Have You Ever Seen The Rain? (Tate Langdon Fanfiction)

Don't worry - chapter 9

Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

***

"My parents were doing something else, they weren't paying attention to me. So i grabbed the surfboard and went into the water. Keep in mind that i didn't know how to really swim. I knew that i would drown but i was so fucking excited and obviously stupid. This big wave came and i was like 'this is my chance' so i manage to stand up on the surfboard and the minute the wave came i fell into the water. I was screaming and shit and I'm not going to lie but i was thinking 'this is it, I'm going to die'. So i keep trying to make it to the shore but i had no chance of doing so. Then everything went black. I thought that it lasted for eternity but it was only for 20 seconds. My dad came and saved me and my mom did some CPR and i came back from the dead. My mom grounded me for a week but it was fine."

"You love the ocean so much, but it almost killed you?" Tate asks.

"Yeah. I learned how to swim by the way. I was 5. Even though I almost drowned, I didn't care at that age. The next day i was back on my feet and ready to go play in the park like nothing happened." I respond and bring my cigarette between my lips.

"If we're talking about shitty experiences as a kid, then i have one too. I climbed a tree once because i saw a bird's nest and i wanted to see if there were any baby birds. I eventually fell from the tree and cracked my head open. There was blood everywhere and it hurt terribly."

"Why did you want to see baby birds?"

"First of all, who doesn't want to see baby birds? Second of all, i didn't believe that birds laid eggs, so i wanted to see for myself. I was stupid."

"What?!" I laugh at his explanation.

"I was very paranoid. I thought eggs came from sheep and cows, like milk."

I laugh once more as the conversation dies down.

We are sitting on a railing on his front porch, facing the gate that is surrounding the garden and blocking our view.

I am dangling my feet slightly while smoking and running my hand through my hair to get it out of my face. The wind is chilly. The sky is grey as always, but everyone is hoping that the rain finally stopped once and for all. It left some destruction behind. The grass is always soaked and some roads are flooded, blocking the traffic. As much as i like this type of weather, i miss seeing the sun. Getting your clothes wet every time you take the trash out isn't pleasant.

"How do you see yourself in a few years?" I ask and turn my head to look at him.

"I've no idea." He responds and returns the eye contact.

"You don't know what you want to do after high school?"

"Not really. I don't have any talents like you do. I don't like any subject in school. I can't say 'oh, I really love biology, that means I'll study medicine'. Or 'I like math, I'll study economy'. You don't know how lucky you are that you've discovered your passion. You can make a living out of it later on. But for me? I'm not good at anything." He shrugs.

"I don't want to make a living out of painting." I respond, looking straight forward.

"Why not?"

"I just...I don't want to make money out of it. You also need to be extremely lucky to get paid for being an artist."

"You're the most talented person I've ever met. You could be the next Picasso."

"I think Picasso became famous 100 years after he died or something like that."