Sebastian was on phone with a director about a movie deal when Rayne called. He so badly wanted to take that call, but he couldn't just hang up on the director.

The moment his call ended, he tried to call her again. He was nervous for some reason. A feeling of restlessness grew into him, as he dialled her number. He paced around the flat, humming a slow song as he waited. It was a habit he grew whenever he thought about her. He found that having something else to do helped with him not worrying much about her. She picked up after a good two rings. He felt his heart beating faster as the call got connected.

"Hey, what's up? Sorry, I was on another call..." He trailed off.

"Nothing, I-I called you by mistake." Her voice was low. He immediately knew that something was wrong. She wouldn't call by mistake. He didn't know why she called, but he was sure as hell that it wasn't a mistake. Somewhere along the way, along those 10 years, Sebastian had come to believe that Rayne wasn't capable of a mistake. He believed that she'd always do the right thing, she'd always have the right thing to say. It was wrong of him to put so much trust in someone, he barely talked with, but he did know her very well, or at least that was what he thought.

"Ray, you okay?" He wanted that to be a question, but someone the tone matched her low volume and it was barely a question at that point.

"Yeah, totally. I'm in the middle of something. I'll catch you later." He could hear her muttering and with that she hung up. She was not someone who hangs up on you. Though, he might not have spoken to her on call a lot of times, he was sure of this. He sighed and plopped down to the couch, unsure of what to do next.

Something told him that she was not okay. But it was not like he could do something about it. He didn't even know where she lived.

His best shot was calling her again. So, he did just that. He called her again.

"Hey," she answered, her voice almost inaudible.

"Do you wanna get something to eat?" He offered, not knowing how she was going to react to that. He was scared, but it wasn't about him then, it was about Rayne.

"I don't know, Seb, I'm not really in the mood to go out right now..." Something was off in her voice. But the way she called him Seb made his heart flutter. Memories of being with her in his flat, flooded his mind. He pushed away those thoughts and concentrated on the matter at hand.

"You don't have to, I'll come," he interrupted her, hoping that she would let him.

"Really? I don't want to bother you." She sounded unsure.

You couldn't be a bother to me even if you tried.

"Really, Ray, I don't mind. I'm alone in my home, anyways."

Sebastian had to make a few other calls, but he felt that she was more important. But hey, at least he wasn't lying. He really was alone, thanks to Anthony turning him down when he asked for a 'hang out'.

"Fine, I'll text you the address," her voice still lacked something. A smile spread across his face at the thought of seeing her again. But he also couldn't help but feel nervous for reasons yet unknown.

✵

Sebastian knew that she liked pizza. He knew that even before they both started talking. But after they started hanging out, she made it her mission to mention it twice whenever they talked. He even thought that it was her way of asking him out. But he was too much of a coward to act on it.

So, he got pizza. At 10 in the morning. He was surprised by his decision, but he decided to go along with it.

Not that I'm saying that you shouldn't eat pizza at 10 AM, but I've never did that one before.

He took a cab to her house, thinking it would be less obvious that it was him. The driver was a lovely old lady, who somehow knew all of his movies, something about her daughter being his 'biggest fan'. So when he got down from the cab, he did what he could. He took a picture with her and the smile on the lady's face brought a warmth to his heart, and he felt like he was doing something good in his life.

After he was dropped, he looked around to see that it was the flat at the end of the street.

Thank God for not being in the middle of the street!

Sebastian wasn't sure if that was her house. But it was the address, so he decided to knock. He leaned on the wall and texted her a quick'I'm here' and continued to look around. There wasn't much movement in the neighborhood considering that it was the middle of the day. But there were still people around. He didn't want to be spotted because that would make this a hundred times harder, so he shuffled slightly towards the right and faced the door. At least, nobody would identify him from his back.

His thoughts were disrupted when Rayne opened the door after a couple of minutes. She looked devastated, to say the very least.

All these years, he had yearned to see her at her house. But now, the sight of her broke his heart. She wore sweats and an oversized hoodie, her hair was tied up in a loose pony. er face was wet - like she'd been crying the whole time and barely managed to wash her face at the last minute before coming out to greet him - some of the brown strands of hair and her hairline were wet due to that. Her eyes were puffy and slightly red, her eyelashes were covered in tear droplets.

Sebastian froze in his place at the sight in front of him. That sight alone was enough to break him. "Ray?" His voice croaked.

She looked up to meet his eyes at the sound of her name being uttered, and he quickly realized that she was on the verge of a breakdown. He couldn't stand to see her like this. He swiftly went closer and took her in an embrace.

He heard tiny sobs coming from her and her body was trembling when he found it in his arms - just like the first time he spoke to her a few days back. He soon felt her relax a bit under his touch and he took the moment to ask her the inevitable question.

"Ray, what happened?" He slowly rubbed her back, while he dropped the pizza on the floor.

Rayne didn't respond, but still hugged him. Her body, so tiny when compared to his. He enveloped her whole person and held onto her like she was the reason for his living. Not that it wasn't true.

He cradled her in his arms. He had longed to hold her, but not like this. This was hurting him. He didn't know how he was staying calm at that moment, but he pulled himself together. For her.

If I could only hold her when she's hurting, then I'd pray to not hold her at all.

They stayed in the same position for some time. Sebastian vaguely remembered them walking towards her couch. Even then, they still held each other. Sebastian more than Rayne.

Her head was on his chest as he had an arm around her. "Seb?" She asked, still in embrace.

"Yeah, Ray?" He looked down at her, but couldn't see her face since it was buried in my chest. Her hair smelled of a faint shampoo. Not being a big fan of overpowering shampoos, this was like heaven to him.

"Thank you," she whispered. One of his arms was around her and he rested the other one on her head, gently touching her soft brown hair, slowly smoothening out her ruffled strands back into their place.

"You know I'll always be here for you," Sebastian replied. His voice was barely above a whisper, and he doubted if she'd even heard it. But she soon answered his suspicion with a simple hum. That sound radiated over his body and he found himself clinging onto her much more than before, if that was even possible.

One of her legs were folded up on the couch, while the other was dangling mid air. She was so small compared to his body.

At some point, Rayne drifted off to sleep. Sebastian dared not to move, not wanting to disturb her. He stayed in the same place as he listened to her rythmic breathing, like it was the only thing keeping him alive. And that was quite true. 

✵

Rayne woke up to find herself in Sebastian's arms. Slowly the thoughts of what had happened flooded her mind, and she left a quiet sigh as she remembered the incident with Sean, then her lips curled into a smile as she was reminded of what happened after with Sebastian. It wasn't much, but she felt better. She slightly raised her head to see him sleeping soundly, one of his arms draped around her and the other one on the headrest. His mouth was a little open as he snored softly. He looked peaceful. She couldn't help but feel that it felt safe.

He felt safe.

She didn't want to give up her place just yet, so decided to stay a bit longer. She felt much calmer than before. He didn't prod her with unwanted questions, but just tried to be there for her. That made her feel that he knew everything about her, her wants and needs. At that moment, she just wanted to hold him and never let go. So she did just that, she held him.

She couldn't shake the feeling that they've known each other before.

Maybe we did.

Rayne felt his chest rising and falling as he breathed. She tried to match her breathing with his. Soon, she sensed her eyes closing as she fell into a deep slumber.

✵

AN

I do realize that Rayne can be a 'damsel in distress' sometimes. But that is not the point at all. My character 'Sean' is closely based on someone I used to know. And what happened with him left me feeling exactly like what Rayne feels sometimes. There is no right way to go about it, but that can happen. Sometimes, you just need someone to pull you out of your past. Although I did not have anyone like Sebastian, although I came out of it myself, sometimes I can't help but wish there was someone.

So, this is not about Rayne being weak, this is about Rayne getting stronger.