Chasing a New Sunrise

Chapter 3

I'm going to miss the smell of summer rain once fall is upon us, I have the window partially cracked open so that the smell fills my room. A low rumble of thunder shakes the apartment walls, and the sound is comforting, reminding me of home. Even if things weren't so good at the end, Tulsa will forever be my home. Maybe one day we'll be able to go back when things calm down, but for now this small little town in a hidden corner of New York is my home.

A light breeze blows in causing the curtains to ripple like ocean waves. I throw the covers off as a flash of lightning lights up my entire room, and the thunder follows seconds later. Storms in Tulsa were always pretty intense, and hearing the storm roll in made me feel good.

I step out into the hallway, the apartment is dark since mom had gone to bed hours ago. It's just after two in the morning and I'm having trouble sleeping. As I reach the front door another flash of light descends from the clouds above, and when the thunder rumbles I can feel it in my chest. I open the door and step outside being covered by an overhang.

I lean over the rail unafraid of the possibility of lightning hitting the metal and watch the rain fall to the ground in large chunky drops. Lightning flashes again cutting out crazy zig zags in the dark night sky. I love watching it dance from one cloud to another, sometimes reaching down to touch the earth.

"Guess I was right about you being a bit of a storm chaser, huh?"

The sound of Ethan's voice in the dark of the night makes me jump. I wasn't expecting anyone else to be out here this early. School starts in a few hours and the two of us should probably be asleep.

I chuckle, "You caught me."

I glance over and he's got an insanely cute lazy smile on his freckled face.

"How'd everything go with moving in the rest of your things?"

Ethan climbs the stairs and comes to stand next to me.

"It went good, it was nice to not have to sleep on the floor tonight, although as you can see I'm not really sleeping anyway."

He looks up at the wall of water cascading down from the gutters.

"Gutters are full. The last super refused to get anyone to clean them. He claimed they cleaned themselves."

I chuckle, "I'll let my mom know, maybe she can find someone to clear it up."

"Did you go back to the party after you walked me home?" I ask.

After my run in with Angela and the weird moment I had with Levi I found Ethan to tell him I was tired and thinking of heading home. He offered right away to walk me home so that I didn't have to find my way in the dark.

"Nah. I had some binge watching to catch up on," he chuckles, as a rumble of thunder drowns out his laughter.

"Anything good?"

I lean over the rail allowing some of the rain to wet my hair.

"The 100," he says.

I pull back with a smile,"one of my favorites."

He turns to me, "please tell me you're not a Bellarke shipper?

He sounds like a fangirl ready to fight me if he finds out that I am. There's a huge feud in the fandom as to weather or not two of the characters should get together.

I clench my teeth and shrug, "Guilty as charged."

He chuckles, "Clexa is where it's at," he says.

"But she just left her standing there like their relationship meant nothing. I'm sorry, but I can't forgive her for that."

He rests a hand on the rail of the stairs and looks over with a playful smirk. Talking to Ethan is nice. His company feels oddly familiar, like I've known him forever, but it's only been less than two days.

"You should probably get some rest for your big day tomorrow."

"Sleep is for the weak," I say jokingly, even though I can feel the heaviness trying to force my eyelids shut.

Ethan chuckles.

"So why are you out here?" I ask.

He spins and leans his backside against the rail.

"First day jitters," he confesses.

I raise a brow, "Jitters? You?"

His laughter fills the space around us, "Why does that surprise you?"

I close the space between us and lean against the rail. I continue facing out into the storm allowing the rain drops to dance along my skin. I stick out my tongue, and he lets out a small laugh while shaking his head.

"I don't know, you just seemed so confident and cocky when I met you the other day."

He snorts, "Was that your first impression? I was going for - charming."

I shake my head and offer a playful smile, "Charming, huh? Is that what they like to call charming nowadays?"

"I think you're going to fit right in here," he says.

Another rumble falls over us, and a flash shines so bright it almost blinds us both.

"One Mississippi, two mississippi, three...."

"Are you really counting to see how close it is?" I laugh.

"I saw it on the internet," he chuckles.

"My dad and I used to do it whenever a storm would roll in. Sometimes it was the only way for me to not feel scared during a storm."

The wind kicks up causing me to shiver.

"We should probably get some sleep," he says. "Are you taking the bus?"

I sigh, "Seems so, no extra car."

"You want a ride? It's not a mustang or anything like Levi has, but the old girl gets me around," he says, glancing over quickly, then back out at the fading rain.

I'm taken back when he mentions Levi and his fancy sports car. I wonder if Levi is not as good of a friend as it seems. There is definitely something going on between the two, but maybe Ethan is just too good of a friend to do anything about it.

I think about his offer, it would be much nicer than to have to cram onto a bus of people I don't even know.

"I'll talk to my mom. I'd feel bad making you do that though, like I'm using you for....

"It wouldn't be using..." he cuts in. "I offered."

I was so caught up in our chat I hadn't realized that even though we are both facing opposite directions our arms are slightly touching. I don't notice until he pulls away just slightly enough for a cold breeze to pass through.

"Right. Okay, I'll ask her. Thanks."

His eyes meet mine and his lip curls up, "I'll see you in the morning, 6:45 okay?"

I nod, "Yeah, see you in the ... in a couple of hours," I laugh.

His smile lights up his face, "I'll see you in a few hours," he says.