When Rayne Falls (Work in Progress)

When Rayne Falls- Chapter Three

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Rayne's POV

I sat on the bleachers after school listening to the cold wind blowing between the winter trees. School had just ended and the snow had barely begun to fall. I had my sketchbook in my lap with a few art pens. I had attempted to draw the eyes that had been on my mind. The blue didn't do the eyes justice, and they stared back at me as I formed the jaw line, strong and prominent, the hair falling into the eyes I had sketched so carefully. I was trying to wrap my head around my feelings at the moment, Being the new student, I didn't understand why I was so fascinated by another student who meant virtually nothing to me. Shelby kissing him had surprised me. Maybe it was because I hadn't seen it coming? Maybe it was because he was mute? I could've sworn he was gay. Maybe I was letting my own sexual preferences blind me. Maybe I just needed to sleep. I put my sketchbook away and began trudging across the field in the thickening snow fall to my new home that was nearly two miles away.

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About twenty minutes into my walk, the snow was a steady, heavy mass, and my face, toes, and fingers were numb from the cold. All I had on my body was my black hoodie, which was already soaked through, making me shiver more. As I walked further and more quickly, I noticed a blinking red sign up the road. Rainbow Delight: Coffee and Donuts! I walked faster, pulling my nearly-empty wallet out of my wet pocket. I had a few soggy dollars in it, so I rushed into the diner. Inside, the interior was warm and friendly, but very outdated. The tiles were checkered red and white, and old paintings and portraits of what I assumed used to be the town hung on the walls. The long counter bar had eight spinning chairs and small booths in the corners of the tight, closed-in space. It felt cozy though, a nice place to be in this weather. I walked to the counter and ordered a small hot coffee, needing something to warm me up. Once the friendly elderly woman handed me my change, I went to the booth furthest back, sliding in si that I was facing the front, but I could also see outside the window.

Halfway finished with my coffee, a small car pulled into the parking lot outside, and I squinted my eyes, trying to see through the heavy snowfall. I looked back down and wrapped my hands around my warm cup. Moments later, a figure walked into the diner, and it let its snow-covered hood fall back. I recognized the blonde hair almost immediately, and sighed under my breath. I noticed the dirty glances Jace had been throwing me all day, but hadn't given it much thought. I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around what he had against me. Jace glanced around the empty space, caught my eye, and turned to the counter, ordering something. After he had his drink, he turned and walked in my direction slowly, as if debating whether to come closer or not. I kept my eyes on his warily, though my hair hung damply in them. He slid into the seat across from me and stayed silent for a moment, staring down at his cup. The silence droned on awkwardly for about a minute before we locked eyes. The grey in his stood out more than the blue, almost like a cat's eyes. They were magnificent. His light skin and fair hair was striking against the redness of the cold on his face and the black of the jacket he was wearing.

"Did I do something to bother you?" I asked, speaking so abruptly that I startled myself. He looked up, slightly surprised, before his face took on a stoic expression.

"Bother me? Absolutely not. What would make you think that? He replied.

"You've been glaring at me all day. Is it because I'm new?" I asked, looking out the window now.

"Demetri was new. I accepted him as easily as breathing, and he's mute." He answered, and I could see him from the corner of my eye, staring at me directly. My brow furrowed involuntarily and I felt slightly insulted.

"What's so different about me?" I asked, trying not to let my anger show through. Jace gazed at me for a moment, and I stared back now, noticing the mystery at the back of his expression. He continued gazing back at me with those intense eyes, and for a moment I thought he hadn't heard my question. As we sat there, staring each other down, something in his eyes changed. He finally responded.

"Everything." Then, he rose from his seat with his cup, his eyes never leaving mine. Only when he turned away did our gaze break. My eyes followed his tall, slim form out of the diner and into the snow, until he drove away. I tossed my drink into the trash half-full, my appetite for it completely gone.

I felt sick to my stomach.

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The next day at school, Jace avoided my gaze and I avoided his. We didn't speak a word or acknowledge each other. Demetri and I sat on the stairwell, Shelby not joining us this time. I had honestly begun to feel like utter shit.

The previous night at "home" had been a nightmare. My mum had come home drunk again, this time with her new "love interest" (a man she met at the bar only a week ago) who was an abusive dick. She was so drunk that she could barely walk, and he found it hilariously amusing to push her into the walls and watch her tip over. They ended up in her room, of course, the sounds they made were loud enough to drive me onto my roof in below-zero weather. The coldness was insane, but the silence had been peaceful. My thin pajama pants didn't help, my thin jumper had barely even dried enough to keep me warm as I sat up there for about any hour. I ended up dozing off at one point, so comforted by the silence and numbing coldness that when I woke up a while later, shivering and numb, my fingers and toes blue, I couldn't even feel the fear of going into hypothermia. I ended up clawing my way back into my room and curling up under my blankets, cold and blue, until my body warmed up. My body felt like it was on fire for the remainder of the night.

I woke up at seven this morning shaking still, with dark circles under my eyes. My mum wasn't awake. I crept downstairs and took a crumpled five dollar bill out of her worn out purse before creeping out of the house in my faded grey jeans and a clean black shirt. My vans were worn out and abused, so walking into the cold piles of snow that lined my streets numbed my toes almost instantly. My hair was a wavy mess, and I couldn't be bothered to fix it this morning. My book bag had been soaked through on my walk, ruining the edges of my cheap notebooks. Catching my reflection in a store window down the street from the school, I noticed how purple the circles under my eyes were, and how pale my skin was looking. The veins in my face led a blue trail down the sides of my temples and underneath my eyes.

When Demetri and I were alone during the lunch period, he wrote to me, asking if I was okay.

"I didn't sleep well."

He didn't ask me to explain.

Wanna come over later? He asked.

"Maybe. I'll see," I replied. We stayed silent most of the time after that. It was comforting, but it was still silence. I'm sure we were both okay with it.