Heather in Small Heath

Sparked Souls

"If we have to burn,

let's take a few more with us." ~ Ray Bradbury

October, 2017. Cannon.

The nearly-unbearable heat of the bonfire allowed Heather to hide the flush of her cheeks from the man now wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

'Breathe,' the Tremblay girl thought to herself, smiling up at her friend while he continued telling her about his day. 'He doesn't mean anything by this.'

But, as man's gray eyes glinted and danced in the firelight, all of Heather's thoughts simply faded away as she took in how beautiful his freckles looked in the firelight.

'Oh, but how I wish he wanted more.'

The man's brown curls were now past his ears and were currently in a brown ponytail. His red flannel and dark blue jeans seemed to blend right into the crowd which was gathered for the Rosewall's annual Autumnal celebration. Each year, during the last weekend of October, the Rosewall family hosted a party in the middle of the grove they owned, cooking and baking numerous meats, drinks, and pastries for anyone who was willing to come and who even slightly knew the family.

Natalie Rosewall called it a 'Last Light Celebration', as it was close to the time when the clocks were moved back and the light of day would become less frequent.

Heather thought it was fitting, the fire now glowing brighter as the sun began to creep closer towards the horizon.

"Want some coffee or wassail?" Theo asked, bringing her in closer when he felt her shiver.

"Surprise me," Heather requested, wrapping her arm around his waist and giving it a squeeze. "You know how I take my coffee if you get me some."

"Got it, boss," Theo teased, rubbing her shoulder gently with his thumb before letting go. "Be back in a sec."

The chill of the late afternoon wind seemed to creep along Heather's skin, causing her to take another step towards the fire in pursuit of warmth. As she waited for her friend to come back, the brunette woman looked around the crowd of familiar and semi-familiar faces, observing the actions and conversations happening before her.

What the Tremblay girl did not notice, however, was a certain brunette sneaking up behind her in order to scare her.

Unfortunately for the other brunette, Heather had years of training.

"You should know better by now, Louisa," Heather smirked down at the giggling woman who had found herself flung to the ground by the younger woman's instincts. "You lived with Theo for how many years? And he has never thrown you?"

"Oh," Louisa answered, jumping right back up as if nothing had happened. "He certainly has. I just always seem to forget."

Heather kept smiling at Louisa Rosewall. It was hard not to smile around the older girl, her infectious grin causing her cheeks to puff out in a attractive manner, and her short, brown curls always dancing to their own tune while the woman moved around.

Right now, though, Heather was smiling at a leaf which was being strangled by said curls.

"Have you asked him out yet?" Louisa questioned, wrapping her arm around Heather's and leaning her head on the Tremblay girl's shoulder.

Heather sighed, glancing over at the pavilion where the man in question was currently ladling hot wassail into a to-go cup, smiling and talking to an older woman on his right.

"You know why I can't," Heather whispered softly, her gaze turning melancholy as she glanced back down at Louisa.

"And I'm telling you that I would bet my life's savings that he wouldn't say no," the Rosewall girl shot back defiantly, her snort afterwards vibrating against Heather's arm. "Trust me on that one, yeah?"