Dreamjumper

Chapter One

The street was hazy with morning fog, the sun filtering softly through the mist; snowflakes glittered as they drifted through the air.

A few landed on my lips and eyelashes, melting into cold drops on my skin. It felt amazing; it made me feel alive.

My breath clouded as I exhaled, and my lungs filled with crisp air as I breathed in again. The cold chilled every inch of my body, of which I was grateful.

Intricate patterns swirled everywhere, surrounding me with a delicate beauty. It was the sort of beauty someone could overlook, and instead of a pleasure mistake it for a nuisance.

One of those people was Lance Kinney.

"God, these things are so annoying!" He ran a hand through his golden hair, dusting off a few snowflakes. He unwrapped his scarf and tied it around his neck tighter, to keep it from slipping off his mouth.

I shook my head, a small smile dancing across my lips. "You've got some here, too." I brushed a light dusting of snow off his backpack.

"Thanks," Lance said, his voice muffled through his barricade.

I looked over at him as he walked alongside me, taking in his warm ensemble. He had tugged a blue winter hat and white earmuffs over his blond hair, and his coat was zipped up to the top. He was wearing the biggest, black winter boots she had ever seen, along with two scarves. He had also pulled on a pair of ultra-thick mittens and two pairs of woolly socks.

This was typical Lance behavior – always taking every possible precaution, stressing over the smaller things. I didn't know quite how to describe Lance, but if I had to, I would say that he was one of those people who don't realize that fighting against the current is harder than flowing with it.

"Lance," I said quietly, the sound of their boots hitting the sidewalk and the whistling wind drowning out my own voice.

"Yeah?" he asked, his voice warped with irritation.

"Isn't it nice today?" I couldn't help but smile as I looked over at him.

He turned to meet my gaze, his blue eyes bright behind his thick-rimmed black glasses. "Yeah, I guess it is."

There was a happy sort of silence between us for a moment, as we walked together down the narrow street.

Our friendly silence was one of the many things that I loved about walking with Lance to school each morning; it was the best part of the day, where I could forget everything that was bothering me. From the moment I walked out the door and heard him crack a joke, to the moment I got to school while he raved about his topic of the day, I felt at home.

"I think my toes are going to fall off," Lance declared, wiggling his toes to inspect. "They're doing fine, but they won't be for long. Will you call an ambulance for me if I don't make it to school?"

"I'll call one for you even if we do get to school. They'd just tell you to lie down and wait for them to grow back," I laughed, the snow crunching under my boots as we turned the corner.

"High school – society's only exception for basic logic," Lance shrugged, banging his toe off the ground to try and get some feeling back into it. Suddenly, his face brightened. "Speaking of no logic, did you finish the book for English class?"

I turned to him, bewildered. Did our teacher really assign us a book to read on winter break? I had been kind of out of it the week before school let out. "What book?" I asked, my chest starting to swell up with panic.

Lance cocked his head. "The one I just made up," he said, his face dead serious.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him. "I liked you better when you didn't pull this BS on me. That is NOT funny. Stop laughing."