Winter Has Come | ✔ #1 Winter Series

Chapter 13

I hurry down the road after Joshua. His thick coat makes him look like someone who's had a bit too much to eat. That thought just makes me want to giggle and I almost do.

"Where are we going?" I ask him, trying to make some conversation so I unluckily enter giggling-coughing-fit-mode.

His eyes are set in front of us, not moving. "Bus," he replies.

"I've got my bus pass," I say.

"Won't work," he replies. "Not in London."

"Well, I've got money then," I answer, beginning to reach into my bag for my purse.

"No. Don't worry. I'll pay."

I stop rummaging around in my bag and zip it back up again. "So how many buses are we taking?"

"Quite a few," he replies, walking a little bit faster. "Come on. We won't get there in time."

We pick up the pace, and that's when I say, "So, you lugged me unconscious on multiple buses and no one said anything?"

His eyes are still fixed on the horizon. "Keep walking. Questions later."

I bite back my tongue as we walk in silence for the rest of the way. The sky is clouded and the sun is nowhere to be seen, giving the air a slight chill to it. I should be happy about this temperature. It's nothing compared to what we had after the storm a few weeks ago.

That makes me wonder if the snow will have melted by now. It can't have been frozen over forever. The thoughts are still floating in my mind when we turn the next corner. I tense when I see that a bus is waiting at the station. Joshua starts running for it and that makes me speed up too because I doubt there'll be another chance to get the bus we need.

We leap on and Joshua digs inside his pocket for money. I stand behind him, staring at the back of his head. The smell of lavender is still lingering around him. It makes me smile.

Finally, he takes out the right coins and pays the driver. She nods to us and we proceed down the aisle to two empty seats at the back of the bus. Joshua steps aside, grinning.

"Ladies first."

I thank him and scrabble into the seat in the most unladylike manner. Joshua swings in gracefully after me, still holding onto the bar painted bright yellow.

"Are you hungry?" he asks, flicking his eyes over to me. I shake my head and when he sees that, he says, "Are you smelly?"

I turn on him, confused. "What?"

His eyes are wide. "Do you want the lavender deodorant?"

I can feel a smile coming on but I keep a straight face. "You stink, you know."

He bites his lip, scowling. "So do you."

We stay silent for the next few minutes. I'm by the window so I interest myself in our surroundings. It's not much, just loads of streets and houses and front gardens and shops with adverts inviting you in.

After a while I get bored and turn my head to face Joshua. I examine him more closely now and that's when I notice the way one strand of his hair curls just above his ear and I notice a small mole on the side of his neck.

"Stop staring," he mumbles.

I turn away, feeling hot around my cheeks, as though someone has just chucked me headfirst into an oven.

I only stick to staring out of the window after that. I should probably memorise the route after all.