The Smell After It Rains

25.

"Hey Jamie!", Claire smiled as she threw open the front door. The second I stepped through the doorway, she pulled me into a hug. I held her back, her slim body fitting perfectly against mine. I felt myself grin involuntarily.
She let go and I shut the door behind me with a satisfying click, closing us off from the rest of the world. It was just her and me, and in this moment I couldn't have felt happier.
I turned back to face her, instantly losing myself in her eyes.
Half of her hair was pulled back into a loose bun, the rest falling in soft waves on her shoulders. She was wearing pale pink top and a pair of loose fitting jeans, with a pair of fluffy Christmas socks.
I laughed.
"Claire its July", I chuckled, pointing at her feet
"And?", she grinned. "It's never too early for Christmas"
She was honestly so beautiful, my heart began to race as she smiled at me, her mouth twitching at the corners. She bit her bottom lip and looked down, at the floor, before peering up at me through her long lashes. I felt my head spin, thousands of emotions setting my heart alight.
I took her hand, rubbing her palm with my thumb, and then suddenly we were kissing, her hands in my hair, mine around her waist. I was instantly swept up in the whirlwind that was Claire, every inch of me itching to be with her forever, never wanting this moment to end.
She pulled away and smiled at me, a strand of hair falling across her face. I reached up and tucked it behind her ear, gently stroking her face with my fingertips.
She placed her hand on mine, which was resting on her cheek, before taking hold of it and turning and heading down the corridor, pulling me along behind her.
I followed her into the kitchen, charged with happiness, the only guilt I felt was that I didn't feel bad enough about the fact that my girlfriend was next door with my parents.
Today had been good- I'd taken Anna to the nearest town for a taste of country life, doing a bit of shopping and eating too much in a cute cafe, but there had been no excitement. No laughing properly until my stomach ached. No moments where I felt so happy I wanted to burst. It was just good. Average even.
The highlight had been Claire texting me inviting me over this evening. I'd been more than happy to accept, making up an excuse that Noah was having a girl crisis and needed me. Anna had been fine with me going, Mum and her seemed to get on like a house on fire, and had decided to go and see a chick flick in the cinema. I'd not been interested, so they'd insisted I go and help my friend. After being super careful about not being seen, I could be sure that I'd arrived here undetected.
"Right, so I was going through some of my old things, and I found some boxes in the loft full of things from when we were younger", she said as we entered the room. On the floor were three giant cardboard boxes sealed shut with duct tape, the words 'Claire and James misc.' written on the sides. "I decided it was only right that we went through the them together", she smiled.
The warm evening light was pouring in through the glass doors, tinged red by the slowly setting sun. The sky was scattered with clouds turned pink, making the scene through the windows look like a painting, straight out of a gallery. The reddish glow was shining through the glass, filling the room with light, landing on Claire and making her hair shimmer orange. I smiled to myself. This was so perfect.
I walked over to the first box and, with a pair of scissors that Claire had handed me, cut through the tape and opened the lid, as she set to work on the one next to me.
Right at the top of the pile was a stack of cards, held together by an elastic band. I carefully picked the wad up and pulled the band off, laying them out on the floor in front of me. I sat down on the cold tiles and picked one up.
It was a birthday card, with the worlds '6 today!' on the front in big pink text. I opening it up, to find a very rough looking handwriting covering the inside.
Dear Clair
Hapey birthday
Love James
On the other side of the page, the was a big stick drawing of what I assumed to be Claire and I, holding hands. I smiled, before placing it down and picking up another one.
This time it was a handmade Christmas card, with a giant paper snowflake glued to the front.
Dear Claire,
Merry Christmas! I hope you get that playmobil house so that we can act out that scene from Spider-Man properly!
Love James
"Claire do you remember this?! I made it, we must have been 10?"
"Mum kept all the cards you gave me", she said.
I passed it to her, watching the smiled grow ok her face as she read it.
"I swear I wanted that house more than you did. Mum told me not to write that inside the card, but I was convinced it would help persuade Father Christmas to get it for you"
"It was a pretty cool house", she smiled, passing the card back to me and reaching into her box.
"Oh. My. God. Do you remember Mr Cuddles!", Claire exclaimed, pulling out an scruffy old teddy bear that she hugged tightly to her chest.
"Wasn't that the bear that we tried to teach to fly?", I asked.
"Yep. I was convinced he had invisible wings, and that he just wasn't sure of how to use them yet"
"Makes sense", I laughed. I was so happy right now, although I couldn't explain why. Just being with Claire put me on cloud nine, watching her smile and the way that her hair fell on her cheeks when she leant forwards. Hearing her operatic laugh that seemed to fill the whole room, and the way that she looked at me like she was the luckiest person in the world made my heart burst.
Digging into the box again, I pulled out an old notebook. Opening it up, I found a sketch of a map, of what I assumed to be my garden. There was a drawing of a treehouse, a couple of logs, a patio, and bush with a big red X on it. I smiled, remembering how we used this book to keep track of our maps and games. Flicking through the pages, I found countless sketches and plans, drawn mainly by Claire, I could tell as the ones I'd done were really bad. Her drawings were actually quite good, better than I'd remembered them to be. Maybe she had been good at art from the start, I just hadn't been paying attention. 
I placed the book down, before pulling out another, although this time it was a diary. It was pink, with little red hearts on it, along with lots of sparkly stickers. On the front were the words:
Claire's diary, DO NOT OPEN. Anyone who does will be punished.
Overwhelmed by curiosity, I ignored the warning and, glancing over at Claire to make sure she wasn't looking at me, turned to the first page.

Friday 14th September 2007
Today at school we had English and we read Romeo and Juliet. It didn't make any sense. On Monday Miss Green is going to start rehearsals for the play. I got picked to be Juliet, and Alex is playing Romeo (urgh). I wish Jamie could be Romeo. It would be so romantic.

I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. We had been eleven, I remembered doing the play. I had been Mercutio, and had been slightly annoyed when I ended up dying. Claire was so pleased she got to be Juliet. She didn't stop talking about it for weeks.
I turned to the next entry.

Wednesday 19th September 2007
We sat in the treehouse after school and talked about everyone in our class. Jamie said he had a crush on Rebecca (screw her), but I don't know if I believe him. Anyway he told me he was going to be my boyfriend when we're older anyway, so it doesn't matter.

I felt my face flush slightly, suddenly getting the feeling that I was snooping in something that wasn't my business, but seeing Claire seeming almost jealous was strange. Although she'd mentioned it a couple of days ago, I couldn't get my head around the fact that she'd actually had a crush on me, even if we had been only 11. I couldn't remember her ever acting like I'd always expected someone to when they liked someone else. She was always the same old Claire.
I flicked further into the book, opening it on a random page.

Tuesday 11th March 2008
I really like Jamie. Why can't he see that? I mean he told me he would marry me, but that was when we were little. Now I just want him to know how I feel. So why won't he see?

I turned the pages again, butterflies causing a hurricane in my stomach.

Friday 27th June 2008
Kate and Sammy started going out today. They held hands in the playground, and Sammy gave Kate some of his chocolate. It's kind of annoying because it means she won't talk to me as much because she wants to be with him all the time.

Wednesday 2nd July 2008
Lottie asked Jamie out today and he said yes. I didn't want to but I ended up crying in science. He asked me what was wrong but I told him it was nothing, just Kate being mean, even though she wasn't. I hate Lottie. She's horrible and ugly and clingy. Jamie doesn't even like her. He's never mentioned her before, ever. It's not fair.

I was suddenly taken back to that, Lottie not having crossed my mind in years and years. I'd only said yes because I was too scared to say no, and it had lasted for a week. All we'd done was hug once, held hands a couple of times and written each other's names in our English books. I got my friend Sam to end it eventually because it felt weird. I hadn't realised how upset Claire had been. I almost wish I'd known how she had felt. That would have changed everything. Because deep down I had liked her too. Even if we were eleven.
Just maybe not as much as I did now.
"What are you looking at?", Claire asked, catching me mid-thought. She had shuffled over, and was sat directly next to me, her knee touching mine.
"Nothing", I said, slamming the book shut, but she'd obviously seen it.
"Oh my god Jamie tell me you weren't reading that", she said, tugging it from my grip.
"I may have had a peek at a few pages", I said awkwardly.
"Can't you read? It says do not open", she said, trying to be funny, but I could hear the embarrassment in her voice.
"I guess you'll have to punish me then", I laughed.
She smiled, flicking through the diary herself. I watched her visibly cringe as she read it, which caused me to laugh even harder.
"I wasn't aware you were that in love with me", I said, playfully nudging her.
"We were twelve", she said sarcastically. "And you were cute ok." I saw her cheeks flush.
"You could have said something", I replied. "I liked you too"
"What and ruin our friendship when, after two days, we realised we didn't actually want to be in a stupid relationship?"
"I guess", I replied. "Honestly though, you should publish that. It would make a good film. Very dramatic"
"Shut up", she laughed, her cheeks as red as her hair.
"It was probably for the best though. Twelve is a tough age for love. So much heartbreak", I said, looking over at her.
"Twenty on the other hand", she said, her staring at me with her beautiful gaze. "Now that seems more like it"
She smiled, her eyes multicoloured in the quickly fading light, before placing her hand on my cheek and leaning in to softly kiss me.