How Do I Love?

Chapter 1: Running in the Rain

"Miss Richards. Miss Reina. Care to tell us what exactly is so interesting?"

Ugh. Spencer is always calling us out.

"Yes. Literally anything other than this."

"Lili!" I scold underneath my breath as the class burst out in laughter.

Spencer was nowhere near amused at my best friend's comment, but he turned around and carried on with his lecture. Calculus unfailingly felt like the longest period of the day. Luckily I had Lili to keep me company, and it always made me feel happier to have her around. Though we didn't have assigned seats, everyone knew that the desk in the back was ours. I could talk to her all day and it'd only feel like an hour passed by.

Just then, the bell rang.

"Come on Gem, we gotta get to Joe's before they're all filled up! You know how Thursday's get."

"Okay, yeah. I uh, I just have to go get my Chem homework from my locker." I stumbled over my words as I stumbled over my papers. There's nothing worse than a klutz being rushed. A few of my papers flew over the desk as Lili laughed at me.

"Jeez, you really are a mess, aren't you?" I rolled my eyes at Lili's funny little remark and walked around the desk to gather my things.

"Oh my god!" I yelped as I fell over something...someone?

Sure enough, it was Silas Russell. He had caught me just before I slammed into the floor. There could not have been anything more horrible than falling over Evergreen's 'cutest' senior. We had a...well, we had a funny relationship.

"Way to go Richards. I try to be nice and you try to break my back." He smirked in an ever so boastful matter.

"No one told you to try and be nice Russell. Let me go." He dropped me on my bottom and I glared at his bold eyes.

"Silas, we have places to be. Move." Lili knelt over and shoved Silas out of the way to pick up my, now crumpled papers. Oh Lili, such a bossy woman. She grabbed my bag and helped me off the floor. "Bye Silas." She said sternly as she grabbed my hand and led me out the room.

"Bye Liliana. Bye Richards." He always made a point to call us by the names he knew we hated. It was so annoying.

We walked out into the hallway and stopped at my locker to grabbed my things. Lili was talking to a friend, something about tomorrow's football game? I'm not sure, but it reminded me of Silas. What is with him? Why is he always so cocky? It's like he tries his hardest to be mean. He's a just a typical varsity jock and all we do is argue. We've bickered since the 8th grade for no particular reason other than his sudden interest in being especially rude to me.

Lili and I walked out towards my car. Thursday's were my turn to drive to school and it was always so fun to carpool with my girl. Lili has the greatest aura. Her cascading brown hair is iconic along her tall body and I can't help but appreciate her while we walk alongside one another. I've always been much shorter than her -it's almost laughable. Her ridiculously good looks and glowy brown skin put her in the limelight, but she takes the role with confidence.

As we drove, we listened to our special "After-School Playlist" and screamed along. Thursday's meant the week was almost over, and this week had been particularly stressful. School only started about a month or two ago, and it already felt like finals week with the amount of work being piled on us. Senior year was already kicking me in the bum. There was so much to worry about. School dances, games, and events all fell onto the leadership class this year after ASB started falling behind.

"What is it?" Lili chuckled as we hopped out of my '03 Rover A.K.A. Ulysses. Joe's Coffee Shop was already packed with kids studying for all sorts of things.