Elsa

Two

"Strömgard, Elsa," the trip leader calls. I step forward with my bags. The sun is barely peeking over the horizon now, and everywhere I look I see people yawning. The lady motions me climb aboard the bus with all the other students whose names have already been called.

"Tuthenko, Ariana."

 Ariana follows me up the steps onto the bus.

"Westergaard, Hans."

I take a seat near the back, hoping to be lost in the shadows for at least a while. I watch Ariana as she sees someone she knows and takes a seat near the middle of the bus. For a second I feel sad that she won't be sitting with me, but when I stretch my feet out on the seat next to me the feeling dissipates. 

The trip leader stands at the front of the bus and checks her list. She nods, satisfied, and closes the bus doors.

There's no way out of this trip now. I sigh and try to relax.

The bus rolls forward, and for a few hours everything is quiet. People are trying to catch a little bit more sleep. I begin to get restless and shuffle through my bag, looking for something to read. 

"Can't sleep?"

I jump at the voice and look across the aisle. There's a boy there. I hadn't even noticed him. He smiles slightly and pushes his black hair off his forehead. 

"Sorry," I say, mostly out of habit. I close my bag and turn away, hoping to avoid further conversation.

"No," he says. "I can't sleep either. Not in a bus with a bunch of strangers."

I look at my feet. He doesn't even know.

"You don't know anyone here?" I ask. He doesn't look like one of the outcast kids. I've seen the outcasts- unhygienic, poorly dressed, unfriendly people. But this guy is... good looking.

More good looking than I'd like to admit. Now that I see him sitting there I don't really want to look away.

"There's a few people I have class with- like Aaron, over there," he says, gesturing to someone ahead of us. He looks back at me. "My name's Pierce. Pierce Black." He extends his hand.

I shake it and respond, "Elsa Strömgard."

"Your hands are freezing," he states, pulling his own away.

I recoil, trying not to let fear show up on my face. What a great first impression. I immediately regret the small talk and try to look busy, searching my bag again.

"Have you ever been skiing before?"

I stop and glance at Pierce. "Um... no," I answer. He's obviously waiting for me to ask him the same question, so I sit up and fold my hands in my lap. "You?"

"Once or twice."

The two people sitting in the row in front of me are awake now. They start talking, holding a casual conversation. I peer over their heads and see that lots of people are coming from sleep, and the whole bus is a little more alive. I turn back to Pierce, but he's looking out the window.

His jawline is impeccable.

***

When we stop for lunch, Ariana sits beside me at the cheap gas station restaurant. "Hey, sweetheart," she says, squeezing my hand. "How's the drive going for you?"

"It's fine," I say. It's been quiet, really.

"Who are you sitting by?"

I scan the room, but I don't see Pierce anywhere. "Um, this guy named Pierce." I take a bite of my food. "Do you know him?"

She shrugs. "I don't recognize the name. What does he look like?"

I feel my face redden, just thinking about his looks. Ariana notices. Her jaw drops and she slaps my hand.

"Elsa!" she exclaims playfully. I pull my hand away and roll my eyes. "Seriously, what does he look like?" She straightens in her chair and looks around the room. I whack her foot under the table.

"He's not in here," I hiss.

She settles back down and picks at her food. "It's only been six hours and you're already making a hot new friend. I didn't know that was possible, Elsie!"

"Please don't call me Elsie." I grab my fork. "And don't call him a-" I fall silent.

"A hot new friend?"

"He's not even my friend, we said maybe three sentences to each other."

"But he's still hot."

I will my face to cool off. Why is it that the one time I need to be cold is the time I can't make it happen? "Quiet, Ariana."

She's smiling, but she stops. "I'm gonna watch where you sit. I've gotta see this guy."

As we climb back onto the bus, I glance at the back where Pierce had been sitting. I don't see him, and I relax a bit. Maybe he'll sit somewhere else, and Ariana won't be making eyes at me the whole rest of the trip.

The bus is already rolling down the road when I look over at his empty seat and gasp, because it's not empty. He's sitting there.

"Pierce!" I exclaim. Then I clap a hand over my mouth, because there's no reason for me to be shouting his name just because he's sitting in the seat that he'd been sitting in before. I can't believe I didn't see him get on the bus. I tried not to watch for him, but... I totally did.

He looks over at me. "Elsa!" he says, mimicking my tone.

I swallow. "Sorry. You just... you scared me."

He chuckles. "There's a reason my friends call me Pitch Black."

I tilt my head. "Why do they call you that?"

"Because no one ever sees me."

My eyes connect with his, and I feel something pass between us. "I know what that feels like." It's not a lie. I do know what it feels like to never be seen. The difference is that I force myself to be unseen. That doesn't mean I enjoy it. It would be nice for someone to see me sometimes. To notice me.

Being invisible is a good way to hide my powers. It's also a good way to be lonely.

And I am.

We don't say anything else. I watch out the window as the bus turns off the highway and starts climbing into the mountains. Every once in a while, snow flurries around us. The white blanket on the ground gets thicker and thicker. The sun is setting behind the horizon of mountain peaks when the bus comes to stop in front of a big ski lodge. Light spills from the enormous windows.

Everyone spills off the bus, with Pierce and I bringing up the last of the group. I step into the snow outside and feel the cold air touch my face.

"Welcome to North Winds lodge," a woman in a red sweater says to us all. "Dinner is waiting for you inside."

Whoops and hollers from the more enthusiastic students fill the air. I'm starving, too, but not enough to yell about it.

As we all head inside, I take a deep breath of the chilly air and feel months of tension begin to melt away. I let the group get ahead of me and stop on the steps of the lodge. I bend down and press my hands against the snow. As I raise them, an unintentional streak of ice sprays into the step.

I pause, but a quick glance at the door and I see that everyone's already inside.

I stand up and straighten my sleeves. Then I see that everyone's not already inside.

Pierce is standing by the doorway. Watching me.