Four letter word

13. Coffee dates.

On a Sunday morning, Lindsey had decided to have breakfast at a cafe and of course she had dragged AJ with her. It was pointless trying to wake Riley up, so the two had left without her.

They were sitting outside the nearest cafe. It was a bit warmer that day and they had decided to enjoy the winter air. AJ was wearing her long black coat which kept her warm and Lindsey had put on a jacket three sizes too big and was rubbing her hands together. The waiter brought out a large mug full of green tea and another one with black coffee as well as two croissants.

AJ wrapped her reddened hands around the hot mug and sipped on her tea.

"I miss summer so badly, bro. This place is way cooler when it's hot out. And the fountain is turned off too now, it looks so lifeless" Lindsey said as she stared at the fountain which was covered with heavy snow. Everything around them was white.

"I don't know... I quite like the snow" AJ shrugged. She watched to kids far away throw snowballs at each other and smiled. A similar memory from her childhood had resurfaced - building a snowman with her parents in their cottage home. It was a nice memory. She cherished all the good memories she had since there weren't a lot from her early years.

"Sorry, but I can't stand the cold. I'm freezing my butt off" she said.

"It wad your idea to sit outside" AJ chuckled and sipped her tea.

"And I stand by it!" She raised her index finger as if she had said something very important. She was wearing gloves so it looked even sillier. AJ smiled, making Lindsey grin like a little kid, "it's not as cold today, so I'm going to enjoy it" she stated.

"Okay" she answered.

"No, I already told you that I can't be there for Buck's birthday" a voice came close to them and they both looked to see who it was. Dana was walking towards the cafe with a phone pressed against her ear and her other hand busy caring three large shopping bags, "because I'll be busy!" She stopped to scream at her phone then took a deep breath to calm herself, "I just... won't be able to make it. Goodbye now" she said very calmly and hung up, then took another deep breath.

AJ and Lindsey shot awkward looks at each other, then looked back at Dana, who finally noticed the two.

"Oh, I thought I recognized you, but my eyesight is really bed from afar, so I couldn't be sure" she said in a high pitched judgmental tone.

"Hey, Dana. Having a good day?" Lindsey asked.

"Ugh, not so much" she said and looked around to find an empty chair, though all the other chairs outside were empty, who else would be crazy enough to sit outside in such cold. She pulled at one of the chairs, but couldn't lift it with one hand, "could you?" She looked at Lindsey.

"Eh... sure" the blonde got up and grabbed the chair to put it next to their table. Dana sat down with the two and continued explaining why her day wad bad, "my cousin's birthday is coming up and mum want me to be there, but the woman just won't get it into her head that I'm busy with the academy. Does she want me to learn and be successful or does she want me to attend all the stupid birthday parties? And I'm not even close to my cousin, Buck. He tried to steal my toys when we were younger"

"That sucks" Lindsey replied.

"Anyways, why are you two sitting outside. It's freezing" Dana said and rubbed her arms.

AJ shrugged.

"We're enjoying the slightly better weather, compared to the rest of the week" Lindsey explained.

"Yes, I suppose it is a bit warmer" Dana noted, "anyways, I should get my coffee to go and get going. Got a lot to do today. Bye, ladies" she said and stood up to go inside.

"Bye" they both said to her and waited for her to disappear inside, then looked at each other and chuckled.

"That was weird" Lindsey said.

"Yeah, kinda" AJ agreed.

"You know, there's a big chance she doesn't even remember our names, just recognised our faces" she grinned.

"Probably. I'm actually bad with names too" AJ explained and sipped the last of her tea and finished her croissant. Lindsey was done with her food as well and the two decided to leave.

On the way back to the academy, Lindsey walked slowly behind AJ, who seemed to be in thought. Until she got hit in the head with a snowball. When she looked back, Lindsey was grinning at her with mischievous eyes.

"Oh, you-" AJ said and knelt to pick up some of the snow and make a ball out of it. She threw it at Lindsey, but missed. The two started a snow war and didn't stop until they were both absolutely exhausted.

Somehow they ended up laying down in the snow, breathing heavily. White snow everywhere - on their clothes, in their hair, some in their mouths even.

Lindsey turned her head to AJ and burst out laughing. AJ laughed as well, "that was fun" the blonde said.

"Yeah, I haven't been in a snowball fight for a while" AJ said.

"Really? Well you're in for a war with me. I won't rest until I have you eating snow" she threatened playfully and AJ let out a laugh again.

"Okay. Looking forward to it" She replied and Lindsey turned fully on her side to face AJ, who only turned her head. They were laying on the road in the middle of a forest which lead to the academy.

"I'm glad we ended up as roommates" Lindsey said, "you're a lot of fun, AJ"

AJ looked away and hoped her face wasn't completely red. She was terrible at handling compliments, "oh... thanks"

"No, seriously. You're like the best roommate ever" she said, excitedly. AJ couldn't help but compare her to a little puppy. She was adorable, but her confidence was still intimidating to AJ.

"I think Riley would be jealous" AJ smiled.

"Riley's a great roommate too. And she's my best friend. I hope you and I can be best friends too. I like you a lot" she shrugged and grinned again... just like a little puppy.

Best friends... is that what AJ wanted. She didn't know.

"Yeah... I hope so too. And I like you" she answered, despite her concern and then the two went quiet. For some time Lindsey kept grinning at AJ and looking at her with her giant blue eyes.

But in a split second, AJ noticed Lindsey's gaze drop to her lips. It happened so quickly you would barely notice. Then she looked back up into AJ's eyes and sat up, "come on, we should go back to the dorm. I think I'm hungry again" she said and rubbed her stomach, then stretched out a hand for AJ to take and they both got up.

What surprised AJ was that Lindsey didn't let go of her hand as they continued to walk back to the academy. She pretended as if everything was normal, but kept holding tight onto AJ's hands. Plus the brunette wasn't wearing gloves so her hand was warm in Lindsey's.

When they got back, AJ felt a weird blooming feeling in her chest, as if a heavy weight was lifted. And she sat on the couch as Lindsey went into the kitchen to cook herself something. It seemed that she had decided on pasta.

In that moment, as AJ sat on the armchair with her hands wrapped around her legs, she thought of a million scenario with her and Lindsey together. She imagined them holding hands again, cuddling as they slept, watching movies together and even kissing. She couldn't help it. She always got into her head about the smallest things. But the she was also bother by the thought that the hand holding might have meant nothing and Lindsey was just being overly friendly as she usually was. AJ just didn't know what to think. And by the time she managed to snap out of her thought, Lindsey had already made pasta and was calling for her and Riley who had finally woken up.

                                              ~*~