Face your fear

Reid looked at the bedside table where his watch was kept. He jolted up and threw his upper body to get the watch.

He was late for the class.

He quickly put on the blue tee-shirt and jeans, and a hoodie over that. Jumping up on one of his legs, he wore the shoes one by one and rushed to the other room.

Both of the beds were empty.

Rain must have left in a hurry and so did Sebastian. The second part was more surprising.

He decided to jog his way to the school. He might have gotten many looks as he made his way, but that was not important right now. 

He remembered what had happened in the last class. 

He was panting a little and the sweat covered the front of his tee-shirt. Keeping his hands on the hinge of the door, he looked around the class.

Someone with a black hoodie.

He had noticed that that's what she wore the most. 

*Long black hair, a pink headband, blonde, blonde, she was nowhere* 

A few girls might have mistaken his gaze towards them and had started to giggle. 

"You look awful" Sebastian spoke from the last bench. 

His eyes were red as if he had just woken up. Messy blonde hair, covering a little portion of the eye, with a drool stain just below the lip. He wiped it off with his spit and was about to go back to sleep when two large hands planted themselves on the table.

"Have you seen her?" Reid was getting anxious now. 

"Who?" Sebastian asked not raising his head up

"RAIN, who else?" Reid gritted his teeth. He had never punched his friend, but it was a fight he could lose today.

"I don't know man, but you just missed the epic scene. A guy got his lips chipped. Man, it was hilarious" Sebastian chuckled and looked up but Reid had already left by then.

*Where are you Rain?* 

He couldn't lose her.

*Think Think* 

His hands went in his hair, and he pulled them a little. Right now he didn't care, who was looking at him. It didn't matter, nothing else mattered. 

She was not right in front of him. That only meant one thing. 

He couldn't protect her. 

She was able to fight for others, but not herself. 

Then it hit him. 

He rushed out of the school to the cafe. The place they went to. She has to be there, coz if she won't be, he would go crazy.

And there she was, like the glimpse of sun behind the clouds, the silence after a storm, the first green leaf after the fall.... with her hands folded over the table. And her head lying over it. She looked small. So small, and fragile, and broken. 

Someone must have kept a chocolate milkshake for her.

*Damm, she is crazy for chocolates* 

Reid smiled looking at the angel, who seemed a little lost.

If only he could tell her the truth, but that has to wait.

He wished he could break his word and be lost in her, but he couldn't.

He took several more minutes looking at her, before entering inside. 

Just like a small child, she was sipping her shake.

"Hey there, Angel" he softly patted her head.

But Rain's head shot up.

It was Reid.

*How did he find her?* 

She didn't know when she came here.

It was like this place called to her, whenever she was lost. 

But to her surprise, Reid wasn't angry anymore.

Reid regretted last night. He shouldn't have scolded her. He should have just held her and told her, he was scared. Scared that something bad might have happened to her. 

He quickly shook that thought. Even thinking about it was painful.

He was looking at her. Rain could feel his gaze over her. Did he think she is stupid? Is that why he likes her? Or was she too easy? 

He couldn't believe his eyes. How could a girl be beautiful, smart, funny, and still be so innocent and oblivious of the effect she had on everyone around her. He could bet, she didn't notice, the group of guys who were looking her way. 

Maybe he was glad she didn't. She was not stupid, but just too naive for this world. That's what angels are, aren't they?

But this has to end today. If every time she was out of his sight, it made him so nervous, he had to do something, to make sure she was safe.

"Rain, look at me" 

He merely whispered the words. He knew, even a little loud noise, would scare her now.

Rain knew she had to do it, she was living with him after all. She couldn't escape it now.

She slowly raised her gaze.

"You have to face them, face your fears one day, you can't always hide" 

Reid slowly moved his hand towards her and put his hand over hers.

"You have to be stronger than your fear. It's the bullying kids now at school, someday it will be someone else, a stranger in the train, your neighbor anyone" 

He took a deep breath. It was hard to even for him.

"And someday it might be your friend, who would need you" 

Rain's eyes shot up now.

"Or someone you love" 

It was getting close, she could still see their eyes. If only, she had been stronger. 

"You have to learn how to fight" 

Reid kept his gaze on her, noticing the sadness in her eyes.

"Never throw the first punch. But when you throw the next, make sure they don't get up for the third" 

This won't do

"Common get up and punch me" 

Reid ordered.

"Now?" 

Rain looked around, there were just two of them in the cafe right now.

"Yes now" 

His voice had gone a little higher.

As Reid got up, she stood up too.

"Now" 

Rain took her elbow a little back and hit him.

"Ouch" 

She could feel her knuckles aching at the instant of the impact. And she knew she hadn't caused much damage.

"Did you know why it didn't work?" 

He made his way to the backside of her.

"Cause this," he moved his hands over her abs, "and this" his hands followed the movement down to her quads "are not strong enough" 

"The largest muscles in the body are the quads and glutes. So naturally, you want to use those to produce as much power as possible and transfer that to the opponent's chin via your fists" He came back again, facing her.

"You use them to propel yourself forward slightly and to rotate the trunk. This, in turn, rotates the upper body and brings the shoulder forward and after you aim your arm at the opponent's head, hopefully, you do some damage."

Rain had frozen in her spot after what just had happened to her body. She could still feel his warm fingers over her.

"And so the abs" Reid looked at her and let out a chuckle.

"Don't worry if you haven't heard it, once we start doing it, you will know" He moved closer to give her a head pat.

Knights might have hunted down dragons, but taking this monster, Reid thought it was a much bigger challenge.