Just Friends

A/N Sorry this took so long. I lost everything on my computer, and had no back-ups. I considered just leaving this story, but I decided that I'm going to finish it... For one person. Nope, not even for my characters.

This one's for Tuesday.

If it wasn't for him, it's very unlikely that I would have finished this. So you can all thank him that I've actually gotten this done.

Disclaimer: Bob Marley and his songs do not belong to me.

Chapter Thirty-One: Kaya

Wake up and turn me loose,
Wake up and turn me loose,
Wake up and turn me loose,
For the rain is falling.

-- Bob Marley, Kaya

"What do you want, Adrian?" he asks, frown deep-set on his features. I take a step towards him, towards the warmth of the slice of light streaming out from the crack in the door, but he signals for me to stop.

That hurts more than it should.

"I just want to talk," I tell him. He steps outside and pulls the door so that it is almost shut.

"So talk." His voice is cold. I swallow, watching him, hair matted and pasted down to his face. There is a deep buzz in my stomach, and my head is aching from the patter of cold rain against skin, but none of that matters. It doesn't matter that I'm going to get ill from this, or that I'm shivering so hard that it hurts.

"I'm sorry," I say quietly. Now that I'm actually here, I haven't got a clue what to say to him. How am I meant to explain this? How can I explain this? "I'm just... I'm so sorry."

Friday's jaw is set, strong, eyes unwavering. When did he become so much stronger than me? "What do you want, Adrian?"

I take in a deep breath, shuddering against the cold.

"I love you."

"Don't say that," he hisses, turning his face away. The rain becomes steadily stronger around us, bearing down to the ground like tiny liquid bullets.

"But it's the truth," I argue, stepping closer to him. "I'm in love with you, and I'm-- I'm an idiot. I'm so sorry it took this long for me to--"

"Don't." The word is trembling, but fierce. "Don't you dare pull this bullshit on me, Adrian. I am not going to be put through this, just because you're afraid of losing me as a friend. Just leave me alone."

He turns away, shaking his head, but I lunge forward and grasp his wrist.

"I love you," I tell him, ashamed at the choked sound of tears that make the words. "I don't know how I'm supposed to prove this to you, but I love you, Friday."

There is a sickeningly long pause, in which he looks into my eyes. I'm such an idiot. Why couldn't I have realised this earlier? That best friends don't look at each other like this, that I can't stand to lose him...

He shakes his head again, pursing his lips together. He feels so real right now, skin slick with water under my wrist, breath making patterns in smoke against the cold night air, eyes wide and searching mine.

"How am I supposed to trust you?" he asks, and I can't tell if his eyes are watering from the cold or for a whole other reason. "I want to trust you, Dri, but I don't..." He closes his eyes, pulling his wrist free of my grasp. "I don't think I can."

I am momentarily frozen, watching him walk back towards his home, feet bare against the wet ground. Tears rise in my eyes, and I make no effort to get rid of them.

I think my chance for happiness is walking away from me...

"Friday!" I choke out, wishing that my legs and mind would connect. I want to follow him, but I can't move. I can't think. All I can do is feel.

He pauses, then turns to face me, large eyes clear and brown, looking almost as if he is pleading with me. The electric lighting spilling out of the door behind him seems to make him glow. Make him untouchable, like some sort of divine being.

"Mi fido di te... Ma il mio cuore no," he says, watching me for a response.

"I don't speak Italian," I reply, wishing that I could have taken an interest in learning the language. There are so many things that I wish I had done when I had the chance.

Friday sighs, closing his eyes briefly. "I trust you with my life, but I don't trust you with my heart."

Oh, God.

"I promise I'll never hurt you again."

He scoffs, turning his face away from me. I'm afraid that he's going to turn and take those last steps inside, but he stays standing, bracing one hand against the doorframe. Even from this distance, I can see his hand trembling.

"You can't make that promise," he states coldly. I force my legs to work and close the distance between us.

I have to do something.

"I can promise to hold you," I tell him, quietly, the slap of the rain almost drowning out my voice. "I can promise to be there for you. I can promise to protect you, and to always remember how beautiful you are, how lucky I am to be in your life-- To have been in your life." He stares up at me, jaw quivering in the cold, rainwater dripping down his face. I raise one hand to his sopping wet hair, straightened through the rain, and move until I am so close that I can count the tiny beads of water on his eyelashes. "I can promise to love you."

I lean in to him slightly, but his hands on my chest keep me away. He shakes his head again. "How do I know that you're not going to run away again?" he asks, hands balling into fists of my shirt, damp clothing heavy against skin.

"You don't," I reply honestly, as his hands relax around the material, slip down my torso. "You just have to trust me."

His hands are now at my waist, small and gentle, shaking so violently that I can feel it through the lightest touch.

"How am I supposed to trust you now?" he whispers. I run the pad of my thumb gently against his cheekbone.

Just before leaning in the entire distance, I whisper, "I think we'll work something out."

I slide my lips gently against his, attempting to make the kiss chaste, but he follows me as I pull away. The rain is beating down upon us, so cold that it is almost hail, but the chill has left the air, and all I can feel is the warmth of Friday, his mouth, his hands, his tiny noises that I cannot get enough of.

He pulls me flush against him as we kiss, lips sliding open and allowing my tongue access. It's nothing like kissing Alexa. Nothing at all. At some point he pulls away and whispers "I love you," but I am too far gone to understand the words.

And this is exactly what my world is narrowed down to. The reason that I'm alive, the meaning of life, it's just Friday. His hands against my waist, his body pushed against mine, his lips working patterns against mine.

Now, finally, everything makes sense.

"I love you," he whispers again, pulling away from me, face flushed even through the bitter air. I smile as it all fades away, the headache, the nervous buzz, the rain. Everything but him fades away into a blur of colour, a faint imprint in the background of my life.

"I love you, too."

"T'is is all very sweet and all, but you two have school tomorrow, and if you t'ink I'm lettin' you have t'e day off, t'en you've got anot'er t'ing coming..."

Both of our heads snap up, and my eyes widen at the sight of Gabriella a few paces behind the door, arms crossed against her chest, eyebrows raised.

"Ma--" Friday starts, voice displaying surprise, but she waves him off.

"What, you t'ink I didn't know? I'm your mot'er, for Jah's sake." She tuts, shakes her head. "Get your butts upstairs and get some sleep, chillun."

There is a startled pause, then Friday breaks into a smile. "Yes, mama."

He pulls his body away from mine, smiling at me with a glint in his eyes, then takes my hand. Gabriella rolls her eyes. "Get dry, get some sleep. If t'e pair o' you have colds by mornin', don' expect any sympat'y from me."

Friday pulls me behind him up the stairs, our footsteps making wet marks on the carpet as we walk.

I glance back at Gabriella, unsure of what just happened here. She raises her head at me, and winks.

With Friday in the lead of the walk to his bedroom, with our fingers tangled together and my body shaking from the cold, I smile.

I feel so high, I even touch the sky,
Above the falling rain.
I feel so good in my neighbourhood,
So here I come again.

-- Bob Marley, Kaya

The End.