"It's raining, Ary." You don't open your eyes as he approaches you.
"I know," you said. You can hear the patter of the rain on the rooftop. It's a soothing rythmless muse to your ears.
"Wouldn't you prefer to be inside?" he asks, standing over you.
"If I wanted to go inside, why would I be out here?" you snap.
You sigh and open your eyes. Alek stares blankly at you, letting the rain drops fall on him and soak his jacket.
"I'm sorry, Alek," you apologize, shame forcing you to look down at your hands. "I just..." You trail off, the words dying on your lips as you realized you have no explanation. For once, you have absolutely no answer.
Alek lowers himself onto the ledge beside you. He rests one hand on his knee, letting the other dangle over the edge. He silence helps you collect your thoughts.
"I just get so frustrated sometimes," you mutter, still staring at your palms. "This whole team thing is crazy. I love it but..."
He looks over at you, waiting patiently for you to find your words.
"Sometimes I just... I just want to scream," you admitt finally.
"Then do it," Alek permits.
You look over at him, your wet hair falling in your face.
"Really, go on," he prompts. "I don't mind. I won't even listen. See?" He places his hands over his ears. It's very comical.
You shake your head. "I think that may scare the neighbors," you say, meaning the occupants of the apartment building you're perched on.
You listen to the patter of the rain as Alek falls silent once more, thinking over the matter.
"Alright," he says slowly. "Let me show you something." He stands and reaches a hand down to help you up.
You look from your partner's outstretched hand to the ledge, searching for an excuse to stay where you are. Why are you looking for one? you ask yourself. After all, this is Alek. Cool, calm, trusting Alek who would never do anything stupid and drag you down with him.
Finally you nod and take his hand, careful not to slip on the wet ledge as he leads you off it. He releases your hand and leads you to the firescape.
You follow him down down down the ladder to the sidewalk below. Across the street. Over the avenue. And down the steps to the underground subway.
It is crowded down below, as usual. You weave through the throng of people, keeping an eye on Alek's green coat. He leads you to a door set in the wall at the edge of the crowd.
Alek punches in a sequence and the door clicks open. After a cautious glance over his shoulder, he grasps your hand and quickly pulls you through. Before the door is fully closed, you're jogging down the empty, dimly lit corridor after your partner.
The hall suddenly ends. Literally. It's like someone cleaved off the rest of the corridor. You follow Alek to the edge and realize it opens up to the tunnel.
"It's safe, I promise," he reassures you. Then he turns and climbs down a short ladder leading to a small platform. Beyond the platform are the tracks.
"The engineers use these gaps for repairs," Alek explains as you drop from the gap to the platform.
"I still don't understand why we're here," you remind him as you dust off your jeans.
"Wait for it," he says simply, watching the tracks.
After a moment you feel the floor begin to vibrate beneath you feet. The silence is gone and is replaced by a growing roar.
"Alek," you say nervously.
"It's the next train," he says. "Count to ten, then let it all go!"
You finally understand. The roar of the train will surely cover any scream. It is an ingenious idea.
Not seeing any reason not to, you shut your eyes.
1... 2... 3... You think of every time you've been outsmarted. 4... 5... 6... Of every time you have gotten annoyed, angered, frustrated.The floor of the platform is shuddering so hard it's becoming difficult to stand in place. The roar in your ears is defining.
7...8...9... You think of every time you've wanted to slam a door. Punch a wall. Cry and yell and scream at the top of you're lungs, but didn't because it would be immature and childish. 10.
You squeeze your eyes shut and scream as loud as you possibly can.
It's like popping the lid of a fizzing bottle, only to have it explode. And that's what you do. Explode.
You scream and scream, adding to the thunder as the train rushes past. The sounds mix to a single voice.
You scream and yell and scream scream scream.
Finally, you feel the air escape your lungs. You yell a final burst, then slowly open your eyes, panting. The end of the train comes and goes.
You feel light as air. It's a new feeling. A great feeling. You grin widely. Just because you can.
You look over at your partner. His face is red as a beet and he's breathing as hard as you are. Alek had taken his own advice. He faces you and grins as widely as you are, his eyes glittering emeralds.
"Better?" he asks.
You nod truthfully. "Much."