Hope is a curious thing, how one can be so quick to be hopeful, but then have their hopes crushed just as quickly.

I had hoped for some encouraging news, and I was hopeful that I might get that phone call that would mean everything was okay, but instead, I got you.

You, with your bright yellow shoes and your golden blue eyes, had restored my hope. I know that sounds cliche and corny, but when I had got that call, that crushed my hope, I was angry at the world, and doubtful that anything was actually beautiful in this world, this world that was killing my baby brother.

After we sat in the rain, you holding my umbrella that matched your shoes, you asked me-

"Declan?" You paused, probably debating whether to leap and ask whatever it is you clearly wanted to. "Why were you crying?" You asked, a soft, almost sympathetic look on your face, as if you already knew the answer.

Of all of the questions you could've asked, you had to ask the toughest one of them all. I guess you must've seen the look on my face because you immediately apologised, looking so worried. I was unsure of how to react myself.

"I'm sorry, I'm being nosy and insensitive." You said, seeming to mentally scold yourself, and added the last bit as an after thought in a quiet voice- "Forgive me?"

Always.

"Of course." I gave you a smile, but it felt forced this time, and I knew you could tell but you smiled back at me anyway, looking thoughtful and almost sad.

"Can I buy you a coffee?" You said randomly, and I think it was a spur of the moment thing, because you looked to be bracing yourself to be brutally rejected.

You seemed to be good at this, taking leaps and just blurting out whatever came to mind. 

"Uh no." I said immediately.

What kind of idiot lets a pretty girl buy him coffee?

I saw your face fall, and realised what I had just said.

"No! no, no, I'll buy you a coffee, I didn't mean, I won't let you pay, argh I'm an idiot, sorry" I rambled, embarrassed.

I let out a sigh of relief when you started laughing softly. (that was the second time today I had stopped breathing)

"It's okay" You told me, a smile still playing on your lips. "You're not an idiot."

So not true, but I'll go with it anyway.

"Shall we go?" You asked, leaning forward off the bench.

"Sure." I shrugged.

And so we walked, side by side through the park, crunching the leaves beneath our feet as we walked, the yellow umbrella that matched your shoes swinging by your side, raindrops still falling.

We were both completely drenched from the rain, but I didn't care, and I suppose you didn't either.

This whole situation was still kind of unbelievable.

I was walking to get a coffee with a pretty girl who happens to have my umbrella, who is actually a kind of stranger, who sat in the pouring rain with me on a park bench even though we had an umbrella at the time.

Yeah, it was a little strange.

But I could deal with strange. Strange was good.

~~~

The Starbucks we went to was conveniently located close to the park, so we didn't have to walk very far, and as I awkwardly held the door open for you, you laughed.

Only I could make a chivalrous act awkward somehow.

The glorious smell of fresh coffee filled my nose as I followed you into the quiet store. There was a few people sitting around the place but it held that Sunday afternoon kind of quietness, that one just has to appreciate. 

You ordered some kind of Vanilla herbal tea that I'd never heard of, and I was a little thrown off, because I thought everyone just ordered coffee, but I got myself a Caramel Mocha, because I thought I'd be adventurous, but not too adventurous.

I'd never been a fan of tea, to be honest. Coffee had always been my friend.

I took some money out of my wet pants pocket and payed for your drink, too, even though you objected, a lot.

I didn't really care though, because there was no way I was going to let me pay for me, or for yourself.

We sat across from each other at a table by the window, and my Caramel Mocha gave me some courage to start talking to you.

"So your a tea person, huh?" I asked you, as you sipped on your cup of -something-really-weird-sounding- tea.

You nodded and smiled at me.

"Yeah, I've never really liked coffee that much." You told me.

"...but why?" I asked you, frowning.

How could one not like coffee?

"Because it's just bitter and ew" You screwed up your nose and shook your head, as if you were remembering something awful.

"But coffee is the bomb." I said in the same tone, still frowning.

You laughed.

"Are you only a coffee person, then?" You asked curiously, taking another sip.

"Yup. Coffee all the way. Tea just isn't that good, you know?" I asked.

"No." You let out a cute little giggle. "I really don't know! Tea is amazing." You argued, a smile on your lips the whole time.

I kinda forgot all about my whole argument about why coffee is so much better than tea when you said this.

You know, never in my life had I used the word adorable to describe anything, but as I looked at the small smile on your lips and the dimples in your cheeks, that seemed to be the only word that came to mind.

I was turning into a wuss.

We talked for ages, though it only felt like 10 minutes, about books, movies, music, sports, everything really.

You didn't like reading, you had told me, preferred to watch movies, because, apparently  they were so much better. That had sparked another debate about which one was better, which also happened with the topic of snow and thunder storms.

C'mon, we all snow was so much better.

"Do you go to a public school?" You asked me out of the blue, when we had just finished arguing about the snow/thunder storm thing.

I nodded.

"Yeah, I do. Where do you go?" I asked.

You sighed unhappily.

"My parents made the decision to send me to a private all girls school, it's expensive and everyone is so snobby. It's awful." You told me, your nose screwing up as you frowned.

"Have you told them you don't like it?" I asked curiously.

You nodded.

"Of course. All the time, all they say is 'oh, I'm sure you'll be fine, you have the best opportunity to have a good future there, plus I'm sure the people are a lot more pleasant there'." You said this in a hilarious kind of voice, but I could see how serious you were about this so I didn't laugh.

You let out another mournful sigh.

"If by pleasant they mean just like them- rich and seem to have sticks up their butts then yeah, they people are pleasant." You added, an irritated expression on your face.

I couldn't help but smile at this statement.

"There has to be a few people that aren't so bad?" I said

You shrugged.

"Not really, I used to be friends with some of the girls, but I kind of gave up on them. Figured I'd rather sit alone and listen to music instead of them whining on about how their parents bought the wrong holiday house."

"Isn't there anyone you can hang out with at lunch?"I asked, very surprised that someone like you would somehow sit by yourself.

You shrugged again.

"Not really. I guess I could come here, it's probably not that far, but I always figure I'd rather just find a spot and sit instead." You told me.

"Hm, I get that." I nodded.

I had become so comfortable with your presence now, not because I wasn't intimidated by your looks, because believe me, I was. but I decided that you weren't really that intimidating. You were kind, and beautiful and hilarious.

And I came to the conclusion that I shouldn't be scared of that anymore but instead, just make the most of that, and be glad that I met such an amazing girl.

We talked for hours on end on that quiet Sunday afternoon, and I told you everything, even eventually how you reminded me so much of a leaf in Fall.

You laughed and gave me this big smile that made my stomach do flips, before you told me how when you first saw me, I seemed to need a friend, someone to make you smile, and how in your mind, before I was Declan, or anything else for that matter, I was just, the boy with the umbrella.