Snowflake Trilogy ~ Posie Oneshots

Snowflakes in Her Hair (Josie POV)

"When you're young - you just run - but you come back to what you need."

The scent of freshly baked pastries and vanilla candles fill the busy little room. Outside, fluffy white snowflakes collect on the windowsills, and frosty patterns cover the edges of the steamy glass. But in here, tucked away from the winter storm, the room is bathed in a golden glow. The little fireplace in the corner keeps away the chill, and the fairy lights hung across the walls and candles on every table twinkle.

People are scattered across the room. Some sit at the round, wooden tables, chatting with friends or just sipping their coffee in silence as they read a book. One couple is occupying the dark blue couch in the front corner, nervously trying to impress each other on a first date. A long line of customers stretches down the counter, waiting for another coffee or pastry from the oven. And every now and then, someone will wander over to the bookshelves that cover the back wall in search of a novel they haven't read before.

I used to think that I would leave Mystic Falls. I dreamt of living by the ocean with Lizzie and Hope or a glamorous life of traveling around Europe with my Mom. But Mystic Falls is my home, and it probably always will be. I left for a few years to go to college and be on my own for a bit, but I could never really ignore the feeling that I wasn't where I was supposed to be. Only a few months after graduation, I heard that the owners of my old favorite coffee shop in town were moving, and that it was for sale. Whether it was destiny or a random coincidence, I'll never know.

As soon as I had packed all of my stuff and said my goodbyes, I drove back to Mystic Falls and began to turn the coffee shop and the apartment above it into a home. Even though it was far from what I had planned, this life is perfect. There's nothing I would change. Well... that's not exactly true.

Sometimes, it still feels like yesterday that Penelope Park left me standing alone in the hallway at The Salvatore School. It took years for me to be ready for anything more than a one time date with anyone else. And even then, it never seemed to last. Over and over, I would tell myself that it was just some high school romance and that it was time to forget and move on. I had a couple serious relationships while I was away, but they would inevitably fall apart, when I realized and admitted that they would never come close to what I had with Penelope. It just didn't seem worth it to settle, when I knew that there could be so much more.

There's a reason that fairy lights and vanilla candles are the only things that can make me feel truly at home. In my apartment upstairs, a fluffy white blanket like the one from her old room covers my bed. And every morning, I still put on a few drops from one of the many bottles of lavender perfume she gave me.

She couldn't be farther away, and I doubt I'll ever see her again - but on my saddest and loneliest days, the memory of her love keeps me safe and warm. If I had one wish, it would be to tell her that. I would tell her how I finally understand why our relationship didn't work. I know why she did what she did, and although it took me years, I've forgiven her for every moment of pain she ever caused me. At last, I've become the person I needed to be in order to make it work with her. I've learned to prioritize myself, while still loving and caring for the people around me. And not that it matters anymore, but I know that a second of my life without her in it is a second wasted - and I can't afford to waste another moment.

~~~

"Umm I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

A handsome young man is waving at me from the other side of the counter, a slightly concerned expression on his face.

"Sorry!" I shake my head. Now is not the time to be thinking about Penelope. I'm supposed to be working for at least another hour. "What did you say?"