Drought :: C.H

6

The sky was dark with clouds that were threatening to spill over at any moment. The fire in the fireplace crackled softly, providing the only source of light in the room. Calum and Ryder were a tangled mess of bodies on the couch, snuggled up in blankets, and half-watching the fourth Harry Potter movie.

Ryder was laying on her side in front of Calum, her back pulled to his front. Calum had his arm around her waist and his feet tangled in hers. Every so often he would leave short soft kisses on the crown of her head and the back of her neck.

It had been about a month since Calum and Ryder had made their relationship "official," and Calum had never been happier. Sure, his friends made fun of him for being totally whipped, but Calum couldn't give less of a shit about them. Ryder had made his life so much better in so many ways in such a short amount of time. He loved being with her. He loved the way she laughed at him when he said or did something stupid, and he loved the way she would text him every morning to make sure he actually got out of bed and ready for school. He loved the way her arms wrapped perfectly around his waist when she hugged him, and how she always smelled like cinnamon and warmth.

Calum was totally whipped. But he totally loved it.

Calum's favorite thing to do with Ryder was exactly what they were doing now. Laying on Ryder's couch pretending to watch a movie, but really they were too wrapped up in each other to be paying much attention. Calum looked outside at the dark clouds covering the sun, giving the world a grey overtone. He shifted his body next to Ryder's.

"Babe," he nudged her with his shoulder as she turned around to face him.

"Hmm?"

Calum just looked at her for a second. God damn, she was absolutely beautiful. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips, which always tasted like her mint chapstick. Ryder giggled into their kiss.

"Did you make me turn around just so you could kiss me?" she said against his mouth. Calum laughed lightly and shook his head.

"Let's go for a walk babe," Calum suggested. Ryder raised her eyebrows, and took a glance out at the grey sky.

"Calum it's going to rain any minute now," she said, as if it wasn't obvious.

"Exactly!" Calum exclaimed, already moving to get off the couch.

"I love the rain," Calum continued, "Please baby... pretty please?" Calum was standing in front of the couch, a big childlike smile on his face and his hands outstretched.

Ryder sighed and shook her head at the boy. She knew she couldn't tell him no, not when he looked at her like that. Ryder's hands met Calum's and he pulled her up off the couch, grabbing his flannel off the floor and giving it to Ryder.

"It's cold out there," he muttered.

Ryder smiled to herself and tugged the flannel around her shoulders. They slipped on their shoes and walked outside, immediately being assaulted by the biting wind and chilled air. They walked along the sidewalk. Calum's arm wrapped around Ryder's waist, pulling her body into his side so she could be warm. They walked like that for a while, no cars, no other people, just the two of them and the rustling of leaves in the trees above their heads.

Just as the sky was beginning to darken and the streetlamps turned on, Ryder felt the first few droplets of rain hit her forehead. She looked up at the sky at the same time Calum did, the rain beginning to come down steadier. Soon, it was a downpour. The rain flooded the streets and the sidewalks. The streetlamps illuminated patches of the slick ground.

"Shit," Calum whispered, "Babe, we've got nowhere to go," he said, trying to hold in his laughter at their situation.

Ryder looked at the wet, empty streets, then back at Calum. All of a sudden, Ryder ran into the middle of the road, her arms spread wide like a bird and her head thrown up to face the rain. She spun around in circles, her hair and clothes getting drenched, her laughter emanating from her whole body.