Paint You Wings.

⊱⊱ Riley Van Acker ⊰⊰

I've always liked the rain.

There wasn't any particular heartwarming story as to why I did but I just really did like it. There was just something about the whole rainy day thing. It'd be all sunny out with people enjoying walks under the warm weather, and the sky would start to gradually turn dark as thunder would slowly begin to rumble.

Then came the raindrops. People would start panicking, rushing to get under shelter, while others would be laughing joyfully as they messed about under the falling water droplets before eventually deciding that they'd best find somewhere to hide under before they caught a cold.

For some bizarre reason, I felt different when it rained. I felt free. It was like I had no worries in the world. Like, I was just a little girl who was an absolute ray of sunshine, always smiling and laughing - kind of like the freaking sun in the Teletubbies. When I stood under the rain, twenty-one year old or not, I felt like a kid again; jumping about in puddles and kicking at the water, more than likely looking like someone who'd gone bonkers.

"Hey Ri." A voice greeted as I walked into the café, clothes now almost dripping from being outside.

I beamed at Charlie, opening my arms out as if to ask for a hug. He laughed, shaking his head as I kept moving closer and closer towards him.

"Get away from me, you freak," he exclaimed in between laughter as soon as I managed to envelope him into a tight hug, even jumping on so that I could annoy him by making him uncomfortably wet.

And if you're not making a sexual innuendo by now, you're probably lying.

"Why wasn't I invited to this group hug shindig?" Linc's voice questioned from behind Charlie as he faked offence, holding a hand to his heart.

I jumped off of Charlie, going after Linc, instead. When he noticed that I'd just come from being in the rain, he immediately started to shake his head, saying that he'd changed his mind about being left out. I ignored him, of course, and even Charlie got in on the fun as he, too, advanced towards Linc.

We managed to pull him into a hug, mostly by tackling him to the ground as we all sported silly grins on our faces, till someone started to make it rain above our heads. The three of us glanced up at the same time with scowls on our faces, only to immediately replace them with warm, fond smiles as we caught sight of the person sprinkling the leftover rain from their umbrella over our heads.

"Enjoying the rain there, Riley?" Ina questioned fondly, smiling brilliantly as her eyes glistened with amusement at how we were hugging-slash-wrestling on the café floor.

Ina is a beautiful woman. Even though she's freshly turned sixty, she's still as healthy as ever. Before her late husband had offered Charlie a place to stay, above the café where Linc and I lived, they lived there together. Once Charlie moved in, Rick and Ina moved out into a little cottage not far from here. When he passed away and we offered her their old room - neither Linc nor I were against sharing a room with the seventeen year old - she declined, saying this was as much of our home as it was hers. She tried to come back to the café, to help around but we refused to let her do any work. Since Ina couldn't cook or know how to make any of the drinks - Rick was the genius - the only 'help' she'd be able to provide was by cleaning up tables and mopping the floors, and we definitely did not want her doing that.

She tried to argue at first but eventually, she gave in - resorting to dropping by once we'd closed shop, like now. She was like a mother figure to us all. We were all broken in some way, but with each other, we were fine. We would always be fine, as long as we had each other.

I pulled away from the boys, grinning extremely sarcastically as I flashed her two thumbs-up. She chuckled but shook her head, holding her hands outstretched in front of her, ready to push me back should I try to move in to hug her. She knows how stubborn and annoying I really am, thus why she was ready.

Flashing her a childish grin, I ran my fingers through my tangled and damp strands of, now, dark blonde hair. Curious, wasn't it? How water was transparent but made your hair look darker when soaked.

Ina rolled her eyes, "go upstairs and get a shower. You look like a proper mole rat."

I shot her a flat look, mouthing the word: 'thanks' as my two best friends burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

Ina chuckled. "I've made dinner so hurry up." She instructed, immediately gaining our attention and ceasing the boys' laughter.

"You... Cooked?" Linc questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"No... I made dinner. By going to the shops and asking people to make them for me." She laughed softly, handing the paper bag in her hand over to Linc as she started up the stairs.

That made us all snicker, the boys going to help her with setting up the food while I went to wash off the rain water with water from the pipes.

I was done in the bathroom in five minutes, since I hadn't bothered with shampooing my hair. It was a pain, sometimes - having long hair. Once I'd gotten changed into a pair of joggers and an AC/DC t-shirt that I was sure belonged to Linc at one point, I entered the kitchen, joining them at the table.

Ina spoke about her day, in which she spent at the library, while Linc and Charlie bickered constantly about who was the better cook. It was obviously Charlie, seeing as how he was the one hidden in the kitchens, making the sandwiches, salads and few pastas we offered at the café while Linc and I were the ones brewing the coffees and whatnot, as well as clearing up the tables.

And just like that I found my thoughts drifting over to Alex. He'd asked me for my opinion on his song earlier on. Turns out he wasn't writing poetry. Also turns out that he was born in 'a little town just outside of London'. Unless the song wasn't written about him then I stand uncorrected.

Ina left once we were done with dinner; or supper, more appropriately called. Once the boys went to take their well needed showers, I decided to head back down into the café. I actually really liked being there when there wasn't anyone, at night, particularly. The large windows displayed the starry night sky clearly or if it rained, the soft pitter patter of each water droplet was comforting, familiar.

I grabbed the brand new sketch pad that Ina had gotten me, as well as the Sharpie I'd left on the counter. If there were mandatory things that were needed if you lived with me, it was sketch pads and stationery.

My hand glided over the page easily as I got lost in my thoughts. I didn't even know what I was drawing till I finally finished it. It was a rose, one that I'd seen before, somewhere. Maybe on a novel, an advertisement, or perhaps; someone's tattoo.

The sound of the scraping of a chair being pulled out next to me made me glance up, only to be met with the sight of a familiar brown-haired, blue-eyed teenager.

"Linc told me you were flirting with some dude just now." He smirked, nudging me.

I rolled my eyes, shoving him away as I capped the Sharpie. Charlie's smirk only grew as he reached over, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and bringing me into his chest, ruffling my hair as he did so.

"My little girl's growing up," he sniffed patronisingly, making me let out a silent scoff as I pulled away finally, and gave him the most unimpressed look I could muster.

He laughed, shrugging. "Gimme some details, come on! This is the first time I've ever seen you actually, like, interested in someone." I blinked at him as he let out another small chuckle. "I'm serious, though. How come only now?"

I flipped past the drawing of the rose I'd just done and uncapped the Sharpie. 'You can't just choose to start liking someone, or to stop liking someone.'

Charlie's eyes skimmed across the words as his lips curled up slightly. "I know. But I've known you for almost two years and I've never once seen you with a guy. Or showing any interest in them."

'I don't particularly think that mute girls appeal to anyone,' I wrote, showing it to him as he rolled his eyes.

"Then it's they're fucking loss, now, innit?" He laughed, roping an arm around my shoulder to pull me into a side hug of sorts.

"I'm gonna go sleep. Goodnight, Ri." Charlie spoke quietly, surprising me. Charlie rarely ever slept at night, due to the simple fact that he was diagnosed with insomnia. It wasn't the type of insomnia that almost every teenager claimed to have - he was actually suffering.

He'd not sleep for days on end, resulting in him being dead tired all the time, but then he'd finally be able to sleep, peacefully. His sleep never lasts long, two or three hours, at most. Then he'd wake up and have to either down some pills to help him get to sleep - he absolutely detested pills - or stay awake till he felt sleepy again.

Charlie must've caught sight of my inquisitive look since he shrugged a shoulder in response. "I'm sleepy," he spoke, ghosting a kiss to my hairline as he let me go, climbing up the steps slowly so as to not disturb Linc, who was probably out cold.

The soft patter against the glass of the windows made me divert my eyes from Charlie's retreating figure over to beyond the café's confines. A feeling of calm and nostalgia washed through me as I shut my eyes in content.

I really like the rain.