12 Roses

11 | An Old Lady's Smile

You were staring at the dirt beneath you when Toge placed his hand under your chin and lifted it so you looked straightforward.

"The snow stopped," Toge told you pointedly.

You nodded and stood, holding out your hand to help him to his feet. "Let's go."

Without the storm, it was not as cold and the snow covering the ground wasn't as daunting as it was before. With the way it coated the trees and covered the ground, it was really beautiful.

Not that you were about to tell Toge that. He seemed to be angry at it.

You weren't really the greatest pair to be searching for someone, with one of you unable to hear nor speak clearly, and the other unable to speak at all.

Still, the old lady seemed to believe that you could. Somehow.

You tripped again, this time falling right into the snow. For someone who rushed through a shop four days a week, maneuvering around stands of plants and bags of seeds, with stacks of heavy pots in your arms, you were quite uncoordinated.

"Are you okay?" Toge asked.

You nodded, wondering what it was that you tripped on, and found that there was what looked like a fallen tree trunk under the snow. "It's the clearing we went to yesterday."

Toge looked around and nodded in agreement, somehow remembering the way the trees towered over the area.

Your eyes travelled further into the forest. The wind blew against your face, but rather than the sting of winter, it was a gentle breeze that didn't quite fit.

You took Toge's hand and began moving towards its source. That was when he heard someone laughing, loudly, and he went into a run, skipping the jog, and practically yanked you forward.

He moved around the boulder to see Maki, Yuta and Panda there — Maki looked injured, a rip in her pants at the knee with a large gash under the fabric.

"There you guys are!" Maki said. "I was waiting for you to come."

"What happened to your leg?!" you questioned wildly.

"I tripped on a low hanging branch, no big deal. Hurt too much to move, though, and the storm was pretty bad, so we went to this shack that used to hold my family's skiing stuff."

"...We stayed in a cave-thing."

You saw Maki laugh and you tried to laugh as well, although it felt like your cheeks were cracking.

Toge sighed. "We're glad you were safe from the storm."

You glanced at him, the panicked look in his eyes finally gone and replaced with relief. What you didn't understand still was what made him so horrified.

•••

"That kind of thing happens to other people," Maki assured, walking with Toge while you talked with Panda and Yuta up ahead. Well, talked in the way you usually "talked".

"That's..."

"And that's if they ever do happen. The old lady always says spooky stories like that. If so many people really died out here, I don't think people would be allowed to keep coming."

"I know, it just... worried me."

"You stay up watching videos of little horror stories on YouTube but you were spooked by an old lady saying you won't return from a passing snowstorm?"

He stared at you and shoved his hands in his pockets, not saying anything to further the conversation.

When she followed his gaze, she noticed the light blue scarf hanging around your neck. "Is Y/N wearing your scarf?"