Lovers in October

THIRTEEN

M A R Y - K A T E

"The snow storm is expected to hit tomorrow afternoon, with temperatures falling drastically. All roads are expected to be closed due to heavy snowfall, with all citizens advised to buy all essential products and necessities in advance in case things take a turn for the worst. Transportation will advised to be kept at a minimum to avoid any-"

Charlie suddenly covered the screen with her hands, her thumb pressing the button that turned the whole screen black. She tilted her head to the side as she watched Mary-Kate with an arched brow, a strand of fallen hair falling out of the bun, curling up next to her ear.

"How many times are you going to watch that?"

"It's my first snow storm." Mary-Kate exclaimed and put the phone aside. "I wanna be prepared."

"It's a snow storm, not the end of the world." Charlie chuckled and pulled Mary-Kate's arms to get her up, Mary-Kate now giving up on resisting and getting to her feet after a hundred times that Charlie had attempted to do that.

Mary-Kate could very much disagree, the idea of a snowstorm making her uneasy. Spending it alone wasn't something she was particularly looking forward to, for Grey couldn't do much in case of an emergency. She had never gone through a storm like this back home, and the lack of experience was leaving back a sour feeling of anxiety at the roof of her mouth.

She wanted snow and now she had gotten snow, plenty of it.

But she wasn't six anymore, and she liked to believe that she was capable enough to go through troubling times with no assistance, no matter how unpleasant those times seemed to be. She would have food, water, the company of her cat and all the movies her heart desired. She would be okay for as long as it would last, for that she was certain.

Once practise was done, it was time for Mary-Kate and Charlie to stock up on supplies, their trolleys strolling with the push of their hands against marble floors. As they both expected the store was full of people buying food for their own homes, filling up their trolleys to the brim, getting a second one if needed. But Mary-Kate's was not as full as she had barely started her roaming with Charlie, crossing out items from the list she had made before leaving home.

Two small milk cartons were dropped in the trolley before Mary-Kate started walking again, closing up the zipper of her jacket as she felt a chill cause her skin to get covered in goosebumps. Charlie did the same and pushed her trolley next to Mary-Kate's, careful not to bump into any other shopper.

"So," Charlie breathed out, gaining Mary-Kate's attention. "What's going on between you and Antonio? You've been spending a lot of time together lately."

Mary-Kate smiled as she shook her head, knowing how this question was coming long before Charlie even thought about it. She had asked about Antonio precisely thirty-seven minutes ago, and Mary-Kate knew her coy answer wouldn't satisfy her nosy friend. Afterall, she answered vaguely on purpose, taking a liking to how badly Charlie wanted to know every single detail and the battle she watched her have with herself every time she tried to not ask any questions.

"We're just hanging out, that's all." Mary-Kate answered, unable to contain the shy grin that now rested on her hydrated lips. She tried to disguise it with the turn of her head in the opposite direction, unsuccessfully against Charlie's eagle eye.