One Rainy Day in LA

One Rainy Day

     When Ria first saw him, she was going to walk past. She was going to ignore him and forget about him the next minute. But she couldn't help but pause to look at him, out of bored interest. Then she stopped. She stared at his empty, beautiful face. She watched the rain slide down his cheeks, perhaps hiding secret tears.
     Then she strode over to him and tipped her umbrella forward, sheltering him from the cold rain. It was quick, done without any thought. The rain drummed loudly against the umbrella. He slowly turned to look up, his eyes dull and blank. She met his gaze silently, staring at him. He was pretty in a way that was not universal. She liked his faded cotton candy hair, his upturned nose, and sharp cheekbones. Ria certainly thought he was attractive, but perhaps the next girl wouldn't have.
     "You're going to catch a cold," she informed him. He blinked, his eyes clearing, really looking her this time.
     "Um... who are you?"
She shrugged. 
      "Nobody."
     "...why are you here then?"
     "Where do you live?" She said instead, ignoring him. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
      "Nowhere, now."
     "So you're just going to sit here till you get pneumonia and die?"
      "That's the plan," he said dully, turning back to face the street.
     "That's stupid. Whatever happened to you, try to pick yourself up, for fuck's sake. Sitting on this curb isn't going to do anything." When she was met with no reply, she said out of frustration, and some other emotion she couldn't place, "Come home with me. Don't just sit here, for fucks sake. At least have no will to live somewhere warm." Ria regretted the words the minute she said them, and flushed. Had she really just asked a stranger to home with her?
    But the boy was looking up at her with an unreadable expression on his face. Then, tentatively, he said, "Would you actually let me?"
     Ria blushed again, and hated herself for it. But before she could think it through, she was already answering.
     "Yeah, sure." He stood up suddenly. Ria, taking a surprised step back, almost tripped, but caught herself. He wasn't super tall, maybe 5, 9"? Flustered, she wordlessly handed him the umbrella. When he tried to hand it back, she impatiently pushed it back towards him, "You're the one who's soaked to the bone." After a moment of hesitation, he leaned it against his shoulder and said, "Lead the way. Oh, and—," he caught her by the shoulder, "My name's Lance."
     "Ria." She was slightly confused by his sudden energy, suspicious he was some creep trying to lure girls, but as they started walking across the slick pavement, she caught his expression sinking into emptiness and— misery. Terrible sadness. Well, his problem, she supposed. She didn't care, she told herself, she didn't care.
     Ria shivered, the icy rain seeping through her clothes. The rain suddenly stopped and she turned around to Lance holding it over her head. "Come on, both of us are gonna get sick and then we'll be screwed." He said before she could start talking. Not able to argue with this, she looked at him for a moment, rolled her eyes, and continued walking.
     A car stopped to let them pass, and she sprint-walked across the street, feeling the rain hit her scalp as Lance struggled to keep up with her.
    "We're here," she announced, and without waiting for an answer, stomped up the steps of the gigantic apartment complex, and stepped gladly into the warm lobby. Lance shook out the umbrella, struggled for a moment to close it, and stuck it in the cramped bin full of damp umbrellas. A swarm of people followed them in, shaking out hats and coats.
    Ria nodded to the receptionist, who looked somewhat mournfully at Lance. She was half-sure she had a crush on her, but didn't entertain the thought.
     She strode over to the elevator and slammed the button a few times, even though it was already pressed. The group around the elevator grew larger as people struggled to the front. She elbowed anyone who tried to push her.
     "You know spamming it doesn't do anything?" Lance asked, somewhat amused. Ria looked over to him in annoyance.
     "...whatever." Lance snickered.
      "Shut up," she snapped as the elevator doors opened. A surge of people rushed foreword and she was crushed against the far wall, pinned between the metal and... oh God. They both simultaneously twisted, trying to extricate themselves from the blockade. But it was useless. Ria, face pressed against Lances's damp chest, hissed, "Move back."
     "I can't," came the equally strained response. Ria, cheeks heated, said nothing. She struggled to get her face away from his, admittedly good-smelling chest, and succeeded in tilting her head up so it was two inches from his. He turned his head away automatically, a blush creeping over his ears.
     "Could this thing be any fucking slower," she muttered, now so completely out of her element she could hardly think straight. She could feel every curve of his body, could feel his chest expand and retract.
     Someone slammed into her shoulder, and Ria hit the other wall of the elevator, and felt Lance's leg press between her thighs. Her face, already red, heated further as she struggled not to make any sort of sound. "Move!" She gasped, and felt the pressure let up slightly. A bark of annoyance came from behind them, and Lance suddenly fell against her, his torso pressing hard against hers. He made a choked sound she didn't want to examine, and bit her cheek so hard her mouth became salty with blood, lest she make a single noise. She refused to let her mind stray to his body against hers, even though she could hear the blood pumping in her ears.
     Finally, the doors opened, and a rush of people poured out.
     "Thank God," she gasped, and darted to the other side of the elevator. Pressing the 14 button, she leaned against the wall and tried to calm herself down. Lance stood against the other wall, hand shoved in his jacket pockets, staring hard at the floor. There was only about 8 people in the elevate now, all of them looking relieved.
     Up, up, up, went the elevator and every so often Ria pressed her legs together in an effort to try and ignore her pulsing thighs.
     The last person got off, leaving them alone. Leaving Ria alone with someone she was, she could admit it now, very attracted to.
     Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea.