Lightning

Sitting on the bus, Matthew could hear the drip, drop of rain as it began to fall on the roof, and he started to panic.  Oh please no, he thought. Please don’t storm.  It was late at night, and he and his sophomore class were on their way back from Chicago, where they’d gone to see a musical. 

“What’s the matter, Matthew?” asked a pretty young girl with long, strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes. “You okay?” 

Matthew blushed and looked away.  He’d known, and crushed on, Olivia pretty much his whole life, but he never ceased to be startled by the intensity of those deep blue eyes of hers.  They seemed to penetrate into his very soul, and seeing her in the dark, with the moonlight illuminating her elegant features, she was even more captivating.  “Oh. Yeah. I…I’m fine,” Matthew stuttered.  God, why couldn’t I act like a normal person? he thought.  She probably thinks I’m such a dork.

Through the corner of her eye, Olivia continued to look concernedly at Matthew.  She felt sorry for him.  He seemed so lonely, sitting there all alone while the rest of the class was laughing and conversing together.  But even more than this, there was something about Matthew that she hadn’t noticed before.  To be completely honest, she had barely ever noticed him before today.  Now, however, it was like seeing him for the first time.  He was slouched against the bus window, his messy black hair sticking against the window.  He was so awkward, but in a good way.  He is…adorable, Olivia decided, why hadn’t I seen it before?  So, Olivia picked up her purse and book bag, and shuffled over toward Matthew. 

“Olive, where are you going?” chimed a girl with short-cropped black hair.  Olivia didn’t respond, continuing her way toward Matthew.  Matthew turned and saw Olivia making her way toward him.  Their eyes met, and this time they both blushed, but they didn’t notice the many eyes watching them.  They only had eyes for each other.

“Um…do you mind if I sit by you?” Olivia shyly asked.

Matthew’s heart raced, and his hands broke out in a cold sweat.  “S-sure!” he squeaked, his voice cracking.  Ugh, he thought, of course.  But Olivia was unfazed.  If anything, she found this endearing.  She smiled sweetly and gracefully sat down beside him.  There was an awkward silence for a moment.  Matthew gulped and wiggled uneasily in his seat, looking out at the night through the window and sneaking glances at Olivia through the corner of his eye.  Olivia stared down at her hands, which were folded across her lap, and bit her lip.  After a while, she cleared her throat and turned to Matthew.

           

“Sooo…did you enjoy the show tonight?  The music was amazing!...and the dancing?  I mean, wow, right?”

           

“Oh, yeah!  It was pretty awesome.”

There was another awkward silence as they sat there, unsure of what else to say, not knowing each other very well at all.  Well, Matthew knew Olivia pretty well, but he was too shy to talk.  He just knew he’d screw up and say something really stupid.  Better to just stay quiet, he thought.  All of a sudden there was a flash of bright light across the sky, followed by a loud rumble that shook the bus.  Matthew jumped and reflexively clung up against Olivia.  She blinked in surprise and was rigid at first, but then she smiled and gently wrapped one arm around his slightly shaking body. 

           

“It’s okay, silly, it’s just thunder,” Olivia assured him. 

Matthew blushed profusely and jolted out from under her arm.  “Sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it,” she replied, flashing a brilliant smile back at him that made his heart skip a beat.  Once again there was a flash and a bang, this time much louder and almost immediately after the flicker of light.  Matthew gasped this time, and tightly wrapped his arms around Olivia.  Olivia could feel him shaking and could smell a hint of cologne and coconut shampoo emanating from him.  She sighed, breathing him in, and blushed when he met her eye.  “You know, there’s nothing to be afraid of.  We’re safe in the bus.”

“Sure, you may be safe,” Matthew replied, “But men are six times more likely to be struck by lightning.  Did you know that?”

“Um, no, I didn’t,” Olivia responded, holding back a smile.  “But I’m thinking that you don’t have anything to be worried about.  You’re not like most other guys.  You’re smart enough to stay inside when it’s storming, for one thing.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Matthew said, smiling slightly.  “I’ve just…I’ve just always had this fear of being struck by lightning since I was just a kid, and that fact always backs me up, you know?”

“I understand.  It’s okay to be afraid,” Olivia assured.  “I’m deathly afraid of spiders.”

“Really?”

“Yup.”

“Well, I guess we could…protect each other, then, huh?” Matthew said.  Oh wow, Matthew thought to himself, that sounded like a really lame pick-up line or something.  Olivia, however, found it absolutely adorable.

“Sounds like a plan,” Olivia beamed back, leaning her head on Matthew’s shoulder.