It started to snow. The first fall of snow for the winter. I exhaled and my cold breath cooled my lips and I could tell my complexion was getting paler because of the temperature. I'd been walking for a while now. I'd think I was lost if not for the streets. I had never walked this far before. I wore my finger-less gloves me grandmother made me before she died, accompanied with the grey beanie she also made. My green trench coat hugged me tight to keep my warm and my ugg boots and black leggings would make me look like a stereotypical tumblr girl.
I kept walking. The snow meeting my skin from time to time. I put my hands in my pockets, but felt dissatisfied and ended up crossing my arms. I walked by a big off-white house. Not all of the lights were on. I could hear laughter coming from inside. A boy walked out, but I couldn't really identify who. I just kept on walking, but then he called me.
"Anne?" He called out. I stopped and turned around to look at the boy who called.
"Jeremy. I should have known it was you. We seem to keep running into each other today." I said. He smiled a goofy smile and jogged to catch up to me. I noticed the tremendous amount of cars and looked at him. "You're having a party? Shouldn't you be inside, then?"
"Parent's party. Not really my kind of crowd." He joked. We both laughed, but my laugh didn't last long. He squinted his eyes. "What's wrong?" I hesitated.
"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong." I lied. His finger curved, he rubbed it against my nose, same way I scratch it, but this time in second person.
"Your nose is red, your eyes are red and puffy, you have tear stains on your cheeks, your cheeks seem pink-ish." He answered. "You've been walking for a while. In this weather. You must be freezing."
"I'm fine." I lied.
"You say that a lot."
"People seem to be interested in my well-being."
"Of course. You're a person."
"So, if I was a dog or a cat or an owl, they wouldn't be? Animals are not lesser than us. At least, I don't think so."
"Stop trying to change the topic." I was silenced by that. He knew my tactics already, and we'd only just met. "You've been crying. Why?"
"Nothing significant. I can promise it won't affect you in any way. Promise."
"That's not what I'm worried about."
"Worried about?" I asked, he looked down, sheepish. I could feel a little heat rush to my cheeks. "You worry about me?" I asked, a little hopeful.
"Well, yeah, of course I do."
"We just met. You don't know me." I reminded him.
"Just because we're not exactly friends doesn't mean we can't worry about each other." He smiled. He nonchalantly held my hand. He looked at our fingers intertwined, because I held it back. He smiled slightly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." I said, he raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed. "It's complicated."
"What isn't complicated about you, Anne Steele?"
"Nothing." I answered. "But it would be weird to tell you. Like you said, we aren't exactly close."
"And like you said; We keep running into each other." He answered. "Doesn't it seem like fate?"
"Fate?"
"Yeah, fate."
"I don't believe in fate. Otherwise, why would we be in charge of our own decisions? Why would we have free will?"
