A/N: Once again, thanks for the reviews guys. I'm going to apologize for lulls between chapter uploads. It isn't that I'm not writing. I'm staying with relatives for the next few weeks, and they think that internet is overrated. So, I'll upload chapters whenever I can sneak away to use Panera's wifi. xX

Chapter Three:

Rainy Days

"Mom! I'm home!" I shouted as I clattered through the front door. Silence. The house was dark. I slung my backpack onto the couch and made my way to the kitchen, flipping the lights on as I went.

"Mom?" I tried again, more tentatively. I looked around the spotless kitchen. Spotless, not because of a meticulous cleaner, but rather from lack of use. No sign of her. My eyes fell on the refrigerator, and I noticed a post-it stuck to its surface. Curiously, I moved closer to the small yellow square. Gone to meet dad for lunch. I glanced at the clock. It was after six o'clock. Some lunch, I thought.

Putting the empty house out of my mind I set about making myself dinner. I opened the fridge. There was half a gallon of stale milk, some lunch meat, and various condiments. With a sigh I grabbed some turkey and turned to find bread. None.

After a few minutes, I settled down in the living room with a handful of cold poultry in one hand and the remote in the other. I flipped through the channels, pausing when I reached a rerun of Pete and Pete. Only mildly interested in the show, I thought over my afternoon with Alicia.

The Sharing had been fun. I had actually had a good time. Strange for me to admit that. Strange to imagine myself enjoying being with a group of people. It had still been awkward at times, but the feeling of unease was not because I felt like an outsider. Rather, it was the unusual feeling of being wanted there. That wasn't something I was used to.

Brrriiing!! The phone rang loudly, cutting through my thoughts. I paused, letting it ring once more before I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Um…hi, is this Chris?" It was a voice I didn't recognize.

"Who is this?" I asked suspiciously.

"It's Tom." Tom? Alicia's new friend, star of the basketball team Tom? What in the world could he want with me?

"Oh." I said, trying to conceal the surprise in my voice, "Hey Tom. What's up?"

"Not much," He sounded nervous, hesitant. Weird. "I was just wondering…you're friends with Alicia, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Yeah, well, I was wondering…you know, I've been going to The Sharing with her, but I couldn't go tonight. We just started hanging out, but she's really great." Tom paused and the silence hung in the air. I suddenly realized what this was about.

"You want me to ask her out for you?" I asked incredulously. The captain of the basketball team was asking me for help? With Alicia?

"Well, I was hoping you could just put in a good word or something…she talks about you a lot, and I think she'd listen to you."

I almost laughed out loud. This was ridiculous – it was insane! One of the most popular guys in school was asking me for help! Alicia must have already turned him down, if he was resorting to going through a friend. Especially if that friend was someone like me.

"Tom, I barely even know you." I argued.

"Yeah, but…"

"Listen," I interrupted with a sigh, wanting the conversation to be over. "If it means that much to you, how about we all just hang out at the next Sharing meeting? Then maybe I can talk to her about you afterwards."

"Yeah, okay." Tom agreed, "Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks man, I appreciate it. Later."

"Bye…" I hung up the receiver, feeling oddly conspiratory. I didn't know anything about Tom. I had heard people say that he was a good guy, but that didn't mean anything. If he wanted to be with Alicia I would have to make sure he was a decent guy beforehand. The last thing I wanted was for her to get involved with some ill-intentioned creep.

I changed channels. The news. There was a report about some guy who murdered his girlfriend for thinking she was pregnant. Turned out she wasn't. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. People these days. The next report, something about a kid who had been left in the trunk of a car, began. I turned the television off.

If I ever pitied myself, and my situation, I just had to turn on the news to feel better, that was for sure. Sure, my parents were rarely around, either working or partying late. But they didn't beat me, or leave me locked in cars. There were a lot worse things than absence.

The sudden silence in the house felt oppressive. Outside the rain had begun again, pattering on the roof like so many angry fists. Alicia and Tom. The thought made my stomach queasy. I had had a thing for Alicia, years ago. Since then I had realized that it was a stupid crush. We were friends; we would never be anything but friends. The remnants of that silly affection were a sense of over protectiveness and the occasional daydream. Having Tom go after Alicia made me worry that I would be thrown into the backseat of her life. Irrational, I know. But when you only have one friend, you tend to hang onto her as tightly as possible.

I stood up, suddenly needing to go somewhere. To be somewhere else. I threw on my jacket, giving the silent house a look of irritation. Maybe the rain would snap me out of it.

It was cold outside. The persistent storms had dropped the temperature about ten degrees, and the wind didn't help. It cut through my windbreaker like a knife. In a way, I welcomed the stinging. It made me feel more alive. Does that make sense? It reminded me that yes; I could feel cold and pain. I wasn't just some obsolete shadow, moving through the background of life.

Without realizing where I was headed I found myself on Alicia's front porch. She lived in a much nicer neighborhood than I. She had a very common suburban ranch-style home, contrasting with my families' small duplex. The front lawn was neatly trimmed and a bike lay on its side in the driveway. Remnants of her little brother, no doubt.

"Chris?" Alicia looked worried when she answered my knock at the door.

"Uh, hey." I responded, feeling suddenly awkward.

"What's up? Is everything alright?"

"Alright?" I laughed, a loud barking sound. What was I doing? I sounded like a complete moron. "Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be alright?"

"Um…okay," She hesitated, glancing at my dripping wet hair, "Do you want to come inside?"

"Huh? Oh, no. No. Thanks, though." We stood in silence for a moment. I fiddled with my jacket zipper, feeling like the biggest dweeb in the world.

"Listen," I said finally, "Um…do you know that Tom guy? The basketball dude?"

"Yeah, of course I know him." She said, looking confused.

"Yeah, well. Um…he called me today. Asking about you."

"What!?" She looked alarmed, "Why? What did he say?"

"Nothing…nothing really. It's just, I got this vibe. I think he has a thing for you." I blurted. What was I doing? I was acting like some gossiping schoolgirl.

"What? Really?" Alicia paused, a slightly far-off look in her eyes. Like maybe she was lost in the thoughts in her head. I felt a queasiness in the pit of my stomach. Did I still have a thing for Alicia? Was this bothering me that much?

"Well, what'd you tell him?" Alicia demanded. I shrugged in response.

"I dunno. I said I'd like to get to know him better. We're gonna hang out at the next Sharing meeting I guess."

"Really? That sounds like a great idea!" Alicia suddenly sounded much more excited. "You two would like each other, I think. Besides, then you'll have someone to hang with when I go to the full member meeting."

"Wait a minute, you're a full member?" I cut in. Hadn't she just joined like, a week ago?

"Yeah," Suddenly she looked a little embarrassed, "You know me. I just like to jump into things, full force. I didn't want to waste time with the whole get-to-know the group kind of thing. So the first day there I asked to be a full member. They let me. Cool, huh?"

"Sure," I said uneasily. It made sense, in a way. Alicia had always wanted to be as involved as possible. Still, something made me feel ill at ease. "So why didn't you have to go to a full member meeting today?"

"Oh, we had the night off. I think it's because Mr. Visser is coming next week, so it'll be a big one"

"Mr. Visser?" I had heard that name mentioned at the meeting before. Always in a hushed sort of way. Even when Alicia said it now, she seemed to hesitate beforehand. I felt goose bumps rising on my soaked skin.

"Yeah, he's the big guy. Leader of The Sharing. Every branch of it. So it'll be a pretty big deal when he's here next week."

"Ah." I said, unable to think up a better response.

"Well this all worked out perfectly, then. I'm so happy!" Alicia grinned cheerfully, "I'll see you in school tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." I said. Alicia flashed me another bright smile before closing the door.

I stood on the front stoop for a moment, letting the rain pour down on me. It had all been completely normal. Alicia's excitement to hear about Tom, her enthusiasm about the two of us hanging out. Except deep down inside, in some irrational part of my mind, I felt a twang of something. A sort of uneasiness, like maybe I was getting in over my head without knowing it. What was wrong with me?

Suddenly it hit me.

Oh man, I thought grimly, I think I'm still in love with her.