A/N: Hey guys! Short chapter,sorry. But the next one is coming soon! Enjoy!

The gruesome plummeting of rain on Molching's streets did do some advantages after all. The weary weather may have brought people to sorrow or young children to tears, but the dirt from the shoes of children playing with the football slowly washed away compiling with each another at the ends of the street. So rain after all, was just a free clean up job.

And for those, like Rudy Steiner, who are smart enough to take advantage, it was a free shower.

To be clear, he did not dance in the rain naked with a bar of soap in one hand, but rather he slowly trudged along the puddles not bothering to step around them. And people argued that it is rather uncommon for someone who excelled in school and athletics to lack common sense, but Rudy was the perfect counter argument.

Maybe the greater being created him as an example of what not to be. He might as well have stuck a sign on to Rudy's back so it would be clear.

When Rudy reached the large door of the mayor's home, his knuckles were too cold to knock and yelling was not a polite way to ask someone if you could enter their home.

So he used his palms to bang on the door.

The door disappeared revealing an unhappy Ilsa Hermann who scanned Rudy from head to toe as if he were insane.

She shook her head. "It's quite extraordinary to see what you would do for Liesel," she said glancing at the rain.

Rudy shivered. "Believe me, I question it myself."

Rudy waited outside the door wondering when Ilsa would permit him inside her home. And as if she read his mind, she said shaking her head, "I can't let you in."

"I know I'm really wet –"

"No," she said softly to him. "I saw you last night." She looked around her cautiously, as if she did not want anyone eavesdropping. "Why were you sleeping on the door step?" she demanded.

Rudy went pale and searched for words. "Oh," he said as if he suddenly remembered. "You saw me?"

Ilsa cocked an eyebrow. "Don't play dumb with me, Herr Steiner. It is my home. You're quite lucky Liesel didn't see you."

Rudy swallowed and lowered his eye contact. "Right."

"If you had consumed alcohol –"

Rudy's jaw dropped. "No!" he exclaimed. "No, Frau Hermann I had not. I would never-"

"Then what were you doing on my front step sleeping when you had a home to go to?" Ilsa insisted.

Rudy sighed and pulled of his hood. The rain got louder behind him. "Liesel and I had got into a fight," he admitted.

Ilsa crossed her arms. "So you came here in the middle of the night to apologize?"

Rudy nodded, knowing that Ilsa did not know she had snuck out. "I couldn't sleep without apologizing and by the time I got here, I was so tired I just fell asleep. I left in the morning and decided to come back later."

Ilsa stared at Rudy, deciding whether his story was credible or not. She felt some tension between Liesel and Rudy but she could not place her finger on it.

She stepped aside from the door, the wind blowing into her home. "You may enter," she announced. "But I don't know if Liesel would have done the same."

Liesel's door being closed already made Rudy felt like he was violating personal space. But Rudy knew that he had created that empty room filled with tension and hurt. He placed his hand on the metal knob and as every second went by, it was harder to turn.

He placed his lips closed to the door. "Liesel?" he croaked quietly.

Silence.

He focused his eyes to peer through the tiny gap between the door and the wall. He couldnt see much at all. He placed his lips next to the door and called out to her again. "Liesel?" he said a little louder and with much more confidence in his voice. He hesitated. "Can I come in?" '

Without the slightest of thought, Rudy turned the door knob and stumbled in to her room. It was fairly neat. The small table next to the window. The bed perpendicular to the furthest first thing he noticed was the scent. Lemon. Just like Liesel had always smelled. And as he glanced around, questioning if she even was inside, he saw the most beautiful girl standing right in front of him. Her blonde hair brushed across her shoulders and her blue eyes clear as a summer sky. But her face told a different story. Her mouth curved into a sneer and her nose wrinkled with disgust. And though that sight was as horrifying as it seemed, what truly scared Rudy was the broom stick in her right hand and her standing position, as if she were ready to attack.

Rudy's fear melted throughout his body. "Did you think I was an intruder?"

Liesel's lips quivered. The broom still in place. "No," she whispered, venom prominent in her tone. "I knew it was you."

Rudy shrugged. His shoulders lightened. "So are you going to attack me or just stand there?"

A horrifying expression washed upon Liesel's face. She slowly moved the blunt side of the broom to Rudy's leg, as she was just going to gently attack him. A smile crossed Rudy's face and he reached out his arm to stop it from hitting him when at that same moment, Liesel slammed the broom onto his right thigh roughly.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" Rudy cried out. His face turned a bright red and he clenched his teeth together. "What the hell were you thinking, Saumensch?!"

Liesel licked her lips, her expression motionless as a rock. She placed the broom by her windowsill and glared out the window.

Rudy still in pain, limped his to the wall and leaned against it for support.

"I understood why you did that," he managed to get out of clenched teeth. He took a moment to catch his breath. The spot where Liesel had hit him was now a bright red. He looked back at Liesel, who was aimlessly staring at the wall. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "For everything I said. For everything I did before that."

Liesel looked back at him with tears clinging to her eyes.

The spot in Rudy's leg started to burn. "Liesel," he begged. I really am sorry," he said softly. " I could never-" he shook his head not knowing what to say. " I just don't want to lose you," admitted Rudy.

And maybe because it was the first time she had ever heard that, or maybe because she had not thought he would come back. But when Liesel rushed into his arms and clung on to him, she had all the comfort in the world she needed and ever wanted.

A/N: More coming soon, I promise. I'm updating really slow because I'm still trying to finalize the ending. But, did you like the chapter? Review please! And P.M. me if you'd like!

- Emma