Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by and checking out my newest story. I'm not sure where this is going yet, so it should be rather interesting to see. Hope you like it!
The sky overhead was slowly darkening into a stormy grey, the breeze picking up and rustling the colorful, fall leaves. Juniper eyed the sky warily, as she picked up her pace. She was alone on the quiet, suburban street. The weather was distinctly fall-like and the cool, crisp breeze was ruffling the short strands of her black hair. She blew a few stray pieces out of her eyes before sighing.
'I'm never going to make it home before it rains,' she thought. She pulled her hood up securely over her head. She wasn't very far from home, but it was far enough that if it decided to rain, she would end up completely soaked. She was regretting the decision to leave her very dry flat. Her roommate had convinced her that going on a beer run would be a good idea. Of course, he didn't get off of the couch to join her on her walk. And of course, she had decided that walking would be a much better idea than taking the car. She sighed again and switched the twelve-pack to her other hand. It was getting heavy and she was getting cold. Her hoodie was failing terribly at keeping out the cold wind.
The silence of the street had been nice before, but now it was beginning to seem a little creepy. The on-setting darkness was causing the streetlamps to come on. Their yellow glow provided little comfort to the young woman. She cringed as she felt the first drops of rain on her nose. She increased her pace. She was walking as fast as possible without running, but she felt as if she wasn't moving very fast at all. The sky suddenly opened above her and the rain began to fall in torrents. She let out a screech and began to run, the case of beer bumping uncomfortably against her leg.
'If he complains about it being foamy, I'm going to kill him,' she thought, desperately searching for some sort of shelter. She continued to run down the street until she realized that she was lost. She stopped immediately and looked around. The houses were very old and were not in the best condition. She knew this was not the place to be loitering around. She dug into her pocket, trying to find her phone. She panicked when she felt nothing. Dropping the beer to the ground, she patted down her hoodie and her jean pockets, front and back. All she felt was the change from the beer.
"Are you serious?" she cried, throwing out her arms. "Why didn't I bring my purse?" She pictured her roommate, all snug on the couch watching the television dramas that he loved. She felt tears burning behind her eyes, but rubbed them away. "It's only a bit of rain, Juniper. It's not like it's going to kill you," she told herself. Her self-pep talk made her feel better, but she was still worried. She had no idea where she was. She desperately tried to find a street sign that would inform her where in London she was, but the rain and the darkness were obscuring her vision.
She scanned the houses to her left and frowned. None of them had any lights on at all, and she didn't really want to find out if anyone was actually home. She was already completely soaked through, so she decided that she would simply find somewhere relatively dry to sit and wait out the storm. She glanced at the other side of the street, but there were no good places there either. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn that she saw something move. She quickly looked back and saw a house that she didn't think was there before. But that was silly. Houses didn't just appear. But this house had a light on.
'They must have just turned it on,' she thought. She stood on the sidewalk for a moment, trying to decide what to do. 'Well, it's worth a try." She picked up the case of beer and made her way over to the house. The house was very old looking and didn't appear to be in the best condition. Actually, the whole house looked like it may collapse at any moment. She climbed the front stairs and stared at the front door. It was very worn and looked stupidly heavy for a typical front door. There were no handles, only a silver door knocker in the shape of a snake. Juniper stared at the door for a moment before reaching out to grab the knocker.
"I just need to find a phone," she told herself. "I just need to call the fat loser at home so he can pick me up. That's it." She sucked in a deep breath and hit the knocker against the door. The loud bangs made her flinch. She was sure she just woke up half the neighbors in the area. She waited patiently for a few minutes before she could feel herself glaring angrily at the door. 'So, there are lights on, but no one can answer the door? Maybe they're not home…' She sighed and plopped herself down on the doorstep. Looking out at the street, she could see the rain had only begun to fall harder. She shivered and tried to wrap the drenched hoodie closer to her. At least it was dry on the little stoop. Her eyes landed on the wet cardboard that used to be a beer case. There was no way she was going to be able to carry it now. She shrugged and gently pulled it open, the cardboard so wet that it simply peeled away. She grabbed a bottle and opened it, using her hoodie to help twist off the cap. It opened with a satisfying hiss and she smiled for the first time since she had left home.
"Well, at least I've got this to entertain myself," she said, bringing the bottle up to her lips.
After what felt like hours, she heard a noise from inside. She looked up at the door, not sure if someone had finally realized she was there. "Now they're going to think I'm a drunk on their steps," she groaned, looking at her half empty beer bottle. She quickly scooped it up and was about to throw it in the bushes when the huge door opened. She stopped mid toss, her arm awkwardly in the air holding the bottle, when she felt eyes on her. She looked to the doorway and was surprised to see a boy who couldn't be any older than herself. He stared at her, his grey eyes boring into her.
"Can I help you?" he asked, one hand on the door and the other fiddling with some kind of stick. She stared back at him before finally lowering her arm.
"Err…" she smartly replied. She glanced down at the bottle in her hand. "Beer?" she asked, smiling. He continued to stare at her for a moment before slowing closing the door. Juniper smacked herself out of her daze and ran towards the door. "No! Please wait! I'm sorry! I'm lost!" she cried. She tried to push at the door, but the boy pulled it open at the same time. She lost her balance and tumbled inside onto the floor. They continued their staring contest, though she was looking rather sheepish now. "Do you have a phone I can borrow?" she asked, still laying sprawled on her back as she looked up at him.