Walk on the Wild Side (Rain)

[Deleted]

Soooo.... Phoenix probably shouldn't be doing this. Oriel didn't know he'd planned to go on a hike with his friend Rain today, and he was off busy doing... Something or other. But what the younger boy didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?

That's what Phoenix told himself as he snuck off to the lake, a knapsack of snacks and other things needed for hiking slung over his shoulder.

It was a pleasant day, blue-skied and warm, but not too hot. If it got warmer later, there was always the option of cooling down in the lake if they wanted to. Phoenix had worn shorts and a too-big t-shirt that smelled like his boyfriend (because even when they were apart, Phen needed something that reminded him of the boy). When he got to where he and Rain planned to meet, he stopped and spun on his heels, which only made him stumble and nearly fall over his own feet.

Embarrassed, he sat down on a rock instead and looked out over the water, humming absent-mindedly to himself. He was a little early, so Rain should get there any minute. He was really looking forward to this!

[Rain Tseung]

Rain was so up for a hike with one of her newer friends, she had just gotten to know Phoenix. They had theater club together, she believe they had started to become friends by Rain offering Phen a brownie (or two). She somehow ended up making friends with people she shared sweets with, besides pets, sweets were the next best thing to making friends. And well outgoingness, but Rain didn’t see herself being that outgoing.

If she would have known that Oriel wouldn’t like Phen going on a hike with her alone, he could have came too. But Rain would have felt like a third wheel… So she couldn’t lie that she was actually happy it was just Phoenix.. Maybe next time he could invite Oriel, and Rain could invite JJ. A small thought passed through her mind about how JJ would feel about her guy friends. But, that thought was small, she really didn’t care because she wasn’t going to stop spending time with her friends just because she had gotten a pair of boyfriends. She hoped that would be something they would understand.


Arriving at the lake, she walked along the shore until she found her way to the rock where Phen was sitting. “Hey you!.” She poked him on the shoulder, “Ya ready?”

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Phoenix hadn't thought he'd like the theater club, but he'd been surprised to find that he actually enjoyed it after he got over his tremendous stage fright. Well... He still had stage fright, and he didn't think he was all that good, but he enjoyed watching other people (especially Oriel) who owned the stage and were naturals at it. He'd been shy around Rain at first, but the pixie boy was quickly wooed by sweets and nice words, so he might as well be a puppy with how much he giggled around her and enjoyed her company. Some of the other girls in the club weren't so nice - drama queens in every sense of the word.

He definitely wouldn't have wanted Oriel to come today. That sounded awful, but... He knew that he'd likely treat Rain like he treated all of Phoenix's friends, and he didn't want the girl to have to deal with that. Not yet.

Phoenix nearly jumped when he heard her voice (okay he might've jumped a little), and whirled around to look at her, excitement brightening his eyes. "Hey Rain," he said softly, but with a smile. He fidgeted a little nervously. "Y-yeah, I am!" He scrabbled to his feet and slung his small bag back over his shoulders, nearly getting it tangled in the loose fabric of his over-sized shirt. "I, um, I've never really been hiking around this area, so I'm not sure where to go..." Phoenix glanced around uncertainly. "It looks like that path leads into the trees, though." He pointed to a dirt path nearby, which he assumed was the one that led around the lake. "Wanna go that way?"

[Rain Tseung]

Rain was a bit surprised at how much she liked the theater club too. Honestly though Rain did more with the props and costumes than actually acting. A part of her never wanted to brag, but she felt like she was a lot better than half the other girls who were drama queens, just because she was easier to work with, and she just could act better… But she would never admit to it, and she would downright deny it. And after failing to make friends with one of the girls her first day in the theater club, she was very scared to try with anyone else. But she had noticed that Phoenix didn’t participate all that much in the plays and stuff. So she figured she should at least try, and she was glad she did!

Having had brief interactions with Oriel, she really wasn’t sure what to think of him, she didn’t know him, and it seemed like he didn’t want to get to know her. So it was merely left at that, and for awhile Rain wouldn’t mind it being left at that either. (sorry Phoenix)

“oh I’m sorry I scared you…” She hadn’t meant to, but she couldn’t help but think it was a little cute. “ohh! Good choice! I wanted to show you something along that way.” So they would be taking a detour from the made path and go a little more into the woods. “if you didn’t mind? I think you would like it.” She started walking up that way, “I made brownies, and rice crispy treats! I also brought water, and Gatorade.” The reason why she thought Phoenix would like her hiding place was because he just seemed like the time of person to enjoy it. It was a place where she hadn’t brought or told anyone else about. Not River, and not even JJ, it had been her secret, but since they were out here she figured why not show Phen, it could be there special place together, and not just hers. How special would that be?!

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To be honest, Phoenix was slightly envious of Rain's creative talent. He was a decent artist, with pencil and pen, but the little he'd tried much else... Well, he hadn't done too well so far. But... But maybe he would with practice! He'd decided he was going to try out the sewing club, after all, so... Hopefully he wouldn't just end up poking himself full of holes with the needles.

And.... He could understand why Rain wasn't too keen to get to know Oriel better. Phoenix didn't blame her in the least; after all, Oriel picked on most of Phen's friends anyway, and he didn't want Rain to have to deal with that.

"Oh, um, it's okay," he replied with an embarrassed smile. "I, um, I startle easily." A rabbit rustling in the bushes nearby probably would have made him jump just as much. Phoenix tilted his head curiously at Rain's words. "That... That sounds fun. And mysterious," he giggled. "Let's do it!" He fell into step beside Rain, wondering what it was that she had in mind. "Oh!" he exclaimed, smiling as she explained what she'd brought. "That sounds yummy. I, um, I just brought some chips and a couple apples." And some water, but it was always good to be super prepared, right? And besides, her food sounded better anyway. Phoenix hummed a little as they walked, shooting a glance over at his friend as he did his best not to trip on the dirt path (he had an awful habit of doing that when he tried to talk and walk at the same time). "So, um, you enjoyin' summer break so far?" he asked meekly. "Done anythin' fun?"

[Rain Tseung]

If Rain knew about Phen’s doubts, Rain would completely encourage him to try even more things, you don’t know what you are really ever good at till you actually try it. That’s what’s Rain’s perspective on it was, in middle school Rain had tried to play the clarinet, she realized she was no good at it, with that she tried a few other instruments, and she still wasn’t any good. So she decided to leave music making to her brother. The sewing club was a club that Rain had been eyeing, but she really did not want to over whelm herself with clubs.. She was in so many already, but if Phoenix ever needed help with anything artsy, or fabric she was his gal.

Half of her felt bad about it, she really did want to get to know the important people in her friend’s lives, cause that’s what friends did, right? But Oriel just kind of rubbed her the wrong way, but she wouldn’t admit that to Phen.

“I will remember that for the future!” Because this was only the beginning of them hanging out! At least that’s what Rain thought. She smiled at him, sometimes she wondered how Phen got so shy… She heard people talk about how he was before he was timid and shy, and it seemed like he had made a complete turn with his personality. “A lot nature… I would live in it if I could..” She said as they walked into the forest, smiling at how happy the plants, and trees were. As for what she had in mind, well he would have to wait till they got there. “Ohh! That sounds lovely. A lot healthier than my snacks.” She laughed, maybe she should have brought more fruit, but she didn’t want them to get icky in the heat, or smushed in her bag. So maybe next time she could make them smoothies.

Rain looked at Phoenix and nodded, blushing a little too, “Heh yeah, though June I spent most of it sick… So that was yucky, though my boyfriends came over to make me feel better, which was nice.” It was a lot different having boyfriends during summer break, not that she forgotten her friends, oh no. But it just meant a lot more… Intimacy with the twins. “as for fun, well I don’t know. I’ve only done the usual stuff, go to the lake, go to the mall, though this is my first summer having boyfriends so it’s been interesting.” She smiled and scratched the back of her head, a bit embarrassed. “What about you?! Have you done anything fun?”

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Phoenix smiled at Rain's enthusiasm with a shy nod. Most people that knew him knew that he was easily spooked (except by 'ghosts' or other supernatural things, because he didn't believe those existed), so hopefully she wouldn't mind. He definitely was a lot different than he used to be, though. "Nature is nice," he agreed with a small smile. "I... I don't know if I could live in it though. I'm too much of a wimp." He'd probably end up getting eaten alive by mosquitoes or accidentally step on a hornet's nest or something. "And... I'm spoiled by my comfy bed and showers and stuff." Phen chuckled quietly. He glanced over at Rain as they walked, eyes crinkling at her comments about her snacks. "I just grabbed what I could find, so really, your stuff sounds better t'me anyway," he admitted. Phen wasn't much of a big appetite sort of person, but he did like sweets. If he could live on Oriel's cookies alone, he would.

"Oh, you got sick too?" Phoenix asked, shuddering. "I guess we got that thing that was goin' around the school... It was awful." Still, he smiled at the last bit. "Boyfriends are great like that, huh?" he replied. "Oriel helped too... But then he got sick, and I know it was because of me," he added, feeling guilty. Still, at least it was long over. "You're uh.... You're dating those Bishop twins, right?" he asked, thinking he'd seen them around. That would make sense with the plural she'd used. Phen nodded as Rain explained what she'd done so far, thinking back on his own few weeks off. "Sounds like it's been fun," he said, nearly tripping over a tree root but managing to side-step it at the last minute. "Me? Umm..." A slight blush rose to Phoenix's cheeks. "Well, Oriel and I rented out a cabin for the Fourth of July weekend, and that was a lotta fun," he said, not giving any details for a reason. "And um... Mostly just been workin', really. But I like my job, so it's all good." Phoenix shrugged and glanced out at the water again. "Um, how far are we walkin'?" he asked after a moment. Phoenix realized belatedly that he should have told Rain he didn't have enough endurance to go for too many miles, but he hoped that wasn't the case anyway.

[Rain Tseung]

Rain knew most of the secrets about nature, like how if you took garlic pills it kept mosquitoes away, and a whole bunch of other stuff. So she wasn’t worried about any of that, and she completely enjoyed it. “Ah! Well We all have our own pleasures. Where would you like to live?” She didn’t think she had been the only one to really think about any of this. Like where she would live, and in what type of house, or house would be a brick house, that looked all naturey inside. She thought about have a log house, but that meant trees being cut down, and she did not want to be reminded of how she killed trees to make a house.. “Well I didn’t mean live in it like camping.” She chuckled at Phen’s sillyness, though she liked camping and hiking too. “I meant like build a house in the middle of like a wide open field that had a forest nearby. “I’m pretty spoiled myself, but don’t tell anyone. I love my bed, I don’t think I could sleep on dirt and in a tent or more than a week.” Because that’s the longest she’s ever been camping and each time she was so grateful to go home and shower and sleep on a comfy bed. “well I love chips, so it seems like our combination is pretty awesome.”

Rain nodded at Phen’s question, “Yup, Really badly too… which was obvious cause it was a weather based illness, and my body doesn’t like those types of illnesses….” It really had something to do with her power she knew it, because before she manifested she would be able to dance in the rain and not get sick… Now she couldn’t do that, (and yes she did do that, and she did it barefoot too). Rain frowned, “I’m sorry he got sick, but I’m sure he didn’t mind if it meant that he was taking care of you. I know that’s how Jake and John felt when they were taking care of me.” Phen really shouldn’t feel guilty, it was really nothing he could control, and Phen would do the same for Oriel, and she was sure he most likely had. It wasn’t something he had to be guilty of. Rain nodded “yeah, Jake and John. They are pretty great.” She smiled to herself, the twins were very sweet to her, and they were amazing, even if they were awkward and daredevils…

“Oh a cabin sounds nice!” She couldn’t personally stay in a cabin because well, again it reminded her of the trees that had been cut down to make it… She was actually pretty glad he didn’t go into detail, that was something she really didn’t need or want to know about anyone’s life except for maybe Jake and John, she would like to know if they had slept with anyone, and that was all she wanted to know. “You’re summer sounds a lot better than mine, but hey we both had fun, so that’s what counts!”

“Not that far, it’s pretty close.” She veered of the trail path, “It’s just sort of this way…” Rain wouldn’t have made this place too far from the lake, she didn’t have all the much time in on her hands to spend an hour or so walking down a trail to get to her secret place. After a minute or so, they walked into a clearing, Rain smiled, “this is my secret place! Which I’m pretty sure isn’t so secret, cause someone would have stumbled upon it sooner or later, since it’s not all that deep in the forest.” In the clearing or rows of vegetables, there were green peppers, pumpkin (because she was preparing for the fall), carrots, other types of peppers, and some other vegetables. “this is my personal garden! What do you think?”