//------------------------------// // Let The Rain Fall // Story: Love At First Summer Camp // by pandaxxus //------------------------------// ~Soarin’s POV~ Millions of thoughts ran through my mind as I watched Rainbow walk away from me. She thought I was trying to help Thunderlane? Did she think I only attempted to be friends with her to help her hook up with my best friend? I could understand why she assumed this, but I should have explained why I was there. I should have told her the truth instead of staying silent. I wasn’t spying on her, I was worried. When Thunder was talking with her I saw a look in her eyes that was different. Instead of determination and pride, I saw fear and sadness. When she was explaining things to Fluttershy, I knew that this must have been something to do with a past relationship. Who hurt her? Who would even want to hurt her? Whoever it was, they really had an effect on her. Yet it looks like she was holding it all in... I wasn’t upset at the fact that she was mad at me, I completely deserved it after spying on her like that, but I was upset at the fact that she didn’t want me near her any longer. I only knew Dash for a day or two, yet she seemed like the person who would keep their word. If she didn’t want to see me, she would probably avoid me at all costs. How could I fix this? How could I even explain what I did? How do I help her? Does she even want my help? I decided to head back towards camp. Rainbow had probably gone back to the cabins, so I should probably avoid that area for now. I returned to see a crowd of kids playing volleyball over the net in the middle of the camp. Thunderlane was speaking to Fleetfoot with a large, confident smirk on his face, When I approached them, I heard exactly who they were talking about. “You should have seen her,” Thunderlane was explaining, “I’ll have her falling for me in no time,” “I’m not so sure about that Thunder,” Fleetfoot replied, a small smirk appearing on her face as well, “Dash doesn’t seem like any other girl. She’s different.” You could say that again… “Really? How so?” Thunder raised an eyebrow, the smirk never leaving his face. “She seems feisty, fierce. She probably plays hard to get..” “That makes me want her even more.” The entire conversation angered me from the start, but that final sentence from Thunder made me snap, and I cut in. “Are you even listening to yourself? She’s not some trophy you can win…” I sneered. Thunder and Fleetfoot suddenly turned towards me with wide eyes. They didn’t even notice that I was behind them. “Woah...why are you getting so defensive?” Thunder asked me, laughing a bit. “Because you’re being a jerk. You don’t even know her.” I retorted. “And you do? It’s been two days, what more could you possibly know about her?” Thunder asked, getting angry himself. “More than you, I could tell you that.” “Fleetfoot just told me how you almost killed the girl yesterday. I don’t think you learned too much from her.” “ ‘The Girl’? Really? Do you even remember her name? Both Fleet and I said her name like five times…” “Um…” Thunder’s face went blank, and he avoided eye contact with me. “Exactly. I advise you back away from her if you see Rainbow Dash as just some girl you can take to make you look cool.” I frowned. “Oh, no...I see what the problem is now…” Thunder’s face suddenly lit up as if he had gotten a new idea. “What?” “You like her don’t you?” Fleetfoot watched as my face turned red, yet my frown never left my face. Thunder suddenly burst into a peal of loud laughter. I backed down a bit, yet I never stopped glaring at him. “What’s so funny?” I asked. “If you think you have a chance with her, you’re crazy.” Thunder said through his laughter. “I never said anything about ‘having a chance with her’.” “Good. She would never like someone as clumsy and weird as you are.” Thunder sneered, looking me up and down. “Guys stop! You guys are supposed to be friends!” Fleetfoot finally stepped in, afraid that things would escalate further. When she saw that neither of our glares disappeared, she spoke again. “Are you guys seriously going to end your friendship over a girl?” she asked us, looking us both in the eyes. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and managed to calm down. Fleet was right. This wasn’t a good reason to end our friendship, especially after knowing each other for so long. The way he spoke about Rainbow had just angered me, especially after what I had just seen. It wasn’t right and I now realize that this happens all the time, to anyone. I decided I should back off for now, and try and calm down. “No...we aren’t,” I finally answered my cousin's question and looked at Thunderlane. His orange eyes softened as I held my hand out. He gave it a hard shake. “Sorry about that, dude. I was just-” he began. “Don’t explain it. Just be careful okay?” I asked and was relieved that he nodded. We all spent the next hour talking and cracking jokes as we’d always do. I managed to finally stop thinking about Rainbow for the first time since I had seen her. Most of the people in the camp had gone into their cabins, including Thunderlane and Fleetfoot. The sky was now dark, and the moon shone brightly once again. I decided to stay out a bit late to gather all of my thoughts, and have a few moments to myself. It was completely silent, well, except for the sound of my foot kicking the soccer ball between my feet. I suddenly heard the sound of a cabin door open, which had caught me off guard. It was normal for a few kids to come out of the cabins for a snack or to find a counselor, but it was getting pretty late, everyone would usually be asleep by now. Turning around, I saw who had come out of their cabin and my heart fluttered. Rainbow Dash was slowly closing the door while placing earbuds in her ears. Her hair was still tied up in a ponytail, and she was still in the same outfit I last saw her in. Her magenta eyes weren’t filled with the energy or confidence that I always see, and her mouth formed a thin, straight line. She was obviously still in a bad mood and it pained me to know that I was the cause of it all. She began heading down the small set of stairs while looking down at her phone. I watched as she clearly wasn’t paying attention and skipped a step. Rainbow cursed as she had twisted her ankle and she fell down the stairs. I was immediately making my way to run to her, but I stopped when I heard a small sound. Rainbow had ripped the earbuds out of her ears as she remained on the ground. She bit her lip and sniffed once, and soon, I had seen a few tears falling down on her face. My heart shattered seeing her like this. Something tells me that Rainbow wouldn’t normally break down like this and even now she still seems to be holding back. Suddenly Rainbow groaned, still not realizing that I was there. “What am I doing?” she hissed, frustrated, “Stop, Rainbow. You’re better than this.” I watched as the rainbow-haired girl wiped at her face and got up from the ground, still sniffling every few moments. She looked so...out of it. This was different from the Rainbow Dash that I had seen the days prior. Whether she hated me or not, I still cared about her and I was going to fix this. “Rainbow?” I called. She noticeably stiffened and soon her head turned to face me. Her eyes widened, but she said nothing. I slowly walked toward her, trying to give her as much space as possible. “I know you said you didn’t want to talk to me but I saw you fall and I wanted to make sure you were okay,” I said softly. Her magenta orbs stared into my green ones for a moment. “I’m fine,” she said simply, wiping at her face. I pretended to act as if I just noticed her tears. If she finds out that I had been around the entire time, she might assume I was spying on her again. “A-Are you okay?” I asked her, looking at her wet cheeks. “Didn’t I just tell you? I’m fine.” she glared at me. I figured I deserved everything I got, considering I did technically spy on her. However, it really wasn’t for the reason that she thinks. “I’m sorry..” I looked at her. “What?” “I said I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run after you and listened into your conversation like that. I wasn’t doing it to help Thunderlane at all. I saw that you were acting different and I wanted to just make sure you were alright. I should have just come up to you instead of spying.” I explained. I didn’t know if she would forgive me, but I just wanted her to at least know the truth. Rainbow looked at her feet as she hugged herself. “I didn’t mean to yell at you like that,” she said quietly, “I was already upset and then you came and I just-” Rainbow stopped herself and my heart broke when I saw her lip quivering. I grabbed her hand, and this time I didn’t feel my face heat up, however, her cheeks lit up a bit. Still holding onto her hand, I guided her to a spot away from camp. We stopped in front of a small pond and I realized that neither of us let go of the others’ hand. Now, I felt my face get hot and my heart sped up. We continued staring at the pond, our hands together until Rainbow must have realized and slowly pulled away. “What’s going on?” I asked her. “Nothing. It’s not a big deal.” Rainbow sniffed, not looking at me. “Rainbow Dash,” I sighed, “This isn’t you, I can tell. I’m your friend and I’m always here. You can trust me, okay?” I told her everything that could have comforted her, and I meant every word. I looked into her eyes and placed my hand on her shoulder. “Thanks, Soar,” Rainbow gave a weak smile. My heart jumped at the small nickname she gave me. It wasn’t special since many people called me ‘Soar’, but having her say it felt different. “You don’t have to tell me, but just don’t try and pretend that everything is alright. You’ll just feel ten times worse,” I told her. “It’s just-” Rainbow started and hesitated a bit. I placed my hand over hers to show that I was with her and was confused when she turned away from me, “I just broke up with this guy. Apparently, he was just using me the entire time…” I frowned as she finally opened up to me. This is what happened to her? Suddenly, Rainbow let out a bitter laugh. “I know, it’s so stupid and weak of me to be upset over something like this but-” “No!” I cut her off, “No, Dash it’s perfectly normal. Don’t be ashamed.” Rainbow bit her lip before continuing. “It’s just killing me knowing that I was actually falling for him but all this time I meant nothing to him,” she said, her voice cracking. When her eyes were welling up with tears again, I didn’t hesitate to wrap my arms around her in a comforting hug. She didn’t hug back, but she hid her face into my chest, and I felt it beginning to get wet. We stayed like that for a few moments before she stepped back. Tear stains were evident on her cheeks, and she turned away from me. “I’m sorry,” she croaked, sniffling. “Don’t apologize,” I responded. We fell into another awkward silence. Rainbow wiped at her face, trying to calm herself down. She looked extremely embarrassed, which I could expect from her. Every day I learn something new. Rainbow isn’t one to easily express her emotions, and when she does, she hates expressing them in front of others. She turned away from me for a long time and I didn’t know what to do. “You gonna be okay?” I asked her. “Of course,” Dash scoffed, “I’m Rainbow Dash. I’ll bounce back.” I smiled as she turned to face me, her tears were almost completely gone. “I’m glad,” I replied, and stood up, “Maybe we should go back and get some sleep.” Rainbow stood up herself and nodded. We began walking back to the cabins in silence, and just as we were about to head inside, Rainbow tapped me, stopping me from going in. “Hey, Soar,” Rainbow said quietly, looking at me. “Yeah?” “Thanks, I really needed to let that out..” she said sheepishly, scratching the back of her head, “And, I guess its obvious that I’m not mad anymore.” “Good,” I laughed, “And anytime, Dash. As I said, I’m your friend remember? I’m always here,” Rainbow looked up at me, her eyes practically shining. “Yeah...I’ll keep that in mind,” she winked at me and went inside. My heart nearly stopped. I think I’m falling in love...