Snow Leopard

"See she's kinda like a snow leopard; beautiful in the human eye but deathly lethal at physical contact ."

     Grey clouds emitting rain pours down on his car windows in the Seattle night. In the middle of the night no one should make a sound, but she always does. An escape plan so flawless; she could always get away.

     In the night he typically kept quiet slept in his warm bed, unlike her. Everyone kinda called her snow leopard. Why? Easy answer he didn't quite know. Maybe it was because she died her hair a crazy ass white color. She didn't really conform with society.

     He wasn't like little miss snow leopard or as the guys at the school are called 'lions'. But see, he didn't conform to society either. Extra-curricular and homework was all he did, late at night in the school library. Clubs and wandering was more of what snow leopard did.

     Really sad thing is, he didn't even know her name or basically her up close appearance. He knew the general feeling of her, such as her silver hair and her curved body, shaped like a glass hourglass. Nobody really knows what snow leopard likes to do in her free time, maybe she just goes into forests or lies in her bed. Either way, he'll never try to find out.

     It wasn't until she was walking on the street in the rain; he had a car and she had no umbrella. This was the only thought keeping him up tonight in his warm bed, with the rain beating down on his skylights. He would remember the conversation they had in the car, and her god forsaken, stubborn manner.

     Her hair was clinging to her shoulders, all the way down her back, onto her all-black clothing. She kinda didn't have any care in the world, but maybe she liked the water on her pale skin.

     "Hey!" He screamed out the window; trying to get her attention. She barely even glanced his way; for she didn't know him and he didn't know her. Yet, he still offered his help, because he inevitably felt bad for her.

     She didn't answer, not even after five minutes of waiting; she was determined. The rain was pouring down hard on the roof of his car and hard on her skin. Her eyes were firmly focused ahead, as if she was trying not to look his way.

     He wanted to call her by name, but sadly he didn't even know it. Something about driving away and leaving her to walk in the rain didn't feel right. He tried again calling her from a name he suspected she hated. "Snow!"

     Her face conveyed the most hated face. "Please answer me," he said pleading for her attention. If it wasn't for his good nature, he would've just driven away, leaving her in the cold Seattle night. But he knew that if he did that, he would would feel guilt all over his skin that night.

     It's as if the gods had heard his prayers, when he finally heard her mumble a response. He didn't hear her words at all so he asked for snow to simply repeat herself. "Just don't call me that," she said, still as quiet as ever, but load enough to hear.

     "Please get in the car; you're getting soaked." He pleaded in a quiet tone. She looked his way, ever so slightly with her eyes facing the ground.

     "Unlock the door," he did just as she said, happy that she wouldn't be standing in the rain any longer. The car door clicks and she reaches for the cold, wet handle. Her body leans against the black leather seat, but she doesn't look his way ever.

     "Anywhere I can drop you off?" His hands crippled the steering wheel, trying to steer the rain covered car. She doesn't answer; she keeps quiet, looking at her hands in her lap. Her white nail polish had been scratched off, and her fingers were covered in thin, silver rings.

"You're gonna have to answer me at some moment," he looked her way; she glanced at him. For the first time in his life, he saw her eyes. They were a bright violet shade, he had never seen eyes like hers. He figured, maybe they were contacts, but in some way he believed otherwise.

"My name is Loretta, not snow by the way." That was all she answered with. No information about where to leave her was given away. He couldn't just drive around all night, waiting for the next school day to start.

"My name is Ethan. I only called you snow because I had no idea who you were. I'm sorry Loretta." Ethan's eyes were covered with the sorrow he felt for Loretta. She looked upset, angry even, but he wouldn't ask why.

"Do you have a house address I can drop you off at," Ethan asked, straining his neck to,look out the rain splattered window. The road was almost out of Ethan's view because of the big rain drops.

"Can you please pull over? I don't feel comfortable with you driving in this kind of weather." Ethan glanced over at Loretta, who was looking straight at him. For the first time, he felt close to Loretta. He noticed she had fear of something.

     So Ethan pulled over to the side of the road, just like Loretta had asked him too. He could sense her starting to relax, as she watches the rain cascade down the window.

     "You were walking because you hate driving in the rain?" Loretta nods her head in response. She looks over at him, with a small smile across her face.

     "It's scary when you think about how many accidents happen in the rain. I just decide against it." Her hand lays on the center counsel, tapping the leather with her fingers.

     "Are you okay? You seem caught in a thought." Ethan notices everyone's moods, but he especially is decoding Loretta's face at the moment. He knows this will be the only time he talks to her, so he makes the best of it.

     "I don't even know you. Why did you offer me a ride?" Her eyes seemed glossy, full of unreadable emotions. He felt that she needed someone at this moment, and he wasn't the best choice.

     "Why did you get in?" A smile creeps onto her face. She seems to feel compelled by his question, thinking he wouldn't ask that question. He thought it was her sense of trust in strangers, or maybe she was tired of feeling alone.

     "I wanted to know you? I don't know, I-I guess I just wanted to get in." Loretta was questioning herself, as if she didn't know if what she was saying was right. Ethan didn't want to notice her uneasy feeling, with her hands tangled together in her lap. He could tell she was nervous, but strangely so is he.

     "Strange faith in strangers?" She nods shyly, thinking she sounds stupid. But, strangely, to him it's different from what he would do. He hasn't trusted anybody but his family his entire life, while she trusted the people she least knew.

     "I trust strangers more than my mom sometimes," she turns her body, as to talk right at my face. "My mom is superficial; she just doesn't get me at all. I wander around all the time and she hates me for it." Loretta was looking at the ground, while Ethan was staring right at her. He had noticed the mascara had run under her eyes, and her lipstick had stained her thin lips.

     "I bet your mom still loves you anyhow. It's weird the way parents convey their feelings, but it doesn't mean they don't care." Loretta allows a smirk to cover her face, her thin lips pressing firmly together.

     "How do your parents convey their feelings towards you?" Ethan wasn't expecting this question. He didn't mind his parents; they were all American, usual people. They loved to brag about their child, and he hated every minute of it.

     "They're kind of, stuck up. I try not to mind it, for their sake." Loretta scoffs at Ethan's description, thinking it's like ones she's heard before.

     "Don't act like you like it when you don't, then it would never end," Loretta picks at the chipped nail polish on her fingers. The nail polish doesn't really budge, but it calms her nerves.

     "Why don't you say anything when people call you snow leopard? You hate it; I can tell," Ethan stays confident throughout his whole question. Loretta rubbed her hand on the back of her neck, trying to think of a solid answer.

     "Snow leopard is such a versatile name people call me. It could mean I'm beautiful and well loved, but it also means I'm dangerous, telling people should stay away. I don't want to be popular; I don't even know why I am talked about." In this moment Ethan felt bad for her; he didn't want her to fake the smile either. "Please don't tell anyone about this conversation tonight," Ethan looks over at her, with surprise in his eyes. He thought, why does she want to keep this a secret?

     "May I ask why?" Ethan notices that the rain has stopped now, and they were just passing time talking on the side of the road in a car. "Loretta, I'm not going to tell anyone," Ethan looks at her, and makes the bold move of laying his hand over hers. It was innocent, but it made her head shoot up to look at him.

     "You make me feel real and safe. I don't know why, because I just met you. Please promise you'll stay away after tonight." Ethan felt himself trying to promise her that one small gesture, but everything in his body was keeping him back.

     "What do you mean I make you feel real?" Ethan wanted to know so much about her thoughts, what they meant, how they felt. Somehow in this car at this moment, everything was slowing down in the world.

     "My whole life has been filled with fake friends, relationships, just everything. It feels real telling you things about myself. I weirdly trust you." Ethan smiles and squeezes Loretta's hand.

"I wouldn't want you to lie." At this point Ethan was leaning slightly over the center counsel, but he didn't even notice. It was just the dark and them in the world. Something about them being so opposite, made them feel so alive with each other.

"Strangely, I wish I didn't make you promise." Ethan's lips practically ghost over Loretta's, leaving only an inch of space between them.

"I didn't promise yet." Loretta's lavender hair falls in front of her lips, blocking Ethan's clear chance. He takes the strand of hair, and boldly tucks it behind her ear.

Loretta moves in, placing her lips on his for a brief second. He can tell that Loretta pulls away out of embarrassment or being unsure. He wanted to tell her it was okay, that she could be herself when she's around him.

"You can kiss me. It's okay." Loretta smiles, moving away from his face. He feels a warmth in her heart by the words that he has told her tonight.

"Maybe someday I will again," Loretta started, with a smile on her face. "But right now, since the rain has stopped, you should take me to my house." Ethan let out a small laugh.

"Of course," Ethan realized that night, that the so called 'snow leopard' wasn't almighty or even outgoing. She was shy, liked to keep to herself at all times. She was a firm believer in trusting strangers.

She was Loretta, just as beautiful as Ethan had noticed in the car that night. He didn't know if he'd talk to her again or if they would be strangers again, but he did know that she wasn't a spectacle. She was happy in his company.

Maybe she wasn't happy around others, but just maybe she would see him as a friend. Maybe it changed their lives, that small hour in that car. Maybe it changed everything about him. Everything about her. Everything about them had changed.

They just didn't and wouldn't know it yet.