The air was still in the quiet room. Only the sound of his phone echoed across his bedroom walls. A ring, and then a pause. He held the phone to his face as he nervously awaited to do something, he should've done a long time ago. A ring and then a pause. As he waited for the other line to pick up, he knew in his heart that this was the appropriate next step for him. For them.

"Gwen… I was just calling to say, I'm sorry…"

He left his bedroom in the early afternoon to find Sierra at the bottom of the stairs looking at the bright screen of her cellphone while the cat made circles by her feet. Her. Just the sight of her was enough to fluster him as the thought of what happened the night before had been keeping him restless. For the past month, she was the only thing he ever really thought about. And the shoe was on the other foot for the first time, as he had found himself falling for her unconditionally.

She noticed him from the story above and smiled, "You slept in late…" He gripped onto the railing as he looked back at her. He needed to find a place to talk with her immediately. Somewhere they could be alone. Somewhere she would feel at peace.

"You… want to go for a walk with me?"

She just nodded as she let out a chuckle. He grabbed a picnic blanket before meeting her at the bottom of the stairs. They left the suburban house without a thought or plan in mind. Just the two of them, on a walk to wherever their fate would lead them. She grabbed onto his hand and let him take her away.

Just on the other side of the suburbs was a small park with a narrow concrete path surrounded by trees and colorful playground equipment. She watched as Cody walked ahead of her and laid down the blanket under an overarching tree away from the path. This all felt like a weird dream to her. She smiled to herself as she remembered scrolling through her blogs when the note slid under the door. It took a lot out of her to believe that the note was real and truly from him. Why? Why did he decide now after all this time?

As she sat on the blanket with him, she laid her head in his lap as she had many times before. He felt warm looking down at her. He felt warm just being close to her. He couldn't think straight when he looked at her. The pink shade of falling in love was still blurring his vision.

"Well… I'm sorry how I went about all this. I just needed you to know… I love you. I've loved you for a while. I just didn't know it until now." Just the sound of it brought tears to her eyes. He loved her. In all the times she spent daydreaming over her celebrity crush, she never imagined it would lead her to this moment. It was euphoric. The past month has been nothing but surreal to her.

She shifted to look up at him and chuckled, "It's funny, all this time we've spent together I've been trying to get over you…"

He hesitated for a moment, "If anything, that just proves to me that you've been dedicated to our friendship." She reached out and stroked her fingers down his jaw.

"You're such a lover-boy anyway."

He laughed and then smiled, "I don't think I've ever been in love before. Lust isn't love and I didn't know the difference until now… because you taught me how to love." She felt touched by his attitude and his words. It had been a very long time since she'd felt loved. And even though this should have been a triumphant moment for Sierra, she still felt uneasy. Something was off for her. As her phone buzzed in her pocket, the reality of it set back in.

"I care a lot about you. I just..." She looked out into the park and saw a pair of young girls playing with their father on the other side of the pavement. It brought her back to the last time she loved. She loved her sisters and playing with them out behind their old shabby house. She loved her father and the times he would read and sing her to sleep. She loved her parents' marriage and remembered dreaming of wanting something just like it. She loved her life before it got pulled out from under her. She loved… and it hurt her in the end. Falling in love, and the realistic thought of it terrified her. Would I ever dare love again? As she lifted her head up, she collapsed onto his shoulder.

"I can't have my heart broken again. I don't want to get left behind."

He embraced her in an attempt to comfort her. Nothing could be said as he had already helped her the best way he could. By understanding. As she tightened her grip into his back, he felt her pain resonate within him. He kissed the side of her head before resting his head on her shoulder. She was everything to him. And he wanted nothing more than to be there for her.

He pulled her off of him and made eye contact with her, "I can't make everything perfect. Just know that you're so loved. I'll always be here." She exhaled and smiled back at him starry-eyed.

He stood up and reached out a hand, "There's a café just down the path a bit, let me buy you lunch." She grabbed onto his hand and he helped her stand up. She never took his little gestures for granted. As she watched him pack up the blanket, she felt her phone buzz once again. She stared down at her pocket when Cody finally appeared next to her.

"It's this way." She smiled and they continued on the path again.

The two of them reached the edge of the city where the small coffee shop intersected a busy road. The shop was small but warm with plants surrounding the doorway and iron chairs pushed up to square tables. He pulled out a chair for her before heading up to the counter. As she sat alone, staring out the window, her mood shifted with the continuing buzz from her cell phone. It was inevitable. She blanked while looking at the white light of the screen.

"Someone texting you?" Cody noticed as he sat down next to her and handed her a glass. She felt the table stretch out as she looked up at him. She stared at the phone, then stared back at him. While she knew that he would eventually notice, she never wanted to break his heart like this.

"My mom… she hates that I'm here. She's been begging me to move in with him. She wants to come and get me this weekend." When it came to the discussion of Sierra moving away, he never touched on it. Everything he's done for her… what would become of it? Just hearing her mention it made him feel sick. Was this the end?

"We don't have to talk about it now." She watched him take a drink from his glass. As she reached for her own, her hands started to tremble. The topic still hovered over the table drearily. The little room, the cat she befriended, the backyard with the little tree… him. Her life with him would vanish and she'd feel lost all over again. Left behind as she was all those years ago. She reached over the table and grabbed his hands.

"I don't want to live without you…"

He sighed, "Me neither." It wasn't long until they received their food and started to eat. She sat quietly and ate while her phone continued to buzz on the table. They both made glances at it. All it'd take is one text, and their time together would end. As she sat and ate quietly trying to ignore the concern, he continued to stew over it. The entire time they sat in the café he never stopped thinking about how to make it right for her. He loved her… and he wasn't going to let her go for anything.

They ate lunch in the little coffee shop and headed back to the suburbs. The wind was heavy and pushed against them as they left the city. He made awkward glances around the narrow path as she talked on the phone the whole walk back. The voice on the other line was just as audible to him. He listened curiously to the conversation as it had both nothing and everything to do with him. It didn't matter though. Words are meaningless. No one was taking her away from him. By the time her conversation ended they were in the front yard of the house where Sierra collapsed into the grass.

He sat down beside her, "I know you're annoyed…"

"I don't know why she thinks me staying there will make everything better. Nothing will negate the fact that he left me behind…" She stared up into the sky where dark clouds started to form in the distance. She thought of her own dark clouds and the fact that she's never felt their rain before. The umbrella of escapism that she's been hiding under for years will never make the rain completely go away. But she didn't want to hide anymore. She just wanted to see the sunshine again.

He sighed as she sat up beside him, "But what if I go with you?"

"What-"

"I won't let you go alone. If your mom is forcing you to go and is picking you up this weekend, she'll have to take me too." The idea of going at all terrified her. This was more than just a little gesture from him. It was true proof of his love. Being loved and cared about wasn't something she was used to. But his love was worth lifetimes to her.

In a moment of blindness, she leaned over to him. The roaring of the thunder wasn't enough to alarm them as they shared a kiss in the grass. Every moment she's with him, she always remembers how good she has it. As the rain started to pour down onto them, she realized she had seen the sunshine or at least glances of it between the clouds. He was her everything, her happiness, her understanding, her love… there would be no sunshine at all without him.

"I'm never leaving you behind."