Learning To Dance In The Rain [Storm Fuller]

Willow was in the back pantry getting more flour for the kitchen when she heard it. At first it was a faint pitter-patter that she barley even noticed, but then it became louder and steadier. Leaping over the huge container of flour that she could barley lift, Willow ran out into the hall and towards the front door. She peeked through the window and a huge smile spread across her face as she saw rain coming down. “Oi! Sparky! Get down here! It’s raining!” She called up the stairs. Willow ran back to the door and almost slid on her rain boots before she remembered that they were too small. Oh, well. Willow thought, knowing she would get wet anyway. Looking out the window again she caught sight of the play set that her father had built and a thousand memories flashed through her head. Most of the memories were of she, Kaya, and Ivy, but some involved her father. Willow started when she saw a familiar figure sitting on a swing at the play set. The figure belonged to Storm, or Sparky as she had started calling him lately.

Willow opened the door to the wonderful sound and scent of rain. She stepped out and walked towards the play set and sat on the swing beside Storm’s despite the fact that the seat was wet from the rain. “Hey” She said, smiling. Looking down at the ground she absentmindedly drew a K and an I in the mud at her feet with the tip of her bright red shoes. Willow looked up again at the rain and smiled, this wasn't going to be such a bad birthday after all.

Storm wandered through the house, he was grateful to Willow fir her allowing him to stay, but he still felt out of place. He was tired of staying in his room, but he didn’t feel like talking to anyone at the moment. He caught on very well with Luke, but he wasn’t in. He knew that whole family was hiding something, but Storm didn’t inquire. He already felt like he was intruding and he didn’t want to make anyone resent his being there. He looked out a window at the beautiful District; however, he saw that they had a garden beneath. Deciding to get some fresh air, Storm went outside. He looked around at the garden but he saw something else: a swing set. As he saw this, memories of his mother came. Of the many things his mother loved, swings were among them. She was so full of life and she loved everything. She was never really sad, but sometimes she would just sit on a swing and look at the stars. That was almost the only time she was ever alone or even remotely sad looking. Only, it wasn’t really sad looking, more peaceful. Storm went to the one on the end of the three and let it sway slightly. He thought of his mother a lot, probably even more than his father or sisters. He was very close to Evelyn, but she was young and Storm sometimes felt like he couldn’t relate to some of the things she came up with. She had a huge imagination, but sometimes it got the better of her and Storm couldn’t even talk to her. But right now, all that could come to mind was his mother. Storm often wondered why she was always different on the swings… alone, but he guessed it was because she had a friend that must of died, but she never mentioned him/her, so Storm had no way of knowing.

A small drop of rain fell onto Storm’s hand, which clutched the chain of the swing. Startled, Storm was drawn from his thoughts. He felt more rain and by the time he had stood up, it was pouring. Sighing, he knew it was no use to try and stay dry, so he sat back down. His mother was also very fond rain. Smiling, Storm blinked rain out of his eyes and wondered what she would be doing now… probably dancing, with father.
“Hey.” Storm heard in the back of his mind. Looking up he saw Willow walking closer.
Smiling, Storm said, “a bit wet isn’t it?”

Willow was deep in thought at the sight of the rain coming down. In her opinion it was beautiful; the rain made the plants in their small garden look extremely green and the pavement in the center of the yard glowed with the outside lights that were attached to the house. A certain memory came to her mind as she stared out at the pavement. When she had been six or seven Kaya, her dad, and herself had gone outside and danced in the rain. She and Kaya had danced on her father’s feet. It had been a day of laughter and smiles, later on they had gone inside and sat by the fire and warmed up. Willow’s smile turned a little sad, but still remained. “A bit wet isn’t it?” Willow jumped slightly snapping out of her reverie. “What? Oh. Yeah. Well, I love the rain so it doesn't bother me much...what about you?” Willow said with a laugh and turned to Storm, who was smiling.

She starred at Storm for a moment, her dark eyes meeting his blue ones, before looking away. Willow thought she saw something behind the smile. Was it doubt maybe? Or something else? She asked herself as she turned away. The speed of the rain increased and Willow was soon almost completely soaked; her hair now was a dark reddish brown versus its normal fiery red. Willow swung back and forth on the swing for a moment, a quiet tune coming into her head. Figuring that she should say something, Willow stopped swinging. “So…what do you think of District Eleven…apart from you having to stay in the house all the time?” Willow asked as she fiddled with her necklace with one hand and held onto the chain with the other, not realizing that she was mirroring Storm.

“What? Oh. Yeah. Well, I love the rain so it doesn't bother me much...what about you?” 
"Huh?" Storm said instinctively. "Oh... Right sorry. I was just thinking. And no, not at all, I love it. It is one of the few if not the only times where I had good memories... Especially of my mum." He said whimsically. His mind was still elsewhere but he really did want to talk to Willow, so he pulled himself back into the real world. He watched her gracefully plow through the rain towards him. She sat in the swing by him and swayed on it a little.

“So…what do you think of District Eleven…apart from you having to stay in the house all the time?”
Storm shrugged, "I really like it and if I could be anywhere from home, it'd be here. You know, nothing beats home, but I can't really go back... It's really pretty. The main thing like is that there's so much life and they've left room. It's not all fields, they've left room for trees." After Storm said this, he kicked his shoes into the mud and began to swing slightly again. Offhandedly, Storm turned to look at Willow from his blank stare he had a moment earlier. "I miss my mum." he laughed and pushed the thought away. "Sorry, that was a little random, it was just on my mind."

"Huh?" Storm said. Willow rolled her eyes. "Oh... Right sorry. I was just thinking. And no, not at all, I love it. It is one of the few if not the only times where I had good memories... Especially of my mum." He added. Willow nodded, she wasn't sure what to say, but she knew how he felt. Willow hardly ever thought about her mum, but when she did it was almost always a memory of them baking in the kitchen. She was the least close to her mum out of anyone eels in the family, but that was mainly because her mother had become very distant after Willow's dad's death. Her mum still had taught Luke, Kaya, and Willow how to bake, but it hadn't been the same as when Willow's father had been alive.

"I really like it and if I could be anywhere from home, it'd be here. You know, nothing beats home, but I can't really go back... It's really pretty. The main thing like is that there's so much life and they've left room. It's not all fields, they've left room for trees." Storm said in response to Willow's question about him liking District Eleven. Willow smiled. "I'm glad you like it." She said. Swinging back and forth a little.

As she swung, Willow stared out at the garden, which was adjacent to the swings. She was completely mesmerised by the rain falling softly on the leaves. Her eyes caught on a single white flower, which at the moment Willow could have said it was the most beautiful and simple thing in the world. Without thinking Willow leapt gracefully off the swing and walked across the moment to pick the flower, which was a lily. Kaya had planted them a few days before Reaping and had never had a chance to see them bloom. Willow had taken care of them, and she still did, but she always thought of Kaya when she saw them. Comming back to the playset, Willow stood in front of Storm. "Aw, Sparky! This would look good in your hair!" Willow said playfully, gesturing to the flower.

“I’m glad you like it.” Willow said in response to his response.
“Yeah…” Storm nodded stupidly because he could think of nothing better to say. He slowed his swing and came to nearly a halt as he watched Willow almost have a revelation. She jumped off the swing and Storm couldn’t help but smile as that was one of his favourite hobbies as a small child. She picked a lily then came back to Storm.
"Aw, Sparky! This would look good in your hair!" Willow teased.
Sighing and partially laughing, Storm tried to grab the lily, but Willow held it above his reach. Standing from the swing, Storm grabbed it after a small struggle. However, in that one second when their hands met, an idea randomly came to mind. “Hmm, I feel like dancing.” He said abruptly, and before Willow could protest, Storm grabbed her hands and began to sway them in and out. He wanted to start actually dancing, but he had to wait for Willow to get over it and not slap him. So he waited, expecting a slap anyway.

He moved a hand to her shoulder and started to hum a tune he heard when he was young. Among many of the wonders his mum was capable of, his mum was a lovely dancer. She eventually taught his father how to expertly dance and occasionally, she could sing that song. It was a sweet song, but he regrettably could not remember all the lyrics.

“Yeah…” Willow heard Storm say while she was over by the garden.

When Storm tried to grab the lily Willow danced lightly out of his reach, laughing as she did so. Her smile now reached her eyes, though there was still some sadness in them. Storm stood and grabbed the flower from Willow’s hand. Instead of getting the lily back, she just laughed lightly. “Hmm, I feel like dancing.” Storm said, grabbing her hands. For a moment Willow froze, torn between wanting to dance and wanting to slap Storm; . What the heck? Willow thought, deciding to dance. “Okay.” She said quietly, a part of her secretly happy that he was dancing with her.

“You call this dancing?” Willow asked, laughing as they swayed. Storm moved his hand to her shoulder and she tried to ignore the shiver that went up her spine. For a moment she was at loss to where she was supposed to put her other hand now that Storm wasn’t holding it. Don’t girls put their hand on the guys shoulder? She thought. “Uhh Storm? I thought that girls were supposed to put their hands on the guy’s shoulder, not the other way. Or are you suggesting that I should lead?” She asked, saying the last part jokingly. Willow heard a few notes that sounded familiar. It took a moment for her to realize that Storm was humming those few notes. “What’s that song?” Willow asked, trying to remember why the song was so familiar.

When Willow said, “okay,” Storm had to hide his surprise. However, he was more pleased than anything. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but he didn’t really care. A call came through the splattering of the rain. “You call this dancing?”
Laughing lightly, Storm replied, “absolutely not.” While saying this, he spun Willow around sharply and began to move into the proper position to begin. However, Willow beat him to it.
“Uhh Storm? I thought that girls were supposed to put their hands on the guy’s shoulder, not the other way. Or are you suggesting that I should lead?”
Smiling again, Storm said, “very true. I was trying to avoid any awkwardness, but if you insist.” Storm smiled again and put his hand on her waist. He began to dance in earnest. He started to hum the tune again, but then he recalled the second statement she said. “Unless of course, you do want to lead.” Upon saying this, he tipped her abruptly hoping she wouldn’t consider that statement. “On second thought, I’ll keep it this way.” He winked and pulled her back up.

“What’s that song?” Willow said quickly.
Without stopping, Storm hesitated a moment forgetting that he was still humming. He had been doing it for almost a minute, so it went on without thought. “Um… I haven’t heard it in a while. Quite a few years and I can’t recall every lyric, but I know it is called Ghost of the Lake. The song itself is somber, but it has a nice tune and it’s very pretty. My parents would often dance to it, and so I remember it was never somber. But… it reminds me a lot of them, especially my mum and it pains me that I can’t remember every aspect of it. But lets not dwell on that shall we?” Storm smiled again and hummed it even louder. He started dancing quicker and he pulled Willow along with him. “Would you like me to show you the steps or do you have it down thank-you-very-much?” Storm said jokingly. He was trying to sound like something Willow would have said to him.

Willow smiled at Storm's surprise. She almost asked if he was afraid of her slapping him, but she held her tongue, enjoying the moment. "Absolutely not." Storm said laughing lightly in response to her question. Willow's wet hair whipped in her hair for a moment as Storm spun her around abruptly. "Very true. I was trying to avoid any awkwardness, but if you insist.” He added, slipping his hand to her waist. As he did so Willow moved her hand so it rested on his shoulder. "Good, I was beginning to worry that you didn't know how to dance and that I would have to lead." She teased, laughing. Willow followed Storm's movements as he began to dance for real. “Unless of course, you do want to lead" He said, tipping Willow down as he said this. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could he cut her of and pulled her back up. “On second thought, I’ll keep it this way." Storm said, winking.

Storm continued humming for a moment before answering her question about the song, but Willow for once wasn't inpatient for the answer. Um… I haven’t heard it in a while. Quite a few years and I can’t recall every lyric, but I know it is called Ghost of the Lake. The song itself is somber, but it has a nice tune and it’s very pretty. My parents would often dance to it, and so I remember it was never somber. But… it reminds me a lot of them, especially my mum and it pains me that I can’t remember every aspect of it. But lets not dwell on that shall we?” Storm said, Willow didn't know how he did it but he smiled despite the fact that he was obviously sad. "It's beautiful. And I'm sorry...I do know how you feel..." She said quietly. His humming grew louder and the dance became faster in it's pace. “Would you like me to show you the steps or do you have it down thank-you-very-much?” Storm said. Willow could hear the joking tone in his voice and laughed, it sounded like something she would say. "Sure." She said smiling. A peel of thunder boomed across the sky and the rain began to come down in sheets. Willow laughed, she was now completely soaked, but she didn't care, she was enjoying this. A lot.

Willow moved her hand up to his shoulder and Storm couldn't help but smile as she said, "good. I was beginning to worry that you didn't know how to dance and that I would have to lead."
"You make it sound like that's a horrible thing." Storm said rising an eyebrow before cracking up. For some reason the was an air about, maybe it was the rain or the fact that they were both soaking wet but he wasn't sure. It was so easy to laugh and the world almost felt carefree.

"It's beautiful. And I'm sorry...I do know how you feel..."
"Yeah...." Storm said. "But as I said earlier, let's not dwell on that now, let's soak in the moment." He smiled and waited for everything to unfold.

After Willow agreed to him showing her the steps, Storm called through the heavy rain. "I've decided I'm not going to show you the easy steps, because personally I believe that would be too easy and it would bore you. I'm going to show you the quickstep." He winked again ad walked her through the moment. Left-left-right-spin etc. It wasn't very hard to learn but Storm took it slower so it was easy to process. Sometimes the speed of things made peoples head dizzy.

"You make it sound like that's a horrible thing." Storm said, raising an eyebrow before laughing. Willow smiled. "You not knowing how to dance would be a horrible thing!" She laughed, enjoying the moment.

"Yeah...But as I said earlier, let's not dwell on that now, let's soak in the moment." Storm said smiling. Willow said nothing and just smiled, there was a hint of sadness in the smile but it was only visible if someone looked closely. With a jolt Willow realized how much she had changed since meeting Storm. She laughed more, and was a little more open, but she still hadn't told him, that part of her remained unchanged, but Willow wondered how long that would last if she had already changed so much in the past month.

"I've decided I'm not going to show you the easy steps, because personally I believe that would be too easy and it would bore you. I'm going to show you the quickstep." Storm said, with another wink, snapping Willow out of her thoughts. “Sure,” She said with a laugh. What is with the winking? Willow thought as she followed the steps that Storm was trying to teach her. The first time she tried she went back instead of right, laughing as she messed up, but after that Willow caught on the the steps quickly.

Storm smiled as Willow followed along with him easily. He knew it wouldn't be too hard for her at all, but he still wanted to do this one. He slowed ever so slightly and began to twirl her this way and that. Even though the rain obscured most of his view, Willow's smile still lit up the whole place. He laughed and then finally pulled her to a stop. "You know what they say! Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain!" He smiled and couldn't help but snicker as he said his name in the quote. His mom claimed that she loved that quote so much, that was why she gave him his name. It made him awfully sad to think about, but right here, in this rainfall, he felt her presence there with them more than he had at any other time in his life after she died and it was really peaceful. He realized that Willow's grip had slackened, she hadn't said anything either. "Is everything alright?" He said worriedly.


((Sorry it's so freakin short!!))

Willow said nothing else as they danced. There was nothing else for her to say as they stepped this way and that with the occasional spin. Willow felt the dance slow and suddenly she was spinning around and laughing. After a final twirl Storm stopped dancing so Willow stopped too. "You know what they say! Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain!" Storm said with a chuckle. Willow smiled and looked up at the sky. The quote echoed inside her head, but she didn’t hear Storm’s voice saying the words. It was Kaya’s voice echoing from Willow’s memories. She took a step backwards, her smile was replaced by a look of confusion. She wasn’t confused by what Storm had said, but what she was feeling. At the moment Willow felt sad and lonely, like the world could pass by and no one would care to see her. She felt older than she had ever felt before and the sense of abandonment and hopelessness overcame her as memories flooded her mind. She remembered experiencing a feeling similar to this the day her father died. It had been right before her seven year old self had broken down completely. NO! Willow thought, yelling at herself in her mind. You promised you wouldn't, you can't cry now, not here, not ever! She continued.

Storm must have seen the look on Willow's face because he asked if something was wrong. Wills tried to say that she was fine and that she needed a moment but the words caught in her throat and wouldn't come out. Her eyes burned as she tried again and this time got past the 'I'm' before a single drop of water, warmer than the rest, slid down her pale cheek.

It took a moment for Willow to regain her thoughts, but even then she was still in a faze. She stood the in a stunned silence with the rain falling all around her, not even noticing Storm as reality hit her like a train. "I'm crying." She whispered in a stunned voice that sounded almost like a gasp as more tears followed the first.

And that's when the hyperventilating began.

Willow Fidele, the emotionless girl who hadn't cried in nearly ten years was crying. She was seven when she had decided that she hated crying and that it made her look weak, so she had stopped crying, just like that. It had been about three weeks after her father died. Every now and then as she was growing up, Willow's eyes had watered a little, but she punished herself mentally and physically when that happened and it stopped happening after about three years. Crying actually terrified Willow, she didn't like it when people cried around her either, so she had always left the room or walked away, anything to get away from that much emotion. She would always get angry at the people crying for their weakness and now she was angry at herself for being weak.

In that moment Willow hated everything; Kaya, Ivy, Luke, The Capital, but she hate herself more than anything. This sniffling, weepy, self-centered girl wasn't her. She missed her mask of emotionlessness and indifference, but she couldn't put it back on, ever. The person she had become in these past few moments prevented her from picking up the mask and putting it's pieces back together, but before she could even attempt to do so, the mask crumbled to dust before her eyes. A wave of suicidal rage hit Willow and all she wanted was to hurt and be hurt. She closed her eyes, trying to block out everything, but she could still feel the hot tears rolling down her face. Willow clenched her hands into fists, letting her nails dig into her skin like little daggers, hoping that the pain would stop the tears. The pain felt wrong, it didn't hurt enough, she'd done this plenty of times but now it felt like only one hand was getting the force of her grip. Willow's dark green eyes flashed open as she realized what was happening and immediately unclenched her hands, her anger abating. She was still holding Storm's hand so her nails had been digging into his skin instead of hers. “S-sorry." She said, shaking.



((This is such a suckish post and it's so hokey haha, sorry it took so long too!))

Storm's smile quickly faltered as he noticed that something was obviously wrong. Willow held a small smile as if she was trying to hide something and possibly not offend Storm by it. Then he smile completely withered away and she held a countenance of pain and loss. This shocked him immensely and he spoke without realizing what he was doing. "Did I say something?" Storm lowered his head mentally adding that to his stupidest things said in his life list. Make it up dummy! Snapping back into the situation at hand, Storm covered up his remark. "Oh-I'm sorry-I mean-um... I didn't mean anything by it that may have offended you, I'm sorry." He watched her reaction and had to wonder if she was even understood what was going on. Something seemed to be nagging her that she couldn't push away.

Wiping the rain from his face, he was almost startled at a small voice. "I'm crying."


Letting the words sink in, Storm noticed that this obviously bothered her, but he didn't know why. He hesitantly reached out to her and pulled her into a hug.
"It's alright Will." He shushed her. "I know that you don't really want to open up to me, but that's fine. I want to help and if that just means having someone there so your not alone, that's fine with me. I don't really know what your going through because your hard to read, but I know what it's like to be rejected from society and I've wasted a whole year of my life succumbing to my alcoholic needs, and I don't want that to happen to you."

He paused and let the words not only sink inside her, but himself as well. It was much harder to say out loud than he thought it would be. He realized that she had not pulled away from his hug and he couldn't help but smile. He really didn't want her to leave him because he needed someone there too. This night had already been full of memories that were hard for him to push away. He really did miss his family and being forced to watch them die was ...too much.

The two stood in silence until Willow broke it, "s-sorry."
"It's fine!" He nearly chastised, but he kept his voice low so it didn't sound like he was mad. He really did want to help her get through this.

"Did I say something?" Willow heard Storm say in the back of her mind, but she wasn’t paying attention enough to reply. "Oh-I'm sorry-I mean-um... I didn't mean anything by it that may have offended you, I'm sorry." Despite the near mental breakdown she was having, Willow almost smiled, but couldn’t bring herself to move the muscles of her mouth. “It’s not y-your fault. Shut up about it.” Willow managed to say.

"It's alright Will." Storm said. Willow felt herself being pulled into a hug. If she had been in her right mind she would have resisted to the point of punching Storm until he had at least bloody nose, but as she was distracted she didn’t resist at all. ‘I know that you don't really want to open up to me, but that's fine. I want to help…” Willow faintly heard Storm saying, but it was like she was separated from the rest of the world; alone in her misery. Which is a good thing. Willow thought, hating herself for the show of tears that continued to flow. Well, at least you can’t see them in the rain. She added, still thinking to herself as Storm talked. As he talked, Willow only caught worlds like; alone, rejected, and alcoholic. Suddenly Willow realized that he had stopped talking, but she couldn’t bear to make herself talk. She couldn’t stand the stuttering and sniffling that was sure to happen if she opened her mouth to speak, but the memories were almost overbearing. The need to say something pressured her to say something, and Willow knew that they would come out eventually, but she would do everything to keep them in. she stood there in silence for several minutes biting her lip until she drew blood.

Finally the silence and the pressure to speak were to much. “No it’s not. It’s not okay. It was never okay. It’s not alright, it never will be. It’s their fault. And I’m going to kill them for it.” Willow sobbed, hating them; The Capital, with every bone in her body.

((ehh...not my best post, sorry it took so long, I've been busy...))

Storm looked at her through the rain trying to figure out what was wrong. He knew that this was triggered by the dancing in the rain comment, but he didn’t know why. For the first time in a while, he became frustrated, but he didn’t outwardly show it. Why won’t she tell me anything? It will just hurt her worse if she keeps everything bottled up for her whole life.

“It’s not y-your fault. Shut up about it.”

After Willow said this, Storm couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. Typical Willow. After Storm made a completely awful attempt at helping her, she just stood there, almost as if she didn’t hear. But despite how he normally would’ve acted, he didn’t really care. There was something obviously bothering her, and if she wanted to dwell on it, she could. The two just stood in silence for a while. However, it wasn’t an awkward silence, neither of them really needed to say anything …well, Storm didn’t. And he was thankful that the rain didn’t let up. Even though the rain resurfaces bad memories, he felt like his family was there with him and despite the girl who was almost in hysterics, it almost felt peaceful, like he had been put at ease with running away from the capital and everything.

Finally, a small voice broke the silence. “No it’s not. It’s not okay. It was never okay. It’s not alright, it never will be. It’s their fault. And I’m going to kill them for it.”

“Who-“ but Storm cut himself off. “It’s the capital isn’t it.” Storm caught his breath and tried to push away the memories that were forcing their way back into his mind but he couldn’t. He remembered how the capital had forced him into training. They said that the crowd would die for him, he was charming and strong. But he didn’t like it. He didn’t want to be the capital’s new little toy. So he ran away, and because of this, they tortured his family …even his younger sisters. He tried to stop his own tears from coming.
“Just do me one favour. Before you kill them, can I come along?” Then, before he could stop himself, he felt a tear roll down his cheek. Taking in a ragged breath he said, “if I ever get the chance,I’ll see to it that they die in the most painful way ever. Especially Snow, maybe even his son if I get the chance.”

Storm was silent for a moment after Willow’s sudden outburst, which gave Willow a few seconds to calm down a tiny bit. “Who-“ Willow heard Storm say through the rain and sucked in a breath. “It’s the capital isn’t it.” Storm said, sounding strangled. Willow couldn’t help it, she laughed, but it was a cruel laugh that she used when she was being particularly mean, but she hadn’t meant it to tease Storm, well not exactly. “No it’s the fluffy white penguins living under my bed.” She said sarcastically. Willow heard Storm’s intake of breath and wondered briefly if she had said something that had offended Storm. Why do you even care? One part of her asked. He’s your friend stupid! You’re supposed to care! Another part of her replied.

The use of sarcasm, however much it hurt Storm (if it even had), had done her well and had distracted her enough from the thoughts of The Capital and The Games enough to break her concentration on her pain and the tears stopped coming down so quickly, and were just slow streaks down her face. “Just do me one favour. Before you kill them, can I come along?” Storm asked. “Hell yes! I need all the help I can get! I can’t exactly fight off everyone.” Willow said, looking up at Storm just in time to see what she thought was a tear, but could easily have been a raindrop, sliding down his face. “if I ever get the chance, I’ll see to it that they die in the most painful way ever. Especially Snow, maybe even his son if I get the chance.” He continued. “Good.” Willow said. “Because they deserve everything that’s coming for them.” She continued before falling silent for a few more moments.

“Why does this happen? I mean, I haven’t cried in…t-ten years, and suddenly I’m freaking bawling my eyes out? I hate this. So much.” She said quietly.

“Wait! You really have penguins living under your bed?” Storm perked. “I mean… yeah …I was stupid to not think it was the Capitol.” He looked away trying to suppress his sudden feelings to run away in embarrassed or to laugh.

After he asked if he could come along and kill the whole freakin’ Capitol with her, he smiled when she agreed by saying: “Hell yes! I need all the help I can get! I can’t exactly fight off everyone.”
“Good, because I’d feel rather left out otherwords.” His finished as Willow then agreed to his comment at getting Snow. However, soon afterwards his face fell and instantly went from their small moment of elation to all seriousness again. He sadly looked back and said, “they killed my whole family. Not killed – tortured.” He fell silent as a tear fell down his cheek as well. Holding his composure, he stated, “and they forced me to watch.”

“Why does this happen? I mean, I haven’t cried in…t-ten years, and suddenly I’m freaking bawling my eyes out? I hate this. So much.”
Storm looked at her quizzically. He knew some bottled up people like her didn’t cry often, but ten years? He had just found a new record holder. “I don’t know …and I don’t know how to answer that even though it was most likely rhetorical. But I know I would hate it too.” He paused for a moment before adding lastly, “and I’m sorry.” He wasn’t necessarily sorry that she hadn’t cried in ten years and she was crying now, or that it had to be there, with him, in the rain. But it was everything that she had to go through.

“Wait! You really have penguins living under your bed?” Storm asked, obviously excited. Willow rolled her eyes and punched his arm playfully “I mean… yeah …I was stupid to not think it was the Capitol.” He added, seeming slightly embarrassed. Willow laughed. “Yep. Penguins and little unicorns!”

 “Good, because I’d feel rather left out other words.” He added after Willow had agreed to let him come along to kill The Capital. Willow gave him a small smile, but bit her lip when his face fell. Their happy moment shattered like glass.

 “They killed my whole family. Not killed – tortured. And they forced me to watch.” Storm said. Willow looked down a sense of a déjà vu like feeling washed over her. His words made her feel like a seven year old again, watching as her father’s blood soaked the cobblestones in the square of District Eleven. She wanted to tell him, but she couldn’t the words weren’t coming out. How was she supposed to explain this? She didn’t want to sum it up; she wanted the explanation to be elaborate and well worded. Kaya would’ve liked it that way. She’d always been the one with flair.

She could feel Storm’s surprise as he replied to her sudden outburst. “I don’t know …and I don’t know how to answer that even though it was most likely rhetorical. But I know I would hate it too…and I’m sorry.” Willow sniffed. “It was rhetorical. But thanks.” She said.





((...meep))

Wide eyed, Storm put his hands together and slowly moved them apart. "Say when when I've reached how big the unicorns are." He started moving his hands apart but then dropped them. "I'm sorry. But little unicorns would be cute..." He paused, they seriously just had a moment and he was squabbling on, losing it. He sighed. "Why do you even bother with me? The sensative, penguin-loving guy. I wouldn't bother with me."

After he spilled, explained in a way, why he was... himself. Actually, no, what he explained was what tore him apart. He almost killed himself by the various things he did to himself after he ran away. He looked into Wills eyes. Saw that she wanted to say something... but she just couldn't. It was part of her nature. Storm wanted more than anything to help. He had helped many people who were in situations like him, but sometimes with Will... he felt that he was too late. But she was still alive. And that's all that really mattered.

He smiled when when she thanked him. "You're welcome." He hugged her, not even sure why. It was weird. A icy, wet hug. Though it wasn't much different than them dancing just moments before. "You know... there are lots of people out there who've had hard lives. Yours may be one of the worst, but you still have Luke... you're still alive! Some people didn't even have that. They have no one else. And it'll tear you apart if you hold everything inside."

He wasn't sure why he said it. He meant himself. He had no more family. No more life. Few friends.
He just hoped she wouldn't get angry at him for saying it.

((meh.... I had a hard time getting into his character at first.))