Just Some Short Stories + Things

Pink Noses

I've been working on this story for a while now and struggling to write a fitting end, but it's finally done! I've also been struggling to get in the winter mood, but I have been feeling oddly romantic as of late, so enjoy these 2000+ words of cheesy winter romance.
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The tip of her nose is tinged a bright pink, and she's sure the tops of her ears would be too if she wasn't wearing a tuque. She can only see the pink when she's looking cross-eyed right down. She squints a little as she does so, and her breath huffs up in a little cloud in front of her, making her want to close her eyes.

"What are you doing?" He chuckles, and she immediately stops, blinks twice, and glances to the side to look up at her best friend instead.

Why isn't his nose this pink? She thinks. His whole face has a tiny of colour underneath but it isn't nearly as bright as hers. Of course he can tolerate the cold, while she seems to have adapted to a warmer climate. It seems refusing to leave her house during most of this year's winter break has had an effect on more than just her social life.

"I was self-conscience of my Rudolph nose, so I was looking at it okay?" She sniped, "How come you barely even look cold, huh?"

They were walking, but he decides to stop there in the middle of the snowy field. The route they were on was quick shortcut back to his house that they had discovered years ago as middle schoolers. With his hands now stuffed into his pockets and his shoulders pushed back, he turns to give her a quizzical look - a look she has always found rather endearing.

"You've lived in Canada for how long now?" He jokes. The smile that stretches across his lips opens up to reveal a set of slightly crooked teeth.

Her gaze lingers on his chapped lips before she realizes she has to answer the question. "You already know the answer to that, so I'm not even going to humour you there." She flips her green, self-knitted scarf over her shoulder and begins to walk away, head held high and chin up with a joking false bravado. A self-satisfied smile flitters across her face, but he can't see it and she doesn't even know it's there.

He takes his hands out of his pockets and jogs a few paces to catch up to her. It seems as if he is always following her and her magnetic energy, but he doesn't mind at all; though sometimes it's hard to keep up. As he reaches her, he stretches out and grabs her hand, spinning her around to face him. But her winter boots are old, with barely any tread left, so instead she slips and he can't keep his hold. Her puffy winter jacket cushions her fall into the thick layer of snow coating the field, but she puts her hands back to brace her fall on instinct. Her bare hands sink into freezing layers and she winces, pulling them away as quick as possible.

"I'm so sorry," he apologizes quickly, grabbing sheepishly at his neck while starting to move towards her, "Let me help you up."

Maybe it's his eyes drawing her in, or his grimace that she wants to be a smile once again, but she reacts on an instinct to his helping hand.

"Hey, what are y-!" He exclaims, as she pulls him flush on top of her and rolls them over so she's now sitting on top of him, pinning him to the snowy ground. The flurries float around them, accumulating on top of the flakes already all over their clothes.

They both break into a fit of giggles, leaning into each other and smiling bigger and bigger. What a sight they would be to the outside world: a pair of teenagers rolling around in an empty field like a pair of squabbling kittens. When she finally stops giggling, she opens her eyes and looks down to find him already looking at her. His eyes are wide and filled with a heavy emotion, providing a stark contrast to the soft, easy lilt of his lips.

She can't look away from his icy blue eyes, sinking into them as their breath creates clouds in between them. And she sinks further, planning to touch his easy smile to her own, when she suddenly remembers who he is - who they are.