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Wemmbu liked storms. He enjoyed the dim look it gave the outside, the sound of rain crashing down to hit the ground or roof and of the occasional thunder. The sight of lightning striking through the gray clouds. The odd scent that just calmed him down immediately.
He could stare out the window for hours, just listening and watching the rain.
If he wasn’t busy with schoolwork then he would, too. But right now he was trying (and failing) to work on whatever homework he had. Seriously, it was the weekend, why did his teachers have to give them work to do?
But also, there was a lovely downpour happening right now. He had immediately perked up with a grin as soon as he heard the first wave of thunder before the rain properly hit. Wemmbu had opened the window shortly after that, too.
And while he did not regret that, he also could not focus on his work for the life of him with it. Some people worked better with a sound in the background; usually rain. Wemmbu didn’t. He wanted to go outside and just stand or sit somewhere, listening and taking it in. He did not want to be sitting at the desk in his bedroom, staring boredly at math equations.
…
Yeah, no, screw it. He had free will, or at least the illusion of it. So of course he was going to use it! The homework was due Monday anyways, and it was the middle of Saturday. Today should be his free day.
So he moved, his chair rolling away from his desk so he could get up. He pushed it in, and went to leave his room. The plus side was that his parents weren’t home, so he didn’t need to give them a heads up or anything. Not that they would particularly ask, though. They knew how he got whenever it was raining.
Wemmbu walked easily, going down the carpeted steps that led to the front door. He slipped on his shoes, grabbed the black umbrella in the corner, and went out without any hesitation.
Relief washed over him as soon as the door shut behind him.
He opened the umbrella, and just started walking around his driveway and frontyard. He’d done this once or twice before, too. He would just walk around, not really thinking. He stepped into shallow puddles without a care in the world. Walked in the little stream that was forming by the curb, briefly wondering if this would get him sick before the thought was swept away. He had a good immune system anyways.
Sometimes he would have to shake the umbrella, to make sure there wasn’t too much water gathering on it. He liked watching the droplets of water fly off and hit the ground, joining the rain.
At some point he drifted toward the side of the house, planning to go to the backyard. He could hear the rustle of leaves as a wind passed by, shaking the greenery. More water merely fell down at that, lightly spraying the area. The light chill from the breeze didn’t bother him. If anything it made him want to stay outside for longer.
Then he heard a window squeak open, and he had a feeling he knew who it was. “Enjoying the rain?” Egg asked with a slight laugh. Wemmbu looked up, seeing his friend at the now open window inside his house. Said window was from Egg’s bedroom.
He and Wemmbu had been neighbors ever since Egg moved into the house next to Wemmbu’s. And they had become friends quite quickly. Eight-ish years later and they were still best friends. They hung out at least once a day all the time (unless one of them was sick and their parents forced them to stay separated), during school and after. They were pretty regular teenagers.
“You should join; it’s nice out,” Wemmbu hummed.
“I think we have different ideas of what ‘nice out’ means,” Egg laughed.
“Well for it to be raining, it’s nice out,” Wemmbu rolled his eyes. “You like- never join me in the rain.”
“I don’t want to get wet,” he shrugged.
“You have an umbrella, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but I don’t feel like getting it. Too much work.”
“It takes not even five minutes.”
Egg merely hummed, not even bothering to come up with a lie. “If I join you then you need to do your homework after going inside.”
“Bet,” Wemmbu agreed easily. He was planning to do it anyway, to be fair. He didn’t feel like having to deal with it at eleven pm Sunday night because he procrastinated the whole weekend like usual. The only reason he was outside was because he had to clear his mind and wanted to get away for a bit.
“And I get to do your hair,” Egg added.
“Hmm.. Fine,” Wemmbu shrugged. Honestly, he kind of liked it when Egg did his hair. The feeling was nice. And even if he did mess it up, he always fixed it afterward. Normally gently grabbing the purple strands to braid it.
“Give me a few minutes,” Egg sighed. He probably realized how he wasn’t really winning this either way, considering the things he was trying to make Wemmbu do were things he didn’t mind.
So then Wemmbu just waited, wandering around in the backyard for a few short moments before going to the front again. He wasn’t quite sure how long he’d been out there so far, or long he’d been waiting for Egg. Time always felt slow and stretched out during these moments.
Eventually though he heard a door open and shut, and he looked over to see Egg opening his own umbrella. It was basic; big enough for one person and black in color. Similar to Wemmbu’s. The main difference was that Egg’s could fold to be quite small, and Wemmbu’s merely closed and could almost act as a cane. Well it could, it just probably shouldn’t be used like that.
“You owe me so much for this,” Egg said. He made a noise that was between a huffed sigh and a playful grumble.
“I owe you me doing my homework and you messing with my hair,” Wemmbu corrected. “Agreed on it however many minutes ago.”
“Bro you know what I mean,” Egg snorted.
“Yeah, yeah,” Wemmbu snickered. “Let’s get walking already before the rain stops.”
And so they did. It was just wandering down the street, and eventually around the block. Passing houses, hearing cars drive by a smidge quicker than the speed limit demands. Nothing too new. They chatted here and there, but mostly remained silent.
Egg liked the sound of the rain, despite not enjoying being in it. He got sick too easily. To the point that he and Wemmbu had a running joke about it, how Egg was always a hostage of sickness. It was mostly funny because it was never anything too serious, and Egg would be fine again in a day or two.
The two of them just walked, listening to footsteps and water pattering on the ground. They never really saw anyone, except a few kids running around. Their parents would be watching with a tired or glad look on their faces. Wemmbu and Egg remembered how they were like that when they were younger.
At some point the two stopped, and sat on a wooden bench that was surprisingly dry. They stayed there for a while, in a comfortable quiet. Wind blew once in a while, cars drove by causing water to be kicked up, and yet the rain never stopped. At some point it drifted to a sprinkle, before picking back up again.
Soon enough Wemmbu and Egg made a small game out of guessing when lightning would show up. Egg won more often than not there, Wemmbu won’t lie. But they both still had fun.
“We should do this more often,” Wemmbu hummed, leaning further against the bench and gazing at the cloudy sky.
“Maybe,” Egg nodded, doing a similar action.
More thunder sounded.
The rain continued.
And Wemmbu and Egg just sat there, breathing in the gentle moment.
It was slow in a way that didn’t feel agonizing. Quiet in a way that wasn’t awkward. Just two friends, listening to and being in the rain. Wemmbu let his umbrella drift down at some point, to let the droplets hit his face and head.
After what could have been an hour or fifteen minutes, they got up. They originally planned to start heading back, though they got sidetracked. And could you blame them?
They passed by a small park, though they ignored the barren playground. Instead the two of them just went to the clearing that eventually leaked into a forest.
They could dance in the rain for a little longer.