5
5
The crystal blue droplets that fell from the sky splattered atop the gravel ground in a constant cycle. The sound of thunder soon followed in the distance, making you slightly flinch. You wrapped your arms around yourself and attempted to protect your bare skin from the damp air, but to no avail. Standing there under the covers of your stall, you grew angry at yourself for not bringing an umbrella. You always ran into trouble; you should've known to prepare yourself.
Glancing over to Aziel, you could also see the regret in his eyes. While he was packing his items back into his black bag, he grimaced at the sight of his outfit. The both of you were going home soaking wet tonight.
Now that the streets were deserted of people because of the downpour, the middle-aged man could address you by your real name. "Stay safe when you go home, okay [Y/N]? There's no point in avoiding getting wet, but make sure to take a warm bath afterwards," he told you, his dark eyes softening. "I wouldn't want you getting sick."
"I will keep that in mind. Thank you," you said, nodding obediently. Your mind suddenly flitted to a few days ago, where you found food outside the house. Before the man could take his first step into the rain, you quickly called out to him. "Thank you for the food, Aziel."
His brows furrowed in confusion and he turned to face you. "What food?"
You blinked for a few moments, also getting confused. When you had found the bowl of delicacy, you immediately assumed it was from Aziel...because he was the only person that made sense. Was he lying then, or was he truly not the one who gave it to you? If it wasn't him, who else could it possibly have been? None of this made sense, but maybe it was best if you didn't elaborate it to him if it wasn't him. He would start worrying and you didn't want to stress him out.
Now that you thought about it, it was stupid of you to eat the food that day. There was no name on the note. You didn't get any stomachaches from it, but even so, there could've been a chance it was dangerous to eat.
"Oh, it's nothing," you brushed it off. Forcing a small smile on your face, you waved goodbye to him. "Now get going! Get home safely!"
He opened his mouth, but snapped it shut when he realized he shouldn't question it. Looking at you in amusement, he gave you a tip of his head. He then took a deep breath and scrambled out into the cold. You watched as he hurried through the market, already getting watered down within seconds. You sullenly peeled your [e/c] eyes away from his retreating form and looked down at the pitiful pile of fruits before you.
It was best if you left now too, since it would serve you no purpose to stay here - you wouldn't attract many customers. Gently picking the fruits up one by one, you placed them back into your basket. Peering from your shelter, you wished a miracle could appear to stop the storm that besieged you.
Except, life wasn't that easy.
Clasping one of your hands onto the basket, you held the other hand above you as an attempt to keep yourself a little less wet. Lowering your newsboy cap onto your face, you hoped it would be enough to keep the water from blurring your vision. You stared at the scenery in front of you and shook your head to yourself. Don't think about it and just go for it...[Y/N].
You jumped right into it. Bounding out from the stall, you entered into the wet world. Your feet splashed into large puddles, making your socks drenched of dirty ground water. The male clothes that loosely fitted you stuck close onto your arms and legs, and it erupted goosebumps all over your body.
Squinting your orbs at the darkened surroundings, your vision was definitely getting blurry. Despite the lack of one of your senses, you kept running until you reached the end of the market. That was when you noticed a small shape on the ground. You slowed down to inspect what it was. Wiping your eyes and clearing up your sight once more, you let out a gasp when you saw the familiar creature.
It was the bunny you saw in the garden. It was the very same one that compelled you to follow it, leading you to the food - food that you now knew wasn't from Aziel.
You watched as it sat in the rain, its pelt dampened. You've never seen an animal act so strange before.
It began to hop away again and gaining the feeling of deja vu, you forgot about your initial goal and went to follow it. Scrambling after it, it led you away from the roads and instead to a grassy meadow that was now being watered by the rain. The further the two of you were from the buildings built from civilization, the faster it went, so you picked up your pace as well.
The meadow faded into woods - filling the area of tall, looming trees that illuminated greenery into the environment. Too entranced by the bunny, you didn't think at all as you proceeded into the woods. The thunder clapped once more, making you shudder, but your eyes stayed on the ground to where the bunny wouldn't stop moving. It darted under logs, scurried around trees, and took multiple turns. It was rather hard for you to keep tabs on it.
Minutes and minutes passed. You should be tired and freezing by now, but for some reason, your mind didn't seem to care. All you could focus on was the small creature that was always several feet ahead of you.
You dropped your jaw in awe and stopped in your tracks. No longer were you staring at the ground in search for the bunny - you had lifted your head up to see someone. There, holding a maroon colored umbrella above his head, was the young man with the top hat. After chasing him down last time only to have him disappear on you, it was almost unbelievable to see him clearly for the first time.
Boring the same dark coat and outfit you saw him in last time, the clothing was refrained from any sort of wetness. He swept his brown and blonde bangs away from his forehead as he straightened his top hat. The man then froze in his action when he noticed you, his surprised apparent in his hazel green eyes. Without a glass window or people as obstacles in between the two of you, you could finally see his features better. Unlike the other times you've seen him, you noticed how he had a smatter of light freckles across the center of his face that somehow made him even more attractive.
"I-It's you," you breathed out, stumbling over your words.
He walked towards you, his strides elegant and long. Your heartbeat raced in your chest - in both excitement and anxiety. A shadow fell upon you and you lifted your eyes to see that he held his umbrella over you.
Awkwardly letting out a small chuckle, you nervously stared at the mysterious man that you never expected to meet face to face. "O-oh, I'm already wet. It's fine. Thank you though."
"Anything counts miss," he responded. You stilled at his lovely voice that was low, but silky - like the fabric you bought a few weeks ago. The sound of it tingled your ears and the accent that accompanied it made it all the more beautiful. His glowing hues analyzed you like a hawk and his pale pink lips curved into a soft smile.
"Excuse me if I sound rude...but who are you?" you couldn't help but ask. You've been seeing him too often lately that you've been wondering if this was not a coincidence. Also, was the strange rabbit somehow linked to this male?
He inclined his head and his locks fell a little over his pretty eyes. "The name is Blaise Wellington," he whispered.
You blankly stared at him for a bit - you didn't expect him to reveal his name so easily. Quickly noting how rude you were for staring, you cleared your throat and chose to introduce yourself as well. It was hard to ignore how embarrassing this was, being that you were drenched and lacked of any dignity. "Mine is [Y/N] [L/N]."
"A pleasure to meet you, [Y/N]," he responded. Before you could react, a hand stretched outwards to snatch the cap that covered your head. Without it, unruly [h/c] hair fell down to frame your face. You widened your eyes in shock at what this man - Blaise - just did. His features turning playful, he let out a breezy laugh at your expression. "I knew you were that girl I saw out my window."
At a loss for words, you inched away from him and looked at him in suspicion. "Why are you out here in the woods? Why am I out here?"
He shrugged his shoulders and gave you a lazy smile. "You ask quite a lot of queries," he stated, avoiding your questions altogether. You opened your mouth to speak again, but a warm palm wrapped around your wrist. Shocked for the millionth time today at this man's sudden actions, you watched as his hand guided yours to the hold of the umbrella. It was now you that was holding the umbrella instead of him. "Keep it."
Darting out from the confines of the umbrella's hood, Blaise had went so fast he disappeared in a blink of an eye. Stunned into silence, you stood there alone in the woods with a stranger's umbrella. What the hell just happened?
The raindrops drumming against your new shelter, you slowly went back home. Blaise Wellington and those murky eyes of his consumed your mind for the entirety of the walk home. You had some questions before, but after having met him, the amount of them floating in your head had only piled up.
If it weren't for this item gifted to you - the one you were currently holding in your hand - you wouldn't think any of this was real.