| ~ fluffy ~ |

You forgot your umbrella.

. . .

As you dragged your weary feet down the final flight of stairs you were greeted with a sight that soured your already miserable mood.

It was raining.

You sighed a heavy sigh as you began to dig into your backpack for something you could use to shield yourself from the rain before coming up empty handed. You wondered if there was any way you could get home that didn’t involve you and your books being soaked through. Mustering up the will to sprint home, although a leisurely walk was more your pace, you made your way to the exit.

Just when you were expecting fat droplets of rain to fall on you, you felt nothing at all. As you looked up, you saw a dome of blue that obscured your view of the dark sky. You followed the dome to see a boy holding out a large umbrella to shield you from the rain, his lips were curled in an unsure smile as he looked at you.

You returned his gaze with one of slight confusion. “Thank you…” You trailed off, not knowing the cute-looking boy’s name.

“Joshua,” he stated, “You’re welcome.”

You stared at the ground awkwardly, not sure what to say or do. Did he just want to hold the umbrella for you while you were still here? If so why didn’t he just let you run off?

“Joshua,” you began, still looking down, “Um, did you want something?”

“Not really,” he chuckled, a sound that was undeniably musical, “Just wanted to protect you from the rain.”

And everything else, but he kept that part to himself.

Joshua has admired you from afar for a long time. You were supposed to be just some random person he had bumped into one day, but your bright smile that he had seen when he stooped down to help with the things you had dropped sent his heart racing. Since then, he couldn’t help but to take notice of you, his eyes would sparkle when they saw you and his ears would prick up at the sound of your name.

It really was pathetic, he thought. You didn’t even know he existed, so it was a strange mess of coincidences that led to the scene now. Seeing that you didn’t have an umbrella, Joshua was unwilling to let you walk home in the rain. Of course, he would’ve done so for anyone else, but he was especially compelled to help you.

He watched as you fiddled slightly with the hem of your sweater, “I, well. It would be–” Your voice hung awkwardly in the damp air, you were too embarrassed to finish your request.

Joshua found himself even more smitten with you, his eyes curving into crescents as he spoke. “It would be my pleasure to walk you home.”

“That wouldn’t be too much trouble?” You looked hopefully at the boy, “I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”

He shrugged, “It’s no trouble.”

“Thank you.” To Joshua, the smile you gave him was powerful enough to clear the cloudy skies.

. . .

You shifted the backpack on your shoulders as you prepared to step out into the scorching sun. When you left the safety of the school however, a surprising shade covered you instead of the blistering rays.

You glanced at the familiar hand that held the same blue handle you had grown accustomed to seeing, “Hey.”

Joshua smiled a silly little smile, “Hey. Can I be of service today?”

Your heart stuttered at the caring gesture as a little blush you blamed on the heat appeared on your cheeks. You still smiled back before looping your arm around his, “Thanks.”

He only shook his head slightly, wondering when you would realize. “You don’t need to.”

. . .

It was raining again, although you knew that it would, curtesy of the weather report. You had brought your umbrella, however a large part of you hoped you wouldn’t have to use it. This was actually the first time in many months that the umbrella had left your closet.

As you drew closer to the exit of the school, you were greeted with a sight that stopped your heart. Joshua was there as always, the blue umbrella held over his head. But there was someone else there, and he was talking with her while he protected her from the rain.

You had no right to be upset really. He wasn’t your boyfriend, he was just a friend that would hold an umbrella over you rain and shine. But somehow, you knew he was no longer just a friend to you. You didn’t know what to do as you stood there, it never occurred to you that Joshua would walk someone else home, and the thought didn’t exactly please you.

You were so sure that the two were going to leave together that you watched in shock as Joshua insistently shoved the umbrella into the other girl’s hands. After speaking a little more, she finally left, not before sending a look of reluctance over her shoulder at the sweet boy that had stolen your heart.

You walked silently to Joshua who was growing soaked standing outside. You were confused as to why he hadn’t walked back into the school to stay out of the rain but you grabbed the umbrella you had hoped you didn’t have to use.

Joshua was miserable. What was he going to say to you when you arrived? He had continuously walked you home for the past months and especially when it was rainy or too sunny; he couldn’t say that he forgot his umbrella. You knew that he brought it every single day without fail. He had been hoping that through this he was able to show that he was dependable and somehow win your affection.

He didn’t notice the rain falling on him as he agonized over what should have been a tiny problem. But to him, it was a great failure. Due to his preoccupation, he was surprised when a red umbrella burst open beside him before being lifted up and sheltering him from the rain.

When Joshua turned to see who it was and was startled to see your cheeky smile greeting him.

“It’s my turn to walk you home.” You grinned as you watched the expression on his face morph from total anxiety to one of delight. However, this soon faded into one of indecisiveness.

“Don’t worry about me,” Joshua coughed, “I have an umbrella, you don’t have to.”

You tilted your head to the side in confusion. “You don’t have an umbrella. Didn’t you give it to a girl earlier?”

A bright red blush formed as he stuttered, “You, uh, you saw that?”

You nodded shyly.

“Well,” Joshua was a mess, how was he going to explain what had happened? “You see. She was, you know–”

“Why do you walk me home?” You asked abruptly, interrupting his agitated blubbering. You had pondered this for a while when you realized he could’ve given his umbrella to you that day. Joshua didn’t seem to mind being soaked, so unless he was waiting for you specifically, it made little sense.

“You know,” he laughed, a free sound that filled you with warmth. He seemed to have forgotten his earlier embarrassment, “You sure can be dense sometimes.”

You nudged him, “Don’t skate around it. You’re a massive dork so might as well get on with it.”

Joshua’s heart grew hopeful at your contented smile as you looked at him. “I’m pretty sure I’m in love you. I may or may not have been hoping that you would somehow reciprocate my feelings.”

You sidled closer to the bashful boy, “And you decided the best way to do this was to hold an umbrella over my head for a few months.” You watched with mirth-filled eyes as Joshua’s cheeks darkened even further, but your next words made up for everything. “Well, it worked.”

His expression was shock and delight in equal parts, “Really?”

You chuckled at his reaction, “Really. You’re very good at making people fall in love with you.”

“So, can I have a kiss?”

“What about the umbrella?”

“Forget about the umbrella.”

And so, a once clean vibrantly red umbrella was dropped onto the muddy ground, but the two of you could care less.