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You never liked the rain.
Well, correction: you never liked going out in the rain. You were all for bundling up in heavy blankets with a warm cup of honey lemon tea in your hands, your computer in your lap, and the cadence of a storm out our window. Even better when no one else was home, that ensured that nothing silly or stupid could possibly intervene in the busy work that was your latest project.
Unfortunately for you, though, you were quite literally being dragged into the rain. Snatched up and stolen away, arm yanked into the forest by the hand of a girl you liked to call ‘AA.’
Sticky, wet rainwater hung onto your arms and clothing, causing the fabric to cling uncomfortably to your skin. You were tired; your legs ached; your lungs hurt; and, to put it simply, you were angry. Angry and annoyed. Why was it that every time AA felt like going out on an adventure, she just had to take you with her? Couldn't she have brought Tavros, or Terezi, or Nepeta, or literally anyone else but you? You were sure that someone like Terezi or Nepeta would have absolutely loved playing in a rainstorm like this, but you'd never been similar to either of them in the slightest.
You were more of a quiet person, happier to be left alone to your own devices. That wasn't to say you didn't like talking to people; you could get irritated easily, but you still had a handful of close friends that you spoke with at least once a day.
One of those friends happened to be AA herself. She was kind of your opposite. While you were silent and surly, she was lively and loquacious. When you were caught up in your own thoughts, she was busy hearing others. While you had private morbid monologues, she voiced hers out to the public.
Actually, that was a similarity between you two, having those arbitrarily grim thoughts.
Accept that the ways you went about them were incredibly distinct. Yours were more anxious; they were irrational scenarios that often made you come off as paranoid. Hers were more like interesting stories— hypotheses that would terrify any average person yet only served to fascinate her.
And that was really funny to you, actually. The enthusiastic way she went about saying those things was as humorous as it was creepy.
But just because AA was one of the few people you did find enjoyable didn't mean that you were super okay with being jumped on your doorstep and then hauled into the woods just because she wanted to go frog hunting.
Frog hunting? Frog hunting?? Who on Earth likes to go frog hunting? Holy crub, were you in desperate need of normal friends.
The ground was muddy, the sky dark, and the air unbearably cold. You were practically freezing to death despite the warmth of your hoodie; you had no idea how AA could stand to be out here with her only defense against the cold being shorts and a t-shirt. That kind of determination was something only she could achieve.
You were supposed to be home hours ago; the rain had stopped already, and it seemed like most people were turning in for the night. Not you, though. You were still mucking around in the woods with your weird friend, looking for amphibious creatures.
AA was a little ways up ahead, searching hollow logs and marshy puddles, when you decided to call it a night.
"Hey," you called for her attention, "I’m going home now. I'm not sure why you brought me on your frog-adventure, but there’s nothing here, and I’m tired and cold, so, uh, I’m leaving."
"Wait a sec!" She scurried back, almost slipping as she balanced to stand in front of you. "I’ll walk with you! I don’t think any frogs are coming out tonight anyway; I think I might’ve scared them off."
You paused, trying to figure out how to respond. "Ok then."
Silently, you turned around and trailed down the path back into your neighborhood. You guys weren’t that deep into the forest, only about eleven yards in, so it didn’t take long until you found yourselves switching from soft dirt paths onto stiff concrete sidewalks.
You watched as bugs radiated around streetlamps, hovering over them like satellites in space. Except instead of orbiting Earth, it was like they were orbiting a star. Bright, burning balls of fire, ready to kill them, save for the glass, and yet the bugs only seemed to be mesmerized by it. Stupidly loving it. Kind of like humans in that sense. Small and insignificant, relying on something that could very easily kill them to bring them joy, warmth, and life.
Yeah, that was a weird thought. You looked over at AA to see what she was doing. Funnily enough, it seemed like she was staring at the bugs too, watching them aimlessly flit around the lights without a care in the world. You wondered if she was going through the same tangent you went on a few minutes ago, if not going into more depth about it.
Her long, curly hair was tied back with a ribbon today; it was rusty red, the same color as her shirt and lipstick. You always wondered why she liked to put on makeup before going out to do something adventurous. Maybe it made her feel more confident in herself, like she was pretty. Or maybe she just liked makeup in general, regardless of whether it was flattering or not. You contemplated asking her, but decided against it because commenting on her makeup or how she looked would’ve made you feel creepy. Still, you did think about it, comparing the possibilities in your mind.
Then she flicked her dark eyes toward you, effectively catching you off guard and causing you to look away in an embarrassed panic. You didn’t let it show on your face, though; no, there was no possible way she could tell that she startled you. Nope. Not at all.
"My mom—," you started speaking, to distract her from what just happened, "is probably going to kill me."
She gazed ahead lazily. "I would think so."
"Yeah, she’s not going to be happy to see me coming home this late; if I don’t show up at school tomorrow, tell the others my story."
She laughed at that. "Oh yes, the story of how Sollux stayed out too late and therefore ended at the dreadful hands of his mother. Truly, a heroic tale." Her tone managing to be teasing yet relaxed.
"Hey, I didn’t want to go out today. Technically, this is your fault for practically bulldozing my schedule and kidnapping me into the woods."
"I didn’t bulldoze your schedule!" She retaliated. "You could’ve left at any time."
"Yes, you did!" You egged on. "My schedule? Completely massacred. It’s dead, AA, dead . And it’s all your fault. It’s on the floor, in gross, withering pieces; it’s a corpse, AA. I’m going to need a whole freaking funeral for this carcass of a schedule because of how badly you demolished it. ‘I could’ve left at any time,’ but could I? Could I really? Do you really think you would’ve just let me go, a free man, no longer subject to your frog-finding labor? I think not, AA, I think not."
"I would’ve let you go if you had asked!" She smiled.
"No, you wouldn’t have! Don’t serve me that crap. We both know you enjoyed having your own personal frog servant to help you examine those muddy tree roots. I was being held captive."
AA guffawed, giggling at your stupid little rant and subsequently making you grin. This was nice, walking home with a friend after an eventful day, even if such a tiring afternoon was completely her fault.
After the giggling died down, you both went back into a comfortable stillness, the only sounds being the backdrop of crickets and the scuffling of your shoes on concrete.
"What about you?" You began, "Is your dad going to be worried about how long you were gone?"
She paused, thinking for a moment. "I don’t think he’d notice all that much. My brother is most definitely worried, but my dad? I’m not quite sure."
"What about your mom?"
"Yeah, she’d be worried. But she lives across the world from us, and what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her."
"Oh." You didn’t know how to respond to that. Sometimes you forget how different your home lives were. Maybe that’s why she preferred to stay outside all day, wandering the woods, rather than going home. Maybe that’s why she liked talking to you so much—because you were so normal.
Ah, what’re you kidding? You were just as screwed up as her, just in a different way.
But that’s okay. You were still alive, weren’t you? And you were living relatively happily. Maybe you didn’t need to be normal in order to find joy in life. Maybe you just had to focus on the little things. Like the beauties of frog biology or the delight that came with talking to a friend. Maybe that’s all there is to it—taking each day as it comes, or whatever that means. You didn’t know; you weren’t a poet or some deep thinker or anything; you were just a random teenager talking to himself inside his head.
"We’re here." You paused in front of your house, turning back to face your companion one last time for the night.
She smiled. "Goodnight, Sollux."
You smiled back. "Bye, Aradia."
Your porch steps were creaky, and the poles holding up the metal awning were still wet from the rainfall. Digging into your pocket, you brought out your key and opened the door, calling out, "I’m home." And earning yourself a "Where have you been?" Along with distant cackling from your sister.
You looked toward the street again, checking if Aradia was still there. She was already gone, presumably farther down the road, on the way to her own house.
You thought about your day with her. How annoyance faded out into comfort, how your contempt was outshined by her friendliness. How she specifically wanted to hang out with you today, and no one else.
Aradia was a nice friend. She was fun to be around; she made you happy. She was easy to talk to.
You thought about what it’d be like in the future.
Would she still be your friend? You hoped so.
There were other thoughts too, but you didn’t want to think about them. Not right now.
Those were feelings to dwell on another night.
Right now, all you want to do is sleep.
Sighing, you trudged inside.