Five years ago

AMORA SLOWLY SWUNG ON THE SWING, listening to the soft patter of raindrops. All the while, she shivered inside her oversized raincoat as she clutched her backpack. On any normal occasion, she would love the rain, but not now; not when she sat alone at midnight, waiting for her friend, who either was running late or bailing on her. 

Oh, Willow, why?!

This was a first for Amora, and for her sake, there wouldn't be a second. As she looked out into the night, she wasn't just on edge for her friend, but her parents. If they found out she had snuck out of the house, there would be consequences. 

At the thought, she swallowed hard. "Where are you, Willow?"

She looked down at her phone, re-read the message, then shoved it back into her coat pocket. If it only told her to come by the playground at midnight, she wouldn't have given it a second thought. However, what drew her in was the mention of Bridger; that, somehow, it was about him. 

Amora scoffed. Willow knew exactly what she needed to say. 

"Well, I'm here, Willow, so where are you?"

As if on cue, Amora heard sudden footsteps over the rain.  Rounding the school, a hooded figure was coming her way, clinging to their backpack straps. 

"Willow?" Amora called, stiffly swinging. "It t-that you?"

Slowly, they closed the gap between them, paused, then took the swing beside her. "What, did you think it'd be anyone else?"

At the voice, Amora bowed her head, shakily laughing. "It's only you..."

"Amora?" When she caught her gaze, Willow raised a brow. "This is your first time sneaking out, isn't it?"

Amora only shook her head, breaking from her face. 

"What, it's not?"

"No, it is, but why are so you late? It's 12:18. I was thinking of going home, but-"

"-then you remembered Bridger," Willow finished, nodding. "Yeah, I thought that would get your attention."

For a moment, Amora searched her face. In the next, she snapped to her feet. "This isn't about Bridger, is it?" 

"Look-"

"When you hear 'look', you know you're gonna be disappointed, so I might as well just go home." With that, she whipped around and nearly stormed off when someone grabbed her elbow. "Let go of me!"

"No," Willow said, tightening her grip. "Listen, it is about Bridger!"

Suddenly, Amora stopped fighting and looked her in the eye. "Then why'd you say 'look'," she mumbled, undoing her elbow from her hand. "Why didn't you just say no?"

"You know, for a small, petite looking girl, you sure have an attitude," Willow said, scoffing. "Okay, I'm not sure why, but know this: if you don't stay on this playground, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Amora stiffened, then took to the swung and kicked at stray woodchips. "Now who's being dramatic..."

"You know, you should really trust me," Willow went on, giving her a teasing nudge. "I've had my share of boyfriends. In fact, I've even dated Bridger himself."

A moment passed. 

"What?" Amora asked, lifting her head. "Did..., wait, what?"

"In fact, I even know where he lives. Just a few minutes from school!"

It was as though time had stopped. She stared at her friend, thinking, then jumped to her feet. "Are you... are you serious? Willow, because if you aren-"

"I am." Then she rose, smiling warmly. "And you know what else?"

"Do I even wanna know?"

"Well," Willow said, digging into her pocket, "I may even have his number." She held up her phone, laughing when her face dropped. "And this, Amora, is why we met up here today... well, tonight."

Amora watched as she put her phone back. All the while, her heart pounded as she stumbled for words. "You messaged him, Willow, t-that he should meet up with you-"

"Yes-"

"-here?"

"Exactly, he should be here in like ten minutes."

"But you never mentioned me!" Amora snapped, glancing around. "That wasn't what you told him! You said him and you, so why am I here?"

"Really?" she pressed. "After your fight last week, do you really think he'd show up if I mentioned you? He's graduating soon, so you're running out of time. The way I see it is you either strike big or lose it all."

"Lose it all?" Amora asked, picking at a loose thread. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, he's got his many friends and he may or may not tell them... about this." Then Willow sighed, shifting. "But don't worry, this is gonna work."

"You don't know that," Amora muttered bitterly. "I'll only make a mockery of myself." She paused, wiping at her face. "How do you do it, Willow? How do you get all these boyfriends?"

Suddenly, Willow scowled. "Seriously, you really don't know? Girl, do you have any idea who you're talking to? Are you really that far in a rabbit hole?"

Amora shivered, hugging herself. "What do you mean?"

"I'm a popular cheerleader, so it's really a wonder you don't know who I am."

"Really?" Amora asked, blinking hard. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, and Bridger's a football player, so we were meant for each other. Really, you should know this stuff."

Amora fumbled for words. "I-I..."

In return, Willow only stared back, then smirked. "Nah, I'm only messing with you. This isn't some cliche romance and we're not in a book! Instead, we worked together and we became friends, then a couple. But don't worry, that's in the past."

Amora loosened up, chuckling, only to stiffen. "Willow?"

"Yeah?"

"If this doesn't work, then you can lose my number." Her gaze turned cold. "You'll know by morning."

"Amora?"

"Yes?"

"I know." Then she dug through her bag and pulled out two roses, fresh and radiant. "Here, take these. He loves flowers, especially roses. I would know."

As she accepted them, Amora watched her, eyes narrowed. "You know, it hurts not having a friend, besides you, but you better be right about this."

"I know, Amora. I know." Her smile was forced, eyes kind. "Let me know by morning." 

"Bye, Willow."

After a few steps, however, Willow turned around. "Oh, and Amora? He loves the rain. Since it's so rare, I knew tonight was the night."

 Just as she left, rounding the school building, a car pulled into the parking lot. 

This is my last chance. 

Hey there! I hope this chapter was enjoyable! This is my first romance and I think it's going quite well. I'm genuinely trying not to make this cliche, but if you catch something, I'd love to know. <3 

Now, please remember that you can point out ANY mistakes; I'd love to know about them. The more critiquing, the better. :)

Anyway, with this said, it's time for our interrogation! As always, feel free to skip this: 

1) What is the most challenging thing about writing to you?

2) What do you enjoy most about writing?

Well, God bless and I hope you are well. <3