Invisible String (w|w high school romance)

Snowfall

Harper POV:

I woke up to find that Riley wasn't next to me. I sat up quickly and went to check the time. It was 10am. It makes sense for her to already be awake but she's disappeared on more than one occasion so I was starting to get worried.

I heard a clang come from downstairs and quickly shot out of bed. I ran so fast down the stairs that I slipped and almost fell. When I got to the bottom of the stairs I could see Riley looking at me from the kitchen. She must've heard me running.

"Well good morning." Riley said with a cheeky smile. "What has you rushing down the stairs so quickly?"

I looked around to see that she was making pancakes on the griddle. "Nothing, I could just smell the food." I lied to which Riley laughed. She then turned her attention back to the pancakes. Riley is right handed so she struggled to flip the pancakes with her left hand.

I walked over and stood behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist and leaning my head on her shoulder. She took in a sharp breath, surprised. "Let me help with this." I said as my other hand found hers that was holding the spatula. I guided her hand, helping her flip all the pancakes.

When we were done flipping them, Riley placed the spatula on the counter and turned around in my arms to face me. My hands rested on her waist and hers were on my shoulders. A look of something flashed in her eyes but it was gone too quickly for me to judge it. Before I could say anything she gently nudged me off her and walked over to the coffee pot. I walked over and grabbed her non-injured hand, urging her to look at me.

"Hey what's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing." She replied before dropping my hand to go back to making coffee. She was struggling to open the tin of coffee grounds with her one arm in the sling so I reached over and gently took it from her. "Here I got it. You go relax while I finish breakfast." I said. She simply just nodded and went to sit on the couch.

I went back over to the griddle, taking off the now ready pancakes before brewing a pot of coffee. When the coffee was done, I poured a cup for each of us before walking over to the fridge. I grabbed Riley's favorite creamer and poured it generously into her coffee before pouring a smaller amount in mine.

When I finished making breakfast I turned the griddle off before carrying the food over to the couch. When I walked into the living room however, I was surprised to see that Riley wasn't on the couch anymore. I placed our dishes of food and the coffee mugs on the coffee table before walking around to look for her.

I found her sitting on the steps of the back patio with her arms resting on her knees. Snow was gently falling, starting to cover the trees and grass. I quietly opened the sliding door and stepped outside to join her. I went and sat quietly next to her on the steps. She kept her attention on the snow falling in front of her. We sat in silence for a few moments before she spoke.

"What does this mean for us?" She asked nervously, still not looking at me. I placed my hands on the ground behind me and leaned back slightly. "I was hoping that it means you'll give me a second chance." I said quietly.

I turned my head to look at her, resting it on my shoulder. She turned to me as well, her gaze meeting mine. I watched her, trying to gauge her reaction but her expression stayed neutral. "I should be the one asking you for a second chance." Riley whispered quietly. 

I frowned slightly before sitting up and wiping my hands on my pants. I reached over and took her hand in mine, slowly rubbing circles over the back of it with my thumb. Her beautiful eyes stared into mine, never once looking away.

"No I'm the one who should be apologizing. I was so scared about losing you when you move away for college next fall that I freaked out when I found out about Notre Dame. I should've been there for you and supported you because even  though I didn't show you then, I was so fucking proud of you." I said, tears starting to fill my eyes.