Emilia reached into her pocket to find her pack of cigarettes to be empty; she had smoked through the last four ones in the midst of her walking to the park she decided to loiter around for a while.
It was a cold, winter night. The streets lights lit up the alleys and surrounding buildings with a gentle, welcoming glow and snow heavily blanketed the streets and sidewalks to the point where you couldn't tell them apart. It kept accumulating at a steady pace, and the temperature was almost near freezing.
Emilia regretted leaving her home. She was only wearing slightly worn gloves, jeans, and a thin hoodie that she wore in high school. It wasn't particularly the ideal apparel for winter. She had originally thought she wouldn't be out for that long, maybe grab a beer or two at the convenience store she was working at since she had a fairly good discount on her purchases there.
"Ah, shit," She rubbed her face in annoyance as she recalled the weather forecast this morning.
The weatherman had said a massive snowstorm from the east coast was expected to arrive around 7:15 P.M. It was 7:26 P.M. and Emilia happened to be in the center of it.
At first glance, it seemed to just be a peaceful night with snow falling from the sky and softly landing on the ground like a feathers. However, once you start looking closer, the wind was picking up at an alarming rate and the amount of snow was thickening and began to obscure Emilia's view of her surroundings.
Emilia got up from the icy park bench she was seated and began walking home, cursing the weather and her idiocy of disregarding the weatherman's warnings. The last thing she wanted was to be trapped outside and turned into an ice block the next morning.
The snow came down heavier with every minute that passed, and the powerful gusts of freezing wind howled loudly around her and threatened to knock her off her feet if she were to make a wrong step.
Soon Emilia found herself to be ankle-deep in snow, and her vision limited to only four feet in front of her. Her feet were starting to feel numb from the snow that flooded her shoe and couldn't tell where she was anymore; the lights that illuminated the neighborhood was only now but a shimmer through the blinding storm.
Suddenly, a hand strongly gripped onto her arm. Emilia's heart stopped for a moment. A robber?! During a storm like this?! She instinctively brought her hands into a fist and was about to strike a blow to the stranger's face.
Then, a concerned voice of a girl was somehow audible through the wind. "What are you doing out here? It's too dangerous to be out in this weather!"
Emilia froze, and without an explanation, was dragged in the direction of a massive, two-story house whose door was flung open and the bright lights from inside poured out onto the street, almost looking like a gateway to Heaven.
The stranger shoved Emilia inside and locked the doors behind them in one swift motion. Emilia found herself staring into the worried, hazel eyes of a high school girl who was about six inches shorter than her. Her hair was messy due to the wind, but they had a nice sheen of brown to them and a small batch of freckles covered the bridge of her nose. The girl's most obvious feature was her cheeks. They were somewhat round and puffy, almost like a hamster's. It was kind of cute.
"Do you know that you could've probably died out there?!"
"Huh?"
Emilia was thrown out of her mesmerization of the girl's appearance. The girl had a hand on her hip and scolded Emilia, like a teacher lecturing their student, and pointed through the glass window of the door.
The snow now piled up to thigh-level and it was pitch black. Emilia's heart dropped. Even though she was grateful to have escaped the snowstorm, now she was stuck in someone else's home and doesn't even know them; a recipe for a whole situation of awkwardness.
"Sometimes I don't even know what is going on in the minds of children these days, going out in a blizzard like that." The girl said sarcastically, clicking her tongue as she shook her head.
Emilia felt her eyebrow twitch. Childre-?! This girl has some nerve...
"You look like one yourself," Emilia said blatantly and pointed at the yellow, poke-dotted one-piece pajamas the girl wore. The most childish features, Emilia pointed out, were the cat ears and tail that were attached to it.
She looked down at herself, and back at Emilia with a look of irritation. "These aren't for children, dummy. These are essential for keeping warm in the winter. ES-SEN-TIAL!"
"You said 'dummy'. I'm pretty sure only kids say that."
The girl puffed her cheeks out, clearly annoyed that all of her smart-ass remarks backfired on her.
"Then how old are you? You're probably the same age as me!" She pointed an accusing finger at Emilia.
So annoying. Emilia rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Twenty-one." She told the girl.
She gasped. It sounded like as though she had just now found out that the Earth was round. She then fell to her knees and began sulking. "T-Two years older..."
Emilia put on a smug expression. It was nice to indirectly hear that she still looked like a high schooler. Not just that, she put this troublesome girl in her place. Even so, she bent down and patted her on the shoulder.
"Hey, don't be so down. You're making me feel bad."
"GOTCHA!"
The girl shot upwards and impacted her head on Emilia's chin with sheer force, almost launching her off of her feet.
You bitc-!
Emilia managed to regain her balance mid-fall and prepared to retaliate, but the girl was rolling on the floor laughing. She stood there furiously before finally sighing. I give up. This girl is too much for me.
"Oh! I haven't introduced myself yet." The girl scrambled onto her feet dusted herself off before sticking her out her hand for a handshake. "My name is Maya."
Emilia reluctantly grasped her hand and shook it. "I'm Emilia... um... thanks for helping me out there."
How the hell did I get caught up into this... things are happening way too quick! Emilia complained loudly in her head.
The girl smiled brightly, almost mischievously at her.
I should've stayed at home...
YOU ARE READING
Wavering Hearts
Romance[ Description and possibly the Title will be re-worked. Chapter 1 is under revision as well. ] Disclaimer: The cover is obviously not done by me.
