Downpour} Open.

[megan]

Rain beat patterns of perfect circles that appeared and disappeared as fast as a blink across the field. The water danced on the earth, leaping about as it bounced off of the ground. Dark rainclouds promised no end in sight of the downpour. The sheets that came down so hard had forced nearly everyone into the buildings. People had to be crazy to be out in this weather.

Maybe Megan was crazy. She was the only one she could see out in the rain. Then again, she couldn't see very far. The gray world was washed out from the relentless storm. It didn't matter much to her. She had felt like coming outside, so she had come outside. Plus, what good was a Saturday in autumn if you didn't get to play soccer? Saturdays only came once every week, and she had to take advantage of them.

There was one person Megan would only be midly surprised to find outside today. That was Kyden. Ky loved soccer just as much as Megan. Megan wasn't sure a little rain could keep her best friend inside on a Saturday. That is, unless she was swimming today. It didn't bother her that she was alone. She was usually a very social person, but the water, the drowning field, her lonely soccer ball, it was all too inviting for her to ignore the urge to play soccer.

She dribbled down the slippery field, dodging invisible opponents with the agility years of practice had brought her. As she neared the goal, she booted the ball into the net. "Score!" she said happily as it landed neatly in the corner of the goal.

[admin && kaelie [2]]

Kyden groaned in relief as she ran, feeling her muscles loosen bit by bit. She had been stupid last night, and had totally forgotten to stretch after crew. That little slip up then had left her with aching muscles when she woke up for swim practice. Needless to say, she hadn't had the best time that morning. But now it was the afternoon, and she had taken a nap and stretched her muscles to oblivion, and she was feeling much better. She had felt so good after her little break, that she had decided to go for a short run down to her school. The fact that it was pouring down rain had no effect on her decision whatsoever. If anything, it made her want to get out of the house even more. Unlike a lot of people she knew, Ky loved the rain. Maybe she just had an affinity for water, but either way, rainy days always trumped sunny ones in her book. Yes she had a great time in the summer when the sun was shining, but there was just something missing. The sun might be warm, but it couldn't make a beat on your roof, or make dancing patterns on the ground. No, only the rain could do that, and it was so beautiful. Yeah, it might be beautiful, but I'm certainly not. Whatever, it's not like I'm going to run into anyone else in this weather. They're probably all inside, huddled in front of the television screen. Losers. The girl snorted and shook her head at the thought of staying inside today, or any day. Unless she was reading a really good book, nothing she could do in her house was nearly as exciting as what she could do outside. She was just that type of girl.

As Ky rounded the last street corner before the school, she flipped her ponytail off the back of her neck. She was soaked through and through, so it was a good thing she had worn mesh shorts and a tank top. Despite what it looked like, it was still fairly warm outside, just wet too. With a wild laugh, Ky leaped into a large puddle in the path in front of her. The water went everywhere, but it was hardly noticeable in the rain. That didn't matter to Ky though, it was the thought that counted. Wearing a wide grin, the girl picked her rhythm back up and jogged down to the field. She intended to do a couple laps and then head back home to get started on her homework. The smile changed into a grimace at the thought of the mountain of work she had waiting for her back at home. Maybe that was another reason why she liked being outside so much. Haha, maybe. Ky thought, her grin returning. But a sudden impact on her thigh startled her out of her rhythm, and she stopped to pick up a muddy soccer ball. She glared at it, but didn't bother to wipe the mud off of herself. She was only going to get dirtier if she stayed out here, which she was going to.

Searching the field with her limited vision, Ky spotted a dark figure across the field from her. Striding over, Ky held up the ball in her right hand and spoke loudly enough to be heard over the roar of the rain. "Hey! Could you watch where you're kicking - " She cut herself off when she realized who the other person was. Dropping the ball, the girl raced at the figure, leaping onto the person to give them a massive hug. "Megan! Hey! I thought you were doing homework this weekend, didn't your parents threaten you with eternal grounding if you didn't?" Ky greeted her best friend enthusiastically, squeezing her tightly. But the sudden realization that Megan might get in trouble made her calm down a bit and step back to look at the other girl. She didn't really care what her parents told her, but Megan did. At least, a little bit more. Remembering the soccer ball, Ky went back and grabbed it, walking back to Megan with a devilish grin growing on her face. "But either way, I think I know what we're going to do now. I challenge you to a soccer duel!" Ky proclaimed, pointing dramatically at the other girl. It didn't really matter what Megan said now, she couldn't resist a challenge and Ky knew it. Oh was she going to have fun now.

[megan]

Shot after shot soared into the soccer goal. The net swung as it gave to the force of the ball. Occasionally, a kick would be at the wrong angle, or too strong, and the ball would miss the goal. Megan chased after those, usually catched them as they slowed to a stop in the mud behind the goal. Then she would sprint back to the field and shoot again. Her shots were usually good. She was having a good day. If only the soccer game hadn't been called off. The scores weren't all that surprising. Megan's strong suit was offense. She needed to work on her ball control, though, especially stealing the ball from the opponent.

Her shoes were soaked and dirtied from the wet grass that stuck to her ankles. Her baggy, light blue t-shirt was plastered to her skin, just like her hair that she had tried, and failed, to pull into a ponytail. Her black, mesh shorts hung heavily from her thin frame. She blinked constantly to clean her eyes of the water that constantly ran into them. But she felt great. Her heart pumped and her lungs filled easily with the cold, hard air. Exercise released endorphins into the body. That was one reason she loved sports and running so much.

She set the ball up on the penalty kick line. She backed away from it, focusing on only the soccer ball, nothing else. She stopped backing up and looked one last time at the soccer ball. Then she charged. She dashed forward, her vision zeroing in on the top left hand corner of the goal. Her right leg swung back. As if in slow motion, the top of her foot connected with the ball. It flew up and towards the goal. Megan slowed her running and watched it make an arc, headed right for the corner. Then it hit the top of the goalpost. "Oh, come on!" she muttered as it rebounded. It bounced high into the air and to the left, flying towards the sidelines. She gave a defeated sigh. She would have given chase, but she had lost sight of the ball in the heavy rain. It was only a small, blurred, dark shape. She looked back at the goal, wondering why the ball hadn't hit its target. Its path had been perfect. "Stupid wind," she said.

She jogged after the ball. As she ran in its general direction, a form began to become more apparent through the rain. It was another girl, she realized as she neared the figure. "Sorry!" she called, figuring the ball had hit the girl, because Megan could see that ball in the girl's hands. Then the two girls each recognized the other. "Ky!" she cried, grinning. It shouldn't be much of a surprise to see her friend here. After all, Megan knew just how much Ky loved rain. While Megan had been out here to play soccer, rain or shine, she guess Ky was probably out here just to feel the water pounding on her. "Ah, yeah," she said, looking around shiftily, smiling. "But I've always got Sunday!" That was Megan, the procrastinator. "Anyway, don't you have swimming, or crew, or some other watery sport to be doing right now?" Megan giggled. She wasn't very good with words.

When Ky mentioned a soccer challenge, Megan's grin only grew. "Well, of course!" she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But you do know you're going down, right?" She raised an eyebrow. This would be a blast. Ky was a great defender, and Megan was a great offender. They would be a pretty tough match.

[admin && kaelie [2]]

Ky grinned at her best friend, laughing loudly enough to be heard over the rain. Seeing Megan had instantly put her in a good mood, and she didn't care how ridiculous she looked. This was the sort of thing she loved, doing slightly crazy things with her friends. Maybe others would think it stupid, but she didn't give a crap, this was her, and this was how she was going to enjoy herself. "This is quite true, I'm saving up my homework hours for tomorrow too. Although, my parents don't know about that little fact." Ky said with a giggle, imitating Megan's shifty eyes look. She had a tendency to get very flowery and dramatic with her words, especially when she was hyper. Which was why she sounded the way she did right now. A couple of people had suggested that she join theater or improv because of her gift with words - spoken at least - but she had turned them down. She already had way too much on her plate without having to worry about play practice. "I had swimming this morning, and I couldn't help out at learn to row because it was canceled. But doesn't this qualify as a watery sport?" Ky asked, laughing again. She tossed the ball from hand to hand, deftly catching the slippery globe in her large hands. The black and white patches were covered with patterns of mud, which were now dripping on to Ky's hands. She didn't really care though, she wasn't planning on cleaning up any time soon. Oh man are my parents going to have a fit when they see me. She thought, grinning at the prospect. Ky had a... Less than perfect relationship with her parents, and no matter how much trouble it got her into, she could never resist pushing their buttons.

"Going down? I think not. It will be you that falls on the ground from exhaustion as I glory in my success!" Ky said, making herself sound ridiculous on purpose. Megan wouldn't be surprised or annoyed by the random outbursts, she had gotten used to them long ago. In fact, the only time Ky could remember her being surprised by Ky's oddities was in the first week they had met. They knew each other inside and out now, so they didn't often surprise each other. Really, they were the best kind of friends you could think of. They didn't need to fight to solidify their bond, they had a rock solid one without any stupid squabbles. They didn't keep any secrets from each other, and they knew all of the other's hopes, dreams, fears, everything. Ky was so used to it that when she saw other people fighting with their friends, it confused her. Maybe she was a little bit spoiled in the friends department, but that was okay. It was a good kind of spoiled.

"Alrighty, let's start then!" Ky said, dropping the ball to her feet and dribbling it up the field. She was a fine offender, but her skill lay in her defense. Practically nobody could get past her if she put her mind to it, and the goalies were always thankful when she was playing. However, Megan was an amazing offender, so this would be interesting. Where Ky would miss the goal and lose the ball while dribbling, Megan would almost always score, and she was an inventive dribbler. Also, neither of them could stand losing - Ky more than Megan - so they were going to break all the rules to win. If Ky had to tackle her friend into the mud to keep her from scoring, she would do it, and she knew Megan wouldn't hesitate to return the favor. This was going to be an interesting game, and the two were definitely going to enjoy themselves.

[megan]

"Who would be inside doing homework when they could be outside in this weather?" asked Megan over the pounding rain, laughing. She lifted her hands to the sky. She could barely feel the rain anymore. She was used to it. She had been outside for long enough that the beats on her body were part of her background now. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be dry. She was completely soaked. She didn't think it was possible to get any wetter. Her clothes, utterly past the point of salvation today clinged to her thin body. Her hair lay in a rat's nest around her head and shoulders. But she couldn't care less. She knew it never mattered how she looked around Ky. Plus, Ky wasn't much better off herself. Laughing more, she grabbed her hair in her hands and squeezed it. She could hardly tell how much water fell to the ground from her hair, because it was lost in the rain. It was pointless, squeezing the water from her hair. In a few moments, the brown, stringy mess would be just as wet. She didn't mind. It was funny. She wasn't funny very often. Most of the time, people found humor in things she didn't even mean to be funny. "We've got all day tomorrow to work, right?" Although, the chances were, Megan would end up hanging out with friends or running around for half the day tomorrow. She would probably forget about homework until half the day was gone. She was never any good at homework. "I guess it does!" agreed Megan. This definitely counted as a watery sport. She was glad Ky's crew what-not had been cancelled or whatever today. Kyden was almost always doing some random crew, soccer, or swimming related thing. Now they could finally hang out together. Of course, Megan couldn't say that she wasn't really busy either. But no matter how busy they were, they always managed to find time to play around.

Ky and Megan were practically one unit. Sure, Megan wasn't so into crew or swimming. She liked soccer and other outdoor, sunny sports better. But a lot of people knew them as 'Ky and Megan,' or 'Megan and Ky,' or sometimes even 'Kygan,' but that one was extremely rare. Whenever someone couldn't find Ky, they would always ask Megan where she was, and vice versa. It was nice to have a friend this close. They both knew just how each other functioned. They knew how to cheer each other up, motivate each other, and help each other. Of course, they both had plenty of other friends, but they were each other's halves. "You wish!" she retorted. "You better pay close attention. I'll show you how to play soccer!"

That wasn't true of course. Megan knew Ky was just as good, if not better at soccer than she was. They both had their strengths. But it was all in the fun of the competition. Megan ran out to the middle of the large field. She had thought they were both a mess before, but now she realized that was nothing compared to what they would look like soon. Dayton Academy didn't have astroturf, so the ground was muddy and slippery. They both would be disasters by the end of the game, especially with all of the pushing that was sure to come. Afterwards, they'd have to take the longest shower of their lives, pretty much. Megan cracked her knuckles, her grin still not gone. "Bring it, Ky," she said. "Let's see what you've got!"

[admin && kaelie [2]]

Kyden laughed along with her friend, holding her arms out wide and spinning around like a top. Coming to a halt, the girl stumbled and nearly fell, but she kept a wide grin on her face, the mishap only making her more hyper. "Oh I don't know, maybe sane people?" Ky replied jokingly. She watched as Megan lifted her arms up, and giggled as her friend gloried in the pounding rain. The girl laughed again as Megan tried and failed to wring her hair out. The rain was coming down so hard that it was pointless to try to salvage their appearance. It didn't matter anyways, no one else was crazy enough to come out in this, and they didn't have to worry about what they looked like around each other. It wasn't like they needed to impress each other, they were so far past that they couldn't even remember ever having to worry about it. And probably they never had to, since when they met they were too young for that sort of thing. By now they just counted themselves as sisters, and mostly everyone else did too. Ky grinned as she remembered some of the times when people had combined their names when they had been talking about the two. Ky hadn't really minded, it was just proof of how close they were, though it was a little bit weird. At least you can actually combine our names without it sounding totally weird. She thought, grinning and shaking her head. Deciding to skip a bit, the girl did, and made her way closer to her friend so she could hear better.

At Megan's next reply Ky had to stop skipping on account of her bursting out into a fit of giggles. "Yes we most certainly do, but you know as well as I do neither of us is going to use it." Ky said, laughing hard. She didn't know why it struck her as funny, but it did. They were both horrible procrastinators, which was part of the reason they were out here in the first place. Ky knew that she wouldn't even start her homework until Sunday night, and Megan wouldn't begin much earlier. Normally the girl made herself work harder so she could manage to get okay grades, but it didn't always work on the weekends. She always wanted to relax on them, no matter how much homework she knew she was putting off. This weekend was a particularly bad one, what with two projects and three tests coming up in the next week on top of everything else. But Ky shrugged it off, choosing to ignore it for as long as possible.

The girl grinned mischievously at her friend when she started smack talking. Well, not really, but it was pretty close for Megan. She decided to keep her mouth shut for now, insults could fly later. Following her friend, Ky dribbled the ball to the middle of the field, standing opposite Megan. "Obviously you know the rules, I'll defend the side at my back, and the same for you. Anything goes, so don't be surprised if I suddenly attack you." Ky said, partly joking and partly not. She was extremely competitive, and she probably would end up jumping on Megan sometime in the game, though she would be careful not to hurt the smaller girl. Too much. Without warning, Ky leaped into action, feinting to the right while dribbling left. She was left handed and footed, which was a disadvantage sometimes, but she still loved it because it made her unique. Not stopping to look behind her, the tall girl raced up the field, nearing Megan's goal. She wondered if Megan was going to get fancy or if she was just going to steal the ball. Either way, Ky was ready for her.

[Done, sorry it took so long.]

[megan]

Megan giggled as Kyden spun around and nearly fell over. ”Phsaw!” she practically snorted, laughing harder. ”Who’d ever want to be sane? How boring is that?” Ky looked like she was drunk or something. Then again, knowing Ky, she probably was. Drunk on friends, anyway. The two of them could get high off of life. It was amazing, really. That was one of the reasons Megan liked Ky’s company so much. Her best friend could cheer her up all the time. Both of them were extremely good at making the other happy, and they both loved life. People that hated life for no reason could really annoy Megan sometimes, but she tried to ignore it. The people that had serious issues in their life-- those were the people that had an excuse to feel down a lot. Everyone should feel upset every once in a while. It’s human nature. But pessimistic people that never tried to enjoy life for what it was were wasting their lifes, in Megan’s point of view. It was a little harsh, yes, but that was the way she saw things. You only got one life. There may be a lot of poverty, strife, and unhappiness in the screwed up world in which they lived, but that was life. People should make the most of it! she thought. And she and Ky were very good at that, for the most part. The only part of life they both completely sucked at was work. They both had terrible procrastinating habits. Together, they were unbeatable at nearly everything and anything. Meg watched Ky skip away. Megan wouldn’t trade her best friend for the world.

Thinking about life brought up two more thoughts. Charlie and Tory. What was life without boys? First, Charlie. Charlie, who was so amazing in everything. Charlie, who was cute when she smiled, laughed, or even didn’t have any expression on his face at all. Charlie, who had taken a walk with her a few days ago. Charlie, who had those chocolate eyes that she could fall into and that brown hair that fell in front of his eyes in the best way possible. Charlie, who also enjoyed music and could play soccer. Megan really wanted to talk to Kyden about Charlie. Meg and Ky told each other everything. But now wasn’t the time. Maybe, after they showered, if they got back together later, she could talk about it. She just wanted to get her best friend’s advice about what to do about Charlie. Kyden was generally pretty good when it came to boys, provided they were boys she, herself, had feelings about. Megan could ask Ky how to approach him and how to make him like her the way she liked him. Then, there was Tory. Meg loved Tory to death, in a completely friendly way. There was no romantic chemistry between the two of them. They had gone out before, but there wasn’t anything there. So, they had broken up with no hard feelings. But Megan had noticed that Ky was acting... differently around Tory now. There was obviously something between the two of them. Now she wanted to talk about boys with Kyden. Their boy conversations were always interesting. A good part of the time they talked about romance, it ended in, “Boys are so clueless!” But it was almost always fun.

”Anything goes!” agreed Megan. She wouldn’t be surprised if Kyden attacked her. Ky was like that. They had done this before. Meg knew Kyden could get very aggressive when it came to soccer, but that was fine. Megan had had her fair share of bruises, and she didn’t mind. Kyden jumped to the right. Megan followed her for a tiny bit, then remembered Ky’s strength in everything left. She dashed after the blonde blur, her cleats digging into the mud, reality falling away. When she was playing soccer, she saw nothing but colors. That was the important thing. It didn’t matter much who was who on the soccer field to Megan. As long as she had the teams straight, there wasn’t much confusion. She managed to get even with Kyden. She poked the girl in the ribs. She would have laughed, but she didn’t want to waste the air. Then, she stuck a foot in front of Kyden. She didn’t mean to trip Ky, and she was pretty sure she wouldn’t. She just wanted to grab the ball.

[admin && kaelie [2]]

Kyden laughed even harder when her best friend's words reached her ears. In a totally none romantic way, the two of them were pretty much made for each other. They had the same taste or opinion on most things, and where they disagreed they could do so respectfully, and a lot of the times they ended up having good discussions about whatever it was. Unless of course they were disagreeing on boys, then they usually ended up throwing popcorn or M&Ms at each other. Still, it always turned out to be a good situation, they just didn't fight. Sure there was teasing and joking insults, but they both knew it was all in fun, and it was made easier by the fact that they were both easy going people. Ky frankly thought it was stupid for best friends to fight. Really, what was the point? If you knew each other inside and out - like you should if you considered yourself best friends - then you basically knew what the other was thinking, and fighting about whatever it was wouldn't change anything. All it did was create bad feelings and tears, and who wanted that? Certainly not Ky, which made her ever thankful to have someone like Megan as her best friend ever. Remembering that she was supposed to be talking legibly to Megan, Ky pulled herself briefly out of her haze of happiness, only long enough to respond. "Not me, and not you, that's for sure! And if anyone ever tried to make us sane, we'd band together and rebel!" The girl joked, laughter breaking through her words. She was really working herself up now, and it was going to at least an hour for her to calm down. Even when they were playing, Ky knew she would still be laughing, and she also knew she would look absolutely ridiculous. It didn't matter though, not at all. With Megan all she had to worry about was having as much fun as she could, not what she looked or acted like.

As she twirled around the field, making her winding way to the center, she caught blurry glimpses of her friend's face. By the way it was set though, Ky could make a rough guess as to what she was thinking. Probably something to do with boys, or at least somewhere in the romance department. Ky decided, managing to decipher her facial expression. That was how well they knew each other: Ky could determine what Megan was thinking from a distance, in the pouring rain, and without any clues. It was definitely an advantage when they needed to communicate without saying anything, like in awkward situations when one of them needed rescuing. That had happened before, and although it had been slightly traumatic, they could admit later that it was also hilarious. A lopsided grin replaced Ky's sort of stoned expression, making her look cute and innocent. Although some would disagree - some quite strongly - that really was what Ky was like most of the time. At heart she was still a little kid, and she had found a kindred spirit in Megan, which was part of the reason why they always had so much fun together. Giggling, Ky twirled around faster, enjoying the way the raindrops seemed to stand still as she moved.

Ky acknowledged Megan's comment with a wicked grin, mischief flashing in her eyes. She knew Megan understood what could happen, namely her jumping on the other girl, or something like that. They had done this many times before, so it wouldn't be new to her. And it was fair, because they both got into it, and whatever bruises Ky gave Megan, she would definitely be given the same amount in return. As she raced down the field, she kept having to restrain herself from looking back, from checking for Megan. It didn't really matter though, since she soon caught up. Ky smiled in excitement, but kept her concentration focused on the ball, and on not tripping on the slick ground. A jab to her ribs startled her, though she probably should have been expecting it. Still, it made her giggle, since she was especially ticklish on her sides. That momentary distraction was all that was required. The next thing Ky knew, she was flying through the air, heading straight for the muddy ground. Thankfully she had learned how to fall over the years, and twisted so that she landed on the flats of her arms, air rushing out of her lungs. It wasn't enough to keep her down though, and she leaped to her feet, turning on her toes and sprinting after her friend. They were both fast runners, and this was Ky's forte, her specialty. Her grin was still strong as she gained on Megan, since the other girl was slowed down slightly by the ball. You're in for it dear. Ky thought, not wasting breath to speak out loud. She swung to the left of Megan, her long legs eating up the ground. Soon she was ahead of the other girl, and spun around unexpectedly, standing right in Megan's path. Setting herself perfectly - she would be able to turn and run or stand still just as easily - Ky waited to see what Megan would do in the few seconds she had left to decide.

[Done! Sorry it took so long, I feel really bad about it. =[]