A/N: Alright, so here's the next chapter...For some reason I feel likes it's crap. (Sobs) oh well...
Rae finally deemed that Haku needed to rest and shoved Chihiro out of the room. Then she made him some tea and commanded him to sleep.
As soon as she had finished, Rae took out her ever present bandanna and put it on, keeping her collarbone length bangs back from her face. She left her shoes on the dry doorstep, and then stepped barefoot into the rain.
'I hope he treats you well,' was her last thought, before walking off for some "sulking time".
Chihiro had put on "The Cat Returns", which she had borrowed from Rae, and was now watching it in the family room. Haku, meanwhile, was asleep in Chihiro's room, dreaming about something which made him frown in his sleep. And Rae was standing in the middle of the local park, her face bared to the sky. She was only wearing a tank top and jeans--and all of her was soaked to the bone with summer rain.
A twig snapped behind her and she spun around, her wet hair slipping out from the bandanna and into her face. "Oh," she said in relief, seeing who it was. "It's only you." Bran chuckled; his wet, white hair seemingly silver, because it was dark with rain. "Oh yes only me," he said sarcastically, crossing his arms and raising a pale eyebrow at her. "Am I chopped liver? I thought I deserved something more." His eyes glinted through his dark glasses as he gave her a roguish smile. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Why so full of yourself, Bran?" She asked. "Did Kimiko actually agree to go out with you on Friday?"
He turned deep red, and she knew he was cursing his pale complexion. She became even paler than she had been from standing in the rain for so long. She felt her eyes sting with unwanted tears and blinked them away rapidly, ready with her excuse of getting rain in her eyes. "Good for you," she heard herself say faintly. "Diolch," he murmured. They stood in silence for a while, Bran rapidly becoming soaked through his black jacket. "You're going to catch your death out here, Cariad," he finally said.
She shrugged. "Chihiro's leaving...it doesn't really matter anymore," she said in response. He frowned, his eyes glinting through his wet sunglasses. "Really? Why? Where is she going?" He asked. "Haku came. He's recovering from being hit by lightning, but when he recovers, they'll go back to the Spirit World for sure," Rae answered forlornly. His expression cleared to that of understanding. "Oh. When do you think they'll go?" He asked, as with silent agreement they began to walk through the mud.
His sneakers were covered with mud now, and so were her delicate, white feet. She however, enjoyed the feeling of wet mud between her toes, even if they were rather numb. She didn't envy him--she hated the feeling of having wet shoes and socks. She didn't seem very much affected by the coldish rain, either, being soaked quite through, only in a tank top and jeans. Her bare skin was pale from the cold, and she shivered horribly now and then, but otherwise didn't seem to mind anything.
"You look pale," he murmured.
She shivered horribly and hugged herself, realizing just then how cold she was. Bran looked over at her and saw that her lips were a pale shade of blue. "I think we should get inside," he said firmly. He took her by her arm before she could protest and began dragging her toward his house, which was closest to the park.
She didn't protest, in fact she was getting slightly dizzy and had a pounding headache. Maybe I shouldn't stand out in the rain so often, she thought to herself. "You think?" Bran asked her, and she realized that she must have said it aloud. Her answer was to shiver again and cough a bit. When she coughed her headache was multiplied into that of what seemed like a jack-hammer pounding inside her skull. She swayed a bit as they walked, and Bran noticed. "Are you alright?" He asked worriedly, frowning once again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately...
"Yea--no," she said, her eyes watering from the pounding in her head. "Let's just get inside." He nodded and then put an arm around her shoulders to keep her from falling. "We're almost there," he said and they set off at a faster pace.
When they finally got to his house (it was about a block away from Chihiro's) he took out his keys and unlocked the door, pushing Rae inside and steering her to the couch. "I'll be right back," he said, shutting the door and sprinting upstairs. Rae looked around at the room she was in.
There was a TV, as would be expected, and there were a bunch of shelves lining the wall, full of books from different places, including Wales. There was also some pictures on the wall of Bran's friends in Wales, which in Rae's opinion, was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen (only in pictures though). It reminded her of parts of California...
She closed her eyes as her head pounded again. She heard Bran's footsteps as he came back downstairs. "Come on, let's get you dry," he said quietly, handing her a warm towel. She began to wipe off her face and wring out her hair. When she had finished she fell back, panting slightly, her face scrunched up. Her head hurt so, so much...
Bran put a hand to her forehead and bit his lip. It was hot. "Rae...You're burning up," he murmured, more to himself than to her. He took off his sunglasses and put them down to get a better look at her. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were at half mast, and filled with tears. One crystal drop slid down her cheek as she looked up at him. "I don't want her to leave," she whispered.
He slid his arms around her and held her close, not knowing how much it tortured her. "I know," he whispered. His warm breath tingled against her feverish skin. "I don't want her to leave either."
Again, I feel likes it's crap, but if you like it...
Well, Please Review and tell me what you think!