Rain's parents grounded her for a week. I could only see her at school. I kept working with her as I took my time with her. We talked, and when she didn't want to talk, we didn't speak.

I tried something to see how she would react. It was a simple gesture. As I walked her to class, I reached down and touched her hand. She recoiled a little. Okay, I will need to work on this gesture.

Each day, I did the same thing, and each day, she recoiled less and less. It progressed.

Then one day, I did it again, but this time she didn't recoil. She allowed me to hold her hand. To me, this was amazing. To her, she didn't make a big deal about it.

Baby steps.

At one point, I was talking to the guys as she stood there. Now, here was the thing about Rain. I noticed she would watch other people, trying to learn social cues. Since she lacked in that area, she would try to emulate what other people did. I learned this quickly.

I also learned to follow her lead, and if she was emulating someone, she was trying to learn. This behavior was something that I forgot. She was that astute.

As we talked, I felt a hand slide into mine, and fingers interlock with mine. I looked down and noticed Rain was holding my hand. I looked at her, and she smiled. I smiled back. There was a progression.

It's the little things that meant something. I know people would be like hurry, but with someone who had Autism, you can't rush things no matter what. They do things in their own time and own way.

Rain became accustomed to holding hands. She was hesitant at first, but slowly, she became more comfortable with it. It was nice. There's no pressure and no rushing.

When her grounding ended, I spent time with her. Besides playing board games, we also played My Little Pony. Yes, I played with the toy ponies because she liked them.

"Oh, Twilight Sparkle, we must hurry," I said in a high pitch voice.

"Fluttershy, we'll hurry before Nightmare Moon arrives," she said as we moved the ponies around.

She became so animated as we played. Then, after a while, we took a break. We sat on her floor, surrounded by ponies.

"I like this," she said.

"What?"

"That you play My Little Pony with me. I know people think it's babyish and weird, but to me, it's easy. People are hard," she said as I looked at her.

"How so?"

"I know people think I act like a child because I play with toys, but toys are fun and don't make fun of you. They don't call you names or laugh. The toys want someone to play with them. I want to think so," she shrugged.

"You have this whole other world to you. I think people don't understand it," I reasoned.

"Oh, they understand it, but they don't care. Most people are too self-absorbed with themselves to care. They think because I have autism, it makes me stupid, weird, or beneath them. I know I have autism. I know it's a neurological disorder. I know I don't relate to people well because they make no sense." She shook her head.

"Then it explains it to me," I suggested. I wanted to hear Rain's opinion on things.

"I watch people. I hear and see everything they do. They act childish when they want to be adults. They're condescending to others because they think they're perfect. They judge without listening. But they never listen to people. They hear what they want to hear and not everything. If it doesn't interest them or fit their ideals, then they don't care," Rain explained.

I looked at her as I listened.

"People assume without getting facts. They say one thing and do something else, which is the definition of hypocrisy. Having a neurological disorder doesn't make you stupid or less of a person; It makes it harder for you to understand different things. It's simple when you break it all down. Explain to me, and I understand. Treat me like I'm stupid, and I ignore you. Why do I want to associate with people like that?" She asked me.

Wow, she had a lot of valid points.

"I think we forget that everyone is human and has feelings because they don't see the human aspect," I said to her.

"No, people are ignorant. They're uneducated," she corrected me.

I sat there, amazed how insightful she was. There was more to Rain than anyone realized. Everyone looked at her one way, but when you went more in-depth, you saw so much more.

"Why are you looking at me like that? It's weird," she said to me.

"I was thinking of taking you on a date. What do you think?"

"Are you going to be late and make me think you stood me up," she asked me.

"Well, no, I don't plan on it," I replied.

"We don't plan on a lot of things, but shit happens." She shrugged. I looked at her, shocked. I've never heard her swear before, which was new to me.

"Okay, I promise not to be late," I told her.

"Okay, then I will go on a date with you. I want anything noisy or lots of lights. It bothers my brain," Rain said as she grinned at me.

I chuckled.

"I promise no noisy places and not a bunch of lights," he smiled.

"Then it's a date," she said.

"It's a date," I agreed.

We went back to playing with the ponies before I left to go home. I walked inside my house, and Dad looked at me. "Did you have fun, but not too much fun? I need not be a grandpa yet."

"I want babies. I need cheeks to pinch," Mom yelled from the kitchen.

"No babies," Dad said firmly.

"Aw," she said.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, Rain is amazing."

Mom came into the living room, wiping off her hands. "Aw, my baby is in love."

"Mom!" I groaned.

"There is nothing wrong with being in love. Now, don't be a doof and marry this girl. Give me lots of babies," she said emphatically.

"It's disturbing how much you want babies," I said to her.

"I'm Italian. We have big families. Well, somewhat," she said, giving Dad a look.

"What? I did the best I could," he shrugged.

"Well, Antonio can give me lots of babies," she told him.

I let them argue while I went upstairs. I think a date should come first before any babies. My mom is crazy.

I got ready for bed and laid on it. I thought about my date with Rain. I think I knew what to do, but I would need some help, and I knew who to ask to help me.