As soon as the two teenagers have climbed out of the tree, there are a lot of fir needles in their hair and clothes. Newt doesn't mind; he is still floating on cloud nine.
He can't believe it – did Lauren really kiss him?
He has pinched his arm several times on their way back down, to check if he is really awake, and not dreaming, and he is. He is awake.
He can't get that stupid grin off his face.
Lauren walks away from the tree. Her uniform is everything but white and her hair is all tangled and covered in resin, but she still looks amazing, Newt thinks. He watches her as she holds out her hand and looks up to the sky.
"I believe it just started raining," she says when she turns to Newt. "Shall we go inside?"
As if it is an answer, the loud sound of thunder echoes through the air.
It is darker than just, Newt notices, and the clouds that suddenly have appeared are a dark grey. A new burst of wind makes the rain fall harder.
"Definitely," Newt answers Lauren's question.
After a last look at each other, they start to run.
The raindrops are cold as ice and they feel like tiny stones when they hit the bare skin of Newt's arms. He is soaking wet in a couple of seconds. The rain makes thin stripes through the air, making Newt's vision blurry; he can only see Lauren as a shadow, less than a metre away from him.
He exhales deeply when he reaches the doors of the Headquarters. Though he really wants to go inside, to be dry under a roof instead of standing there in the pouring rain, he waits for Lauren.
She is slower than him, but she has reached the doors as well in a few seconds. Before letting her go inside first, Newt steps into the building.
As soon as the doors close, lightning flashes through the sky and lights the puddles on the muddy ground up.
Newt looks at Lauren.
"Just in time," he says.
He wouldn't want to be outside now; he knows how heavy this kind of storms can be. The roof of his house had collapsed once because there was too much water on it to hold.
Lauren nods absently. She is looking at the rain that is rushing against the glass doors.
Tiny drops of water are captured between her eye lashes, and every now and then, one of them falls and slowly rolls down her cheek.
Newt has to resist the urge to wipe them away, one by one.
He gets pulled out of his thoughts when Lauren rubs over her arms.
"Shit. My vest is still lying outside," she sighs.
Newt peers through the pouring rain, and indeed: under the pine tree that they have just climbed in, a white cloth is lying on the ground.
"I can get it for you, if you want," he says.
He doesn't want to be the gentleman. He just knows that she'll get in trouble if she loses a part of her uniform, and he wants to prevent that. It's simple.
Lauren shakes her head, still a little absently.
"No, Newt," she says quietly. "It's too cold outside for angels to fly."
Newt feels his eyebrows shoot up.
"What?" he asks surprised.
Lauren smiles carefully.
"My father always said that when I wanted to play outside in the rain or something. I think it's from a song. He never told me, actually."
"Well, I can't be an angel," Newt says, shrugging. "I don't have wings."
Lauren whispers something under her breath. He would swear that it sounds like "You're an angel to me", but he must have heard it wrong. It can't be possible that she is in love with him, too?
She smiles at him, wider than just.
"I don't think all angels have to have wings," she says softly.
Before Newt can ask what she means with that, she changes the subject.
"Come on. Let's get some dry clothes."
She walks away, and Newt goes after her.
Yay, yay! It's getting more and more cute every chapter! When do you think they're going to tell each other that they are in love? And how? Will they ever tell each other? Or are they too shy? You're gonna find out! :)
Have a nice day!
