Description: She had always dreamed of her first kiss so she could have something to treasure with someone she loved dearly.

Most girls, Jessica knew, dreamed of being kissed in the rain. She considered herself lucky to have had that experience for her first kiss. It was a moment she had never wanted to forget. She had known that it was something she would treasure for a long time.

Flashback

It started when she received a frantic call. Toby had apparently forgotten that they had homework due the next day and, having left it 'til last minute, had entered the last minute homework panic stage. According to him, Lucas and Nick were both busy doing something else so she was his last hope.

"Come on, Jess." he pleaded. "Help me out. Please?" She sighed in annoyance, though she could never really be very annoyed with him, and gave in. It wouldn't take that long to help him out as the homework had been pretty easy for her to understand.

She had arrived at the Tripp's house and immediately saw him, laid down in the grass and shaking his head as he stared at his textbook. He was frowning and flicking through the pages as though hoping he would suddenly be struck with an epiphany. She cleared her throat and he looked up and grinned at her.

"Oh, good, you're here." he said, the relief in his voice evident. "Thanks for doing this. I didn't know if you already had plans or-"

"Not really." she interrupted. "You actually saved me from a whole day of boredom. So let's get to work!" He gave her a mock salute and handed her the textbook. She glanced at the pages, trying to figure out how to explain the technique. She could feel his eyes on her so she looked up at him and saw that she had his undivided attention.

"Well," she began. "If you want to rationalize the denominator, then you have to multiply the top and bottom of the fraction by the denominator, which is the bottom of the fraction." He nodded, actually understanding what the homework was asking him to do. He found he enjoyed having Jessica teach him things as she always explained exactly how to do the work in a patient manner and didn't get annoyed if he asked her to go over a certain part again.

Once they had gone through a couple of questions, Jessica was pleased to find that Toby had, for once, been paying attention and hadn't needed much prompting. "Well, looks like you've got the hang of it now."she said, standing up and stretching.

"Wait!" he yelled, almost desperately, leaping up and grabbing her hand. "Wait." he pleaded a second time. She looked at him and saw the look on his face: genuine dismay.

"You want me to stay?" she asked startled. He nodded slowly, his hand still holding hers. "Well, okay then. After all, I don't really have anything to do so I might as well." With that said, he let go of her hand and walked toward the house. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm getting some things to make the day more enjoyable. Seeing as my parents and Nick will be out of town for the whole day, we're going to need to eat." he explained, walking into the house. Just minutes later, he came back out, his arms laden with food and drinks. He placed them down and sat back down. "Dinner is served, m'lady." he said in a posh voice, causing her to laugh.

The two of them enjoyed eating the different foods and talking about anything that came to mind. Jessica was amused to learn that Toby had been left behind because he had accidentally almost destroyed all the exhibits at the science museum the last time they went. She laughed until her sides hurt and he eventually joined in, seeing her view of the story.

All of a sudden, the sky started to darken as rain clouds moved in overhead. "Looks like it's going to rain." she pointed at the sky.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a little rain." he teased, smirking at her. "We'll be fine. Come on." He led the way to the lounge chairs where the parasol beside them would give them some shelter from the rain.

They sat down on the lounge chairs and stared up at the sky. The rain had started to fall in torrents and Jessica replied, "I was more afraid of a lot of rain." She then stood up and walked right into the rain before dancing around, carefree, a smile on her face.

Toby watched her, noticing her beauty for the first time. He had seen that she had good looks but he had never really paid much attention before. As he continued to watch her dance, mesmerized by her beauty, he didn't notice that she had moved until she was stood right in front of him, her hand held out in a silent invitation. He hesitated for a moment before taking it and standing up.

Contrary to what everyone thought, Toby could actually dance, though he knew he wasn't anywhere near as good as Nick was. As he put his arm around Jessica's waist, he wondered vaguely if she would have preferred dancing with his brother. Everyone preferred Nick so surely she must, as well. She clearly noticed that his mind was elsewhere because she asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, it-it's nothing." he said as they began to dance. He could tell by her raised eyebrow that she wasn't convinced. "It's just- oh, it's nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing if you're this upset about whatever it is." she pointed out gently.

"I'm not upset," he insisted. "It's just that- promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Cross my heart." she promised, solemnly doing just that and saw his shoulders relax slightly. She waited patiently for him to explain what had caused him to get so uncharacteristically melancholy.

"Well, ever since I was a kid, everyone's been expecting me to be just like Nick and I'm getting sick of it. They're always saying things like: oh, why can't you be more like your little brother? or Nick would never be so irresponsible. It's all I hear all the time and I can't stand it. It's like if I try to be myself, everyone starts going on about how great Nick is and how I'll always be second-best. Just once, I want someone to see me for who I am, not who everyone wants me to be." He finished, looking at her and she knew that it had taken a lot for him to admit his worries. She had never really considered that Toby may not always be the optimistic, happy-go-lucky member of the group. In fact, as she thought about it, she realized that it was probably a front he put on to hide his insecurity about everyone wanting him to be like his brother.

"I don't want you to be like Nick." she began quietly. "If you were, I never would have fallen for you. I-" She found herself being cut off as he kissed her gently, one of his hands around her waist holding her closer and the other cupping her face. She knew she had a soft spot for him but she hadn't known that he had one for her too.

As they broke apart, she said, "That was my first kiss, you know. And it was perfect, in the rain like I'd always dreamed."It was true. Every time she had dreamt of having her first kiss, she had always dreamt of having it in the rain.

"I've wanted to do that for nearly a year."he confessed. "I've had feelings for you for a while. You're witty, strong, courageous, kind and beautiful. You're the most perfect girl I know, and I know this sounds stupid but this isn't just a crush, Jess. I love you."

"I love you too. You're perfect the way you are, Toby. I don't think I would harbor the same attraction for you if you were more like Nick. I fell for you because you're brave, optimistic, handsome, caring and perceptive. You're the perfect boy for me and I don't know why it took me so long to see that."

They held each other as the rain continued to fall. Jessica knew that their new relationship would bring lots of memories she would always treasure. For the moment, however, she just wanted to treasure this very first moment between them, their very first kiss. It was a moment they would both always remember.