Something was different.
And this time, it wasn't good.
He watched as she walked over to him. Without the skip in her steps. Without the brightness radiating off of her.
"Hey, Rainy. Are you okay?" he asked her, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.
She nodded. "Of course."
"Alright, " he replied with uncertainty. They sat across from each other, like always, and she gazed at nothing in particular.
His eyes roamed over her figure. She was wearing her usual outfit: shorts, a tee, sneakers, and a thin jacket. Her hair was in a messy bun, no makeup added to her face.
So, what was different?
"Find any new books yet, Rainy?"
Her eyes darted over to him. "No, not yet."
"If you need any recommendations, I'd be glad to help, " he suggested but she shook her head.
"I'm good, Cig. Thanks, though, " she replied before gazing at nothing again.
Then, he realized.
Her smile.
She hadn't smiled at all so far. And she always smiled.
"Rainy?" he reached for her hand.
"Yeah?"
He frowned, wanting to feel her touch. "Come here, please."
"Okay. " She moved to his side and let him put his arms around her. Their legs tangled together, his head on top of hers.
"You know you can talk to me about...anything, right?" he asked her and she nodded slightly.
"I know. Same goes for you."
He softly caressed her cheek as she stared down at their intertwined hands. "Good."
After a moment, she whispered: "Cig."
His eyes remained closed. "Yes, Rainy?"
"I'm tired."
"I know, " he said soothingly. "Go to sleep, beautiful."
"Okay, " she sighed and shifted closer to him.
With her head on his chest, she fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.
—
"Rainy?" he called.
She groaned in response.
He chuckled, playing with her hair. "Come on, sleeping beauty. You got to go home now."
"Why?" she muttered, her voice groggy.
"Because it's past ten already. Katherine must be waiting for you."
"She can wait a little longer."
"No, " he straightened his posture and she frowned. "Come on, Rainy. Don't make me move you myself."
She yawned. "Go ahead."
"Really?" he rolled his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he lifted her off the ground and looked down at her in his arms.
Her eyes fluttered open and she laughed. "Oh! You actually picked me up. I didn't even notice."
A smile formed on his face. All because of her beautiful laugh.
"Hey, Cig. Can you do me a favor?"
He nodded. "Shoot."
"Can you take me home like this, please?" she pleaded and he raised an eyebrow at her.
"You mean, you want me to carry you to your house?" he repeated for clarification, disbelief laced in his voice.
"Uh, yeah. Pretty much, " she muttered.
His jaw clenched. "I don't know, Rainy..."
"My house is only ten minutes or fifteen minutes away. And I'm not that heavy, am I?"
"No, no. You're not, " he bit his lip. "Are you sure?"
"Sure, " she replied and he sighed.
"Fine. I'll do it, " he began walking in the direction she would always go, the opposite from his.
He had no problem carrying her around, she was as light as a feather. It also gave him the advantage of looking at her face clearly.
The problem was where he was carrying her to.
"How was your day, Cig?"
He glanced down, flashing her a smile. "Good, how about yours?"
"Relaxing, " she answered and he chuckled.
"Must've been since all you did was sleep on me, " he said.
Her face flushed and she was suddenly at lost for words. "I–I mean, you did let me."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not complaining. You're pretty warm so, I guess it benefited both of us."
"Am I warm right now?" she queried and he nodded in response. "Well, in that case..."
She shifted closer to him, close enough to hear his heartbeat loud and clear, and her hands gently held on to the base of his neck.
He felt himself get much warmer. Not because of her body heat, but because of her in general.
"Warmer?"
"Uh, " he cleared his throat. "Yeah, thanks."
A smile appeared on her face, her eyes crinkling at the sides. He noticed that before, whenever she laughed. She also had a small dimple on her left cheek, an inch or two away from her lower lip.
He loved all of it.
"Stop, " she commanded abruptly.
His eyebrows furrowed and he stood still. "What's wrong, Rainy?"
"Nothing. We're here, " she grinned and pointed to the right. Surely, there was a small, secluded house with trees all around it. On one tree, there were two huge tires hanging from a thick branch.
He gulped. Slowly, he strode towards the house. Down the stone pathway, surrounded by grass.
Then, he paused at the door. Feeling his heart beat sharply, he set her down in front of him as he tried to gather himself together.
"Ah, thank you, Cig. I owe you, " she smiled at him and he chuckled nervously.
"O–of course, " he stuttered out.
Her smile didn't waver when she turned and knocked on the door. He could feel how damp his forehead was.
The door opened, revealing an older looking Rainy.
Except she looked a little angry.
"I've been waiting for you for–what?–two hours now? Girl, where have you been?" the lady questioned.
"At the park with–" she turned around to look at him.
But he was long gone.
Her eyebrows furrowed before she frowned, sighing. "I guess I just lost track of time. Sorry, Katherine."
"Meh, it's okay. You're just in time for the movie marathon!" Katherine exclaimed and ushered her little sister inside.
But her little sister took one more longing look back and made a little wish before closing the door.