Friday Barnes, The Biggest Mystery Yet

Stormy Skies and Stubborn Smiles

*First oneshot of the year! Hope you guys enjoy it! If anyone has any requests, please let me know!

It wasn't that Friday disliked Norway. The fjords were nice, the air was crisp, and the people minded their own business—a quality she highly valued. What she didn't appreciate was the relentless schedule of cultural excursions Ingrid insisted they embark upon, and she especially didn't like the fact the Spanish delegation decided to coincidently join them at every event.

Ian's pov~

"So how 's Thor, the god of...," This was my 7th attempt at prompting a conversation with Friday, which ended up exactly like the previous six. She gave me a stubborn smile and went as physically far away from me as possible. It was my idea to hijack Ingrid's tour to spend more time with her, but I guess instead of deodorant, I'm wearing Friday Astrella Barnes repellent...maximum strength.

She hadn't spoken to him since Ingrid's ball and once upon a time, I would revel in not having to see her, but now...its the cruelest form of torture. She hadn't spoke to me the entire day or even bothered to glance in my direction. Not at the museum, nor the seafood buffet, and definitely not for the two-hour nature hike to "fully absorb Norway's pristine beauty." I believe Ingrid had put it.

Clearly I needed to step up my charm game because come on! She can't really hate me, not again...right?

Right!

The idea of relaxing has become a foreign conclusion.

But now, as the sun dipped below the horizon and the modest cabin that nestled into the side of a mountain which marked the end of the trek had become cloaked in darkness. I give the girl props, she sure can be stubborn to a fault! But I can't complain, because technically I had spent the entire day with my girl, even if she doesn't know it yet. A wins a win, even if it takes staggering baby steps.

Rasmus had taken the initiative to light a fire in the cabin's hearth, the smell of burning wood mingling with the sharp, clean scent of rain drifting in through the slightly cracked window.

"Tea?" Binky offered, holding up a steaming mug.

Melanie, perched in an oversized armchair with her knees tucked up. Friday sat crossed legged on the floor next to the armchair, staring out the window. Then there was stupid Prince Arthur, who was leaning against the entrance, completely entranced by Friday and honestly I don't blame him, she's simply stunning, however...only one of us can make goo-goo eyes at her, and he has a head of luscious blonde locks. Cassandra snapped me out of my mental declaration of war and handed me a cup of coffee.

"Thanks. Is this your way of apologizing for nearly getting lost in the woods earlier? Where we nearly had to send out a search party?", my lousy attempt of trying to sound normal-ish

She smiled, but it didn't have the same alarming affect as Friday's did.

"I didn't get us lost. I was recalibrating."

"Right. 'Recalibrating' us off the trail and into a swamp."

She laughed, sitting next to him, but not too close. "Well, look at it this way—we made it back alive. And now we've got front-row seats to this."

She gestured toward the window, which just so happened to be where Friday was now situated next to. Yeah, the view is breathtaking.

And then there it was,the first flash of lightning lit up the sky.

Friday sipped her tea, watching as the storm rolled in. The cabin sat high enough on the mountainside to offer an uninterrupted view of the valley below, and the storm seemed to grow right out of the horizon. Lightning forked through the clouds, illuminating the jagged peaks in stark, otherworldly detail.