Chapter 2- Sunshine

"Lyke? What's wrong?" Rain responded.

Lyke: "I hate you"

Rain: "I'm sorry if did some wrong." 

Lyke: "Please don't bother me anymore."

Rain: "Lyke, what is wrong? You weren't acting like this before. What is going on? Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"

Lyke: "I'm sorry"

Rain: "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything. You never did anything. Just tell me what's going on."

I screamed and threw my phone. I felt like I was being torn apart from the inside. Even after I told him I hated him, he still cared. Why would he still care? He didn't need to care.

-

Tuesday

He was back on campus.

I didn't see Rain at all that morning. He wasn't waiting by the group as usual, and I didn't see him walk to class either.

Why was I surprised?

Why would he show up?

"Good morning!" I greeted the group normally.

"Where is your first class? I'll walk you," Olive quickly said.

"It's over by the gym. That's where all my classes are today." I responded.

"Okay. I'll walk you over. Don't wander off by yourself. I'll come and get you for lunch."

I nodded my head. We separated from Sana and Lin, walking towards the music department, Olive looking all around as we moved.

"Lyke," Olive started, "why did you say that to Rain?" I paused.

"Because I hate him"

"Well if you hate him, you should at least give him a reason. What did he do wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Then why?"

"Because. I hate him."

"Lyke," Olive turned around suddenly, "Why can't you ever say what is on your mind? We aren't mind readers. Are we supposed to know what you want or don't want? Should we just do whatever then? Will that make you happy? How will we know what makes you happy or unhappy?"

How will we know what makes you happy? Should we just do whatever then?

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I want you to talk to me," Olive replied.

"I told you. What else do you want?"

"You haven't told me anything. Nothing you are saying makes any sense. Can you tell me? Something? Anything?" She was practically begging now.

"What do you want?" I repeated.

"What do you mean, Lyke? I said I just want you to talk to me."

How will we know what makes you happy? Should we just do whatever then?

"What do you want from me?" I had heard him say those words to me before. Before I knew it, they were like the world was telling me to close my eyes and die. Because I didn't matter. Because it didn't matter what would make me happy. He would do it anyway. 

"Lyke?" Olive reached out her hand and placed it gently on my shoulder.

"What do you want from me?" I repeated through sobs as I crouched over, hugging my knees to my chest again. She continued in her attempts to comfort me but the panic only got worse as I went from sobbing to blind terror. I pushed and kicked at her, each time breaking up an attempt at consolation. Finally, I felt her stop.

"It's okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm back here now Lyke." I looked up to see her standing back with her arms up. Staring at her with wide teary eyes, I watched as she continued to back up and slowly returned her arms to her side.

"Are you calm now?" She asked after a brief moment of silence. I stared.

"Olive?" I heard a voice approaching from the right.

"Why are you standing there like that?" Rain came around the corner, cheery as usual until he saw me on the ground.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"I tried to ask him and he started freaking out..."

"Why would you do that? Lyke, are you okay?" Rain stepped closer but paused, stepping back again quickly.

"I didn't know he would react like that... I didn't know..." Olive tried to explain to Rain who was angrily looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

I quickly gathered myself and with my bag tightly on my back, I walked away from their staring eyes. The rest of my day was spent without interaction, the hood of my sweatshirt wrapped to the side of my face for comfort. It was the most alone I had felt since I started school.

Again, I was isolated.

I was utterly alone.

Finally escaping the music department after classes, I kept my head low as I walked quickly past the cooking club. To my dismay, I overheard Rain speaking to Nicky, who had denied my from the cooking club previously.

"Is he here?" Rain asked, panicked.

"Who?" Nicky responded with clear agitation.

"Lyke. Is Lyke here? Has he said anything about why he suddenly hates me? I need to know if I did something so I can fix it, whatever it is."

"If he says he doesn't like you then why are you still going after him? He always seemed rude to me, maybe he never liked you to begin with. Besides, he's bad news." I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Because I know it's not true. There's got to be a reason. He didn't hate me before and he doesn't hate me now. I know it." Rain said.

"What? How would you know? He barely speaks anyway. He is just a rude know-it-all. The other day he PUSHED me to the ground. I gave him another chance in the club instead of kicking him. I hope he uses my gracious chance to fix his attitude." Rain ignored Nicky as he stood in thought.

"Tell me if you see him" Nicky looked dumbfounded as Rain walked away, stunned that he didn't seem to care about the accusations made against me. After Rain had left, I stood for a moment, lost in thought.

"Hello?" Nicky's voice rang out again.

"He just came to ask me about him too." There was a pause. "He thought you did something to him? I wish you would. Rain is obsessed with him. He didn't even care about me, only that sad little bitch. Hm? Yeah, I'll text instead. Bye."

I continued on my way. I couldn't have cared less in the moment but the pain set in later as I sat on my bed waiting for a text that wouldn't come.

I couldn't understand why I was the way I was. Maybe it was because I thought it was all normal before. Maybe I was used to the way he treated me. I escaped. I ran.

I ran but everything reminded me of him.

That pat on my head on the first day.

The words Olive said.

My body thought before I could. It reacts with floods of tears, stiffness, and coldness. Am I stupid? For crying over these things. Nobody else does. Am I abnormal? 

*Ding*

I got another text

"What did you do to get him so obsessed with you? You're probably some dirty bastard, right? Cute face, nice facade but your just a dirty whore aren't you? You've got two days to fix it."

Fix it.

I wish I could fix it, whatever "it" was.

-

Wednesday 

I dragged myself out of bed, not wanting to start the day but not wanting to skip class. My new goal was to *try* and avoid everyone I could. That didn't work out. By the end of the day, a couple of younger girls came to me asking about my absence from Cooking Club.

"Lyke! Come on, Ni!" One of the girls called out.

"Hey Noelle, hey Ni. What's up?" I responded as they ran up.

"Well-" Nicole (Ni) started but an excited Noelle interrupted. "Cooking club is today, are you coming? We all miss you, please come back."

I didn't want to go back after what I had heard the day before, but the girl's pleading eyes made me feel sorry for being absent without notice. I knew they liked and looked up to me, but hadn't shown up because of my own worries. 

I smiled gently, "Alright, alright lead the way. What are we making?" The two continued to talk my ear off until we got to the club room. Nicky seemed disgusted by my presence as usual, but this time some of the members began to pick up on Nicky's disdain, causing them to shy away from her; and to me. The members gathered around me as I showed them how to make macaroons, one of my favorites. In the other corner, Nicky had a smaller group making a different dish. Once our cookies were in the oven, I walked over to her group to help.

"Here," Nicky pointed at a cartoon of milk, "can you measure out two cups of milk?" She pointed again to the other side of the room, "The measuring cups are over."

"Yeah," I smiled and grabbed the milk. As I was walking, Nicky was suddenly standing at my side and I collided with her, spilling milk all over her. Nicky gasped.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you," I said as I grabbed paper towels, quickly wiping the milk away from her pant leg.

"It's okay. It was a mistake." She snatched the wad of paper towel from my hands and turned away; even though she said it was okay, she was obviously angry. Another girl, a friend of Nicky, came and took the milk from me, glaring at me. I stepped back to my group and cleaned the milk off myself.

"Do you need help?" Nicole asked, rushing over while holding paper towels. I smiled in response. 

"No, I'm fine" We walked back over to my group on the opposite side of the room.

 "What's up with you and Nicky?" Another girl asked.

"What do you mean? It was an accident on my part. I didn't see her." I responded.

"It really looked like she hit you on purpose."

I paused.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"She was watching and stepped into you! I agree, it was totally on purpose." I looked to see my group's nodding heads and murmurs of agreement.

"I'm sure she didn't. You guys shouldn't speculate too much," I scolded and was met with grumbling. "It's time to take out the cookies, let's go, let's go." The group rushed away and I followed close behind.

I returned shortly after to Nicky's group.

"Nicky. Hey. I'm sorry about the milk. I should have been paying more attention, I didn't mean to hit you." She smirked and looked me up and down.

"I said it was an accident. You're okay. Want to help us out?" I nodded. 

"What can I do?" I asked

"Here," she picked up a pot, "can you dump this?" I assumed it was a pot used to boil noodles as the steam was still coming off the water.

"Nicky, maybe you should let it cool off a bit," A girl from her group said.

"What? It's fine, he can still dump it."

"Nicky," her friend called her attention, giving her a pleading, serious look.

"What are you guys problems? Why are you all ganging up on me?" Nicky was getting angrier by the minute.

"Just put down the pot, I can dump it later," her friend sounded scared now, "let's not blow this out of proportion."

"You know what? You guys are such bitches. Are you even my friends? It's just a pot of water seriously grow the fuck up." Nicky exploded.

"We are the bitches?" All groups had gathered around us now.

"Nicky you should put the pot down"

"Yeah, Nicky put it down. It's super hot. The water is still boiling."

"ALL of you? Why are you treating me like this? Is it because of him? Maybe he should be the leader since you guys think he's so great and I'm just a piece of shit?" Nicky shoved the pot of water into my arms and I felt the heat against my skin before I pushed it away causing the pot to drop and the water to splash as it hit the ground. Most of the members moved out of the way, leaving Nicky and I in the splash zone. I saw the water slightly splash Nicky on the leg, causing her to scream. The water hit my cast-covered hand as I pushed the pot away.

"You fucking idiot! Why would you push the water at me? Ow, you fucking bitch!" Nicky held her leg in pain as I rubbed the water off my hand and onto my pant leg.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Are you okay? Someone get ice for her." I grabbed a cloth, soaking it in cold water, and applying it to her leg. 

"Get the fuck off me!" Nicky swiftly kicked me away.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry" I repeated, but she was too concerned with the minor burn on her leg. People from outside were swarming now after they heard Nicky scream.

"First you pour milk all over me THEN you try to burn me with boiling water? You're a fucking psycho and now everyone here has seen it. What did I ever do to you?" Nicky looked around for support but everyone only stared at her.

"Nicky," a member started, "you hit him before on purpose, didn't you? We all thought it was on purpose but Lyke told us not to speculate. It's true, right? It was on purpose, right?" Murmurs of agreement rang out.

"What? Do you think I would pour milk on myself? He's just a fucking klutz who doesn't look where he's going."

"No," Nicole started, "It was definitely on purpose. I saw you looking, watching him, waiting for the moment to step into him. I saw you laughing with your friends after," she pointed at the now guilty-looking friends. 

"Come on, you don't believe that, right? He's clearly trying to hurt me here." Nicky said.

"Nicky, stop it." One of her friends, Ani, spoke up. "It was on purpose. Why won't you just admit that? The water. That was on purpose too. But you wanted him to hurt you more but the water didn't fall right. Admit it. You told us everything. But how are we supposed to stand by while you try to hurt an innocent kid? And for what? A-"

"SHUT UP!" Nicky turned to swing at Ani but her other friends held her back.

"What is going on here?" Rain entered the room.

"Nicky, uh, she, uh," nobody could seem to tell him what his friend had done.

"Nicky, stop it, now." Rain said and Nicky turned around faster than the speed of light.

"Rain!" She ran to hug him. "He just pushed a pot of BOILING WATER on me! He also spilled milk all over me too." She sniffled and pointed at me. 

Rain turned to see who she was talking about, and seemed surprised to see me standing there.

"Lyke? Did you do that?" He questioned disappointed.

"I didn't mean to" I responded, looking at the ground. 

"He didn't do it! Well, he did but it was because of her! She hit him on purpose while he was helping with the milk and she pushed the scolding hot pot into his hands and he just pushed it away," Noelle yelled. "And shut up you absolute bitch! You got the tiniest burn I've ever seen in my life! Maybe if you weren't such a WHORE you wouldn't have got it in the first place!" My jaw dropped. "Not to mention almost all the boiling water fell on him?"

"Nicky? Why would you do that?" Rain looked confused.

"Their all lying! They are all his friend so of course they would be on his side. Remember when I said he pushed me? He's been trying to hurt me for a WHILE now. It's not true, I would NEVER do that. You know me, come on, you know I wouldn't." Nicky was practically begging.

Rain looked around, looked at Nicky's friends, and then back at Nicky. 

"Are you okay?" He asked Nicky. She immediately looked happy, nodding yes with enthusiasm. 

"Okay then. Ani, Rachel, Yas, is she telling the truth?" Nicky whipped her head back to stare at them. They all shook their heads no.

"Okay, I thought so. Well, Nicky, if you're okay then you can leave perfectly fine, can't you?" Rain smiled in her face, twisted in rage and anger. She looked at me, then at Rain, and back to me. I knew that, from the look on her face, my worst nightmare was coming, just as she said it would. 

She stormed out, parting the sea of people. At the entrance was another familiar face: the boy from the gym. It was the first I had seen him since he attacked me, and the sight of him sent a chill down my spine. I looked as he stared back at me. A smile crept across his face.

"Lyke, are you okay?" Rain asked.

"Hm?" I looked down at my hand, "Yeah. It's fine." I pushed through the crowd and left, leaving people staring in confusion. Olive, Sana, and Lin, who were observing the situation from afar saw me walking toward the exit. 

*Ding*

I received a notification from the University forum about a new, popular post. It was pictures of me taken at various places around the campus, all with the title "Lyke Way loves to be a whore; watch out for your boyfriends." As soon as I knew it, everyone was looking at their phones and talking about it. The comments exploded by the second.

"That's a shame. He's pretty cute. Always hurts when a cute face goes to waste because they love to sleep around like that"

"I think he tried to get with my boyfriend. What a freak"

"Woah, really? This is why I hate these people. Hopefully he doesn't try to get with me because I would punch him right away."

"Man, he's really good-looking. Why do good-looking people do stuff like this? It's disgusting"

"I heard he tried to get with Rain. Like a slut would have a chance with him. He's straight anyway, so he should stop trying. Just because he was a pretty face doesn't mean he can get anyone! He's probably so desperate he sleeps with male strippers. May he IS one."

"He tried to get with the entire basketball team AND my boyfriend, Basically had to peel him off."

The more I scrolled, the more my stomach churned. People started saying I did drugs, drank, and slept with anyone I could. I want to scream that it wasn't true but more and more people were commenting every second. It was blowing up, and there was nothing I could do to make it go away. I just stood there, refreshing and looking at the comments until someone grabbed my arm.

"Lyke?" It was Olive, "You are as pale as a ghost." She looked down at my hand holding my phone with the comments open. "What is that?" Before I could react she grabbed the phone. Lin, who was walking up behind her, was already reading the post.

"It's not true, is it? You're not really..." he stopped. 

"Lyke... why? Why are you looking at this stuff? It's not true, is it?" Olive questioned,

I grabbed my phone from her hand. I didn't know what to say. They all looked at me as if I were an alien, unmoving and accusing. I looked back at them, feeling like I was guilty of some crime, like all the accusations were true. I knew they weren't, but it was as if the thoughts of others were speaking them into existence, making them true with every second. I turned and left them standing there, an overwhelming guilt consuming me. I felt like a monster. 

I spent the night scrolling through the comments until I fell asleep. It was the only thing on my mind. How could there be anything else to worry about?

____ 

The next day I went to classes as usual, except everyone would go silent wherever I went. Girls snickered and the guys looked disgusted by my presence. I didn't say anything and nobody said anything to me, until Rain.

"Lyke. Can we talk?" He asked.

I looked at him, "You probably shouldn't talk to me."

"I want to though. Look, I don't care about what people are saying because I know it's not true, alright?" I slammed my hands on the table I was sitting at.

"But what if it is? What if it is true? Then what? What are you going to do when people see you talking to someone like me? Do you want that image?"

"Lyke..." 

"Just shut up. Just shut up and leave me alone. Ok? It's only like this because you just couldn't leave me alone."

"Lyke please just talk to me. Please I'm sorry." I got up to walk towards the exit of the campus when I smelled something familiar that stopped me right where I stood.

It was him.

I looked around frantically. I knew that smell. I could tell from a mile away who wore that cologne. I spun in circles, trying to spot where he was, but I couldn't find him. I couldn't find his figure in the crowds of people no matter how much I scanned.

"Lyke?"

Rain snapped me out of it.

"He's here," I said immediately 

"Who? Are you okay?"

"He found me. I can smell his cologne. No, no, no," I crouched down into a ball, "no, no no."

"Lyke, who found you? Talk to me, it's okay." Rain pulled me into a hug.

"He can't find me," I started to cry, "He can't, he can't find me. I can't go back. It's because of that post. It's got to be from the post."

"Come on, let's go somewhere else. Come on, up." Rain pulled me up, covering me with his coat as we walked to a more private place on campus. 

"Who found you?" I stayed silent. "Look at me, Lyke. Who found you?" He repeated.

"He did"

"Who is 'he'"? I can't help you if I don't know."

"I didn't ask for help, I told you to leave." I pushed him away.

"I can help. Just please tell me what is going on. You're scared, that's obvious enough. You're shaking for god sake."

"It's just like they said on the forum. He found me again."

"What do you mean?" Rain got serious.

"It doesn't matter who he is," I whispered softly, "He found me." I started crying again at the thought. Hearing it come from my mouth made it even more real.

"Okay," Rain finally said, "So what if he found you? Why are you running?"

"Why does it matter to you? It doesn't matter why I'm running. It doesn't matter to you." I yelled.

"It does because I see you sitting here crying and shaking, scared for your life just because you smelled a cologne. That's not normal. It might not even be him."

"It's him. I know it's him." 

"No, you don't. So many people can wear the same cologne. You don't need to be afraid."

"You don't even know what your saying," I finally lost it, "you'll never know what he did to me. You'll never know all the things he did." I hit him over and over on his arm with my fists until he grabbed my wrists.

"Calm down, calm down. I'm sorry. You're right. I don't know. But that still doesn't change the fact that it might not be him. The chances that he found you from the University forum are slim to none." I paused again.

"I made the cologne"

"What?"

"I said I made the cologne, Rain. Nobody else has it. Nobody else is wearing it. It's orange and lavender but the scents don't mix quite right. There's a hint of rose and pomegranate but I put so much orange that you can barely smell it. I put in too much lavender, so much that it's nauseating. I liked all the scents but couldn't choose. I know it like the back of my hand. It's him. I know it is." Rain fell silent. 

"So if it is him, what are you thinking he'd do? What did he do?" He asked.

"Why should I tell you?" 

"You don't have to. But I want to know if you're safe. If you are concerned he will hurt you, then please let me help you. Even if it's just you texting me. Even if it's just you talking to me when you need help. Do you want me to walk you home?" 

I thought about it for a moment then agreed. The damage was already done, I didn't have to avoid Rain anymore. 

I kept my head down as we walked back to the exit. 

"Do you smell it?" I asked Rain.

"What? Yeah. I smell it."

"Remember it. If you really want to help me, remember it." I said.

"I will. I promise."

"Can I meet you at the gate in the morning?" I asked.

"Of course you can. You always can."

"Can you bring the others?"

"Of course."

I smiled at him and he smiled back. For the slightest moment, I could feel my heart fluttering.

___

The next morning, I met them all at the gate. Everything felt like it was back to normal. For once.

"Lyke, we wanted to say we were sorry. We weren't trying to make it seem like we believed the forum. We don't, obviously," Olive said.

"It's okay guys. I get it. It's fine."

"Also you shouldn't listen to those comments," Chimed Lin, "I spent a while going through responding to them. I took care of it," He added.

"As if, I commented way more than you did," said Sana.

"Aye, get to class. Go!" Rain shooed them off.

"Lunch?" Yelled Olive as she walked away.

"Of course!" I yelled back.

"Let's go. We'll be late." Rain said.

"Are you sure you want to walk with me?" I was still worried about what people would think. 

"Of course I'm sure. Now let's go!"

"Okay, okayyy"

People still whispered everywhere I went, looking at me with disgusted. I went through my classes with my head down, my face hidden in a book. The only time I felt I was allowed to speak without being judged was at lunchtime. It was refreshing to have lunch with them all again. The bickering, shameless ego of Lin and the witty remarks from Sana seemed to complete my day. 

"Oh, I wanted to ask, have you talked to Nicky at all?" Olive questioned.

"No. Why would I? I don't have anything to say to her. She's been texting me nonstop though. Saying she's sorry, saying she's innocent and stuff."

"What a skank" Sana said out of the blue.

"Sana, my lord! I've never heard you say anything like that before. I almost choked on my fries." Olive's jaw had just about disconnected from her face.

"She says that stuff all the time," Lin grumbled, "I hear it every day."

"You deserve to hear it. Hey," Olive leaned over to Sana, "if you remember, you can call him 'Bean Machine' and he gets super mad..."

"OLIVE!"

"Ooooh bean machine! I haven't heard that one before!"

"Sana, if you can me that, I will NOT be your friend anymore."

"I am so scared."

"I won't! I will leave! Bye! Good riddance!"

"Ok... Bean machine," Sana said quietly.

"What did I just hear???? Was that??? The sound of our friendship BREAKING?"

"Uh ohh," I gasped. 

"Your'e done, you're done!" Lin dramatically said.

After my last classes, I waited for Rain's practice to end. I received dirty looks from the players and the girls watching. Once it ended and Rain walked up to me, the faces of both the players and girls dropped in horror.

"You should have seen their faces," I laughed.

"I did!" Rain was smiling ear to ear, "Thanks for waiting for me by the way. I like the confidence. Yesterday you were worried about what they would think of me, but now you're laughing at them."

"I thought about it last night. I'm still worried, but maybe people will forget."

"Let's go. Do you want me to walk you back home?" Rain asked as we started walking towards the gym exit. 

"I should be able to make it by myself. I-" I started to say but then Rain stopped suddenly.

"Get behind me," he said.

"Why?" I took a couple more steps and then smelled it.

"Rain..."

"I know, just get behind me." I quickly stepped behind him, gripping his leather jacket.

"What does he look like? I'll see if he's there."

"Tall. About your height. Black hair. He usually wears a black jacket with patches."

I followed Rain as he went ahead, looking to see if he could find anyone with the description I described.

"Clear," He said after a minute.

"Are you sure?" 

"I didn't see anyone at all, I'm sure. He wouldn't come up to you if I'm here, right? I'll walk you home again."

"He's following me. You know that right? What are the chances I stay to wait for you in the gym and then we smell his cologne at the gym." I said.

"Just stay calm. We can report this to campus police if it happens again."

"No police, we don't need to involve them," A shiver went down my spine, "What if you aren't around next time? Then what?" I asked

"Call me. I will stop everything and come to help you. Would you want me to tell Olive?"

"No, that's okay. She shouldn't have to worry."

"Okay. If you ever change your mind, I can tell her. She can help you too."

___

*Ding* 

Rain texted me for the first time in a while after dropping me off at my house. 

Rain: "Hey I meant to ask you after I dropped you off at home. Would you like to do something tomorrow? There's that zoo not far from your place." 

Lyke: "There's a zoo near my home? I had no idea lol"

Rain: "Really? Are you not from here?"

Lyke: "No I just moved here a couple of months ago. I've been busy settling in."

Rain: "That's great then. Would you want to go?"

Lyke: "Sure. What time?"

Rain: "4 pm sound good?"

Lyke: "Yeah! That's kinda late though. What time does it close?

Rain: "11 pm. It's open a little later tomorrow."

Lyke: "Why?"

Rain: "You'll see"

Lyke: "Tell meee"

Rain: "I said you'll seee"

Lyke: "Ok :("

Rain: "You're going to make me sad if you pout like that"

Lyke: "Good"

Rain: "I'll pick you up at 3:30"

Lyke: "Ok. Good night!"

Rain: "Good night!"

I was left smiling at my phone like a complete idiot before I knew it. I always loved zoos, but I hadn't had the chance to go to one for years.

"I have to choose what to wear," I said out loud.

I jumped out of bed and to my closet but was left frustrated with a pile of clothes by the end of my mini fashion show, so I facetimed Olive.

Olive: "Hello?"

Lyke: "Olive help me pick out an outfit." She looked intrigued.

Olive: "For what?"

Lyke: "I'm going to the zoo tomorrow."

Olive: "Oh? With whom?"

Lyke: "Rain" 

Olive choked on her water.

Olive: "HUH? RAIN?"

Lyke: "What?"

Olive: "Hold on" 

Olive yelled for Sana to come to her room.

Sana: "Hello? What's wrong?" Sana walks into the frame and Olive whispers into her ear. 

Sana: "OH MY GOD?"

Olive: "RIGHT?"

"What's wrong??" Lin said from further away.

Sana and Olive: "GO AWAY" 

They disappeared and the door slamed, them they ran back into the frame.

Olive: "You realize that NEVER in my 8 years of knowing Rain has he EVER asked anyone to go to the zoo with him?"

Sana: "And that he's the star basketball player, aka the most popular person in the entire University??"

Olive: "Seriously, this is big. He has never-" Olive stopped suddenly and grabbed Sana's hands, squealing.

Lyke: "Just help me pick out an outfit?"

Olive: "Okay, Okay, stay calm."

Lyke: "I am calm. Calm as ever." My heart was about to jump out of my chest. 

Sana: "What vibe do you want to go with?"

Lyke: "Well I had a couple outfits in mind. Can I show you them?"

Olive: "If they aren't a crime against fashion." 

I put on the first one.

Sana: "You are a fashion terrorist"

Olive: "It's not that bad"

Sana: "It really is"

Olive: "Show us the next"

I put on the second one, warranting better reactions.

Sana: "Okay that's not bad"

Olive: "I think these pants with the first top would look good"

Sana: "Bro, I was thinking the same thing. Try that on real quick"

Lyke: "Okay"

Olive: "Yeah that's it. THATS IT! You look so good."

Sana and Olive high-five.

Sana: "Do you have any beanies?"

Lyke: "Yeah one minute"

I dump my basket of hats on the floor.

Olive: "You have a problem"

Lyke: "Yeah"

Sana: "That one. The blue one."

Olive: "Ohhh good eye"

Lyke: "So this outfit?"

Sana: "Definitely"

They paused and looked at each other

Olive: "So... how do you feel? Is this a date?"

Lyke: "A date? No, of course its not a date. He just asked to go to the zoo."

Sana: "But like, how to you feel?"

Lyke: "I don't know? How should I feel?"

Olive: "Have you ever been on a date with anyone? In your life?" 

Lyke: "No..."

Olive and Sana: "What??" 

Lin: "What the hell is going on??"

Sana: "You wouldn't understand go AWAY"

Olive: "Wait, Wait guys Rain is calling me. Should I add him to this call?

Lin: "Who are you on a call with?" Lin moved into the frame

Lin: "Oh hey Lyke! What's with the clothes?"

Sana: "I said you wouldn't understand. Also don't add him to the call, at least make Lyke leave. He's probably calling because he needs help."

Lin: "Help with what?"

Olive: "Lin get out of here"

Lyke: "I should go now. Go talk to Rain." 

Sana: "Bye!" 

____

I woke up earlier than usual the next day.

I had never been to the zoo with anyone except my family, never with only one other person. Olive's insisting that it was a date played in my head and I started to wonder if she was correct.

I went out to meet Rain at 3:30 and was surprised to him all dressed up. Usually, I only saw him in more casual clothes, but today he dressed up nicely.

"Let's go. We have to catch the bus. It will only be a short walk" Rain said first.

"Okay. Can you tell me why it's open later now??"

"Fine, fine," He laughed, "It's because there is a light show. It has to get dark first obviously so they aren't closing until 11."

"Really? I've never been to a light show before. I've always loved looking at lights, especially when they shine on water. I think that's when they are prettiest."

"I think the prettiest is the sun. When the sun rises and the rays spread out like beams. And when the sun sets and the light turns pink, orange, and red. Sunshine is the prettiest thing I've ever seen." Rain looked at me, and my heart fluttered once again.

"Oh shoot. We're going to miss it." Rain said looking at his watch

"What?"

"The bus," He grabbed my hand suddenly and started running, dragging me behind.

"The bus stop is right by Olive and Lins," Rain shouted as we ran, "I told Olive we would stop by and say hi."

"Okay," I shouted back.

Arriving their house, we were both so out of breath we could barely speak. When Olive and Sana came out, Rain and I's hands were still locked together to their surprise. W noticed their faces, quickly let go and Olive and Sana pretended as if they had never seen anything at all.

"The bus is coming," they yelled at both of us who were standing frozen and tired. Rain once again grabbed my hand as I frantically waved while being dragged off.

On the bus, we were able to catch our breath and laugh about being caught holding hands.

"Did you see the look on their faces?" Rain said. 

"Yeah, they looked so surprised I thought they might explode"

"I'll have to explain it was only because we were going to be late and you didn't know where to go."

"Yeah, otherwise they might have an aneurysm," I joked. 

The zoo was massive, like nothing I had ever seen before. The aquarium had a huge tank, spanning two floors, full of all kinds of fish, some I knew and some I didn't. Rain seemed to know them and we spent a while standing there as he explained where they were from, what they ate, etc. At some point, a little kid came out of the manta ray tunnel. She was crying, absolutely hysterical, terrified of the manta rays. Rain saw and walked over, pointing at a yellow fish, and told the little girl its name. She calmed down, nodding as Rain spoke to her. As he walked back over, I smiled at him.

"How did you know that would calm her down?" I asked.

"I didn't, she just needed to think of something other than creepy manta rays. Those things shouldn't exist," he shuddered, "I used to hate them as a kid too."

"But they are so stupid looking. How were you scared of them?" I laughed.

"Don't ask me! I don't know. I just think they are creepy and I stand by that." 

"Whatever you say"

"Anything that you're scared of?" He tried to change the topic to me.

"Me? Hm... death, needles, and old men." I smiled and ran as he attempted to catch me.

"You know that's not what I meant!" He yelled. I finally stopped running.

"I really don't know. Bugs? Yeah, I hate bugs." I responded.

"Alright, then we'll skip the bugs."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Let's go look at the big cats instead." He said.

Before we knew it, the sun was setting.

"Sunset is both a good and bad part of the day," Rain said as we watched the sun slip behind the water's edge.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, the sunset is beautiful but at the same time, I wish I could look at sunshine all the time. At sunset, the sunshine disappears. It's a kind of melancholy point of the day," he explained.

"I see. That makes sense. I personally like it when the sun sets. That way you can see the stars, the street lights, and lit-up buildings. You can also see the lights on the water," I pointed. 

"I guess so. You know," He paused, "you remind me of sunshine." I was surprised.

"How so?"

"I don't know. You always seem to shine, like a sunshine that never goes out. I like that about you. It's apparent you've been through so much, yet you always make it through. When I see you in the morning, it makes me happy. It makes me feel warm inside." He turned to look at me. "Please don't give up. I know you're scared. But you have people who care about you."

"I'm trying not to be scared, but it's hard. You guys are also important and I don't want you to get hurt. I'd rather die than be the reason you get hurt. So don't worry. I'll be fine. I've made it this far."

"I will always worry about you. I've been worried about you from the first day we met." He said.

At that moment, the lights of the zoo and city lit up in a cascade of color. Lanterns flew into the sky as the pink remnants of sunlight painted the sky in an ombre.

"Do you like it?" Rain asked.

"Of course. It's beautiful."

"Good. I'm glad you like it," Our eyes met,

"Sunshine"