It Was Raining
She took pleasure in the feel of the cold water droplets hitting her skin. She savored the feel of her bright cherry hair getting soaked into a dark blood color. She looked up at the rain, her mascara running down her face. She wasn't sure if it was from tears or the rain anymore. Was she still crying? It always felt good when the weather was grieving with those who had lost something important. Her world was flooded and she watched as the rain tried to flood the streets of this advanced city. She felt peace in the agony of the weather. It's pain soothed her own. She spun in it, gleeful and broken all at once. She rejoiced in the sky's sorrow. It was like her pain was answered, it was justified. Her justification had died, now she had to look somewhere else. She was thrilled the sky volunteered today.
She walked, practically skipping in this storm. She'd been out for hours now. She was soaked but not cold. She felt alive as the rain stung her skin. She felt a rush when it started hailing. Small bits of ice pelting her, leaving red marks on fair skin. Her darkened ruby eyes slid shut as she stood there, arms out, face tilted to the sky. She let the ice hurt her. She hissed with joy. The pain, that sweet pain soothing the storm brewing in her heart.
He wanted to go home already. It's been so boring lately and he was ready to go home. Of course it had to storm right when he was ready. Hazel eyes scanned the room. He let out an annoyed huff, this of course was ignored. It seemed he did this all too often for anyone to take notice. He couldn't skateboard in this rain. Nothing was going on, he had today off and it was wasted visiting an old friend's bar. Well more like an old comrade but he didn't care anymore. He tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. Chestnut locks falling away from his neck. He was quickly reminded it was a little too hot here when the lack of hair pressing on his neck gave him a feeling of relief. He did get annoyed more easily in heat that he did not create. Though those days of making his own source of warmth was gone.
The bar erupted in chatter when someone saw something out the window. He couldn't begin to care. He spent his final fuck when someone was complaining about their so called girlfriend leaving them. He knew better though, that guy was good at picking girls up but not keeping them. When did life become so mundane? Probably when their power source was destroyed. It wasn't all bad, that destruction brought back a long lost friend. That friend was probably home by now snickering. He knew about the visit today, which means that he knows about how impossible it would be to leave now.
The room got louder and now he was annoyed. A yelled to shut up left his mouth. No one listened to him this time. He finally got up and threw his friends out of the way. He was pissed now and wanted to know why the hell everyone was so dead set at looking out this window. He caught a glimpse of red. A solemn red that would make the youngest cry. This girl was just spinning in the hail. Letting herself get bruised by the chunks of ice falling all too fast. The hail was starting to get bigger. Staying out there would probably result in this crazy female getting beat up by it. He cursed himself for being so gentle to the opposite gender. The guys around him seemed to be laughing and talking about how crazy this lady had to be.
A look at her face when she paused to stare at her on lookers told him everything he needed to know. Those eyes. Broken and hollow. She had lost something important. It was a look these people around him, and even himself had for at least a year. He frowned at that pain in his heart. It wasn't wishy washy. He was a man, yet, he felt the need to hold this girl. The thought brought goosebumps to his skin. As much as he respected and wanted to protect females they also terrified him in an unexplainable way. He took a deep breath and went to the door. Looks like he'd be facing some fears today.
Laughter, oh she loathed it right now. Stupid bar was filled with people laughing at her. Her pain, she stopped spinning to stare in disbelief at these people. How dare they laugh when the brightest star ever to grace the sky went out. It pissed her off when people didn't seem to care about this heavy loss and people laughing at her way of coping, that was like a slap to her face. She was ready to leave and go home till ruby met hazel. There was something she couldn't understand, sympathy and empathy. Did he feel that star crash too? Or maybe these eyes devoid of that star told him all he needed to know. She frowned when the man vanished back into the crowd.
She was going to leave but the hail got bigger. A piece slammed into her head causing her vision to blur for a moment. The laughs stopped and worried voices echoed onto the street. The loudest asking someone why they were going outside. Another hit her in her stupor, she let out a cry of pain. She welcomed this earlier but now her sensitive bruised body couldn't take these heavier impacts. She crumpled to the ground trying to shield herself. Suddenly it stopped.
"Are you stupid?" A gruff angry voice hissed out.
She looked up, a beanie clad man met her sights. Those hazel eyes with the same look as before. Ah, so he wanted to save her, "Maybe."
He scowled and let out one of his usual huffs, "Get up, I'm not gonna keep taking these damn hits from all this stupid ice. Understand?"
She nodded and scrambled up before both of them ran inside. The room was quiet when she entered. Her dark eyes glared into the room. Everyone seemed to shrink away a little. She felt pride at the regretful looks they were giving her in their embarrassment. The man that saved her seem to be wearing a similar look as her to all the men there.
White graced her eyes. A beautiful white with a seemingly invisible tint of red, then a deep red stared into her soul. The girl's powers were gone yet she could read a person very well, "You're gray."
The sentence made the usually red girl freeze. She wasn't gray, the world was. The color was stolen! She was still red damn it! Her light was stolen, she's in the dark. There is no color in a black abyss, "No… I'm still red."
Deep red met an empty red. Both fighting to convey words that neither could speak. Tears formed in both, "The light isn't gone."
"But it is, she went out. A star as bright as the sun itself is gone. The weather speaks of it, can't you hear it?" Her eyes looked more gray the more people stared. It might have been red but the color was draining.
"She may be gone, but your soul still carries that yellow light she was. The clouds weep for no one, you know that most", Deep red was monotone, no one was surprised as she spoke only truth in the softest and steadest of voices.
Gray grimenced, she didn't want to believe that. She needed that justification for her feelings. They were real damn it! The pain was real and she wanted to dwell and wallow with the rain, yet even the rain was taken from her. Memories of clear skies in the worst moments rang in her mind, reminding her this girl was right. She hissed in anger looking at the young girl. She must have been around fifteen yet so wise. How unfair was her only thought as she clamped her mouth shut. There was nothing to say anymore. She wanted to leave and took a glimpse at the door from the corner of her eye. The hail was worse it seemed, so she was trapped.
Deep red said nothing as she looked at the burning pain in this Gray soul before her. Her red was as deep as a lost one yet the color was sapped away from her own loss. How sad was her only thought as she set her eyes solely on this female in front of her. She wouldn't back down.
Hazel watched in confusion as the two seemed to battle without any more words. That young girl was always quicker to understand people than most. Seeing her try to help someone she didn't know was new though. He was silent as he watched deep red hold a hand to the gray female before them. Even though she felt colorless her rage burned of a memory not long forgotten. It was the red that would burn you to nothingness. No blood, no bone, no ash.
Her anger was strong, no one could understand. She was alone now! No one there anymore, she lost her. Her world, the one she looked to for support. The world was as cruel as this young girl. How dare she hold out her hand after telling her that this pain isn't justified. How dare she! She wanted to slap the hand away and stomp out onto the practical rock storm outside. Let the pain come, she'd welcome it! Deep red bore into gray, gray gritted her teeth.
"You're not supposed to be gray Shadow, she wouldn't want that", same voice, same tone as before. When did she learn gray's name? She never spoke it. How did she know any of this? Dead red eyes slid shut with the pain in confusion.
"THE WORLD IS GRAY!" Anger became a break into unending sadness, "My light was taken! She's gone, too soon, unexpected, and was wrenched from our hands! We all held on as tight as we could, prayed to things we didn't believe, hoped with everything we had! She died anyway! She was a shooting star, I should have known by the light she always showed us. And she crashed so hard into the ground while blinking out of this world just as fast as she lit it up."
The hand moved to touch this gray soul's heart, "The light is still here. She left you a piece, she left everyone one. She is gone but will never truly leave."
Red struggled to fight the gray. The warm memories they shared overcoming the sadness trapping her soul in this abyss. Color returned and flickered on and off. Improvement for sure.
"I have no one anymore, our home is cold and empty without her. I surely can't return there anymore. Where do I go? Who do I rely on anymore? This world left me alone." Her voice cracked the gray flickered on and off showing hints of red between.
Silence met her words. They all knew this pain too well. The loss of a fire that's heat rivaled the sun. The leader their worlds revolved around, it would probably be more fitting to refer to that man as their sun. Their sun perished trying to avenge the moon that was destroyed. They gave her looks with heavy hearts. She was surprised to find empathy finally in every single person's eyes. Who would have known that those words would hit home so well. Most people know what loss feels like but it seems these people knew it as well as she did.
"Make a new home", the soft voice rang out, breaking the quiet.
"Where?", She flickered, a little hope shining through the darkness.
Sunglasses glinted in the bar lighting and a smooth voice called out all too easily, "Here."
"I'm nothing but a stranger, why take in some random girl who was dancing in the rain?" Distrust ran rampant in her eyes as she watched the men around her carefully.
One man with ginger hair and gentle eyes came out from the back with a towel. He carefully approached the flickering light, afraid she'd go out if he got too close too fast and offered her the towel while keeping his voice as calm as possible, "Everyone deserves somewhere to call home along with a safe place to stay. I see no problem in showing you kindness. I am rather shocked our Vanguard beat me to getting you inside. Please take this towel to dry off, I tried to heat it up with a hair dryer so it'll warm you up a bit. If that doesn't help we can have our Bartender here get you some hot chocolate."
Gray eyes flickering red slowly reached out as if she was also afraid of something vanishing if she was too quick to accept. Her hand touched the soft fluffy towel. She had always wondered how people got towels so soft. It was warm to the touch and caused goose bumps to blossom from her skin. She shuddered realizing just how cold she was. She quickly started to dry her hair and let out a soft thank you. It rang through the room.
Hazel glanced at her then looked away, he brought her in yet everyone else was speaking to this girl but him. Shaking his head he swallowed his fear for a moment, "I'll grab you some spare clothes. We don't have a dryer here but we can at least hang dry them for now."
Boyish brown hair with a flirty look on his eyes howled with laughter ruining the somber air, "Gonna loan her some of your spare clothes since you're around the same size?"
Someone wacked the loud man upside the head and told him to shut up. Something about this being a sensitive situation. Red flickered on a little more and she noticed how warm it was in this bar. It was filled with scary looking men and a stoctic seeming teen but it seemed each of them had a warmth she couldn't begin to fathom. The kind of warmth she recently lost. It was like the freezing chill consuming her body was starting to melt away leaving a cozy feeling steam filling out her entire being. She smiled at the scene before her and let out a small giggle that caused everyone to turn to her.
"What a brilliant red", the soft voice of deep red filled her ears. Finally the flickering had stopped only the bright apple red that matched her eyes remained.
Tears filled her vision as she looked around in awe. They didn't know her but they welcomed her so easily. Hazel came back with clothes, she dried off and warmed up after a trip to the bathroom to change. They sat with her offering her the hot chocolate mentioned earlier. She allowed herself to recount her memories of a fallen star with wet eyes and a soft smile. In return they told her about their lost sun and moon. It was a cold ugly storm outside but she was finally able to rebuild. That fire they all seemed to have spreading through her, she was finally home.
Her voice spoke out, soft and sweet, the type of voice that would make anyone's heart flutter from the absolute sincerity in it, "Thank you for bringing me home."