Not Just Another Rainstorm
-For Estrellagirl-

A small red-haired girl hung her jacket on a hook in the break room before throwing the required vest over her white, long-sleeved shirt. She pinned her nametag on the vest, the word "Heather" gleaming in the bright light. She took a deep breath to relax before walking out into the main store. The only other person working the shift was Eric and he was not the best of company. A few customers browsed through the shelves lined with different styles of shoes. This was Heather's life. Study in school during the morning and work late at night. Heather curved her lips into a smile before making her way over to an older, petite woman who looked confused. "Excuse me ma'am? Is there something I can help you with?"

"Oh! I am just trying to figure out which shoes my granddaughter would like the best for the holidays." Heather nodded her head and pointed out several shoes that were popular for children and teens. The woman came to the register five minutes later with a pair of black, sparkle flats.

"Have a good night." During the following hour and a half, Heather and Eric helped about twenty customers. Not many people shopped really late at night unless it was Black Friday. The following hour consisted of Heather sketching in her drawing pad while Eric played some form of card game. With a sigh, Eric tossed the cards onto the shelf below the registers.

"I'm heading out early. No one is coming and it's already nine. I think you can close the store tonight." Heather opened her mouth to object, but Eric was already gone. Heather remained drawing for fifteen minutes when four boys entered the store. The most obvious boy was a tall brunette with bright brown eyes. The nest boy who stood out was slightly shorter than the first boy and he had blonde hair and green eyes. Next to him walked a small Latino boy. His lips held a radiant smile and Heather couldn't help but smile slightly herself. Lastly, walking behind the other three boys was a pale, raven-haired boy. Heather easily made out the dimples in his cheeks and shy demeanor. It was obvious he was the least confident out of the group of boys. Heather watched as the boys looked at the various shoes before the brunette, Latino, and blonde-haired boy came over to the register.

"Find everything okay?" The brunette nodded, smiling to reveal pearly white teeth.

"Just perfect, Heather." Heather raised an eyebrow at him as his friends rolled their eyes. She rang up the boots ignoring his comment. Dejected, the brunette moved to the side allowing his friends to pay for their shoes. "Yo, Logan, did you get stuff yet?" The paler boy shook his head.

"Just go on without me. I'll catch up to you guys." Shrugging the three boys left, leaving Heather alone with this guy. So his name was Logan? Being the polite cashier, Heather walked over to him.

"Do you need help finding something in particular?" Logan glanced up at her before nodding. He swallowed harshly and shifted on his feet.

"I uh, I'm trying to uh, find a pair of um, uh, boots." Heather chuckled quietly at how frazzled the boy seemed. He reminded her of herself.

"Well any specific style? Leather, suede, has buckles, doesn't have buckles, snake skin, slide-on, zip-up?" Logan blinked several times before clearing his throat.

"Um, suede zip-up?" Heather nodded as she walked away from Logan to a shelf two rows over. She went back holding up a pair of boots for him.

"Here, try these on." Logan shrugged and sat down pulling off his ratty sneakers. He shoved his foot in and zipped it up before repeating the process with his other foot. "How do they feel?" He 'hmm-ed' in response.

"Perfect actually. How'd you know what size would fit?" Heather grinned sheepishly.

"I've worked here for a little over a year. Guessing shoe sizes became very easy." They shared a smile as Heather made her way back to the cash register with Logan beside her. A large crash sounded outside causing Heather to jump, startled.

"Are you okay?" Swallowing, Heather nodded before grabbing onto Logan's arm and burying her face into the crook of his neck. Unexpected, Logan dropped the boots and wrapped his arms around Heather's trembling form. "Heather?" Another loud rumbling shook the store, the lights flickering momentarily before short-circuiting, plunging the two into utter darkness. Heather let out another scream as Logan tightened his grip on the smaller, fragile girl shaking against him. "Heather?"

"I'm s-sorry," Heather stated sniffling, "I hate storms." The redhead curled her face into the crook of Logan's neck. Logan pulled her close to him. Heather's knees collapsed from under her and Logan caught her weight, easing her to the ground.

"Sh, it's okay. I've got you." The storm raged on for half an hour. Throughout the entire time, Logan held onto Heather as she curled into his side. He mumbled words of comfort while softly stroking her hair in attempts to calm her nerves. The sounds of thunder quieted down and Logan's phone ringing startled both of the young adults. "Hello?"

"Logan! Thank god, where are you?"

"I'm still in that shoe store. The power went out just as I was about to check out." A small whimper left Heather's lips. Logan ran his free hand down the length of her arm and back to her neck.

"Okay. We'll be there shortly. Don't move!" A click was heard as the phone call ended.

"As if, James." Logan looked down at Heather. "My friends are on their way over here." She nodded and gazed up at him. Logan leaned down and pressed a soft, chaste kiss on her lips before pulling back. He then wrapped his arms around her slightly trembling body. The two sat like that even after the bright light of a cell phone came into view. Logan's friends rushed over immediately.

"Hey Loge, everything okay?" Heather shifted to get out of Logan's grip, but he merely held her closer.

"Yeah. Heather's a bit shaken up, but otherwise I think we're fine, Kendall." Kendall, James, and the smaller Latino slid their eyes onto Heather.

"Hey, uh, I apologize for my earlier comment." The small redhead smiled.

"It's okay. Guys usually hit on me, but I dismiss it fairly quick." The Latino sat down on the ground with his legs folded underneath him. Kendall and James followed suit.

"Why's that?" Heather looked at the Latino. "I'm Carlos by the way."

"Well Carlos, I don't really think that I'm all that pre-"

"You're not pretty." His friends glared at him, but he raised his hand to stop them. "You are beautiful. Any guy can see that, but what other guys don't get to see is this. And I'm pretty sure no other guy has been able to hold you through the duration of a thunderstorm. Don't cut yourself short, Heather." The redhead smiled appreciatively at Logan. She took a brief moment to look at him just as the lights came back on. His raven hair was slightly askew, probably from running his hand through it. His dark brown eyes glinted with honesty and were still somewhat hazy from lust. His lips were a light red and a little swollen.

"Thank you, Logan." The small girl leaned up and pressed her lips to Logan's in a passionate kiss. Under normal circumstances Heather would still be curled into a tight ball, but these weren't normal circumstances. Heather pulled back from the kiss smirking at the deep red that coated his cheeks. The flustered boy smiled in return before wrapping his arms around her tightly. This was definitely not just another rainstorm.