Rainbows after the Rain

"MALACHI! MALACHI!"

Malachi was deep in slumber when he heard a loud voice disrupting him. He could only think of one person who would have the lack of tact to do so.

"Yes Garret?" the blond muttered, still half asleep.

"IT'S RAINING!" he exclaimed, now standing in front of Malachi.

Malachi did indeed the sounds of the rain pouring from his bedside window. He didn't need to see it to confirm.

"And you woke me up...because...?"

"That's it! Because it's raining!" Malachi felt his arm being tugged. "Come on put on your raincoat!"

"Why do I need to put on my raincoat? I don't even have one!" Malachi groaned, still resisting his friend's pull.

"So we can go out and sing in the rain!" Garret exclaimed.

Sleep was futile at this point, so Malachi sat up and yawned. He was frustrated for sure, but he always had slightly more tolerance when his good friend was the cause. When he could finally open his eyes completely, he could see the bright smile on the brunette's face.

He then noticed his friend was wearing a blue raincoat, and he was so excited he already wore the hood on. He also was wearing red rubber boots. In his left hand he held a white samurai umbrella, which was one of the trends in the student campus.

If Malachi were in a better mood, he might have chuckled. But on this gloomy morning, he was tired.

"Remind me why you wanted to do this..."

"I told you. One of the things I wanted to do on my bucket list is to sing and dance in the rain like Gene Kelly!"

Malachi did remember that conversation. He did not remember ever indicating he would want to join his friend. But then he recalled that Garret liked having an audience if he could. Out of the band members it was Garret who enjoyed the spotlight more than anyone else.

Malachi looked out the window. There were no strong winds which means it was no threat of a storm, but the rain poured hard enough for him to worry.

"First of all, why me? Second of all, why in THIS kind of weather? You're going to get sick!"

Garret raised an index finger to explain his defense. "Firstly, I tried other people in their dorm but I interpreted the throwing the pillow at my face as a big NO. Second of all, THAT'S THE BEST PART. Plus am a big boy. I won't get sick!"

Garret's energy was just draining whatever Malachi had that morning, but he did remember that friends don't let friends do stupid things...alone anyway.

"Okay. Let's go."

Garret ran out before Malachi could change his mind. The drummer sighed in resignation, picked up his black samurai sword umbrella and left his room.

~*~
It was a Sunday morning, and thus most people had either gone home to see their folks or had decided to stay in their dorms. For most people when it rained it meant that they would sleep in their rooms enjoying the cool temperature.

Malachi had wished his friend was the same.

He watched with disbelief as his friend skipped around in his raincoat around the campus as if he were a seven year old. He kept a fair distance to prevent getting splashed by whatever nearby puddle his cheerful friend would jump on.

Garret then started to sing.

Raindrops keep falling on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling

The brunette visualized himself along an empty sidewalk, save with maybe one or two people passing by. He would jump on the nearest lampost and spin around before landing back on the ground.

So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he' got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are falling on my, head they keep falling

While Malachi watched his friend dance like an idiot (and observe that whoever had passed the halls from the indoors conclude the same observation) he recalled certain events in his life where Garret's energy had been a big motivator to get to where they were now.

~*~

Garret's love for the stage had been fairly obvious to Malachi. First of all, the boy LOVED to sing. He would sing in the shower, in the halls, while he was studying and if possible he could do it in his sleep. It was strange that Garret didn't just join a choir, but while Garret never mentioned it Malachi had a feeling he had been in one before.

He wanted to be a musician, another thing Malachi was fairly certain. He could have been an actor if he wanted to.

Due to this, it baffled the blond that Garret's instrument of choice was the bass. Bass players aren't normally in the spotlight in bands, and the bass isn't usually the star's instrument of choice.

This was one of the first questions Malachi asked about Garret, to which he replied cheerfully "What most people don't know is that you can't have a band without a bass players. Also, guitar players take the lead and steal the spotlight but bass players set the beat and support the whole band. In a band I don't want to take all the spotlight; I want to share it with everyone else."

This answer impressed the blond, and then the brunette added "And you have to admit, the bass has the sexiest sounds."

Malachi felt uncomfortable with that answer, but he decided not to respond.

~*~ The blond then suddenly remembered meeting Amy for the first time too.
~*~ Garret had been playing "More than Words" when Sam came in with a girl. Malachi never forgot that meeting. His eyes went wide when he saw her bright red hair, the blank tank top with fit jeans and black Doc Martens. He had seen a couple of girls dressed like this, but there was something oddly strange about her from the rest. For one thing, while everyone who he had seen in the halls had this look that screamed "Don't mess with me", but this girl had nothing of that attitude. She seemed...pretty distant for some reason.
"Hey guys, this is Amy Underwood. She's a friend of Blair's and just transfered. I'm showing her around." Sam explained.
Garret placed his guitar to one side and held out his hand. "Hey! I'm Garret. Pleased to meet you."
She smiled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. Sam told me he had a band here."
"Actually, Amy can play the guitar and she can sing too." Sam added, a small smirk on his face.
Garret's eyes widened with glee. "Really?!"
Amy blinked, not totally understanding the situation.
"We've been thinking of getting a girl in the band." Malachi explained. "Garret insisted a female voice would be great every now and then."
Amy eyes widened, as if she had realized something then she glanced at her friend who looked away as he was adjusting his glasses.
"You set me up." She said flatly.
Sam just smiled back. "You wanted to meet the band. It just so happened Garret insisted we recruit at least one more."
The two remaining boys could sense a slight confusion and possibly an awkward moment between the girl and Sam. They both looked at each other, mentally wondering how to handle this.
Amy turned to them and smiled politely. "Sorry guys. There has been some sort of misunderstanding. I can play the guitar and all but am not an expert nor do I have any experience or..."
She stopped mid-sentence when she saw Garret pout. Malachi was taken aback because he had never seen him do that before.
"Can you...try? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
Amy's eyes squinted, as if wondering if he was being serious. Garret's eyes seemed to get wider, copying Puss in the Shrek movies.
"Uh..I suppose I could try-"
She was cut short when the guitar was flung to her direction. With luck, she caught it with ease. Sam exclaimed "OI! That's my guitar!"
When nobody acknowledged him, Sam sighed and sat in a corner.
Amy strummed idly, thinking of what to play. Her eyes looked away, her brain whirling through song tracks in her head. She made a "oh" face, as if a lightbulb popped on top of her head and then played.
What do you get when you fall in love? A guy with a pin to burst your bubble That's what you get for all your trouble I'll...never fall in love again. I'll never fall in love again.
The last thing Malachi had expected from the girl whose hair looked like it may be on fire was a mellow tune, not to mention an old one at that. Malachi noticed a twitch of sympathy from Sam, which indicated that there may be some relevance to this song. Garret looked oblivious to it.
When she was done, Garret beamed. "Your voice is fine!"
Amy chuckled. "Thanks." As a payback she threw Sam's guitar to his direction. Sam's reflexes caught it in time. "Hey!"
In weeks time Amy and Garret had become the best of friends, to Sam's astonishment.
~*~ Garret continued using his umbrella as a cane as it supported his weight. He was now looking straight at his best friend whose focus returned to the brunette.
But there's one thing I know The blues he sends to meet me won't defeat me It won't be long 'til happiness steps up to greet me
He smiled, and the blond could only smile back. Malachi could not agree more to what Garret had just said.
~*~ The next day...
Garret felt like hell.
He was curled under his blankets, shivering. Malachi sat by his bedside looking at his temperature. Amy and Sam were leaning by the door to the hall.
"So?" Amy asked.
"His fever is horrible." Malachi said nonchalantly, and placed the thermometer on his side. "Nothing that bed rest and lots of fluids can't fix."
"How are you feeling?" Amy asked Garret quietly. She was finding it strange to see him like this.
Garret managed a smile. "Great! It's just a fever." As if on cue, he sneezed loudly. The blond rolled his eyes.
"Yes, a fever you wouldn't be having if you had just stayed indoors." Malachi pointed out, shaking his head. "I hope you don't have anything on your bucket list that involves jumping out of an airplane or walking on burning coals."
The brunette chose not to say anything with that.