A walk home

A short story of a couple on the way home from school.

“The rain really is falling hard.” I said as I look towards outside.

The school’s main entrance is the gate which is just a few steps away from me.

I’m standing at the doorway of the campus and looking at the soaked front. The cemented ground which is wide enough for a group of 6 to walk on is placed in the middle of the campus and the school gate with grass on each side and a lone tree at the middle of it.

“Yeah.” She said, confirming my words. Putting a hand over her jet black hair and the other on her black skirt as a breeze blows.

“We should probably get going.” I said, opening a transparent umbrella.

She stands unmoved on her spot as she looks at me, playing with her fingers.

“Do you have your own umbrella?” I asked as I look towards her.

“uhmm” She looks down.

A couple of moments after, she shakes her head. She glances up at me with puppy dog eyes with her face blushing slightly.

With her small stature, she really looks like a puppy. A cute one.

“Want to share?” I asked, chuckling at her reactions.

She looks at me wide-eyed, clearly surprised.

“ah. Sorry.” I said, waving my hand in front of me.

She puffed her cheeks, crossed her arms and looked away from me.

She’s so cute. I wish I can just hug her here but that’s PDA. I’m not really that kind of person or is her. There are still people here and there. It is a school after all.

That said, I think she’s pouting more because of my reaction rather than the question I put out. It is a given that you share an umbrella with your girlfriend, right? It is, right? Please tell me I’m not wrong.

…

Oh well.

I was just teasing her anyways.

“Mary.” I called her name with the gentlest tone I can.

I see her peek a momentary glance at me and goes back to looking like she didn’t even hear me.

What a cute action! That’s my cute girlfriend right there.

“Mary.” I tried again, now moving closer to her. Putting down the umbrella as I do so.

As I got to her side, I level with her and looked her in the eyes.

Her child-like expression of puffed cheeks, squinted eyes, and furrowed brows, left me amazed. I can really see in this expression and reaction how I fell in love with her. It’s just so cute. I feel like a sadist though. I think I tease her too much.

I smiled as I look at her, clearly amused with the situation.

“geez. Don’t look at me like that!” she said, pushing my face away and looking the other way.

I put a hand over her head and proceed to pet her.

“There, there Mary.” I said.

“I’m not your pet…” She mutters under her breath.

“haha. I know. You’re my girlfriend. My cute girlfriend.” Smiling playfully and putting a hand on her cheek as I said so.

“D-don’t call me that.” She said, looking away and playing with her fingers.

“Why? It’s true though.” I said, caressing her cheek gently.

“I-it’s embarrassing. You don’t need to tell everybody about it.” She said, still looking away. Her ears and cheeks colored slight crimson.

“So you don’t deny being cute?” I asked, grinning as I stopped caressing her cheek.

She blushed a deep shade of red, shaking her head and then looked straight at me.

“Y-you told me to be more confident with myself… so y-yeah… kind of…” She said with a shy smile.

She’s too shy for her own good. I’d like her to be a little more confident with herself. With that though, I can see that she’s changing. It makes me happy.

I give her a bright smile.

“You know I want to hug you so bad right now.” I said with a ‘matter-of-fact’ tone.

“No.” She flatly said, looking at me with her eyes squinted. “PDA not allowed!” making an x-sign with her hands.

We both laugh a few moments after she said it.

Ah I guess that was a long shot. We are in school and I did say I’m not the kind of person who does that anywhere. Her smile was so cute there though. I wanted to make an exception.

As the laughter died down, a strong wind blew. Like before, she holds down her hair and skirt while I hug myself.

Ah. It’d be really nice to hug her right now.

“Anyways, want to go now?” I asked her, holding out my hand.

“t-that’d be nice but…” She pointed to my back, a tone of nervousness as she said it.

I looked towards where she’s pointing at and saw that my umbrella got dragged outside the rain.

“ahhh!! Wait a moment!” I told her as I ran towards my umbrella, ignoring the rain.

It wasn’t really dragged too far away, but because the rain is strong, my uniform, face and arms got wet. As I get back to the shelter, I felt like I took a shower. I wasn’t drenched to my skin though. The uniform took most of the damage.

“What are you smiling at?” I asked her as I get back to her, scratching my head.

I held my umbrella open and try to shake the water off of the side we’re going to take shelter on. It’d be stupid to use it as is at the moment.

“Nothing.” She said chuckling, putting a hand over her mouth.

I breathe a sigh as I continue with the umbrella. As for her, she goes through her pockets, perhaps looking for something.

A minute or two after, she steps in front of me and puts a pink cloth over my cheek.

With a shy laugh and a tinge of red on her cheeks, she rubbed my soaked face with her handkerchief. It’s soft and smells like strawberry.

Unsure of what to do, I just let her do what she want.

“You should take a shower when you get home later.” She instructed as she continues to wipe my face and arms.

“O-okay…” I said, scratching my cheek and looking away.

To be honest, I’m really embarrassed and a little troubled. She’s a little close to me that I can smell a pleasant scent coming from her.

What’s that? Lavender?

Must be her shampoo. It smells pleasant.

“Don’t move so much.” She holds my shoulder as she instructs me.

Ugh.

A minute after, she moves a good distance from me and gives me a small smile.

I smile back at her and finished the job with the umbrella.

“Let’s go?” I told her, handing out my hand the second time.

I’m holding onto the umbrella this time as I don’t want a repeat of what happened a while ago.

Her close to me. Handkerchief. Strawberries. Lavender.

Okay. I take it back. Maybe I’m fine with getting drenched again. That said, I want her to be safe at home before this rain actually gets a lot stronger than it is.

She took my hand after a few moments and although she looked a little shy before she did, we’ve actually done this a lot of times already. Hand holding isn’t really anything new to us. It’s just that initiating it is a little embarrassing I guess.

School to my house wasn’t really that long of a walk. Hers is a different case though. From the school gate, it’s roughly around 30 minutes to hers and around 15 minutes to mine.

From the looks of it, the rain is getting stronger. As we exit the school gates, the raindrops sound heavier and louder while the wind is stronger and colder.

We aren’t holding hands anymore as we realized it’s not really efficient when holding an umbrella. I didn’t give up at first though. I tried to find a way and just failed at it. She was giggling as I did so.

It was a stupid idea of mine, but I really wanted to hold her hand.

Yeah.

Unfortunate.

Pathetic.

Whatever.

As it stands now, she’s walking beside me, holding onto my arm that’s holding the umbrella. A compromise she thought of. I tilt it a little to her side. That being said, it’s not enough as the rain is really strong and it is pathetically only for one and a half person. From what I can see, her white blouse and black skirt at the right side are getting soaked.

“Hey Kevin, are you listening to me?”

She shakes my hand.

“ah, sorry sorry.” I said, giving an apologetic smile.

“geez. What are you even thinking about?” She asked with puffed her cheeks.

“How cute you are.” I said, putting on a playful smile.

“I’m not going to fall for that!” She said.

“Now tell me the truth.” She demands, putting her free hand on her hips.

Yup.

Cute.

“But I am telling the truth.” I said with a chuckle.

“You’re laughing! I doubt what you are saying.” She replied, still with puffed cheeks.

I wonder what’ll happen if I try and poke her cheeks.

I try and poke one of them, inflating it as I do so.

“What are you doing?” she asked, looking unhappy. My finger still on her cheek.

“Nothing really. Just thought of poking it.” I said with a grin as I remove my finger.

She squints her eyes and looks at me suspiciously.

“Anyways, don’t worry. I’m telling the truth. I really think you’re cute” I said, smiling as I do so.

I was thinking about her well-being. That can translate to thinking about just her and whenever I think of her, I think she’s cute. Yup. Makes perfect sense.

“I already know that.” She muttered as she looked away, blushing a little.

I smiled at her reaction and just look forward.

The neighborhood is really just a maze in this area. Everything looks the same. The concrete walls on the side and the mostly western-designed, sometimes eastern, houses behind it dominate the whole scenery. A narrow street, which we are walking on right now, is wide enough to only accommodate a few people walking horizontally on it. It’s meant more for students than cars. These streets are usually forked every other house, making the neighborhood look like a maze. If it weren’t for some signboards that tells the street’s name, it would be hard to find the difference.

This scenery is drenched in rain right now making the colors of the houses and signboards, the words written on them, fade a little. If I haven’t lived here for 19 years of my life, I would have some trouble navigating in this rain.

The feeling of rain is kind of refreshing though. I did get drenched a while ago so that might be a factor to this feeling. Alongside that, Mary holding onto one of my arm feels really nice. She’s staring blankly at the scenery at the moment though.

“You feeling okay?” I asked her.

She looks towards me and nods.

“Why do you ask?” She asked, tilting her head to one side.

“Ah. No reason really. I just feel kind of refreshed from the rain.” I replied, smiling at her.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have wiped your face with my handkerchief a while ago if you like the rain so much.” She said with a cheeky smile.

“ah… haha… thanks for that.” I said, scratching my cheek.

As we were talking, a strong wind suddenly blew past us and flipped my umbrella inside out.

We were left dumbstruck for a moment. As she was just staring at me and I at my umbrella for failing me.

No.

It’s not my umbrella’s fault.

It’s the weather’s fault.

“Let’s find shelter Kevin.” She said, pulling on my arm.

Reluctant to go at first, I look up and curse the weather.

We used our bags as cover and run towards the nearest park. It’s just a small area that has two benches and a roof over it. The park itself isn’t really big, just enough to have a small sandbox and a couple of swings. The whole outline of it is a jogging area.

As I have done this a lot of times already, I know that her house is around 10 minutes’ walk from here, maybe shorter if we run.  The rain doesn’t really look like it’s going to let up anytime soon.

“Want to make a run for it?” I looked at her as I asked.

She’s sitting down at the other end of the bench while drying her hair and using her handkerchief to wipe her face and arms. Her uniform is soaked like mine.

Good thing the uniform doesn’t become transparent when it gets wet.

Sigh. That’s disappointing.

I’m contradicting myself again.

Man. What am I thinking? I’m just an 18, almost 19, y/o kid. Get it together!

Wait. Maybe because I’m at this age that I’m starting to think about those kinds of stuff.

“hmmm…” She thinks, looking elsewhere and putting a finger to her chin.

“I don’t really think the rain is going to let up soon. Actually, it looks like it’s going to rain harder. We should just hurry up.” I told her my thoughts.

“W-what about you though?” She asked as she moves closer to me.

As if natural, she rubbed my face and arms again with the handkerchief she just used on herself. I don’t really get the logic of it really. It’s been used so much already. Maybe handkerchiefs have a secret power? Like when you fold it like this and that, it would become dry.  It is kind of dry for some unknown reason.

That said, I really get uncomfortable when she gets close to me like this. I feel like I’ll do something bad to her. It makes me squirm in place.

“Don’t move so much.” She instructed me, holding onto my hand. Her face close to me.

She’s leaning forward and looking up at me as she dabs my face with her handkerchief. From her position, I can see her slender collar bone and a streak of white cloth underneath her uniform. She doesn’t really have the biggest assets, but I don’t really care about that. Okay. Maybe just a little. Hers, from how I view it, is the best size in my opinion. Not too big, not too small. Average. Yup. That’s the best size.

“hmm… What are you looking at?” She blankly stares at me as she asked.

Oh, my dearest. I just love you.

“Nothing.” I said, looking away from her.

“huh?” She tilts her head to one side and then looks down to where I was looking.

“geez. Pervert.” She mutters as she blushes and straightens herself.

“b-but…” She pinches my cheek as I try to protest, hiding the handkerchief as she’s finished with me.

“Hey. Stop. Stop.” I said, holding her hand.

She breathes a sigh as she lets go of me.

“That’s for trying to protest.” She said, puffing her cheeks for a moment and looking towards the scenery of the park.

What’s with her and puffing cheeks?! I always ask myself about it when I’m with her. She always does it. It’s a cute gesture though. Although impossible, I hope she doesn’t suddenly forget how to do that. I like it after all. It’s like a perk of hers.

“S-sorry.” I said, awkwardly laughing and following her lead.

There’s nothing really much to see in this place right now. The park that’s usually bustling with life because of kids laughing and playing around just feels lonely and isolated. The rain dampened the atmosphere the usual park provides.

“ah. Right. Want to go now?” I asked her as I look towards her, remembering the question.

“hmmm… what about you?” She asked, turning towards me.

“What about me?” I replied, pointing a finger at myself. A little confused.

She sighed and rested her head on my shoulder.

“You should really think about yourself more.” She stated, closing her eyes.

“I know you care about me, but you should care about yourself as well. You’re still going to walk home, you know? As you said, the rain isn’t going to let up soon. We can just stay here until it does let up.” She continued, explaining what she means.

That’s a nice proposition. In this situation, it actually would be nice to just stay here. I wouldn’t mind staying here and being with her.

Suddenly, a breeze blows by and makes me hug myself from the cold. I barely felt her tense up at it blew as well.

Ah. That’s a shame. We’re going to get sick if we stay here.

“Don’t worry about me. I can borrow an umbrella, right? If I run, it’ll probably just 5 minutes from your house to mine.” I said, giving a reassuring smile.

“You’re lying.” She said as she gives me a doubtful look, her eyes showing some worry and concern.

Well it’s not likely just 5 minutes. It’s actually 10 at best. It’s still a long way, but I have the umbrella and I’d like her to avoid getting sick and take a nice and hot shower as soon as possible.

“No. I’m not. Don’t worry. I’ll even text you after 5 minutes to tell you I’m home.” I said, holding her hand.

Maybe I really do think less about myself.

She continues to stare at me. That look of concern. That frown. That expression.

She knows how to tug on my guilt. Dating must have taught her more about me than I know about myself. More about my weakness probably.

“ughh… It’ll probably be around 10 minutes or so. Sorry.” I told her, giving up.

She nodded and gave me a smile.

She looked like she’s victorious or have unlocked an achievement or trophy on a game.

Tugging on my guilt is not a game, woman!

“We’re still walking home, you know. I mean now or in a few minutes.” I told her, trying to sound stern as I lift my index finger to emphasize my point.

“Okay. I’m fine with that but we are staying for a few minutes, right?” She asked, quite a bright smile on her face.

“Yeah. We are. Besides, it feels nice and warm if we cuddle together anyways.” I told her as I relax on the bench.

I support her weight as she proceeds to lean on me. Her head on my shoulder and my head above hers. I also put my left arm over her left shoulder in the process.

The bench isn’t necessarily uncomfortable to sit on as it is firm and made of steel. If we stay like this for a long time, my back would probably hurt. That said, it feels like it doesn’t really matter as it’s comforting in this position and for some unknown reason, the atmosphere, although dampened, feels quite peaceful and calm.

I think it’s just her though. A little cheesy but I do think that whenever I’m with her, situations like this becomes a good memory. Raining cats and dogs. Might get sick. Yeah. Even in a situation like this, being together like this feels nice.

This PDA? I’m not really sure but if she suggested it, I guess she’s fine with it and if she’s fine with it, I’m fine with it.

Great logic me. Just follow girlfriend’s suggestion and everything will be alright.

Yeah.

Not necessarily so. I’m sure there should be times that I should go against some of her ideas and she should to mine as well. This right here isn’t one of it though.

For some duration, she told me about this new book she wanted to read that’s coming out next week. From what I got, the gist of it is it’s about a famous detective solving a pretty hard case. Something unthinkable, like the “perfect crime” as she would call it. She’s really into mystery genres books.

I rebutted that it wouldn’t be the perfect crime if the criminal still gets caught in the end. She just puffed her cheeks with what I said and replied that I don’t understand.

We just continued on with the idle chatter for a few more minutes. As the wind starts to get unbearably cold, I told her it’s time to go to which she replied with a sigh.

“Don’t worry, love. I’ll take you out on a date next week.” I told her, grinning as I do so.

What I said seems to have reassured her. Words really have some power if you really mean it.

“O-okay.” She said, a shy smile on her face.

I stood up, still holding her hand and look towards her.

She’s wearing that smile. That smile really emulates her caring and kind side.

“You’re shivering.” She said as she lets out a shy laugh, covering her mouth with her free hand.

“Yeah. I am.” I said as pulled her up.

She gave me a hug as she stood up. I’m not really well versed in the many number of types of hugs but if I were to describe this one, it’s a hug that says ‘I love you’. I might just be imagining it but that’s what I really think it says.

It’s nice and warm. Her head on my chest feels comforting. An aroma of lavender invades my sense. Weird how the rain doesn’t remove the scent.

The hug ends as fast as it started.

Too bad. I was hoping it would last longer.

“What’s that for?” I asked her.

The question may sound rude, but I’m probably smiling like an idiot right now.

“For later. I wouldn’t have any time for any good bye hugs.” She said with a shy laugh. A tinge of red on her cheeks.

“Ah. Right.” I said, scratching my head and chuckling.

That is a tradition of ours.

“Anyways. Let’s go.” I told her, trying to calm myself.

“What about you?” She asked that question again, her head tilted to one side.

I breathe a sigh.

“Just don’t worry about me okay? Lend me an umbrella and I’ll show you I can get home faster before you can even get to the shower. Okay?” I said, looking her in the eye to try and make her understand.

She looked at me dubiously and for a moment that I thought she’d disagree with me. To my surprise though, she nodded.

Alright. Why didn’t I just do that a while ago?

Must have been the lie.

No. I’m sure of it.

Oh well. I wouldn’t have been able to cuddle with her if it weren’t for it.

I call worth.

I put my bag over my head and she followed my lead. I put my left arm behind her back and we start running towards her house.

I feel sad for our bags getting pelted with rain, but I kind of remember that the selling point of this bag is that it’s waterproof so I guess the contents would be fine and dry, right? Advertisements don’t lie, right? My notes are in here!

That said, we also have the same bag as it’s one of the many popular bags in this place. There are others that offer more than just being waterproof but I can’t really remember them too much. From what I can recall, I think there’s one for kids that offered a place to hide their candies.

Meh. Weird world. Who in the right mind would even thought of that?

A few minutes of running after, we’re in front of her house.

It’s a small 2 story bungalow house with a red sloping roof and a veranda. The outer walls are colored peach and, like every other house in this neighborhood, it also has a small area for gardening. It’s like our house. The design is just a tad bit different.

We stepped into the veranda and she told me to wait there as she goes inside their house.

I was left their standing, dripping wet and scanning the veranda. Theirs is much more decorative with potted flowers on the sides, hanging plants, a rocking chair facing forward on the left, the entrance inside the house on the right side. I’m not entirely sure what these plants and flowers are though. There is also a bin where a few umbrellas are kept.

I heard the door open and a man comes out.

He was wearing a white polo-shirt, blue shorts and sandals.

“Hello Mr. Dunham. Rainy afternoon.” I greeted her father with a smile, bowing a little as I do so.

“Well, hello Kevin. How are you doing, son?” his father asked, returning the smile.

“I’m doing fine, sir. How about you?” I replied, a little tense.

Her father is a little bit taller than me with a fit physique. He has a rugged face and a slick haircut, clearly doesn’t look like a man his probable age. I’m not entirely sure but I recall her telling me that her parents are aged around middle to late 40’s.

“Fine. Fine. Thanks for bringing her home by the way. If you didn’t come home anytime soon, I would have frantically searched for her.” He said with a laugh.

Ah yes. He dotes on his daughter a lot.

“No problem sir. It was my pleasure.” I said, scratching my head and laughing with him.

“Good to be young.” He stated as he continued to laugh.

I smile at what he said.

From what she told me, he annoys her a lot with his doting but is actually a nice and caring father.

“Do you want to come inside for a moment?” He asked, presenting the door.

“Ah. No sir. I’m just going to wait for your daughter here.” I declined. An apologetic smile on my face.

There’s really no reason to go. It may be rude, but I’m dripping rainwater here.

“You sure?” He continues, looking at me.

“Dad! Don’t bother him too much.” Mary stated as she went out of the house, a towel in one hand and another towel on the other drying her hair.

She’s still wearing her uniform.

Nope.

No transparency there.

Was the rain really that weak?

I’m soaked to the skin here.

“Here” She hands over the towel to me. “Dad, just go inside already.” She said as she turned toward her father, hands on her hips.

“hmmmm…” Her father seemed to have thought for a moment, crossing his arms.

“Alright. Nice seeing you Kevin, son.” His father bids farewell, going inside the house.

“Yes, sir.” I said as he disappeared inside.

“S-sorry about that.” She said, playing with her fingers. A little embarrassed.

“Nah. It’s fine. Your father is actually pretty cool.” I said, drying my hair and face with the towel.

Although he is, I’m still scared of him, that’s why I address him with sir in the end. He has this aura that if I touched her daughter, even make her cry, he’ll murder me.

“Y-yeah… He just dotes on me a lot.” She said, looking inside for a moment. A small smile on her face.

“Ah. Anyways, thanks for this. I should get going now.” I hand her the towel.

“N-no problem.” She stated, taking the towel and giving a shy smile.

“Ah right.” She let out as she goes to the umbrella bin beside the entrance.

“Here you go. You can use this.” She handed me an umbrella.

It’s colored pink and has a cartoon cat designed on it. It’s not really big, probably just for one person.

I gave the umbrella a doubtful look.

She chuckled at my reaction.

“Now, now. Off you go. Text me when you get home, alright? And you have to give that back. That’s my only umbrella. Don’t break it.” She smiled as she said so.

Ah right, she did bring this a lot before we started dating.

“Alright. Alright.” I said as I face the other direction, opening the umbrella.

“Oh right.” She abruptly said.

I turn towards her.

She has this expression that she just remembered something. Wide-eyed and both her hands over her mouth.

“Huh? What?” I asked her, uncertain of the problem.

“You told me you’re going to get home before I get to the shower right? I’m counting on that. Cheerio~.” She said with a playful smile, removing her hands on her mouth and using it to wave at me.

Ah right. I just remembered her love for the British language.

Wait.

“Do I really have to follow that?” I asked, nervously lifting my index finger.

“Yes.” She said, crossing her arms with a look of suspicion.

Oh dearest. You look so pretty right now and I love you for that, but that’s impossible. I probably could only go as far as the gate before you get to your shower.

“You told me that and I really trust you so much. I expect you to do what you promised.” She told me.

She’s teasing me, right? Right?

Did I even promise?

I did not!

“Judging from how you look, I feel like I’ve been lied to.” She has this smug look on her face that’s telling me to answer her.

That smug looks makes it certain.

You’re just teasing me!

“ugh… No, no, no…” I said, looking away and waving my hands as I try and think of something.

Ah right. Only way to get through this.

“But! I’ll try my best not to break that promise. I just can’t ensure it.” I continued. An awkward smile on my face as I nod a couple of times.

The promise her I’ll try my best but can’t ensure it. It’s a technique all everybody do to get people off their backs.

Thinking about it, I felt pathetic saying that.

She chuckled at what I said, putting a hand over her mouth.

I can only laugh with her, although mine is a little awkward.

“Alright. Take care on the way home.” She said, lively waving her hands.

“O-okay.” I said, still hesitant.

“Remember your promise, alright?” She stated. A grin on her face.

Alright. Alright. I didn’t promise though but whatever. I’m sure it sounded like a promise.

I then step outside their veranda and bolt towards home.

I don’t really remember how long that took but as I enter our veranda, I opened my bag and saw that everything is dry. I guess the advertisement about it being waterproof is real huh?

I took my phone out and texted her.

‘Mission complete! I’m home.’

I wrote and sent to her, looking around as I do so.

Yup. This is our veranda. I recognize the magazine rack beside the door and our usual grumpy cat, Mittens, on the rug in front of the entrance. Sleeping as always.

A few moments after, my phone vibrates on my hand, signaling me that there’s a message.

‘You’re late. I’m already done taking a shower. As punishment, you’re going to treat me to some ice cream. The usual one at that usual place. Thanks! I love you :) P.S: Don’t forget to shower!!!’

It said.

I can’t help but grin at her reply. I’m sure this was her plan all along. She really loves that rocky road ice cream on that certain stall at the mall. It is a little expensive but it should be fine if it’s for her.

‘Yes, yes. I love you too.’ I reply as I put my phone back inside my bag.

Author's Note

Would probably still have grammar problems. I'm struggling with it. Sorry. Hopefully was able to incorporate some of the reviews I got.

Any comments would be appreciated!

Reviews

[Baiklzr]

Omfg, so cute, though. I read this and just wish I had a girlfriend to do all this with. Very well done.

[Baiklzr]

This is great. From everything of yours that I have read so far, they all have an anime feel to them. Like something that would happen in an anime, to say the least. I really like your work. Yes, some grammar issues were in play, but it was still perfectly understandable, which is all the really matters. I really like how much emotion and detail is put into your works. Keep up the good work, Moper.