A hand appeared on the edge of a rooftop, knuckles turning white as they strained to pull the teenager up. With a sudden movement, the head of a girl emerged over the edge. Upon reaching safety, the brunette immediately turned and grabbed the hand of her best friend.

“Come on, come on, hurry up.”

“I’m trying.” The short, grey eyed teenager heaved himself over the edge with a little help from the girl. “Holy shit.”

Carolyn collapsed beside a wall, sucking in deep breaths. Her sage green eyes flicked over to Ethan, who’s dark hair was splayed out as he lay on his back by the edge, staring at the cloudy sky. It looked like it was about to storm. The clouds were dark, almost foreboding.

“That wasn’t so bad.”

Ethan rolled over, away from the edge. “Oh yeah.”

The girl leveled him with an adrenaline-filled green gaze. “What? I think that actually went pretty well.”

“No. Well, yes, but no. That was probably the worst idea you’ve ever had, but hey, it worked, so whatever.” He shrugged as he sat up, moving to the wall beside the freckled girl. “If you ever stop running from the law, maybe you should try being a spy.”

“Hey!” She elbowed his ribs. “I wouldn’t look nearly so good in a dress.”

He grinned. Though they had been friends for years, Ethan had never seen her in a dress, or even a skirt. Carolyn had always claimed that she was too short for dresses, but the teen was the type of girl to wear a hoodie and sweatpants all summer.

“I don’t know, Agent Rivers doesn’t sound half bad.”

Carolyn rolled her eyes. “The day I become a secret agent is the day you become a professional pianist.”

Ethan laughed. “You never know, I could give up the drums one day for the good old ivories.”

The girl shook her head. “Oh please, you’ll never stop acting like a ‘bad boy’.”

“And you’ll never give up the good girl act.”

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, listening to the sounds of the city traffic far below them.

The brunette chuckled and asked Ethan quietly, “If I told the people at school that I’m Nahactt, how many do you think would believe me?”

Ethan scoffed, “The quiet kid that gets good grades and sits in the back left of every classroom? Graffitiing her mark everywhere? Nobody would believe you.”

“What if I told them it was you?”

“Hey, I’m not the one doing the art, I’m just here to help you not get caught.” The black-haired teen leaned his head back against the wall.

“You know, I’ve never actually tried climbing the fire escapes before.” Carolyn grinned. “I’m glad it worked.”

“Everything works for you.” Ethan grumbled.

“Everything except my life.”

Ethan grimaced as he remembered when Carolyn had let her home life slip. The only time that he had ever seen her cry was when she showed him the many scars littering her stomach and back.

“Do I need to beat anybody up?”

The brunette chuckled. “No, it’s just…” She bit her lip nervously before admitting, “There’s this guy I like, but I’m not sure that he likes me back. I mean, every time I talk to him, it’s like he doesn’t see me that way.”

Ethan sat for a moment in silence. Carolyn had said something similar when they had first met. After he had pulled her outside after witnessing the girl starting a food fight, she had explained that nobody wanted to be her friend before. Ethan had soon discovered that, as innocent as Carolyn looked, she was actually one of the biggest troublemakers in school. When he found himself getting pulled into more of her stunts, he had asked if she wanted to hang out.

“That sucks.” That one sentence was all he managed to get out.

Carolyn sighed.

“Do you wanna go bowling some time?” The familiar question made the girl raise her head. Ethan was avoiding her gaze, so she kept staring at the side of his head until he broke under the pressure.

Meeting her eyes, Ethan knew that she knew.

“Are you kidding me.”

“That depends…” The boy kept a blank face.

Carolyn smacked the teen upside the head. “You’re telling me that you have a crush on me?”

“Since fourth grade.” Ethan admitted, staring back up into the heavy clouds. He let his thoughts run to the possibility of rain, maybe even thunder.

Carolyn stared at him disbelievingly. When he continued to look into the sky, she reached out her hand to touch his cheek. Guiding his head to look at her, she shook her curly brown hair.

The sound of thunder rumbled through the air, perfectly describing how both teenagers felt: tempestuous, caught in the moment, and nervous, but ready.

As they unconsciously leaned closer together, the sky burst, releasing torrents of water onto the two teenagers. The two sprang apart, gaping down at their drenched clothes.

Ethan was the first to move, leaning in to place a quick kiss on Carolyn’s small mouth. He backed away with a cheeky grin as the girl stared at his incredulously.

“ETHAN HUNTER, GET BACK HERE!”

The rain continued to fall, but the two didn’t care anymore. Ethan was trying to not slip off of the roof while Carolyn chased him, but eventually he gave up, allowing the girl to pull him into another, longer, sweet kiss.