CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE;

Though rainy days bring a sense of coziness, a sudden downpour when you don't have an umbrella with you isn't pleasing.

You barely watch the news anymore, since you spend your time on your phone or laptop more often than not, and who the hell checks the weather forecast? 

You were on your way to the train station when the clouds darkened abruptly, only a few minutes in, the heavy raindrops pelted from the sky.

Your bag was tucked inside your blouse with your blazer wrapped around it, your hair and upper torso were drenched, and your socks were stained with mud.

A breath of relief escapes your lips at the sight of a waiting shed nearby. As soon as you were able to take shelter from the rain, you took your phone from your bag— only to be left in distress to discover that it died.

You were going to ask your dad to come fetch you because the rain didn't look like it would calm down soon.

"You've got to be kidding me," you scoff at Rin who was equally as drenched as you.

He glares at you before pushing his damp hair back, revealing his creased forehead. "Trust me I don't want to be stuck here with you either," he mutters, his voice dripping with sarcasm, placing his wet blazer on the bench along with his bag.

His uniform clung to his skin, he took his shoes off and pulled his socks out. You press your lips into a thin line, looking away.

The silence between the two of you crept in and stretched on, thick and awkward. You expected there'd be some sort of small talk, since you were both familiar with each other. 

You tried to ignore it, glancing out at the relentless downpour, wishing for it to stop soon.

But it doesn't, the wind had grown stronger carrying the droplets with it. You shift slightly, your wet clothes sticking to your skin.

It was cold now, too cold.

Rin, sensing your frustration, huffs and moves in front of you, his shoes squelching with every step he made. Finally, he breaks the silence, "I wasn't expecting it to rain today either," 

You raise a brow at him, quite surprised at his initiation. He even blocked the rain from reaching you, "Yeah, I should've listened to my mom to always bring an umbrella," you answer. He grunts, agreeing, but doesn't know how to proceed with the conversation.

Your eyes stare at his back, the fabric of his uniform translucent from the rain. The contours of his muscles, his shoulder blades, the curve of his spine, all of which were faintly visible. You shyly look up, his drenched hair stuck on the sides of his face as droplets trickle down his neck.

"But who needs an umbrella when I have the great Itoshi Rin to shield me?" you grin, he flinches at your remark and slightly moves to the side, looking down at you.

"Fine, get drenched-" you pull him back to where he was a second ago, in front of you.

The returning silence was accompanied by the rain pounding against the roof, the tension still lingered but it was no longer uncomfortable. The moment hangs there, until his phone rang.

You slowly turn to glance at him again, his phone was pressed against his ear, "Hello, Dad......Yes, I'm at a shed......No it's not far from school.........Alright, I'll wait for you."

Seems like you won't be stranded here with him for long, but you felt uneasy since you'd be left alone. A few minutes later, a car stops in front of the both of you, the window by the driver's seat rolled down.

"You good, son?" a carbon copy of Itoshi Rin- but with wrinkles, a mustache, and the absence of long under lashes. 

Rin nods curtly and opens the door to the backseat, he looks at you, "Get in."

Your eyes widen and then you gaze at his dad, who gave you a small smile. You shyly stepped inside and stared at Rin, who went back to the benches to fetch your bags and blazers. He then takes a seat beside you.

"Let's go?" his dad asks, eyes glancing from the rear-view mirror, you nod at him eagerly, feeling a bit geeked out that you had met his dad- and you're now in his car. You didn't know if it was because you were thankful for being able to get a ride home- or it was something else.

You move closer to the window, lips buried into your palm. "Here, dry yourselves." his dad throws Rin two towels, and he offers you one.

"Thanks," you mutter to him, he deadpans in return.

"Is this a friend of yours, Rin?" his dad questions.

"No," he gazes at you, "Just a classmate."

"Just a classmate, huh." Mr. Itoshi now focused on the road, a small smile making its way to his lips.

The traffic was worse than normal because of the rain, you were worried your mom was starting to get anxious since there were no updates from you. "Mr. Itoshi, can I make a call from your phone? Mine's dead and my mom might feel worried," you politely ask.

He chuckles and hands you his phone, you bashfully dial your mom's number while thanking the man. You were right, both your parents were worried sick, you informed them about your current situation, and they have seemed to calm down over the phone.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Itoshi." you say, giving his phone back. He was humming to some song playing on the radio.

You lean back to your seat, Rin was checking his things in his bag, which reminded you, "Remember the game you told me about?" you ask.

"What about it?" 

You rummaged through your bag and pulled out the still-sealed horror game disc, "Here, you enjoy horror games right?" The cover page of the plastic container was familiar, it had the words Last Breath on it, adorned with blood and scratches. 

Rin had bought it last Sunday.

His eyes linger on it, before he meets yours, he wasn't sure if he was going to inform you that he already had the exact same game at home.

"Yeah," -yet he still takes it from you, "Thanks."

And somehow, you can both feel that the storm inside, the one that's always been there when it comes to you two, might just start to clear up.

Hi! Vivienne here,

I've been reading a lot of comments and there's this one I wanted to respond to in particular:

Since I want the readers to visualize the things I write about, here's a little help:

ok wtf he still looks the same (attractive and handsome😍) why do i even bother.🤬🤬🙏🙏🙏😡😡😡

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, mwa!