A Stormy Night

Chapter 56: Rainy Day Kisses

"How do I look?"

Drawing our attention, Renzie and I turned to look at Kait at her inquiry. She was gazing at her reflection in the small, circle-shaped mirror, then she faced us. Pursing her lips dramatically, she showed us the cat eye sunglasses with white frames she sported.

I bit down onto my bottom lip to try to suppress a laugh that threatened to break out at Kait's expense because admittedly, she looked like a super villain, a role she's played many times before.

Renzie walked over to where Kait was standing and checked the price tag on the pair of sunglasses the latter wore.

"Well, it's a good thing Phoebe's paying then," she snickered, dropping the tag.

I shot the girl a puzzled look. "What? Who says I am?" I reacted, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Your earth, your money," mused Kait, a smile that reached her eyes plastered on her face. She's enjoying this way too much, I noted as I glared at her. "Didn't Josh pay for everything when ya'll were on Earth Z? Moreover, didn't Josh and I pay for everything when ya'll were on Earth X?"

I rolled my eyes at Kait's passive-aggressive remark, though there was some—more than some, actually, but I wasn't ready to admit so yet—truth to it. "Ugh, whatever."

Renzie grabbed a classic pair of aviator sunglasses off the display and tossed it over to me. She was lucky that I was able to catch them, considering how random the action was. Kait, following Renzie's lead probably, took off her pair and shoved it in my embrace.

"Let's bounce!" Kait exclaimed as the two of them left the shop, leaving me to pay.

The nerve of those two... I thought, glaring at them from the store's window front. I took out some cash from my pocket—thank God I was too lazy to move change from previous purchases into my wallet—and strode over to the cash register.

I'm not reveling anymore.

—

"So, Ms. Earth A," began Kait as the three of us made our way down the sidewalk, our umbrellas still up and at it, even though the rain turned into a patchy drizzle now. "What's the plan now?"

"Okay, one, I don't appreciate the name," I said, sending her a look, to which she churlishly stuck her tongue out, "and two, I say we head over to my old school, learn about Jermaine's current whereabouts from the registrar."

"Sounds brilliant," Kait commented, sticking one of her hands into her jean pocket.

"Huh?" I reacted, baffled. "S-say that again one more time?"

At that, Renzie reached for my shoulder with her free hand. "Phoebs," she said lightly, amused smile on her face, "she was being sarcastic."

I felt my face flush with embarrassment as I nodded. "O-oh, yeah."

"It is a good plan, though," Renzie was quick to add on. "Props."

Seeing the sign up ahead, I halted in my tracks as we've arrived at the bus stop. I walked closer to the bus sign, Kait and Renzie standing behind me; they were also analyzing the bus schedule.

"A bus is arriving in five minutes," I said, whirling around to face them. "Looks like we got here just in time."

"Great," replied Kait. She looked around her. "What's with your bus stops, anyway? Why aren't there any seats? Or at least, y'know, a roof and those glass walls with movie posters stuck on?"

"We have those, too," I answered, eyeing the lone bus sign with the street name printed underneath it, "in the city, which we're about twenty minutes outside of."

Kait groaned, tossing her head back once again. "Earth A sucks."

I flashed her a faux smile, trying to keep my cool. How much longer do I have to put up with her?

A few minutes later, the iconic red, double-decker bus pulled up by the road, and the three of us hopped on after closing our umbrellas.

I took a window seat, while Kait and Renzie took the empty seats in front of me after they shook off some of the raindrops that made their way into their overcoats.

The bus was relatively empty, I noted, as raindrops decorated the window I stared out of, every drop of water sliding down the pane and clouding the view. It seemed that the rain picked up speed again, it getting heavier every second. Harsh rain pounded against the pavements we drove past, puddles looking like pools forming around streets and manhole covers.

The general atmosphere was so comforting, the rhythm of raindrops falling so relaxing, and I'm reminded of why I love rainy days so much. Mindlessly, I traced my finger against the cold window and, as a child would do, began writing something on the damp surface.

I surprised myself when I snapped out of my daze on my own and saw that I had apparently written 'I miss you'.

What could that be about? I asked myself, quickly wiping the writing away with the sleeve of my jacket before either Kait or Renzie noticed and pried (more on Kait, really). Though, of course, I knew what that was about.

Rainy days never fail to remind me of him.

—

"Hey! Stop that!" I screeched as Francis ruffled his hair. We had just miraculously gotten out of the rain, which was nearly impossible to do because one, every restaurant within a block's radius was fully booked; two, transportation services were down because of the typhoon; and three, our apartments were both too far to walk to.

I had heard about the typhoon and the storm it'll bring about from the news earlier that day, but Francis had insisted we go out because it was our one year anniversary, and it'd be sad if we spend it at home—his words, not mine.

And so we did just that.

Only thing is, the restaurant we made reservations at closed early—talk about inconsiderate—so we're left without a place to go.

The lingering droplets from Francis' hair flew in my direction from his sudden action, and I winced in response, wiping away the water. "It's getting on me!" I said, stifling a laugh.

After wondering about the area for a bit—umbrella-less, mind you—we stumbled onto Hyde Park and found this huge sycamore tree. We figured, better a tree than nothing, so we found shelter under it.

"I'm just trying to dry off," he replied, smiling playfully.

"Yeah, well, that's futile because as much as I love nature, this tree isn't doing much to keep us dry," I chuckled. I took off my overcoat and wrung the water out of it. I was wearing a simple blue tee underneath, and surprise surprise, it was already drenched through.

All of a sudden, Francis smiled and planted a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. I found myself smiling at the action.

"What was that for?" I asked, looking at him, pure bliss radiating from my eyes.

In response, his smile only widened, and he leaned down to close the gap between us and connect our lips. He tasted salty on account of the rain that continued to relentlessly pour down on us, regardless of the tree's presence, but at the same time, he tasted so sweet.

The atmosphere was beyond cold—no question about that—but I couldn't help but feel warm and cozy inside, even though my outside was shaking like a leaf.

"No reason," he answered after breaking off the kiss, to my dismay. Drawing in deep breaths, he leaned his forehead against mine, our gazes locking. I laced my fingers with his, the palms of our moist hands touching. Feeling my face heat up from, well, everything, I realized that I mirrored the ear-to-ear smile he wore.

Sunshine will always find a way, but I'm not so sure I want it to because I love his rainy day kisses—almost as much as I love him.

"Happy anniversary, Phoebs."