Every Once in a While

"So how did you find this place?" I asked, looking over at Poe. He was lying in the grass, staring up at the sky. He glanced over at me slowly.

"A bunch of us found it when we first got here."

"So, you come here often?" I mimicked him, lying down and staring up. The grass felt smooth beneath me, I could easily close my eyes and drift off. This was definitely beating my previous plans.

"Not as often as I used to." He propped himself up on his elbows, "Thought you'd like it....so." He shrugged. I hummed in content,

"I do like it," I sat up, scooting closer to him, "Thanks for showing me." We stared at each other for a moment, Poe reached out grabbing my arm, pulling me closer to him. I set my hands in front of me, steadying myself. I leaned over slowly, never taking my eyes off of him. He smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I want to ask you something."

"Before or after the kissing?" I asked, I stopped inching closer to him. He laughed, moving his hand down so that it was resting against my cheek. I leaned into his touch slightly, smiling.

"Before the kissing," He dropped his hand, looking away from me. "Well, I was talking to Jules."

"About?" I perked up.

"You." I wanted to laugh, solely because Jules was probably overjoyed with the fact that Poe and I had went to her to discuss one another. "I hope you don't mind, I know she's your friend and-"

"I don't mind." I waved him off, I was actually a bit touched that he had discussed me with Jules. I wondered if Jules had acted the way she had did when I told her all about Poe, picturing her beaming and thoroughly excited while talking to Poe was definitely amusing. I wanted to ask if she had mentioned talking to me, but then that would be giving away the fact that I had told Jules about us. I'd just keep that to myself for now.

"She told me I should ask you out properly."

"Did she now?" I laughed, I have to make sure to thank her for that.

"So," He wiggled his eyebrows, "I was just wondering-"

"Oh no." I groaned, reaching my hands out, palms up. Just to justify the fact that it had actually started to drizzle.

"Ouch, Isla," He placed a hand over his heart, "Could at least let me finish."

"What?" I questioned, "It's starting to rain." I added, I couldn't ignore the crestfallen look his eager expression had morphed into. Before I could tell him to go on and apologize for interrupting, the rain started to pour down hard. Rain on D'qar was either hot and humid, or it was hard and freezing. We weren't so lucky to experience the first category of rain. I squealed, shielding my face from the hard hitting rain. Poe had gotten to his feet first,

"It's s-so cold." I said as I reached to hold his hand, letting him help me up. I could see the small fog form and disappear every time I took a breath. We were walking as quickly as we could, but still highly cautious. The soft grass had become awfully slippery, if I hadn't been holding onto Poe, I was sure I would have have trouble with slipping and stumbling. The rain was falling around us noisily, the sound bouncing off the ground echoing. I had liked when it rained on D'qar, only because I could enjoy it from inside my room, where I wasn't soaking wet or freezing. My clothes felt heavy, they clung to me as I moved against them. I loathed the feeling of wet clothes, and I wasn't too happy with the way my hair kept sticking to my face.

"Climbing this in rain doesn't seem too smart." I announced as Poe slipped his arm out of my grasp.

"There isn't any other way." He spoke loudly, trying to be heard over the sound of the rain. I nodded, I knew he was right but I was still apprehensive about it. I watched him closely, hoping that he wouldn't slip. If Poe could manage it with an injured hand, while in the rain, there was no reason why I couldn't do it.

"Make sure your feet don't slip."

I looked up; well, I had tried to look up at him. I couldn't see much due to the rain fall. "I'll try my best." I grumbled. If climbing this thing was hard before, it was a hundred times harder now. Trying to find a stone that my feet didn't slip off of was becoming a daunting task. I was soaked, freezing, and the fact that it was taking me forever to climb the damn wall was enough to feel utterly exasperated.

"Don't get so worked up," Poe called down to me.

"Climbing this stupid wall is impossible," I shouted, "Sorry that I'm not as good as you are at climbing wet stones." I looked down, I wasn't very far from the ground. I found a stone and planted my feet firmly. I pulled up with my arms and pushed softly with my legs as I tried to find other reliable stones to help me on my way up. Poe was looking down at me, I was close enough that the rain wasn't clouding up my vision.

"You can climb down." I told him. I looked down once more, letting my feet feel around. I held on as tightly as I could with my hands, it wasn't easy seeing that it was so slippery. I managed to reach the top, turning over carefully so that my legs were dangling on the other side. I didn't wait for Poe to move, I just wanted to get out of these clothes and go to bed. I climbed half way down before jumping off. I was lucky I didn't slip in the process. I put my head down, staring at the mushy grass. I took big, cautious steps. Poe was next to me in no time, shivering slightly. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead groaned loudly as it started to hail.

"Ow. Ow. Ow." I sighed in annoyance, I wanted to run but I knew I would only end up on my ass. Poe shrugged off his jacket, raising it so that it was over his head, creating a shield.

"Come here." I walked to him quickly, keeping close to his side.

"Sorry if I was snappy." I mumbled quietly, feeling a tiny bit embarrassed. I stood up on my tip toes, leaning in to kiss his wet, cold cheek.

"I guess you're forgiven." He sighed playfully once I pulled away. I could tell that Poe's arm was bothering him by the way he winced and lowered his arm every now and then.

"There," I pulled away from him, "Hurry up." We were no more than ten feet from his room.

Poe shook his head,"I'll walk you to yours."

"No," I protested, "I know your arm is bothering you. Just go in." The puddles on the ground were deep and cold and I couldn't seem to avoid them.

"Or you can just come to my room," He put his jacket down, "If not, I'll walk you-" Was it really possible for it to rain ever harder? Yes, it was. The hail was had started to fall quicker, I could feel it stinging my skin.

"Fine!" I would have declined but my room wasn't anywhere near Poe's, I wasn't up for the walk. "Only 'til it stops." He grabbed my hand and we hurried towards his room. He opened the door and we stumbled in quickly. Poe walked over to the heater, turning it all the way up. I stood near the doorway, shivering slightly.

"Come here-"

"I'll get everything wet." I objected. I wrapped my arms around my torso, squeezing softly. Poe looked down to where he was standing, small droplets of water falling were falling from every inch of him. I could spot the small puddle forming.

"I'm gonna change." He kicked his boots off and walked off to a part of the room that wasn't visible from where I was standing. "You should change, too!" He called out.

"I will, once I'm in my room."

"Isla, you can't keep those wet clothes on." He walked back out, wearing dry clothes. He was rubbing a towel over his face and hair. I looked down at my sopping attire, I had wanted to get out of my wet clothes but I was assuming I would do so in my own room.

"Well, what do I change into?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I can give you something," He shrugged, "Long-sleeve or sweater?"

I shook my head, "It's no use. I would have to take everything off." He squinted, furrowing his brows.

"Yeah, that's the point." He replied slowly, obviously confused. I sighed, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hands. With my eyes still covered, I decided I had to explain.

"If you gave me something dry to wear....I would have to take off everything." I dropped my hands, looking over at him. I could tell he was thinking about what I said, but it didn't look as if it had clicked.

"My undergarments." I added quickly. A wet bra was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever experienced. I was looking forward to discarding it, but I wasn't going to do it here.

"So?" He was smirking at me.

"So no." I laughed.

"Don't you want to be warm?" He smiled brightly, he was rubbing his arms in content. I glared at him for teasing me. "Isla, it isn't like you'll be naked." I blushed at the thought, I looked away from him. My teeth were chattering and I couldn't stop shaking, it also didn't help that Poe looked so warm and cozy.

"Fine."

It took me much longer than Poe to get out of my wet clothes. I had one hand on the bathroom wall as my other hand was trying to slide my pants off my legs. I struggled to pull them off of my ankles. I couldn't feel my feet anymore, but I could definitely feel the aching sensation. I combed through my hair with my hands before putting it up in a ponytail. I slipped the black long sleeved shirt over my head. I hesitantly undid my bra and slipped off my panties. The pants Poe had gave me were way too big, I couldn't keep them from falling off my waist. I slipped them off hurriedly, sighing loudly. I could put my wet pants back on, but just the thought of it sent a cold shiver down my spine.

I glanced in the full length mirror beside the sink, The shirt was long enough but not nearly as long as I would have liked it to be. I wanted it to reach my knees but it fell short by at least 7 inches. I pulled down on it, trying to hide more of my legs. I set my wet clothes in the sink, not really knowing where else I should put them.

"These pants are too big on me." I was peeking out the bathroom door, making sure my head was the only thing that could be seen.

"Uh, well," He was rubbing the back of his neck, "I don't think I have anything smaller."

"Give me that blanket then." I pointed to the blanket that was messily thrown on his bed. He stood up and handed me the blanket reluctantly. I grabbed it quickly before shutting the door once more. I draped the blanket over my shoulders, creating a robe-like look. I held onto the blanket in the front, making sure to hold it tightly. I waddled out the bathroom.

"Just cold or is the blanket a part of the outfit?" He asked. I sat on the edge of his bed.

"It's part of the outfit," I chuckled, "The shirt you gave me was pretty short."

"Hm." He hummed. He shook his head slightly, looking away from me.

"Hey," I scooted closer to him, "Weren't you going to properly ask me out?" I was no longer worried about how cold I was. Now I was only feeling one thing, excitement.