They've only been at the playground for ten minutes when the first warm, fat raindrop slams into Carly's forehead, making her scream, and, after she realizes what's happening, run under the wooden pirate ship, declaring loudly that she's done.
"You're such a girl," Sam yells after her, hanging upside down on the monkey bars while Freddie climbs to the top of a jungle gym.
"As opposed to you." Carly crouches at the table designed for three foot tall kindergarteners and watches the sky turn steadily grayer. "Besides, I have that date tonight and my hair refuses to smooth out after it's been rained on."
"Refuses?" Freddie repeats, sitting on top of the sculpture of intricately woven steel bars, which is really just a fancy way of saying 'that big gray metal thing Sam broke her arm on twice in fifth grade.'
"Refuses!" she says again, laughing.
Sam jumps off the monkey bars, her attention drawn to the yellow, plastic swing set. By now the rain has started falling pretty regularly, but she doesn't seem to care. "You're a horrible person, Carls," she declares, jumping on the already-wet swing, "if you don't like playing in the rain. Come on, Fredgar."
"I do!" Carly insists sadly, watching Freddie make his way down the jungle gym to join Sam on the swings. "If you had let me borrow your jacket with the hood, I'd be out there."
Sam ignores her and starts swinging high, the warm, humid, summer rainfall starting to spot her jeans and sticking some of her hair to her forehead. Freddie comes up and she demands he push her, so he rolls his eyes and starts shoving the small of her back so hard Carly's surprised she hasn't fallen out of the swing yet. Sam seems to enjoy the challenge and suddenly twists the swing around so her feet are flying towards his chest, forcing him to jump out of the way. Sam laughs and allows the swing to slow down a little just as the skies really open up and the two are immediately drenched. Sam says something Carly can't hear over the rain pounding on the asphalt, and Freddie grins, jumping on the swing next to her. The rain bounces off their skin as they swing, each trying urgently to reach higher than the other.
Carly almost decides right then and there to forget about her hair and join them, but just as she's about to take the first fatal step into the downpour Sam knocks her swing into Freddie's and he yells something and she smiles and he laughs and they share this moment together swinging in the rain and Carly feels unexplainably like she's not even supposed to be here.
Carly pauses, still cramped in the tiny table, and tries to figure out if she's okay with the fact that it's entirely possible for Sam and Freddie to be friends without her as the peacemaker, the mutual friend.
Sam turns around, water streaming down her face, and yells for Carly to Come ON already, this is fun! Carly smiles genuinely and shakes her head. She's fine with this. Well, of course, unless they start dating, because that would be just wrong.
Sam hugs him playfully, their swings swaying, suspended, and Carly has to rethink things one more time.
i realllllly like this one. first because it's a TON of fun swinging in the rain. second because i've been recently addicted to romance stories from a friend's pov. idk. r&r, have a low-fat chocolatechip cookie (i just got back from the gym and my mind's still stuck on 'healthy').
random mean girls quote!
OHMYGOD DANNY DEVITO I LOVE YOUR WORK!