Etienne had gone out to get some bread for dinner, and Brian wanted to rest so he stayed in the cottage. He was beginning to get used to the simple lives that everyone around here led, which was so much less complicated than the average American life. Not that he considered his life average, of course. He was the average person, but in an un-average job. ‘Brian,’ he scolded, ‘Stop confusing yourself.’ The cottage was silent and empty without Etienne around, but he didn’t mind the peaceful tranquility. Except for the occasional rumble from the storm clouds, Brian couldn’t hear anything else except for his own steady breathing.
“She better get back soon, if she doesn’t want to get soaked,” Brian muttered under his breath. As if answering, a bright flash of light ignited the dark afternoon, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Even though it was only around 3 in the afternoon, it already looked like nighttime. Suddenly, rain came gushing down in buckets and Brian sat, watching and waiting. The wind howled all around the cottage as each passing second became agonizing to sit through. “Oh, that does it,” he cried out. Brian jumped up from his seat and hurried towards the door. He was pretty sure that he knew how to get to the town square so he headed out into the pouring rain, wearing only his shirt and jeans that he had arrived with. ‘Great time for a shower,’ Brian thought, half jokingly. His hair was matted against his forehead as water ran down his face and soaked through his clothing. The cold water both refreshed him and chilled him to the bone. The trees swayed back and forth from the prevailing winds, their branches flailing to and fro. Brian had to quickly duck to not get hit by the blowing branches while he half ran, half jogged through the woods, following the barely visible path.
Finally, after dodging through the vicious branches, he saw a figure up the path before him, running in his direction. Judging from the gray cloak, he could immediately tell who it was. “Etienne!” he cried out. His voice was drowned out by the winds and rain. The figure didn’t even look up, so Brian assumed that she didn’t hear at all. He sped up his pace and quickly apprehended her, pulling the shocked person into a fierce hug. “Brian!” she gasped. “What in the world are you doing here?” Her hair was wet and clumped into thick, curly strands. Brian refused to led her go, holding on tightly. “You said five minutes, I waited half an hour,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling. Etienne laughed, watching his expression of a little child, with amusement. Water was running down both of their faces. “We better get back home!” she exclaimed, holding onto a wrapped package, which was already starting to absorb the water. Brian finally let go, turning towards the path that lay ahead of them. “In this rain?” he groaned. He had run out of the cottage on an impulse, worried about what might have happened to her. Even though he knew her for a mere four days, he felt extremely attached to her. Most likely, it was because of the fact that she had saved him and cared for him, and she didn’t know that he was famous.
“Come on Brian,” she laughed, pulling his hand behind her and beginning to run. Brian stumbled onto a root that pertruded the ground and quickly regained his balance. She was still pulling his hand as they dodged the trees together, the rain pelting down on top of them in buckets. All the animals that resided in the forest had disappeared into their own little habitats and homes. Brian picked up the pace and ended up dragging Etienne behind him, laughing. Before long, they were back in the garden outside of the cottage.
Brian suddenly felt the urge to run back into the rain, never wanting the moment of spontaneity to end. He couldn’t remember another time that he had done something completely on impulse, without thinking about it first. All of a sudden, Brian felt young again; like a teenager... Like Nick’s age. He ascended the steps and pushed open the door, dragging two very wet people inside- him and Etienne. “You’re insane,” she stated. Brian turned around, seeing the happiness in her eyes, even though she tried to hold a straight face. “I know. Wow, that felt really good,” he chuckled. “Geez, you’re all wet. Take that jacket off and I’ll see if I can hang it up somewhere to dry.”
Etienne pulled off her cloak which was completely soaked and dripping upon the stone floor. Her dress within was also drenched, showing a little more than she would have cared to show. “You don’t have any clothes to wear,” she observed. Brian took the wet cloak from her and attempted to hang it over the back of a chair, moving it near the roaring fireplace. The warmth from the crackling coals felt good on his skin, giving him a warm tingly feeling. “I’ll deal. Unless, of course, you have a dress to lend me!” Etienne rolled her eyes. “I’ll go find you something else,” she said, walking into another room that had been closed off ever since Brian arrived. Curiousity overtaking the sense of privacy, he wandered across the living room/dining room and stood outside the room. It was a plain room, with a single bed and dresser. Mens clothing were folded neatly upon the dresser.
“You’re married?” Brian suddenly asked. Etienne spun around, surprised at his unanticipated appearance. She looked confused for a split second, then broke into a smile. “No, it’s my father’s room.” she held up a white shirt and brown trousers. “I’m sure that you’ll fit into this. It’s nothing fancy like what you have there, I apologize.” It was Brian’s turn to be confused. “Fancy?” he looked down at his tattered jeans. “This?” He pulled the rough cloth away from his wet skin, adjusting his leg room. “Well, it isn’t fancy where I come from. In fact, it’s what nearly everyone wears.” “That’s interesting. Now change,” she shoved the clothes into Brian’s chest teasingly before walking away. Brian grinned and shut the door behind him, leaning against it. A wave of emotions washed over him but he quickly disregarded it and pushed it into the back of his mind. He really had to concentrate on how to return home- That is, if he was able to return home. He stepped away from the door, which wasn’t closed well to begin with, and began to lay out his “new” clothing. The door slowly creaked open by itself, unnoticed.
Brian pulled the annoyingly wet t-shirt that clung to his skin the way a strong magnet clung to a refrigerator. Being outside in the rain was like taking a shower around here, he realized with a smile. It was either that or throwing yourself in the river nearby. Etienne walked out of her room, wearing a fresh change of clothes; another dress. This time, it was a light pink. People of her class weren’t really allowed to own such special clothing- They were expected to look average and dress in dark colors. However, the dress was given to her as a gift from the last rulers of the province, as a gift for tutoring the kids so well. She looked up, wondering if Brian was done yet and her eyes casually glanced past the door.
Etienne took a double look when she noticed that the door was halfway open, revealing Brian standing shirtless and trying to dry his arms off with a large piece of cloth that she had left there earlier. Her eyes trailed along the muscles of his body before she blushed and averted her eyes. It was wrong, and she knew it. Etienne turned around and was in the middle of finding some way to hang her long dress near the fireplace without setting it on fire, when Brian stepped out. “So, how do I look?” “Hmm?” Etienne turned around and suddenly burst out into glee. “What’s so funny?” Brian asked with a hurt look on his face. Etienne shook her head, still in bouts of laughter. “Nothing, except that you actually look a little normal!” Brian narrowed his eyes and stepped around the large wooden table. “Normal, huh?” Etienne held her hands up in surrender. “You first arrived in strange clothes of the most different material, and spoke with the most bizarre accent...” she looked at him shyly. “and, you turned out to be nicer than most of the people in the town.” Brian glanced at her in amusement. “I guess I’ll have to take that as a compliment. Now, what’s for dinner?” Etienne pointed to the soggy package. “Happy eating,” she joked. “Oooh, yummy,” Brian said, rubbing his stomach. “My favorite meal- Paper!” She shook her head. “You have a strange sense of humor, you do know that, right?” Brian nodded. “Yeah, that’s why Nick and I go so well together.”
“Nick?” she asked. She set the package on the table and began to undo the string that held it bound. Brian sat down at one of the seats, staring at the package, but not really seeing anything. “Yeah, Nick. He’s one of my really good friends,” he said with a hint of sadness and regret. “If you want to go back so badly, why do you stay?” Etienne asked. She stopped undoing the knot and stared at Brian from across the table. He had his head in his hands, staring at the table. Brian looked up at her slowly. “I don’t know how to get back,” he stated. Feeling a pang of guilt, he smiled a little. “Plus, I wouldn’t want to leave you here all by yourself. You might get lost in the rain or something.” “Oh, what will I ever do without you?” Etienne feigned sorrow. She pouted her lips and looked at Brian. “I’ll probably end up getting lost in the forest and eaten by some animal,” she giggled. Brian looked thoughtfully at her, a look of concentration that wrinkled his brow. “Why does it seem like I have known you for years, rather than only a few days?” he paused. “Or am I the only one that feels that?”
Etienne shook her head, smiling. She found that she couldn’t respond, mostly because she felt the exact way. However, just looking into his eyes caused her throat to dry up, unable to make any sounds. Brian began humming the tune to ‘Quit Playing Games’ as he resumed what Etienne had started- untying the knot. “I hope the weather will be better tomorrow,” Etienne mused. Brian nodded. “Yeah, but judging from the way it looks today, I doubt it.” He moved the soft and soggy bread over to the fireplace and held it in the fire, beginning to heat it. “What are you doing?” she finally noticed that Brian had gotten up and was holding the bread in the fire. “You’re going to burn yourself.” “No I won’t,” he assured. “I just want to heat it up so it won’t be so wet. It feels awfully slimy you know?” “Slimy?” Brian shook his head. “Never mind, kind of hard to explain.”
He pulled the bread out from the fire, the heat travelling through the bread and into his hand, warming it. He placed it back on the paper that it had sat on before, then stood back. His eyes drifted over to Etienne, who was sitting in a chair, staring out the window. A crack of lightning flashed brightly, lighting up the entire cottage even more. During that brief moment of light, Brian could see the outline of the trees and their crooked branches swaying back and forth dangerously. The sky was lighted up immensly, giving the cottage a forbidding mood. The lightning was soon followed by the sound of thunder rumbling even closer than before. Etienne shivered, holding her tapestry to herself. “Are you cold?” he wandered over to the seat, looking down at her. “No, it’s just the thunder,” she tried to laugh, but Brian still saw the fear in her eyes.
‘Something’s wrong today...’ Brian suddenly realized. He had an ominous feeling inside of him that just wouldn’t leave. “Hungry?” he asked. Etienne nodded, but her eyes never left the window. ‘I don’t like this,’ she thought to herself. ‘Father always said that when storms came, it brought evil and trouble.’ She was feeling the sense of doom that Brian had felt before. “Come on,” Brian put his hand on her shoulder, shaking her out of her daydreams. Etienne stood up, Brian’s hand still on her shoulder. He stared at her face, outlining the features of her face with his eyes. Her lips looked sweet and inviting as he felt himself draw nearer, unconcious of what he was doing. Her eyes fluttered closed slowly, her hands resting on his shoulder.
They were inches away from each other when Brian felt a strong gust of wind attack the door, blowing it open with such force that it bounced back with a bang that could nearly equal the force of the thunder. Etienne’s eyes flew open and she gasped when she saw a tall shadow stand at her door, the rain pelting inside the cottage; the curtains billowing wildly with the wind. Brian’s arms automatically went around her shoulders, pulling her into a protective hug as the shadow stepped inside the house. They both gasped when they saw who it was.