keep me cold

number 10

after 5 minutes of walking down the drearily long road, i start to get desperate. i cant walk home! i don't think ill survive! okay, that's slightly over dramatic, but its fucking cold! i grip my arms around the waist and try - unsuccessfully - to regain some distant heat from my frosty skin. the wind batters me from every side and i can feel my hair whip at my face, stinging my frozen skin at every touch. with every step i feel the joins in my legs start to cease up and a steady cold building from my nose. just when i think it can't get any worse... tap. something small, cold and wet drops onto the top of my hair and i feel it slip down to my scalp. the raindrop slips over my warm skin and sends an icy dart shooting down my spine. stopping abruptly, i look up. the clouds swirl above me with a threatening menace, holding the power to take my night from shitty to shittier. another raindrop falls and catches the tip of my nose.

"fuck." i say under my breath, the word coming out shaky and broken. ducking my head i start to walk faster. a unnaturally large drop of the hold water falls on the exposed skin of the back of my neck, rolling down my goose-bump covered back. slowly more and more raindrops fall until my hair is drenched and i can barely see through the sheet of water. i continue to walk, shivering violently. after a minute more of walking through the torrential downpour, i see a beacon of hope through the storm. briskly, i rush towards it, trying not to slip on the glassy concrete. i make it to the the bus stop and gratefully duck under the shelter. letting out a heavy breath i unfold my soaked arms from around my stomach and run a numb hand through my sodden hair that plasters to my forehead. 

"should of brought a jacket." the smug voice is far too familiar and all my fears are confirmed when i look over to see two deep blue eyes peaking out from under a rain splattered hood. 

"oh," i say, my voice still shaking severely. "hi." he leans casually against the wall of the bus stop, his arms crossed loosely across his chest. a grin slowly spreads across his rosy cheeks. 

"which bus do you get?" he asks after a couple seconds of unrelenting eye contact. i turn to the back of the bus shelter, where the map and bus times are plastered. reaching up a shaking hand, i trace the bus route with a frozen fingertip. 

"the 10." i say after a couple minutes of intense thinking and trying to make sense of the complicated bus timetable. 

"oh! so do i." he says, his grin growing subtly. i smile slightly back before diverting my attention to trying to fish out the £2 i knew i had in the bottom of one of my pockets. the heavy jean material gripping to my legs doesn't help my case. 

...

"so are you at college? uni?" the question comes out from the space that would be silence if it weren't for the rain lashing against the plastic roof over us. i turn to face him and see him slide towards me slightly. 

"I'm on a gap year, but i plan to go to college next year." i mentally remind myself that that is something i need to follow up. i got as far as googling "what college should i go to quiz" before giving up. 

"nice," he nods approvingly. "what are you studying?" 

"film making and media editing." he nods again. 

"so you're like a super movie nerd?" i chuckle slightly. 

"yeah i guess."

"so whats your favorite movie?" the conversation continues like this for the next ten minutes. the rain doesn't let up any as we continue to wait, the easy conversation a nice distraction from my shivering limbs. when the number 10 bus finally pulls up, it's crowded with far too many soaked and pissed off bodies. we squeeze our way through the crowd and luckily find two spare seats but we soon figure out why they're spare. 

"ew! it's wet!" i can't help but smile at the ridiculously girly sequel that is emitted from his thin lips. 

"you're wet." i remind him. 

"that's what she said." he instantly fires back. i roll my eyes but can't help but smile at his immature humor. he grins, obviously very proud of his little joke. 

"how old are you? twelve?" his smile instantly turns into a pout and he looks like a toddler having a tantrum. i cant deny that he looks very cute. 

"you're just jealous!" he states, throwing his body back against the soggy seat. 

"oh yeah?" he nods, still pouting. "of what?" he thinks for a second before slowly sitting up. 

"me." i laugh as he continues. "i mean how could you not be jealous of all this." he places a hand behind his head and pulls an expression you might expect to see on the front of a high end magazine. staring off into the distance, eyes slightly closed and lips pouted. i continue to laugh. 

"you're right." i say through spluttered bouts of laughter. "how could i not be jealous." he releases his model pose and that familiar smile creeps onto his boyish face. 

"i mean it's a mystery as to why I'm single." he's single? my heart leaps a little but i carefully push it down again. no. i tell it mentally. stop that.

"maybe its something to do with your painfully annoying personality." his grin instantly falls again and that 'angry child expression' takes its place on his porcelain skin again. 

"hey! that's too far!" i laugh again holding my hands up in surrender.

"okay okay. I'm sorry." his smile is back and we both burst into laughter. by the time i step off the bus my stomach aches and my cheeks twitch painfully. the rain still pelts down but somehow now it doesn't feel as cold and unforgiving.