Apparently, it was Rob who feared thunderstorms more than me.

I had asked Robert to stay over since it was raining like cats and dogs when we reached home. The thunders were ear deafening and the lightnings were eye piercing.

I had set up the couch with two big bed sheets to get him comfy since I was not letting him sleep in Dad's room nor mine.

I had started to regret the whole idea of asking him to sleep over when he knocked on my door for the third time in a row. Each time, with my limping leg, I had to walk down the stairs, assure him that everything was going to be okay and no ghosts would come to get him making those tremendous noise.

I winced when another vast stretch of light was thrown across the window, giving a hint of yet another bigger thunder. As expected, there was a loud knock on the door when the thunder hit us.

"Ugh!" I muttered in distress. I looked at the clock, it was only still three. With the exhaustion I carried, I could have slept in seconds if there was no one knocking on my door every fifth second.

The door opened slightly, with a terrible looking Robert behind it. The handsome face which was once filled with self-confidence and arrogance was now looking at me for some comfort. His curly hairs were all distorted as if he had run his hand over his hair over and over again, which I knew he had. His eyes were blood red, in need of a good sleep and his shirt was crumpled.

In short, he looked like he had fucked up.

"Can I come in?" Robert asked. His voice was so low, and I almost couldn't hear him with the pitter-patter of the rain drops. Without waiting for me to answer, he came in.

Lighting was sharp this time and he ran towards my bed in a hurry to be with someone before the next thunder would hit us. As expected, the thunder was loud enough to get the attention of our neighboring dog, which howled along with it.

Robert closed his eyes, clenching his teeth very hard. He held my hand as tight as possible, as if he was in a horrible pain and was doing his best to not show it. He took a few deep breaths until he seemed calm and then released my hand.

"Sorry." He said.

I sighed. "Rob, it's okay. It's just a small thunder." I placed my hand on his and rubbed his palm in a soothing gesture. "It's okay."

He nodded too scared to get his words out. There was a time when I had felt like I need to take advantage of the situation and tease him non-stop about how childish his fear was. But looking at his face, with mere fear of the thunder made me shut up for good.

So, instead of recording it all in a tape recorder and holding it hostage, I was here sitting next to him, comforting the best I could.

"You know what?" I asked. Rob looked at me as if I was about to shoo him away not only from my room but from the house as well. I could already hear the gears running in his mind. "Let's just watch the rain, what do you say?"

"No!" He almost shouted, louder than the rain drops. "I mean, it's late and you need sleep. I'll just..."

"Come on." I said, pulling myself up from the warmth of my bed. "Just for a few minutes."

I pulled him up and dragged him to the window where my study table and a chair was kept. I sat on the table while he took the chair. His hands never left mine and the grip became tighter when he saw light spread across the room.

"Open your eyes." I said when he was hiding behind my thighs, closing his eyes to protect himself. "Look how beautiful they are."

It had been years since I had sat at the window side watching rain at this time. The clouds were still dark and promised another hour of rain and more. Though I was tired, I did not regret the idea of sitting at the window watching rain. They fascinated me - the designs, the patterns and the speed in which the light moved - they all held me captive.

"I love these lightnings." I said, "It is as if there was someone out there showing the way even in such darkness, reminding us to never give up."

Robert's grip tightened when he heard the thunder. Poor guy, he was trying hard to keep his eyes open, let alone listen to my philosophies. When the ripples reduced, he looked at me and nodded, telling me that he was hearing everything what I was saying.

I sighed. "Tell me, what were you doing if you were at your place when this happened?"

He wiped the sweat off his brows and ran his other hand into the already messy hair. "My neighbor's cat and I are pretty close."

I held my hand to my mouth to keep from laughing. But with me trying so hard, it came out in a loud grump and a second later, I was laughing hard. Hearing him say it, I wanted to witness the whole scene - him and the cat snuggling when the thunders hit every time.

"With this grip," I showed him our intertwined hands. "Are you sure the cat survived?"

He suddenly withdrew his hand from me and looked away. I laughed at him. He was being so adorable that I wanted to pinch his cheeks just for the sake of it. When another small thunder came by, he took my hand again, making me laugh holding my stomach.

"I..." He stared, his voice shivering. "I just want to know that I'm not alone when this happens."

My heart broke hearing him say that. Knowing him for months now, I could tell that he was not close to his people. He was not even close to any of the guys in the track. He was an army of one and made his own way.

I put my hand around his shoulders and pulled him towards me. "You have me."

He smiled gratefully at that. "Thank you."

We sat by the window for the next hour talking and watching the lights dance. When it had all ended, Robert seemed to be a bit lively and the scarier part had almost vanished. We did not know when we had fallen asleep and if the rains had continued. We didn't care to acknowledge it. With the fatigue, it was not difficult to close our eyes and get into a fast slumber.

---

A rhythmic platter of water woke me up in the morning, with a singsong of cuckoo by the window side tree. I slowly looked around and knew that I was in my bed. As far as I recollected, Robert and I had passed out on the table too tired to move to our respective places.

I tried turning around, but I couldn't move. A warm pair of hands were wrapped around my middle as someone breathed on my neck, giving me a tingling sensation. As I wriggled to see who the heck it was, the hands tightened its hold around me and pulled me closer as if I was his teddy bear. Robert grunted something unintelligible and put his face on my neck.

I froze in my place. How had we ended up in the same bed cuddling and snuggling?

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. How had I let him get to me like this? I had to get out of there before I could start screaming and calling for Bloody Mary.

I untangled his fingers and placed it away and slowly, without waking him up, I got out of the bed. I put my bedspread on him to keep him warm. The poor guy hadn't slept at all last night and my heart strings tuned a melancholic melody for him. But now, he looked like a schoolboy on a weekday too lazy to get ready and go to school.

My cheeks reddened when I realized how close I had been with him a few seconds back. The warmth was overwhelming, and I could still feel his hands wrapped around me and his breath fanning me. 

As soon as I thought about it, it became harder to breath. To be honest, I missed the warmth and if I wasn't making a big deal out of our sleeping arrangements, I would have gone back to the bed, next to him. 

Was it bad if I felt that way?

Shit! I had to get out of here before I made a fool out of myself.

I did my usual chores and went to the kitchen. The clock then struck eleven and I heaved a sigh - another cheat day. I went to my Dad's room to check if he had made it home. When I saw his empty bed, for once I was happy. I didn't know how I would have dealt if had was here in the mix.

My stomach grumbled and I opened the cupboards to see if there was anything that I could make to feed myself. Thankfully there was a noodle packet and I ripped it open to put it in the boiling water. The door rang, halting me in my process. I wiped my hands on the tablecloth and redid my hair into a top bun before I went to get the door.

"Nick?" I asked perplexed when I saw him leaning against the door with a lazy smile on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Aren't you going to let me in?" He asked with the same smile.

"Come in, come in." I said shaking my head, silently cursing myself. "I'm making noodles, want some?"

"Sure." He said, waiting for me to lead the way. "Don't tell me you didn't have any breakfast."

"It's more like a brunch." I said, my cheeks flaming. I turned away to make sure that he didn't see me. "Did we have any study session that I forgot?"

Nick only laughed and stood next to me. "No, Scar." He smiled, as I turned to look at him. He brought his hands and tucked my hair behind my ear. "I just wanted to see you." He held me by my shoulder and stood at an arm's length. "You look mighty fine to me. You can even walk without limping now."

That was when I realized that I hadn't been limping at all. It was as if it had vanished into thin air and all that falling didn't happen at all. Just to prove his point, I walked to and fro in the kitchen making sure that the pain didn't come back. To my relief, it didn't, and I jumped up and down with joy.

"Wow, that's great!" I said, a big smile plastered on my face. "I hadn't noticed that."

"Scar, can I ask you something?" He asked when I had resumed my noodle making. I was stirring the noodles making sure that they had softened a bit. I looked at him as he sat on the kitchen counter, his eyes scanning me, looking for any signs of vulnerability. I nodded my head. "Are you avoiding me?"

The question hit me like a meteor. I thought I was doing a good job in keeping things to myself. Heck, I hadn't even told those things to Lily making sure that this precious boy was protected. But Nick? He had read them all - the signs and gestures and had concluded to things that I didn't want him to come across.

I mumbled back a five worded question back at him. "What makes you think that?"

"Scar," He sighed and sat on top of the kitchen counter. He pulled me to him such that I was trapped between his legs. He put his hands on top on my shoulders and tilted his head to look at me. "I know you better than you give me credit for."

I wanted to curl up and cry at that. All these times the idea of me wanting to take in all the pain to make sure that he was smiling, was running into drains.

"Look at me Scar." His voice was velvety, just the exact amount to make me fall in love with him all over again.

He pulled my chin upwards such that I met his eyes - those very green ones that I was fond of. When I saw how in pain they were, I hated myself.

Here I was standing in front of this guy whom I thought I loved while just a few minutes ago, I was not wanting to leave the warmth of the bed in Robert's arm. How sick was I?

"You are not your usual self around me anymore." He said. It was not a blaming tone; it was just a tired tone. "Is it because I'm gay?"

"No!" I almost wanted to cry at that. "I don't care if you are gay or straight, I love you all the same."

"Then what's the issue?" He stroked my cheek with his thumb.

"I just need a little more time adjusting the facts with me." I said, not meeting his eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you in the process, so I just... I focused on the racing part."

He nodded his head and let me go. "You know I love you too, right?" He asked. "You can tell me when things like that bother you, I'll always be there for you."

I hugged him then. The irony here was both of us wanted to be happy by helping each other but being with each other was the only thing that was breaking us up a little every time.

"Oh, sorry." I jumped at the new voice and brought distance between Nick and me. I looked at Robert, giving him the best smug expression that I had mastered all these years. "I didn't know we had company, babe. You should have just woken me."

Robert seemed at ease, pulling out a bottle of cold water from the fridge. He had a messy, curly bed hair and looked fresh for a guy who was scared shit from a small thunderstorm. On top of all that he was without a shirt and it made things look ugly from my part.

"He slept here?" Nick asked, his mouth hanging open in the air. If I didn't have a nervous meltdown in all my years in my life, it was the time to experience them now. "Like in your room?"

Robert sucked on the bottle, trying to buy as much time as possible. He came towards me and pulled me to him, kissing me on my cheek. "Thanks for last night, babe."

If earth could tear up and swallow me whole, I would have happily gone in without another word. I was humiliated and made to look like a fool in front of my crush - even though there was no chance for us. Rob-fucking-Bert made it seem as if I had "slept" with him.

"For saving you from the -" I started, but Robert cut me off, ignoring my words.

"Hi Nick!" He said, giving him a good handshake. Nick, who was still taken aback with all the things he had heard, silently nodded, looking back and forth between me and Rob. Robert then turned towards me with a gamy smirk on his face. "I thought I was getting breakfast in bed, Scarlet. But then I thought with everything that happened yesterday night, you sure would be tired."

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you asshole?" I screamed at him. I walked further to strangle him and make sure he died a painful death in my hands. But when I was about to grab a handful of his hair, Nick pulled me back and held me hostage. "You are going to die, Hastings!"

"Scar, calm down." Nick said. I breathed heavily, shooting daggers at him. "I know nothing happened. Do you think I'll believe him rather than you?"

Once Nick made sure that I was okay and I would not go running behind Robert with a sharp knife, he let me go. I was the one to make sure that he was okay with all the stupid thunder and now he had turned it on me? Just a few minutes ago, I was there thinking how peaceful and angelic he looked when he slept peacefully, but no, he was the devil in disguise.

"So, what makes you here Nick?" Robert asked, taking a seat in the dining table. He sipped on the cold water as if it was his lifeline.

Just like I wished, Nick turned a deaf ear to him and looked at me. "Scar, are you free today?" He asked. I nodded my head at him, wondering what he had in store for me. "Since you are so involved with racing and everything, I thought you would like a car show."

"What?" My eyes were bulging with surprise and mirth that I had. "I love it!" I jumped high and ran to Nick's open arms without amiss. "I will go!"

"Great!" He said as he laughed at my childish behavior. "We can all go there, have lunch and start off. They say it's pretty huge and might take hours to cover them all."

"Who's we?" Robert asked.

"We four." Nick shrugged. "James and Lily will also join us."

I wanted to roll on the floor laughing at how Robert's face looked taken aback at Nick's innocent words. But Lily's name brought me back to my senses. I hadn't made an attempt to call or message her regarding what had happened to her.

"How's Lily?" Robert asked, beating me to it.

The fact that he was as concerned as me about Lily's whereabouts was something that I didn't think he could have bothered with. 

Robert was something very complicated. That was what I concluded. He was teasing me one minute, then became a little possessive about the whole car show and brotherly in the next second. It was as if he carried switches for every emotion and they were switched internally to act the way he did.

"She's good. Why?" Nick asked him suspiciously and then looked at me for further information. "Something went wrong?"

"We had been out last night." I said sparing out the details. I looked at Robert, silently begging him to say no more and not start another fuel to the already burning flames. "Lily got back late. She hadn't informed James about it and so..."

Nick only nodded his head in understanding. "Well, will she be coming then?" He asked me. "I mean I didn't tell her anything about this sudden plan."

"Oh, she will." I said, waving my hand in the air. I put the noodles into three bowls which were identical to each other. The aroma was heavenly, and it alone made Robert's stomach grumble. I smiled in victory. "Besides, we can take my car. We have Rob here as a chauffeur, so that takes care of the driving issue."

Robert took a seat in the middle separating Nick and me as he took one of the bowls.

Your car?" Nick asked, taking a seat on the dining table, not waiting for my orders to come dig at it. "Did you win it in the last race?"

That was the difference between Nick and Lily. While Lily made a big deal out of it, Nick was so cool about it. It was one of the reasons why I had come to like him the way I did.

"Yeah, how did you know?" I asked, pushing a spoon towards Robert, ignoring the way he was looking at our interaction - with a smile plastered on his face - as if he was watching his kid mingle in the kindergarten for the first time.

"Ever since you told me that you were going to race, I was following a few races on TV." He shyly said. His face was flustered as I had caught him red handed. "That's how I guessed."

"If you planned on taking you guys, how will I be able to join you?" Rob asked, breaking my perfect moment with my guy.

I only glared at him. "Oh, chauffeurs stay at the car till our errands are over." I said, taking a seat next to Rob, himself. Since I had taken away a seat to adjust Dad's wheelchair, that was the only spot that was left to occupy. "Isn't that right, Nick?"

"Scar, no." Nick shook his head. "The tickets are sold at the entry Robert." He said turning to him. He took another spoon from his bowl and chewed on it buying time. "You can always get one when we take ours."

I glared at Robert as we sat in the dining table.

Though Robert was here with me every day, driving me places, he was different from the Robert I had seen on track. Outside of practice he was flirty and an asshole while in the tracks he was a master of the art. I missed the tracks and the proud smile on Robert's face when I did things that he least expected me to do.

"What?" Robert asked, when I had zoned out looking at him, with plain smirk playing on his lips. "Remembering last night?"

And just like that all the sympathy I had for him was taken away and all that there was left was hatred for that particular curly haired boy.

---

A/N: Mighty Robert is scared of thunderstorms. Had you anticipated it? Do you think Nick and Scarlet will be kinda okay now?

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