Rin stood outside of Kaibara High School, the rain pouring down on her, seemingly drowning her in her sorrows. The other students had all left and gone towards their separate houses while only she remained, unable to bring herself to leave the premises. Normally she and Haru walked together, but she suspected it was one of those days where he'd become absentminded and forgotten where she'd asked him to meet her. In any case, she didn't care much as her mind was elsewhere anyway.
Today was the day on which they had all received their report cards for the final semester of the year. Rin had been dreading this day since the end of the previous semester. There were few things that she despised more than going to school in the first place. She viewed it as pointless, as something that for some reason she was required to attend when in actuality there was no necessity for it. What good would knowledge of the capitols of certain countries do her out in the harsh reality of life? It's not like she was aiming to be a tour guide or a politician, for god's sake. And even if she wanted to be one, it was highly unlikely she'd do a good job of it, if her dismal grades were any indication.
Rin shivered as she decided to make her way home, simply because she was growing apprehensive due to the cold. She didn't feel like risking a public transformation. She was always antsy when it rained outside due to her fear of weakening severely enough for that possibility to arise. And she wasn't too fond of prancing around naked and being ogled at either. The only person she wanted to see her naked was Haru.
As Rin trudged away from the school and began walking towards her house, she felt her stomach tighten up reflexively, almost as though in preparation for an ulcer to arise. She wasn't looking forward to the verbal beat down that was awaiting her at "home".
The accusations.
The criticism.
The disdain.
Her parents treated her as though she owed them something for allowing her to continue existing. Deep down, Rin felt as though she hated them even though people often judged her harshly for feeling this way about her parents. But how else was she supposed to feel towards people who felt no compassion for her? It clearly wasn't love that they felt for her, if they felt that it was okay to treat her as they did. To make her so jittery about their response to the slightest imperfection that she'd rather run into a burning house than face them.
It was then that Rin froze on the sidewalk, as she saw a familiar figure standing further ahead. It was a bit hard to see clearly in the rain, but as she approached him, his features became more visible. A boy with white and black hair and a big white jacket, standing by a bus stop, with his hands in his pockets. Rin felt her heart swell in her chest as she made her way towards him, momentarily forgetting her sorrows. She ran up to Haru and couldn't help but smile as he turned towards her, eyes widening in surprise. She practically collided into him, wrapping her arms around him, suddenly feeling so warm with his own arms encircling her.
"Rin...what's going on? Did you have detention or something?"
Rin let go of Haru and leaned back to smile at him. Haru looked confused, as though he couldn't understand why she was there. Rin herself felt flustered and yet so grateful to see her boyfriend at that moment.
"No, I just stayed behind at school for a little while. Didn't feel like going home, you know. Getting yelled at. Just not in the mood, I guess." Rin flushed at this, feeling embarrassed for showing weakness, even if it was Haru that she was exposing herself to.
"Bad grades, huh?" Haru said, his eyes softening in sympathy. "Not good, Rin. Not good. Don't I keep telling you to study more? I bet it was finals, wasn't it?"
"It was everything, actually," Rin mumbled. She wasn't one to bother studying or even turning in her homework at all. Haru tended to lecture her, telling her that she should care more about her future. She would always brush his and anyone else's advice aside, though. She supposed there wasn't much she cared about, really. Aside from Haru, anyway.
Haru took Rin's hand in his, massaging it comfortingly. Rin could swear that her heart would skip a beat whenever he did this. It was so soothing and almost always succeeded at driving her worries away.
"Your hand's ice cold, Rin." Then, before Rin could answer, Haru let go of her hand and took his jacket off. He smiled kindly at her as he placed it over her shoulders. Rin reluctantly obliged by inserting her arms through the sleeves. She didn't like the thought of taking it from Haru, but at the same time, she was freezing. "I'm starting to think you like running around in the nude or something," Haru said, his lips twitching in amusement.
Rin rolled her eyes. "If I liked it, then I wouldn't be wearing clothes right now."
Haru grinned. "You know I'd like it," he said, nudging her playfully.
"Whatever. So are you waiting for a bus or something? It's like you knew I was going to be late."
"Yeah, I was waiting. Stupid rain. Not sure if it's going to come, though. I tried looking for you so we could walk together, but I couldn't find you."
Rin couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Haru, you couldn't find your bedroom in your own house."
She felt a little guilt for teasing him when she saw him avert his eyes, scratching the side of his face in embarrassment. She knew how sensitive he was about his difficulty with directions. It also made him insecure in that it made him doubt his intelligence. Another thing he was often ridiculed for.
"Ahh, well, I guess you're right about that," Haru said sheepishly. "Anyway, maybe we should just walk home since this damn bus doesn't seem like it'll be getting here anytime soon."
They began walking towards their houses, hand in hand. "How long were you waiting there anyway?" Rin asked.
"About forty minutes."
Rin could have rolled her eyes at that. She sighed loudly, tempted to rebuke him for risking getting sick himself, but thought better of it. She didn't want to make him feel bad, especially since he had helped somewhat in alleviating her anxiety. Speaking of which, that reminded her of what was awaiting her at her house. Rin swallowed hard as she felt her stomach tighten up again. She wished that she didn't have to go home at all. That she could just stay with Haru and not ever have to endure living with those people ever again.
Haru squeezed her hand then, making Rin snap out of her thoughts. She squeezed his in return, feeling comforted by his warm and kind presence. Haru was so different from her parents, so welcoming, so accepting. He made her feel like she was special. Like she mattered. Unlike her evil parents who seemed to enjoy unleashing their wrath on her every time she was forced to encounter them, Haru would hold his arms wide open for her, beckoning her to be enveloped in their loving embrace.
He was so gentle...so forgiving of her flaws. And Rin knew she had a lot of them. She was often described as being harsh and abrasive. Her personality warded people off, made them bristle and practically scamper away in fright. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she rarely smiled. Haru was the only one who could earn a smile from her, it seemed. And even then, it was usually when she was feeling so damn miserable that she'd think she'd never see anything that could make her happy ever again.
He made her feel hopeful. Serene. At peace with herself and this cruel world as a whole.
To Rin's dismay, they were already just about to arrive in front of her house. She felt a lump in her throat as she felt tempted to ask Haru if she could stay with him for just tonight. But, as though he'd read her mind, Haru spoke.
"You can do it, Rin. Just show it to them and get it over with. I promise you'll make it out with your life," Haru said, eyes twinkling with humor.
Rin groaned hoarsely as she twisted her hand out of Haru's, then crossed her arms tightly. She hated when he was like this, definitely avoiding inviting her over on purpose. It made her resent him, like he was taking her parents' side or something. "I don't want to," she pouted.
"Listen, if you just go in there and do it, we can watch a movie at my place tomorrow night," Haru said, as he reached to press a hand against her cheek, thumb caressing it lovingly. Rin felt tempted to slap his hand away, but decided against it.
"So now you're going to bribe me?" she muttered.
God, she hated when she felt like this. She hated feeling like she was a child, despite the fact that she was eighteen years old. She hated feeling afraid of people when she shouldn't. She wished she could be brave like Haru. Then again, when faced with confrontations, Haru tended to turn black and abuse anyone in his path. But at the same time, the promise of being able to hang out with him tomorrow made Rin slightly more inclined to do as he said. Truthfully, she would much rather just try to find some way to forge the report card, making it seem like the grades weren't actually that bad. Although she wasn't sure how to do that or if it was even possible. But it was at least worth a shot. Anything to prevent-
"Rin? What are you doing out there? It's raining, for God's sake!"
Rin cringed, recognizing her mother's grating voice. Great. Now her talk with Haru was coming to a close before she would have liked. She scowled in contempt as she barked at her mother that she'd be in soon. After the woman had shut the door and gone back inside, Rin rubbed at her face, feeling her pulse begin to quicken. The anxiety was getting to her.
She felt her hand being pulled away from her face. Before she could think, Haru shut his eyes and leaned forward to kiss her. Rin shut her own eyes, responding eagerly to the kiss. She reached to place a hand against his cool, wet cheek as their hot tongues caressed one another. As they did this in the rain, Rin almost felt as though she was floating above the clouds. Kissing Haru felt heavenly and it drove away her mental and physical anguish instantly.
As they parted, Rin saw Haru's eyes crinkle at the edges as he smiled encouragingly at her. He then placed his hands on her shoulders, and turned her towards her house, even pushing her back hard enough to make her stumble slightly forward.
"Just get it over with, silly!"
Rin heard him chuckle as she turned to glare at him. "Asshole," she bit out, though she couldn't help but smile a little. Then, remembering that she was still wearing his jacket, she moved to take it off.
"Just keep it for tonight," Haru said.
Taken aback, Rin stopped and looked up at him. "You sure?" she asked, hoping not to sound too happy about it. She couldn't deny that she'd feel slightly better if she got to keep his jacket just for the night. His lingering scent would help to ease her mind and keep her from feeling too lonely. She also knew how much Haru loved his jacket, too, so she knew he wouldn't lend it to just anyone. She felt some pride in that he trusted her this much.
"Of course. Just don't spill anything on it, or I'll steal one of your dresses. Like the low-cut one with all those straps and buckles."
Rin laughed, unable to deny that the image of him in one of her gothic dresses was an amusing one. "Alright, you weirdo. I think I'm just gonna go inside, so I can erase the terrifying image of you in that dress from my mind."
Haru smirked. "And my job here is done."
Rin walked up to her door, only to turn one last time to wave at him. Haru waved back, then gave her a salute as he walked away towards his own house in the rain. She still felt bitter about him not allowing her to come over tonight, but she supposed she could stand waiting until tomorrow to see him. Or maybe they could chat on the phone later and she could tell him how things went.
Rin waited until he was out of sight before she entered her house. As she did, she pictured herself and Haru sitting together on his couch the very next day, watching a movie. The mental image comforted her enough to make her feel just a bit braver. Truthfully, she didn't care what they did together. As long as she was with him, she felt content.
"You can do it, Rin," Haru's voice echoed in the back of her mind.
And so Rin reached into her backpack to pull out the report card. Biting her lip, she made her way through the house to find her parents so she could just get this crap over with.