Author's Note: A fast update, huh? That's mostly because, to be perfectly honest, I have most of this story written out way before. All I have to do is revise it and edit it, because I changed up the plot a little. I also really want to give you guys more chapters to this story before disappearing off the face of earth again, because this story is still in the early stages. Thank you for reading, everyone!

When . it . Rains

(c) SuzieQuaKes 2016

Take these chances; we'll make it somehow.

Recap:

I blinked away the tears from my eyes, my heart feeling dejected inside. I took a deep breath and nodded, gathering up all the energy I had left to open the car door and step outside. This had been such a wild night and all I wanted to do was throw myself into bed. I managed a small smile at him. "Thank you for the ride."

He nodded, but didn't look at me as he started to pull away from the curb. I swallowed down the lump in my throat as I started to walk towards my brightly lit home. I wanted to drop down and die but how could I do that? My heart felt torn and beaten. Why did this have to happen between Drew and I?

seven.

Drew's Perspective

"I remember what you wore on the first day. You came into my life and I thought hey, you know, this could be something." I softly strummed the guitar, and murmured out the words to the song. From beside me, Misty echoed along with me on the verses. This was one of our pastime activities, when we weren't skating. Misty and I were trying to start up a YouTube account where we would post up duets together. It was her idea, mainly, but I agreed because I had a passion for the guitar and Misty's voice wasn't half bad.

The words to the song somehow made my mind wander over to a certain blue-eyed brunette that I had met recently. It was insane to think about how drastically my life had changed over the past few days, because only about two weeks ago I had no idea who May Maple even was. Suddenly, I was beginning to think about her all the time and I didn't even understand why. My feelings were always mixed when it came to her, because she made me so incredibly angry but also had the power to make me feel completely vulnerable. Whenever I thought about her, I thought about her mother and how my family got ruined because of that. But I also think about her bright blue eyes, the mischievous glint in her smile and her pureness of heart that reminded me so much of Angie. I was torn, I really was.

The thoughts clouding my head caused me to mess up my notes and I felt Misty rolling her eyes from beside me. This was the fourth time that we had to start over because of me messing up. I felt bad, but what could I do? I just couldn't concentrate on anything at all. The red-haired girl raised her knees to her chest and arched a brow at me.

"Come on, Drew." She was saying. "Get a grip, honestly. How many times do we have to keep starting over?"

I grumbled and sighed as I set down my guitar. I ran a hand through my hair and shrugged my shoulders. "Sorry, Mist."

She frowned and looked at me carefully with her big sea-green eyes. Her chopped red hair swayed as she tilted her head to meet my eyes. "Are you going to come skate with us tonight?"

"Maybe." I muttered, picking up the guitar again and readjusting the strings. I started to tune it by ear, twisting the knobs and making the strings tighter. My mind started to drift off to May again. The tears in her eyes as she looked at me, the other night in my car. Those eyes never failed to make me feel bad about myself, feel bad for hurting her. They never failed to make me feel little and underpowered. How was it possible that she could make me feel so much, yet at the same time, I hated everything that she and her mother did to my family? Suddenly, a sharp twang rang out ad I realized that I had accidentally twisted the string too hard and it had snapped off the guitar. Great. Just great. I sighed in frustration. I felt Misty's eyes never leaving me, sizing me up.

"What the hell's going on with you, man?" She scratched her red hair as she shifted, my bed squeaking under her weight. "I feel like I don't even know you anymore."

I sighed again, and shrugged my shoulders. I reached inside the pockets of my jeans for a cigarette. I really felt like I needed one. "Maybe you never did."

It was Misty's turn to shrug as she helped herself to a cigarette from my pack. "Well, I know you have that Mr. Mysterious thing going on, but I thought we at least had a bond."

There was a silence as we both lit up our little sticks of nicotine and inhaled as if our lives depended on it. I liked Misty, I really did. I had known her ever since 6th grade, when I first moved to Petalburg. She was the first friend I had ever made, and it was true that she did know me well. I just didn't want to be the one admitting to her that I was acting this way because of a girl. I didn't want her to know that May's stepfather was my father. I didn't know why but I didn't want any of my friends to know. I couldn't have them judging her, hating her.

"How's Miss. English Project?" As if reading my mind, Misty asked me about May.

I grunted a little. My friends had never gotten the hang of calling her by her real name. It did bother me a little, but I couldn't tell them to stop. After all, nobody knew the sort of feelings that I had for her. Not even me, actually. But the last thing I needed was my friends freaking out about me being close with May.

"Don't know." I murmured, puffing on the slightly stale cigarette. That was one bad thing about living in rainy Petalburg. It always ruined my cigarettes.

Misty didn't appear to be satisfied by my answer. She tossed her hair back across her cyan-colored hoodie and smirked. Her green eyes danced playfully. "I think you—out of everyone else—should know, Hayden."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I pretended to play dumb. "It's not like she's close to me or anything."

"Bullshit." She responded with another smirk. Despite how she was teasing me, I saw a little glimmer of sadness appear in her eyes. That was how well I knew her, I guess. But I didn't think anything more of the matter. Misty and I were close, and if there were something bothering her, she would surely tell me, wouldn't she? "Come on, Drew. I may not be the best student at school, but I'm not dumb. You've been seeing her almost everyday and every single time, you're left with a dazed look on your face. You're not fooling anybody, man."

I rolled my eyes. Sometimes Misty could be really annoying. "Fine," I pulled the cigarette from her mouth. "If you're going to keep mocking me, then no smokes for you."

"Hey! I need that!" She yelled as she rolled over to grab it. I laughed a little and held the cigarette far out of her reach. We played around for a little bit. Misty was really the only girl I allowed in my home, or in my life after Angie died. Before May came along, of course. Misty was like my second sister. We bonded over the fact that her dad left her family too. She was the youngest out of three sisters, living with her mother who had two jobs.

My phone started to vibrate in my pocket. I handed Misty her cigarette back with a smirk and she scrunched her nose at me. It was almost burned down to the filter. I dug out the phone and pressing the neon green button, I pressed it to my ear without bothering to look at the number.

"Hello?"

There was a pause from the other end, and the static cackled a little. The line eventually cleared, and an uneasy, hesitant voice spoke. "H-Hello? Drew?"

I could feel my expression change. I was more alert now. Clearing my throat, I replied in my firmest voice possible. "It's me."

Misty looked at me with a quizzical expression and I felt uncomfortable. She had helped herself to lighting another cigarette from my box and had the stick dangling from her mouth. I got up from the bed and started to walk over towards the window. "Hey Drew . . . It's May."

I licked my dry lips. "I know."

There was a pause again from the other end. "Um . . . I got the two-hundred dollars you left me in my locker."

To say that I wasn't disappointed would be a lie. "Oh. Right." I had almost forgotten that I left her two hundred bucks that I had managed to take out from the monthly household fund. I didn't want to deal with another awkward conversation with May, so I put the money inside an envelope and slid it into her locker with a small note. I guess she was just calling to confirm that she got it.

There was another pause. I thought she had hung up but that was before she started speaking again. "Listen . . ." she finally said. "C-Can we be friends again? Or, at least friendly enough to work on the project again? I don't like this ignoring each other thing."

I took a deep breath. It was hard for me to know what to reply to that. I was so angry about what happened to my family—but she was right. She wasn't the one at fault. Even her mother wasn't the one at fault. The one at fault, the scumbag in this entire thing was my father. My father who chose to walk out on the family—my father who chose to leave his daughter for dead. I couldn't blame May for that. I knew it was wrong. "I guess so." I finally said. "I mean—obviously I'm not about to be coming over to your house again. But we can be friendly enough to work on the project."

I could even feel her smile on the other end. It made me feel a little less hollow inside. It made me even want to smile with her. "Thank you, Drew." She laughed a little, and something about the sound of her laugh made my heart jump. The heart that was cold—no, the heart that I had forced to be cold, for all these years, actually jumped. I didn't know what was going on with me. From the back, I heard a woman's voice and May spoke again. "I have to go for dinner . . . I'll see you tomorrow, Drew?"

I nodded my head slightly. "Bye, May."

I clicked off the phone and threw it onto the bed. Misty had finished her cigarette and looked at me with a small smile on her face. Her eyes still appeared to be sad. I was about to ask her what was wrong, when a sudden noise got my attention.

"Yo Hayden!"

I turned around, knowing exactly who it was. Rolling my eyes, I turned to face the dopey smile of Ash Ketchum. He had helped himself into my room through the backdoor, as he usually did. He grinned some more. His goofy nature was sort of contagious I guess. He had texted earlier that he would be coming over soon so that we could all head to the skate park together.

"What's up, dude? Hey Misty." Ash smiled over at Misty, who waved her hand casually back. The black-haired boy then turned to face me again. "Who were you on the phone with? English Girl?"

I rolled my eyes. Haughtily, I flicked my hair across my face and shrugged. "As a matter of fact—I was."

Ash looked surprised—still happy—only surprised. But what I noticed was Misty's smile dropping off her face for a slight second. What was wrong with her? Was it just some typical girl thing? "What?" Ash laughed and arched one of his dark brows. "Man! So you're saying that you're finally letting another girl into your life?"

I shrugged again. "I'm not saying anything. So are we heading to the park, or what?"

Ash nodded quickly. "Yeah, we are. Jimmy and Cain are down in my car. I bet they're wondering what's taking so long."

I grabbed a denim jacket tossed over my desk chair and quickly throwing it on, I took my skateboard from the corner. I was eager to reach the park, to finally let out some stress. "Sure. Let's get going then."

Ash and Misty trailed behind me as we walked out of my room and down the fire escape stairs. Before I knew it, we were heading down to the skate park and there was no more thinking about May Maple.

"Do ya really like May, Drew?"

The question caught me by surprise. We were in the skate park, later that night. The lights were dim and there weren't anybody except for us. That was just the way we liked it. Jimmy and Ash were on the slopes and Cain had to leave early because he had a date with his girlfriend. Misty and I were sitting together on a bench—just watching them glide under the night sky.

I was surprised for many reasons. The first being that it was the first time Misty called May by her real name, instead of some random condescending nickname. It wasn't to say that I didn't like it—but it was odd. Another thing that was odd was that she, out of everyone else, seemed to be intrigued about my relationship with May. But that was what I didn't get. Why was she?

I turned to glance at her and a blank expression was on her face. The wind stirred her bright red hair and her sea green eyes seemed distant. It was a side to Misty Waterflower that I had never seen before. And it made me curious to know what was up with her.

"I don't know. . ." I murmured, before thinking a little. "I do like her as a person." I don't lie to my best friends and I certainly wasn't about to now. I moistened my lips. "There's a lot that you don't know about things between May and I. But she's a good person, Misty. She really is."

Misty's face stiffened before she let a sigh escape her nostrils. She turned to me, with a soft sad smile playing on her lips. "I'm really happy for you, Drew. You're finally letting people into your life again."

I blinked. She seemed so . . . sad despite what she was saying. But the question was—why? Whatever I had with May shouldn't make her sad, unless she . . . No, that wasn't possible at all. Misty and I were best friends. And besides, Ash liked her. I thought she knew that.

"What's up, Mist?" I asked, looking at her carefully. "What's wrong?"

She sniffled. Misty was . . . crying? Throughout my years of knowing her, Misty Waterflower never cried. She was the strong, cheerful, happy girl that smiled in the face of everything in life. "Misty." My voice was firm but I was nervous. Why was she crying? I held her shoulders, forcing her to look into my face. "What's wrong?" I repeated. "Why are you crying? Tell me!"

She brushed a tear from her cheek and laughed nervously. She rolled her eyes, as if she was totally over it. "Sorry. Why am I being such an idiot?"

"You aren't an idiot." I tried to say and looked anxiously into her eyes. "Now tell me. What's all this about?"

Misty shook her head, her side ponytail flapping against her face. "Drew Hayden, you are a moron. Haven't you noticed it yet? Can't you realize with that thick skull of yours?! I like you! I've had a crush on you for the longest time! There, I said it. You happy now? I like you."

I just stared. A moment of silence drifted uneasily between us after she made her statement and all I could hear was the steady sniffs she took. Finally I spoke. "W-what?"

The redhead stood up, the sudden action causing my hands to fall from her shoulders. She threw her hands inside the pockets of the oversized hoodie she was wearing. "Is that all you can possibly say? I know you don't feel the same and that hurts, okay? I know you like her—I've seen the way you look at her. Why, Drew? I've tried for years just trying to catch your attention . . . trying to make you look at me with that look on your face. And she doesn't even have to try! She comes into our lives and suddenly just takes you away!"

"M-Misty, I'm sorry! It's not like that . . . I didn't know . . ."

"Just leave me alone."

I stood up, running after her. "Misty, you have to listen to me. I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm sorry."

Ash was walking towards us; his skateboard tucked under one arm. He took one look at Misty hurrying away, her hands frantically wiping her eyes and then at me—despaired and anxious. His smile disappeared off his face. "What's going on, man?" He stood in front of Misty, blocking her way. "Mist? Why are you crying?"

"Ash, just go away. You don't understand anything." Her voice cracked. I hated seeing her like this. She was my best friend. And I was truly sorry that she felt this way for me.

"Misty, I'm sorry." I repeated, almost desperately. "I really am. I like you, I really like you—but as a friend. Whatever I might feel for May is different. I'm not even sure about anything with her. But you can't blame her! Things happen just like that, you know?"

The red-haired girl looked down at her shoes, before looking at me. She brushed one last tear from her cheek and cracked a smile. "I know. I'm happy for you. That you are finally starting to live life properly again, that you're finally letting people in again. Sorry for all the drama."

I looked deep into her eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I just need time to sort things out, all right?" She turned away from me, and ignoring Ash—she walked away from the slopes, just leaving Ash and me. He stared after her with a blank expression.

"Wow . . ." He looked overcome with realization. His usually dopey eyes were grim. "You are so lucky, man. She actually likes you."

I sighed. I almost forgot that Ash liked her. "You know that I don't feel the same. Now go, dude. It's your chance to comfort her and tell her your real feelings."

"Are you crazy? She just told you that she liked you and you want me to confess? I don't need a harsher rejection, Drew."

I rolled my eyes, burying my eyes under my fringe of hair. "Ash, don't you have a clue on how girls work? She needs somebody right now, even though she wouldn't admit it. Now I know Misty isn't like all the others—but she is still a girl at heart. Just go. I promise you, man. You won't regret it."

Ash looked reluctant, nonetheless he ran after where Misty disappeared off. I hoped that things would work out between them. He was the one she should be with. He cared for her so much and that was exactly what she deserved.

The situation made me think of May. If other people were starting to make their feelings known, maybe it was time for me to be sure of mine.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! It was a shorter chapter but I hope you enjoyed it! I worked very hard on it, so please leave a review!

Love,

-Suzie x