𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 ( 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙡 )

𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮-𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

looking out for you

downpour. absolute downpour. i felt sorry that the sky had to hold in its pee for that long. the raindrops were desperate for the ground. and once some made it there, they were crushed by our flooded shoes as we ran. some didn't even make it, plopping onto the canopy of our umbrella and ricocheting into tiny liquid shards.

we certainly didn't need a speaker for this. i was a big fan of rain sounds for sleep, but the present torrent was doing the opposite of soothing. if i closed my eyes, which i dare not do because the lack of visibility was so perilous, i could have been directly under a waterfall.

we were a few blocks away from walker's by the time i realized how fearful i was. we had been wordlessly sprinting the streets. they were deserted and lined by streams. we had the whole town to ourselves basically, but i was confined to the underside of the umbrella. walker and i grabbed the handle tight, resisting the wind. i was regretting ever leaving his house.

then he spoke, more like yelling, to me, "which way do we go?"

i pointed right, vaguely making out the silhouette of our school which was a landmark on the way to walker's house. i experienced some misgivings knowing that meant just a few more blocks until i was home.

"beautiful weather today, eh?" i said sarcastically.

"the plants must be having a field day," said walker.

"that's one way of looking at it. a little ambitiously optimistic if you ask me."

"on a even more positive note, i think i saw mrs fennel book her flight for tonight."

i snorted when i laughed, so i was relieved when the rain was too loud. it apparently wanted to shut me up completely, though. a gust of wind sent a violent, chilling ton of rain in our direction. there was no molecule of flour left on my my shirt now. "ow."

many gusts bombarded us on the way to my house. and once i saw it, i picked up my pace against the wind's force. "wait!" said walker.

"that's my house," i cried.

he removed one hand from the pole and placed it on my back. "hold on. don't you have a camera?"

"oh... you're right." we stopped on the sidewalk under a neighbor's willow tree that was writhing in the storm. i tried my best to face him but my hair was akin to the branches.

"take the umbrella." he let go of the second hand, yet the one of my back was stationary. "you have to walk a few houses down and i don't want you getting rained on this close--"

"yeah and you have to walk all the way back to yours! i'm not about to let you do that," i argued. i grabbed his hand and they swapped places.

"come on, y/n. i'll give you the hoodie on monday and you give me the umbrella."

i was baffled as to what his reasoning was. "but-- why would you want to--"

"want to go out into the storm? i've been doing that for a long time."

"that's dangerous though!"

"i'll be fine," he said with a slight smile. he fully let go of the umbrella.

i was just wasting time. he wasn't going to budge and i was making matters worse with my excuse. "fine," i conceded.

my eyes never left his as he stepped out of the umbrella's shield. and even after he turned and started down the sidewalk, everything on him darkening by the second, i kept looking and wondering. i stood there under the umbrella, allowing the frigid air to seep inside of me.

i snapped myself out of it once he was as small as a raindrop in my vision and i was pointlessly staying behind. so i began to move my feet in the familiar direction. i knew each crack on the sidewalk well enough to know where to dodge absent-mindedly and let myself think more in the meantime. i was never done thinking, whether i liked it or not.

my thoughts ran faster than my legs. i reviewed the excuse i was about to make like it was almost my cue to go up on stage. right, it's the idea on the way down the block... line too long... giving up... going back home and getting soaked-- wait. i was supposed to be unprepared for the storm. i wasn't supposed to have the umbrella; that would contradict my alibi completely.

"walker!" i yelled out to the figure in the far distance. but my voice was drowned out. shit. if i didn't need this thing, he should have it. "walker, wait!" i ran after him now, trying to get close enough for him to hear me.

he was nearing the end of the block when i remembered the trick he gave me in the hidden hallway. if i was to pretend someone i'm scared of was chasing me, it wouldn't be walker holmes now. i was less scared of him now that i knew him more.

someone who i knew very little about, though, someone who i feared very much, was the one i'd never met, my own future self. she was a little old woman who could walk at the speed of a snail, the weight of her years being the shell. yet she still made me feel like i needed to run away from her. the idea of having someone always looming behind me was haunting. and i never wanted her to catch me.

it worked just fine. i got a few yards from walker in minutes, out of breath, but i didn't want to breathe in stormy air anyway. "walker!"

he spun around and met my eyes, which were just visible under the umbrella's brim. "what are you doing, y/n?"

"i can't take the umbrella," i explained, closing the gap between us so that he was under it too once more. "it'll give our plan away."

"crap. i didn't think about that." his hair was now an assortment of burnished, brown ringlets and he was shivering a bit.

"you need this more than me. take it," i said forcefully.

"this just happened except i was the one telling you to take the umbrella," he pointed out. "you must know how i feel. just take it with you and hide it or something, i don't know."

i gave him the handle anyway. "if i go back now it'll hurt both of us."

"okay," he hesitated. he stared at me for a moment and i stared back. "just be careful."

"of course. i've been doing that for a long time."

i took a few steps back and allowed raindrops to cascade onto my head. then i waved goodbye and left for home.

by the time i was under the porch, i was aggressively shivering. so much so that as i put my knuckles to the door, i didn't even need to knock -- they just moved for me.

mom opened it a second later. "oh my god! you had my worried sick!" she pulled me inside and wrapped her arms around me.

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thank you for reading chapter 29!