It Rhymes!
Since we were part of the cast and crew, we were already seated in a circle with Gwen and the rest of the crew. Since two casts were picked, Gwen asked Stephen and Calvin to hunt for other talented performers from the remaining crowd.
Tyler was sitting next to me. And although it didn't bother me up to this day, I couldn't sink into the fact that I might have a little chance of falling for him now that we were paired up. I just don't know what to do if that happens.
Juan, another scriptwriter whined. "We don't have an antagonist."
"I'd hate to admit it but Carly was practical for that position. I heard she doesn't know how to dance but she can sing," Angela informed. Angelo, on the other hand, rolled his eyes.
"If she only sucked up in the last meeting, then she could save herself a lot of exposure. But she chose to push Gwen's buttons, so," Angelo shrugged.
The circle became quiet. The crew seems to be lost in thought. Since we had the lead cast, Gwen and the crew have been finding the antagonist's spot for the past 30 minutes. The last people who don't have a role yet did not quite make it to the singing department. Dancing can be taught but singing needs to be with you from the day you were born.
Everyone seems deep in thought. We only had 15 minutes left before the end of the class.
All of a sudden, a flash of thunder lighted the room, taking us all in surprise. I saw some people covering their ears to brace for the sound impact of the thunder. After a few seconds, the loud boom of thunder echoed through the silent classroom. Not long, the skies became completely dark as heavy rain started pouring on the rooftop.
Gwen sighed. "Well does anyone on the crew know how to sing?"
"I'll do it," a familiar voice said, followed by a clicking of heels. Gwen was on my way so I tilted my head a little to peek at the lifesaver.
My jaw dropped at the sight of Carly walking toward us, her chin up high. She stopped in front of Gwen and sighed.
"I apologize for my behavior yesterday. It was very childish of me," she said, looking away.
"Carly and sorry?" Nel raised his eyebrows. "That's a first."
"It even rhymes!" April squeaked, earning a death glare from Carly.
"Now, can I get the part?" Carly whined.
I glared at Carly's perfect blonde hair. Even when she's trying to apologize, she was still being so rude. There is no way in hell that would Gwen let her join.
"Fine," Gwen said and announced to everyone; "We have an antagonist."
"What?!" I shrieked. "Are you seriously gonna let her join after her lame and insincere apology?!"
Gwen turned to me and rolled her eyes. "Yes because we don't have much of a choice, unfortunately."
I sighed and slumped back in my seat. Carly smirked at me and sat beside Tyler. Glaring at her, I turned my attention to the window where I saw the strong wind blowing things everywhere. It was so strong, that I kind of got scared a little. The thunder and the heavy rain weren't helping the situation either. I was starting to wonder if any of my classmates were aware of what was happening outside.
Gwen was busy collecting the papers when all of a sudden, the class speakers rang, followed by an alarming announcement.
"Dear students, due to a strong storm that will bound to arrive within this week, I advise all of you to go home immediately and stay safe. I will be closing the school until further notice. Right now, please evacuate the school."
The announcement was set on repeat for the past 15 minutes of us trying to pass through the sea of students in order to exit the school. In the process, we lost Gwen and Angelo in the crowd.
Thankfully, Tyler didn't lose me. Because I'd be walking home in a storm if Tyler left me. I was clutching his bag for my dear life as we made our way out of the scared and rattled crowd. The rain was pouring so hard against the roof, that it was undeniably frightening.
When we arrived at the entrance, lots of students were pushing against each other as we were frightened by the scenario in front of us. Strong winds had let unknown objects fly around the parking lot. I have spotted lots of huge tree branches in some corners of the parking space and the front of the school.
Suddenly, a huge tree trunk fell on one of the very familiar cars I knew. I heard a loud gasped from someone, followed by other students who saw it.
"Shit," I cursed and looked over the crowd. I spotted Gwen who was in shock to see her car alarming, her windshield crushed by the huge chunk of tree that just fallen.
Tyler immediately went to her side, grabbing my arm. "We'll take you home, come on!"
I grasped Gwen's hand as Tyler grasped mine.
Gwen also took a hold of Angelo's hand and we were all sprinting towards his car. Thankfully, we just made it in one piece.
We were soaked as we arrived in Tyler's sports car. Quickly, he pulled the passenger's seat down just in time we saw another huge branch land five-feet from us.
"Oh, shit!" Gwen screamed as Angelo pulled her inside. Tyler reclined the seat and told me to get in immediately. His car only had two doors but is a four-seater. He needs to pull the passenger's seat down in order for people to get in the back.
I did what I was told and watched Tyler run to the driver's seat and turned on his car.
Without even letting the car heat up, Tyler sped away from the parking space and raced on the highway.
I quickly turned to Gwen and looked at her in worry. "Are you okay? Are you all okay?"
"I'm fine," Angelo said as he wiped his wet face from the rain. Gwen nodded, completely paled.
"Tyler, thank you so much," Gwen said, extending her hand to squeeze Tyler's shoulder.
"No problem, but are you okay about your car?" he asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror.
"It has insurance. Are you both okay though?" Gwen asked, looking at me and Tyler. I nodded at her and squeezed her hand.
There is a storm once in a while in Port Angeles but it never fails to frighten me. I would never get used to it even if it rains every other day here.
I noticed Tyler running a nervous hand through his perfectly wet hair.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, how about you?" he shifted his gaze at me and I honestly had a hard time hiding the fact that he took my breath away for a second there.
"Yeah," I replied, shifting my gaze rather quickly to the windshield to avoid eye contact. Damn it, since when would I get shy when he looks at me? I was starting to make it very obvious and I was having a mini attack because of it.
We all got silent as the rain continued to pour hard against Tyler's windshield. I watched our surroundings, noticing some of the cars has crashed at some point because it was getting difficult to see the road because of the rain. There were a lot of objects flying all around, and I just hope we get home safely.
"Hey Tyler, is it okay if you drop me three houses before Gwen's? My entire family is at my brother's house and I'll stay the night with them," Angelo said. Tyler nodded at him and Angelo thanked him after.
Even though I couldn't see the road clearly, Tyler managed to arrive in Angelo's place after ten minutes. Angelo said thanks and good bye and Gwen didn't climb back to the backseat. She sat on my lap as we drove to her house which was not too far.
"Thank you so much, and please text me when you get home, okay?" Gwen said to us as she ran to her porch steps.
Tyler made a U-Turn and I did the honors to connect my phone to the navigation system. In desperate times call for extreme measures.
I needed Taylor Swift.
I didn't bother scrolling through my playlist and let the music play whatever comes first.
Tyler jump at the sudden familiar rhythm because I think he was too focused on the road to notice me pressing on the touch screen of his car.
"There's somethin' bout the way, the street looks when it's just rained."
A great song for driving in the car with your boyfriend when it just rained. But in our case, it was storming like crazy. But it helped me imagine it wasn't actually storming.
"We're driving down the road, I wonder if you know,"
I just hope Tyler was too preoccupied in getting us home safely because he might get the wrong idea when he focuses too much in the lyrics. What? I didn't pick this song!
But when I glanced over him, he didn't seem to be focusing on the song. Instead, he had his eyes on the road. I noticed he ran a hand through his messy wet hair, and goddamn did that make sparks fly in my stomach.
"Absent mindedly making me want you."
My heart skipped a beat. Not only was Taylor Swift on the other side of the country right now, but she sure damn knows what I was feeling at this moment.
While I was getting preoccupied with my inner thoughts, I hadn't realized that we arrived in our house. Not long, my little fantasy about Tyler drifted as we we sprinted through the lawn and into my house.
When I opened the door, I spotted Bella hiding under a table, shaking. When she saw us, she sprinted towards Tyler.
"Aww, you poor thing..." I cooed as I offered my hand and soothed her back. Bella whined and cried and continued to hide in Tyler's underarm as he hugged her, trying to calm her down.
Tyler looked down at me seeing I was kneeling down to Bella's level. "Are you hungry?"
"Kind of," I answered truthfully. Bella tackled me, still shaking when Tyler stood up. I sat down on the floor and hugged the poor baby. Tyler went to the kitchen so I followed shortly when Bella calmed down a little bit. I called her with me and we entered the kitchen together.
Tyler started to grab some pasta from the cabinets and started cooking. Meanwhile, I was trying calm Bella down because she was panicking again when a loud bang of thunder echoed through the walls. It was starting to thunder outside and I tried my best to comfort the poor big puffball.
"Is it always like this here? I mean, it is cloudy most of the days and rainy but a storm?" Tyler asked as he sat in front of Bella and hugged her.
"Sometimes," I answered. "Rains and cloudy weather? Normal. But thunder with strong winds? Nah. Well, it does happen once in a while but it never fails to terrify me."
Tyler managed to calm down his dog. I was sure Bella is now relaxed because she was leaning on her paws with her eyes closed.
I stood up to help Tyler prepare the ingredients and made sure to have a 3-meter distance from him. If I might slightly touch him, I might get the tingles in my stomach.
When Tyler's hot pasta was done, both of us sat at the table and had a quiet dinner. Technically it wasn't quiet because of the loud storm outside.
I wasn't gonna try and come up with a topic because I really wasn't in the mood to embarrass myself again.
Saved by the bell, my phone rang. I looked over to the caller and saw it was Adrian. Using my free hand, I answered it.
"Yes?" I greeted.
"Are you safe?" he asked over the phone. It was obvious he was in a rush because he didn't even let me answer his question. I was about to open my mouth and answer him, dammit.
"Anyways, mom and dad booked us a flight to New York and I will come to pick you up first thing in the morning. Anyways, I'm okay. Not a single scratch, just maybe from my roommate's cat but nothing serious! We stay in NYC until the news says the storm is done," he said and hung up. Wow, he could have just me texted if he didn't even want me to talk.
I gazed at Tyler and spotted him looking at my phone and at me. I didn't know why my mouth betrayed me but I said, " You wanna come?"
"To New York?" he repeated what Adrian said. I put it in speaker mode because I was eating.
"Yeah!" he answered.
My heart fluttered with excitement for a moment there. But he added; "I'd love to come but I should also head home to La Push and give my mom some company. It might be raining there, too."
What a fucking sweet gentlemen.
I nodded at him and finished my dinner. If Adrian says he'll be here first thing in the morning, he means it. I better pack up some clothes good for a week.
When Tyler and I finished cleaning the kitchen and the table, I got upstairs and went to pack up my things.
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I couldn't sleep and it was almost 3 in the morning. Loud sounds of thunder and rain was audible and I couldn't get myself to sleep. I rolled over and finally stood up when I couldn't even close my eyes. I'll have to wait til' morning and just sleep on the plane, I guess.
I opened my door and jumped in surprise when Tyler went out of his room at the same time, too.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked. I nodded at him.
"Maybe a glass of milk will help. Want some?" I offered as I walked in the hallway, turning my back on him. He didn't say anything but followed me downstairs anyway.
I grabbed two glasses and poured cold milk for the both of us. We sat quietly in the stools in the island table and sipped on our milk. When I was done, I washed the glasses and sighed.
When I was done, Tyler was halfway out the kitchen. "Can you sleep?"
"No," I said honestly, wiping my hands with a towel. "I'll wait until it's six a.m, I guess."
"You look tired," he commented. I just shrugged at him and followed him upstairs. When I was at my doorway, Tyler turned to me.
"We can sleep in your room if you want. Just tonight," he offered, and I widened my eyes. Was he serious? Him? Me? On the same bed? But I must admit, I was getting scared. It didn't rain this hard when the last storm hit Port Angeles.
And besides, we were both leaving tomorrow. Who knows when this exact moment will come again?
"Sure," I said unsurely and opened my door widely. He called Bella and the white puff-ball came jogging toward him. I let Bella enter as Tyler dragged her bed with him. He followed shortly and looked around my room.
When I noticed him, he looked away immediately. "Sorry for staring."
"It's fine," I dismissed and lay on my bed. Tyler locked the door and turned the lights off. I scooted to the far end of the bed and flopped my extra pillows on his half. When Bella snuggled on her bed, he slipped in mine and laid next to me. My heart started beating rapidly, and I couldn't thank the dark more for covering up my red face. He was careful and maintained a good distance with me which I was so thankful for.
God, sleeping next to me is so not gonna help with my issues for you, Kinston!
As usual, I tried to compose myself. I wish I wasn't making it obvious that I was starting to be weird around him. Anything but that! Thanks to my observation skills and deep research, when Tyler notices something, he was very vocal about it. If he had an idea that I was starting to act weird around him, he must have told me about it by now.
"Just sleep next to me, no cuddling." Speaking so soon, when I heard a tree trunk fall to my roof, I squeaked and hid under Tyler's arms.
Even if I can't see him, I knew he was smirking at me. But I did hear him chuckle and pulled me closer to him without second thoughts.
I was supposed to go to sleep but my heart was beating so loudly I was scared he would hear it. I faced Tyler I could give him a death glare.
He opened his sleepy eyes and they met mine. Very bad move. His face was centimeters away from mine and it only takes one push to get us kissing. I felt frozen.
"Smart-mouth, I was starting to drift to sleep. Besides, you'll be gone for the week. Might as well spend your time wisely with me since I know you're going to miss me," he whispered and chuckled in a husky and sleepy voice. If I was myself, I would be rolling my eyes and insulting his lame addiction to himself.
Instead, my eyes flickered to his lips.
We were silent for a few moments, no one tried to break the tense moment. I practically sucked in the air I didn't know for how long because I was getting nervous and nervous at each second.
His eyes also looked down to my lips and back to my gaze. We were staring at each other for quite some time now, and even though the wind and rain were so loud outside, and add a little bit of thunder, everything felt so quiet. It seemed like Tyler and I was so lost in each other.
On my side, I guess. I don't know about him.
"Just do it," he whispered.
I bit my lip as I shove his face away. "Yeah, right. Go to sleep, idiot."
"What did you think I was asking you for? I said just do it, go to sleep, idiot!" I heard him say. I faced my back from him and buried my face in my hands. God, everything was so close! I was practically just thinking about "just doing it" and not pushing him away. I guess I had tons of fantasies about him and I and the sound of loud thunder reminded me that I should get some sleep.
Even if I was having the hardest time sleeping after what happened, the next thing I know, I was snoring my butt.