Ever since you were a child you had always hated having to listen to the thunder and lightning battle each other in the night sky. Every crash and boom made you cringe out of fear, and tonight was no exception.  Since you didn’t want to have to go through it alone, you decided to call your boyfriend Kevin to help lighten the mood. Every time you spoke with him and whenever you were with him you couldn’t help but smile and forget about any worries you had. Butterflies swarmed the inside of your stomach before you dialed his number. He was always so busy, you wondered if he would even pick up….

“Hello? ____? Is something wrong? It’s pretty late…” A husky voiced Kevin picked up the phone.

“Ah…Kevin….Yeah I know it’s late, but I wanted to talk to you-” Your voice cracked slightly as another loud cackle shook the building. 

“Are you okay?” Kevin seemed concerned at the frightened tone of your voice; it wasn’t like you to call him in the middle of the night just to talk. You felt bad, he sounded so tired…he probably just finished a schedule…now I’m just bothering him…

“Yeah I’m fine!” You lied. “Sorry…I didn’t mean to bother you. I bet you’re tired; have a good rest, tonight ok? Good night…” You could feel your heart beat quicken as you were about to tap the end call button. It’s better to just deal with it instead of bothering Kevin when he’s tired. You felt a wave of regret fall onto you for even calling him. You couldn’t help but feel like a burden to such a busy man.

“Wait! You’re not bothering me! I know you wouldn’t call for no reason, if there’s something you want to get off your chest or if you just want to talk I’m here, okay?” You could hear Kevin’s voice clearly through the speaker despite it being away from your ear now.

“…well…ah…I…miss you…and-“ You were so flustered that you could barely form a sentence, or even speak for that matter.

“Do you want me to come over?” You were shocked at how straight forward he was but fell in love with the idea of having Kevin next to you right now. You really did miss him, even though that wasn’t the exact reason you called him. Kevin had been so busy with UKISS promotions and his schedules that you barely ever got to see him anymore. You felt selfish for wanting to say yes so bad, but you ended up giving into the temptation.

“…can you?” you whispered into your cellphone. I can’t believe I’m making him come over so late…but I miss him so much….and I hate spending these types of nights alone…..

 “I’ll be right over in just a sec, okay? Just wait for me!” Kevin hung up the phone before your conscience could sneak a word in on how he didn’t have to, but it was too late for that. You stood up and tried to tidy the house up a bit before Kevin arrived. You tried to remember the last time you and Kevin spent the night together but it had been so long since you’ve even seen each other in person for more than a brief lunch or dinner date. You felt every minute more alone was agonizing yet you were excited to get to see your boyfriend again. Excited to know he would hug you tightly as he blocked out the sound of thunder shaking your bedroom walls. Excited to know he would whisper sweet nothings into your ear to calm your down when you would jump out of shock.  He would be here for you in just a few minutes…

You heard a light knock at the door and stopped what you were doing. You immediately rushed to the door and unlocked it after taking a deep breath. You smiled at the man in front of you and looked down.

“Ah…Kevin…thank you for coming, you really didn’t have to…” You stepped forward onto the porch.

“Of course I had too.” Kevin smiled back at you and wrapped his arms around you. He hugged you tightly as you sunk into his chest. You closed your eyes and your stomach filled with butterflies again as your nose filled with Kevin’s scent. It smelled like a mixture of light cologne and sweet vanilla. You breathed in deeply and opened your eyes before noticing the wet streams running down Kevin’s face and onto his clothes. You hadn’t even realized it was raining….and Kevin didn’t bring an umbrella….

“A-are you crazy?” Your mouth gaped open as you eyed the pouring rain behind Kevin. “Please tell me you at least got a ride…” You looked Kevin in the eyes and he smiled before attempting to change the subject and distract you.

“Ah, you’re so pretty even at this hour….Can I come inside now? It’s cold out here.” You bit your bottom lip out of frustration and guilt as you tugged his arm gently to come inside. A gust of wind entered the room as you were closing the door and you shivered. Kevin took his jacket off and placed it around your shoulders but you rejected it.

“You’re soaking wet, Kevin…” You sighed as you placed the palm of your hand on your forehead. “Why didn’t you at least get a ride?”

“I did get a ride! You think I ran here…?” He laughed as he started to his white dress shirt speckled with gray. You knew Kevin couldn’t drive, but you hadn’t thought of that earlier when you called him. You felt like such an idiot, you know he probably ran here as soon as he hung up. “Yah! Why are you looking at me like that? I took a taxi most of the way, don’t worry about me.” He kneeled down in front of you and cupped your hot face in his hands.

“I’m sorry… I really shouldn’t have even called…”  You fixed your eyes to the floor as you felt a pair of warm lips press against your forehead.

“I wanted to see you, so don’t be sorry.” He whispered trying to comfort you. You shifted your gaze onto his as you felt the hot tears begin to swell in your eyes. You quickly looked away out of embarrassment. Why am I crying? A swift bolt of lightning struck the driveway outside followed by a roar of thunder, only causing your tears to flow down your cheek at a quicker pace as you jumped from the shock. At this point you couldn’t control yourself anymore, you took your hands and covered your face tarnished by ugly tears and sobbed quietly with your head crouched between your knees.

Kevin was stunned by your reaction but quickly caught onto what was happening, as well as the initial reason you called him. He had never known about your fear of thunder storms, so he had no clue that they frightened you this much. He wrapped his arms around you like a warm body of armor and pulled you slightly closer to him. “I’m right here, sweetie…so don’t cry….don’t be scared…” You lifted your head as you tried to relax a bit. Kevin wiped the tears off your face with his delicate fingers and brushed the hairs out of your face. “It’s okay…” he repeatedly whispered, showering you with soft kisses. You concentrated on breathing as you closed your eyes and laid your head on his bare chest. You stayed like this for a few minutes as Kevin his fingers through your hair and held you gently.

After a few minutes of silence, you were calm again. “Kevin…” Your voice was muffled through his snug embrace.

“Mmm?” He hummed back without moving.

“I love you” you said quietly to him.

“I love you too.” He responded as he kissed the top of your head. “Aren’t you tired? Let’s go to bed.” You nodded as you lifted your head off his chest. Kevin helped you up and you walked with him to your room.

After turning off all the lights around the house, you felt your heart sink a bit out of fear but then remembered you had Kevin with you tonight and smiled to yourself.  When you returned to your room, he was patiently waiting on your bedside. He patted the side next to him as you made your way towards him. “Don’t worry tonight because I’ll be here the whole time.” He reassured you as he flashed his bright signature smile at you. You grinned back before getting into bed and easing your way towards him. He put one arm around you and put the other one underneath his pillow. Kevin then tilted his head to kiss your lips goodnight and closed his eyes as he leaned forward so your foreheads were touching.  He let out a deep breath as you sunk into his chest and placed one of your hands on his bare waist.

“Good night, honey.” You closed your eyes as you let out a quiet breath.

“Good night…” he whispered, you could feel his thumb massaging the side of your back as you drifted off. Every crackle of thunder for the rest of the night was ignored as you focused only on Kevin’s heart beating faintly into your ears.