Summer Rain

[18] Fall

Dedicated to lightningstorms for the amazing Story Ad on the side. Thanks!

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(Unedited)

So what I wanna love?

Why's it hurt so bad?

I'd say it's like a drug,

But I don't feel the high.

My heart is about to break,

For the final time.

~Fall- He Is We

      Bells threw the flowers out.

      At exactly seven this morning, someone left a bunch of primroses at our apartment door. It wasn't hard to guess who they were from, given that there had been a note. Not to mention the fact that there was really only one person who would send her primroses.

      She was also skipping work, saying that she and Clark had made up enough plans for me and Kaden to last us a year. Which had kind of freaked me out since we weren't supposed to last longer than two more months.

      She had came out of her bedroom, grabbed a box of cereal, handed me the keys to her car, and then retreated back to the bedroom. I wanted to talk to her, but locked doors and quiet sobbing can be kind of discouraging, especially when you suck at stuff like comforting and romance.

      My cell phone rang, making me jump and nearly swerve into the opposite lane. Keeping one hand on the wheel, I reached over and plugged in the headset, then answered when I got to a stop sign. "Hello?" I looked around, then continued driving.

      "Hey Raine," Devon replied, sounding kind of depressed, which was pretty weird for him. He always sounded calm, or happy.

      "Hey. Something wrong?" I asked, slowing the car down slightly so I could focus a bit more on listening and not crashing into the car ahead of me.

      "Shawn's mad at me."

      I blinked. "What?" Did someone put something in the water? Why is everyone having fights now? Did something huge happen that I missed?

      "He doesn't like that I punched Blake." Oh. Okay, that makes more sense. I pulled to a stop at a red light and flicked on my turn signal.

      "Does he know about what happened?" I asked hesitantly. What if Shawn hates me now? And wants nothing to do with Devon because of m- no, Devon said Shawn was made at him for punching Blake.

      The light changed.

      "No. It's not my story to tell. I told him we just got in a fight and I lost my temper." Aww, he lied for me. Wait, Raine, that's not good. I scolded myself as I twisted the wheel to the right.

      "Aww, thanks Devon," I grinned slightly. "But you can tell him." I wasn't going to let my past the potential relationship of one of my best friends.

      "Are you sure?" he asked incredulously.

      "Yes, Devon," I said slowly, as if talking to a child so he would get the point. I flicked on my left turn signal and waited for cars to pass so I could turn into the parking lot.

      "Okay, I'll tell him when he stops ignoring my calls."

      "Just- Devon? When you tell him, don't make it sound like Blake and Jared are so evil. I don't think you want Shawn running from his own roommate." And I don't think they needed more people hating them. Plus, I had forgiven Jared. I wasn't going to tell Devon that, though, he'd flip out.

      "Contrary to what you believe, I would very much like that," he said with a low chuckle, probably only partially joking. It didn't take long for there to be a break in the cars, it wasn't a busy street. I pulled into the parking lot and found a spot near the entrance, but didn't get out of the car since I was still talking to Devon.

      I rolled my eyes. "Devon."

      "Fine," he said with a sigh, though he didn't sound really serious. The thing about Devon was once he saw a solution out of whatever problem he was in, he bounced back fast, even if nothing had really changed. "Thanks Raine."

      "No problem and I gotta go," I said, starting to pull the earphones from my ears. "I'll talk to you later, 'kay?"

      "Yeah, sure, see ya."

      "Bye." I ended the call and dropped my phone into my bag. Well, Devon and Shawn should be okay, I thought distractedly as I exited then locked Bells' car. I pulled the straps of my bag tighter on my shoulder when they started slipping off and walked into the set building.

      "Raine!" I spun around at the sound of my name to see a grinning, bouncing, more-hyper-than-normal Xavier.

      I paused and waited for him to catch up. "Hey."

      "Are you free on Monday?" he asked.

      I raised an eyebrow. "I think so. Why?"

      "My girlfriend's flying in from Philly. I want you to meet her." Whoa, Philly, like Philadelphia? I wonder if Jared knows- nah, it's a big city. Wait. He said girlfriend. Ooh, yay, I get to meet her. And possibly take note on how they had made it through Hollywood tabloids.

      "Aww, I feel honored!" I exclaimed, feeling the weird and somewhat awkward urge to pinch his cheeks when he started blushing. "I'd love to meet her."

      He grinned. "Can I text you the details?" he asked, pulling out his phone. I nodded and recited the digits of my cells phone number. Just as I was finishing, a new, but familiar voice interrupted.

      "Raine? Kallie and Brett want to see you," Kaden called from down the hall.

      "Just a sec," I yelled before turning back to Xavier. I heard footsteps approaching- Kaden, probably- but I ignored him. "Last number's seven."

      Xavier nodded. "Okay, got it, thanks. I'll text you the time and place Sunday," he told me.

      "Hey Xavier," Kaden said, stepping up behind me. He reached for my hand, since we were supposed to pretend in front of everyone except Kallie, Brett, Rory, Clark and Bells. Except I'm pretty sure Xavier knew. Unless he had believed my poor excuse for a lie last week.

      Oh well, I doubt he would tell anyway. I pulled away from Kaden and shook my head. "He knows," I told him quietly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him raise an eyebrow, but other than that, he didn't reply. "I should go see what Kallie and Brett want," I said sending the start of an awkward silence. And since I'm me, someone who hates awkward silences with a burning passion, I turned and left Xavier and Kaden to talk.

      Except I found Kaden following after me. Stalker. He could've stayed to talk to Xavier, really. "They asked me to get you so they could speak to us together," he told me, almost as if he had read my mind. Freaky. I nodded, keeping my expressions as casual as I could and followed Kaden to Kallie's office.