Chapter Text
'4:01 p.m.' mara looked at her watch. It's started to getting late yet the rain still endlessly pouring down. She couldn't get home because of the heavily rain and the fact that she forgot her umbrella.
Mara almost grew a beard due to how long she has been waiting at the bus stop and still doesn't saw any sign of the rain will be stop.
she's the only one left at the bus stop as all her friends already went home. Just as she want to take a breath, she suddenly hears a voice shouting her name.
"Mara!" Amato shouted when he saw mara. How could she forgot that amato was taking a retest because his mathematic exam paper was mysteriously gone.
Mara smiles creak in when she saw amato running towards her excitedly with his stupid smiles on his face. Mara cheek also slowly went red just by seeing him.
She so focused on him somehow she barely realized mechabot who's also running behind him with a hand full of snacks and sweets.
"Mara, kenapa kau tak balik lagi? Ke kau tunggu aku" amato joked, with his malicious grin snatched on his face.
Mara scoffed at his horribly tells jokes while rolling her eyes as a response and try to cover up her red cheeks. Well maybe she is waiting for him.
"Kau beli kat mana confident tu, pasar karat ke apa?" Mechabot chimes in. He definitely really wants to punch amato face after hearing his cheap pickup line. Such a nice thing mara doesn't seems to throw up.
Mechabot placed himself on the bus stop bench while he started to munching his food while watching the rain clearly unbothered by amato who look like he would throw the whole bench into his face.
Amato really wants to press that 'mod sopan' button on his mechanizer whenever mechabot open his thrash-like mouth until he saw mara who's freezing and frequently sneezing due to the cold whether.
Amato hand immediately search for something inside his backpack and then when he finally found it, he handed them to mara without a word. It was a red hoodie jacket with a lot stickers on the backside.
Mara looks so confused by his sudden action and immediately refuse it, but seeing amato still insisted it, she finally take the jacket from his hand and wrapped the jacket around her body.
Seeing mara adorably wrapped in his jacket, he couldn't hides his smiles nor his eyes. He couldn't stop staring at her ever since she wore the jacket. His gaze always soften whenever he saw her. Only her.
"Kau nampak comel la pakai jaket tu" amato praised her casually as if it was normal thing and continues to drink his water like nothing happened.
Mechabot eyes widened, his eyebrows frown upon hearing the compliment as his snack fell down. He never thought amato was that bold. He has to tell pian and deep tomorrow about this.
Mara on the other hand was worse. She was speechless, she couldn't say a single word at this point. She knows that this is not the first time he's compliment her but that a complete different things.
Amato calling her cute just hit different on her heart. She could only let out her signature downturn smiles, the one she always uses whenever she couldn't respond to a compliment.
Just as her thought already flying on a cloud nine, a loud thunderstorm sound suddenly rumbles. Mara eyes widened and her hand instinctively starts covering her ears hoping for the sound to gone.
"Mara, kau takut guruh eh?" Amato try to teased her but immediately zipped his mouth when he saw mara looked genuinely terrified.
While she still covering her ears, she suddenly saw a glimpse of her most traumatizing and saddest memory. The moment she received the news about her father death, she cried until her tears went out, her throat hurts and her head went dizzy because she cried so hard.
While she still crying on her father body, a loud thunderstorm sound rumbles. She thought she was gonna faint due to how loud the thunderstorm sounded to her ears. She thought she could have gone deaf.
Her hatred and fear grew stronger when she learn that her father died due to a loud thunderstorm sound that triggered his heart attack while he's driving. She not only despised the thunderstorm but also terrified of it.
Even though she's finally healed from her father death, she still couldn't hear and look at the thunderstorm the same way anymore. And whenever someone brought up about her father in a conversation, she couldn't still control her tears.
"Mara, kau okay tak?" Amato sudden question snapped her out. His eyes full of worry, same as mechabot who's currently sitting beside him.
"Tak-aku cuma..dulu aku tak takut guruh sangat pun" mara replies with a stuttering voice.
" Tapi lepas ayah aku dah tak ada.. sebab bunyi guruh tu, aku dah tak boleh-" mara added as a tears slowly falling down her cheeks. She finally feels a sign of relief after all those years carrying a aching memory on her back.
When she realizes that amato and mechabot suddenly went silent, she immediately apologize to them as she thought she just ruining the atmosphere.
"Kau tak patut minta maaf mara" mechabot Said while looking at the rain that slowly subside.
"Betul tu mara, kitorang yang patut kena minta maaf kat kau" amato spoke out to her softly.
Mara couldn't feel more grateful for herself as she let out a chuckles after hearing their response.
After all those years of grief, she never thought anything would be better but here she is, at Kota Hilir with all her friends and teachers.
"Mara, kau nak tak ikut kitorang pergi night festival malam ni?" Amato asked her gently.
"Mestilah nak!" Mara replies excitedly with her eyes sparkling, she's been waiting for the festival since forever.
"Weh korang jom lah balik, hujan dah reda ni. Kang lambat pulak nak pergi malam ni" mechabot said while try to open up his umbrella.
While amato searching up his umbrella in the backpack, mara suddenly remembers that she forgot her umbrella at home.
"Haih, aku baru teringat yang payung aku tertinggal lah" mara sighed.
"Tak apa, kau boleh kongsi dengan aku". Amato gentle voice echoes in her mind. It's was all mara could heard until she realizes that shes already halfway through her home.
She looks to her left and saw amato holding the umbrella for both of them, but mara noticed something, amato half bodies already soaked because he keeps holding the umbrella towards mara to protect her.
Mara eyes turned soft when she look at him, try to protect her from the rain while he's already soaked. what an idiot she thought to herself.
I never thought love was this simple.
"Terima kasih sebab hantar aku balik" mara politely thanked them after they accompany her to home.
"Nah, sebelum aku terlupa nanti" mara handed amato his jacket back before she headed to her front door.
"Mara" amato suddenly called her. Mara head immediately turn around after he called her name.
"Nanti aku jemput kau pukul 8 tau" he said while scratching his cheeks, try to hide his nervousness.
Mara only smile at him warmly while saying "Terima kasih" to him before she went inside her house.