RAIN

Cody looks at himself in the mirror holding two different shirts to his chest. One is a cute t-shirt with the head of happy panda printed on the front and its wiggly bottom printed on the back. The other is a casual black shirt with a few slashes on the stomach he could wear with a neon tank top underneath. Both are okay for an afternoon date, he thinks, but Leo didn't tell him where they are going and this makes him anxious.

He tried to convey his problem to Leo – although vaguely and only hinting at it, because he didn't want to sound annoying – but Leo is always so at ease with himself that he didn't even suspect there was a problem at all. Cody can't really blame him. Leo always seems to know how to dress at any time, and even when he doesn't, he's at ease anyway. He has no problem being the center of attention, speaking up or being silly in front of strangers. He's just that kind of person that doesn't see social events as a probable cause of embarrassment for himself. How can he even understand someone like Cody, who has more problems with being in public than your average shy person?

Plus, Leo is a lot of things, but he's not exactly tuned in with other people's feelings. As Adam said once, Leo only understands other people's problems if they reflect his owns, and in any case he always gives priority to himself. Cody thinks this is a really mean thing to say, but it's true that Leo never gets right away a problem he never really had. He knows Leo would make any change Cody needs, if Cody told him directly, but he can't. On one hand, he likes Leo's natural enthusiasm – sometimes it's overwhelming and embarrassing, but it's genuine and it's never ever ill-conceived – on the other hand, Cody is ashamed of being so problematic even in the simplest things, and so he'd rather suffer through them hoping not to horribly break down than looks annoying.

Cody looks at both the shirt and decides that neither of them are good enough. Half his wardrobe is scattered on the bed, the other half is messed up in the drawers, and still he has nothing to wear. It would be way easier for him if he knew anything about dating, but he's completely unprepared. The only dates he has ever had were with Williams, and they were all pretty much disastrous.

One will be always burned in his memory forever.

It was Spring, somewhere around April, and it was the sunniest day Cody could remember. They were supposed to go to an outdoor event – that's how William had called it – in a big park near Lost Creek. From William's description, it sounded like some kind of festival. Cody had imagined booths and fair games, this sort of things, so he had dressed casual, a pair of white shorts, a tank top, something comfy to face the hot day and easily walk around. William didn't make any comment when he picked him up at the house, but when they got there, Cody instantly realized his mistake. It was an outdoor event, a festival no doubt, but what he hadn't understood – what William forgot to mention, that is – was that the park was property of the local Country Club, which meant the festival itself was held by the Country Club. Everywhere Cody looked there were men in fancy polos and long shorts and women in cocktail dresses. Cody stood out like a sore thumb.

He asked William to go back home and change, but he refused. He said that would serve him as a lesson on how to dress properly instead of going out looking like a slut. And then he walked him around the whole afternoon, preventing him to hide behind himself and introducing him to everybody. He looked like a child hanging out in a place for grown ups. It was one of the most embarrassing days of his life.

He shakes his head, trying to return that memory to the back of his mind.
Then, he grabs a pair of black skinny jeans – they're casual but still elegant enough – and he chooses the most subdued t-shirt he owns, which is black with a splash of purples and pinks on the front, all sprayed with glitter. It's a silly t-shirt, but it looks fancy, one of those designer t-shirts on which sometimes celebrities put their names and sell in cheap stores. So, it should work either if it's a casual event or a glamorous one. Cody really hopes it's not the latter, tho.

Three hours later, when Leo comes to pick him up, Cody is waiting for him outside, sitting on the short wall that goes around the apartments complex. He doesn't want Leo to come inside, both because he didn't have the time to put all those clothes back in the wardrobe, and because he knows that if he lets Leo in, they won't go out at all. Cody is still on the fence about doing more than make out with Leo, but Leo knows how to make the most of it nonetheless.

Leo's black SUV pulls in, and before anything else, he fumbles with the radio, trying to tune in that weird pop rock band he's been obsessing over recently. Then he turns to the side and smiles. “Hi,” he says, his hair is a cute mess. His curls are literally going in every direction. He follows Cody with his eyes as he walks around the car and get in, then he kisses him. “Are you still in for the date?”

Cody blinks at him, confused. “Wasn't... wasn't it planned?”

“Yes, but you didn't seem at ease at the phone,” Leo shrugs. “We can stay, if you want.”

Cody blushes. He was worried sick about what to wear and how to dress, but it never crossed his mind to call the date off, like it wouldn't be possible. Now that he knows it is, tho, he doesn't want to. “No, please, I want to go,” he whispers, forcing himself to look at him. “I just didn't know what to wear.”

“You're very cute,” Leo says, starting the car.

“Is it proper for where we're going?” Cody finds the courage to ask. At least he knows Leo will let him go back and change.

“Yes, you're perfect,. And, really, you have nothing to worry about. I promise. It's the most casual, relaxed place ever, and I think you will love it,” Leo says, smiling again. But then he seems to realize something and quickly adds, “But if you don't, we will go somewhere else. You only have to say it. But I really think you'll like it, you know? Still, I'm not saying you have to.”

Cody chuckles. “I know, don't worry.” That's another reason why he doesn't tell Leo all the things that make him nervous because he starts to blabber like that. “So, can I at least ask questions?”

Leo seems to think about it for a moment. “All right, but only yes or no questions.”

“Deal,” Cody chuckles. “Is it a big place?”

“Yes.”

“Is it inside?”

“No.”

Cody pauses for a moment, the old memory coming back. “Is... is it a fair?” He asks, trying not to sound too scared or too disappointed.

Leo doesn't seem to notice, tho. In fact, he smiles as he turns into a huge parking lot Cody has never seen before. He was so focused on asking questions that he didn't look at the road. “No, it's not a fair,” Leo chuckles.

And it's not, Leo is right. A fair – or even a carnival – recalls a specific image in Cody's mind. He thinks about little booths selling toys and food, a carousel, a shooting gallery, and maybe some farm animals. This place has everything but thrice times over. It's so big Cody doesn't even know what place in Lima can hold it all. They haven't even entered yet and he can't see the end of the first row of booths. “What... what is this place?”

“This is the old Lima's Spring Festival,” Leo explains. “But, since nobody would go to the other nearby cities' Spring Festivals, they decided to have just one big fair here in Lima. I read it about on-line.”

“It's gonna take two days to see it all,” Cody blinks. “Where do we start?” Then, a kid passes him by holding a little piglet on a leash. That catches his attention more than anything else. “Oh, look!”
He squeaks so loud and so happily that Leo can't help but chuckle.

“We have a winner,” he says, taking Cody by the hand. “I know where they keep the piglets. Let's go see them.”

Their visit to the piglets turns into a forty minutes stay with the piglets, and then give food to the piglets, and take a picture while holding the piglets. At some point Cody just stops using words and expresses himself only with squeaks, little excited moans and little screams every time a piglet does something funny, sweet or apparently dangerous. So, every time. Leo is more interested in Cody, of course, but he has his embarrassing moments with the piglets too, and Cody gets to hear him speak to them in the silliest way ever.

After that, they go for a milkshake, which leads them to candy apples, cotton candies, chocolate donuts and a big bag of candies. Everything is so cliche at that point that Leo insists on winning him a stuffed animal, which he does. And, with Cody holding a bear as big as himself, they move towards the amusement rides.

That's when it starts to rain. It's a sudden, heavy rain that forces them to hide under the first tarpaulin they find. They watch the people screaming and laughing under the rain. Those who manage to find shelter are safe, the others don't look for one anymore because they are already drenched, and so they enjoy the unexpected shower. But the dirt on the ground turned to mud, everything is wet and the temperature is dropping. It doesn't seem the right weather to go at a fair anymore.

“I'm sorry the day turned out like this,” Leo says. He looks over to Cody, expecting him to be sad. Instead, Cody is smiling as brightly as Leo has never seen him smile before.

“You can't control the weather, can you?” Cody jokes, moving closer to him and resting his head on his shoulder.

“No, but the day is still ruined.”

Cody keeps smiling. “No, I don't think so,” he says in a whisper.

All his awful memories of his dates with William are alight, the sun is so shiny in them he can barely see, and yet they are sad and terrifying. This date, instead, will be a gray and damp and muddy memory, but a happy, loving one. And he likes to think that for the first time in history, he wants the rain to wash away the sun.