An Umbrella Made For Two

Elizabeth Webber pulled her leather jacket out of the coat closet, quickly shoving her slender arms into it and shutting the door with a bang. One glance at the murky and overcast sky outside had her opening the door again, hunting for an umbrella.

No such luck.

"I thought Dad kept all the umbrellas in the closet," she muttered to herself, already making her way to the basement. Maybe he left them behind the basement door.

Again, there were no umbrellas.

"Garage?" she asked herself, quickly popping the door open and scanning for any sort of protection from the rain. Seeing nothing, she closed the door again. "Damn it."

Elizabeth raced back to the coat closet, hoping she had overlooked the umbrellas in her previous search. The hall clock reading 9:20 had her swearing, and she hoped she could make it to school before the 9:35 bell. Even though it was a late arrival day, she was still running late.

A rumble of thunder echoed through the quiet neighborhood as Elizabeth grabbed her backpack and Lone Ranger lunch box. "Oh, screw it," she muttered. She'd just have to risk ruining her leather jacket.

Elizabeth stepped onto the front porch, quickly zipping up her jacket over her pink sweater. She made quick work of locking the door, and looking up at the turbulent sky, she knew she had to make a mad dash for her car.

She lit out for the smoky gold Acura, hoping the cuffs of her new jeans wouldn't get too wet as she accidentally splashed through a large rain puddle in the driveway. In seconds, she had the driver's side door open and quickly unlocked all the doors, dumping her backpack and lunch onto the backseat and sliding into hers.

She stared out the windshield, thinking as the wipers cleared away the raindrops. Maybe her father had left an umbrella on the backseat.

Turning around, she searched quickly under the seats but found nothing except two ice scrapers. Then it hit her: maybe he left one for her in the trunk.

As the car warmed up, Elizabeth popped the trunk and jumped out of the car, cursing the fat raindrops as they splattered onto her jacket. But her troubles were rewarded as she spied the large khaki-colored Bill Blass umbrella in her trunk. Thanks, Dad. What a relief.

She was soon back in the car, tossing the umbrella on the passenger seat. Lightning flashed as she reversed, and as she raced to school, Elizabeth doubted the day would get any better.


Elizabeth walked quickly through the halls of PC High to her first period class down in the Paper Office. Having Independent Study Newspaper was a definite plus: she got to hang out in the Office for fifty minutes and work on whatever homework she had, or just talk to Ms. Bedford, the advisor, with whom she was quite close.

Ms. Melissa Bedford looked up from her desk as Elizabeth walked in, trying to tame her windblown hair. She had worked on the school newspaper, the Independent, with Elizabeth since the girl was a sophomore, and had tremendous respect for her. Elizabeth was always punctual, always organized, and always perfectly composed.

Until recently.

Melissa smirked at the thought, lowering her gaze to the newspaper on her desk. She'd never forget what had happened about two days ago.

Elizabeth had come into the office after school as she usually did. Instead of plopping down at her desk to do some homework or work on her pages, the petite brunette had flopped down on one of the two purple recliners in the office. She had been on the phone at the moment, but she still heard Elizabeth sigh, "Ms. Bed-ford" in exasperation.

After much wheedling and prodding, Melissa had finally extracted the full story from the bashful brunette: Jason Morgan had touched her. Held her. And picked up her lunch box for her.

She had to laugh at the story and how flabbergasted and flustered Elizabeth was by it all. And Elizabeth Webber was never flustered. That's just not who she was. She was calm and rational and logical, and rarely did things that were out of character. Of course, there was that one time one of her writers sent her a nasty "screw you" email, and Elizabeth had started swearing like a sailor. That was another thing she'd never forget.

And so she'd selfishly used her favorite editor's story for her own amusement, calling Jason – who she had in Journalism every day – Elizabeth's "lover" at every chance she got. And then the young girl would blush furiously, and squeal "Ms. Bedford!" indignantly.

And now, as Elizabeth took her gloves off only to set down her umbrella and then put them on again, Melissa wondered if her absent-mindedness could be due in some part to her new "lover".

Elizabeth took off her coat, slinging it across the back of her desk chair and sat down, quickly opening Adobe Pagemaker to her saved pages. Melissa returned to her newspaper, skimming quickly through the latest news about the Democratic presidential nomination.

"Morning, everyone," Veronica Peterson called gaily, leaping into the office. Elizabeth looked up from her screen, smiling at the tall and lanky dark blonde. Veronica was an old friend of hers, and they'd worked on the paper together since junior year, with her as an editor and Ashley as the business person.

"Mornin', Roni," she replied, getting back to her editing. "How's it going?"

"Pretty well," Veronica sang, twirling in front of her desk. "I just love today."

"Oh?" Elizabeth asked, quirking a brow. "Why's that?"

"It's just so pretty out," Veronica replied with a smile, sitting on her desk and kicking out her long legs. "I love it when it rains."

"Normally, I do, too," Elizabeth answered, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she spoke. "But today was just a little too crazy for my taste."

"How so?" Ms. Bedford asked from her corner, setting down the newspaper.

Elizabeth turned away from her monitor, facing her teacher and friend. "Well, I got up late, there was no milk in the house so I didn't get to eat my cereal and I had to eat toast instead, I couldn't find anything to wear because Mom was too busy to do the laundry this weekend, I forgot to make my lunch last night so I had to make it today, and then I couldn't find an umbrella and had to run out in the rain."

Ms. Bedford pointed at the tan umbrella on the recliner. "What about that?"

"Oh," Elizabeth shrugged. "My dad makes it a point to always stock my car with certain provisions, and I managed to find his old Bill Blass umbrella back in the trunk."

"I didn't know Bill Blass made umbrellas," Veronica mumbled, picking up the folded umbrella and inspecting it.

"Neither did I," Elizabeth answered. She got up from her seat and walked toward the recliners, taking the umbrella from Veronica's hands. "It's pretty big, too. Just look." She opened the clasp, shaking the umbrella out gently.

Her hands grasped the metal inlay, ready to pull it down and out, but Veronica's gasped stopped her. Looking up, Elizabeth saw both Veronica and Ms. Bedford gaping at her.

"What?"

"It's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors," Veronica offered quietly, shifting in her seat.

"Do you believe that?" Elizabeth asked incredulously, never being one for superstition.

Veronica nodded, flushing with embarrassment. Coming home to her house being burglarized a month ago, the blonde had decided to always play it as safe as she possibly could.

"You can open it upside down, though," Ms. Bedford offered from her desk, leaning forward for a view of the abnormal umbrella.

Elizabeth turned to Veronica, who nodded that she was fine with that.

"OK. Check this out."

Elizabeth opened the umbrella upside down, stepping back and setting it on the floor. Almost five feet in diameter, the umbrella teetered on its external spoke.

"That is one huge umbrella," Veronica laughed. "It's crazy."

"I know," Elizabeth smiled. "Trust my dad to have something this weird."

Melissa didn't even try hiding her smile at the sight of tiny Elizabeth with an umbrella as wide as she was. "You know," she began with an evil smirk. "That's not just any umbrella – it's an umbrella made for two."

Vernoica laughed, spinning the umbrella on the floor, while Elizabeth glared warningly at her teacher.

"She's right," the blonde added, unmindful of the look on the brunette's face or the hidden meaning of the statement. "You could fit the entire senior class under here."

Elizabeth forced a laugh, still glaring at Ms. Bedford, who decided to have a bit more fun.

"Or," she drawled, propping her chin in her hands. "You could go on a very romantic rainy walk with a certain someone under there."

Elizabeth's mouth fell open, and even Veronica didn't miss the hidden meaning.

"What?" she squawked, her eyes on a blushing and stunned Elizabeth. "Who's this certain someone?"

"There is no certain someone," Elizabeth retorted, shooting daggers at a giggling Ms. Bedford.

"Are you sure?" Veronica wheedled, a wide grin on her face. She scooted forward with her chair, her voice full of amusement at her friend's expense. "Because I'm not sure I believe you."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, trying to play down the incident as much as possible. "Please," she huffed, running a hand through her soft chocolate waves. "Who would there be?"

"I don't know," Veronica drawled, spinning idly in her chair as she thought. "Maybe…Sonny?"

"Sonny?" Elizabeth gawked at the mention of one of her closest friends. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know," Veronica shrugged. "You two spend a lot of time together."

"Yeah," Elizabeth scoffed, placing her small hands on her smaller waist. "Because we're friends."

Ms. Bedford smiled, all thoughts of her newspaper forgotten as she watched the latest teen scene unfold. She had seen Sonny and Elizabeth together since sophomore year, and knew how strong their friendship was. Sonny was one of the first kids to talk to Elizabeth when she came to the second hour honors English class at the beginning of the year after a hasty move from Colorado. While the entire class had welcomed her, Sonny had always made it a point to be especially nice to her, and before long the two had become very close.

Every year since then, they always wound up having both English and Math together. They joked and collaborated in class, playfully shoved and kicked each other in the hallway, walked to their cars together after school, and sometimes hung out over the weekend with the rest of their friends. Elizabeth always enjoyed Sonny's friendship, and Melissa wondered to herself if Sonny suspected that Elizabeth liked Jason. After all, the two boys were on the track team together and had been good friends since elementary school.

"Are you sure?" Veronica repeated, clearly enjoying teasing the bashful brunette. "Because he is quite handsome."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, closing her umbrella and tossing it onto the recliner before walking back to her desk.

"That curly black hair," Veronica drawled, grinning. "That smooth voice, his cute subtle accent, those gorgeous eyes. And, of course, those dimples!"

Elizabeth couldn't help laughing. "Fine, Ash. He's cute; I'll give you that. But he's my friend. I'd never want anything from him beyond friendship."

"Oh, come on."

"Seriously!" Elizabeth exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and turning to Ms. Bedford. "I'm going to head up to my locker now, if that's okay. I just want to dump my stuff before second hour."

Melissa nodded. "Sure, sure." She motioned toward a large container of bagels on the floor near her desk. "Before you go – do you girls want a bagel? I brought them for second hour, but I have extras. You're welcome to them."

Elizabeth considered the offer, but her growling stomach decided it for her. Veronica was already at the desk, taking two cinnamon bagels from the cardboard container along with the cream cheese. She passed Elizabeth a plastic knife, and the two girls began to spread the fluffy cream cheese while talking.

"He's just a really good friend," Elizabeth explained honestly. "And you can never have too many good friends."

Veronica nodded. "I don't really know him too well. What makes him such a good friend?"

Elizabeth smoothed another hunk of cream cheese over her bagel. "Well, he's really smart and he's pretty funny. He's kind of a goody-two-shoes, though."

"He seems like it," Veronica nodded. "Very squeaky-clean."

"Definitely. But he's really nice, and he listens to me. I just always end up having a lot of fun whenever we hang out together."

She wrapped her sticky bagel in a napkin, glancing at the clock. "I'd better go. First hour's over in five minutes."

She grabbed her jacket and put it on, sticking her lunch box in her backpack and then slinging that over her shoulders. "I'll see you guys later," she called to her teacher and friend as she walked toward the door.

"Will I see you after school?" Ms. Bedford asked from her desk.

"I don't think so," Elizabeth answered, breaking off a tiny piece of the bagel and cramming it into her mouth.

"Okay, then. Have a nice day."

"You too, Ms. Bedford."

Elizabeth stepped into the bright hallway, still picking small pieces off her bagel. Sydney hated it when she did that, insisting that she should instead just try eating like normal people. And Elizabeth's response that perhaps she was just a chronic nibbler never seemed good enough.

She nibbled and nibbled all the way up the stairs from the basement, swinging her umbrella from where it hung on her wrist. Licking away a fleck of cream cheese that had found its way onto the pad of her thumb, Elizabeth passed the vending machines outside the gym and field house and stepped into the main hallway.

With a little luck, she'd make it up to her locker on the third floor, dump her jacket and books, and get down to the first floor before the bell rang after the passing period.

Head bent, she picked at her bagel some more, withdrawing her hand again to lick the cream cheese off her fingers. Even with her eyes down, she noticed another solitary figure walking down the hallway.

She glanced up, and chose absolutely the wrong time to place a large chunk of cinnamon bagel in her mouth.

Jason ambled down the hallway, dressed in his favorite green cargo shorts – despite the three inches of snow on the ground outside – and his gray AP Physics shirt. It was one of Elizabeth's favorite shirts, and it made her laugh every time he wore it.

She snickered despite herself when she read the front, hich read The Top Ten – with "top ten" crossed out and replaced by "only" – Reason to take AP Phsyics. Underneath that, in multicolored letters, read Great America.

But it was the back that was really outrageous. He had worn it once in Calculus last semester, back when they actually had that class together. It was the day of the State Cross Country Conferences, and he and Sonny, the only two track kids in the class, were completely stoked.

Sonny had worn his black Cross Country shirt with the US Marine logo on the back, and Jason had opted for his AP Physics shirt. She had been sitting at her desk, hurriedly trying to finish the last few homework problems for the day while Sonny and Jason gathered their stuff, all of them lingering for a few minutes after the bell.

Mr. Alcazar, the AP Calculus teacher, had struck up a conversation with the boys about their hopes for the conferences, and Sonny, being the team co-captain along with Jason, had launched into his own tirade about how great their season was and how well all the runners would hopefully do.

Elizabeth had rolled her eyes at Sonny's pre-conference pep talk, smirking at how optimistic her friend always seemed to be. So engrossed was she in her thoughts and the integral of sec x that she didn't even notice Jason walking toward her desk.

She was snapped from her solid concentration with the smack of his heavy textbook slamming down on her desk. She looked up directly into his light blue eyes, dancing with amusement, and had cringed when he loudly yelled, "Stop studying!" almost in her ear.

Sonny had laughed, calling her a nerd as she finished the problem and picked up her backpack, balancing the book on her head as she normally did. While the two bickered, Jason had set down his backpack to drop his notebook inside.

That was all the time Mr. Alcazar had needed to see that the back of Jason's shirt had some mathematical symbols on it.

"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing out Jason's shirt. "You have Calculus on you shirt! How fitting."

Elizabeth had turned to read the front of the shirt, and when she raised her questioning eyes to Jason's, the young man had blushed.

"Let's see, Jase," Sonny goaded, knowing full well what the shirt really said.

Mr. Alcazar already had a hand on Jason's shoulder, and was bending over to read the back. Elizabeth leaned forward too, and Sonny just watched her, grinning.

"No, really," Jason sputtered, "it's nothing."

"Oh, sure it is," replied Mr. Alcazar. "Let's see, it says 'the integral of e raised to the x equals f of u raised to the n…'. What does that….?" He stood there for a moment, puzzled, while Jason grinned at his friend in embarrassment. Suddenly, Mr. Alcazar understood, and shoved Jason lightly toward his friends with a laugh. "Why, you little…"

Sonny was already enjoying a laugh at his friend's expense, and a blushing Elizabeth had to join in as well, for the back of Jason's shirt read, § ex f(u)n.

This was the same shirt he had on today as he ambled down the hallway, hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his shorts, his Jesus sandals flapping against the linoleum as they always did.

As she neared him, her heart started to pound. They were the only two people in the hallway, so she had to say hi to him, right? Would he say it first? Damn it, couldn't she chew her bagel fast enough?

She felt strangely uneasy around him, and now was hardly an exception. Ever since he'd lifted her up off the ground two days ago, things had been a little tense. She still stood around by Sydney's locker every day after school, just like he did, but they never really spoke to each other and barely made eye contact.

From what she could tell, he was a nice boy. A genuine nice boy. The kind that held a door open for a girl, knew where the line not to cross was, and the kind that would pick up a girl's books if they fell to the ground. Along with the girl.

Elizabeth chewed faster as he drew near, hoping she'd at least be able to extend her salutations with a mouth that wasn't full of food.

But as they neared each other, he did something that surprised her. Instead of even making eye contact, he shoved his hands deeper into those shorts – if that were possible – and averted his gaze to look at some of the framed pictures of former track runners on the wall, all the while whistling some tune she couldn't place.

Mouth still full of that stupid bagel, Elizabeth felt her face heat up as she passed him. Had he just blown her off? What could have caused him to do that?


Sydney Morse slipped out of her second hour Creative Writing class, knowing there were still three minutes left until the passing period was over. Nearby, Elizabeth Webber was agitatedly shoving her books and what appeared to be a very large umbrella into her locker.

Sydney walked over and leaned a shoulder on the locker next to Elizabeth's, waiting for the brunette to notice. Elizabeth remained oblivious, however, scowling darkly at her jacket when it slipped from the hook.

"Hey, Beth," Sydney started, watching her friend carefully. "Uh, is something wrong?"

Elizabeth pulled her head out from her locker, flashing Sydney a quick smile. "No, Syd, of course not. Why would you think that?"

Sydney frowned at the unusually high pitch of Elizabeth's voice, and was about to answer when the brunette's head disappeared inside her locker again.

"Uh, I don't know. You just seem kind of..ups-"

Elizabeth poked her head out suddenly, her eyes narrowed and her lips set. "Do you know what just happened?" she asked hurriedly, swiping a lock of hair from her face. "The strangest thing just happened."

Sydney noticed how quickly Elizabeth was speaking, how her words seem to just tumble out, one after the other, but ignored it. "Does this have anything to do with…?" She wiggled her fingers in the air, referring to Jason Morgan. She'd finally wheedled the truth out of Elizabeth the day before, and was one of the three people who knew the identity of the object of Elizabeth's affections.

"Yes!" she hissed, throwing her hands up in the air. "It's about him. Who the heck else would get me this flustered this early in the morning? Ugh!"

Sydney bit back a chuckle as Elizabeth yanked a notebook from her locker. "What happened?"

"I don't even know!" Elizabeth cried, sitting on the floor by her backpack. "I was walking down the hall and eating a bagel because Ms. Bedford got them for her class and offered me and Roni one and so I was eating it and walking down the hall-"

She paused for a breath, and Sydney did her best to hide her smile. Elizabeth was speaking in run-ons. She never did that.

"And so I look up while I'm eating and Jason's walking down the hall, so I at least make an effort to chew and swallow in a hurry so that at least I can say hi and not be thought of as completely rude if I walk down the hall without even talking or looking at him, so I'm about to swallow and say hi, but he's almost next tome, and then he all but turns his face and walks by whistling without even looking at me. What the heck was that about?"

She slammed her locker door shut with a loud bang, attracting several glances from the other seniors in the hallway. Sydney watched as she snatched her combo lock from the floor and jammed it into the lock mechanism, pounding it shut.

Sydney searched for something to say. "Well," she began. "Knowing Jason, he was probably trying to be funny."

Elizabeth snorted. "Ha ha."

Sydney couldn't help but smile. "Or, he's just shy," she shrugged. "Either way, don't worry about it. He's not the most…forward or blunt guy around. He's kinda passive and what not."

Elizabeth looked up at her, doubt clouding her blue eyes. "Really?"

"Sure," Sydney nodded without missing a beat. "Don't worry about it."

Elizabeth nodded, grabbing her backpack. "Meh. Ok. Thanks, Syd. I'll see you later, I have to run to class."

"Amy Tambers," answered Sydney, with her spin on the spanish phrase, A mi tambien. "See ya."


Lauren blew a kiss to the cardboard cutout of Peter Frampton hanging inside her locker and resumed humming the theme to "All in the Family" while she waited for Elizabeth.

"It's really coming down out there," she noted, gazing out the gigantic windows at the stairwell. "Am I glad we're not in the field yet."

Elizabeth mumbled in agreement. "It's pretty, though, you have to admit."

Lauren nodded. "I hate driving in it, though." She continued to gaze out at the rain, which fell in silver sheets over the adjacent football field.

Laughter echoed up the stairwell, and Jason and a couple of his friends emerged. Lauran glanced down at Elizabeth, who peeked at the group once before wrestling her umbrella out of her locker, her face slightly flushed.

Lauren looked up just in time to see Jason glance hesitatingly at Elizabeth. He stepped closer, as if he wanted to talk to her, but stopped himself and walked away, pumping his fist in frustration.

Lauren snickered. How sweet.

"So, Beth, how's the Valentine's dealie coming?"

Elizabeth sighed. "It's coming along okay. I just can't believe it's next week. I hope I get everything done in time."

Lauren smiled slyly. "Did you get anyone balloons?"

Elizabeth looked up at her incredulously. "Who'd I give balloons to?" she asked. Lauren's smirk grew and Elizabeth scowled. "And if you say Sonny, I'm going to drop-kick you."

Lauren laughed. "I wasn't thinking about Sonny, although he is hot."

Elizabeth groaned playfully, shutting her locker and swinging her umbrella as they walked. "Not this conversation again."

Lauren smiled. "Shut up and quit changing the subject. Like I said, I wasn't thinking of Sonny."

Elizabeth's smile faltered. "Who were you thinking of, then?"

Lauren grinned, passing a group of her friends. "Jason!" she called out. He turned around and grinned at them both, trying to pull on his green wool skull cap while Brendan tried to trip him.

"You didn't answer my question," Elizabeth remarked dryly as they passed. "Who were you thinking of?"

"Beth! Lauren!" Sydney Morse interrupted them, and Lauren couldn't keep from grinning. "Did you guys turn in your cap and gown measurements yet?"

Both girls nodded, and Sydney rolled her eyes. "Geez! I better get my butt in gear."

Next to her, Sonny Corinthos opened his locker while flashing his dimples at Elizabeth. "Yeah, get your act together, Morse."

Sydney laughed, pulling her crocheted scarf out of her locker and looping it around her neck. She grabbed her copy of Tom Jones out from under her Psychology text and tossed it into her backpack.

"I've gotta get going," Lauren announced, smacking the back of Elizabeth's backpack. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Lauren," nodded Elizabeth and Sydney.

"See ya, Petey," Jason called out from behind her as he joined the small group. Elizabeth jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, a movement not lost on Sydney, who hid her face in her letter jacket as she pulled it on.

Elizabeth pulled a long brown hair from her friend's jacket, taking the opportunity to step between Sydney and Sonny. He fumbled through his locker for his journal, cursing under his breath.

"Do you guys think Ms. Hornsby will collect our journals tomorrow?" he asked, running a hand through his gelled black hair.

Sydney considered it. "I don't know," she replied slowly. "How many weeks has it been?"

"Well," Elizabeth began, tapping a finger against her chin. "We're supposed to have three a week, and she wants fifteen by Friday."

Sonny nodded. "Okay. Not bad."

"Are you done with them?" Sydney asked, zipping her jacket.

Sonny nodded, dumping his Biology book into his locker. "Yeah. I usually keep up with them. What about you?"

Sydney waved a hand in the air. "I have, like, one more to write. I'll have it done by tomorrow."

Sonny nodded confidently, looking up from his backpack at Elizabeth's sigh. "Do I even want to know how many you have, Beth?"

Elizabeth laughed, her eyes dazzling. "No, no you don't."

Jason laughed with her, his eyes moving from Sonny to Elizabeth to Sydney. "I have no idea what you guys are talking about."

Sydney laughed, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. "Sorry," she apologized with a grin. "We were talking about English."

Jason apparently didn't hear her right, judging by how he quirked his eyebrows at her. "Right," he drawled, flashing her that classic Morgan grin. "Fish. Okay."

Elizabeth giggled while Sonny shook his head. "No," she clarified. "AP Eng-"

"Inguls," Sydney explained, borrowing the term from the Three Stooges. "AP Inguls."

Jason nodded, still confused. "Anglo Saxons. History, gotcha," he laughed, squirming out of reach as Sydney tried to hit him.

"English," both Sonny and Elizabeth clarified at the same time. Elizabeth was still laughing, her back against the locker next to Sonny's, any of her previous annoyance with him dissipating.

"Then why didn't you say so?" Jason demanded of Sydney, who was by now nearly hysterical with laughter. A very happy-go-lucky person, it really didn't take much for Sydney to start cracking up.

"So?" Sonny smirked at his friend. "How many journals do you have?"

Elizabeth studied him suspiciously, smirking back. "Two," she admitted with an embarrassed smile.

Sonny's eyes bugged. "Two?" he repeated, incredulous. "You're kidding, Beth."

"I wish I was," Elizabeth laughed as Sydney gaped at her.

"You have two out of fifteen?" Sydney exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "What's wrong with you?"

Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Dude, I don't even know where my journal is," she admitted. "I'm so lazy."

Sonny laughed, knowing that was anything but the case. Next to him, even Jason was having a hard time believing it.

"Woah, woah," he repeated, his hands in the air. "Do you mean to tell me," he pointed a long finger at Elizabeth's nose, grinning. "That the Little One only has two out of fifteen?"

Elizabeth flushed, sliding an inch toward Sonny to escape Jason's finger. He must have sensed it because he moved closer, jokingly trying to intimidate her physically while raising his voice. "Well, then the Wee One clearly has a lot of work to do tonight."

Sonny laughed, shutting his locker. "Isn't that always the case," he teased, jumping back when Elizabeth's small hand flew at him, aimed for his chest.

"Watch it, Corinthos," Elizabeth warned with a smirk. "Or I'll clobber you with my giant umbrella." She pretended to swing it menacingly at him, and the tall brunette caught it easily in one hand.

"It doesn't look so big," he remarked, gently trying to pull it away from her.

Elizabeth pulled it back, crinkling her nose at him. "I'll show you." She undid the clasp, looking up at the group. "Is anyone here superstitious?"

Receiving a bunch of negative responses, Elizabeth backed away from the lockers, standing in the middle of the hallway and opened the umbrella above her.

Next to her, Jason gawked. "That is one huge umbrella," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Cripey."

Sydney laughed. "No joke."

Jason wasn't done. "Geez, it's bigger than you are, Wee," he smirked, his smile growing when she glared at him. "It's not an umbrella – it's a tent."

Elizabeth laughed, lowering the umbrella and pulling the metal inlay down. It refused to catch, and she braced the umbrella against her thigh as she struggled to close it.

Jason bent down and grasped the metal where her fingers were, easily pulling it up and closing it for her. He straightened, offering the umbrella to her.

"Thanks," Elizabeth smiled, turning to Sydney. "You ready to go, Syd?"

Sydney nodded. "I just have to stop off at the Main Office for a second. Come with me?"

Elizabeth nodded, looking up when Sonny's hand fell on her shoulder. "You," he bit out, gently jabbing her nose. "Go work on those journals." He laughed and stepped back as she tried to bite his finger. "Will I see you at Bobby's this weekend?"

Directly in front of him, he noticed Jason perk up at the question, eyeing Elizabeth as well.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I can't," she apologized. "I have way too much work to do for this Valentine's Day nightmare."

Sonny nodded. "OK, then. We'll hang out some other time." He turned to his best friend. "Did you see Mr. Preuss yet? He wanted to talk to us."

Jason shook his head, adjusting his backpack. "No, I haven't. But we'd better hurry if we want to talk to him today – he said something about his daughter's doctor appointment or something."

The two boys hurried for the stairs, calling goodbye over their shoulders.

Sydney picked up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulders. She stepped up to Elizabeth, draping an arm over her friend's shoulder. "Come on, Wee," she smiled impishly.

"Shut up, Syd."


"Have a good evening, girls," Mr. DiLucca smiled as they left the Main Office. "Drive carefully – it's pretty slick out there."

"We will," Elizabeth and Sydney answered in unison, stepping out in the hall.

"Ugh," Sydney groaned, pounding her feet on the floor. "I have fifteen minutes until my drum lesson. You going home?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah, I should go look for my journal."

Sydney grinned. "Oh, yeah. Good luck with that."

"Thanks, I'll need it."

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Syd."

Elizabeth turned the corner and walked for the main door, zipping her leather jacket up farther and undoing the clasp of her umbrella. One look through the slim glass panels on the large brown double doors told her that Mother Nature was at her worst.

She opened the door and stepped out under the ledge of the building, breathing in the moist, cool air. A gust of wind swept over her face and she closed her eyes for a moment, letting its coolness wash over her.

Next to her, she heard someone clear their throat, and her wide eyes flew open to meet those of Jason Morgan's.

"Uh-Jason," she stammered, blushing at how foolish she must have looked. "What are you doing here?" Oh, great, Einstein: brilliant question.

Jason jutted a chin out at the rain. "Hoping that it'll let up for a few seconds so I can make a mad break for my car."

Elizabeth smiled, swinging her umbrella. "I think I can help with that." She opened it easily and stepped under, waiting for Jason to join her.

He looked at her hesitantly before smiling softly and accepting her offer. The two set off over the pavement, shielded from Mother Nature's wrath by Elizabeth's tent of an umbrella.

"T-Thanks," he said finally, the corner of his mouth quirking up in an unsure smile. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," she assured him, frowning when the wind caused the umbrella to sway. A few drops of rain hit Jason square on the nose before she managed to steady it. "Sorry about that."

His grin was cocky as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "No problem."

The wind continued to howl around them, making it increasingly hard for Elizabeth to maintain her hold on the umbrella. Besides that, her steps grew increasingly unsteady, and before long, the tiny brunette was zig-zagging across the pavement as Jason tried to hold in his laughter.

At least Lisa isn't here to see this, Elizabeth thought darkly. Lisa Kelling had been with her during a furious thunderstorm before, and had all but lost it when Elizabeth could barely manage to put one foot in front of the other as the wind raged around them. She'd never let me hear the end of it.

It seemed as though the wind was trying to wrench the large umbrella from Elizabeth's slender fingers, and the tiny brunette gritted her teeth and held on, muttering curses under her breath.

Next to her, Jason couldn't hold it in any longer, and the tall blonde burst out laughing at her predicament. "Let me get that for you, Wee," he grinned cockily. His wide hand covered her small one on the handle, and another wrapped around her to keep her steady.

"So, where'd you park?" he asked, scanning the crowded parking lot.

His touch burning through the thick leather of her jacket, Elizabeth Webber struggled for words. "Far right corner."

He nodded, spying her Acura, and moved his hand slightly as the wind howled again. A discreet smile rose to his lips as he remembered when Emily used to get blown away by the wind. A petite freshman gymnast, his sister was just shy of 100 lbs. And from what he could tell, Elizabeth couldn't way more than a few pounds more than her.

Elizabeth begged her heart to stop pounding, hoping to God that Jason didn't hear it as it hurled itself repeatedly against her rib cage. Just calm down, Beth, she ordered herself. He's just a boy.

She tried concentrating on the sound of the rain slamming against the umbrella, or the sight of the seagulls flying overhead.

None of it worked, and she gave up trying.

"I hate the rain," Jason commented off-handedly. "Last time it rained, Sonny and I were coming home from conferences. The visibility was so bad that we decided to play it safe and ended up sitting in the car for an hour."

Elizabeth smiled devilishly at the thought.

Rain, rain, don't go away.