[ note: this chapter is bloody long,
it's 5.5k words im sorry it sucks. ]
9:45
“Someone is out early,” a voice said behind me and I immediately jumped in utter shock, my breath shortening for a second.
I glared at her. “You scared me! Jesus.”
“Too cranky in the morning,” Y/N said, grinning. She held a mug of what I assumed to have water in it while a bag slung on her shoulder, and most importantly, the scent of cigarettes was still attached to her. On her bag, I could see the pack of Marlboro peeking out and she tucked it in further into the bag once I saw it.
As I was about to speak, small droplets of rain began to pour from the sky that I haven't noticed to be darkening. Being the fan of nature at times, I stared straight up to witness more rain pouring down at us until an umbrella blocked my view of the sky.
I returned my gaze back to Y/N who now was holding an umbrella under the two of us with a smug smile on her face. “The day is better without getting wet.”
“Where did you get an umbrella?” I touched the neck of it, sliding my hands down until it stopped on her knuckles.
She adjusted her hand to have mine under hers, so basically her and I were now holding the umbrella together. Neither was I uncomfortable nor confused, I enjoyed the warmth that she gave my hands at the moment since it started to become colder by the second.
“I knew it was gonna rain by the looks of the clouds before I left home. And . . my mom told me to get an umbrella.” She plopped down the mug on the table positioned behind her — which was owned by Richmond for his stand by his house, a vendor of fruits exclusively only.
“You're psychic. God, it's freezing.” I placed my other hand on top of hers, finding the same warmth that my hand had. I expected her to make a remark that her pride could feed in into, but she just smiled towards me and that was when I felt that it was wrong on some points so I pulled away that instant when I came to my short realization.
She looked rather pleased. “You no longer find this weather freezing?”
I turned away from her, tucking some hair behind my ear and I fiddled lazily with my fingers. This rain might've made my surroundings cold but my cheeks were burning hot. If I had a good look on myself by now, my whole face was tainted crimson.
She pulled a bit on my shoulder, making me slightly turn to her. “Is everything all right, Camila?”
I nodded, masking my emotions. “Yes. Sorry. Cold.”
Y/N hauled me closer to her but not as close as our hands were earlier. The rain did not stop pouring and my heart never stopped pounding so hard on my chest that I could frantically feel it on my pulses, the pressure was on my ears and on my forehead and my body suddenly was warm in a way that it shouldn't have been feeling.
“Are you sure you're okay? You look like someone slapped both of your cheeks repeatedly, goodness.” Y/N chuckled and I glowered at her.
She motioned the umbrella's handle to me. “May you hold it for a sec?”
I didn't protest or whatsoever and just held it as I watched her take off her leather jacket, taking the umbrella from me with her right hand as her left one held the jacket towards me.
“No, that's cliché,” I said and she frowned.
“Do you have a choice? It is cold,” she told me.
“Fine.” I took it and slipped my arms and upper body on the fabric of leather. Like Y/N, I was prideful too. So prideful that I never gave the admission that this was a satisfaction to me. When I wore something she owned that day that it rained, I was able to feel and endure warmth the same way she had. Except the heat wasn't generated from my body, but from hers instead. Though it was an uncanny thought, I instilled the thought in my mind.
