Snow in California

i. i'll be home for christmas

Ever since her boyfriend, who is three years her senior, left for college, walking up to his house during the morning of Christmas Eve have become a tradition for Adyson Howard. She'll expect him to be there, welcoming her with a warm hug that she has been hopelessly craving ever since they went long-distance. And maybe a kiss, if they happen to stand under a mistletoe. Or not.

(Whether or not they were standing under a mistletoe, Adyson and Chris sure loves to snog each other.)

Afterwards, she'll spend the rest of the day with Chris's family--the Sweetwaters are a great deal of fun, and the fact that Chris's grandma bakes killer Christmas cakes isn't helping matters, either--before snuggling next to him that night, watching Love Actually while sipping on hot cocoa even though the weather outside is certainly far from the frigid coldness that most people came to associate with the holiday season.

Last year, Adyson certainly wasn't ready to let Chris go, even though it was already time. She hates the fact that her boyfriend, who studies film at NYU, lives a million miles away from her. This means that she only gets the chance to meet him during summer vacation and the winter break. Thank God she is now a senior, which means that she is one step closer to joining Chris in NYU.

This year, Adyson decided to give Chris a little surprise. She'd knitted him a scarf--she'd given Chris presents on Christmas before, but all of them were store-bought--despite her apparent lack of talent in knitting. Or anything related to arts and crafts, for that matter. Chris will never suspect someone as klutzy as her would do such a thing.

"God, Adyson," her best friend, Leslie, commented when Adyson told her the reason why she'd asked her to teach her how to knit. "Whatever happened to the 'strong, independent Adyson who don't need no man' I know?"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with giving my boyfriend a little surprise, y'know?" Adyson then added, "Especially when it's something he'll never expect."

"Besides, what's the point in knitting a scarf when we live in freaking California? I mean, it's not even fifty degrees outside."

"Yeah, but Chris will be freezing his ass off over there in New York," Adyson retorted. "Winters over there can be quite harsh, you know."

Leslie rolled her eyes and muttered, "Whatever," under her breath.

Despite her best friend's initial reluctance to help, the scarf turns out okay. Pretty good, even, when you take Adyson's lack of skills into consideration. The scarf is blue; the color of Chris's eyes, which coincidentally is also his favorite color. The initials CS--which stands for Chris Sweetwine--is embroidered near the edge of the scarf.

Adyson is pretty sure that Chris will love it.

Carrying her gift-wrapped present in one hand, Adyson walks down the Main Street of Oceanside, which she has to pass through every time she wanted to visit her boyfriend's house. The weather is relatively chilly for an average day in Oceanside, which is why Adyson is wearing her favorite cream-colored sweater. Despite her affinity towards anything related to winter, she has a relatively low tolerance towards cold weather. Courtesy of spending all her seventeen years in a coastal California town where every day is as warm as the peppermint mocha latte that she likes to order at the local coffeeshop.

Speaking of coffeeshops, this morning Adyson decides to stop by The Daily Roast--her favorite in town, mostly because the view from its window overlooks the ocean--before making a visit to Chris's. She is one of those people who needs a caffeine fix every morning. The warm, welcoming scent of roasted coffee beans and the calming, slightly jazzy holiday music blasting from the speakers greets Adyson when she steps in.

"Hey," the barista, a tall, lanky boy who looks like he might be around Adyson's age, greets her when she takes her seat in front of the counter. "What's with that smile on your face? You look unusually excitable today."

Adyson chuckles. "It's my boyfriend. He's coming home for Christmas. This here," she points at the wrapped Christmas present now sitting on top of the counter, "is my present for him." The seventeen-year-old girl pauses for a second. "What are you doing working on Christmas Eve, anyway?"

"Everyone else's not working," the boy answers while slightly rapping his fingers against the counter. "You know, spending time with their families and all that shit. I had to fill them in." He then pulls out a note. "So, what would you like to have?"

"The usual, please."

"Peppermint mocha?" With Adyson being a frequent visitor to The Daily Roast, he is well aware of her affinity towards holiday-themed specials. This past Halloween, the golden-haired girl ordered nothing but pumpkin spice latter for one entire month.

"You know me." Adyson nods, giving him a reassuring half-smile.

When the boy disappears behind the counter to make her order, Adyson's phone buzzes. Looking at Chris's name displayed on the screen, she picks it up.

"Hey, Ads." Chris's voice, ever so fruity and clear, resonates through the speaker of Adyson's voice. ("Ads" is the nickname Chris had given her back in their high-school-romance, not-so-long-distance days.) "What're you up to?"

Adyson shrugs, even though she know that there is no way that Chris would be able to see it. "Nothing in particular," she lies. She is careful not to accidentally spill her beans to him. Then, in her best slightly-flirtatious tone, she asks, "You home?"

Silence. By the time Adyson's peppermint mocha latte is served—the steamy drink, as usual, smells nice—he is still not answering.

"Chris?"

"I'm sorry, Ads." From the tone of his voice, Adyson can tell that whatever her boyfriend is going to say isn't going to be good. "My flight got canceled. Apparently a huge blizzard is hitting the city, which is why I'm currently stuck in the fucking airport."

"But, Chris—"

"I know. I've missed you lots, Ads, and I really wanted to spend this Christmas Eve with you, but unfortunately the circumstances won't allow me to do so." His voice sounds quite desperate, and Adyson can almost hear him sigh from the other end of the phone. "I'll be home for Christmas, though. I promise. Tell Mom and Joey I've missed them too. Love you."

Chris ends the phone call with an air kiss, leaving Adyson at a loss of words.

A/N: i know this first part is like 90% narrative and is therefore boring af bc i apparently suck at writing i third person, but oh well. the next chapter will be more interesting, i promise ^^

and yeah, it's pretty short. as a matter of fact, most chapters here will not be more than 1k words long, mainly bc i'm writing on my phone rn and we all know how much torture it was. 

oh, and i've also added gif banners to the previous part ("foreword") so go refresh that shit. in the meantime, stay tuned c: