R is for Raining and Rhyming
Katie shivered and hugged her arms closer to her body as she stared outside over the border at the pouring rain. She watched as it dropped into the puddles, the water rippling out in rings that kept getting bigger and bigger until they disappeared at the edge. Even though she was inside the protective borders of the camp, she could feel the chill seeping through her skin. She really should have brought a jacket. Staring up at the sky, Katie wondered what Zeus was mad about now. The gray clouds gathering above seemed to be growing darker and larger. She guessed Hera and Zeus were currently in marriage counseling. They sure needed it.
"Whatcha doin'?" asked a familiar voice in her ear causing her to jump slightly before looking over to see Travis with a smirk. His usually unruly hair was being controlled with a beanie, and Katie was immediately jealous when she saw the warm sweatshirt he was wearing. "Is that gum you're chewing?"
Katie looked around confusedly. "I'm not chewing any gum."
"I noticed that. Do you like my new hat?" he asked, pointing up to his head.
She nodded hesitantly. "I . . . I guess. Are you all right?"
"Oh I'm fine!" he exclaimed with a smile. "Has anyone ever told you that your smile shines?"
Katie blushed slightly and grinned. "Um, no. But . . . thanks."
"No problem." He paused and gnawed his bottom lip in thought. "My throat is filled of phlegm."
"What's with the . . . " She trailed off and stared at him.
"The rhyming?" Travis asked. "Conner just dared me during rock climbing."
"He dared you to rhyme all day?" He nodded his head proudly. "Are you serious?"
"Like a heart attack! Do you know who's really tall? That guy, Shaq."
"You're ridiculous," she said while rolling her eyes and staring back out across the borders.
"Being ridiculous is my profession," he stated, looking outside as well. "Now, you never did answer my question."
"I'm just sitting here. Watching the rain."
"That's all?" Katie nodded. "But it's not even fall!"
"What does fall have to do with any of this?" she asked.
Travis shrugged. "Why don't you go out there?" Leaning in closer to her, he whispered, "Are you scared of the bears?"
"There's no bears out there, you idiot. It's against the rules to go outside the boundaries without permission."
"Katie, this isn't school. You don't have to follow every rule."
Rolling her eyes, she turned to him once again. "It's not just about the rules. I don't really like rain that much."
He gasped melodramatically and clasped a hand over his heart. "Don't like the rain? Why do you always have to be so vain?"
"How is not liking the rain being vain?" He shrugged innocently and gave her that I-just-needed-a-rhyme look. Rolling her eyes, Katie said, "I don't like the rain because plants do not like the rain. If they get too much, they could drown and die. If the plant's not domesticated, too little rain will make them shrivel up and die. Plus, with the hail and wind and the lightning, plants are doomed. I don't like the rain."
"Well I'm going to change that." He stood abruptly and held out his hand for her. After helping her up, he sadly let go. "Now follow me like a . . . fruit bat."
"I'm so not a fruit bat!" Travis smirked and shrugged once more before heading towards Thalia's Tree. "Woah, what are you doing?" Katie asked, grabbing his arm to stop him.
"We're going out in the rain. Seriously, Katie. Use your brain." His grin became wider as she glared at him angrily. He continued walking towards the borders. "Now follow me like a dog and a . . . bee." Rolling her eyes once more, she trotted after him reluctantly.
Before leaving camp, Travis stopped them. "Do you want my jacket?" he asked, noticing for the first time her lack of layering.
"Are you sure?"
He nodded and started tucking in his arms, readying to pull it over his head. "Don't worry. I've got a . . . tennis racket."
Katie rolled her eyes but smiled as he handed it over to her. "Thanks," she mumbled after tugging it over her head. It was far too big for her and smelled of Travis - dirt, sweat, and too much cologne. She loved it.
He smiled back and nodded his head before walking across the borders. Turning back around, he looked at her with a shrug and a smirk. She watched as the gray of his hat continued to get steadily darker as the rain hit his head. "Don't be such a swine!" he yelled over the storm. "The water's fine!"
Taking a deep breath, Katie lifted the hood over her head and walked the few feet across the border. As the piercing drops of ice cold rain hit her open face, she couldn't help but gasp slightly. She had momentarily forgotten how good they got it at camp. She looked up at Travis's smirking face and shook her head violently. "It's too cold," she whined.
It was his turn to roll his eyes. He reached out his arms and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her towards him. She enjoyed the extra warmth "Come on, come on," he said.
"Saying the same words twice isn't rhyming," she scolded.
Travis smirked down at her. "I know. Just don't tell Conner or I'm a goner." His smile widened as she laughed. "Now seriously, come on. I wanna show you something." Grabbing her hand, he ran down the hill at full speed.
"Travis!" Katie yelled behind him. "Slow down!"
He finally stopped and stared at the sight in front of him. "Beautiful," he whispered under his breath while shaking his head slightly in amazement.
"An abandoned road?" she asked. She pushed her hood back so she could see better and looked around for another sign of life. "Yeah. It's gorgeous."
Travis turned to her with an unbelieving look. "Not just an abandoned road. A bumpy abandoned road with holes and ditches and cracks."
"Oh my," Katie said with a smirk. Travis did not find it funny.
"This is serious, Katie. Look at those puddles! They're gorgeous! Just the right size with the perfect water capacity. Ooooh. They make me feel funny in my pants."
"Are you kidding me? You are going to jump in those puddles?" she asked with raised eyebrows.
"We are going to jump in those puddles," he corrected.
"What are you, like, 6? I am so not splashing in some puddle!" Katie exclaimed, shaking her head vigorously.
"Pleeeaaassse," he whined, sticking out his bottom lip.
"No."
He sighed. "Fine then," he said while starting to walk away slowly. "Then I guess I'll just have to do this!"
"Travis!" she yelled loudly after he jumped in a puddle, getting them both wet with excess rain water.
He shrugged innocently. "Whoops," he mumbled before turning back around on his heel and walking slowly away.
She ran up behind him and stomped in a nearby puddle, trying to get him back, but her splash wasn't nearly as big. "What the hell?" she shouted. "Why wasn't mine like yours?"
"Well one reason may just be because your form was all wrong, my dear," he stated, grabbing her by the shoulders and bringing her in front of him. "Or it may just be because I have big feet, and you know what they say about guys with big feet." He winked at her slyly and she nodded her head.
"Big socks," she said with a smile.
Travis laughed and nodded. "That too!"
After a bit of training, Katie was soon an expert puddle splasher thanks to Travis. "Like this?" she asked before jumping into the puddle in front of them and wetting them both.
"Perfect!" he exclaimed. She smiled up at him. "That now means that I can go like this," he started, splashing into a small pool of water and soaking them both, "and you can't be mad at me."
Pushing her wet bangs out of her face, Katie nodded. "You're right. I can't be mad at you. But I can go like this!" They continued going back and forth, running up and down the road repeatedly, trying to splash into every puddle they saw.
There, near the very end of the street, sat the mother of all puddles. About 5 feet by 3 feet. Almost 3 inches deep. Absolutely gorgeous.
Just as Travis was about to claim it as his own, Katie ran into him, accidentally knocking him down, creating the biggest splash of the afternoon. But she wasn't worried about his splash. "Oh my gods! Travis, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" she exclaimed worriedly, bending over to look at him more closely.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm fine," he said. He looked fine, really. Just wet. "Help me up," he told her as he extended his hand for her to grab.
As she put out her own hand, he quickly gripped her wrist and pulled her down into the puddle too. He smirked as she let out a small scream and crashed into him.
"You're such an idiot!" Katie yelled, splashing the water around them into his face. After a bit of struggle, Travis finally grabbed hold of her small wrists and held them tight.
"Chill, Katie. I just needed a break and I knew you weren't going to willingly sit in a puddle of rain water with me." She sighed and stopped trying to get her hands back. But as soon as he let go, she quickly splashed him once and put them behind her back. "You take this way too seriously, my friend."
All she did was stick her tongue out at him, making him chuckle.
"Now," Travis started, "since I have been waiting all day, I believe I must say . . . I am being stupid and silly like an elf, and I do not want to make an even bigger fool of myself, so . . . just in case I miss, I would like to ask you if you would enjoy a kiss."
"Wow," Katie said with a small smile. "Three whole rhymes in one ridiculously long sentence that pretty much made no sense. I'm impressed."
"So?" he asked, eyebrows raised in question.
Smirking, she leaned in closer to him, her eyelids fluttering shut. Travis followed suit but just as their lips were about to touch, a wave of water hit him in the face. Opening his eyes, he glared at his girlfriend.
She laughed. "You can't distract me that easily," she said with a wink, standing up in the puddle.
"Have you ever thought, Katie," he started as he stood up too, "that maybe it wasn't just a trick? That I actually wanted to kiss you?"
Shaking her head, she smirked and looked up at him. "Nope."
Rolling his eyes, Travis bent down and captured her lips on his. As they kissed, one of Travis's hands was cupping her cheek while the other was on her waist, pulling her closer. They were oblivious to everything around them as the rain continued to pour and the lightning continued to flash and the thunder continued to boom.
After they separated, Travis stared down at her with a smirk. "Now this really isn't what I was intending," he said. Shrugging and leaning down again to rest his forehead on hers he whispered, "But at least we get a happy ending."