Shadows in the Rain

Reunion

I decided to visit Venom at her job. Watching her teach swimming lessons, I was genuinely impressed by how good she was at it. She noticed me and came over to chat briefly. I waited an hour for her to finish, and we went to eat at a nearby mall.

As we were eating, a pretty woman suddenly sat down beside Venom. At first, I didn’t recognize her, but then it hit me—it was June.

"June?" Venom was surprised, her eyes wide.

June grinned, casually putting her arm around Venom's shoulders. "Do you guys still run fast?" she whispered, her eyes glinting with mischief.

Before we could react, she started counting. "One... two... three..."

On "three," we bolted from the table. June shouted, "North!" and we instantly knew where to go.

We sprinted through the mall, weaving through the crowd. Splitting up, we ran as fast as we could, each of us knowing exactly where our meeting point would be.

At the meeting point, we all arrived at the same time, breathless but relieved.

"What's happening, June?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

June looked around nervously. "We need to leave immediately. I'll explain later."

We hurried to Venom's car and piled in, with Venom taking the wheel. As we drove, we kept checking if anyone was tailing us.

"Keep an eye out," Venom said, glancing in the rearview mirror.

June smirked, leaning close to Venom. "Still driving like a pro, huh?"

Venom grinned. "Only when I'm not teaching people how not to drown."

June laughed softly. "I missed this. You always had that confident touch."

Venom's eyes flicked to June, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "And you always knew how to keep things interesting."

June leaned back, her hand brushing Venom's arm. "I can't believe you still remember."

Venom chuckled. "Hard to forget someone like you."

As the conversation continued, their flirting became more apparent.

"You know, you haven't changed much," June said, her voice teasing.

Venom raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? How so?"

June's eyes sparkled. "Still got that charm. Makes it hard to keep my eyes off you."

Venom blushed slightly but kept her focus on the road. "Well, good to know I still have it."

We finally arrived home, and after making sure no one had followed us, we all went inside. Venom and June exchanged glances, their connection clear.

"Alright, June," Venom said, "we're safe now. What’s going on?"

June took a deep breath, looking at both of us. "There's something big coming. And we need to be ready."

As we settled in, June took a deep breath and began to explain.

"I escaped from another gang I promised to join," she said, her voice low and tense.

Venom's eyes widened. "What? Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

June sighed. "It's a long story. You know I was the smartest hacker on our team, right? Well, I got arrested and jailed for almost three months."

Venom and I exchanged worried glances. "Three months? We had no idea," Venom said.

"Yeah," June nodded. "The other gang leader offered to bail me out if I joined them. I agreed, but I never intended to stay. I needed a way out."

"And today was the day you escaped?" I asked.