Hey Monday

r a i n i n g

-ellen-

Usually when you dance with a boy and then kiss him right on the lips, it's strange between the two of you for awhile. Forced and awkward.

But it wasn't like that with Noah. We just went on happily, pretending that the kiss had never happened. Personally, I still didn't want to pursue anything with Noah. I didn't think he liked me anyway- he just liked the idea of being in love, and I was the only girl available. That's what I told myself, anyway.

It was two days after I had officially turned eighteen, and we were in Idaho. Land of many potatoes.

"You know, number sixteen on my list is eat raw potatoes in Idaho," I mentioned to Noah, looking at my bucket list . I had let him see it last night, and he had made some pretty good suggestions as well.

"I don't think that potatoes are meant to be eaten raw," Noah said slowly. "But whatever. YOLO, I guess."

"Ugh, please never say that again," I spat, setting my list down. "YOLO is just something that stupid people use to justify their dumb actions."

Noah shrugged. "Okay then."

He was such a go-with-the-flow sort of guy, and that made him perfect to be my best friend and road trip partner, because I was a stubborn person.

"Come up here and listen to number three on the mix while we get a little deeper into Idaho," Noah said, patting the seat next to him.

I walked up there and sat next to him, then waited for the song to begin.

Some sort of electronic intro began. "Is this Owl City?" I asked.

Noah shook his head. "It's Summertime's End. Not that well known."

As I listened to the song, I smiled harder and harder. It was about succinct compliments, and it was such an adorable thing. I saw Noah bobbing his head to the beat, and I joined in, listening to this guy sing about cute girls with good hair and pretty eyes.

I replayed the song a few times until I had memorized it.

"Okay, this song is getting super annoying now," said Noah around the eighth loop. "As sweet as it is, it's pretty much drilled into my brain."

I laughed and turned it off, then headed to the back to make some lunch for us. I slapped together some rather insipid sandwiches and stuck two straws into a couple of juice boxes, then brought them to the front on paper plates.

"Here's your lunch, captain," I told Noah as I set the food in front of him.

"What kind of sandwich?"

"Ham and cheese, eat it or starve," I said sweetly.

Noah took a large bite of his sandwich and nodded. "Good."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks." The single word was full of ice and venom.

"Jesus, what's your deal? Girls freak me out."

I was about to reply with one of my many sassy comebacks- there was actually a word for them, my family called it being Ellen'd. But then it started to rain.

Rain was so special and so precious to me. I did my best thinking in the rain, my best art, my best anything. It inspired me. So when it rains, you leave me the hell alone. Noah understood that, but he didn't always accept it.

So when I went to the back bedrooom to write, he pulled over and followed me.

"Noah?" I asked, looking up from my perch on the bed. "Why are you not driving?"