Cocoa Butter Kiss

Oh, Snow Princess...

"No. I don't want to talk about it."

She whispers, sitting down on her bed. They were in her room, and it was mid September. She usually started on her Christmas things around this time. She didn't have to though, she had been living at Christmas central all year.

"Come on, baby. I know something is wrong."

Bernard says, crouching down in front of her to be in a place where she can see him. He was worried for his girlfriend, he didn't want her to keep everything bottled up. That wasn't healthy.

"Nothing is wrong."

Alexis continues to protest his claim, not telling him anything but that she was fine. She does this a lot, as Bernard had learned, so he was more persistent with her than he was when he first met her.

"Why are you lying to me?"

He asks her softly, love and compassion in his voice and eyes. She really was his entire world, so it hurt him to see her like this. He just wanted to make it all better.

"I'm not lying!"

She says, refusing to look him in the eyes. She would not look him in the eyes when she lied. It was a tall tale sign that she was lying. She won't look you in your eyes for anything.

"Yes, you are. I know something is wrong."

He says, pushing her a bit more. He pushed her over the edge though. She never really lashed out, but most of the time it was because of her sadness instead of her anger.

"Okay! You want to know? I lost my entire future to this place!"

She snaps, throwing her hands up and looking him in the eyes finally. He wanted the truth from her, and that's what he got. He just got it in a slightly aggressive manner.

There was a beat of silence where Bernard just stared at Alexis. This place took her future? What did she mean by that? How can a place take her future?

"What?"

He whispers, placing a hand on her knee to comfort her. He doesn't want her bottling everything up, so he would sit here and listen to her for hours. As long as she's okay.

"Everything that I had in front of me is gone because of this place!"

She said, bursting into tears. She was genuinely upset about this. She had her life in front of her, so many things she could do, and now it's all gone. She lost all of it.

"How?"

He slowly got up and sat next to her on the bed, bringing her into his arms to comfort her. He wants her to feel better, so he held her and rubbed her back while he let her talk and get it all out.

"I can't go to college, I can't get a job I love, I'm just stuck here!"

She says, crying into his chest as she finally tells him how she feels. She never intended on upsetting him, but she just needs to tell him the truth. She just has to put it out into the open.

"You don't like working here...?"

He whispers, sadness in his voice. He thought she loved it at the Pole. He thought she adored this place just as much if not more than him. He sees the joy it brings her, he thought that she wouldn't want to leave.

"No! That's not what I'm saying, pumpkin! It's just that- I had an entire plan."

She says, getting defensive. She didn't want to hurt him, she wanted to make him happy. But, it was the truth. She had a plan. She knew what she wanted to do with her life. She had that all taken from her.