I was fifteen when someone took my heart. I didn't receive any love letters from him as an exchange, but I continued to hope that maybe at another time, maybe even in my dreams, I'd receive an answer from him.

On the stormy night of Halloween, I didn't get a love letter but a spoken confession. It was my first.

Unfortunately, it didn't come from the person who had my heart.

Throughout the irregular lightning flashes, Finn tried to find an answer in my eyes. I felt like crying. I felt like walking away. But his confession seeped into my skin and paralyzed my whole body. There was a slight tremble in my hands and throat.

My phone rang in my hand, and it distracted us, thankfully. I turned away from Finn and answered the call.

"Where are you?"

Hearing Michael's voice almost made me cry out in relief.

I looked around and adjusted my eyes to the darkness so I could make out the words written on the top of a door. Then, I told him where we were, and he hung up.

"Who was that?" Finn asked.

"Michael. He's coming to pick us up."

He reached out for my hand again, but I hesitated. "Autumn, about what I—"

"Finn, thank you."

"Thank... you?" His voice was broken as he slowly drew his hands away.

I swallowed hard. "Well, um, yes. Thank you. It was... nice to hear," I said, trying to be as polite as possible. "But I need time to think it over."

Time. Yes, I needed time to think and say my answer properly. My mind was still racing, and my stomach was feeling uneasy. I felt sick.

His mouth remained slightly agape as if he was thinking about his next words. "I knew there was a 'but' coming. There always is." The disappointment in his voice was unmistakable.

"I'm sorry."

"I understand. You're probably shocked to hear that." Looking away, he brushed the back of his head and curled his lips into an empty smile.

We didn't speak for a moment, just staring at the darkness until it got lighter. I spun around, and a flashlight almost blinded me.

"There you are," a voice called.

Slowly, I trailed my eyes starting from the heavy boots, black pants, black vest on top of a long-sleeved white shirt, long black cape, his unsmiling face, and to his messy hair that once again covered his eyebrows. He looked beautiful. An attractive young Dracula.

Finn nodded at him. "Hey, Mike. You came faster than expected."

"I thought you wouldn't come tonight," I said.

"Just got delayed. Wardrobe problems." Michael shrugged. "The others told me you guys were here, so I immediately came to see what's up. And it looks like—" he shone his flashlight up and down on us "—you two had some fun." His smile didn't waver when he said that. It just solidified there, not helping me to figure out if he was being sarcastic or not. I just hoped he didn't think Finn and I had some romantic escapade.

"It was a weird experience," Finn said. "Autumn thought she saw a ghost."

Michael laughed. I flushed in embarrassment and glared daggers at the fake pirate on my left. "Please. You were the one that ran first when the nun chased us."

A brilliant white light flickered through the windows, and the three of us jumped when the skies raged above us. Rubbing the goosebumps on my arm, I said, "Jeez. That was scary."

"Yeah. It sounded so close I thought it would hit us," Finn added.

Michael waved his flashlight around. "We should get going."

On our way, I noticed the strangeness in our arrangement. Michael was in front of me. Finn was behind me. I felt like a lump of burger meat between two slices of bread. My temples ached.

A moment later, we found ourselves standing at the front door of the school building. The rain was harsher than I thought. The dress I had on was made of sheer material, not suitable for that kind of weather, so I put my arms around me for warmth. Before long, I felt a thick cloth around my shoulders. Michael's cape. I glanced up and made awkward eye contact with him.

"Party's over?" Finn asked, observing around.

Darkness enveloped the surroundings—not a single lamppost or light in the buildings glowed. A fallen tree somewhere must've knocked down the electrical wires. In the distance, several students ran in the rain with their illuminated phones and glow sticks to light up their way.

"There's a bad storm coming," said Michael as he typed into his phone.

"That sucks. How are we gonna get home?" Finn said.

"Nate's going to give us a lift. Good thing he's not hammered tonight."

"Nice."

"He can't get his car here, though." Michael put the phone back in his pocket. "You know he's the worst when it comes to choosing a parking space."

Finn let out a disappointed whistle. "That means we have to walk in the rain, then."

"You're a pirate," Michael said, gesturing at his getup. "You should be used to water and bad weather."

"I'm not worried about me at all, dude. I'm worried about her." Finn cocked his head at me.

"I'll be fine. It's better to be soaked in the rain than to be stuck here overnight," I said. "Let's go."

Clutching the cape firmly around me, I leaped over the large puddle that had accumulated on the curb, and the boys followed. Not even a few seconds later, we were completely drenched. We kicked the puddles at each other as we ran under the dark purple sky, our laughter almost overcoming the sounds of thunder. It had been a very long time since I played in the rain like that. I felt like we were kids again. Mom would surely get mad at me for going out into the storm, but I didn't care about the consequence I'd meet later.

We finally reached the parking lot and saw several cars leaving. At the farthest part of the lot, a huge red pickup truck was blinking its headlights. The dark-tinted window on the passenger side rolled down, and Rose and Clover signaled us to move faster.

Since my clothes were soaked, I had no choice but to sit with the other guys at the back of the truck. Luckily, Nate had put on the topper. Clint, who looked like a wet hedgehog in the truck bed, took my hand and helped me climb up. Our wild appearances made me giggle. Finn followed me, and Clint greeted him with a mighty, "Finn! What's up?"

There was enough space for the four of us, but Finn sat next to me very close. I shuffled away just slightly. Michael was the last one to climb up, and he positioned himself on Clint's side. I took off his cape and folded it before I handed it back to him, mouthing thanks. He only nodded in response. I recalled that he was claustrophobic, which must explain the uneasiness on his face. I hoped he could endure the ride.

Nate started the engine, and someone began switching through the radio stations. Every time a lousy song played, they would yell, "No, no, no!" And when familiar rock music blared out of the speakers, they would go, "Yes! Stop right there!" and scream the lyrics.

During the slow drive, I found some things that would stay imprinted in my mind forever: the perfect songs for a stormy night, the pain in our stomachs as we laughed, our voices ruling the quiet road, the blurry street lights we passed, the saltiness in the air, the heaviness of our eyelids, the little talks, and the happiness altogether.

Before the truck reached my street to drop Clover and me home, Finn wrapped his hand around mine again and whispered in my ear, "I hope you'll think about what I said, Autumn. I'm serious about liking you. Just answer me when you're ready. I can wait for you."

──────

The whole town remained somber the following day as the rain poured mercilessly. The trees bent and swayed but held strong to their core, and their autumn leaves became bullets in the howling wind.

It was announced on the local news that all classes were suspended, so Clover and I had the entire house to ourselves while Mom was out to work. We were still too exhausted from last night (with an extra hour of listening to Mom's sermon), so we spent half the day sleeping and the other half doing individual activities.

Clover was lying on the couch, typing rapidly on her phone. Once in a while, she would burst into a fit of giggles. Clint was probably sending her sweet messages, and I couldn't help but feel a little weird. It wasn't that I disliked their relationship. There had been just one time I had accidentally seen them steal a kiss from each other behind someone's car, and it had been so awkward I wanted to bleach my brain.

I spent the afternoon writing my thoughts down in my special notebook so I wouldn't drown in my worries about last night. Later on, Clover prepared hot chocolate for us both and placed a mug full of it in front of me on the table.

"One for you," she said, placing a steaming mug in front of me. She then settled on the other side of the table with her one leg up on the chair.

"Thanks." I closed my notebook and took the mug.

The tiny white marshmallows bobbed on the surface as I brought the rim to my mouth. For a moment, we sat in silence, just savoring our warm drinks and listening to the pouring rain.

"How was the scavenger hunt, by the way?" she asked, glancing at me. "Your friend Sunny told me that you went with Finn. I didn't expect you'd be down to play it after all the ghostly stuff that Rose said."

"I didn't sign up for it. It was a prank set up by Sunny and her friend," I said with a grumble. I couldn't believe Sunny would go that far. As much as I wanted not to feel this way toward her because she'd always been nice to me, I was pissed at her.

"Yikes." Clover snorted a laugh.

A wave of nausea that I'd been trying to hold back came over me. With my hands tight around the mug, I took another sip of my drink to calm down. But it didn't work. The words were gathering at the base of my throat, limiting my breathing, and I had no choice but to let them out.

"Finn asked me out last night."

Clover's mouth dangled open as she stared at me. Then, she drank a mouthful of her drink as if to take time to process what she had just heard.

"Wow. That kid who broke your crayons, huh?'

I frowned. "Why do you keep calling him that?"

She set her mug down, snubbing my question. "So, what did you say to him?"

"I said... thanks and that I'd think it over."

Hanging her head back, she ran her hand over her face as if my response had given her a migraine. "Oh, my sweet little sister. Why do you need to think it over? Don't you like someone else already?"

"Yes. But..." My cheeks flushed in shame. "But he was really sincere about the whole thing, and... I didn't know how to answer him. I didn't want to sound harsh. Plus, I've never been confessed to before, you know?"

"Well, there's a first time for everything." Clover sighed, adjusting herself on her chair. "How serious was he?"

"Well, he wrote songs for me."

Her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my gosh, that serious? If I were in your shoes, I'd marry him right there. That kind of courtship is hard to find these days."

I frowned at her again. "What is it, really? I thought you would discourage me from going out with him?"

"Well, it's your heart, Autumn. It's your decision. Okay, I get that you were being nice to him, and you needed a moment to process it. But my advice is not to beat around the bush for too long. Tell him what you actually feel. Tell him that you like someone else. Then—bam!" She slapped her hands together. "Problem solved."

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled.

"Yes, I know it's hard for you because you're afraid of hurting people's feelings. But for once, Autumn, you have to speak it out. Honesty isn't only going to save you from guilt, but also to save the other person from false hopes."

The corner of my mouth quirked up slightly. "Do you say that from experience?" I said, alluding to the mistake she had made to Michael many moons ago.

Clover rolled her eyes and gave me a sincere look. "Just be honest with Finn, okay?"

I breathed out my final words. "I'll try my best."

She picked up her mug and blew on the steam. "The fact that he wrote songs for you means that he's in for some serious heartbreak."

I glanced out the window. The rain still hadn't stopped.