CHAPTER 40: LET ME RE-WRITE THAT RAIN...

Scene: Pete's POV – Secret Plan Mode Activated™

Pete paced in the safehouse, holding that old taped-together birthday note in his hand.

He looked outside.

Rain was gently tapping the glass. Not too hard. Not too soft.

Perfect.

> "Tonight... I'm finishing what I should've started back then."

---

Later that Night – Mek in the Kitchen, Pete Sneaky™

Pete pulled Mek toward the back garden. Mek blinked.

> "Why are you dragging me outside like a psycho?"

Pete smirked. "Trust me."

The moment Mek stepped into the garden…

He froze.

Rain was falling softly.

A single umbrella rested near the same wooden fence.

A tree.

Just like their childhood.

Mek whispered:

> "You recreated it…"

Pete nodded, nervous but brave.

> "That night, I hesitated.

I let fear speak louder than love.

But now? I'm done with fear."

He picked up the umbrella, walked to Mek, and held it over him.

Mek's eyes locked with his.

> "You remember everything…"

Pete: "I remember you. Every version of you."

Raindrops trickled around them like a curtain of the past parting.

Pete leaned in slowly, heartbeat loud in his chest.

> "Let me rewrite that moment."

Their lips met.

Soft.

Real.

Finished.

The umbrella tilted, letting some rain kiss their cheeks. But neither cared.

It wasn't an "almost" anymore.

It was finally.

---

Scene Shift – Pete's Mother's Study

She sat in silence, fingers trailing the edges of the old birthday note.

She had found it in Pete's drawer while searching for—something else.

She read the scribbled insult, the childish handwriting, the tape holding it together.

She smiled.

> "Dirt Boy and the Balcony Snob…?"

A soft laugh escaped her lips. The first in a while.

Then silence.

She looked at the wall—photos of Pete as a child. Serious. Tired. Lonely.

And she whispered:

> "I never saw him smile like he does now…

Is that what love does…?"

Her husband stormed in. "Still soft on this foolishness?"

She didn't reply.

She just slipped the paper into a box and hid it in her drawer.

Something in her eyes had shifted.

---

Back to the Rain – Pete & Mek sitting under the umbrella

Mek leaned his head on Pete's shoulder.

> "I used to dream about this."

Pete kissed his hair.

> "I don't care who's against us, Mek.

I'll rewrite every memory. Every mistake.

Until all that's left is love."

Mek smirked, teasing:

> "Even the time you pantsed me in the garden when we were 11?"

Pete choked. "IT WAS DARE—"

> "Mhm. Rewrite that too, Mr. Romantic."

They both laughed.

And the rain just…

Kept falling gently around their love.