The tears felt like they might stick to my face, paralyzed by the winter air, but through the heat of my cheeks they survived until they reached my chin and plummeted down onto the snowy pavement. I hadn’t cried in a long time. Ever since my mom left us, I stopped crying. But once again, just like her, someone had crawled into my heart then ripped their way out, leaving it torn to shreds.

“Chella!” I stopped dead, forgetting everything I had promised myself. That I would keep my heart with under lock and chain, that I wouldn’t let him unlock it every again. He came back! He must care! Right?

“Chella, wait!” footsteps were racing up behind me. I whipped around, catching a few strands of blonde hair in my smiling mouth, but it faded. My rosy cold cheeks flushed even pinker.
“Oh,” I suppressed a sigh. “Hey James. Sorry, I thought you were someone else…” he continued to run the last few steps toward me, panting and letting out large puffs of white condensing air. I kept walking with him at my side.
“Sorry about that,” he said, taking off his glasses to defrost them. Something in his tone said that he cared about me, but was almost happy about the fight. “He was never good for you. I’m really sorry, but I had a feeling-“

The more he rambled on the harder it was to suppress tears, and the urge to punch him.

“Still, I understand how- huh, rains pretty weird, if anything there should be snow.” I looked up from the pavement, where I had been staring intensely at a scratch on my boot. Surely enough, rain was falling, specifically on us two. I immediately shut it off.

“I don’t see anything,” I said, cursing myself for my terrible acting. “Maybe your glasses are goopy,” They weren’t goopy. In fact, they were full of raindrops.

“I suppose your right. Based on temperature times climate times altitude, rain is virtually impossible, unless your factoring dryness of course,” he looked at my expectantly.

Struggling on my next move, I pantomimed understanding. “Totally. Simple science.”

“It’s more like meteorology.”

“That too.” We walked in silence for a while. My house was in view when suddenly James stopped.

“Look Chella. I don’t want you to hold back this time, okay?”

“Hold back what?”

“He’s a jerk! We was cruel, and selfish,”

“James!”

“Rude, self involved,”

“Why are you saying that!”

“It’s raining! That’s why!”

“What the hell are you talking about!”

“Thunder! No thunder clouds, but thunder!” I couldn’t help it; couldn’t hold back.

“And you! Your stupid for liking him, and for pretending you know science, and for not realizing I love you!”

“You-what?” The rain dispersed, the thunder silenced, and a subtle rainbow emerged.

“Freak weather huh?”