"Oh my god that's so sad..."

"Really? The poor thing..."

"Oh no, that's terrible..."

Unusually somber chatter filled the cafeteria as students whispered and murmured to each other in low voices, wrapping the room in a solemn atmosphere.

If I had friends to talk to I would've found out what the topic was long ago, but instead, here I was, eating a soggy jam sandwich alone at an empty table at the corner of the cafeteria, caught at the edge of a supposedly eminent discussion, as per usual. 

No one bothered to converse with me, let alone sit with me. But I suppose it was just something I got used to. As long as I wasn't declared a shadow, I think I was okay.

I took the last bite of my sandwich, gazing through the long rectangular windows in front of me. 

Personally I found it a mystery as to why the principal of Celvire decided to invest in giant windows that took up the near entirety of the cafeteria wall. 

Was it practical? 

No. 

Was it convenient? 

No. 

Was it stylish? 

Not even close.

And yet somehow it beat buying a functioning air conditioning system for the school. 

I watched in a daze as little raindrops pelted against the glass. A soft tap echoed through the air with each droplet that fell, the hum of students quickly vanishing right along with it. Thoughts of her rushed into my head, from the way her ruby red cherry earrings twinkled every time she spoke, to the little dimples that formed on her cheeks every time she smiled. 

I let out a sigh as a hint of a smile threatened to spill over my lips.

She was the only person at this school who actually talked to me. And admittedly, if talking to her meant being invisible to everyone else in the world, I guess wouldn't mind.

She was a good friend in that way.

Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder, snapping me out of my daze.

A little too excitedly, I whirled around, hoping to find her cherry earrings shining brightly as she stood behind me, just like the first time we met.

Instead I encountered something much, much worse.

"Vince right?" she spat, pointing a jet black painted fingernail at me. Her icy blue eyes stared daggers into me as she locked her eyes on mine.

Funny how she managed to quote her exact words and send a shiver down my spine at the same time.

Wearily, I nodded my head.

In front of me was the popular sophomore and head of The Daily Sparrow, also known as Georgia Romone, or in other words, the founder of the notorious nickname "shadow".

I watched her cautiously as she brought her perfectly manicured nail up to her chin, staring intently at me as if in deep thought.

I gulped nervously, fidgeting awkwardly in my spot. Her presence was just too overwhelming for me, considering the fact that she was the type of person who couldn't care less about anyone but herself.

If only my trusty wish-buddy could mend her unsentimental attitude.

"You heard about yesterday didn't you?" she asked with a slight grimace, tilting her head to the side. Her ponytail swayed with the movement, causing locks of long auburn hair to slide across her back.

I nodded my head again, secretly praying that she would leave me alone. But sadly, she didn't.

"Apparently you were with her yesterday. Too bad I couldn't see it for myself. That bird really made headlines because of her. Probably one of the most wide-spread stories we've ever written about. The school's been talking about it all day."

Should I have been surprised? Maybe. But for some odd reason, I kinda saw it coming.

With that she hastily unzipped the brown leather bag hanging over her shoulder, tossed a copy of The Daily Sparrow on to the surface of the table, and took her leave.

Immediately I geared my attention towards the newspaper directly in front of me.

In the usual large, capital, jet black letters it spelt out the words "SHE STRIKES AGAIN! OUR MYSTERIOUS NO-NAME STUDENT HONORS DEATH OF BABY BIRD, INSPIRING OTHERS TO DO THE SAME!" that sat over an overly large photo of a handful of students, dipping their heads in grief.

I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding as I slumped forwards in relief.

Nothing embarrassing, controversial or all of the above.

Phew.

Settled back into my bubble of comfortable silence, I listened as more droplets of rain tapped against the window. My mind wondered off briefly, and I couldn't help but think about her again. I could already feel my cheeks flush pink as I began thinking of the half-hug we shared yesterday.

Luckily no one took a photo of that.

All of a sudden, I felt a splash of water smack against my cheek, snapping me out of my trance. Confused, my head automatically turned towards the window.

As far as I knew, there wasn't any way to open to them, hence the practicality issue.

My head whipped around as I felt someone slide into the spot beside me. Just as I did, I met the gaze of a pair of lively hazel eyes.

"Hey Vince!" she chirped happily, shooting me her signature smile, dimples and all.

I felt the presence of numerous eyes fall over us, but it didn't take long for me to completely forget about them.

With one look at her, my eyes widened in shock. And not because this was the first time she's ever spoken to me in school, but because of her current state, appearance-wise.

From the soles of her turquoise Converse to the tips of her golden brown hair, to say she was soaked was an understatement. Her knitted white sweater and now dark blue jeans clung tightly to her body. Pebbles of water rolled down her chin and locks of her hair clasped against the outline of her face, as if she just dove into a swimming pool.

A wave of worry washed over me.

"You were out in the rain?" I nearly shrieked, digging out spare napkins from my lunch bag and handing them to her.

She took the napkins with ease, calmly wiping away the water dripping down her cheeks.

"Yup," she declared, popping the "p". "It was fun, you should've been there."

I raised an eyebrow at her to which she giggled at.

"Don't you care about getting sick?" I asked her, watching as she wrung out her hair.

"Have you ever heard the phrase 'laughter is the best medicine'?"

"Yeah but-"

She placed her wet napkin over my mouth, cutting my sentence short.

I felt my cheeks redden.

"You know that feeling when you're just so happy that you want to scream and laugh and dance and squeal, but you just can't?"

"Not really," I muffled through the napkin, trying my best to avert her eyes from my cheeks, "but I get where you're coming from."

Her hazel eyes flicked towards the window as she gazed off into the distance for a brief second.

"That's the feeling I get when I'm out in the rain, and it just feels amazing. I bet that feeling can cure sicknesses if it wanted to, so I guess you can consider me immune."

A playful grin danced on her lips as she turned towards me. Suddenly her smile faded as a pout took its place.

"But were you serious when you said that you've never experienced that feeling before? Not even a single time in your entire life?"

I shook my head, earning a look of absolute shock from her.

Suddenly she grabbed me by my wrist, leading me outside towards the cafeteria exit doors. Taken off guard for a second, I snatched my lunch bag and the newspaper off the table, taking steady steps as I followed behind her.

Many eyes followed us as we passed by, along with a little too many whispers and murmurs to count. So many, that I wasn't even sure whether I was blushing because of all the unwanted attention or because her hand was touching my wrist, which was just a hair away from my hand.

Either way, I probably looked like a human tomato.

At last when we exited the cafeteria I finally mustered up the courage to speak up.

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked as she guided me down the stairwell.

For a moment she turned her head to smile at me, her tiny dimples forming in her cheeks. And maybe I was just too caught up in the moment, but I swear the vivid scarlet cherries hanging from her earlobes twinkled, for just a split second.

"We're going to have fun."