Rain

"Hey, you know, there's a storm coming." my friend warned me. "You shouldn't go out."

Yeah, he warned me, but I didn't listen. Now I had to pay the price for leaving the small room that we call our home and be stuck under the cold, hard rain. It didn't make any sense; the sun a few moments ago was bright and the sky was a shade of light blue. I was walking down the dirty alleyway; looking around for anything that seemed interesting; something for me to get. And in the next second, the clouds turned gray; I didn't notice them change. A drop of rainwater fell on my cheek, then more followed. A flash of lightning came from the distance; the sound of thunder felt like it was amplified because it echoed on the walls around me.

The next thing I knew I was running to find some shelter. The rain didn't make this easy; though the wind wasn't blowing as hard, that was a good thing. Sadly, the trail that I was in didn't have anything to stop the rain from hitting my body; sending a chill down my spine on how cold it was. It was freezing even without the wind.

The storm didn't show any signs of giving up; the water still came down hard on me. Every few seconds thunder would roar above my head; I didn't dare look up and kept on running.

At some point I reached on what some might call a clearing, but it's in the middle of the city. The buildings were positioned in a way that made a circle-shaped space; like a plaza. The floor was covered in stones and cement; making puddles in every step I take. Fortunately I found somewhere to stay for a while before the rain lets up. Unfortunately it happened to be a small cardboard box that could fit me almost perfectly. Not taking any chances, I ran to it and slid inside; the interior was dry at least. I then heard a loud crack of thunder; followed by kids screaming in a distance. Hugging my knees close to me, I shivered inside; trying to keep myself warm as the wind blew a little stronger, the rain got thicker and the fog intensified.

It sucked to be alone. I should've listened to my friend.

Suddenly, I heard steps. Loud splashes on the puddles that formed from the rocky ground. They got closer and closer to me; I instinctively attempted to squeeze myself further in the box but couldn't. I stayed silent; I didn't want to attract any attention right now. I don't want someone to see me like this; covered in dirt and grime; my clothes torn and tattered; my body weak from exhaustion and hunger.

From where I was I could make out a shadowy figure through the rain. The person was carrying an umbrella and from the looks of it was a kid around my age. What would somebody like him be around here in the poorer side of the city? I could tell that he didn't belong here, and yet here he was. Standing in the rain protected by an umbrella; looking around as he can sense my presence. "Are you here?" he called out. I was confused; he knew I was here? "Where are you? I saw you running here."

He had been trailing me? "Who are you?" I questioned; wary of this boy who was able to follow me all the way here. For some reason, the fog faded a little, and I could see how he looked like a little better.

"Who are you?" he copied instead of answering my question.

"I asked you first."

The brunette was silent. "My name is Max, now what's your name?"

I paused; thinking whether to really tell him or not. "...Rex." there was a silence that followed; the only sound heard was the drops that kept on falling from the sky. Strange, the rain seemed to have gotten lighter. "Why did you follow me?" I asked him.

He was now the one thoughtful; standing there while doing a thinking pose. "I'm not really sure...I guess I didn't want you to get caught under the rain. My umbrella can fit two people...y'know?" it occurred to me that he still didn't know where I was. When I look back, I didn't know why I approached him; I went out of the small box that kept me warm for a while. I approached him under the rain and he gladly went beside me; under the red umbrella even though I looked like a rag doll that was tossed in to a sewer.

He didn't even flinch; unlike what most people did when they saw me. The brunette smiled brightly. "Hey, you wanna come back to my house? My mom makes some good hot chocolate. She'll probably get mad at me for getting soaked though." he told me with a laugh; something that I haven't heard in a while even to the people that I depend on for my survival. It's something that I haven't heard myself done lately either. His laugh...even though was short made me smile. "Okay...but, will they really let me in?"

"If they don't I'll try to bargain with them."

His plan made me chuckle. "I'm counting on you then...Max."

The brunette smiled again. "I knew it; I knew I could trust you. I don't know why, but when I saw you running in the rain, I felt like I needed to follow you." he then blushed, probably from embarrassment. "That was...my real reason for trying to find you. I thought I met you before."

I didn't know how to reply; yet now that he mentioned it, he looked...familiar? But why? Maybe it's like what he felt when he saw me.

"Ahaha...I probably sound weird to you now huh?"

I shook my head. "No, not really."

He seemed surprised by my response. "Then maybe I was right. Maybe we did meet before. We should be friends!"

"Friends?" the idea sounded nice.

"Yeah, definitely!" we started to walk out of the alley that I passed through not long ago. And in every step I took, the rain vanished little by little...the burden I felt in my chest felt lighter and lighter. Back then when I was getting used to living in the streets, I always had this feeling that there was someone I had to find. Strangely, I didn't think of my parents, but I thought of a family.

Maybe he was right. Maybe he was the family I was looking for.

Maybe he was the best friend that I had been yearning for and missing.

Maybe he was the person that looked out for me and I looked out for him...like brothers.

And as all these thoughts swirled in my mind; the final drops of rain disappeared. The sun hasn't come out of the clouds yet, but its yellow light was seen in the sky...

That last drop even if it shouldn't reach me did...and it tasted a little like a tear.

A/N : Stupid storm. It was the right setting and then it faded in the middle of me writing. Hmph. Anyway, one-shot fic based on little miss writer girl's story Rex the Street Rat. So yes, this is an AU fic. Now I want to write a sequel...eh. Lazy. Storms like that are pretty common in the Philippines...

Review please? :D I did this under an hour so sorry if it's kinda bad.