Worth It.

The rain was freezing and it was pouring. The drops were slapping against my skin, leaving red welts and making me shake. Despite what it was doing to me, I stayed rooted to my spot on the curb with my arms wrapped around my legs. I had no way of getting home, I was trapped there.

Along with the rain on my face, tears were pouring down my face. I had gotten stood up by him. Again. For the third time, actually. Every time I got angry at him, he always did something that’d make me want to give him another chance. He’d pout and he’d beg and he’d be just a little bit romantic that would make me want him back. We’d hang out with friends and go to parties together but when it came to actual dates, he always stood me up.

Which is how I ended up here again, in the middle of nowhere with no way to get home. He promised he’d be here hours ago, and after two phones calls and countless texts, it was pretty obvious I got stood up again. The constant use of my phone had caused it to die and that’s how I got stranded.

I buried my face into my legs, shaking as the rain seemed to get colder by the second. I just wanted to go home. I wanted that more than anything else in the world. This was it. From that moment on, I was done with him. He was so not worth it.

Faintly, I heard a car pass me but I didn’t care about that car as much as I knew that car didn’t care about me. I was out of the way; it wasn’t like I was going to get hit so it wasn’t even worth it to look up. When the car noise went away, I assumed the car had passed. At that point, I didn’t really care about anything. I just...felt miserable.

“Lauren?”

I looked up to whoever said my name, rather confused. Then I saw who it was; John. John was my best friend in the world and had been for as long as I could remember. I always sort of had a crush on him but we just weren’t like that. He could and had done much better than me, I was just the girl who had grown up with.

“John?” I asked, my teeth chattering noisily. Now that I opened my mouth, I couldn’t close it because my teeth just kept chattering. Suddenly, I noticed just how cold I was. I had been out in the freezing rain for hours. “What are you doing here?”

“I had a feeling he wasn’t going to show up,” he told me, bending down so he didn’t need to shout. “Plus, your phone was going right to voicemail. I had a feeling.” He pushed his bangs, that were sticking to his face thanks to the rain, out of his way to look at me. “I’m sorry.” I shook my head, looking away from him.

“Don’t worry about it, it isn’t your fault,” I said quietly. He sighed, grabbing my arm and tugging me to my feet. My clothes stuck awkwardly to my body, which made a slapping, sloshing noise as I stood up. He pulled me towards him, wrapping his arms around me tightly as soon as I got close enough. I relaxed into his warm, semi-dry embrace, locking my arms around him.

“He did it again, John,” I mumbled into his chest. One of his hands trailed up to my head, stroking my soaked hair.

“I know, Lauren, I know,” he said quietly, kissing the top of my head before resting his on mine. He curled around me, acting as a sort of umbrella for me, most of the rain falling onto him now.

“I can’t believe I fell for it again. I can’t believe I took him back. I’m such an idiot,” I sobbed into his chest. He made a noise, pulling me closer to him.

“No, you’re not,” he told me. “You’ve just got too much love that you can’t see when people don’t deserve it,” he went on. “You’re not an idiot, Lauren.” I smiled a little at his words. John always knew the right thing to tell me to make me feel better.

“You always know the right thing to say,” I sighed. He chuckled a little, making his chest rumble against my cheek.

“Well, I’m not lying,” John said quietly. “He doesn’t deserve a girl like you.” He hummed for a moment. “Fuck it, I sure as hell don’t deserve you,” he mumbled quietly. I raised my eyebrows, nudging his head off of mine so I could get a look at him.

“I’m the one that doesn’t deserve you, John,” I said honestly, biting my lip as I looked into those brown eyes of his. God, I loved his eyes. He smiled, shaking his head.

“You’re wrong,” he said, shaking his head. “So wrong. Lauren, if I thought for a second that I could possibly deserve you...I wouldn’t have let that fucking idiot anywhere near you,” he said in the most honest voice he’s ever used. I stared at him for a long moment before I shook my head slowly.

“John, you can do so much better than me, and you have and you will,” I told him. “I’m the one that doesn’t deserve you.” He shook his head, pulling me close to him again and putting his head back on top of mine. This time, the hug just felt...different. It felt....more intimate. I bit my lip before taking the biggest leap of faith I think I’ve ever taken. I took a deep breath before mumbling, “John?” He hummed, pulling away from me a little. He could look down at me but he held onto me tightly.

“I love you,” I told him in a quiet voice. He stared at me for what felt like forever before his mouth curved into a small smile.

“I love you more,” he told me. I opened my mouth to retaliate, but his lips were suddenly pressed to mine and he was pulling me as close as we could get. I smiled against his lips, moving my arms from around his middle to around his neck.

Reluctantly, I pulled away for air, smiling at John. He beamed back down at me, moving his bangs again. He leaned down to kiss me again before pulling away and grabbing my hand.

“Come on, let’s get you dry and warm,” he said, pulling me towards the car. “Then I’ll drive you home.” I smiled at him, following after at him. He held the door open for me as I got in before he went to the other side to get in himself.

“Never letting that idiot near you again,” he mentioned, holding my hand and letting them rest on the center console. I giggled a little.

“I don’t want him anyway. I found someone who’s worth the love I’ve got to give, no matter what he might have to say about it,” I mentioned, giving his hand a squeeze. He smiled, shaking his head a little as he turned the car on and pulled away from the curb.