota answered, rolling her blue eyes. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body and put one hand on her dark blonde hair. "I forgot my umbrella. We're gonna get soaked."
"Who cares?" Amity asked, turning her bright grey eyes to her best friend. "I like the rain."
"I care," Dakota answered with a small frown. "You're crazy, Am. C'mon, it's coming down harder every second. Let's see if we can find a store with an overhanging roof we can wait under."
The brunette shrugged and followed her companion off the sidewalk to stand in the doorway of a nearby shop.
"There aren't even any places still open at seven o'clock on a Sunday," Dakota complained. "Remind me why we're out here, again?"
Amity sighed. "We're walking home from that movie you were so desperate to see," she answered, "because your brother is at a friend's and your parents are out to dinner, so none of them can give us a ride back to your place." A smile played across her lips.
The rain fell harder every moment. Thunder rumbled, lightning split the sky.
"Oh yeah."
The girls leaned against either side of the door's alcove, gazing out into the darkness. Puddles formed on the street, water swirling into the sewer. The trees swayed in a light wind. Fat raindrops pounded into the road, as if determined to wash it totally clean.
"You used to like the rain, too, 'Kota."
Dakota shifted, pulling her long hair out of its ponytail. "Used to."
"So?"
There was no answer.
Amity looked at her friend for a moment, her expression unreadable. Dakota paid it no heed.
Quite suddenly, Amity pulled the zipper of her jacket all the way up and jumped out into the empty street. She splashed in an enormous puddle and let out a delighted whoop, filling the night with her elation. She spun around, dancing in the rain as it came down as hard as ever.
"Are you crazy?!" Dakota shrieked.
The faintest traces of disappointment tainted the euphoria in Amity's youthful grey eyes. "Sure! You said so yourself!" she called back. The rain ran down her face, drenching her raven hair, soaking into her jeans.
"You'll never get dry again!"
"So what?" Amity lifted her arms as if embracing the deluge. "We used to dance in the rain together! It was the greatest thing in the world!"
Dakota took a step forward, not yet ready to come out from under the overhang. "We were six, Amity! We were little! I'm..." she hesitated, passing a hand over her face.
"You're what, 'Kota?" Amity turned slowly, letting the rain wash down her body. "You're too old for the rain? Is that it?" She laughed, a little bitterly. "You're fourteen, Dakota! You're younger than me, for pity's sake!"
Dakota choked. It was true. Not only that, but this expression on Amity's face, this bizarre mixture of love, happiness and resentment, was utterly foreign to her. She moved further out of the alcove and felt something wet run down her cheek. She was stunned to discover that it was not rainwater, but a tear. "What- what's so great about the rain, anyway?" she managed to yell.
"What's wrong with it?" Amity countered. "It's amazing! It's Mother Nature's way of cleaning the world and everything on it! It cleanses your whole body, it washes your soul! It makes you feel fresh again, makes you feel alive! It's for dancing in with your friends! How the hell can you be too old to dance in the rain with your best friend?"
Tears were now pouring down Dakota's face. "I don't know," she whispered into a peal of thunder. Why was she crying?
"The rain is part of who you are, Dakota!" Amity hollered over the pound of the rain. "Did you forget?"
Dakota broke out from under her cover, letting the rain wash away her tears. She ran into her best friend and hugged her for all she was worth.
"I did," she answered. "I did forget, Am."
Amity hugged her back. "Do you remember now?" she asked.
"Yeah," Dakota replied. "Thanks for reminding me."
"Any time." When they parted, they were beaming. They stood for a moment, sopping wet, watching one another's eyes.
Then, laughing, they splashed through the puddles, chasing each other around, allowing the rain to wash away all the anger and unhappiness and hurt.
Laughing, they danced, on the street, in the rain.