It was the day after the athletics carnival, and it was raining hard, really hard. So school was suspended for the day. I stirred the soup gently and slowly, waiting for umma and appa to come home from work.

Ring, Ring.

‘Hello?’ I picked up the phone.

‘Hey dear. Sorry we can’t come home tonight, we’re stranded at work because of the weather. Don’t worry about us, ok? Make sure you eat and take care of yourself.’ My appa told me and chuckled. I could hardly hear him over the pounding rain.

‘Yes appa. Take care of yourself and umma, ok? Bye~’ I hung up.

Is it just me, or it the pounding getting louder…?

I realized someone was knocking at the door. I rushed to the front door and hurriedly opened it. My eyes were greeted by the sight of a soaking wet figure.

‘Hi. I’m Kris. Do—‘ The figure said.

‘Kris?’

What on earth was he doing out in this rain?!

‘______?’ Kris seemed just as surprised as I was, but his face cracked into a grin.

‘Come inside!’ I ushered him in. He smiled thankfully at me and removed his shoes. I fetched a towel for him and the heater.

‘I guess you’re wondering why I’m here. I was on the road on my motorbike when it started pouring so… I came to the nearest house I could find.’ Kris explained as he sat down on a couch.

‘Where’s your bike though?’

‘Up on your driveway.’ I nodded and gave him some soup.

OMG, he’s in my house~ ^^ My crush is in my house~

I felt a weird burning sensation in my cheeks and realized I had been blushing the whole time. My hands automatically rose to my face, trying to cool my hot cheeks.

‘Mm… Aren’t your parents home?’

I shook my head. ‘Ah… No, they got stranded at work by the weather…’ I replied.

Careless, careless. Shoot anonymous ---

‘Hello?’ Kris answered his phone.

‘Mm… Oppa~ Where are you…? You promised to be at my house.’

‘Sorry Cho Hee, but I couldn’t get to your house because of the weather. I couldn’t go any further because I could hardly see the road through the rain, but luckily I was saved by _____.’

‘______? What do you mean? Why are you with her and not me!?’

‘I told you, I needed help, baby girl.’

‘Hmph. I can't believe you're with her.' And with that, Cho Hee hung up, probably full of jealously.

Kris sighed and ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. ‘Girls…’ He muttered, completely forgetting I was there. I watched the rain get heavier and heavier through the window, getting flashes of lightning and hearing the occasional loud boom of thunder. Kris sighed and placed his empty bowl on the coffee table. I took the bowl away to the kitchen, happy that I finally had something to do. I went back to the living room, but saw that Kris was missing.

‘Kris?’ No reply. I started to get worried. I searched around the house and found that he was in our book room, gazing at some pictures on a book shelf. He heard me enter the room and turned around. I sighed, glad that he was still in the house, and not abducted by aliens. Kris pointed to the small girl with plaits in a photo, running around with two adults.

‘Is that you and your parents?’ I blushed and nodded. He smiled a bit, but it seemed it was a bitter smile.

I frowned. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Hmm…? Oh, nothing. It’s just that I never really get to see these types of photos at home.’ I grew confused, and he started to explain further, probably because he saw the puzzled look on my face.

‘My parents are always away on business trips, so it’s usually just me and the staff at home. My parents never showed me pictures of the past like this.’ I nodded.

Poor Kris… He must be so lonely at times…

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard, followed by a blackout. I gasped and clung onto the nearest thing in the darkness, which happened to be Kris’s arm.

I’m alright with storms… But it’s a big no to blackouts…

‘Are you alright?’ I felt Kris gaze down on me.

I struggled to find my breath and nodded, feeling the horror I had felt once in the past.

*Flashback*

‘Umma? Appa?’ I yelled in the darkness.

‘_____...’ I heard their voices somewhere around the house, but their voices sounded so faint. I couldn’t see and felt around. Suddenly, my hands landed on something warm. I heard it breathe.

‘Appa?’

‘No, dear… I’m your worst nightmare.’ A hoarse voice cackled. I could just make out the outline of a person, holding something. I started running when I realized that the stranger was holding a knife. I screamed and screamed until I found my parents, who dialed for the police. Luckily, the police arrived quickly and arrested the man. He had broken in through the front door and gotten hold of a knife. I watched as they took the man away and tugged on Umma’s sleeve.

‘He won’t come back… Will he?’ Umma shook her head.

‘No, dear, no.’

*End of Flashback*

I shuddered as I explained my fear of blackouts to Kris. I could feel that the imaginary scar had been opened and was a fresh wound once again. Kris patted my head comfortingly.

‘Don’t worry, it’s alright…’ He assured. Although he could not see it, I smiled gratefully.

‘Do you have a torch?’ Kris asked. I shrugged and started to rummage around the drawers of the study desk.

‘No… Ah! Why don’t we use our phones?’ I suggested. Kris took out his phone and in the dim light, I saw him grin. I took mine out, and realized that I had a lot of text messages from worried friends. I texted them all back, telling them that I was fine. I walked out of the room, with Kris trailing behind. A flash of lightning illuminated the room for a second. I hoped that the food in the fridge won’t go rotten and gross. I found my way to my bedroom, happy and safe. Kris came in and sat down beside me on the bed. I mentally cursed the slightly uncomfortable aura in the air and decided to start a conversation.

‘Hey… Let’s get to know each other better!’

*2 hours later*

I yawned, really tired. The blackout hadn’t ended, which was annoying me because I wanted to get ready for bed. But I couldn’t do that without electricity. I stretched my weary limbs, and felt pins and needles in my right leg. I blew some loose bangs away from my face and shook my legs. Kris laughed at my expression.

‘Are you tired?’ I nodded sleepily. He chuckled as we leaned against my bed’s headboard (A/N: You know that board at the top of your bed? Is that called headboard…? I forgot… =-=).

‘Ah~ My stories must be boring you then…’ I shook my head in disagreement.

‘No, it’s just my thing to sleep before 11… *yawn*. Goodnight…’ I leaned my head back and drifted to dreamland quickly. I heard Kris chuckle again faintly, just before I fell asleep.

‘Goodnight ____.’