Clouds and Electricity and Water
By Shorty Carter
It all happened so quickly. One moment she was sitting beside him, making up lyrics as he tested out a new bit of song he had written the night before, and the next she was racing up the stairs, away from him.
The day had started out well. It was a lazy Saturday, relaxing and much needed after a week at Hollywood Arts. Tori and André had spent a majority of the day simply hanging out; watching movies, raiding the kitchen, and messing around with different songs. Throughout the course of the day the skies had gradually darkened, thunderheads slowly rolling in and turning the once vivid blue skies an angry grey color.
Neither had really noticed. But when the storm made its presence known with a bright flash of lighting and an echoing clap of thunder, Tori jumped. Rain followed immediately, soaking the world outside within minutes.
"Wow, that was fast. Maybe we should shu - Tori? What's wrong, girl?"
Tori's face had lost most of its warm golden glow, and her eyes were wide with...was that fear? Before he could say anything else she was up and moving, practically running towards the stairs.
"I just need - something upstairs - gotta get - something - yeah - upstairs - now."
And she was gone, vanished behind the faint shutting of a bedroom door. For a moment André simply sat there, not only confused about what had just happened, but concerned as well. What on earth had gotten into Tori?
Shaking his head, he went after her, up the stairs and down the hall, stopping outside the closed door to her bedroom. He knocked gently, calling out her name, waiting for any sort of response. When he didn't get an answer, he opened the door a crack, calling out once more. Finally he pushed the door open and walked in, looking around the seemingly empty room.
"Tori? Girl, where are you?" There weren't that many places a high school girl could hide in Tori's bedroom. He checked under her bed and behind the door, glancing briefly under her desk just in case. From behind him came a faint whimper, just as the storm outside rumbled once more. He sighed when turned around and saw the hastily closed closet door, little bits of bright cloth sticking out evidence of its rapid closure.
The closet was dark and packed with brightly colored clothes and shoes. Parting the mass of fabric, he saw a glimpse of tanned skin tucked into the far corner.
"Oh Tori." Careful not to trip on her abundance of shoes, he stepped in beside her, sitting with his knees against his chest. Tori was shaking beside him, knees to her chest, head tucked firmly beneath her hands. Gently wrapping an arm around her shivering form, André pulled her against him, attempting to reassure her with his warmth. Almost immediately she moved her head, shoving her face into the crook of his neck just a particularly loud crack of thunder echoed through the room. André felt her stiffen momentarily before a hard shiver ran through her body.
"It's just a storm, Tor. Just clouds and electricity and water." Her shivering continued despite his words, and if it was possible she buried her face in his neck even more. "I'm here, Tori, I'm right here. It's okay."
Memories of how his Grandma would comfort him came to mind, memories of her hand on his head as she held him and sang, soothing him through song. Wondering if it would help, he slowly raised the hand that had been resting on her arm and settled it on her head, burying his fingers in her hair. Gently he began to play with her hair, his fingers soothing as he ran them through the dark brown strands. Then he began to sing.
It was a song his Grandma used to sing to him, a song about traveling to find the one you love, about searching and struggling and refusing to give up until you found that special person. It wasn't fancy, or difficult. It was softly sang, the notes meant to comfort and calm.
And it was working. She was relaxing, her body stilling as the words reached her, the fingers in her hair releasing the tension in her neck. He continued to sing, repeating the lyrics as she calmed within his arms. He felt her breathing deepen, felt her fall asleep as her body released the last of its tension.
He smiled down at her, smoothing the hair away from her face. Carefully, and with a good amount of grace and skill, he lifted her in his arms and stood, managing to avoid her shoes as he exited her closet. Silently thanking God that she hadn't made her bed that morning, he laid her down on the soft cotton sheets and pulled her comforter over her body. Tucking the blanket under her chin, he moved the hair from her face one last time before turning to leave. He would stay downstairs until Trina or her parents got home, just in case.
A slim hand grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.
"Stay, please." Her voice was so quiet, so vulnerable, so unlike the Tori he knew and loved. And he did love her. His was a quiet love, something he kept to himself, something that gave him hope and fueled his songs. It was his love that overrode his brain, his heart that had him toeing off his shoes and sliding into her bed. He merely smiled when she tucked herself against him, wrapping his arms around her small frame as she sighed in contentment. He didn't read into it, didn't allow his emotions to get the better of him.
He just wanted to be there for her, to keep her safe and happy.
Cocooned in the warmth of her blankets, happy and content to hold her as she slept, he felt himself drifting, his mind in that fuzzy place between awake and sleep. He must of dozed off, because the room was dark when he next opened his eyes. It was still raining, though the storm seemed to have calmed down.
He reached under the covers, pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket to check the time. 8 p.m., that explained why it was so dark already.
"André?" Using the glow of his phone to see, he turned his gaze to Tori. She was watching him sleepily, her gaze just a little bit out of focus. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For staying. For what you did. For being here for me." She untangled one of her hands from the blanket, laying it on his cheek. His breath hitched, caught in his throat at that gentle touch. Her gaze was intent now, wide awake and fully focused on him. And then she was leaning forward, and her lips were touching his, and oh...
His brain went foggy, all of his attention focused on that connection of lips and her hand on his face. His phone fell out of his grasp, forgotten among the blankets, leaving his hand free to tangle itself in her hair.
He pulled her close when the kiss ended, grinning like a fool when she nuzzled even closer.
"So, I take it you feel the same way?" she asked quietly, voice mumbled against his chest. He laughed, kissing the top of her head before he answered.
"What gave me away?"
"It could have been the kiss...or it could have been what you mumbled in your sleep."
"Oh really? And what did I mumble in my sleep, Tor?" She was laughing, he could feel it against his chest. Leaning up, she pressed a quick kiss against his lips, and he could feel her smile.
"That you love me."
"I do love you." She was grinning, her kisses proved that even though he couldn't see her clearly against the darkness of her room.
"I love you. Stay with me?" Nodding his head, he pulled the blanket up around them before wrapping his arm around her. With the pitter-patter of rain as their lullaby they fell back asleep, all thoughts of thunderstorms forgotten in the warmth of each others arms.
Author's Note: I haven't written fan fiction in years, so I may be a bit rusty. Please, constructive criticism only. I'd love to know what I could have done better. And if you want to beta it (if you think it needs to be beta'd), then PM me and we'll work something out.
Also, I'm not sure why I think Tori would be afraid of thunderstorms. It just worked with the story, so I went with it.
Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the story! I find this pairing enduring and just about perfect. So yes, I ship Tandré. Which means I also ship Bade, because Bori is simply not right.
The song is The Sore Feet Song by Ally Kerr. It's something I sing to the twins I nanny for when I put them to bed at night, and it usually knocks them out pretty quickly.