A/N: Hey, so I've moved these and I'll be continuing it with chapters. You know, just so they'll be easier to keep track of. Also, in case you missed it and to avoid any confusion, I changed her name to Lottie. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own no rights to The Monkees or The Hollies or the song Bus Stop. So don't fuss at me about that. Not that you would, right, that's not what you're here for.

Claimer: The cute little OC that appears would be mine. Yay.

It was a particularly wet day, that day.
Rain poured heavily from the gray sky, leaving anyone and anything unprotected drenched.
Peter, thankfully, had an umbrella with him. Mike had told him it was going to rain and he was certainly very right about that.

The little shelter at the bus stop was crowded with people. They kind of reminded Peter of little fish packed into a can - he smiled a little at the thought.
His smile slowly faded when he noticed a girl standing hardly under the shelter at all, getting completely soaked right to the bone.
No one seemed to mind - or even notice at all.

Confused (and a little disgusted) by the people's behavior, Peter hurried down the sidewalk to the stop and made room for the girl under his umbrella.

She paused and looked up when she noticed that the rain stopped falling on her.
"O-oh." she sputtered out, finding a soft smile on the blonde's face.

"I just thought you'd appreciate it." he said.

A small smile graced her face. "Y-yes, I do." she stammered. "Thank you."
She looked down to her feet and her hair fell into her face, "You, uh, really didn't have to, you know." the words came out in a soft mumble.

Peter shrugged, "I don't mind."

After that, it was quiet. Peter took the time to think a little. ('The guys will be worrying about me if I wait too long... but Mike did say to take the bus if the weather got too bad.')
He decided he'd wait for the bus to catch a ride himself (Did he have change? He checked his pocket. Yes, he did... he hoped it was enough.) and to keep this girl from getting any more drenched than she already was.

The silence (besides the rain pattering to the ground and the quiet murmuring of the other people at the bus stop) proved to be too much for the girl.

"The nerve..." she muttered to herself and shifted her weight to her other side.

Peter overheard her and frowned.
"Excuse me?" He asked, becoming afraid that he'd done something wrong.

"Nothing, just..." she leaned a little closer to him and lowered her voice. "It's not like they couldn't squeeze in a little more, you know? I mean, that way I wouldn't be so soaked."

He gave a small nod of understanding, "Oh."

She sighed, "But I shouldn't complain - thank you, again."

Peter nodded and, before he had the chance to tell her that it really wasn't a problem, the bus pulled up.
A few people clambered off and quickly shuffled away through the rain, and the crowd waiting under the shelter scrambled to the bus's opened doors to duck in from the rain.

The girl began to move along behind everyone else and Peter followed after her, careful to keep the umbrella over the both of them the entire time.
When they reached the doors, she shoved a hand into her pocket and searched around before going to the other. She frantically dug around and sighed heavily when she found nothing.

She frowned slightly to herself, "I forgot bus money."

"Oh, here, I have some." Peter handed the umbrella to her and reached into his pocket, producing a few coins.

"Oh, no, no, I couldn't take money from you." she shook her head, her wet hair lightly whipped to and fro as she did.

"It's fine-" he looked up from counting them, "Besides, I can walk home from here. It'd really be a waste to take the bus." he continued to count the money and frowned as he double-checked.
"Um... it's not enough."

"Oh..." she paused. "That's fine. I could just call- no, I can't."

"Yeah you can, here." he put the coins into her free hand, taking the umbrella in the process. "Use that."

"I couldn't-" she started, but Peter quietly cut her off.

"How else are you going to get home?"

"Well, I could run..." she trailed off, looking down the street - most likely in the direction of where she lived.

Peter frowned a little, "Not in the rain, you'll catch a cold."

"What about you?" she waved for the bus driver to go ahead when she heard him calling out to them. The bus doors creaked shut and it rolled away.

"I'll be fine." he replied.

She looked doubtfully at him. Her hand reached forward to give him the coins back.

"If you caught a cold, and I knew there was something I could have done to prevent it, I wouldn't know how to forgive myself."

She scoffed, "Over a cold...?"

Peter nodded sincerely.

"What if you get a cold?"

"Oh, I usually catch it two or three times a year." Peter shrugged. "I'll be fine." he assured her, gently pushing her hand back.

"...okay." she said, still a little uncertain.

Thankfully, there was a payphone at the bus stop.
She picked up the receiver to start her call, leaning against the inside of the shelter.

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed soon afterward, causing them both to jump. The girl let out a startled squeak and blushed, turning away in embarrassment.
Peter stepped under the shelter, hoping to feel a little more protected from the lightning.

"Hello, operator?"
She heaved a sigh when she'd finished the call and sat down.

"Is someone coming?"

"Yeah." she nodded, putting her hands in her lap.

Peter sat down next to her, laying the opened umbrella to the side.

"You don't have to stay."

"I want to make sure your ride comes." Peter replied with a shrug. "Wouldn't want to leave you stranded out here."

"Alright." she said. "She should be here soon anyway."

The two idly chit-chatted (mainly about the current state of the weather, what they hoped it would turn into later in the day and tomorrow, and the little scare that they just had) before a car rolled up in front of the bus stop.
Peter held the umbrella over her head as she opened the passenger door and stepped into the car.

"Thanks." she smiled. "For, uh, all of that today."

Peter smiled in return, "My pleasure... don't mention it."

"Now you hurry home too, okay? Or I won't forgive myself if you get sick."

Peter's smile grew into a dimpled grin. "Okay! Take care."

"You too, bye!" with a wave, she closed the door. (Peter thought he heard the other lady in the car ask "who's that" before it slammed shut.)

He gave a small wave to the car before hurrying on home.
The guys were going to be worrying about him.