Chapter 9/Maya POV.

The rain poured down as I tried to retreat further back into the wall, without much success. My clothes were soaked, and even my sneakers were wet, the coldness of the water seeping through my socks and finding my toes. I hugged my knees closer to my body as I shivered once again. I had only been sitting in the rain for a few minutes, but it was a heavy downpour that I was braving, and my stubbornness wasn't helping anything. I could get up at any time and re-enter his house, saving myself from the rain and the illness that was sure to follow, but I forced myself to sit there in order to prove a point to myself. I wanted to prove that I didn't care that I was being stupid and that I was risking possible hypothermia by staying outside in this weather. I wanted to prove that I could take care of myself and that I didn't care what people thought of me. Deep down I knew that there was actually no point in what I was doing; the only person who would witness this would be my mother. I hung my head into the gap between my knees, allowing the rain to trickle into my hair and down my neck, catching my lower back which was the only dry spot I had left. I blocked my ears from the thunder and the endless throbbing of the rain with my knees and shut my eyes, allowing myself to think properly. For some reason my personality had decided to force myself into sitting in the rain with nothing but my thoughts and memories. I realised why I was doing this; it was as if I wanted to cleanse myself from the sudden feelings that I had for Lucas.

How could one kiss change my perception of a person so easily? It wasn't a picture perfect kiss, but it wasn't half bad either. I felt something, and I thought that he might have also. But the fact still remained that we had only kissed each other to make Ryan jealous, I didn't expect that I would have liked it so much though, and as a result I knew I was merely complicating things.

"Lucas likes Riley…he likes Riley!" I muttered to myself as I rocked backwards and forwards, trying to keep warm. I couldn't complicate the friendship that the three of us had formed. If I admitted that I had feelings for Lucas, it would ruin everything. Lucas would reject me because he liked Riley, Riley would be furious and heartbroken that we kissed, I would be humiliated, and the friendship would never be the same again. I wasn't even sure whether I really had feelings for Lucas; I thought that it could have been the excitement around my first kiss but I knew myself better than anyone, and I knew that wasn't the case. A car passed by and I squinted her eyes to see if it was my mother, with no such luck.

I heard someone trudging through the rain towards me, and I looked up, ready to shrug off the person who was probably going to ask me why I was sitting out in the rain. As I looked up the bright light which sat over the entrance to Lucas's house blinded me briefly, and all I was able to make out was the silhouette of someone bringing an umbrella over my head. The respite I felt as the raindrops stopped hitting me was indescribable, and I peered my eyes in order to see who my temporary saviour was.

"You okay Maya?" I heard the figure say. I caught my breath as I realised who it was.

"Lucas!?" I questioned. I stood up abruptly, knocking my head into the umbrella that was extended over me, "what are you doing down here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Lucas argued.

'I…I…um…" I mumbled, looking for the appropriate excuse while Lucas lifted the umbrella higher so that my head wasn't stuck within it. He held it away from himself, resulting in him getting wet instead of me, and this noble action didn't go unnoticed by me.

"I'm waiting for my mum," I finally answered him.

"Out here?" Lucas questioned, looking around the area for dramatic effect. "You do know that I have a perfectly dry house for you to wait in?" He was making fun of me, and my quick temper flared at his words and the mischievous grin that was plastered across his face.

"What makes you think I would ever come knocking on your door? I don't need help Lucas I'm just fine here by myself."

"Okay sorry. Why did you leave without telling us?"

"Uh I had better things to do than go and watch a pointless movie. Mind your own business dork," I responded snappily.

I left the cover of the umbrella as I spoke, and settled myself back against the wall with my arms folded, refusing to allow Lucas to help. I turned my face away from him, looking at the street and subconsciously begging my mum to hurry up and pick me up. I couldn't stand another minute with Lucas; not because he was irritating me, even though he was, but because he was being charming, it made it difficult to forget about my new-found feelings.

Lucas stepped forward, coming closer to me, and I shifted away, sliding down the wall and sitting down. Lucas took a seat next to me, and closed his umbrella.

"What are you doing?" I asked him in surprise when I noticed that he was sitting in the rain with me, already drenched like I was.

"You want to sit in the rain? That is sure fine with me; I'm not going to leave you to sit out here by yourself, and since you won't join me under the umbrella I decided I'd join you in the rain." I stared at him in surprise, closing my mouth again when I realised I had nothing to say. I looked away, and stared at the cars roaring past. I let out a slight humph of disapproval, and continued to try and ignore him. We sat in silence, merely staring at the street. I had already been sitting out there for nearly ten minutes before Lucas came, so the cold was affecting me much faster in comparison to Lucas. I shivered, but refused to say anything or even look at Lucas as the two of us braved the storm together.