Please read slow, you can pick up the pace as you go along, but start slow and take your time! If you have time, please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own The World Ends With You or anything else used in here besides the plot.

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The rain fell like a storm, each drop adding noise to become a thundering herd. Rhyme sat outside, trying to avoid the ruckus as Beat's grade created a mess with her parents. She waited outside to make sure that her brother didn't run off. She waited outside to make sure that she wouldn't have to hear her family's rants and raves. She dug her face into her salmon shirt and watched the streaks of water run down her face. Her hat was soaked, but her shirt weighed down, a dark color from the water seeping through to the bone. Her fingers grew colder and stiffer, covered by her shirt, but the water seeped through, sticking to her slender hands and making them as ice.

Rhyme listened as cars drove by, splashing water everywhere and coming up short of her. The rain hit the ground around her in loud clatters, but she found a strange rhythm in it, a soothing and calming rhythm as the wet water droplets fell upon her. Her sight blurred as the water streaked into her eyes, her blue orbs seeming more murky than ever, her eyelashes sliding down and informing her of the need of sleep due to her staying up to both study by herself and teach her brother. Her eyes forced open and the bags under them grew slightly more pronounced as she drew up her head and shook rain off her hair. She put her head back into her sleeves and listened, not hearing the sign that her brother was coming, but not hearing the stop of the argument.

Rhyme let out a deep sigh, her voice catching slightly as she cleared her throat. She turned and looked at the girl in the puddle beside her.

With a light gasp, she leaned forward and looked at her face; her eyes looked as though she had been crying, and yet her tears were no where to be found. Swept away by the rain. she concluded, after opening her mouth, she could taste the tell-tale sign of crying in the water, faint traces of salt. With a glance back at the puddle, Rhyme ran her fingers across the indents on her face from resting her face on her shirt. Her cheeks were white from the cold drops of rain on her face. She sighed once more and glanced at the windows leading out of her house. The lights were still on and the sharp sounds of shouting rang through her walls, making Rhyme wince slightly. As she slid a hand down to the floorboards on the stairs she was sitting on, the girl stared out, brushing each sink and rise in the wood, her mind silent as she thought. Her eyes drifted upwards and she stared up at the sky, her silent tears slowly coming down her face and her eyes murky as water came thundering down. As her hand slowed to a stop, Rhyme only then noticed the slight numb sensation in her hand, caused by the rain and the wet and sticky clothes.

Recalling an article listing the symptoms and how to treat frostbite, Rhyme went up a step and sat by the wall near the door. With a quick shuffle, she huddled against the wall, trying to stay as dry as possible with the small overhanging roof. She kept her hands dry, but her feet and her face remained outside. As she sighed, the water dropped in front of her and she began getting hypnotized by the simple, yet peaceful, rhythm. Drip, drop, drip , drop, falling, one, after, the, other. Rhyme's eyes slowly fell, her eyes drifting downward as they followed the water down into a spot on her shirt. As the drops slowed, Rhyme blinked her eyes open, awakened again by a clatter in the house.

Rhyme looked over her shoulder in a window and glanced in the house, searching for the source of the clatter in case her brother was hurt. Sighing as she came upon the source, Rhyme turned forward again; her brother had merely knocked over a glass of water in his hand motions. Rhyme's eyes drooped down again, her hands close as her head nodded down. With a look up at the street, her eyes closed for a second. As she opened them again, a flash of lightning struck in the distance, but enough to make Rhyme flinch.

Ice cold rain and maybe even snow, the girl could handle. Thunder and lightning? That was a little harder.

Rhyme covered her ears, but another strike echoed through the heavens, forcing Rhyme's hands tighter and her feet closer. She took her hands off and looked back at the door, wondering if she could make it back in. As another light flashed, Rhyme pulled her ears close, but not fast enough for sound. A burst of crackling wreaked havoc on Rhyme's senses, the light paired with the sound of a hundred trees crashing down forced a slight whimper out of the girl. She looked around and stood up, grabbing the door handle and pulling at it, her fingers slipping due to their numb state and their wet condition.

Another crackle of thunder and Rhyme yelped, jumping back and slipping on the stairs. She fell on the puddle she had been looking in earlier and stood, brushing some of the water off as she looked up at the door and frowned. She tried again, clenching the handle as hard as she could, to no avail. She walked back and looked at the door, wondering if knocking would be the wise decision. As another shock of thunder bore down on the thin girl, water flicked from her hair as she pounded on the door. The door remained shut as the girl knocked again, much harder than before. Still, not an answer as the water poured down from the roof onto the ground.

Thunder crackled once more, the rain coming down harder and light drops of hail fell into the hat of the girl sitting down, larger pieces scratching the girl's face as they fell. Rhyme turned and sat, her eyes downcast slightly at her predicament, but she remained optimistic, even in the dire situation, as she had before in the Game. She reached up subconsciously as a rather large piece scratched a small line on her face that didn't draw blood, but still hurt. The hail was bad, but better than rain in the fact that it didn't stick much, nor did it freeze the girl anymore, or so she reasoned. She still heard thunder in the distance, but it was much farther away. Still reaching the poor tomboy's ears, she pulled her hands close and sat down again, trying to recall sayings to dispel her fears.

Her lips moved in quick motions, sounds unable to be deciphered except by the speaker herself. Another hail stone fell, larger than the last and forcing Rhyme to pull her hat down farther. Her words came out faster and shorter, the words calming her down slightly, but not profusely. Her eyes were closed tightly as she tried to blank out the sounds.

She felt a soft hand on her shoulder. As her eyes opened and she looked up at the owner, the boy smiled and stared down at her with purple eyes, dancing across the girl like a cat. His hand, normally cold, was warm against the girl's freezing skin. Almost pure white hair fell to his neck, hanging over his eyes as he leaned down and gazed at Rhyme. A crackle of thunder made the girl wince slightly, causing the boy's smile to rise higher, his face a few steps from the Cheshire Cat. With a sliding hand, the boy's hand rose to rest on the girl's chin, pushing it up to look at her eyes.

Purple orbs danced almost maliciously across her face, finding almost all imperfections and laughing at them, and yet the boy was attracted to her.

Blue orbs watched in shock, the girl too naive to know what the boy was planning. What the boy had been planning ever since the girl had taken a step outside.

With small push of the head, the boy connected with the girl, their breath intermingling. Her water drenched face soon had a hand gliding along, very lightly wiping off some of the water, but mainly memorizing each rise and indent in the careful girl's face. Rhyme's hands lifted and held the boy's head,

The kiss lasted a few more seconds, but when it did end, the boy had turned to snow, blowing away in the wind. Rhyme sat, her hands around disappearing snow as wind blew it all away. Then she noticed, the hail had stopped. The thunder was gone.

Snow was falling.

The door burst open from behind the girl, making her turn around and stare at the boy standing there. Her brother, in his white undershirt and white pants, stood, gazing at the snow as it fell. His black hat dove down close to his eyes, but when his eyes went down to his little sister, he smiled and crouched down, rubbing her head. Behind him came her parents, looking not angry, but happy. They walked down to Rhyme and smiled, holding a hand down that she took happily. She was pulled up and they stood, watching the snow fall as a family.

Rhyme felt her wish achieved; to have her parents to spend the day with their children, happy and without cares.

"Thank you Joshua."

A brush of snow dusted into Rhyme's cheek.

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Ah, that felt good. Thanks goes to Inspiration of Imagination for betaing! I know there was quite a bit of repetition, that was intentional! Also, I'm not sure if I made Rhyme a little too... OC. I think I did ok, but it's your choice! Once again, please review!