- Katherine's POV -
I finally rolled put of bed the next day around 10:30. It was a Saturday, and I was looking forward to spending the day eating Christmas cookies, watching Christmas movies, and more or less doing nothing. My parents were visiting my aunt in Pittsburgh for the whole weekend, meaning I was free to do whatever I wanted to.
My phone buzzed with a text, and I wondered who it could be. Emma had left early that morning to visit her grandparents. I picked it up and the display read -1 NEW MESSAGE: Noah.-
I immediately got flustered, which was stupid, considering it was just a text message. After unlocking my phone, I checked my message, which read: Good morning! I fluffed my hair and typed a response.
K: Good morning Noah $:
K: Oh I meant (: (Leave it up to me to mess everything up.)
N: Haha, you're fine. What are you up to today?
K: Don't know yet. (A lie, I already knew I was going to watch all the Home Alone movies and binge eat cookies.)
N: If you're not doing anything, wanna hang out? (Well, this was a game-changer.)
K: Sure, when and where?
N: You live by the park right? We could meet there in like fifteen minutes?
(Fifteen minutes?! There was no way!)
K: Sure, see you then.
I sped into the bathroom and cringed. Sleep-matted hair, a tired face, and old pajamas stared at me from the mirror. After tearing my closet apart for a few minutes, I came up with a decent oufit- black leggings, a cozy gray knit sweater, and my tall gray Uggs. I really didn't have enough time to straighten my hair, which was my favorite style, so instead I tied it into a side braid. I didn't wear a lot of makeup on a regular basis, so I just did the usual- BB cream, concealer, mascara, and a little bit of eyeliner. By then I felt confident enough to head out- and with a few minutes to spare. Not bad at all!
My house was just a few minutes walk from the park. My boots crunched through the inch of snow as I walked. One of my favorite parts of winter was the snow- it was so pretty,
I arrived at the park much too early for my liking- I wasn't really prepared to see Noah.
I saw him across the park just as he spotted me. He briskly began to walk towards me, and the back of my knees tingled. He looked beyond cute in slightly faded jeans, a red and blue Hollister flannel, and black Nikes. His gray beanie flopped a bit on top of his hair, elevating him from a 9.5 to a solid 12 out of 10. Part of me couldn't believe he was here to see me- he looked like a model.
"Hey, Katherine!" The cold made his cheeks rosy, which made my heart flutter. "Hi, Noah." He fell in beside me and we began to aimlessly wander the park. Now that the ice between us had been broken, conversation just flowed. We had both lived in the area forever, so we both had stories. He showed me the place he had fallen off the playground at the age of six, the tree he had carved his initials into, the berry bush that grew thick with fruit in the summer. In turn I pointed out the swing I had fallen off of and broken my arm at the age of six, the slide I hid in for four hours once during a game of hide-and-seek gone wrong, and the basketball court I had won our grade-wide shooting competition on.
We ended up by the swing set. "So, what do you want to do?" asked Noah.
I kind of still had my heart set on a Christmas marathon. "Want to come back to my house and watch movies? I live just a few minutes away."
"Won't your parents mind?"
"They aren't home." And off we went.
I let us in the front door, into the spacious foyer. "Wow, nice place!" Noah exclaimed, kicking off his snowy shoes.
Our house wasn't really that nice, it was just very well put-together. "Thanks."
I led the way to the basement, pausing to grab popcorn and Oreos out of the pantry. We sat on the couch and, at my suggestion, began Home Alone. As the movie progressed, the space between us lessened. I don't know if it was me moving or him, but by the end of the movie, we were practically cuddled up, sharing a blanket. It was comfortable, and I didn't feel awkward at all.
As the credits rolled, Noah stretched out, and I became uncomfortably aware of how warm it was downstairs. I stood up, feeling the need for some fresh air.
"Want to see something cool?"
I led Noah upstairs, and upstairs again, finally arriving in my room. I opened the window, and carefully stepped out onto the slightly angled roof to our garage. Turning around, I extended a hand to Noah, who looked terrified. I've been out on the roof so often it's not weird to me anymore, but I forget how scary it is to other people. Steeling himself, Noah grabbed my hand and shakily joined me on the roof.
It was a small section, just a few feet wide and a few feet deep. My feet dangled off the end, just a few inches from our garage, and Noah nervously scooted beside me.
"Wow," he said, admiring the view. You could see pretty far from the roof, and the snow made everything look shimmery and beautiful.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Truly."
We sat in silence for a while, admiring the cotton candy skies and sparkling snow banks.
"Isn't it weird?" Noah said suddenly. "It looks like you can see so much but in reality it's so little."
"Explain," I prompted, nudging his foot with mine.
"Like, it looks like we're looking at a lot, but in comparison to the universe, it's so tiny." Noah began to talk, spinning thoughts with this words about the size of everything. I began to realize how intelligent he was. I added a theory I had, and we began to talk about life. One of those deep conversations you read about in books, long and thought provoking, never dull. We talked about life, death, love, and what we thought life was really about. The sun set, and stars began to shine. We kept talking,
And up on the roof that night, with every word he said, I fell in love with Noah Hamilton a little bit more.
