Fic: Clarity in the Rain 1/1

[youngeratheart.livejournal.com]

That is to say, I don't normally do fics from the show. Here goes nothing...

Clarity in the Rain
Word Count: 1,181
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Ty/Amy
Disclaimer: I'm never going to grow up. That means... I'm not legally responsible for anything, right?
Summary: It's the rain, with a bit of help from Jack, that makes Amy realize the truth.
Author's Note: I'm a bit out of my comfort zone here because I don't usually do the characters as portrayed on the show. I'm more familiar with the books, and I like the characters as they are in the books better. That goes back to the stuff I think was exaggerated for drama's sake in the show, but I'll spare everyone that tangent. :) Anyway, here goes nothing.

This is set somewhere mid to late season four, after Mood Swings but before the last two episodes, and definitely not holding to the show... :P

The song mentioned in the story is "Only Love Can Break a Heart." The version I was thinking of would have been based off Gene Pitney's version, since I said Lyndy sang it. Though I recommend checking out Jenn Grant's "Only Love Can Break a Heart." She also sang the song's theme, "Dreamer."

Clarity in the Rain

Rain tended to bring clarity.

Washed away the bad, brought in the new and the good. Rain for the crops, water for the horses. Amy was a country girl. She's lived on a farm all her life, and she knew the cycles. She understood them. She is used to them.

Rain came; it cleansed.

She thought it couldn't rain enough after her mother died. Nothing could make it better. Then she remembers all she has gained since her mother's death, things she never thought she'd have, people she never would have known or been close to, never gotten a chance to love. Lou, her father, Caleb, Ashley... even Mallory she understood now in a way that she'd never done befo

And there was Ty.

Water had brought plenty of clarity to their relationship, Amy thought, watching the rain drops go down the window pane. A water fight where they learned they could get a long, kisses in the rain, and all the snow that led to him getting sick...

Sometimes she wished the rain could wash all of it away. The stupid things they both did, the words they said in anger. She wished it was as easy to be close to people as it is to be with horses. She had an instinct with horses, a good one.

She's not very good with people.

Then again, horses had never hurt her the way people have.

She heard music coming in from the other room, her grandfather playing one of Grandma Lyndy's records again. Lyndy's version of this song has always been her favorite. Only love can break a heart; only love can mend it again.

Amy sighed. She would be lying if she said she didn't want things back the way they were. She caught sight of a shadow out of the corner of her eye, and she saw Ty running across the yard to get something from his truck. She started to move away from the window when he looked over.

It was like he was looking right at her.

She did move back that time. She heard something behind her and turned to see Grandpa standing there. "You know, your grandma's got a point."

Amy forced a smile. "Grandma's not—"

"I know she's not here. No one knows that better than me," Jack interrupted. "Still, there are times when I think she is. Listening to her music always makes me feel closer to her. And I remember asking her why she had to include this song on her album. All the other songs were hers. Original. Not that one."

Amy nodded. Her grandmother had been a good songwriter. "Why?"

"She said she and I were just starting out, and we had to remember a few things. We were gonna hurt each other, whether we liked it or not, whether we meant to or not. Maybe love was something we needed to be sure of from the start, or so we'd like to think," Jack took a deep breath. "Then she said that only love can mend the heart. That's the only way to go through life. Loving. You keep everyone out... and there's nothing there. You can't fix what you aren't willing to allow in the first place."

"Grandpa—"

"Never put much stock in it myself," he admitted. "Still, your grandma, she was a pretty smart lady."

He kissed Amy's forehead and walked away. She stood there for a moment, lowering her eyes to the floor. She didn't know what to do. Absently, she started to hum, and the thunder boomed overhead. The horses! They had a new little colt that was bound to be spooked by the weather.

She ran outside, heading for the barn, and when she got there, Ty was already in the colt's stall, speaking to him softly. "I used to be afraid of thunder, too."

The little bay snorted. He laughed. "No, really. The rain didn't put my step-father in a good mood. So, I didn't like the rain. Got scared of the thunder. But you know what? It's not so scary any more."

The colt whinnied and tried to get at the food in his hand. "That's it. Good boy."

Amy cleared her throat. "Thanks for calming him down."

Ty nodded. "No problem."

"I can stay up with him. You've got school tomorrow."

"I don't mind," Ty admitted. "I wasn't sleeping anyway."

She nodded. She'd heard that much, and she couldn't believe she hadn't known about his thing with rainstorms before. Maybe that just showed how little she'd understood him. She'd never understood why he had to leave, and she'd never liked it. She'd hated his motorcycle at first. So much of Ty was a mystery to her, and as much as she'd thought she wanted to know him, to love him, she'd kept things between them, differences she refused to work around, because if she kept him away... She kept herself safe.

What she'd done wasn't fair. No, he wasn't blameless. She couldn't say that, either. And he knew it. They both did. They were both to blame, each for different things, choices they'd made, even if they didn't understand what those choices were, weren't even aware they were making them.

"I don't think I'll ever understand your need to wander around."

"That's because you've never run from anything, Amy. You dig in and fight with everything you've got. Running... Sometimes it seems easier."

"Is it?"

He shook his head. "For what it's worth, I should have told you. About Blair. I thought you wouldn't understand. She—I don't know what made her think I was interested, but I wasn't. I swear I wasn't. Maybe a passing glance or two, but nothing else. Still, I should have told you when you told me about Chase."

Amy sighed. "I never let you in, Ty. Not completely. All this time... I've been waiting for an excuse to push you away, and when I found out about Blair, I had one."

He looked at her. "Guess it wasn't meant to be, huh?"

"There's still something there, Ty. There will always be something there."

Thunder boomed outside the barn. The colt spooked, and Ty turned to try and calm him down. "How many second chances do you think we get?"

"Only one's supposed to be the second chance," he began. He looked over at her. "But... With you, Amy, I think I'd try as long as it took."

She felt something on her forehead, and looked up to see the barn was leaking. Rain had fallen on her head. She smiled despite everything. "Me, too."

Comments

[pigtailedgirl.livejournal.com]

I think it's absolutely lovely. I haven't read the books, and this felt just as natural as a scene in the show. I really like how you've written Amy here too.

[youngeratheart.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

I really wish that, if they'd had to go the route they did, that they could have done a scene like this on the show.