Day 18/12,481 :: Intense

Ahhh!! I’m behind!!  

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Continued from >>here<<

The ride?” At that moment Oren gave a look at Rain and a subtle smile appeared on his face, “The ride was really, really good, I enjoyed it a lot.”  Suddenly Rain felt like he should look behind him to see if Oren had been referring to someone else because that last twenty minutes of the train ride was little to be desired.  “What is with that smile? He said he enjoyed the ride like it was my doing; maybe this guy really does take pleasure in someone else’s pain.  What other reason could there be for him leading me on like that on the train when he is talking to someone he is clearly in a relationship with on the phone right now?”  Rain thought.  As Rain waited for Oren to finish, he just stood there still mesmerized by Oren’s smile that adorned that deceptively innocent face.  Rain had thought all this time that Oren was genuinely a good guy and was falling even more for him with each city they passed by.  Unfortunately, all of that was thrown out the window when Oren decided to use Rain as a napkin drawing out all of the pent up hormonal pressure that Rain was trying to quell inside of him ever since Oren boarded the train.  “Alright, I’ll talk to you later.  Bye” Oren stated over the phone.  “Your mother,” Rain asked Oren.  “No that was, err, my girlfriend.”  Oren replied.  “Ha! I knew it! He is straight and all of this emotional BULL I have been going through on this train ride was all in my head and he really was just messing with me to see if he could get a rise out of it!  And it worked; I hope he is satisfied with how it all turned out.  After all that hoping I did and wishing, and after I actually had a good time all the way up until now, all of it was smashed to pieces in one fell swoop.  I suppose it was never meant to be anyway, two strangers on a train, I mean.  How could anything possibly go anywhere from there except in different directions.  I couldn’t do a long-distance thing anyway.  Jeez, look at me!  I’m here contemplating a relationship that wasn’t even possible, he has a girlfriend.  Whatever, I can’t wait to get out of here.”  Rain screamed in his mind.  Oren noticed the frustration bubbling inside of Rain as they stood there in brief silence.  “Hey, what were you about to say?” Oren asked.  “Oh it’s nothing really.  I should really let you get going; you probably have someone waiting for you out there, right?”  Rain said with a deceptive smile.  “Well, no one important.”  Oren replied.  “What do you mean, ‘no one important’?  You were just talking to your girlfriend….  You know, never mind, I don’t want to know.”  Rain responded as he made a motion to turn away and head back for the train.  However, Oren interjected, “Hey wait up, man, why are you being like this?”  “It’s nothing really; I think the train is getting ready to leave.”  Rain said hurriedly.  “Hold on, there was something I was meaning to say.” Oren spoke slowly and with an air of sincerity, enough to catch Rain’s attention and turn back around to face him.  Oren looked Rain straight in the eye with a noticeable look of longing that Rain found to be very tempting if not for the fact that he was still angry with Oren.  However, all of that angry feeling went flying out the window the moment Oren took one great step toward Rain, after which they were now face to face with each other.  If either one of them made any sudden movements they would have been touching.  “Get a grip on yourself!” Rain screamed to himself, “It’s all an act, he wants to put one final nail in the coffin before I leave…But he is so beautiful, I just want to get lost in his smile.” 

Oren broke Rain’s inner rant once he started to speak, “I have been meaning to ask you something important.  This morning when we were talking about all of our favorite things, what you do for fun, how you used to hate television commercials but now that you can fast forward through them you sort of miss it and absolutely anything at all that came through our minds, I felt something between us, something that just made sense to me and felt right…and I have a pretty good idea that you felt something too.”

  “He can’t honestly believe that I’m this gullible, he must think I am an idiot or something to continue to fall for the little ruse he has going on.” Rain thought as he remembered the phone call Oren just got finished with, “I mean he just got off the phone with his girlfriend, which he admitted himself.  If he’s trying to convince me he is gay, he sort of blew it with that little detail.” 

“I was scared to ask earlier because I didn’t know how to bring it up, really.  It was something I have never done especially just after meeting someone for the first time.  I really don’t know what came over me but I don’t regret it.  I only regret getting off that forsaken train because you’re still on it.”  Oren continued on to say. 

As Rain listened to Oren, he was forced back to what had happened that morning when things got intimate between them and wondered if that was what he was referring to, “Was it possible he was awake the entire time?” 

“I know this is unfair to you but I just really need to know, it would kill me if I didn’t even try to find out the truth… After we finished our conversation this morning, just before I started to doze off I slid over into your seat.  At that moment you held me in a way that is beyond words and then, I’m not sure, but something took over me and the next I knew I was even closer to you then before and it felt like it was where I was meant to be.  But then when I woke up this morning you were gone, I thought it was because of me.  I was afraid I scared you off and you hated me for what I did that morning.  So I need to know, was it because of how I acted this morning?  Did I offend you?  Or am I not the only one who feels like this?” 

Rain was shocked, he did not expect anything like this, he was literally speechless, “I…uhh…”  That was all that came out of Rain’s mouth along with a lovely wide-eyed stare that I am sure we would all laugh at a little later, but then the unthinkable happened. 

“All aboooooaaaaard!” was yelled up and down the train signaling for the passengers to return back to their seats. 

The call back to the train was the only thing that processed in Rain’s mind because he was still baffled by what Oren had just said to him that he almost stumbled trying to walk backward, “I’m sorry, I need to go.”  While Rain was turning around to head back for the train he felt a quick and gentle hand grab his own and was suddenly spun around back to facing Oren.  Without a warning and without a single thought in either of their minds, Oren kissed Rain with all of the passion and intensity that he could muster that could finally voice to Rain all of the feelings Oren had for him that were too much for words.  Oren closed his eyes and held on for dear life to Rain’s hand as he grabbed his waist with his other hand and pulled him so close that there was no longer any space between them.  When Rain’s mind finally caught up with him he was wide-eyed and shocked but the very next moment he closed his eyes and let all of those feelings and emotions rush in and set his soul free, the first thought that followed that came into his mind after that was an image of fireworks.  He didn’t know why there were fireworks but he would have loved to stand there all day and watch the magic and wonderment of it all. The next thought that came over Rain was the unmistakable awareness of how cold he was before Oren pulled him so close; fortunately, now he was overcome with the warmth that constantly enveloped Oren and similar to the fireworks, he never wanted to leave.  Just as all good things must come to an end, Oren remembered the train that was moments away from leaving and thus was forced to break their first kiss.  When Oren lifted his head from Rain’s, he noticed Rain was still trapped in the moment for a second longer with his eyes closed and breathing scarce.  Rain opened his eyes, and was graced with the perfect image of Oren smiling back at him unlike any of the other smiles Rain had admired before; this was a different smile, a better one, and by far his favorite thus far.  With a sentiment of concern, Oren said to Rain, “Your train.”  At that moment, all of the worry that was bound to get to him eventually, flooded him at once; similar to when Cinderella realized it was midnight he quickly turned back to the train and made a run for the car door, which surprisingly held the train employee that Oren had gotten to know so well earlier who was currently waving at Rain to hurry back inside, it appeared he was watching them the entire time and was kind enough to give them a moment or two.  Once Rain had returned to the train platform he made a quick look back at Oren who had not moved from the exact spot where they shared the most amazing kiss Rain had ever had in his life.  Oren just gave that gorgeous smile of his and waved to Rain for the last time.  For a moment, Rain considered jumping train and staying here with Oren and he almost went through with it, placing one foot back down on the platform steps; however, he had important things to do in Seattle and needed to get back.  So all he could do was smile and wave back at Oren and hope and wish that he would meet him again someday.  With that, Rain turned back around and entered the train.  The doors were closed behind him and almost immediately after the train began to shake and swerve with movement.  Rain returned to his seat on the second level of the train car and rushed to pull back the curtain that covered the window to steal one last look at Oren standing there with that beautiful smile, possibly for the last time.  Unfortunately, Oren was no longer standing there, that wonderful spot where Oren stole a kiss from Rain, and in fact was nowhere to be found.  With a crushed heart, Rain closed the curtains over the window and was left in a general darkness.  He did not feel like watching the passing scenery at the moment, but simply sit there and wonder, “Why did he make me fall for him?” 

The hours passed and the train traveled on into the night.  Rain had taken to laying across the two seats he had to himself now that Oren was gone, before falling asleep he requested a blanket and wore a thick coat but nothing compared to the warmth of a warm body beside you to keep you company.  Rain thought that what he felt fell along the lines of wanting to be needed or in other words he wanted to be wanted by someone and at the very moment he finds that person he was forced to leave them far behind possibly forever.  He so desperately felt like going back there just to be with Oren again but every time he thought of this notion he fell back to all the troubles he had waiting for him back in Seattle.  “Going back home is supposed to be a good thing but all I want to do is get as far away from them as possible.”  Rain said to himself.  

The “them” he was referring to was his family that had so graciously demanded his swift return in order to, as they put it “Get my act together and finally contribute my part to the world”.  “Give me a break,” Rain ranted on in his head, “This is just their way of coping with the fact that they are embarrassed of having a gay son.  They are convinced that as long as I have a job, any job, that will then make me being gay okay to the world.  I have been trying to tell them that no one has the right to judge me but they never listen!  I could care less what other people think about business that is not their own; I’ll choose to do what I want, when I want.  I want to focus on school now and work toward getting a degree but will they ever listen? Unlikely. I thought that was what parents are supposed to push you toward, a degree, but no, apparently to them gays are not worthy to attend school and better ourselves in society.  So I have had enough of the phone calls and constant letters sent telling me what to do with my life.  I’m heading over there to tell them off, and if they still feel like no longer helping me out with paying for college I am just going to take the last of my things there and move out.  The two years dealing with their crap when I came out just before junior year of high school was hell enough, I do NOT need any more of this while I try to get my life together during college.”  At this point, Rain was already fuming from everything he had to put up with and trying to devise the best way to tell them that he was not going to move back home just so he can appease their twisted opinion on homosexuality.  Following this he thought of his three year old little brother, Rion, pronounced just the same as Ryan and, yes, his parents do think they are clever.  Rain began praying deeply and sincerely that Rion would never have to go through any of this if he grew up to be gay as well.  Rain prayed that his parents would see the error of their ways and raise Rion to be free and expressive and not secretly hold a grudge against them if he were to embrace a lifestyle that was different to their narrow beliefs of how boys should behave.  Rain also made a mental note to make sure Rion knows that he is there for him for absolutely anything at all, “I will not let them make Rion’s life a living hell!”  Finally, Rain allowed his thoughts to wander back to Oren, wonderful Oren, and the exact moment they had their first kiss and how he had not expected it at all and nothing but good feeling and good thoughts flowed through Rain.  He thought of how much fun and how funny their entire time together was especially all of the mean things he thought about Oren when he was trying to be sincere and earnest.  The thought of perhaps seeing Oren one day and once again falling fast into his arms and maybe him stealing a kiss from Oren, at last, allowed him to drift ever so slowly off into a very calm and deep sleep; well deserved after a long day such as this. 

The morning came and Rain woke up with a shaking chill that violently demanded a cup of coffee and no one would get hurt.  Fortunately, the dining car was selling cups of coffee and cinnamon rolls; something small before the train arrives in Seattle.  We were two hours away and Rain would have given a million dollars just to turn around now and never go back, however, this train was stubbornly insistent on forcing Rain to the exact place he didn’t want to be at right now; despite the fact that he got on the train himself.  Stuck at a moot point in the internal argument he was having with himself inside his head Rain decided he no longer wanted to stay conscious for the entire two hours left on this ride.  Rain pulled his jacket close, lifted his leg and fell back into a deep sleep.

Rain awoke with a giant yell that, if there had been anyone around, would have startled the entire car.  However, there was no one in any of the seats around him, in fact, the train was not moving anymore.  While Rain struggled with that moment just coming out of sleep where you don’t know where you are, he sat up in his chair and pulled back the curtains on the train window beside him.  Rain saw only a black brick wall greeting him kindly at the window, he was momentarily bemused at this sight and then decided he must be in Seattle already, they were inside the station.  Rain quickly got up and ran down the stairs to the lower deck level and headed for the door.  It was already opened and Rain saw no one around still.  Rain walked out of the train and onto the train station platform and took a quick look around.  Still no one.  He was beginning to get worried but then decided that the passengers were ahead of him and the crew were restocking and refueling; no one sticks around the train when they get to their destination and this is the final stop.  So Rain went walking around to what he believed the main terminal waiting area, he came to this conclusion due to the overly-exaggerated neon sign that read, “Exit to City Level”.  Rain followed the blistering sign and entered what he believed the main terminal.  However, there still was no one to be found, not a single soul.  Rain found more markings and assumed they were not lying when they pointed toward the street level and followed them to the pin.  After about ten minutes of walking around the building he reached what he thought was the ticketing and reservation booth but, yet again, there was no one to be found.  Now Rain was worried.  He continued to follow the signs that lead outside and was sure there would be people outside walking around in the busy Seattle scene, it was around nine o’clock in the morning so there should be people outside running about their business.  To Rain’s great surprise and his dismay, once he entered the street level, there still was no one in sight.  “This is getting really freaky,” Rain thought to himself as he headed toward the nearest bus stop, “The busses have to be full of people, I’ll just catch one and get home.  Maybe I’m just tired from the long exhausting trip.  Yeah, that’s it.”  Rain found the bus stop he needed to be at and waited for it to drive by.  Rain looked left and up the street: no one, he looked right and down the street: still no one, he looked left and up the street once again and, “Whoa!  Where did that come from?”  Right in front of Rain was a bus that seemed to have showed up out of nowhere.  Rain just looked at it curiously and stared at it up and down the sides.  It did not move and all of the windows were suspiciously tinted so you could not see inside of them.  Suddenly, the bus door swung open and Rain went to look inside.  To Rain’s horror there was no one at the driver’s seat, the bus appeared to be driving on it’s own.   “Okay it’s official, this is really creepy.”  Rain said out loud.  “Hey are you getting on?” came a familiar and melodic voice from inside the bus.  Rain couldn’t help but investigate the voice and took a step inside to see who owned the voice, it sounded so very familiar.  When Rain rounded the corner he was greeted with a most spectacular sight, it was Oren sitting alone on an empty bus in an aisle seat near the back, almost exactly to where they sat on the train.  “Hey you!” said Oren so sweetly, “Are you coming?”  Rain just could not stay away.  “Yeah, sure,” he replied, “Where are we going?”   “Where ever you want to go, really, just as long as I go with you, okay?”  Oren asked.  “No, of course, I would love for you to come with me.”  Rain said, but then he realized something, “If only I knew where we were.”  In the time Rain had entered the bus and spoken to Oren and taken a seat next to him, the bus had started to move on it’s own again at a leisurely pace but he had lost so much time that he was now lost.  He took a look around him out the tinted windows and he did not recognize a single thing, “You would think since I’ve lived here for a few years that I would be able to navigate around the city.”  Rain stated, “Oh well, let’s just ride for a while, I’m bound to figure out where we are eventually, right?”   “Sure,” Oren replied with a deep smile.  Rain stopped looking out the windows and turned to Oren, staring back into his piercing hazel eyes that took a liking to his own.  He wanted to be no where else than on this bus with Oren, he didn’t even know where they were going and everything was perfect in his mind.   “Say, how did you get out here?  I left you in Spokane, didn’t I?”  Rain asked.  “I jumped back on the train, I just could not bear to lose you so I got back on and followed you all the way here.  I wanted to spend more time with you,” Oren said in his gentle and sweet voice as he scooted closer and closer to Rain.  Rain was speechless after hearing this, “Had he really left everything he had behind to follow me here?” he thought to himself.  Suddenly, Oren was now brushing himself up against Rain and was still leaning closer.  Oren raised his arm and reached up toward Rain who let him get as close as he wanted.  Oren grabbed the back of Rain’s head and pulled him so close to where their mouths met and did a brilliant reenactment of their first kiss.  In the midst of the same passionate kiss as before, Rain’s breathing started to become scarce once again and he could feel himself melt among Oren’s warm body just as before.  And then any moment from now there will be…yes, there it is, those brilliant fireworks, just as before.  Previously Rain thought that public displays of affection on a public transit such as a bus were tacky and often inappropriate, however, seeing as they were all alone, literally because there was not even a driver on this ghostly moving bus, he believed it to be one of those exceptions that he would let slide just this once; and maybe a few times more if Oren is up to it later.  Their passionate kiss lasted for what seemed like forever, both never wanting to let go of one another for fear that they might be forced to part and go separate ways just like before when they had had their first kiss.  So Rain took this to heart, he wanted to savor every last bit of passion he had for Oren before he would lose him again and picked up both of his arms and placed them on Oren’s shoulders where they rested; accentuating his longing for Oren.  Slowly Oren grabbed Rain’s arms and removed them from his shoulders, placing them back on top of Rain’s lap.  Oren directed Rain to a facing forward position in his seat using his kiss as he stood up from his seat.  Oren took one last look at Rain as Rain stared back in absolute pleasure.  Oren smiled that special smile that always could send Rain into a blissful trance and slowly turned away and walked off the bus.  Rain was mesmerized as Oren walked out when realization began to take hold of him, “When did the bus stop?  Where is Oren going?  Why is he getting off the bus?”  All these questions surged through Rain’s mind but the thought of getting off and pursuing Oren never crossed his mind.  Rain watched Oren through the oddly no longer tinted bus windows as he crossed the front of the bus and stopped just at the side of the bus at the very window Rain was sitting at; almost imitating the day before when Oren had gotten off the train.  Rain put his hand up to the window and a single tear began to form underneath his eye because he knew what was going on.  Oren was only a onetime thing and then he was to never see him again.  All of a sudden, Rain stood up from his seat and turned to face the window beside him and with all the might he could conjure up from within him he pounded on the window hoping to break through or catch Oren’s attention.  “Come back!  It’s not fair!  I don’t want to lose you yet!  Come back inside! Don’t leave!  Don’t leave me!” Rain screamed at the still standing and still smiling Oren just inches away on the other side of the window.  At the very last moment, as Rain continued to pound on the window he could see a single teardrop fall from Oren’s face as well as he too placed his hand up against the glass window separating them.  Despite the inevitability of the bus taking off and putting even greater distance between them, Oren never stopped smiling that beautiful smile that when all hope was lost for Rain, mitigated some fraction of the loss Rain started feeling.  Then it happened, the forsaken bus revved it’s engines and began to move, leaving Oren behind and both of them cold and alone.  Rain stood at the window for quite some time just staring back down the evil road that, despite all his wishing and pleading only stood resolute in it’s decision to carry Oren away from Rain.  When the street Oren had been standing on was out of sight and the street after the street Oren was standing was out of sight as well, Rain decided to retake his seat on the bus.  Once settled back down he suddenly felt several drops of liquid fall upon the back of his right palm that was rested on his lap.  Instinctively, Rain looked toward the ceiling believing there might be a leak, however, the ceiling appeared brand new.  Rain soon discovered that the mysterious fluid was actually coming from himself because he had not realized that he was crying more profusely than before.  As if a spell had immediately been placed on him after seeing his own tears and realizing they were all for Oren, Rain became unsettling tired.  He took a quick look around the bus and only saw building after building pass by that were still very unfamiliar to him.  However, he no longer cared about any of this and decided that he would just lay down on the bus seat and just let the ghost bus take him wherever it wanted, the fact that it took him far away from Oren was painful enough, no where else could be worse.  Rain laid across the seat drifting off into a most deep sleep, he felt like he could break out into tears once again but the exhaustion beat him to the punch.  Slowly Rain began to close his eyes, fading further and further into the loving arms of sleep that would take him away from his pain. 

Suddenly, Rain awoke with a giant jump up from his laying down position on the bus seat, as if he had just been electrocuted or something equally as shocking.  Rain was absolutely stunned when he finally realized it had been nothing more than wild dream, the ghost bus, the empty city, and, horribly meeting Oren was not real as well.  The truth was that Rain was still on the train and was about twenty minutes out from Seattle.  There was a strange silence among all the passengers as the inevitable end of our cross-country train ride was drawing to an end.  It was almost as if our entire world was coming to an end and this was the exact moments leading up to the Rapture.  The family behind me were huddled together speaking quietly while smiling contently as if this was the last time they would be together on this earthly plain.  Then the mother and father took a quick look over at me and as our eyes met they greeted me with a morning smile and a head nod that implied all the knowing of the coming end.  Rain honestly believed their arrival into Seattle to be the end for him because of who was awaiting him at the gate.  There was so much bad blood that he just simply could not emphasize enough how much there was exactly or even how much he really did not want to be in this position.  Eventually, Rain decided to let it be and worry about all of it when he had to in Seattle.  For now he would wake himself up and pack everything he brought out of his bags over the course of the trip.  He put away a very convenient pillow that was able to fit into a space half it’s size (but was a poor substitute for the very nice and warm pillow he was granted the morning before), a pair of slippers, and a…duck? “How did the duck get there?”  Rain said as he was sure he had put the thing away after he had his little battle with Oren.  “And how did I not notice it all this time? Maybe the camouflage actually works,” Rain said.  He picked up the sneaky duck and examined it for any possible sorcery in it’s tricks, but alas, it was no more than a rubber duck.  After replacing the last item left out in his little corner of the train back into his backpack, Rain stuck it in the corner away from immediate sight and took to some sightseeing before he had to disembark.  Once back at the sightseeing car, Rain was absolutely astonished at how beautiful the Washington woodland area was.  It was truly a sight to behold.  There were vast mountains with mysterious and majestic fog flowing over the tops and trickling down to the forever rushing river that laid below the train.  It was times like this that Rain wished he had a camera.  His phone didn’t even have a camera on it.  Just then Rain pulled out an older but still functional cell phone from his pocket and turned it over in his hand.  “I need a new phone,” Rain thought to himself.  He flipped the phone back over and turned it on.  Once the damned thing got through it’s startup epileptic seizure-like gurgles and beeps, Rain was surprised to find he had a practically full text message inbox.  “Who the hell is texting me?  I never text anyone,” Rain thought to himself as he clicked on the first message on top which read “rubber duck” from…Rain stopped to catch his breath, the text message was from Oren, but how did Oren’s number get on his phone, or how did Oren get his cell phone number?  Then, Rain became thoroughly confused at his message and tried to figure out it’s meaning.  He began thinking in random spurts, still affected by the fact that he has Oren’s number and can still contact him.  Rain suddenly realized the messages must be in the order they were typed so he skipped down to the very last message and began reading:  “Hey Rain, it’s Oren.  After you helped me out by wiping off the chocolate on my face, haha, I stole your phone while you were looking away at the window, you really did like the view, didn’t you?  I was going to do something to get even for when you pushed me in front of the train conductor but decided to leave you my phone number instead (along with stealing your number as well).  So I would love to talk to you later about that explosion of a kiss we just had a moment ago, as I am typing this message while still sitting in the train station terminal area because I could barely stand after you left me.  But I can tell you probably still have your phone off right now because you have not responded yet, so when you do finally turn your phone on and see that I have spammed your inbox just know I’m still thinking about you and give me a call or text me anytime.  I’ll be waiting for you.  Oh and by the way, I hid your duck somewhere on the seat, we must not forget your favorite rubber ducky. Rain stared down at his old and junky cell phone and could only smile; both in pure joy of Oren’s very cute message that in texting standards would be considered as an essay and in the fact that despite their distance Oren’s still has this effect on him.  Through all of this excitement, Rain didn’t even realize that the train had pulled into the long winding tunnel that immediately precedes the Seattle train station or that the train had also pulled into the train station itself and was not stopped completely.  Fortunately for Rain he was tipped off of his arrival in Seattle by the family behind and to the right of him who had seen his dazed and mesmerized facial expressions and thought it prudent to warn him that the train had arrived in the terminal; this was a very keen family, oh I might have also forgotten to mention that the father bared a striking similarity to one Johnny Depp, but I digress.  After a heartfelt appreciation gesture toward the family as they departed from the train, Rain leapt from his seat in haste due to this renewed feeling of joy that had overcome him generating from his cell phone, for now, he had forgotten what was waiting for him outside.  He grabbed his backpack and the one suitcase he had stashed on the lower level and disembarked the forsaken train, which had indeed become forsaken when he was the last soul to jump ship, so to speak.  Rain crossed the platform rolling his luggage behind him and followed the signs leading him to the main terminal.  He made quick work of making sure there were people around this time just so he knew that this was not a dream.  The first person he saw after the train emptied was at the terminal gate where the ticketing agent was hastily looking through paperwork and kept placing a hand over a intercom receiver as if itching to yell at someone, or perhaps everyone; not to mention the look of disgust that neatly polished her face bright pink.  Rain continued on up a ramp, down a flight of stairs across another terminal and finally through an electric sliding door that automatically opened like the lid of pandora’s box that would thus release the torment that was hidden behind it’s doors.  Like a rushing river, the door opened to a homely mother standing in the middle of the waiting area with a look of impatience and disappointment on her face that repelled any and all passersby for at least a five foot radius in the area.  Then she locked on her target, Rain, and returning to that rushing river which had released it’s full force of guilt and shame upon Rain and had proven very effective because at that moment all the happiness that had come from the mystical and wondrous cell phone that was still in Rain’s hand had dissipated into poof of empty lies and nonsensical dreaming that would never become reality.  Because after all, being gay is wrong.  Rain had noticed his mother lock eyes with him.  He had stopped to assess the situation, he saw his mom, but no dad, which was to be expected.  He couldn’t be bothered with dragging himself to the train station to see his disgrace of son.  Now, where was Rion?  Just then, a little mess of unknown stickiness, smiles, and a little drool came toddling up to Rain’s mother and looked up at her staring, who then followed her gaze to finally settle upon Rain.  “RAINY!!” screamed the little bundle of innocence.  Rain felt better again to see Rion, he returned the scream with a wide smile and dropped his things, making sure his luggage made as loud a bang as possible as it hit the ground, and opened his arms wide preparing for little Rion to perform their traditional brother greeting; of which consisted Rion performing a full force tackle, similar to a football player, right across Rain’s chest in which he grabbed the little torpedo and followed through with his momentum falling backward and eventually sticking his landing with his back and Rion on his chest.  Rain and Rion were close brothers, could you tell?  Anyway, Rain had been a step ahead of Rion and placed his backpack directly behind him so he may use it as a landing pad, ensuring not to repeat the infamous birthday incident where Rain had fallen back on a rock that had jumped out onto the grass behind him.  Let’s just say the rock never made it home that evening; Mrs. Rock and the little pebbles were now short a man back at the quarry.  Rain’s mother quickly walked up to the two brothers wrestling on the ground and made a quick and demanding motion for them to cease and desist and to follow her to the car at once.  Rion quickly obliged illustrating the apparent stranglehold their mother still had over him but Rain stopped and pondered listening to her instructions for a moment longer, he then followed suit with Rion.  Rain picked up his luggage from the ground and shoved his backpack onto Rion who, although had some difficulty keeping it above the ground, took it graciously; of course after the customary sibling scowl of ‘good grief I’m not your slave’ which as previously stated quickly changed over to respectful compliance.  Both boys followed their mother out to the car that waited for them on the city street level where they boarded the automobile and made their way back to their family home, where Rain’s father ever so eagerly awaited Rain’s joyous return; and if my assumptions are correct and sarcasm is indeed difficult to decipher in a novel or written word in general than I wish to clarify that I was being facetious when I say Rain’s father believed Rain’s return to be joyous.  Rain’s father was outrageously and exaggeratedly disappointed in Rain’s behavior and could not help but look forward to the mere anticipation of Rain’s inevitable departure from his home permanently; possibly the only idea that both Rain and his father could actually agree on. 

After twenty minutes of highway speed driving and awkward silence except for the occasional goofy looks Rion exchanged with Rain and vice-versa when their mother was not looking, they finally arrived at their quaint cottage-like home somewhat within the woods a little ways in and away from any other houses.  It was a two-story home with the traditional white picket fence that untraditionally did not fully border the entire front yard or even half of the front yard, there was only a single row of the white fence that crossed the entire yard only in the front, the side fences went missing one day in Rain’s Senior year of high school when his parents had yelled at him for the last time not to jump over them.  To this day Rain sticks to his story of not having anything to do with the missing fence and, in fact, has a reliable alibi, which after just one month closed the case permanently due to the trustworthiness of the witness, one of Rain’s most proud moments if he does say so himself.  Behind this overly explained white picket fencing lies the infamous house of Rain’s parents painted over with a grotesque beige coloring with matching tones across the shingles to emphasize just how particularly bland the residents are.  Rain was definitely happy to be rid of this house, and seeing how he was unwillingly returning to it today would turn that into an extra large ‘Was’.  Now that is enough describing the hideous-ness of this unlucky house (Fact: It is not the house’s fault it looks this way.), Rain, Rion and their mother, Cordelia, (I’m sure you can imagine what kind of person one might be with a name like Cordelia) ceremoniously walked up to the house and entered the front door.  Rain’s father had watched them pull up and unload the car from the upstairs window so was ready for them when they entered the house.  “Hey dad,” Rain blurted out after he placed his luggage near the sofa so he could evaluate his father’s reaction and gauge his next response to fit the situation; it had always been this icy around the house and he had become a master at reading the signs, nevertheless, there was always those precious moments where his stubborn ways manage to slip through Rain’s defenses and ruin both of their days.  However, maybe it was because Rain had returned per his request and was ultimately being the obedient son he had always wanted, no matter how small that part of him may be, that Rain’s father, Ouran, (you can almost hear all of the narcissism in just his name) seemed to be in at the very least a tolerable mood today.  Ouran gave Rain a stare and a grunt of recognition and found his way to the kitchen for some breakfast.  Rain, seeing as they were finished with pleasantries, took up his luggage and motioned for Rion to follow him to his old bedroom where he would retreat very possibly until dinner time came round or he decided to go out; Rain could not think of any reason why he would go out but he felt that to get away from here is all the reason he needed.  Once he got to his room he was astounded at how exceptionally ordinary it was.  Nothing had changed in the past year and a half he had been away at school.  The bed was practically in the same crumpled mess  and used up linens that he left it, the closet door, he could swear, was in the exact same position he had left it when he emptied it out into a box to move into his dorm, and most importantly, all the papers and little bits of trash and trinkets he had left behind, to keep something behind for them to dwell on in the event they grew a caring nerve in their body and felt they had Empty Nest Syndrome come upon them overnight.  However, no, all of this was untouched, slightly dusted and the room had a very strong musty smell as if the door had not been opened since he had closed it almost two years ago.  Rain gathered up all the strength he had to step back in time and relive all the feelings he once had of being trapped against his will in a house that would never be a home, not as long as the treatment stayed the same but he soldiered on for the sake of his younger brother who had, luckily, brought with him enough good energy to take his mind off of things.

>>To Be Continued<<