Linley Floyd left Pigeon Creek, Alabama and all she was, including the name she was born with, in the rear view mirror seven years ago when she moved to New York. When her boyfriend and she's sure, the love of her life, proposes, she finds herself r...
Warnings: None is this chapter, unless you count getting struck by lightning.
A/N: Hi All! It's finally here! After nearly two months of my character moodboards I bet you all are more than ready to see my actual story take flight! I know I am! As anyone who has seen the movie before knows, it's a little dated. There are parts of it which have not stood up to the test of time just over twenty years later. Those are the parts which I aim to fix. Thanks to desert-fern for beta-ing this chapter for me, I truly appreciate it! Thanks for being such a cheerleader over the past few months as I've been writing this story, Fern, @/thedroneranger, and @/cherrycola27 on Tumblr! I hope you all love it!
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Like all great love stories, this story begins with a boy and a girl. The town of Pigeon Creek, Alabama isn't known for much, but to you and your best friend, it's the whole world. There isn't a person in town who doesn't know you. It's that sense of security that has you sneaking out of your house with what has to be the biggest lightning storm you've ever seen hot on your heels. But you're not going alone. You hop on your bike, riding as fast as you can until you reach your best friend's house. The sky is dark and overcast, the gray of the clouds shot through with bright electric streaks. It feels like it's going to start raining at any minute, the scent of petrichor heavy in your nose. But a little rain has never once scared you. In fact, it might be your favorite time of season. When it rains, the whole world feels clean and clear. Drenched in dewdrops, every minute feels full of promise. Today though, you're not searching for the rain. You want the big bang, the kaboom, the lightning strikes and the thunder. You're not witnessing it alone, either. Grabbing a handful of pebbles, you throw them, one at a time, until the window opens, and you see his disheveled blonde head stick out.
"What in the hell are you doing out here, Linley Mitchell?!" He's whisper-shouting, his accent as thick as molasses as he rubs his eyes with his fists like he can't believe what he's seeing. Honestly, you can't blame him. You vaguely remember a warning about the storm coming up on the radio when you were at home.
"I came to get you, you idiot! And don't curse at me, Jacob Seresin! Your mama'd have your ass tarred as soon as you could blink if she heard you!" You've got your hands on your hips, your gap-toothed smile on full display as you glare playfully up at Jake. The wind whips around you, teasing your dark hair out of the messy ponytail at the back of your head and grabbing insistently at the thin hoodie you're wearing. It's ominously dark, and the entire world seems awfully quiet as you stand in Jake's backyard.
But he's not moving. You're not witnessing this alone, so your voice takes on a wheedling tone. "There's a lightning storm today, Jake! 'Member when I found that book at the library? The one talking about lightning glass? I wanna see what happens if lightning strikes the beach! I want to know if there'll be glass there! An' you're coming with me!" A wide grin over takes your face, barely visible in the darkness surrounding you, yet you know that Jake sees it. It's a little shocking that he's so reticent. You never have to try so hard to convince him to come along.
"Alright, alright. Lemme put my shoes on, and I'll be right there." He sounds so fed up with you, but this is why the two of you work. You bring the crazy, and he tries to rein it in. That's the way it's been your entire life.
It's not long before the creaky side door of the Seresin house squeaks open and closes with a soft thud and Jake trots out with his sneakers in hand. Jake looks worried, pausing for an instant like he's expecting his Ma to come rushing out of the house to drag him back in by his ear. He shoves his feet into the worn canvas before bounding down the stairs.
"C'mon, Linley! Why are we looking for lightning, anyway? Y'know we're supposed to stay inside. This is the worst storm Pigeon Creek has seen in about a hundred years!" You ignore him, though, jogging down the street as the storm clouds build and build. "Didn't you hear the radio say that?"
Those last words make your feet stop in their tracks. You probably should have explained a little bit better. "You wanted to see the lightning glass, dummy! That's why!" Your grin is still wide, still open, but for the first time in your life, you can't figure out what's making your best friend look at you as he is. It has you feeling weird, the silence between the two of you more weighty than you were expecting. The moment stretches, like the finest of the spider webs in a gossamer strand between the two of you, at least until the first clap of thunder startles Jake into motion. He hugs you tight, smelling like sweat and dust. So do you, honestly. Summer in Alabama coats everyone and everything in that scent.
"Will you marry me?" You can't believe what he's asking you, so you start running again instead. The lightning starts just as the green grass under your feet transitions to scrub grass and sand.
"Come on, Jake!" Excitement courses through your veins as you draw closer and closer to the beach.
"Slow down!" He's huffing as he tries to keep up, green eyes fixating on your bouncing pony tail yards ahead of him.
Rather than listen, you speed up a bit more. "Hurry up, Jake!"
"Linley! I gotta get home. Mama's gonna kill me!" He catches up to you just as the first strike of lightning hits the ground in front of you. "Wow, did you see that?" The wonder in his voice is mirrored on your face as the two of you stare at each other in wide-eyed wonder.
"One thousand one, One thousand two..." You start counting under your breath even as you jog onto the beach.
"So, are you going to answer me?" He's really pushing for this, huh? Why now?
"No!" You just keep running, single-minded in your search for the all too elusive lightning glass.
"No, you won't answer, or no, you won't marry me?" You really can't believe what you're hearing. You stop running so you can respond.
"Jake Seresin, I'm ten years old! I got too much to live for!" Just as you say those words, lightning hits the ground barely six inches before you. You run in the opposite direction squealing in fright, only for Jake to tug you back to where the lightning struck.
"Don't go that way, ya' dolt! C'mere!" Jake leads you right towards the spot where lightning struck moments before.
The sand is melted into a pool of hot glass, glowing red in the dim light.
"That's so cool!" Your voice is awed even as you reach a hand out towards it.
"It's hot! Don't touch it!" Jake grabs your hand, smiling at you even as you look wide-eyed at the molten glass before you.
"We should be safe here!" His voice is full of confidence.
"Well, who says?" The wind's picked up, snatching the words out of mouth before you've even said them.
"Well, everyone. Lightning never strikes the same place twice!" The two of you stand side by side, watching the clouds move as the storm winds whip around you. It makes sense, what he's saying.
"Why would you want to marry me anyways, huh?" Looking at Jake reminds you of how the last growth spurt made him taller than you and how much you hate it.
"So I can kiss you anytime I want." That was not what you were expecting. But you like that idea. It means that you don't have to share Jake. That your best friend is going to be by your side forever.
So ultimately, his words have you stepping closer and closer until you feel lips against your own. Your eyes flutter close as love washes through you. It's sweet and soft, a peck more than a kiss, but you wouldn't change it for the world. The lightning, however, had other ideas, zapping you and your best friend. That was your first kiss, in the middle of a lightning storm with the one boy you thought you'd love forever. Guess you were wrong.
