Dance With Me In the Pouring Rain

Tory wasn’t in the park the next day. Nor Thursday. I had to do extra laps to stop myself getting too angry. Relax, I told myself. She’s probably got other stuff on. It’s not like you’re her priority or anything. Why are you so bothered, anyway?

I’m not, I told myself. I don’t care. It’s just nice talking to her.

I sighed. Yeah. Right. Even I didn’t believe that.

Friday afternoon, I walked to the park after school. My mates wanted me to meet up with them and play football, but I wasn’t in the mood. Kicking a stone out of the way, I trudged down the path, not looking up until the last second, to prolong the inevitable.

Looking up, I sighed with disappointment. She wasn’t there. I sat on the bench and pulled out my iPod, selecting my depressing playlist. Immediately, Breaking Benjamin blared in my ears. I closed my eyes, shutting out the world.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I grunted, ignoring them. But then I caught the whiff of a familiar scent and my eyes shot open.

Tory was standing in front of me, in her school uniform, an apologetic look on her face. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail away from her face and she looked beautiful.

“Hi Fletch,” she greeted me. “Miss me?”

That was a resounding ‘yes’. But I could hardly tell her that. I could hardly tell her she was the highlight of my day.

“’Course not,” I lied, pausing my iPod. “Were you away or something?”

She rolled her eyes and sat next to me. “I had trampolining yesterday and on Wednesday I went to town with my friends.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You do trampolining? Cool.”

She smiled. “What you listening to?”

I handed her a headphone and she smiled. “Oh, I love this song. You take the breath right out of me,” she sang, her voice low and husky, especially for a girl.

“Your voice is amazing,” I told her, and she blushed.

“Thanks,” she replied. “My friends say I should go on X-Factor or something. But it’s so fake and blatantly fixed.”

I nodded. “Yeah. You should be in a band, though.”

“I’m not that good,” she replied incredulously. “Besides, I don’t want to be famous. It’s overrated.”

We sat there in silence for a bit, just listening to the song. It wasn’t an uncomfortable, awkward silence, where no one knows what to say, like you get when you sort of know someone. It was an amiable silence. We didn’t need to say anything.

…You taught my heart
A sense I never knew I had
I can't forget
The times that I was lost and depressed from the awful truth
How do you do it?
You're my heroine…

“You like Silverstein?” she said, surprised. “I didn't think anyone else had heard of them.”

I smiled. “They’re my favourite band.”

She grinned. “Hey, my friend Matt is having a party this weekend. It’s his birthday, and he’s roped me into coming.” She grimaced. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re friends, but he annoys the hell out of me sometimes. Do you think you could come?”

I was taken aback, and gaped at her. “What? Me?”

She laughed. “Yes, you, Fletchy.”

“Stop calling me that,” I warned mock-dangerously, giving myself time to think.

“So will you come? Please come,” she pleaded. “My friends are dying to meet you.”

“You told them about me?” I was more shocked than before.

“Of course I told them about you. My friend Sophie has a crush on you,” she informed me, to my bemusement. “I know, but she’s madly in love with Edward Cullen, and he doesn’t even exist.”

“So are millions of other girls,” I reminded her.

“So will you come?” she persisted.

“You’re stubborn, aren’t you?” She nodded. “You’re not going to give in, are you?” She shook her head.

“So will you come?” she wheedled.

I groaned. “Do I have a choice?”

“There’s always a choice,” she informed me. I made a sceptical sound in my throat. “But you should know that if you don’t come, I’ll set my imaginary friends on you.”

“At the risk of being mutilated by your imaginary friends,” I said seriously, “I don’t know. I won’t know anyone there but you!”

“Don’t worry,” she assured me. “You’ll be fine. My friends are nice, for the most part. Matt is a bit of a dickhead, though.” She wrinkled her nose. “But apart from that, they're okay. Crazy, but okay.”

Surprisingly enough, this didn't put me entirely at ease. Tory sensed my discomfort.

“It’ll be fun,” she said, smiling winningly. “You’ll have a great time.”

“I said I was coming, didn't I?” I grumbled. “Though why you want me there is a mystery to me.”

I hadn’t intended for her to hear that, but it seemed she had.

“To cement our newfound friendship,” she replied softly, squeezing my hand with her ice-cold fingers. Electricity shot down my arms and I shivered.

“So, where is this party then?” I said grudgingly.