Are You Here?

Chapter Three

"I am really glad I saw you here." Christian said, shifting nervously.

"Thank you, I think." Rain joked. Christian didn't seem to get it, and in fact looked more nervous than he did before.

"I just wanted to say that..." He trailed off. Rain's heart beat fast in her chest, as she anticipated his next words.

"Yes?" She whispered.

"I....I really hate you." He said, blushing.

"What?" Rain said, pulling away. "Excuse me?"

"I really love you." Christian repeated, his hazel eyes shining with a mixture of hurt and surprise. "I do, and I cannot hold it in any longer."

Rain frowned in disbelief. It was as if he had no idea that he said that he just hated her. It was as if he had just said 'I love you' the entire time. It made her brain hurt. Her life was perfect, yet here she was, with mistakes. Nobody hates her! Nobody! Nobody plays jokes on her! Her life had no mistakes!

"What is with you today?" Rain exploded. Her head hurt, and she felt dizzy. Too many things had gone wrong today. Two bad things had happened in the same day! Christian looked horrified.

"I don't know! I'm so sorry! I did not mean to upset you!" He cried. Rain just shook her head, too confused at the powerful emotion that had overcome her. Rain had never felt such emotion before and she wondered if anyone else in Syre felt it too. It was awful. Gross, salty tasting liquid leaked out of her eyes. She stared at it on her hands, repulsed and curious at the same time. Christian reached out to touch her, another mistake on his part. Rain's head snapped up, as she suddenly broke out of her zombie-like trance. She glared at Christian, the one who had started these bad things and began to sprint away.

She wanted to be anywhere but in her small, little city. She stopped short. Where could she go, anyway? For the first time in her entire life, she realized that she didn't know anywhere else to go. Is there anywhere else to go? She wondered. The gross liquid that had been steadily falling from her eyes had stopped, but had somehow left her completely breathless and gasping. She sank to her

knees, feeling completely numb. What was happening to her? Was she dying? The thought startled Rain. Dying. She thought. What was that? The word just had somehow popped into her brain, like it had been there all along. The word scared her. Whatever it meant, it carried a lot more of that watery feeling that she had felt. Rain attempted to push the word out of her mind but it lingered there. She moaned as another wave of the emotion washed over her, and she placed her head in her hands. Suddenly, she heard footsteps walking up the path behind her.