Erik blinked at the rain stormed out so heavily in front of the closed library. It took him quite a while to just realize he had nowhere and did not have an umbrella with him. Damn God who chooses the wrong time to piss, Erik thought in a dry sense of humor.
Walking through the rain wasn’t romantic. It wasn’t like in the movie singing in the rain where Do Lockwood can dance with his umbrella amidst the rain with a stupid smile. The steps out of the library veranda were clumsy and rush. He clutched his brief case in the chest. Took a deep breath then stumbled into the slushy foot walk with sounds of thunders and the white noise of rain.
Erik blindly strode onto the walking path because he couldn’t see the vision clearly and it was hopeless. He was so wrong about rushing through the damn heavy rain that came with whirl wind. His speed couldn’t escape from the climate catastrophe. He could barely see the route, only the dark grey shadow of the building and it was a white flag of surrender that a stubborn person like Erik finally, finally gave in to the damned weather that he cursed.
In front of him was a tall building Erik recognized, besides the university library, was a faculty building and thank god there was a balcony. Without a glimpse of hesitance, Erik skipped to the other direction and ran recklessly to it. He was too careful with the brief case to notice the muddy swamp and jumped into it, hard and wet.
Fuck this, the curse rolled onto his tongue like rain. Damn the pun too.
“Are you alright?”
It was the most stupid question when Erik reached the balcony. He was ready to strike with his temper, which was certainly short by now but he noticed the worried look in the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen. But really, at this moment Erik never gave a damn on how attractive the other was even from only a glance when he didn’t sleep for three days and his lust was drained out.
But he really was attractive, standing awkwardly not far from him and trying to help. Normally a stranger would not bother by another stranger in an unusual condition just to avoid any attachment and accident that might had happened. Even though Erik was sure enough he had read somewhere that people often have sexual intercourse when they are stuck in the elevator because they couldn’t stand another one’s heatened body pressed close together.
That had gone too far now, Erik embarrassingly pushed aside his dirty mind and kept his poker face when he finally caught the stranger’s eye contact. He said,
“I’m okay.”
The stranger frowned, with dazzling eyes only hinted that he was laughing internally. Let alone him, Erik was not either in the mood for lust or being a funny crown, looking ridiculous with his worn out sweater and jeans soaked from head to toe just to be teased.
He put down his brief case and looked in the rain that never seemingly stopped. The balcony was narrow and steep. There was not much space left and place to sit was not an option. Erik only grunted and sighed. He was too tired to take this ship, not when he had a deadline coming after and he needed to get out of this.
“It’s not going to stop soon, isn’t it?”
The stranger, again, started talking to him so casually. He was a man in the suit, cut through impeccably that fit his body. He was shorter than Erik. Except the blue eyes, he also had brown curls and surprisingly red lips.
Erik only nodded but didn’t want to speak. It was no use while they both knew it was never going anywhere. The conversation faded out and they stood in silence with the sound of the rain. Then Erik noticed the man had a blue colored umbrella. He stared at it so long that took a man to notice.
“Oh this, I can just wait until the rain was less angry. I’m not in a rush,” He smiled.
It only made Erik frigid. He was in urgent and if only he could borrow that umbrella from the man—
As if the man could read his mind, he said, “You could use it. You seem in such a hurry, my friend.”
Erik was surprised by his generosity but he refused it because he hated owning someone even from the tiny thing and it was a selfish act to accept the umbrella from a person who was in the same situation as you.
Anyway, the man insisted again with the same smile and Erik who was more relaxed with the stranger’s presence, then politely refused.
“So, what about we both take the umbrella? I think you’d like to go to the bus stop. It was not far from here and I can lift you up to there and walk back.”
Erik wondered how such a perfect man can be created in a harsh world full of craps and bad weather and took him so long to find one.
Erik carried the umbrella because he was taller than the other. The man nodded to him as a sign to take a leave. They walked into the same steps, keeping each other footsteps so no one had been left behind with wet. It was so fast like a heartbeat to adjust the movement.
But the rain loathed him like Erik was its bastard. The banging sound of thunder roared up in the dark clouds and flash of thunderbolt shrieked loud and fast. The man besides him cringed and did not delay his footsteps. Unfortunately, with an only umbrella stood in the storm, trying to get by was not enough. The stick was hard to hold on and the blue win was not strong enough. With a gasp, then the umbrella was broken into the force of wind.
He didn’t have time to be frustrated. The umbrella finally took its last breath in Erik’s firm grip and resigned with a cracking sound that he let it go in the street, flowing into the wind and mad storm. He heard the other man acclaimed oh god and gripped his hand and run quickly to anywhere his eyes could catch another safety shelter.
They stood in another shelter. The man, even with a confused look, was so adorable like a soaked puppy abandoned in the hopeless pithole. Still, he maintained in a good humored and laughed a little. He shook off his head and the water spilling around.
“I’m sorry, my friend. Going into the storm was one of horrid decisions I’ve made this week,” Charles murmured. His immaculate suit was soaking. “Both literally and metaphorically, You can hate me like any of my colleagues when I presented them an overpriced project for neuroscience and get sneered at.”
Erik was amazed, but quick enough to response.
“You are not the only one who had a terrible week. I have a deadline due on midnight but I have no idea what I’ve been writing and I want to apologize for your umbrella, sincerely.”
The man looked up at him. The smile was still lingering on his face when he said,
“I’m Charles by the way. Nice meeting you in a peculiar way.”
“Me too, I’m Erik.”
“Can I ask what you’ve been writing about?” He glanced at Erik’s brief case and he still hold tight onto his chest.
“A novel,” Erik murmured.
Charles was amused, like any other people who found out what Erik does but the man was not jumping to ask him tedious questions like ‘oh what is it about?’ or ‘that’s amazing, are you a novelist?’ and all those things. He smiled broadly.
“It was going to be masterpiece, so God blessed you himself with a huge storm.”
Erik snorted, then he was the first who open up to him. He gestured at his leather brief case.
“I write in paper and pen, so it’s likely to be a bless for my unofficial unemployment if these are ruined by midnight.”
Charles looked concerned but Erik shrugged. “It’s fine. It was protected in a plastic zip lock. I’m more worried about deadline. It was due on midnight and I can’t find anything to pour into the last pages.”
“I hope you can make it, Ella.”
Erik almost missed the last word before he caught the dazzling smile on the other’s face. Back then Erik might barked off, telling a man who tries to flirt him with that stupid grin with a sneer, right now he all he could do was staring at those red lips.
The words blurt out from his mouth. “I’m writing a sci-fi novel, actually.”
The man frowned, amused. “Yes?”
“A science fiction about a girl who can travel backward through time, then she falls in love with a man whom she accidentally finds during an era, she discovers that he travels in time too, but only forward.”
Charles was looking at him with wide eyes, the mouth dropped. “That was –amazing. I’ve never matched your type, I mean, your alpha-persona is so contrast with your work.” His voice sounded as a tease. “That was so impressive.”
Erik coughed, He didn’t even know what he was doing, trying to please a total stranger with his stupid undo novel he wants to get rid of but can’t do for his editor’s sake? But outside, he was blushing.
“But I can’t write the ending. It never comes up into my head for a month. I always have plans to write any possibilities but they are all gone missing. I’m doomed.”
He was sure he heard the chuckling coming so politely from the other but he didn’t take it an offense. He might be too tired to argue about anything at all.
As it was like that, Erik wouldn’t have expected the hand on his shoulder. He looked down and saw Charles was standing closer to him, the smile lingering on his face and his eyes was –so vivid blue, so close that Erik felt their body brushing against each other, but not close enough to be called a touch.
What is he doing, Erik’s body jerked away. Charles flinched by his action, startled.
“I’m so sorry, I just—” He stuttered, “I wasn’t going –hell, I misread your sign.”
It was the time Erik smiled. He lost the tension between them since they walked back from the rain and seek the shelter the second time. Maybe being stuck with someone like Charles was not bad, especially when this man blushing looked strikingly attractive and difficult not to look at with a
“No, it’s okay.” With an answer, Erik reached out to Charles’s arm, about to close the distance he caused out of panic. It was nothing to lose when he knew Charles was thinking the same thing and with the rain, how bad did it cost him? There was no one out there, only the rain and storm.
Suddenly the telephone shimmed and the lightning flashed down from the sky. Erik’s body jolted and Charles was tensed.
“You shouldn’t answer that,” He said.
“If only it doesn’t come from my boss,” Erik picked up the phone but it stopped. Raven leaved it into the message intensified how frustrated she was. ‘I want the whole by 11.45 Erik and THERE’S NO EXCUSE! Laura should have decided whether she would do with her heart and Dean would leave her alone if he was a coward! Stop put your leave-me-alone-I-want-to-die-a-virgin self in the heroine, because SHE WAS BETTER THAN YOU AND DESERVE MUCH MORE LOVE THAN YOU DO. Again, before midnight! Period.’
“And a crazed fangirl. She assumed I would kill the protagonist in the end by sacrificing her to the Time Master”
Charles laughed, “I don’t mind if you do. To be honest, my taste in books is hideous, but I find it help me get through a boring life. I enjoy the tragedy or something more miserable than myself.”
“You don’t seem so miserable,” Erik said. “At least your bright red lips don’t seem so.”
This time Charles didn’t hesitate to directly look at Erik. His face was blooming red, but he didn’t recoil as before.
The telephone rang again.
“Don’t you dare leave it to the voice mail,” Raven shrieked, so Erik had to pull off the phone on his ear. “I know your read my message! I checked the GPS and you’re in the library.”
“No, I wouldn’t hang up but close to if you are still screaming at me.” He grunted. “I’m not in the library but the building nearby. I’m stuck in the storm.”
“Don’t fucking hang up you ass, I’m driving to pick you up.”
Erik heard the sound of wheels crashing on the road and Raven cursed from the background. “That’s very considerate of you.”
“Thanks me when you finish writing, Lehnsherr. I do it for Lauren and Dean because I need you to continue writing them in my car.”
It was never once Erik would slip off the thought that Raven was kind to him, never again.
“Then you should be in hurry,” This time, Erik intended to yell at the phone, so Charles could hear his next line. “Before I pick up the most gorgeous man alive to console his bad day in the hotel.”
Charles splattered. His jaws dropped and that, Erik thought, was an accomplishment.
Erik heard Raven said shit shit shit and then hang up. I hope he didn’t cause any car accident if she crashed someone on her way.
“That was –pretty wild, my friend.”
“Just call me Erik,” he said. “It’s not. I’m sure sex with a man who didn’t sleep for days wasn’t good as you supposed to be so wild.”
Charles sighed, now it was not from a casual exhaustion but fondness. “Deal.” The grin was wicked. “Meet me at the library 4 p.m. tomorrow then? If this will make you write on fire.”
Erik’s stomach stirred with a friction when he knew the place. Yes, the library when no one would notice someone was shoved against the shelf and a little moan would be so hard to not to be heard.
“It definitely will.”