Taylor and Victor

Chapter 15

Taylor

Today's a rainy day. A beautiful rainy day.

She would sit on the window seat, watching as the water drops falling along the glass window, and make up a race inside her own imagination.

She saw him in the hallway, but she couldn't make herself say hi.

Open her mouth, make a sound. She doesn't even need to use her tongue.

Taylor turns away, like an idiot, walking up to her class sooner than usual.

Victor

Today's a rainy day. A beautiful rainy day.

He tried to spot her on the bus, saying hi even when she couldn't hear him.

Victor could tell she's happy. She's turning around, unnoticing saying hi to everything. The lockers, the trees, the students, the birds. No one noticed her, and she kept on waving around.

The sky was dark, but he could feel sun rays shining through her hair.

Taylor

She doesn't know what on earth dragged her here. Taylor was supposed to come down at her stop. This isn't. Then she noticed, this is his.

She knows, obvious. Sam wouldn't peacefully come down without his friend by his side. Taylor persuaded Sam she wanted to walk around, for a bit, inhale fresh air she can't always has. The air after rain is the best. The petrichor.

She checked her bag for an umbrella, then stood up to get out. Her house is near, she wouldn't be bothered taking a few more steps from here.

As soon as they get from the bus, kids walk in different directions. Some follow their siblings or friends, some are loners. Taylor knows she should get home as quickly to prevent heavy rain. The sky isn't pouring, but more than enough for her to need a roof to stay. Like an even background to make up today's theme: Taylor and her damped clothes.

Her legs turned right somehow, she started to follow him.

Definition of follow: something a stalker would do.

She just follows behind him, while he's walking back to his house. To say hi, maybe, she hasn't said hi to him today. She missed her stop, and she has plenty of time. He hasn't noticed her because the grass ground is soft, not because she intended to, so she wasn't a stalker.

He'd still pass her, releasing odds and turn around making her startled. She stops and turns around, too, looking if someone's behind her. There's no one, of course, but she wants to act like there is.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Me?" she said, pointing a finger at herself. "I'm passing by, just getting home."

"Your house's that way." He pointed in the opposite direction of her. She follows his finger, gave it a boring glance then turns back.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Thanks for your information I guess."

Victor rolled his eyes. He turns back to his house and heads over. She needs to say something, anything to keep him interested.

"Thank you." She's speaking a little too loud. Shouted. Her voice mixed up with the pitter-patter sound of raindrops.

He surprised, looking at her with his unbelieving eyes. "For what?" he said a little too loudly.

"Last Friday, I haven't," she lowered her voice.

"You're welcome, but you don't need to," he said, blankly. And act if he doesn't care at all.

Her smiles fall, unexisting ones, a river of disappointment floods in. She's thought of the boy who gave her a chocolate bar and kissed her hand last week. His face shows no emotion walking back to his house.

She doesn't know what comes next, or why did it come. She only wants to get rid of his arrogant attitude. Something makes her mind stop thinking and her act is spontaneous. Next thing she did, Taylor jogged up to him and jumped into a puddle.

She regretted right after.

First thing, her shoes are now soaking wet. Technically, they're from leather, so her socks are the one soaking. With splashes of mud sticking onto her legging. When things like this happened, she thought if waterproof shoes is going to do anything better if her socks and pants are not.

Secondly, Victor's furious.

He stares at her wide eyes, she doesn't need a word to understand what a shitty thing she just did. His ankles are wet, his white shoes splashed with muddy water. She cursed herself. Taylor taking a step back, scaring of what will happen.

"I'm sorry," she said, coming out unhesitantly.

"So now what?" he asked her, in his scary intimidated voice. "You're sorry, so what will happen?"

She feels remorse, hand clenching to her shirt. She takes another step back, and another, she thought of running away.

She can't hear footsteps growing closer, maybe it was because the soft ground, the sounds he's making were concealed. Taylor only figured out when out of the blue, a splash of water getting up to her knee as Victor kicked a puddle near her.

Taylor looks up at him, surprised. His face remains still. Soon, a smile creeped up.

"It's not enough, yet," he said, and began chasing her.

Taylor turns back, doesn't try to come back his house by walking in her direction. Her bag slows down her speed and the umbrella makes her cumbersome. She releases her hand and drops the thing, running away with half scaring, half secretly enjoying herself.

"Come back, Taylor. You can't run away from me," he shouts from behind her.

Rain pouring down, they soon soaking wet. All two of them like just coming out from a bath. Clothes sticking onto Taylor's body, weigh her down. She could never imagine being run after by a boy. By Victor, and she laughed. All her bruises magically recovered and she feels nothing hurt, only her stomach from giggling.

Finally, he chases her and grabs her backpack. Instead of falling back, she fell forward. Surprised by the sudden trip, Taylor's hands and knees now covered in mud. She freezes for a second, perceiving what's just happened. Victor does so, too. He walks forward when she lifts her hands up, showing all the dirt sticking on.

Taylor could hear chuckles from him. She gave him a glance, piercing his eyes. Victor stops, he takes a step back, and another.

She chased her until her breath ran out and her legs had no energy left. Until she didn't think about chasing him anymore. And until she loses touch of reality, Taylor feels as if she saw butterflies.