It was a dreary day. Dark clouds hung over the town. Rain was forecasted for later in the day. It was one of those days where you just wanted to crawl back in bed and sleep. Unfortunately, it was a week day, so that wasn't possible. At least tomorrow was the weekend, so it wasn't too unbearable.

It started pouring down rain an hour before school was let out. It was a heavy rain. Thankfully, no thunder or lightning accompanied it.

It was almost four now. The rain hadn't let up. Most students were gone by now. There were a few left. The student council was still there. They had work to do.

At the moment, it was only Sayo and Rinko in the room. They were silently working away at some forms. The dull thudding of the rain and the scratching of pens was all they heard.

Then, the lights went out. Sayo blinked in surprise. A power outage now? What happened? She didn't know and wasn't particularly bothered by it. She just sighed. Now they were delayed even more with all of this work.

Sayo glanced over at where Rinko was sitting. The girl hadn't made a single noise since the lights went out. She hadn't even put down her pen. Sayo couldn't make her out very well yet, but she could see that Rinko was sitting as stiff as a board in her seat.

"Shirokane-san? Are you alright?" Sayo called gently, not wanting to startle her.

Rinko slowly put down her pen. Her breathing was heavy and ragged. Sayo stared at her for a bit, until it clicked. Rinko must be afraid of the dark.

"Rinko, are you alright?" Sayo repeated, hoping to get at least some answer out of the poor girl.

Rinko brought her gaze to meet Sayo's. Sayo could see the fear in her eyes. On a closer inspection, she found that Rinko was shaking.

Sayo knew she had to do something. She couldn't just leave Rinko in this state. But, what could she do? She wasn't exactly the most emotional person.

"Are you afraid of the dark?" Sayo asked, though she knew what the answer would be.

Rinko nodded slightly. She lowered her gaze. Sayo reached out and grabbed Rinko's hands. She squeezed them reassuringly.

"I'm here. You don't need to be afraid." Sayo said calmly.

Rinko was still stiff. Sayo didn't know what else to do to ease her worries. She was grateful there was no thunder outside. She could only imagine how much worse that would make all of this.

"May I ask what it is that scares you?" Sayo questioned.

"In the dark... I see things... I know they aren't real, but it scares me..." Rinko whispered, her voice barely audible.

"I'm here. You don't have to worry. Nothing will happen." Sayo said, "If anything does, I'll protect you, okay?"

Rinko gave her a slight nod. She slowly looked up at Sayo again. Their eyes had adjusted to the darkness. They could see each other clearly now.

"Let me check if anything is happening to fix this." Sayo pulled out her phone.

She searched for news about it. There wasn't much. Most of the town had lost power. That much she knew. She couldn't find how long until they could get the power on, though.

"Fuck."

"W-what is it?" Rinko asked. That was the first time she had heard Sayo curse.

"We're under a flood warning. We can't leave until it's lifted. That won't be till midnight." Sayo explained, "So... guess we're stuck here for the night."

Rinko's eyes flashed with panic. Sayo knew this wasn't ideal. It would be better for them to be at a house. But, it was far too risky going out.

"Where are the others at?" Sayo whispered to herself as she started sending texts to find out.

Rinko moved closer to Sayo's side. She looked over at her phone. It appeared the others were going to find a better place in the school to stay.

"Do you think you can make it to them?" Sayo asked.

She would like to group up, but she wasn't sure if Rinko would be able to. The hallways would be just as dark. And there were a lot more things in the halls to get spooked by.

Rinko shook her head. She didn't want to move from the room. She felt safe in here. It was somewhere she was familiar with. Sayo texted them back that they were staying in the room.

She set her phone down and looked back at Rinko. Rinko was still shaking. She was glancing around the room every few seconds, as if waiting for something to suddenly jump out at her.

"Why don't we sit on the floor? It'll be a little more comfortable." Sayo suggested.

Rinko shook her head. She didn't want to move from this spot. Sayo frowned. This was harder than she thought.

"Come on. Just stay close to me." Sayo stood up and held out a hand to Rinko, "It isn't that scary, I promise."

Rinko hesitantly grabbed her hand. Sayo helped her stand up. Rinko stuck to her side as they walked to an empty corner of the room. They sat down.

"The rain should soon let up." Sayo said, "We can stay up until midnight and then head home."

"O-okay..." Rinko nodded.

"Come here." Sayo held out her arms, "You're shaking a lot."

Rinko quickly hugged Sayo. She gripped her uniform tightly. Sayo moved Rinko onto her lap. If this was how she could help her, then that was that. It wasn't too bad. Sayo wasn't sure about offering comfort like this, but she didn't mind it now. But, why did this make her heart beat so fast?

"You're safe, Rinko. I promise." Sayo whispered as she ran her fingers through Rinko's hair.

Rinko buried her face into Sayo's neck. Sayo could feel tears falling from Rinko's face. She hadn't realized just how scared the girl was. Sayo kept brushing Rinko's hair with one hand while rubbing her back with her other.

Rinko slowly stopped shaking. She relaxed against Sayo, still remaining in the same position.

"See? It's alright." Sayo said.

Rinko didn't reply. Sayo soon realized that she had fallen asleep. Rinko's breath was still a little uneven, but it was starting to even out now. Sayo gently shifted Rinko so she was laying her head against her chest instead. Rinko was still clinging to Sayo's uniform, but her grip was lax now.

"Sleep tight, Rinko..." Sayo brushed some hair from Rinko's face.

Sayo looked at the time. It was almost midnight. She'd let Rinko rest for a while and then wake her sometime before one. Sayo played with Rinko's hair to distract herself. Her phone was almost dead. She needed to conserve the battery incase something happened.

Sayo was tired as well. She had to keep fighting against her eyes closing. She needed to stay awake. Just for a while longer. Then they could go home. But, Sayo soon lost the battle. She had rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She promised it was only for a minute, but that minute became hours.

DIVIDER--

"Sayo? Rinko?"

Sayo groaned in pain as she opened her eyes. Her neck was sore. She rubbed her eyes. Sayo looked around. They were still in the school. Sayo cursed herself. She had fallen asleep. She looked down. Rinko was still asleep.

"Ah. There you two are."

Sayo jumped at the sudden voice. She looked up and was met with Lisa staring at her.

"Arisa told me you guys had stayed in here during the outtage. I assumed you hadn't left when neither of you came home. She was nice enough to let me in to come see." Lisa explained.

Sayo rubbed her neck to try and ease the pain. She was careful not to disturb Rinko.

"You two fell asleep, huh?" Lisa teased.

Sayo glared at her, "Don't you dare tell anyone."

Lisa held her hands up, "I won't. I promise."

Sayo sighed as she gently shook Rinko. As much as she didn't want to disturb the girl, she had to. Rinko opened her eyes. She let go of Sayo and quickly sat up.

"Morning, Rinko." Lisa greeted her.

"Imai-san?" Rinko stared at her in confusion.

"She came to find us." Sayo said, "We both fell asleep here."

"Oh." Rinko stood up.

Sayo followed her lead. Her body ached. After all, she had Rinko laying on her the entire night. It wasn't a surprise she hurt everywhere.

"Shall we go?" Lisa asked.

They nodded. The three of them headed out of the school. As they walked, Rinko reached over and held Sayo's hand. Sayo glanced her way. She squeezed her hand to let her know she didn't mind.

They soon made it outside. Lisa gave them a smirk as she saw them holding hands. Rinko quickly let go. She was embarrassed. Sayo also flushed red a bit.

"Imai-san, I swear if you tell anyone-"

"I'll keep it between us. Though, you two would make a cute couple." Lisa teased before skipping off.

"C-couple?" Rinko repeated.

"She really wants to play matchmaker..." Sayo sighed, "Anyway, shall we head home? I'll walk you home, if you'd like."

"T-thank you..." Rinko nodded.

The two of them walked down the streets. They went slow. Neither was in a rush to get anywhere.

"Hikawa-san, thank you for helping me..." Rinko mumbled.

"It would be rude not to have." Sayo shrugged.

"U-um... I... I..." Rinko stammered.

Sayo looked at her. Rinko was fumbling to find the words she wanted to say.

"I like you!" Rinko said as confidently as she could.

They paused their walking. Sayo stared at Rinko, unsure how to respond. Rinko had her eyes shut and her head was looking at the ground.

"You do?" Sayo was at a loss for words still. Did Lisa know something she didn't know? Was that why she said they'd make a cute couple?

"Y-yes... I... I've had a crush on you ever since... ever since we met." Rinko said, her voice shaking more with each word.

"I... I like you too." Sayo hadn't expected for this to be how she confessed to anyone, but here she was. There was no formal reply. No heartfelt message as to why she loved someone. It was just a simple response. Something she swore not to say when the day came.

"Really?" Rinko opened her eyes and brought her head up to look at Sayo.

"Yes. I've had a strange feeling whenever I was around you... I think I've figured out what it was." Sayo replied, offering Rinko a smile to show she meant it.

"I..."

"Let's go home. We can talk there. Somewhere more private." Sayo said.

"Will you... will you go out with me?" Rinko didn't want to wait, lest she talk herself out of asking that question again.

"Yes." Sayo nodded, "I'll gladly go out with you."

Rinko smiled. Sayo grabbed her hand. They started walking again. Rinko was happy. She had finally gotten the courage to confess. All it took was Lisa giving her that window of opportunity.

Rinko had confided to Lisa about her crush on Sayo. Lisa had noticed Rinko behaving differently around Sayo and had asked if everything was okay between them. She hadn't been expecting Rinko to admit she liked Sayo, but that made her happy. She promised to help Rinko find a way to confess without going too far out of her comfort zone.

Sayo glanced at Rinko as they walked. Rinko seemed happier. She was walking with a slight bounce in her step. She looked completely different from the girl she had seen just hours ago. But, Sayo didn't mind the change at all.

"Rinko?"

"Y-yes?"

"I love you."

"I... I love you too."