Collect of Short Stories

Revelation

"We're in the middle of a thunderstorm, and you want to stop to feel the rain?" Maven asked with minor surprise. Felix was like a golden retriever stuck in a man's body. Of course he wouldn't turn down rain...not that that reasoning help lessen Maven's exasperation.
     Thundered boomed out in the distance as Maven shrugged his shoulders. He sipped his black coffee and stared slightly amused at the taller male. "Yeah, feel free," after a couple of seconds of memorizing Felix's look of happiness, he added, "but I'm not going with you."
     Just as delight came, it quickly disappeared at such a drawback. Hurt flashed across his expression before it turned into a large pout fit for a puppy. Another giant thunder boomed overhead, chilling the inside of Maven's body despite himself wrapped in the warmth of his blanket.
     "It's pouring out there, I just took a shower." He justified, pointing to his wet hair. "Besides, I don't want to catch a cold."
     "I'll take care of you if you do."
     Silence loomed between them as Maven desperately searched for a sign, anything to hint at Felix's true feelings. There it was again! That repeated thumping in his chest and the feeling as though he just got off a roller coaster. It was a simple statement, really. But how much depth lay behind those words?
     Finally, he shook his head again only to be met with sadness. "I can take care of myself."
     "Yeah I bet. I've seen you stitch yourself near perfectly. I wonder where you learned it from."
     He let out a charismatic smile that always made women swoon over him. "Experience helps."
      "Well no matter. Anyways, come on, let's go!"
     He snuggled himself deeper into his blanket and narrowed his eyes at him. "No thanks. Count me out, I'm too—"
      "You can just hang back. Bring out an umbrella, or something, right? You don't have to...y'know, get out there." He smiled coyly. "Just watch me have fun and develop some form of jealousy is all I'm asking."
     Maven stared at his black coffee for a couple of seconds, then back up to Felix who was leaning against the wall, waiting for an answer. He rotated between the two before sighing, putting the cup on the coffee table in front of him.
     "Alright, Ackroyd, let's go."
     He beamed excitedly and opened his mouth to say something but seemed to think better of it. His face flashed from enthusiasm to doubt and then back to enthusiasm, all of which Maven caught but said nothing about. He will never ask and besides, some things are better off remained a mystery.
     He quickly grabbed a small black umbrella and reluctantly followed Felix's lead outside. The rain was pouring...hard. It wasn't windy. In fact the only wind possible would've been their breaths.
     Without something to shield you from the rain, you'd be doused in water from head to toe almost immediately. All of which Felix seemed to take in stride. He smoothed back his chestnut brown hair and tilted his chin up to the sky, opening his arms and twirling around.
     Maven stared with strange amusement as he leaned against the house, clutching the umbrella hard. A strange feeling swam through his stomach again and no matter how many times he tried to guess what he was feeling, he was always off the mark. Was it happiness? Sadness? Was he feeling melancholy? Just what exactly is his heart doing?
     He inhaled the cold, damp air and focused on the male figure in front of him who was, weirdly enough, laughing.
     Thump.
     Thump.
     Thump.
     He clutched the piece of fabric above his heart and narrowed his eyes, diving himself into endless possibilities until Felix's voice snapped him out of it.
     "Come on, join me! It's fun out here!" He exclaimed. He held out a hand and if stayed there despite Maven continuing to lean against the wall. The shorter male sneered at the weather. "No way. Didn't I say I'm not catching a cold?"
     "And didn't I say I was going to nurse you back to health if you did?" His eyes lit up again, either happy to one-up Maven or for another reason...
     "Alright, alright fine." He mentally prepared himself to feel the coldness of the rain against his once warm skin. For a fleeting moment, he missed the warmth of the hearth and the hot coffee brew that was once in his grasp but now behind a closed off door.
     "Im not gonna stick around for too long—" he never had a chance to finish his sentence as Felix softly grabbed one of his hands, wrapping his fingers around his hand reassuringly. Maven's silver eyes widened at how impossibly warm it felt.
     "What's the point of this?" He inquired after brushing off the initial surprise.
     "You have to let go once in a while. You know, relax?"
     "Well I was until you basically begged for me to go outside into this mess."
     He ignored him and stared up at the sky, a mere ghost of a smile playing on his lips. Maven has always seen Felix happy. Always brimming with joy, always energetic, always up to follow along with Tom and Valerie's shenanigans. Surely not as social but definitely up there. But happiness isn't exactly the same as being in peace.
     He always felt that Felix's 'act' of being happy all the time was just that, an act. Nobody is that happy all the time and that's not him implying he's depressed. It's just true. It cannot be done. Nobody wakes up each morning and immediately has a smile on their face. Nobody actively says 'hi' just to make the other person feel greeted. They do it to get it out of the way...and yet—Felix is a living proof. How the two got along while being so different is a miracle and he's wondered that so many times. Only now, he see's a new side of him: peace.
     His shoulder isn't as tense as it usually is, his brows aren't raised or narrowed in some way shape or form, it's just...there. He's relaxed, he's a peace.
    After being slightly entranced by such a discovery, Maven became uncomfortably aware of the fact Felix was still holding his hand. It wasn't firm enough to the point where his nails were digging in but wasn't loose enough to indicate he forgot he existed.
     His thumb brushed over Maven's skin and Maven, just to fill in the silence, asked, "What's the whole point of this?"
     Felix released his grip suddenly, an act that brought a minor heartache to Maven before it dissipated.
      "It's life! Sit back and unwind and enjoy nature!"
      "All I see is rain and gray clouds."
      "Then you have to see beyond that. You have to appreciate it once in awhile, y'know? Sometimes you have to let go of the materialistic things and pay attention to things you usually ignore..." his voice trailed out, a hint of doubt now plaguing him. "If Jill was here, she would've explained it way better..."
       Maven let the words sink in. He didn't quite get what he meant...at all perhaps. There's a reason he doesn't focus on things like these. Who sees a thunder storm and immediately think 'Oh I'll play outside and hope I don't get struck by lightning!' Nobody decides to do this to just embrace life. To kick back and enjoy the things that pass by the human eye. Who does this?
     He tore his eyes away from the ground, finally landing on Felix.
     The answer is no one. Nobody does this...except him.