She sat on the steps, kicking her heels against the risers. Her bike tire, thrust into the air, spun in the gusting wind. The gale swept up the faint click-click-click of the wheel as it hurtled through her back yard, almost drowning the shouts erupting from the house behind her.
Almost, but not quite.
The screams reached a crescendo and then the back door slammed, her father clomping across the deck. His lighter clicked. He puffed. His smoke drifted past her and she wrinkled her nose as it trailed up and up, dancing away with her bike's clicking and the wind's howling.
"Fix your bike?" he asked.
She didn't look at him. "Yeah." She had been sitting idle for the better part of half an hour, by that point.
"You, uh, you hear any of that?"
Her feet stilled. She pulled them to rest on the steps, bending to hug her knees to her chest. "No."
"Good." He rifled through his pockets. "Paige?"
The wind snapped at her hair, dragging it across her face. She plucked it away, trying and failing to secure it behind her ear. She did not speak and she did not turn around.
"Kiddo, go to the store and get me another pack. I'm out."
She turned to look, then, snatching the crumpled bill from his calloused fingers. "Why can't you go get your own?"
He released the breath he'd been holding, blowing smoke towards the gray sky. "I'm still talking with your mom. We might be a while." He wasn't looking at her.
She followed his gaze, found the shadowy silhouette of her mother in the window. Her father turned away, staring across the backyard. Paige's shoulder slumped. She pushed off the deck, righting her bike and shoving the bill in her pocket.
As she swung her leg over the seat, her father cast his cigarette at the ground. She watched him make his way back into the house. She watched her mother slip away from the window.
The door slammed behind her father, and Paige kicked off the ground and left her parents behind her.
Emily's frown grew as she stared at the sky. The clouds loomed thicker and grayer with each passing moment and the wind had whipped itself into a froth, tugging at every loose bit of hair and clothing. It flung the clouds across the sky at a dizzying speed.
"Earth to Em," said Kevin. "Gonna help me get these chairs inside or what?"
She whipped around, eyes wide, to find her boss watching her with a lopsided smile and a cocked eyebrow. She hopped forward, lifting one of the patio chairs. "I'm so sorry. The weather's just getting really awful..."
He laughed, tucking a chair under his arm. "It's okay. Let's just take care of these before we get caught in the worst of it."
Their hustle paid off; Emily carried the last chair inside just as the heavens opened up. She flicked the rain from her brow and heaved a sigh of relief.
Kevin finished stacking the chairs in the back room. He glanced around the shop, eyes darting from one empty table to another.
"I don't see any point in staying open, do you?" he said.
Emily shook her head. "It's been quiet all day and this rain won't help." She glanced at the still-open door to the deluge beyond, crossing her arms and chewing on her lip.
"You okay?" asked Kevin. "You've been kind of weird all day."
She shook her head, willing a smile into her lips. "I'm fine. You can go home. I'll lock up; I have to wait for Samara, anyway."
"Thanks, Em," he said. He didn't have to be told twice; before she could blink, he'd tossed his apron aside, pulled on his jacket, and skipped out the door beneath the protective shade of his umbrella.
After calling Samara and leaving a voicemail, Emily busied herself cleaning counters and tidying the shop. Every so often she stopped by the door, glancing out into the street, but her girlfriend did not appear.
Paige tucked her dad's cigarettes in her pocket and cast one last indignant glare at the clerk. He'd implied that her I.D. was fake. She'd implied something rather uncouth about his mother.
The bell on the door tinkled cheerily behind her, oblivious to the elements roiling beyond its tiny existence. The world was simmering, the wind reaching a fever pitch and thunder growling in the distance. She shivered inside her thin tee and worn jeans.
She wondered why she hadn't grabbed her jacket. Then she remembered where she'd left it - hanging on the peg just inside the back door. No chance in hell she'd have gone back in there to get it.
Leaves swept across the road, crunching beneath her tires as she pedaled. The wind nudged her, setting her to wobbling, but she righted herself each time. She pedaled harder. Her fingers froze around the handles.
She felt one drop on the back of her hand, then one on her scalp. Her heart pattered in her chest. No, no, no!
But no amount of pleading with the universe could save her from her inevitable fate. The rain ripped through the clouds and toppled down, down, catching Paige McCullers in naught but an old shirt and a pair of jeans with a hole in one knee.
She made it to the center of town and sped past the shops, slicing through puddles and casting spray as she went. Her head was down and drops slid down her nose, splashing to the pavement below. The leaves clogged the way, slick and shiny, pasted to the ground.
She came around the corner just a bit too fast and her tire skidded across a slippery leaf. She tried to hit the brakes, but the bike spun out from under her. Gravity seized her. She went down, down in a tangle of legs and metal, down into a fist of asphalt.
Emily leaned in the doorway, balling her apron in her hands. She'd cleaned each table twice over, checked the entire inventory and left a detailed note marking everything that they might need to restock. She swept the floor, washed and dried every glass and mug, and watered every plant.
There was nothing more to do. She had crossed off every task on the shop's to-do list, and Samara had still not appeared.
Emily glanced down at her phone and thumbed through the series of increasingly anxious texts she'd sent. There would be just as many missed calls and voicemails waiting for the truant blonde. Emily blinked back tears and shoved her phone in her pocket.
She stared at the sheets of water streaking through the air only to break against the world below. The hiss of droplet after droplet splattering against the pavement rolled together with the rumble of thunder and the whistle of the wind. Goosebumps pricked to life along her arms and she rubbed at them, trying in vain to keep them down.
She couldn't fight the chill. She listened to the rain and it crept along her skin. She watched it fall and it sank into her muscles. She thought of Samara, and it leached into her bones.
Then there was a new sound. A mechanical whirring. She leaned forward, peering into the street, just protected from the rain by the eaves above. To the left. She squinted, her gaze piercing the rainfall veil.
A girl on a bike. Emily shivered. She didn't envy whoever that was. The girl's head was bent, clothes clinging to her frame as her legs pumped and pumped, speeding the bike along. The girl shook the rain from her face as she came around the corner.
Too fast.
She went down.
Emily gasped as the girl struck the pavement, legs and arms flying as she rolled onto her back with the bike on top of her. Before the gasp died on her lips, she bolted into the rain, splashing down the street to kneel beside the biker.
"Are you okay? Oh my God," said Emily, over and over. The girl pushed herself up, blinking and gnashing her teeth. Emily tossed the bike aside as the girl pulled herself into a sitting position.
Paige looked at her hands. Blood pooled in her cuts only to be wicked away by the water streaming down her palms. Flecks of asphalt wedged themselves into her skin. Each drop of rain on the wounds dragged a hiss through her teeth.
She checked her knees next and found a similar result on the left one. Great. Now her jeans had matching holes.
With a grunt, she planted one palm on the ground and pushed herself into a squat before standing upright. The girl next to her - when did she get there? - rose with her. Paige shook her head again. The girl was talking.
"Come with me," said Emily. "I'll help you get cleaned up." She picked up Paige's bike and propped it beside her. Paige blinked.
"Thanks," she said. Her fingers found her forehead and came away bloody. Even better.
Paige followed Emily back to the Brew, flopping into a seat as Emily hurried into the back and raided the first aid cabinet. When she returned, hands full of towels, bandages, and hydrogen peroxide, Paige was bent over her hands, picking dirt from the gashes.
"Let me help," said Emily. She knelt in front of Paige and set to work cleaning the scrape on her knee. Paige watched her, holding her hands out of the way.
"You don't have to do that," she said as Emily unscrewed the peroxide bottle.
Emily shook her head. "I don't mind," she said, and she tipped the solution over the wound.
Paige winced, but Emily held her leg steady. Paige gritted her teeth as the other girl continued cleaning and bandaging her knee. "Do I know you?"
Emily looked up, eyes searching Paige's face. Her thumb brushed Paige's knee through the rip in her jeans, rubbing across the skin just above the cut. The stinging tingle in her knee raced up through Paige, spreading in a flush across her neck and cheeks.
"Maybe," said Emily. "Are you the new girl? Umm... Paige McCullers?"
Paige grinned. "That's me."
Emily returned the smile. "I'm Emily Fields."
"Nice to meet you, Emily. And thanks again." She jerked her head towards the pile of cleaning supplies.
Emily took Paige's hand in both of hers, spreading it flat to inspect the scrapes. "It's no problem," she said. "I was just waiting to close up, anyway."
"You work here?" Paige surveyed the Brew, looking everywhere but down at her hand cradled by Emily's fingers.
"Yeah, for a few years now." Emily glanced up at her patient. "If I leave Rosewood knowing anything, it'll be how to make an amazing cup of coffee."
"If you're that good, I'll have to try it sometime," said Paige.
It was Emily's turn to feel warmth creeping into her cheeks. She brushed her fingers over Paige's knuckles, just once, without thinking, before her girlfriend's face swam into her mind and she dropped Paige's hand like a hot coal.
"Oh, God, I'm sorry," said Paige. "That came out... I wasn't... I mean, not that I wouldn't, but my gaydar isn't always... not that I was trying to figure out... shit."
Emily wrung her hands, and matched Paige's stammer with one of her own. "No, no, you weren't, I just... and you weren't wrong. I'm, I'm flattered, I just have a girlfriend already."
Paige waved her hands. "Yeah, yeah, of course. It's fine. It's fine. I'm sorry."
Their nervous laughter dissolved until there was nothing left but the pattering of the rain and the ticking of the clock. Paige cleared her throat. "Well, I think I can take care of myself from here." She scooted back in her seat, as far back as she could go, and Emily stood up and retreated behind the counter.
Paige focused her energies into her hand and Emily busied herself making coffee. She was making a new mess that would have to be cleaned later, but Paige's comment looped like a skipping record in her head. And in any case, the girl was shivering, so a hot cup of coffee would help her warm up.
She really was shivering. Her shirt hung off her back, heavy with rainwater, and her hair fell in hanks from her head.
"Paige?" called Emily. The other girl looked up. Emily felt her cheeks grow warm again as Paige's eyes met her own. Get a grip, Emily. "Do you need a change of clothes? I always keep some in the back. In case I spill something."
"Bad experience?" asked Paige, lopsided grin creeping back.
Emily shrugged. "It only has to happen once. I'll go get them. They should fit." She vanished into the back room.
Paige finished dressing the scrapes and while Emily was gone, she wandered over to the counter. When Emily popped back into the shop, she jumped, surprised by Paige's proximity. She stuck out her arms, offering the bundle of clothes with a smile as she tried to regain her composure. Paige just laughed, biting back a comment, and slipped past Emily to find the bathroom.
She threw her wet clothes to the ground and they landed with a splat. She shook her head, the weight of her hair tugging at her scalp. Emily had given her a towel. She smiled. She thinks of everything.
Paige pulled Emily's shirt over her head. As she brought it over her nose, she breathed, drinking in the floral aroma of coffee, the mustiness of the back room, and something sweet and strong and acidic. Sweat and shampoo, skin and detergent all mixed together. A human scent. Emily's.
When she returned, Emily had her coffee ready.
"You didn't have to do that," said Paige, though she lifted the cup to her lips, pausing to inhale the scent. "Mm. I hope it tastes as good as it smells."
"It will," said Emily, leaning back on the counter. "I made it."
Paige raised an eyebrow and smiled into the drink. She took a sip, swallowed, and smacked her lips. "That is good! Damn. I'll have to make a point to come back for more."
Emily smiled. "I'd like that." She caught the growing grin on Paige's face and dropped her eyes, making a show of cleaning the counter.
Paige grimaced as Emily turned away. Knock it off, McCullers! She has a girlfriend. The last thing you need is to make things awkward. Just get through this year...
The rain was still falling in sheets. Paige crossed to the doorway, jamming one hand in a pocket and leaning out to peer up and down the street.
"Are you on the swim team?" she called over her shoulder.
Emily's head popped up. "Yeah, I am. Why?"
"I knew it. I saw you at the meet last week. Nice job, by the way, you dominated your heats."
"You were at the meet? Do you swim?"
Paige shrugged. "I did, at my old school. But I transferred here kind of last minute. I'm ineligible, at least for a while."
"That sucks." Emily walked around the counter and took a seat by Paige. The other girl turned, resting back against the doorjamb. Half her face was bathed in the soft, warm light of the shop; the other reflected the dark gleam of the clouds outside. Her eyes twinkled at the junction, caught between the worlds.
"It does," said Paige with yet another shrug. "But it is what it is, you know?" She stared out at the rain again, a frown building on her lips.
Emily frowned. She studied the girl's profile, her eyes, the shape of her nose, the creases in her eyebrows. She tilted her head. "I think I remember you, too," she said. "You swam at the state championships, didn't you? You were amazing."
Paige ran her fingers through her damp hair, untangling the clumps. She glanced at Emily and swirled her coffee. "Thanks."
"Can't you fight it?"
Paige shook her head. "I tried. But there's only so much I can do on my own."
"On your own?" Emily pursed her lips. "Your parents..." Paige flinched, and Emily swallowed the rest of the sentence. "Never mind. Well, when you are eligible, I'll be glad to have you. On the team." She coughed. "You're a great swimmer and you seem like a good person, too."
"You too," said Paige, pushing off the door. The rain had finally begun to let up. The sky had brightened, the darkness giving way to a sickly yellow-gray that glowed beyond the trees that scraped across it. "Guess I should head home."
"Same," said Emily. She grabbed her things from the back and joined Paige out front, where she lingered beside her bike, her wet clothes stuffed in a take-out bag looped over the handlebars. "Well, I'll see you around. Take care of those scrapes."
"I will. Thanks for all the help. Oh!" Paige stopped, straddling the bike. "I'll make sure to get these clothes back to you."
Emily waved the suggestion away. "Don't worry about it. You don't need to."
Paige grinned and shook her head. "Oh, but I do. Gives me an excuse to talk to you again, doesn't it?" With that, she hopped onto the pedals and zoomed away.
Emily crossed her arms across her chest, watching as the other girl disappeared down the street. She didn't fight the smile that tugged at her lips.
The wind jostled the trees, scattering stray droplets over the girl below. One landed on her cheek. She wiped it away with a finger, pinching it with her thumb and rubbing it between the pads. She laid her finger against her lips and her smile grew.
Emily hated the rain. She had never been one for walks in the downpour. She liked the coziness of the indoors, its warmth, the dry heat. She wasn't the kid who jumped in puddles. The rain held no mysteries, no secrets. It had nothing to offer her.
She walked home. Soggy leaves squelched beneath her shoes.
All that time, she had been wrong.
Emily loved the rain.
A/N: Re-posting this from tumblr. I'll just copy my author's note from there: Inspired by the weather. No, seriously, I love rain and it was so deliciously rainy today that I just wanted to write something. Something with the bluster and emptiness and chill of an October rainstorm, the way the leaves are strewn everywhere and the way the air smells wet and fresh and crisp afterward.
This is basically just a first chapter. I say that, and not one-shot, because it doesn't have the same kind of closure as a one-shot. I dunno. I like doing these little treatments for possible long-form fanfiction ideas and then never doing anything with them. Because I'm a terrible person! *cries*[/end original note]
So, yeah. Confession: I may have written more of this story since I posted it on tumblr. Confession #2: I may have written a LOT more of this story since I posted it on tumblr. I have a buffer. Repeat, I have a buffer...
Anyway, we'll see where it goes. I have enough to update once a week for the next... mm, month or so, and hopefully, hopefully I can write enough in that month that I don't fall behind. But again, I'm a terrible person and I have so much trouble focusing on any one thing.
But thanks for reading if you are reading :) I appreciate any comments, concerns, thoughts, ramblings, etc., in review or PM form. Whatever floats your boat! I'm not so good about responding but rest assured I love your feedback.
