Rainier's POV
I hadn't painted for a while, so when I finally did, I unleashed a torrent. It was a downpour of imagination and a little bit of stress. My dad always said we painted better when we were stressed or sad. In a way he was right.
My latest piece was abstract. It was just a bunch of colors floating this way and that way. I used bright and dark colors. I unlike my dad was able to finish a painting in a day. Of course he created masterpieces and I didn't.
When I finished I just looked at my painting. I didn't realize someone else was looking at it.
"Ravishing", it was dad's voice.
"R dad, R. RAvishing" that was Julie.
It was Saturday, late in the afternoon and I was in the studio. I had thought I was alone. Apparently there were two people looking at my painting. How had I not seen them, or even heard them enter?
I turned to them. Dad looked at Julie who was behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I am not American. Why should I sound like one?" dad said.
Julie loved correcting dad, especially on his r, which sounded like rgr.
"I don't really know why, but you should", Julie said attempting the French accent.
"I should take you to France for a year. That was terrible", dad said chuckling, to which Julie groaned.
"You need more than a year on that one. What are you guys even doing here?" I asked.
"Hey! I'll have you know I'm a fast learner. It's not like you can do any better", Julie said.
"Dad?" I said.
"Rain learned to walk before you, to speak before you, to...." Dad said but Julie interrupted.
"Whatever", she said removing her arms from dad's waist.
He pulled her to him. "I'm kidding Princesse. You are way better".
"He's lying to you, I said. By the way I asked you two a question", I said.
"It's my studio?" dad said.
"It's my dad's studio", Julie said.
"Excuse me, your section is over there", I said to dad, pointing to a curtained room.
Dad shrugged. "This whole room is mine", he said smugly.
"Your painting is beautiful, what were you thinking of?" Julie asked.
"Definitely not you two. I don't know, I just painted", I replied.
"It's definitely something to show off. What do you say we show it at the gallery tonight? I have an empty spot, and Julie tells me you are not doing anything tonight, so you can come and listen to people's comments anonymously", dad said.
"First things first, you don't show amateur stuff at the gallery. Second, this isn't even good enough to leave this room. Third, I am going somewhere tonight", I said.
Dad loved my work, but he had never gone as far as showing it, not to the public anyway. He knew how possessive and critical I was of it. The painting was okay, it definitely wasn't the best I'd done. That should tell you dad's intention was to get me out of the house. I liked going to the gallery -why he didn't just ask me to go with him, I don't know.
"Oh you are? Where? How come you didn't tell me?" Julie attacked me with questions.
"To the party", I said briefly, like it was no big deal.
"Oh, what changed your mind?" Julie asked.
I shrugged. "I just figured it might be fun".
I touched my painting with my finger, checking if it was dry.
Julie looked at me suspiciously. "Any reason why you didn't tell me?"
"Looks like I'm in the firing zone. I'll be in the kitchen helping your mom put out the fire she just started. Whoever makes it out of this alive, please don't lock my studio. I have yet to find spare keys", dad said.
He left shortly.
"So?" Julie enquired.
I shrugged. "I just made the decision like minutes ago. I do not fancy listening to people rave about paintings, or staring at the ceiling", I lied.
"It's great you are coming. So are you going with Jordan and I?" she asked.
"I would rather not. I'll probably leave early. I don't want to cramp your style. I'll use my car", I said.
"I would rather you go with us, but alright", Julie said. "As long as you are going. You are going to dilute all that crazy testosterone over there".
I lowered my eyes. "Julie, I'm still a guy. I have testosterone".
"I know. You have normal testosterone. Most guys have abnormal testosterone".
I gave a chuckle.
Hours later we went to eat upstairs. We showered afterwards and got ready for the party. I wore my black skinny jeans, a blue t-shirt covered by a baby blue hooded sweater and a grey beanie. I had a feeling of foreboding about the party as I dressed. I was only attending it because I had been dared to. Parties weren't my scene, not the kind Pete and his friends threw anyway. There was going to be a lot of drunken teenagers and rowdiness.
Jordan came to pick up Julie at 7pm. I told them I would meet them there but I was having second thoughts. What if Ryan ignored my presence? He hadn't meant anything by the dare. It was something he hadn't thought of. He'd wanted to make fun of me. It didn't matter to him if I accepted or not. It certainly wouldn't matter to him if I was there or not.
I sat on my bed and my hands went to my sneakers. I was going to take them off. There a knock on the door.
"Honey, we are leaving. Aren't you?" it was mom.
What? I thought mom was staying at home that night. When I decided to stay I thought I would be staying with her. No wonder dad had tried to get me out of the house. He knew I would be alone. I dreaded being alone.
I removed my hands from my shoe. "Uh yeah, I'm coming", I said.
It seemed like I was going to the party after all. I grabbed my car keys and went to the door. When I got out of the room mom was standing outside it.
She brushed my hair behind my ear, adjusting my beanie. "Look at you, you look handsome", she said.
"Mom, really?" I said, annoyed.
"What? Can't a mom pay her son a compliment?"
"No if he always looks like this", I said.
"You smell nice too by the way", she said ignoring my annoyance.
I started walking and she chuckled behind me.
My car was in the garage since I hadn't used it the whole week. I got to it and soon I was on the road leading to Pete's house. I thought about the party as I drove there. I didn't need Ryan to be there. I had friends. Jasmine, Jordan and Julie would be there. I could always make new friends. I wasn't a boring person, I thought anyway.
I got to the party a little after half-past 7. It was dark outside, made darker by the clouds that were hanging around. I parked my car on the side of the road. I got out after a few minutes, hoping to find my friends really soon. I made it to the house.
It was everything I imagined a party thrown by Pete would be. There were a sizeable number of people there. Some were on the lawn outside, drinking and talking. The main door was ajar. Music was blaring from inside. People were walking in and out chatting and yelling above the music. None of the people looked like Julie, Jasmine or Jordan. I went into the house. Beer was immediately shoved into my hand by a stranger. I declined, shaking my head. The person let go of the beer though, so I was left holding it. I realized it was half-full or half-empty, depending on how you looked at it. I could swear I had never seen the person. I put the beer on a small table.
People were dancing. Some were doing dancing styles I had never seen in my life.
"Welcome to Pete's humble abode. What is it going to be?" it was Pete. He seemed to be a little drunk.
"Uh, punch", I said.
"We are out of punch", he said.
"I've got this", I heard a voice that had come to be familiar to me.
Ryan came to my view. If I did mention that he looked sexy before, he definitely looked sexier. Maybe it was the lights that were clouding my judgment, or it could easily be the music. Ryan was wearing black jeans and a grey t-shirt with a v-neck. I could see some of his chest, not that I looked. His hair was parted on the side, pushing most of his hair to one side. He looked gorgeous, gorgeous enough to give me butterflies.
He handed me a bottle of beer.
I shook my head. "I don't drink".
"Why not Frenchie?" he asked.
"Because I hate the smell, the taste and the result", I said.
He looked at me for a while. "I'll be back", he said.
I debated whether to continue my search for my friends or wait. What if I just waited like a fool for a while and he didn't come back?
"Here", someone said, interrupting my thoughts.
It was Ryan. He was holding a plastic cup of what looked like cola in his hand.
I took it slowly. "Where did you get it?"
"In the fridge", he said simply.
"You..." I said chuckling but he interrupted.
"There's like dozens in there, he won't miss it", he said chuckling too. He had a bottle of beer in his hand.
"I would assume he'd lock it", I said.
He pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to me. It was keys, keys to the fridge I presumed.
"Ryan!" I said, but I couldn't keep a straight face.
"I'm going to return them. I was hungry and they were just lying there", he said.
I took a sip of my cola, feeling it safe to do so after moments of laughing.
"Were they just lying there?" I asked suspiciously.
"Okay, no. I had to look for them. Don't tell anyone", he said giving me his megawatt smile. The dimples shined in the light of the room.
I was about to unintentionally tell him he had the most beautiful smile in the world when someone called him. I thanked whoever that was and cursed them at the same time. They'd saved me from embarrassing myself and at the same time they were taking him away from me. I was enjoying talking to him.
He looked irritated, or it was just my imagination.
"I'll be back", he said.
I watched him leave. He used the side sliding door to go outside. It looked like there was a bonfire that side. I waited for a while, drinking my coke. I managed to finish it and he still hadn't come back. I sighed. I thought about where my friends would be. That time I didn't wait for Ryan, I decided to go look for them. I searched most of the living area but they weren't there.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I looked at the text message I had just received.
"Still coming, right?" it was Julie.
"I'm here. Where are you guys?" I typed and sent.
The reply was lightning fast. "Outside on the side, where there's a bonfire".
I put my phone in my pocket and headed where Julie said they were. I passed a couple making out, and a few other people. I spotted Ryan before I spotted my friends. He was standing next to a girl who had her hands around his waist. For a second I felt a stab in my... heart? Nah, it was my ego being bruised. Ryan obviously wasn't going to come back to me any time soon. I stopped walking.
"Rain, over here!" Jordan shouted.
I saw him, Jasmine and Julie. I walked over to them and said my greetings. We hung around for a while. Julie let me drink her punch. We danced to the music. Jordan and Julie started kissing. Feeling awkward, I left them. I had no idea where I was going, but was stopped by a voice.
"Rainier, right?"
I turned. The face was definitely familiar.
"Yes. You are...ummm..." I said, scrambling my brain for a name to match the face.
"Sebastian", he said softly.
"Right. Sebastian. I'm sorry", I said apologetically.
"It's okay, we've only talked a couple of times", he said.
Sebastian was a senior. If I remembered correctly, a gay senior. He was friends with a friend's cousin. That was how I'd met him. But I had foolishly forgotten his name. He was a good-looking nice guy with brown straight hair, a big head and the friendliest eyes I've ever seen. He was cute, which -being senior and all- was a term he didn't like.
"Yeah", I said.
If I thought I was at a loss for words, I had yet to think again.
"I know we haven't talked much, but you seem like a nice guy", he said.
"Thanks. You seem like a nice guy too".
"Wanna go out some time?"
My mind stopped working. I was shocked. Was the guy asking me out? Where was Julie when I needed her?
Sebastian looked so hopeful. I couldn't disappoint him.
"Uh, yeah. Why not?" I said.
He gave me a big smile. "Great. I've been summing up the courage to ask you. Can I have your numbers? Or you can have mine".
I gave him my numbers.
"How about Saturday night?" he asked tentatively.
I breathed loudly. "It sounds great, but we'll see. We'll talk", I said.
He nodded. There was a bit of silence.
"So what do you think of the party?" he asked.
"Uh, it's fine", I said. I wondered if he could hear the persistent shock in my voice.
"I don't really like these parties. They get rowdy sometimes", he said.
"Me neither. This is actually my first one", I said.
Sebastian and I talked for a few more minutes, but he had to go to his friends. I was glad about that. It wasn't that I didn't like his company; I still had to process what had just happened. He had asked me out and I had agreed. He'd caught me off-guard and I couldn't say no.
From what I knew about Sebastian, he was a good guy. He could potentially be the complete package. But was I ready for that? And besides what I thought of him, what did I feel for him?
I wasn't left on my own for long.
"I've been looking everywhere for you", came a voice.
I immediately tensed. "Oh yeah? You didn't look like you were looking when I passed you with some blonde. I couldn't possibly be sandwiched between her breast", I said angrily. Where the hell did that come from?
"Ouch!" he said.
"What do you want?" I couldn't back down.
"Right now I want to know why you are acting like a jealous girlfriend" he said.
I was taken aback. I felt like I had just been slapped. He was right. I had no right to be angry at him. I meant nothing to him. He wasn't there to babysit me. Everything he'd done for me was out of sheer goodwill. He didn't owe me.
"I am not acting like a jealous girlfriend. You made me wait. Why are you mad you didn't find me?"
"I am not mad. I am anything but mad!" he protested.
"Right. Is that your 'I'm chilled' voice?" I asked.
"Yeah. You know nothing about me to know what my chilled voice sounds like", he said.
The whole argument was giving me a headache.
"Well, it's nice to know. Anyway, I'm out of here", I said walking.
"Where are you going?" he asked behind me.
I continued walking. As I walked I sent Julie a message telling her I was leaving. I had been at the party for an hour and 30 minutes and that wasn't too shabby. I'd even gotten a date. I'd enjoyed bits and pieces of the party, but then I had a hammering headache. Julie didn't reply but I hoped she got the text or the FBI would be involved.
I got to my car and got in. I leaned on the steering wheel, feeling the pressure in my head.
"You've got a nice car".
Even though I had a headache I could still remember that voice. It belonged to the person I had just run away from.
I raised my head. "Did you follow me?"
"Not quite, or else I wouldn't have had to peek into other people's cars", he said grinning.
The headache forced me to lower my eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to apologize", he said. "I'm sorry I made you wait".
I certainly had not expected that, not from him.
"Uh, it's okay. I'm sorry for acting like a jealous girlfriend. Truce?" I said.
I had thought of saying 'boyfriend', but thought that would make it awkward. He'd first said 'girlfriend' so I stuck with that.
"Truce. So come back inside?" he said.
"I can't. I have a headache. I'm going home", I said.
"I'm sure there are headache pills in Pete's medicine cabinet", he said.
"Don't tell me you have keys to that too", I said.
He chuckled. "I don't. I don't think Pete would be stingy with headache pills".
"If he's still alive that is", I said.
"I know where the bathroom is", he said. "Rain"
It was the first time he'd said my name. Disregard his first day at school. Then he'd been making fun of me.
"I would rather just drive home", I said.
"I slipped something into your drink, now get out of that car or you are going to crash", he said in a serious tone.
"You what?" I said in horror.
"Just trust me", he said.
"Excuse me? You slip something into my drink and ask me to trust you? Have you been smoking weed?"
"Not in a month. Get out", he ordered.
My headache was getting worse with all the arguing. I did as he'd asked, unable to protest any longer. He led me to the house. I sometimes dragged my feet. He left me in the entryway to talk to Pete.
When he came back he whispered in my ear. "Walk normally. I don't want these idiots to think something is going to happen".
Was something going to happen? I immediately became wary, but didn't have the strength to leave. I walked with him up the stairs to the bathroom. It occurred to me that I could have just asked him to go get the pill for me and come give it to me at the car. Why had I been stupid to trust someone who had just told me he'd slipped something in my drink?
He closed the door behind us. I heard the sound of a key being turned. He had locked the door! Oh my God he was going to rape me!
He opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out something. I looked at the door. He had removed the keys! What do I do? Scream?
He handed me a pill and a glass of water. I looked at the pill in my hand and looked around. What if it wasn't a headache pill? What if he was trying to sedate me? He'd had his back to me when he took the pills out. I'd only seen him take out a packet of pills; I couldn't say for sure he'd taken the pill out of it.
"Any day now", he said.
"I've changed my mind. I'm going home. Julie will drive me", I said.
He'd been sitting on the counter. He got off and walked towards me. I backed away slightly. My reaction time wasn't good enough. His lips inched towards mine.
"You are so stubborn", he said. His hot breath fanned my lips.
The proximity was doing things to me. I was scared as hell about being raped, but Ryan's proximity to me was erasing all those thoughts.
He removed the glass of water from my hand and set it on the counter. Though he'd briefly touched my hand, I felt like he had touched me everywhere; and I yearned for more.
"You are going to stand there and get raped?" My mind screamed at me.
I didn't move, not even a bit. Ryan's index finger went under my chin. He lifted me only slightly. His lips caressed mine. I parted them inadvertently, almost sending a silent plea.
Our lips touched properly. We exchanged our breaths till it felt like we were breathing the same air. He cupped my upper lip in his. I felt the wetness of his mouth as it caressed me. My eyes closed quickly, wanting to be oblivious to everything but Ryan's lips on me.
He pulled me to him by the waist, jamming our bodies together. Our lips moved together then, finding a slow rhythm that we both liked. I felt his hand cup my face and his pace increase. I liked it. I loved it.
"I guess it's not rape if you consent to it", the voice in my head said in mock.
I pulled away quickly, pushing Ryan away from me. I was feeling weak from his kiss but I had enough strength. Sense was returning to me. Was I going to allow him to finish what he started? But would someone planning on raping me be so gentle? I almost laughed at my stupidity. He had planned it nicely. He was easing me into things since whatever he'd given me wasn't working fast. He didn't want me to run. He'd known when I said I was leaving that I knew something was wrong. No doubt in a few minutes I would not be able to move any part of me. He would take advantage of me then, taking something I valued.
"I want to go!" I demanded.
He was clearly caught off-guard. He looked surprised and something else I couldn't decipher. Well, he had better start looking for another sucker because he definitely wasn't taking something from me.
"So you are not going to take the pill?" he asked.
"No! I am not going to take the pill so you can sedate me and rape me. Now, unlock the door", I said clearly.
If I thought he was caught off-guard by my earlier statement, he looked like he'd seen an alien after my last one.
"What the fuck? What gave you the idea I wanted to...gosh, you are just typical", he said. He walked to the door an unlocked it. "Get out!" he ordered.
"With pleasure", I said getting out of the room.