Love In The Rain(bad boy, good girl)

20- quoting Taylor Swift

I let out a deep breath. Thank goodness she's here. She sits there. On the stump of Willow. The tree is gone. left with only a stump.

I hesitate before making my way over to her. I look at my phone. Messages from the search party. I think about letting them know that I found her. But I decide against it. She wouldn't want people to know about willow. She sits cross legged with her back facing away. I hear faint sobs. I step on a twig and that is when she notices me. She turns her head. Her eyes are red and swollen from crying.

I don't really know what to do. I am not the type to comfort people. I just stand there. Do I say something or do I wait for her to open up? I wait a minute before I speak up. "Cora?" Is all I can think of saying. I take a step towards her and sit next to her on the stump.

She is looking down. Tears still falling.

She doesn't look up, but she wraps her arms around my waist and rests her head on my shoulder.

I don't know what to do with my hands. I decide to just hug her back. At first it feels awkward because I don't normally do hugs, but somehow I find myself relaxed and it gives me a strange feeling that I have never felt before.

She sobs for a little while longer before she releases the embrace. She wipes her tears away with the back of her hand. She sniffles and says. "Thank you."

"So... You wanna talk about it?" I manage to say. She shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe. This is my first heart break. I don't think I was expecting for it to last, but..." She is lost of words. "I know." I put on around her and pull her in so she rests her head on my shoulder.

"Everyone goes through a heartbreak. Whether it's a break up or your goldfish dying." I comfort her. " some people even give a guy a second chance and gets their heart broken twice. By the same guy."

"That won't happen. We are never ever getting back together." She almost laughs.

"Hey isn't that a song?" I question. "Yeah. Taylor Swift. I quote her all the time. In the times where I'm really happy or really sad. Like half of my fight with Zack was Taylor Swift talking not me." She says.

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

It stays quiet for a moment before she speaks up. "What if he starts dating Britney? I don't think I will be able to take that."

"Well... Sometimes you just have to shake it off." I say hoping she catches on. She does. She looks up before smiling. Then snuggles back into my shoulder.

I don't know why I am enjoying her company so much. But I finally tell her."you know the whole party has been looking for you."

"What?"

"Yeah. A search party. I was gonna tell them I found you. But I figured you wouldn't want that. Here at least."

"Thanks." She says before we stand up and I text the party that I found her by the rail road tracks which is close to where we are.

We make our way there and a minute after we get there the party finds there way here. Everyone who arrives hugs and comforts her. I brag inside my head that I got to comfort her first.

Eventually the whole party is here.

"We were so worried for you. Why were you here? Were you waiting for a train to come and hit you? Honey no need to kill yourself over a boy." Izzy says when she arrives and hugs her.

"What? No. It was just a quiet place for me to be alone. Sorry I worried you." She says and hugs her back.

Riley settles the party down before saying. " Well since the party is here why don't we finish the night partying here!" The crowd cheers and she pulls out her iPod and a dock from her purse. A part of me wonders why she carries around a portable dock but the other part doesn't bother asking.

The first song that plays is I knew you were trouble by Taylor Swift. Cora looks at me and I wink at her. She is dancing with her friends and I am leaning against a tree watching.

I can still tell she is sad but she puts on a smile for her friends. The 'I'm fine' smile when we all know she's not.

***************

By the time everyone is gone it's almost 5:00 in the morning. Cora is pretty much sleep standing. She doesn't seem like the type to stay up past 10:00pm. When her friend asks if she wants a ride and she says she can just walk I take that as my Que. I walk with her.

"Thank you." She says for the hundredth time tonight. "You don't have to say it anymore. Unless you want that to be our 'always' ?" I say suggesting we be like the fault in our stars. " Only in your wildest dreams. She laughs. I smirk. "Or maybe quoting Taylor Swift could be our thing."

"So we have a thing now?" She jokes. "Maybe."

"Okay." "Okay."

I smile and look at my feet.

We arrive at our houses. And I walk up with her to her house. I smile at her as she fumbles with her house key. I feel like I should do something. The look she is giving me looks like she wants me to do something too.

Without thinking I take a step towards her leaving an inch between us. I look at her and she looks at me. I lean in. She looks nervous. She is frozen. She closes her eyes. I hear her take a deep breath.

Before my lips touch hers I move my head and kiss her on the cheek. She lets go of her breath.

I couldn't kiss her for real. Not now. Who knows how she would react to that. I don't want to ruin what we have now. Even if that means that I can only be her friend and nothing more.

She puts her key in the lock, and opens her door. "Thank you." She breaths before closing the door.

--1067 words--