TEN

The faint and light sound of the rain outside caught my attention and made me wake up, even though it wasn't loud.

The moment I opened my eyes, I could immediately smell the rain, properly – the refreshing smell of the damp soil mixed with the smell of nature which became my favorite smell over time. But the moment I realized that it was not raining but drizzling, I shrugged. It meant that it rained but not anymore.

Sulking and folding my arms, I took a quick glance at the clock which I often did as a habit when I wake up every morning. It was only 6:05 so I just flopped down on the bed again and closed my sleepy and nonfunctional eyes, but I didn't sleep. I couldn't.

Instead, I was listening to the faint sound of the drizzle, which was becoming fainter with every passing second, making me sigh.

Petrichor and the sound of the rain were the most soothing things to me. Upset? Sound of rain and Petrichor. Cramps? Sound of rain and Petrichor. Headache? Same. Crying? Same. Pissed off? Just the same.

My mood was becoming worse because the rainy weather was departing soon so I got up to get my phone which was charging near the small closet beside the door. Just when I was about to take my charger out, my phone made a sound to indicate that I got a text, making me jump and scaring me because it was so sudden.

I quickly turned on my phone which was fully charged now and checked whose text it was. But the name of the text sender made my eyes go wide as I silently gasped. My heart skipped a beat and my pulse rate sped up, making my breath hitched. I could feel all the electric chills and nervousness down my spine again.

Elijah.

I promptly pushed it away and opened the text.

"Meet me in the back garden of the yard. NOW. Please?"

I could feel my cheeks and my whole body heat up all over again at the word 'meet' but again, I hit myself for being like this. I was actually being ridiculous.

I grabbed my sweater because it was still chilly and moved out. The entire time, I fidgeted with my fingers wondering what was so important that he had to do it now, so early in the morning. It was a very intimidating journey. I didn't know why. I feared and felt excited at the same time, and I couldn't make out which one was more.

As I entered the garden, my eyes immediately scanned for him and instantly, I saw him. His back was on me but still, he looked beautiful. His hair was as always – untamed and messy but it was more now which made him look even more beautiful.

That was the thing about Elijah. It wasn't just his face that was beautiful. He was beautiful.

If the epitome of beauty were a person, it would've been him.

He wore a plain gray T-shirt which had creases here and there but hugged his biceps and hips perfectly. His sweatpants were crumbled too, as if he just came here right out of bed. Maybe he did.

He turned back, hearing the sounds of my footsteps, and smiled at me, making me weak on my knees. He then walked towards me casually and so did I. When we were finally face to face, I noticed that we were a little too close. I could tell by his heavy breathing which could be heard evidently. Yet, I couldn't make out if I could hear his breathing because we were close or because the surrounding was way too quiet. His breath smelled of mint and that very moment, I fell in love with the smell of mint.

"Thank you, Summer, for coming. I'm sorry but I need your help." He spoke.

"Help? What kind of help?" I wondered, but I didn't say this, of course.

Instead, I smiled back and answered, "Y-Yeah sure. What is it about?" I found myself stuttering.

That was when it hit me; it must have looked like I was nervous which instantly freaked me out. So, I straightened myself quickly and stood more confidently. He didn't seem to notice. Thank goodness.

"Um, I learned something last night and no one knows it yet because the teachers are planning on announcing it this morning at breakfast," He explained.

I tried to read his eyes for any hints, but it was unreadable. As always. Who was I even kidding? It was Elijah after all. No one could read him.

"Today's trip has been canceled."

I gave him a confused look. "What? Why?"

"There is a big storm approaching today according to the daily weather reports, so the trip's been canceled. I get it, it's neither bad nor good news but JJ was planning to spend the whole day with Yvonne and when he heard it, he was irritated."

"How did you get to know about it?"

"Me and JJ were just fooling around when we overheard it last night. We weren't eavesdropping intentionally, I swear,"

I chuckled. "Anyways, so how do you want me to help?"

"Uh-Yeah, getting to that point – the teachers are planning on canceling the entire day because the storm would most probably be a deadly one so it wouldn't be safe going out. But you know there are a lot more things they need to talk about and I know for a fact JJ still wants to be with her, as much as he did a year ago."

My eyes widened. "Are you s-sure?"

"Yup. It's evident. He made a mistake by letting her go once but this time he is adamant on not making the same mistake again but with today's trip getting canceled, he is annoyed since now, he doesn't know how to spend the day with her. So, I want you to bring Yvonne right after breakfast so that they can spend some time together. And yes, JJ doesn't know about this. It's a surprise." He clarified, smiling.

I took quick notice of it. The rare, genuine smile that I yearned to see ever since yesterday in the bus was now there again, plastered on his face. There was also excitement and hope in his eyes. I took it that the hope in his eyes was for JJ, who he truly wanted to see happy.

"Damn, this guy is such a good friend," I whispered to myself.

He almost heard me. "Did you say something?"

"No no no... I-I mean yes and no… I didn't say an- anything but yes, of course! I will get- bring her. You don't worry about that." I was now trying to smile to escape my stuttering mouth. It was embarrassing.

"But do you think he is planning on doing something later?" I added a moment later. We were now walking around the garden.

"Nice question there. He wants to but he is afraid of all the possible outcomes."

"What?" I burst out laughing. "She would never."

"I know but what to do? I still find it funny how scared they are. The entire squad knows Yvonne won't reject him except for JJ who is still so damn doubtful," He laughed a bit but not open-heartedly.

"Anyways, thank you so much for agreeing to this. The plan is simple: Just bring her to him right after breakfast. Cool?" He added a second later.

"Y-Yeah sure," I nodded, forcing a smile. The disappointment that our time together was ending crept in, and I couldn't deny it. It was too strong for my own good.

He smiled back. This time, I couldn't make out if he was smiling genuinely or it was just one of his masked smiles, but I realized I didn't care; I didn't care if it was fake or real. What I cared about was the fact that he smiled, and suddenly that was enough for me. There was no need to deny it all the time. I was so done denying it. Yeah, this guy made me feel things that I had never ever experienced before.

"You should go back to sleep. We still have over an hour before breakfast so go utilize the time. Don't worry about the plan, I got you." I added. For the first time in a zillion years, I spoke with such casualty and confidence to him that I almost couldn't recognize myself. I spoke as if he didn't make me feel all those things, and I was proud of myself for the first time in forever.

Instead of saying anything else, he just nodded and gave me one last smile before turning to leave. I was likewise going to do the same and almost turned in the opposite direction towards the stairs when he turned to me and called out.

"Summer,"

My heart skipped a beat and I felt sweet chills down my spine. "Yes," I found myself saying as I turned to face him. When I saw his face, there was this different expression on his face and as I tried to figure it out in those milliseconds before he spoke again, I felt jolts of happiness shooting through all over my body when I had done so.

Honesty.

His gaze felt so brutally honest and pure it burnt through my soul. No one had ever looked at me that way. Now that someone did, I wanted to be looked at like this all the time.

He kept the smile on his face, and I couldn't help but feel a strong instinct inside of me which said, "That very smile is for you and you, only."

"Summer, I have to really compliment how girls sleep. You came down directly from bed but still, you managed to look so fine."

"But not more than you." It took a lifetime's supply of self-control to not say it.