It was a hot cloudy morning on that summer day. His mother told him to put a raincoat on because it could rain soon. Last night's rainfall left puddles all around the suburban neighborhood. He was eager to go see his friend, to go play in the puddles with her.
He ran out of the house, down the sidewalk and to his friend's house. He knocked on the door and saw his best friend, and his crush, at the door. She smiled and ran out with him. He promised her mother to keep her safe. It was a promise he wouldn't be able to keep.
She splashed in the puddles on the side walk. The thunderclouds boomed overhead and warned them that the rain was coming soon. He held her hand when they crossed the street, he wanted to keep her close to him, To never let go.
Fat droplets started to pummel the sidewalks, roofs, asphalt, and pretty much any object out on the street. He loved being with her in the rain. The heat on the day made the air sticky and humid. It was a little hard to see through that thick rain. He swore it was like a monsoon.
She saw something across the street that seemed to catch her eye. She ran across the street to go fetch the item of interest, only to be hit by an oncoming car. The car, before hitting her made and awful screeching sound, a sound that will haunt him for the rest of his life. She laid there, unmoving the man in the car raced out to see if she was all right. Before long the whole neighborhood was outside, watching the incident upfront.
Her body was mangled, all because that driver decided to drive like a bat out of hell. Because that driver decided to drive like a maniac, his friend died later in the hospital. He couldn't protect her and he broke a promise he made with her mother.
At her funeral, they told him that it wasn't his fault. They told him it was just an accident. He questioned himself a lot growing up.
His name is Karkat Vantas and he hates rainy days.