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On the rare occasion that the weather in LA strayed from the typical sunny and seventy-five, only one phrase could accurately portray the way most of the residents felt: When it rains, it pours.
It'd been cool and dreary all day long, as dark clouds rolled in and lingered in the sky and the temperature dropped lower with each passing hour. The gang had spent that particular Saturday crammed into Beck's RV, studying for their upcoming exams, eating pizza, and watching FRIENDS re-runs. For the past half an hour, though, all motivation had slipped away from them and they had run out of anything remotely interesting to talk about. Jade had become engulfed in whatever music she was listening to on her phone, sitting cross-legged on Beck's bed - which she still claimed as her spot, despite her and Beck breaking up months ago - and staring blankly out the tiny window with her headphones in, Robbie and Cat were playing some kind of video game on Robbie's PearPad, Tori was half-heartedly flipping through her notebook and doodling in the empty margins, and Trina was sitting in the corner viciously filing her nails.
Andre was the first to gather his notes, stretching lazily as he stood up. "Well, guys, it's been real, but I better be heading out before my Grandma realizes the condition outside and freaks."
"Understandable," Beck chuckled from the beat up chair as his best friend made his way to the door. "See you later, man."
"Bye, Andre!" Tori chirped, smiling and waving.
At Andre's exit, Trina seemingly came out of her trance and whined, "Tori, can we leave yet? I need to shower, finish my Ben and Jerry's, and get my beauty rest."
Tori rolled her eyes and shut her notebook. "I guess so. It's getting late, anyway, and it's starting to look worse and worse outside. I don't like riding passenger when Trina is driving on a normal day, let alone when a storm is going to hit any moment. Thanks for having us, Beck."
"Hey!" Trina exclaimed in defense. "I passed my driving test with flying colors!"
"Yeah, after your fourth attempt and annoying your instructor to death with your singing!"
The brunette shrugged. "At least I have my license. You're the weirdo who won't go get her own!"
The sisters bickered all the way out, and even outside, Beck could still hear them going at it. He peered out the window and saw the wind whip fallen twigs around his driveway. Shortly after, the first few raindrops began to fall, followed by a deep rumble of distant thunder.
"Was that thunder?!" Cat shrieked, snapping back to reality.
"And that's my cue," Jade muttered, pulling her headphones out and glancing at Cat and Robbie. "Are you two ready to go?"
"I'm ready," Robbie said.
"Guys! That was thunder!" Her eyes were the size of saucers.
"Yeah," Jade confirmed slowly. "There have been storm warnings all day, where have you been?"
"I don't check the weather!"
Jade sighed. While she had more patience with Cat than most people, she still had her limit. "Okay, so let's just leave now. What's the big deal?"
Cat Valentine could make an almost-infinite list of the things she loveslovesloves, like sunshine and puppies and rainbows and cupcakes and her friends, but one thing that would never, ever make that list is thunderstorms. She really, really doesn't like those. In fact, if hate wasn't such a mean word, she would probably use it to describe her feelings about thunder and lightning and wind that makes it sound like everything in the outside world is going to crash down onto her. "I-I'm scared of thunderstorms."
"Cat," Jade said, almost pleadingly. "Come on, it's barely raining yet and I have to take both of you home."
"I can't go out there!"
"Logically speaking, you'll be safer just about any place else besides this RV. We need to head home before it gets bad," Robbie said.
Jade crossed her arms, nodding in agreement.
"No!" she cried, her eyes welling with tears.
Beck, who had been observing from his seat up until that point, decided to pipe in. He didn't like conflict, and he knew that Cat was on the verge of a fear-induced breakdown. He turned toward her and spoke softly and calmly, the way he'd learned was best over the years of being friends with her. "Cat, if you really need to, you can stay here and wait out the storm . I'll drive you home after it's over. According to the radars, it's going to hit hard, but pass through quickly. If your parents don't mind you being home a little late, it's fine with me."
"Really?!" Cat glanced up at him through her long lashes and smiled, relief washing over her delicate features. If there was anything that could possibly make her feel better about the horrible storm news, it was staying with Beck. He was tall and strong and not scared of anything, and his RV was warm and cozy and she could snuggle up in his blankets and he would make her laugh about nothing like he was so good at doing whenever they were alone together.
"Really."
"In that case, I'm out of here. Have fun!" Jade said as her and Robbie headed out.
"Bye Jade, bye Robbie! Stay safe!" Cat called after them, and Beck couldn't help but feel surprised at how a girl - even though it was just Cat - staying at his place without Jade around didn't freak her out anymore. Of course, it shouldn't, they were broken up after all - but he didn't realize until recently how much they had brought out the worst in each other as a couple. When she was his girlfriend, she was always insecure and on edge, and that caused him to resent her. Now that they were split up, it was like she gained more confidence and independence. Sure, it took awhile for them to become civil again, but she didn't really care what Beck did anymore. It wasn't her concern, yet they remained decent friends. They were finally at peace.
As soon as they shut the door behind them, Beck locked it and went over to sit on his own bed. He patted the spot beside him, and Cat jumped up from her spot on the floor and bounced over, plopping down so close to him that their shoulders brushed and her soft ringlets tickled his arm. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, holding herself up in a little ball.
"There's nothing to be scared of," Beck assured her, patting her on the back while simultaneously reaching for the remote with his other hand. "Do you want to watch some TV to get your mind off of it?"
"Sure! This is okay," Cat said, referring to Full House. "I like this episode."
"Okay," Beck said, but his voice was drowned out by a much closer, louder roar of thunder. Cat jumped beside him, her hot pink polished nails clinging to the hem of his T-shirt.
Beck glanced outside, the rain was pouring now, not that he couldn't hear it coming down like metal pellets on the thin roof of his mobile home. Lightning flashed, lighting up the midnight blue and purple streaked sky. It was only nine PM, but it felt much, much later. He pulled the blind down to prevent Cat from seeing the mayhem outside and turned the TV up. Slowly but surely, she released her grip on his now wrinkled shirt and reached for the blanket at the foot of his bed. She wrapped herself up in it and laid down on her side, squeezing her eyes shut.
"I'm sorry you have to stay awake to drive me home after this," she said, her voice muffled by the fabric she pulled around her face.
He chuckled. "It's okay, I don't usually go to bed before midnight anyway. This thing should be over within the hour."
"Why do you stay up so late?" she asked, rolling over to face him once again.
He propped up a pillow against his headboard and pulled his feet up on the bed so that he wasn't quite sitting up, but not quite laying down beside her, either. "I do most of my thinking at night."
He didn't know why he said it to her, he never really got deep with anyone. But she always seemed to bring out his honest side; probably because he'd known her forever, longer than he'd known most of the group. She'd been the first to introduce herself to him on their first day at Hollywood Arts, and she bounded away to talk to someone else before even learning his name. He'd liked how friendly and outgoing she was, even if she had the brightest hair he'd ever seen and was a bit eccentric with the things she said and did. When she found him at lunch later that day and introduced him to Robbie and Andre as "the boy with hair like a Prince," and them as, "The boy with the puppet and the cool music guy," he immediately knew they'd all be friends. Not too much later in the year, she started hanging out with Jade, who joined their little group as well, followed by Tori and Trina. Now that he thought about it, Cat was the one who'd brought them all together in the first place.
"About what?" She was pressing; but it didn't bother him. He knew she wasn't one to pry, curiosity was just in her nature.
"Life. School. Stuff like that," he shrugged, looking down at her.
She blinked a few times. "What about Jade?"
"Sometimes. Not too much, anymore, though."
"Why?" she asked.
"I don't know, things are just...different now. Is that a bad thing?" he asked, raising a brow.
She giggled. "No, I was just wondering. I like when you talk to me about what you think."
"I like talking to you," he said, well aware of how flirtatious that statement sounded, despite his attempts to remain casual. It's not like it mattered, though. He did enjoy talking to Cat. She was never afraid to say exactly what she was thinking, and when he was around her, that behavior rubbed off on him.
She grinned, showing off her dimples, and changed the subject. "We haven't hung out just us in awhile. I think the last time was after that Earthquake when you saved me! Remember? I was dog-sitting and after it all happened, you drove me home and played Mario Kart with me."
He remembered that night vividly; grabbing her and pulling her to safety had been his first instinct as soon as the ground started shaking violently. He told himself that is had been because she was the first thing in his line of sight, but he had no explanation as to why he continued to hold her close to him for a few long moments after the earthquake had ended, or why, after that night, he noticed how strangely protective he was after her. With boys, with the rest of the gang being mean to her, and even with her own trivial fears, such as thunderstorms. "Yeah, I remember."
She made a small sound that sounded something like a giggle mixed with a hum.
"So, Miss Twenty-One questions, can I ask you something?"
"Sure!"
"Why are you so afraid of thunderstorms?"
"It's a long story," she said, as if that had ever stopped her before. She was notorious for her storytelling at all the wrong times, which was something the rest of the group found annoying but he'd grown amused by, if he was being honest.
"We have time," he said.
"It's not a fun story."
"It doesn't have to be. I don't have any fun stories but you still listen to me."
"Okay," Cat relented, sucking in a deep, shaky breath. "But I'm only telling you because you're one of my bestest friends."
"You're one of mine, too," he said, smiling briefly before becoming serious for her story.
"I was really little, like seven or eight I think, and my brother and I were playing in the backyard at our old house. Before we moved here, we lived in another part of California. I don't remember where. But the sky got all dark and the wind started blowing really fiercely, like it did today. My brother told me to go hide in the woods behind our house and that he would be right behind me. I didn't know what a storm was, I just thought the sky was getting really angry and I needed to hide from it under all the tall trees. So I went into the woods, and my brother wasn't right behind me. I think he lost me, or h-he just didn't follow at all. I still don't know. But I stayed in the woods crouching behind some brush around all these pine trees. Lightning and thunder started happening, and...and then the rain came pouring down, and I was so scared. I started running but I couldn't find my way out of the woods. It was really dark and windy, and I was screaming, but I don't think my parents even knew I was gone for a long time. And then I heard a huge snap, and I looked up, and a tree branch was coming down right at me! I don't remember anything else besides waking up in my house, and my parents were yelling a lot about how stupid I was to go in the woods during a thunderstorm, and how I was lucky that I only had a few scratches and bruises on the side of my face from where the branch hit me. I don't know how they found me or how long I was out there, and my parents aren't the nice kind of parents that I could just ask questions to when I had them, so I never spoke about it again. Until now."
By that point, she was hyperventilating, and he had the biggest knot in his stomach, almost to the point of regretting he pushed her to tell him. He was furious at her family, but more than that, he was incredibly sad for her. And there was that feeling again, that need to protect her and make sure nothing ever hurt her.
He scooted further down the bed, now laying directly next to her. He looked into her big brown orbs and watched her study his face.
"I'm okay now, though," she said softly, sensing that he was worried. He didn't say anything, and after a moment she yawned and started blinking rapidly, already signaling that she was over the temporary distress, which made him feel better and worse at the same time. She didn't deserve that.
Without thinking, he lifted his arm over her head, inviting her into his chest. She moved closer to him, resting her head in the crook between his chest and shoulder. She swung a lazy arm over his abdomen and began tracing abstract designs into his side where his shirt was pulled up slightly. Thunder and a flash of lightning struck again, and she jumped, but ultimately remained calm. And while she was trying to remain calm over the storm, he was trying to come up with a logical explanation as to why, exactly, he was cuddling Cat Valentine. And furthermore; why it felt so natural.
For the next few moments, neither of them spoke. He didn't know what she was thinking, but she seemed to be lost in her own little world. Him, on the other hand...
That's when it hit him, harder than the way his heart pounded when he'd first met her. Harder than the fake slap to the face she gave him her sophomore year but all he could focus on was the smell of her pink sugar perfume. Harder than the risky way he'd pressed his lips to hers a little too intensely in their choreographed kiss that seemed like a lifetime ago. Harder than he held her against his body during the earthquake and enjoying every lasting second of it.
Somewhere along the line he'd fallen down the rabbit hole for his carefree, sensitive, perky redheaded friend. He'd fallen for her doe eyes and long flowing hair and dimples and genuine smiles and airy laughs. There was no more denying it to himself, no more fighting the connection he'd felt from the very beginning. He had fallen for Cat, not in spite of who she was, but because of it.
Suddenly, he felt lighter.
"Beck?" she said, her eyes closed as she mumbled into his shirt.
"Yeah?" he asked, fully aware that his response had come out as a squeak.
"Is the storm really going to blow over?"
He wanted to tell her then. The words were burning in the back of his throat, and his body was on fire where she was touching it. He wanted to run out in the rain and scream his realization at the top of his lungs. He had never felt more desire to share any kind of emotions or feelings than he did in that moment.
But he knew he couldn't. Not yet. He couldn't spring something like that on her so suddenly. She wouldn't know how to react.
He didn't even know if she liked him back, he remembered. He'd always been fairly confident that any girl he was interested in certainly returned the feelings, just from his own experience, but Cat was an entirely different breed. Sure, she was loving and affectionate toward him, and she complimented his physical appearance on more than one occasion, but that's how she treated everybody. Wasn't it?
"Beck?" she urged. "Are you sleepy or something?"
"No," he replied, too soon. "Sorry, I was just doing some of that thinking I told you about earlier."
"When will the storm be over?" she repeated.
"I'm not sure," he said honestly. "It should have been by now. I think we'll just have to give it more time. Do you need to call your parents?"
"No, I don't think they'll even notice I'm not home. Whenever I sleep over at Tori's, they don't even know until I come home with my bag the next morning."
He hugged her tighter, unsure of what to say. He didn't really trust himself to speak, especially not in his current state of mind.
"So does this mean I can stay the night?" she ventured, finally asking what he'd been hoping she would.
"Of course."
She shifted, wrapping herself around him even more. Her right leg was resting over his left, and even though he didn't really want to sleep in jeans, that problem wasn't even remotely worth moving her over.
"So what were you just thinking about?"
"You," he said, deadpan. He knew it was a risk; but he couldn't lie to her and part of him wanted her to know.
"Really?!" she asked excitedly.
"Really."
"What about me?"
He hesitated, racking his brain for a response that wouldn't give too much away but was still honest. "I'm just really glad your here."
"Me, too."
They talked a little more, and she fell asleep quickly while he lay wide awake, but no matter how long they stayed in the same position, the butterflies in his stomach never stopped fluttering.
The last thought that crossed his mind before sleep found him was that Cat Valentine was a storm, one that wasn't just going to blow over.
And he couldn't wait to weather her. After all, when it rains, it pours.