Rainy Nights

Rainy Nights: part 2

"When are you going to start taking responsibility for your actions?"

"Maybe when you start realizing I have emotions too!"

Elaine slammed the front door and the voices were finally gone, though she could still hear them ringing in her head. She remembered a time when those voices were her safe space, when she would go to them for comfort. Those days were long gone now. She sighed as she blinked away the tears in her eyes. She wondered when it would all stop.

"Elaine, over here!" a voice called out to her. It was Emmie.

The sight of her best friend made Elaine smile. If she was the rain, Emmie was the sun. They balanced each other out perfectly. Emmie was a spunky blonde with a big personality, she lit up every room she walked into. She was loud, she was fun, she was Elaine's polar opposite.

"Hey Emmie." Elaine said, joining her friend on the sidewalk.

"You ready for another day?" Emmie asked with a grin.

Elaine sighed. "What do you think the answer is?"

"Oh Elaine," she said, putting her arm around her shoulder. "Brighten up a little, we only have one life."

It wasn't a long walk from the little house on Oak Street to Silver Springs High, only about 10 minutes. They knew they had hit the halfway mark when they passed the playground on Maple Street.

Elaine squinted into the distance and was petrified when she saw none other than Ethan. He was walking out of his front door. She couldn't face him, not after last night.

"Huh? Why'd you stop?" Emmie asked when she noticed her friend wasn't beside her.

"There's someone... I don't want to see." Elaine said, still not moving.

Emmie followed her gaze and spotted Ethan, who was now father up the sidewalk.

She frowned. "You're scared of Beckett?"

"Of who?" Elaine asked, finally picking up her feet again once Ethan was far enough away.

"Beckett," Emmie repeated. "Ethan Beckett."

"Oh," Elaine watched as he walked away, and then disappeared from their sight around a corner. "Your guys' last names are similar." she commented as they started walking again.

Emmie snorted. "Yeah, we know.

"But why don't you wanna see him?" she asked.

Elaine hesitated, unsure if she wanted to tell her the story. "It's nothing... he walked me home last night."

Emmie's brows shot up. "He what?"

"Don't get the wrong idea," Elaine said, putting her hands up. "It's a long story. I just... rather not run into him."

Emmie was curious, but she knew better than to keep asking questions, so she dropped the subject.

"Anyway..." she said after a moment. "Did you do the homework for today?"

~ ~ ~

After stopping at her locker to get the books she needed, Elaine walked in silence to her first class. Only when she had already stepped in did it occur to her that Ethan was also in this class. She froze in the doorway, scanning the room for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly a voice behind her made her jump.

"Hey Elaine," it was him.

She didn't have a choice, she'd have to face him. After a deep breath, she turned around to see, not only Ethan, but also his group of friends standing behind him.