The Academy: Ensnared

20. Mistletoe and Turtle Doves

A/N//: Merry Christmas! Here's the fluff and the plot. (੭່˙ ์•͈ ▿ •͈ ์ )੭່ ︵ ┸┸

Amelia

Everything eventually froze after touching an icy glass-paned window for long enough. Droplets of water turned into frost. Once sopping wet strands of hair easily froze and stuck to the translucent, chilled material, Amelia noticed as she pulled her brown locks loose from winter's icy clutches. She sat in the window of Christopher's bedroom for a while now, her head leaning against the glass. The towel from her shower was still wrapped tight around her body, providing no warmth for her chilled skin. But she couldn't bring herself to move. She had no desire.

She stared at the path into the forest behind the Academy for God only knew how long. Snow was falling thick and heavy outside of the window. Anyone else would have called the weather pretty with the way it coated everything in a sparkling white blanket. But she saw it differently, especially during this time of year. Grey skies and snow, endless fucking snow. It never seemed to go away. It was cold and bleak and made her feel miserable. December came and went far faster than Amelia had wanted, bringing one of her least favorite days of the year.

Christmas.

She hated it. She had hated it since the novelty of it had worn off when she was in her pre-teen years. When she was younger and believed in Santa Claus, it had been positively magical. But when she'd started acting out from all of the pubescent hormones raging through her body and her parents spent most of the year yelling at her, she realized that they were just buying her love with the fancy things that they'd gotten her.

The annual Christmas gala her parents hosted in their home had gone from a wonderful night of dancing with the other kids and sneaking away sweets to utter misery. She hated the way her parents forced her to smile, to be the perfectly tame child she was not. They just wanted to show her off to their rich friends and potential investors. They dressed her up in luxurious clothes, dolled her up to be something she didn't even recognize and paraded her around all night. And when everyone finally left at the end of the night, they always found something to yell at her about. They nitpicked every little thing she'd done, every conversation she'd had. They found reasons why she didn't live up to the picture-perfect image that they'd expected for the night. It always ended in shouted words and slammed doors.

The next morning, they'd act like nothing happened and shower her with expensive gifts that she'd grown to resent.

She hated Christmas. The Academy staff had decorated on December first. They'd decked the halls with boughs of holly and all of that festive shit. There were hundreds of Christmas trees spread across the old castle. Christmas lights were strewn about, making everything look magical and festive. She had heard many people gush over all of it. It was bright and colorful. It was everything she hated. She didn't care if she sounded like the Grinch. She didn't give a damn.

Amelia hated Christmas.

But Christopher loved it.

He especially loved all of the mistletoe that hung in most of the arches of the school. She remembered the first time he'd caught her beneath it.

It was a Friday afternoon, and Amelia was hungry. They were both too lazy to cook, so they had decided to go and grab something from the cafe. She and Christopher walked side by side, talking about what they wanted to eat. She had tried to walk through the main arch, but she felt a tug on her wrist. Christopher had stopped short behind her. He tugged her wrist gently and pulled her back to him so that she was flush with his body. She stumbled a bit and fell into his grasp.

Amelia looked up at Christopher with wide, surprised eyes. What was he doing? Why was he pulling her so suddenly? Usually, there was some warning or apparent reason, but she could find none. Before she had a chance to collect her thoughts, his lips were pressed tenderly against her. His palms fell onto her cheeks, and Amelia gave up wondering what he was doing. Sure, he usually wasn't much one for tender displays of affection, but she wasn't going to argue with it when she got it. She leaned into the kiss, a brilliant flush forming on her cheeks. They stayed like that for a few moments, and she could have sworn she heard a whistle or two coming from the people that walked past them.