Boys of the Dark | ✓ (2015)

8. The Boy with the Rain (Rihanna, We Need Your Umbrella)

The rain kept pounding against the glass and Delilah couldn't stop staring at the empty seat beside her.

Ryland asked to leave almost twenty minutes ago. Perhaps—as Melon Head put it—he was taking a shit.

But Delilah doubted that. She put her hand up and told the teacher she was going to the bathroom. She left her chair after, leaving the class and went through the hall. Yellow and purple walls covered in banners, the hallways were empty and silent except for the rain hitting harder now.

She pulled her sleeves down, and walked through, glancing out the window to see the skies drowning in the grey and gloom of Mother Nature. That bitch was always sad around this time of year.

She kept walking until she saw another figure staring out the window. She stepped closer to the glass, seeing the other side of the school where windows filled one part of the wall as well. She pulled away and headed towards that direction, her boots clicking away.

Finally reaching the end of the hall, she found the door wide open. She glanced down and saw Ryland sitting against the door frame, staring out in the rain.

She tried her best to reduce the sound of her boots and crept towards him. She opened her mouth, but he put a finger to his lips, dissolving the words in her throat.

She naturally held her bracelets to keep them from jingling and sat across from him. Her legs were parallel to his as she leaned on the other side of the door frame.

A little tape recorder sat by his thigh, the light flashing green. His head leaned back on the door and she did the same, the cool sensation of the metal hitting her neck.

She stared out into the rain too and absorbed the sounds of raindrops as they dissolved into the puddles, becoming one with the rest of the little lake of the school courtyard.

This peaceful part of Delilah unlocked and she let it roam over her body, putting her senses and heart at ease. They didn't say anything the whole time, both not even staring at each other—but out into the empty yard and rain.

"Why do you like doing these kind of things?" she asked.

He didn't look at her as he spoke. "Whenever I find that one sound—the one that makes me appreciate the world and speaks and tells a story—that's when I know I'm home. It reminds me everything is real."

Suddenly the bell rang, nearly sending Delilah in a jump. Ryland snatched the tape recorded off the ground and shoved it in his pocket. She quickly got up too, dusting her pants off. He raked his hand through his air, and was going to move past her until she grabbed his hand.

He stared down at it.

Kids began filing out of their class, filling the halls with laughter and bulky cliques. It drowned out the sound of pouring rain, reality sinking in. "It'll take too long if you go through the halls," Delilah said. They still had to go back to class to get there stuff.

"And you suggest...we fly back to class?" Ryland asked.

A wicked grin spread across her lips and she motioned outside. His eyes roamed past the open doors. "Oh no. You can't be serious." She tugged on his sleeve and he shook his head. "We're gonna get wet!"

Her eyes sparkled. "That's the point."

He tried to dig his feet into the tiles, but she yanked him into the rain, laughing as it was pouring like crazy. She screamed and laughed even more, pulling him with her.

At first, he put his arm over his head yet once realizing that didn't do justice, he put his arm down and let the rain drown out his hair.

Delilah guided him through the rain, it soaking their clothes and hair. Her boots squished in the slushy grass, splashing against her thighs. She glanced over her shoulder and caught Ryland laughing as well, the dimples in his cheeks showing off.