In Clover 18+

Chapter Eight (Part 2) - Like a Bird

Rain was more than just water that day; each droplet joined a symphony of patters, creating a sound I knew I'd never forget. The heavy clouds unloaded their burden, making the world outside the car window a blur of watery streaks. Orion's car hummed a steady, comforting rhythm beneath the tapping rain, strangely mirroring the growling of my hungry stomach.

"Is that your stomach?" Orion asked, a light laugh in his voice as he glanced over to me.

Caught off guard, I chuckled. "Yea, I only had Minestrone soup today."

"Do you want to stop for something to eat?" he offered, genuinely concerned, making it easy for me to nod in agreement.

"Please." I said. "I've been craving a burger since I got here."

Surprisingly, Orion confessed, "I've never actually had a burger."

As the cityscape came into view, I relaxed further into my seat. His admission led us into deeper conversation. "My m-mom always kept my diet really healthy," he explained. "In order to run the school, I must be healthy and strong enough to live 'forever'."

For the first time, I saw a side of Orion that was neither shy nor infatuated. He looked annoyed, as if he was fed up with his mother's shit. It made me nervous—not because he was seeing through her act, but because I was the catalyst for this realization. It was me who had lured him away from the only life he knew. I was nervous about what was to come.

I would be the one helping him navigate life outside of his parents' teachings. It was a scary thought. 

"Well," I replied, trying to lighten the mood. "Healthy food is important, but trying everything life has to offer, including food, is part of the fun."

Driving through the city, the traffic lights guided us under their steady glow. "But my stomach might hate me for it later." He joked.

Taking a deep breath, I threw out my first flirt of the night. Not having Lucy there to take over was hard, but being able to express myself as Clover felt a hell of a lot better.

"Let's make a deal," I smirked. "If you get a stomachache, I'll be your personal nurse."

An all-too-familiar twitch was noticeable in Orion's jeans. For a virgin, he seemed to understand when a joke was risqué. It made me wonder whether or not he'd figured out what Masturbation was.

"I-I guess...since it is your idea," He replied. "Then that would be the fairest choice."

Orion was really adorable when he flirted. It was obvious he had no clue what to say, and went with what his heart told him was best. His heart was just as smart as his brain, as he always managed to say just the right things.

Orion pulled into the parking lot of a diner, Slice of Americana, and rushed out of the car. Before I could utter a word, my door was pulled open for me and the hood that had slipped back was being forced over my hair again. Orion closed my door after me and grabbed my hand once more, pulling me to the diner that was more welcoming than anything else in Orchal. 

The interior was buzzing with the energy of content patrons and the smell of coffee and frying oil. I licked my lips at the thought of something unhealthily coated in grease, cheese, and deliciousness.

We chose a booth by the window, watching as the rain quickened outside. As we ordered—Orion with cautious excitement and me with encouragement—our conversation seemed to come naturally.

I ordered loaded fries and a double bacon cheeseburger. Orion decided to take the easy way out and copied my order, not that I had anything to complain about. I watched with heart eyes as he took his first bite. The way his eyes brightened warmed me inside. He practically shoved it down his throat in seconds, and had I not been so infatuated with him, I would not have shoved mine towards him. 

Is this what love feels like, or am I just getting ahead of myself?

Catching me by surprise, something he tended to do more often than not for some reason, Orion grabbed my burger and brought it towards my lips, "As yummy as that was," He started once I took a bite. "You must eat. You've only had minestrone soup today."

There was something about his genuine concern and care that almost made me cry. Even before arriving at Finewaters, all I wanted was for someone to care about me. To care about my wellbeing, to make sure I was okay and check to see if I had eaten. Everything my mother failed to do, I wished for.

And there he was--Orion Miller--absentmindedly giving me what I'd always wanted. Nourishing the little girl who grew up with no one. It amazed me how someone who had been unknowingly stripped the joy of life managed to replenish every broken piece of me when my own mother couldn't. 

"There he is!" Orion exclaimed just as I finished my burger. I began digging into my fries, and the rest of his, when he leaned over the table with his chin resting on his hands. "The guy that I told you about...well, you probably don't rememb--"

"When a truncated eye recovers sight through pure devotion, sirens lament and rivers are poisoned by abysmal sin," I cut him off. 

To think that I'd forget anything Orion Miller told me? Not a chance. His every word may as well have been engraved in my skin like a tattoo.

"You remember?"

"Of course I do."

"Would you like to...step out and watch?" He asked. "I don't mind the rain."

"I would love to."

After paying, Orion was forced an umbrella by the old lady who worked the register. She refused to let us leave without it, and on our way out, she sent me a wink and mouthed, "To keep him close."

As Orion and I stepped back out into the rain, the world around us took on a different hue under the umbrella's shelter, its rim a boundary between the past and the uncharted future we were to navigate together. The rain, once just droplets of water, seemed to encapsulate a myriad of tiny lenses, each reflecting and magnifying moments of our unfolding story. Those cold, almost mechanical patters on our shared canopy transformed into a rhythmic anthem, echoing our heartbeat and the silent confessions exchanged beneath the shelter.

With every step, the rain curated a symphony composed of the city's heartbeat—cars whooshing by, the distant hum of the urban night, and the occasional laughter spilling out from cozy cafés, all blending with the gentle taps above. Each sound marked a step away from yesterday's shadows and towards a luminescent dawn that neither of us could yet see but could feel was just beyond the horizon.

The proximity enforced by the embrace of the umbrella brought us closer, not just in space but in spirits. Orion's warmth radiated through the slight chill that the rain carried, and his presence became an anchor in the fluid world around us. The rain's cadence urged us forward, into moments laden with potential and promise, reminding me that sometimes, the universe conspires in whispers and storms to bring us exactly where we belong.

As we reached the heart of downtown, where the passionate voice of the street performer melded seamlessly with the ambient city sounds, I realized that the elements—rain, music, people—while seemingly mundane, composed the very essence of life's beauty. They were not mere forms of matter but instruments of a larger cosmic orchestra playing a melody that only those willing to listen, really listen, could understand and appreciate.

Standing there, enveloped by Orion's warmth, guided by the rhythm of the rain, I knew that life was not just about surviving but about living deeply, with every sense attuned to the wondrous complexities of the world. The rain had started as a simple natural phenomenon and had transformed into a profound symbol of renewal and clarity, washing away the remnants of past pains and watering the seeds of new beginnings.

In that blend of elemental simplicity and profound complexity, I found a freedom that I had never known—a freedom not from the rain, but within it. Together, under a shared umbrella, Orion and I were more than just two people sheltering from the weather—we were participants in a transformative journey, rhythmically moving to the beat of the rain, ready to explore the vast, vibrant world that awaited us.