Rain

•1•

A crack of thunder causes Patrick to jump from his sleep. He sighs. It's raining again. That means he can't go outside. A bolt of lightning lights up his room for a moment. He falls back against his pillows and looks up at the ceiling. Glow-in-the-dark star stickers are scattered around. It makes him calm. Happy. He's intrigued by space. He bought the stickers the last time he went to the store. Another bolt of lightning lights up a blanket at the foot of his bed. He also bought that the last time he went out. A fuzzy blanket covered in cartoons style fish. He's also intrigued by marine biology. Which is ironic.

Because he's allergic to water.

Patrick's mother would notice after his third birthday he'd cry and beg not to have another bath. She pinned it on children hating bathtime. Her friends would constantly mention that their kids did it too. That's before she noticed the blistering hives on Patrick's legs and back. After rushing him to the doctors, it came back that Patrick had an allergy to water. It was odd, he'd have no trouble drinking water but when it touched his skin he'd burn like crazy. They diagnosed him at 3 and a half with Aquagenic Urticaria, a fancy term that Patrick is use to pronouncing. He missed school due to rain or snow. He missed school due to moisture in the air.

He was happy to miss school.

He's quiet, shy, even a little nerdy. People bullied him. They even threw water on him. The principal knew about the issue but she doesn't do anything about it. His mother pulled him out of school last year. He now is homeschooled, leaving his house rarely. Parkdale is the worst place for Patrick to live.

And that's exactly where he does.

Summer is usually dry but has consistent thunderstorms. Fall brings chilly weather and snow, winter is constant snow or sleet, and spring is rainy and snowy.

It's a constant hell.

He can't wait to move after graduation.

So, Patrick finds it easier to stay home.

His parents dislike it. Whenever a good day presents itself, they push the 17 year old out of the house.

Away from his computer.

Away from his online friends.

Away from his room.

But he loves his room. He consistently adds to it. The ocean theme is the crude humor surrounding him for most of his days. He finds it comedic.

His parents find it mocking.

Patrick rolls over, attempting to ignore the thunder and lightning constantly bugging his sleep. He gives up and stands, the carpeted floor creaks under pressure. He heads to his desk, his laptop sits in the center, the Apple icon glows in the dark. He lifts the lid and the bright screen blinds him for a few seconds. He instantly goes to Instagram to check the group chat. He's in a group chat full of fans of Panic! At The Disco, another band he's fond of. All the friends in the chat live in Asia of Europe, they're all at school or sleeping. He sighs and goes to YouTube. After mindless scrolling, Patrick clicks on a documentary about whales and leans back in his chair. He twirls in the chair while watching whales swim through water, a generic narrator speaking. Why did he have to be allergic to something so amazing? So beautiful? He envies the animals, the people, who get to swim around. Feel the water in their hair, on their skin.

Allergies fucking suck man.

He focuses in on his documentary but suddenly a loud yell from outside breaks his attention. Out of boredom and curiosity, he heads to his window and pulls back the shade. His neighbor, Pete Wentz, is in the street running in the rain. Patrick deflates.

"WHOO HOO!" Pete runs through the rain. His shoes don't stop him and he glides down the street, loses his balance, and falls backward on his elbows. Instead of calling it quits, he laughs and pops back up.

Patrick feels like a stalker, watching enviously through the window. Pete twirls, black hair dripping wet. A clap of thunder causes them both to jump. Pete starts laughing again, a bolt of lightning strikes the sky and Pete jumps, asking for more.

Fearless.

Fearless is a start when you describe Pete Wentz.

Patrick racks his brain for more adjectives as he watches Pete sprint up and down the street, sliding and gliding around.

Athletic
Bold
Crazy
Mysterious

Patrick shakes his head and steps away from the window, the shade bouncing back into place. He plops back into his chair but is unable to focus on his documentary. The hollers of a happy Pete interrupt him every time. Patrick would open his window but he doesn't want to risk any rain getting on him. Then he definitely wouldn't get any sleep. He opts for banging on his window. Pete pauses mid holler.

"WHO BANGED?" He screams.

Is he drunk?

Patrick bangs again.

"DO NOT BANG ME!" He yells.

Patrick cocks his head.

"THAT CAME OUT WRONG!" Pete yells again.

Patrick moves the shade, Pete is turning to look at every house, trying to see where the noise was coming from. Pete's eyes glide over Patrick's house, basically skipping it. Patrick bangs again. Pete whips around, looking for the source.

This is kinda fun.

Patrick waits for Pete to start running again before giving 3 solid bangs. Pete stops so fast that he instead falls, slamming his head against the hard cement. Patrick gasps. Pete coils up, hands flying to the back of his head.

"FUCK!" He yells in agony.

Patrick quickly shuts the shade before running back to his chair. He feels guilty now. He's never really talked to Pete, he's only seen him at the bus stop or when he hosts a party.

Patrick is never invited.

Sometimes he feels like Pete mocks him. Pete is everything he wants to be. Social, loud, confident,

Water resistant.

"AH SHIT." Pete yells before a door slams across the street.

He's back inside now.

Maybe Patrick can focus on his documentary.

Just as he clicks the play button, a loud rumble fills the room. It's not thunder. It's Patrick's stomach. He pauses the documentary again, a beautiful shot of fish in the crystal clear water is displayed. He sighs and walks downstairs, careful to not disrupt his parents. Sitting on the counter is a sleeve of Oreos. Patrick grabs those and a Coke from the fridge. He decides to take a peek out the front window, Pete's light is on in his room, the window is open but he can't see Pete. Quietly, Patrick heads back upstairs with his snack and turns the documentary back on. 20 minutes and 10 Oreos later, Patrick is ready to go back to sleep. The storm has calmed. Before he goes, he pulls back the shade one last time to see if Pete is back outside. He's not but his light is still on. Pete is currently pulling on a T-shirt in front of the open window. Patrick shuts his shade quickly, actually feeling like a stalker. He climbs back into bed, snuggles under his blankets and closes his eyes, hoping for some sleep.

Dreaming of swimming with the fish.