When The Maple Leaves Freeze (Danmarch)

🍁🌸 Chapter Four 🍁🌸

Though he was sitting on the couch in the living room at nine in the morning, he'd been awake almost all night.

He had been woken by a nightmare about his secret being revealed in a public area, and he'd become too awake in anticipation for the events of the following day.

Well, perhaps anticipation is the wrong word.

After all, anticipation implies that he's excited for this trip, which he well isn't.

He slowly drinks his hot tea as he scrolls through his phone, mildly bored.

Since it was the start of spring break, he desperately wanted to look in to the mysterious B.H. Sky, the author of the article.

Well, at least he was going to the place the article is about.

Even if it was with the two most annoying people he's ever met.

"Are you all prepared? Have everything you need?" The black haired woman asks.

He nods.

It was a strange coincidence that she'd already known Miss Himeko, the person who would be taking the quartet to the beach.

"You don't look very excited." The black haired woman says.

"I'm not going there to play, I'm going there to do work." He says simply.

The black haired woman puts a hand on the top of his head and ruffles his hair.

"You could stand to go there to play, you know. Go have fun while you're still a child. I know you've had a hard life, but don't let it take away all of your childhood." She says kindly.

How ironic.

He hasn't felt like a child since he was seven.

"It's too late for that. Any childhood innocence I had is long gone by now." He says.

"Honestly. Seventeen and already talking like a jaded old man. You might think your innocence is long gone, but you'd be surprised." The black haired woman says. "Especially since you don't even know you had innocence until you lose it."

He stays silent and the black haired woman leaves to make herself coffee.

He leans back against the couch and stares at the ceiling.

He knew there were unspoken words in his sentence and he hated that.

He doesn't know how being a child felt like anymore.

He'd thrown that all away and now it was too late to go back.

Not that he wanted to anyways.

A strange feeling twists in his heart at that thought but he brushes it away.

Finally, a large silver car pulls up the driveway.

He takes a deep breath before opening the front door.

"Dan Heng, you have such a huge house! That's so cool!" March says excitedly.

She runs up to him and wraps him in a hug.

He stands like a statue, unsure of what to do about the shorter girl clinging to him.

"March, please don't do that if he doesn't want it." A girl about as tall as March says politely.

He doesn't recognize her greyish blond hair and colorful eyes.

He hasn't met her before.....so could this be...?

"Fine, fine!" March says, removing herself from the hug she'd forced upon him.

"Hi! I'm Firefly. We haven't met yet, but I hope we can get along." The new girl says.