Different yet Always the Same

The weather never seemed to be real fond of Dane, especially on days when he and Rachel had planned on doing something together. It was cold and dark outside--the makings of a thunderstorm. Rachel didn't like thunderstorms; she didn't like the dark.There was something about the omnious mood that thunderstorms brought that made Rachel uncomfortable. Dane rolled his shoulders back to relieve his tense muscles. He was standing at the window, deep in thought. He recalled the incident four years earlier, when he had finally met Rachel in person.

The boy smiled to himself.

After Dane had put Tommy Hanson in his place, Rachel and Dane instantly became friends. Now, in the fifth grade, their friendship was growing ever stronger. And just as it had always been before, Dane was evermore entranced by Rachel. His mother teased him, insisting he admit at least to himself that he had a crush on his best friend but the boy would not budge. What ten year old boy would?

Dane rolled his shoulders again. Two hours had passed and he still had not moved from his post by the window. A passerby would be startled by the pale boy standing in the large second story window. But where Dane lived, there were hardly any passersby. It was just the same twelve families that lived in his suburban neighborhood that had lived there all his life.

A knock came at the door, interrupting Dane's thoughts and causing him to turn his head towards the door. A pretty brunette wearing a yellow raincoat walked in bearing a bright smile. Her presence contrasted dramatically with the melacholic atmosphere of the library. Dane turned fully with a crooked smile and walked towards the girl.

"Rachel. I thought you would have stayed home today since it's supposed to rain," he said as she sat herself in a lounge chair.

"I was going to," she replied, "but I couldn't stand listening to my brother and sister arguing again. Plus, I'd be super bored."

"I guess that makes sense," Dane replied. "There isn't much to do here though."

"We could play hide and seek," Rachel offered.

"You hate hide and seek," he replied.

Rachel wrinkled her nose, admitting defeat. Hide and seek was the best game to play at Dane's house but Rachel was terrified of it. She hated the feeling of being hunted--of something out to get her, something out of her control. The girl sighed.

"We have nothing better to do," Rachel replied.

Dane smirked, "I'll count first."