15 Gabriel

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Derick woke up the wailing of the alarm he had set from home. It was 7:00.

Remembering what had transpired last night he sighed. That was the closest he had come to telling her the truth about how he felt about her since they had met.

Taking his mind off it, he looked out the windows, encased with a second layer of ice and frost. He wiped it away and got exposed to winter at its worst, the dark side of almost everyone's favourite season.

The trees are naked and look as ancient as the elderly, contrasted by the trees that are still lucky to have their leaves standing elegantly despite the foggy atmosphere.

He could see stick figures, wrapped in coats and other warm accessories, breathing out great glaze as if it was a ghost escaping from their host and into the winter wonderland that is heaven.

White patches of frost were everywhere; the cars, the houses, the roads. The sky was devastating and the boy could make out the vehicles queuing up and down the streets, their lights and screams of the horns and engine exhaust fumes being spat out or trailing from behind.

Derick felt chilly and almost lost all feelings of his hands just by looking at the frostbite, hyperthermia-induced death trap. Being the first of December, who knows what this monstrous month has installed for him...perhaps snow? God, please no.

It then occurred to him that he only had twenty-four more days until Christmas. And no matter what the outcome of that day would be, it'll determine the case the two are going to have to solve tomorrow.

It was safe to say that Winter was Derick's least favourite season for a lot of reasons but to erasure it isn't the way to go.

Then again, he could just book a flight out of the country and stay there for the next three months if it gets too much.
But Derick is no quitter.

Despite this, he wasn't going to let bad weather spoil his plans. And, in no time at all, he went downstairs with his PJs to get breakfast, planning to have a shower afterwards.

Expecting to see a substantial amount of food, he was shocked to see that the kitchen and dining room were vacant. Apart from him and Chelsea - who is still asleep at this point, no one else was here.

Must be in the process of their daily shifts Derick thought as he grabbed a bowl of cereal and slurped it down with milk, devouring the thing like some wild, unkept and coarse canine.
When he was done, he saw Chelsea standing there, still wearing her nightgown. Derick flinched; he didn't hear her coming down the stairs.

He smiled and quickly rested his elbow on the table, acting as cool as possible, even though warm saturated milk was dripping down his mouth.
"Good morning." she meekly.
She had her eyes glued to the ground. Then she looked up and met Derick's gaze, and suddenly she felt that sense of comfort just staring into the boy's eyes.

Feeling flushed at her gaze being returned with equal fervour, she quickly looked to the kitchen to see what was going on in there and also to get a cup of hot chocolate and maybe a muffin.

"I decided to take you up on your offer."  She said, mouth full.

At first, Derick looked clueless, but, remembering the conversation she had with her last night, he triumphedly blasted off from his chair, using it like a launchpad to shoot up like a rocket. But coming back down, the chair tipped and smashed a little as it hit the ground.

Chelsea didn't so much as blink.
But Derick's backpedalling.
"As long as it's your decision," he whispered the words.

"Yes."

The boy couldn't keep the smile off his face and it remained the same an hour later. At that point, Derick wore a large bomber jacket - that he also got from home - and his new cap glistened in the warm sunlight.
He was still in the kitchen, packing a Mentos mint for the road.

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