“probably something totally tragic.” chloe stood with her hands on her hips and looked down her nose at the girl on the ground. it was one of theo’s greatest mysteries. if she ever figured out what she did to make the girl despise her, she’d be a better detective than batman. her mom had always said that some girls were just born mean, but theo didn’t believe that.

“no, I-”

“I don’t think so chloe. it looks like a love note.” vince laughed as he read theo’s hastily scribbled script. “it says something about dark eyes.”

“could you please-”

“dark eyes?” chloe basically cackled the words. “ooh la la. do tell more.”

“-and dimples!”

theo could feel the heat crawling up her neck and into her cheeks and ears. the hot embarrassment making her mind almost completely blank. they were laughing at her. “vince, stop!” she lunged out and reached for her journal, but the much larger boy had quicker reflexes and kept it well out of her reach. he turned to take a few steps away from theo who was still ready to grab for her writings again and ran directly into another person.

“don’t you two have something better to do than give your best impression of b-list teen movie villains?”

it seemed as though elyas came out of nowhere. he was two years older than theo, and his presence only ensured that her face flushed even redder than it had been previously. most people considered him to be a bit of a wild card.

“c’mon, we’re just having a bit of fun.” vince replied with a roll of his eye, but didn’t bother to even look back at theo, much less return her book.

“she doesn’t look like she’s having fun.” elyas looked over and met her eyes. he quirked a eyebrow up and asked. “are you having fun?”

her tongue suddenly forgot how to make syllables. “I- well, uh. you see, it’s... uhm, no. no. I’m not having fun.” theo managed to stammer out as she shook her head from side to side. she just wanted her journal back and to get out of the spotlight as soon as possible. thunder rolled through the distant sky.

“from the mouths of babes-” elyas shrugged and held out his hand expectantly. “so let’s make this easier for everyone and hand over her book, okay?”

it all happened very quickly following that. vince scoffed. “make me.” that was a sentence that never went over very well. elyas reached out and grabbed ahold of the journal. vince didn’t let go. elyas leaned forward and headbutted vince. theo gasped loudly. vince drew back to hit elyas, but chloe grabbed his arm first. chloe took the journal and tossed it into a puddle. the bell rang. vince was pulled away from the entire affair by chloe who promptly called both elyas and theo freaks over her shoulder. a steady rain began falling.

as the raindrops began to hit her cheek, theo glanced at the sky. it was ominously dark. it took almost no time at all for the sky to fall out on top of them. it went from a sprinkle to a deluge in moments. theo made a beeline for the nearest covering. elyas had enough forethought to snatch the journal off the ground before doing the same.

“I’m so sor-” “do you think it’s salvageable?” elyas cut off theo’s apology to hand finally hand back her journal. one look at the sopping wet book of paper was enough to tell theo that it wasn’t. that journal was officially dead to her. she exhaled solemnly. everything inside was likely ruined too. “uh, maybe. I’ll have to put it under a hair dryer when I get home.” theo accepted the journal from him and tucked it inside of her bag. “by the way, I’m really sor-” “do you have a ride coming?”

elyas nodded back towards the lined cars prepared to pick up students. “what?” theo asked, a bit confused.

“is your dad coming to get you?” he repeated, a faint light of amusement in his eyes.

“uh... no. I actually walk home.” although it was beginning to get too cold to do that. her walk to school was short, but she still managed to get numb fingers before reaching her destination in this weather. they both looked out at the now wall of rain. “you know, usually.”

elyas picked up an umbrella from where it was resting next to the awning post. “I’ll walk you.” he offered. theo instantly shook her head.

“oh no, that’s okay. you don’t have to.” he’d wasted enough of his day on her. surely he had better things to do than walk her back home. instead of leaving, however, he furrowed his brows and noted her obvious lack of umbrella.

“unless you plan on swimming home instead?” he asked. theo shook her head as the umbrella opened. “come on.” it was said with such finality that theo didn’t dare to say no again. it seemed like his mind was made up on the matter.

they walked in silence for a while. the only sound was the steady rain hitting the top of the umbrella and footsteps on the wet pavement. theo racked her brain for something to talk about, but for once in her life there was absolutely nothing that came to mind. she kept her eyes trained on the ground in front of her. because if she couldn’t manage to hold a conversation, she could focus on not tripping over her own two feet at the very least.

“I-”

“so-”

they both stepped over each others words. theo winced. “you go first.” she insisted.

“I was just going to say that I heard about your mom.” he shrugged and looked up into her eyes. you could tell there was a recognition there. the sort of sadness only understood by those who had seen that sort of loss. “I’m sorry.”

the back of his hand brush against hers as they turned the corner down the street she lived on. elyas flexed his hand and quickly moved it to rest on the back of his neck. theo squeezed her own hand shut. “and you shouldn’t listen to what those guys back there say. they’re all cookie cutters anyway.” the statement felt a bit tacked on like he realized that perhaps she wasn’t ready to talk about her mom yet. it was an easy out, and honestly, she was thankful.

“you shouldn’t either.” theo said, smiling quietly as thunder rolled again in the distance. she wondered when these storms were going to end.

“huh?”

“you shouldn’t listen to them either. you’re really nice.” she wanted to offer to let her dad drive him home once they reached her house, but there was no telling what sort of state he would be in. if the last few days were any indication, it would not be a state capable of operating large machinery like his car. “I can make it from here. you should head home. it’s supposed to get really cold tonight.” theo said, hoping that neither of them woke up with a fever tomorrow.