Have You Ever Seen The Rain? (Tate Langdon Fanfiction)

When everything started - chapter 1

When I'm around slow dancing in the dark
Don't follow me, you'll end up in my arms
You have made up your mind
I don't need no more signs

***

"Miss Winter." The teacher says and a few children start giggling.

"Miss Winter!" He repeats himself, louder and clearer this time. He furrows his brows and waits impatiently for an answer.

"Huh?" I raise my head suddenly, only to be greeted by my classmates staring at me and laughing quietly. I don't need a mirror to know that my hair is probably all over the place and my dark circles are more noticeable than usual. I blink a couple of times, adjusting to the blinding light. They really should change the light bulbs in this school.

"Do i have to remind you that if you don't want to fail my class, you must pay attention and study for our next test, and not fall asleep while I'm teaching?" He says after a short pause, crossing his arms over his chest. The way he is speaking is almost funny, pronouncing every word slowly, like he is talking to a five year old. Maybe in his head he does feel like talking to someone in kindergarten, who knows.

"No, Mr. Brown." I say unbothered. I have a terrible headache, and considering I just woke up a couple of seconds ago, the last thing I want is for Mr. Brown to lecture me.

"I'm serious, Chloe." His voice softens just a bit, even though he tries to be intimidating. He doesn't have any success, he never does. Everyone knows he's the most friendly teacher in our school.

"Oh, I know you are." I respond sarcastically, with a small smirk in the corner of my mouth. And then the bell rings.

Everyone gathers their stuff and leaves the class, including me. Mr. Brown rolls his eyes at everyone's eagerness to leave and takes a seat, typing something on his computer. I'm glad he forgot about our encounter.

As i go out the door, Zoey joins me, struggling to keep up with me and my speed walking.

"I don't want to be rude, but he's right." Zoey tells me while we are heading towards our lockers to leave our science books there. She's a few steps behind me.

"Who, Mr. Brown? You know, the reason I didn't get any sleep last night is that i was working on his fucking assignment, so that, and i quote, 'don't fail his class'." She finally catches up to me, but i still don't turn my head to look at her.

"Maybe you should've told him that." 

"But where's the fun in trying to be reasonable with the teachers? If I wasn't still half asleep then, i would've been able to come up with some witty comebacks" I stop suddenly, finally reaching my locker, "so that, apart from Mr.Brown, you can also get the opportunity to lecture me some more for my utter rudeness." I gesture dramatically with my hands as i put each book on the shelf. Between words, I take small glances at her. After I'm done, I slam the locker shut while fixating her with my eyes, which makes Zoey jump a little bit.

"You're being pretty witty right now. And insufferable. You know I'm just trying to help." She turns around as we walk in the opposite direction, towards the cafeteria.

"By helping, you mean giving me advice that I didn't ask for." 

"Fine, I'm sorry. Forget I said anything." She says, quieter this time, which immediately makes me feel bad.

After a few silent and awkward moments, I sigh and decide to speak up. 

"So, how was yesterday?" I ask in an attempt to change the subject.

"It went better than I expected. Mom loved Axel and he was actually very polite." She answers me, with a small smile on her face. "They even talked about how annoying I am. I'm glad they at least have something in common to discuss about."