Frozen Hearts

Chapter 1

Leilani frowned. It was colder than she expected. She hugged her coat, trying to prevent the icy wind from eating at her flesh. The snow crunched beneath her Vans covered feet. Not the smartest choice she'd ever made, she could barely feel her toes. She heard Niamh chuckle as the three girls made their way towards her car.
"Told you you'd freeze," she said with a smirk. Leilani just glared back. "Don't suppose you get much snow in Hawaii, eh?" Leilani just stared angrily at her frozen feet. She glanced over at Alex who was burning a hole through the sky with her lost gaze. Leilani's frown deepened. She could tell Alex was missing her boyfriend, something Lei couldn't relate too. No boy had ever stuck around long enough for her to miss their presence but then again, Leilani never really missed anyone. She blamed it on her lifestyle, courtesy of her foot-washing Baptist parents. Not that religion had anything to do with it. Military life had never really allowed for her to get too attached to anyone. Not that anyone had ever tried to get attached to her.

Leilani let out a sigh of hot air when they finally reached Niamh's car. They crawled into the car and Lei rubbed her hands together desperately trying to warm them up. Niamh started the car and cranked the heat up.
"Where exactly are we going again?" Alex asked with a hint of annoyance in her husky voice. Niamh grinned.
"Connie's. Only the best damn thing since sliced bread." Leilani cringed at her expression. Niamh was a good friend but she constantly drove Lei insane. Alex nodded distantly and turned on the radio. Country blasted through out the car and Alex let out a frustrated growl and violently slapped the radio until it shut off. Niamh opened her mouth to yell at her but Alex wasn't done.
"Jesus Christ, why the hell are there so many rednecks up here? It's Michigan!" Niamh sighed but let a small, amused smile slide onto her lips. Leilani grinned.
* • •
Twenty minutes of silent driving later, Niamh pulled into a makeshift parking lot by a charming homestyle restaurant. Leilani shifted uneasily in her seat. Niamh glanced at her in the rear view mirror.
"I'll get us a seat as far away from people as I possibly can, okay? They have a nice little secluded area for parties and such." Lei chewed her lip nervously but nodded. After a moment they all got out of the car and made their way into the restaurant. Once through the door Leilani was immediately met by the smell of cinnamon buns and bacon. She looked around the room and took everything in. Dozens of families were crowded into the homely restaurant, eagerly chowing down on delicious looking meals. The familiar feeling in her stomach began to grow. Her hands started to sweat and she felt slightly faint. Alex snaked her arm around her shoulder and pulled Lei into her side.
"You're okay, you're okay.." she whispered. Niamh motioned for them to follower her. Alex practically dragged Leilani because her legs just wouldn't move. Niamh led them to a table for four, somewhat secluded behind a stylish divider and sat down. Lei felt slightly better being hidden but was still nervous. She picked her seat carefully and sat down. She could see the door but because of the angle new comers would not be able to see her. She let a breath out she didn't know she'd been holding and picked up a menu. She scanned it and decided on a pancake. Nothing much, but she wasn't hungry. The feeling in her stomach swelled again when the waitress arrived. The other girls ordered, then the waitress turned to her expectantly. Lei pointed to what she wanted, showing Alex who ordered for her. The waitress shot her a slightly confused glance as she walked away. Lei relaxed.

* • •
Leilani was half way through her pancake when the door opening caught her eye. She glanced over secretively and her eyes widened. The pancake in her mouth almost fell out but she caught it at the last moment. She collected her self and looked back. The object of her shock was a boy. Jean jacket, beanie and army style boots. Reminded her a bit of Jughead Jones. But his face was something different. His medium length dark brown hair reached his jaw (which was very defined) and boy, was he tall.
"Close your mouth, you're catching flies." She whipped her head around so fast she got whiplash. Grimacing and rubbing her neck she glared at Alex who was smirking. Leilani flipped her the bird and turned back to stare, extremely grateful for her seat. He ran his fingers through his hair and Lei felt her mouth dry up. What the fuck..? How the hell could someone be so hot? She scowled to herself but kept staring. She felt Niamh staring at her and turned and shrugged. She figured that she had the right to stare seeing as she had no chance with anyone ever. It's not that she wasn't 'pretty' it's just that she came with baggage that no one wanted. Also the key to relationships was communication and there was no way she was doing that any time soon. Talking just wasn't gonna happen.
Back to staring.
Her gazing was cut short however when the boy was seated out of her view. She sighed. She drifted into a daydream while shovelling pancake into her mouth. Shit. Her leg started to shake. She had to pee. No, no, no...! She thought. Not now. She couldn't. Using a public restroom was one of her irrational fears. It tied in with her social anxiety. Both of them made her life very difficult. Public bathrooms made her nervous. What if something didn't work? What if someone was in there? They'd judge her and her life would go down hill and then.... her mind explored the endless possibilities. A thought stopped her though. Something her old therapist had told her, she had a habit of being ridiculous. He had called it catastrophic thinking. Leilani tried to relax but there was still the problem of the bathroom. Not only would she have to enter the bathroom but to get there she would have to walk across the restaurant.
"Are you okay? You look like you're about to pass out..." Niamh's voice broke into her thoughts. Lei looked at her. She took a deep breath preparing her self.
"Pee." She exhaled. Anxiety flowed into her stomach. Niamh's mouth formed an O. Alex looked at us both in confusion. Niamh explained.
"Oh, well I can alleviate one of your worries, there aren't any stalls, it's a single toilet." Alex responded, "I noticed on the way in." Okay so all Leilani had to do was walk...5...10...about 20 feet. Shakily she rose to her feet. She had to do this, life is about taking risks right? Something like that... Slowely she walked, robotically keeping her gaze focused on the sign. She tried to do as she was taught and block out the world. For twelve seconds she held her breath as she shuffled across the floor. Fear gripped her the entire way but she made it. The wood of the door signified success. She shoved the door open and ran inside locking it behind her.
* • •
After taking care of business and making the perilous journey back to her seat Leilani took a second to breathe. Her friends stared at her and Alex began to clap. Niamh reaches over and rubbed her shoulder reassuringly.
"I'm proud of you," she said. Leilani could only smile in response. Five seconds later however new found panic filled Lei. She had made eye contact with the boy. Sirens started to go off in her head. He had gone up to the counter to buy a cinnamon roll and had looked around until he had caught her eye. Not such a great seat now, Lei. He smirked. Lei was frozen to the spot. He heart rate increased until she thought it would explode. Dark spots filled her vision and she felt her head slowly fall into the table.
* • •
She was awoken by a frantic Niamh. She blink the darkness away. The fainting wasn't new but it normally came in only the most extreme situations.
"Oh thank fuck, you were only out for a few minutes but Alex was about to call 911!" Niamh rushed out. Alex looked concerned and grabbed her hand comfortingly. Lei pulled away and shook her head trying to communicate that she was okay. Her friends looked wary but accepted her response.
"What the hell even caused that?" Lei looked awkwardly at her lap. Niamh frowned at her silence. "Lei?" She shook her head trying to indicate that it was nothing. The other two looked at each other worriedly but finally relented. Just when Lei thought things couldn't get any worse, she saw, in her peripheral vision, the boy making his way towards her table. In a childish act of fright, she crawled under the table.
"What the-" Alex was cut off by the arrival of the boogeyman.
"Well hello there, pretty ladies," came a voice, smooth as silk and laced with arrogance. The boy looked around. A look of confusion appeared on his face.
"Where is that g-" he was cut off by a loud BUMP followed by a hiss. He bent down and looked under the table.
"Well hello there." He said sassily. Leilani's eyes widened and she frantically scrambled backwards knocking her chair over and gracefully landing flat on her face. Her now slightly sore face turned a deep shade of pink as she scrambled to turn her chair the right way around and sit down. Once she regained her composure she looked up, met his smiling eyes and started to hyper ventilate.
"Shit!" His smirk turned into a worried look as he moved to hold her arm and stare into her eyes. "Are you okay? Hey, hey, there's no reason to panic," he cooed gently. Niamh and Alex just watched somewhat shell shocked. "Breathe. In...out...in..." he continued to coach Lei's breathing until she was no longer blue in the face. "Now, you're okay, everything is okay sunshine." Lei's brain was having a fit. Part of it was panicking screeching stranger danger and weeeewooo call 911. But for some reason a larger part had responded to his treatment and was calm. This rendered Leilani completely frozen. Boy looked at her blank face and chuckled. Jesus Christ how can someone's chuckle sound that good??
"Alright sunshine, my mommas calling but you'll be okay right?" He motioned to Alex and Niamh who were still frozen in shock. "You two, watch pretty one here okay? Keep her breathing, I'd hate to see her go before her time." And with that he whipped out a pen, grabbed a napkin, scribbled something, placed it in Leo's hand and turned around, grinning to himself as he walked out the restaurant door.

Lei's jaw dropped.

Niamh burst out laughing.

Alex slammed her face into the table.

What the hell just happened?