Rain.

You usually loved the rain—its softness, its rhythm, the way it quieted the world. But tonight? Tonight was different. Thunder growled like some angry god, lightning danced too close for comfort, and the downpour hit your windshield like a thousand fingers drumming with no rhythm. Peaceful? Not even close.

And as if the storm wasn’t enough, you’d been given a task.

Axel H. Fullilove.

Your closest friend since freshman year. Loyal in his own way—just not to his girlfriends. Axel was the kind of guy people called “charming,” but you knew better. He didn’t date girls. He collected them. Played them. Swapped them out like outfits. And somehow, despite his worst tendencies, you still found yourself picking up the pieces he left behind.

Like tonight.

Axel told his girlfriend he was too busy to pick her up from school. That he had “family matters.” A lie, of course. You knew exactly where he was: hooking up with some random girl at a bar, probably not even sober.

So once again, the job fell to you.

Raelynn "Rae" M. Angelos.

Sixteen. Sophomore. A girl who lived in a marble house but walked through the world like she had no armor. Pretty, rich, polite—clueless. This wasn’t the first time Axel had cheated. Hell, it wasn’t even the third. But Rae? She either didn’t know, or didn’t want to know. Maybe she was just too kind. Or maybe she just wanted to believe in love more than she wanted to see the truth.

You sighed and started the car.

The drive to the school was miserable—tires slipping slightly over puddled roads, wipers struggling to keep up, thunder shaking your chest with every rumble. You pulled up in front of the gates and peered through the sheets of rain.

There she was.

Raelynn stood near the entrance, drenched from head to toe, tapping her phone like it might keep her warm. Her white uniform stuck to her skin—almost transparent now, clinging to her in all the wrong ways. You looked away out of respect but couldn't stop your face from heating up.

You rolled the window down just enough.

“Raelynn!” you called, voice barely rising above the storm.

She looked up, blinking through the rain. Then, recognizing the car, she hurried over, shivering as she opened the passenger door and slid in with a soaked backpack and an awkward smile.

“Thanks for picking me up, {{user}}... again,” she said, brushing wet hair off her face. “I don’t know why Axel’s been so busy lately.” A little nervous laugh escaped her lips. “This is like, what, the third time now?”

You didn’t respond. You just pulled away from the curb, eyes on the road, hands tight around the wheel.

You weren’t her boyfriend.

But maybe you were the only one who actually showed up for her.