Snowed In (1)

f i f t e e n

"Please tell me you have whipped cream." I whisper to Winter as we push ourselves up from the floor.

"Why, do you want it for some hot chocolate?" He asks dumbly.

I roll my eyes. "No! I mean, yes if that's possible I'd love some. But I'm thinking we do a classic prank. You know, put some whipped cream in his hand and tickle his nose?"

His mouth form an o as we come to an understanding, that spark of mischief returning in his eyes. "Oh I see. In that case, yes we have a couple cans I think from this dessert my mom was making."

"Perfect." I give him a cheeky grin. "Go get it?"

"Sure." He chuckles as he waltzes over to the fridge in the kitchen. My eyes follow him, taking in his tall and strong figure. Soon he turns around with a can of whip in his left hand, his pajama pants brushing the floor.

"Thank you, kind sir." I take it from him, taking the red plastic cap off.

"You're welcome, m'lady." He bows causing me to laugh and shake my head. "So what's the game plan?" He asks.

I stretch, my limbs feeling tight from laying down for so long on the floor. "I say I just put some in his hand and you rub something against us face and then we hide." Shrugging, I walk over to my twin.

"What should I use?" He asks.

"I'll just use my hair." I whisper back before slowly squirting the cream into his left hand. The whipped cream is a little thinner from the lack of power.

Winter snickers next to me as I hand him the can and grab the end of my hair, brushing it across Dakota's face. My brother's nose wiggles and I can't help but release a small laugh. I try again, brushing it lightly over his face and sure enough his hand comes up, smearing the white substance all over himself.

My mouth drops open, my hand covering it as I try not to burst into a hysterical laughing fit. He begins to stir, his eyes blinking open.

Winter's hand wraps around my forearm, pulling me to the side and out of Dakota's line of sight. "Shh." He gestures with his finger.

I press my lips together tightly when my brother sits up, rubbing his eyes. He takes in a confused expression when his hands become coated in the melted cream. "What?" He mumbles, looking around. His eyes land on me and Winter before he sighs, shaking his head.

I wait for him to burst in angry curses and violent punches but she simply says, "Tisk tisk. You two are amateurs."

When I look at Winter, he holds the same look of surprise I feel myself. "What?" He laughs. "I'm confused."

"Me too." I mumble, watching Dakota get up and walk to the kitchen, rinsing the dairy from his face and hands before shuffling back to the couch, licking the rest from his shirt and laying down to sleep.

The two of us stand there, not really sure what to do. "So uh...what now?" I ask.

Winter doesn't answer as he pulls out his cell phone, the screen lighting up as he check the time.

"Hey, when did you get your phone?" I ask, referring to earlier when he said his phone was dead.

"When I got the generator up, I plugged it in." He explains with a shrug.

"Huh." I say, not really recalling but not questioning it.

I stand there, licking my dry lips. "Hey, do you have any chapstick?" I ask him.

He gives me a weird looks before chuckling. "Yeah, why?"

"I need some."

"Okay well...it's up in my room on my bedside table if you want to go up and get it." He tells me with a smile.

"Okay, thanks." I chirp, heading that way. I'm almost to his room when I realize how dark it is. I pat the front pocket of Winter's sweatshirt and sweatpants but I come up empty handed.

Not wanting to go back and find it, I decide it's best to just find it in the dark considering I'm already here.

My eyes adjust to the complete darkness, the only light being the moon beaming in through the window. I walk over to his bed, my hands patting at the table next to it until my fingers grasp a circular tube. I shove it into the sweatshirt pocket, jogging back downstairs before I get afraid and start getting paranoid in the dark by myself.

"Did you find it?" Winter asks me, speaking in a normal tone as if he's caught onto the fact that Dakota isn't as much of a "light and sound sensitive" sleeper as he's lead us to believe.

I hold up the tube, popping off the cap, and rubbing it onto my lips. The pleasant cherry flavor catches me by surprise. "Mhm." I hum in response. "You like cherry chapstick?"

"My mom got it for me." He mumbles. "Why, don't you?"

I nod. "Yeah it's okay."

"Cool. Glad you approve of my chapstick." He laughs with a dazzling smile. "You do know that my germs are on that, right?" He raises his thick brows.

I rub my lips together. "I'm not a germaphobe."

"Well that's good." He presses his lips together with a nod.

After I've thoroughly moisturized my lips, I walk back over the the thick blanket bed on the floor and sit down, pulling out my own phone. We both remain this way for a while before my eyes begin dropping shut.

With a yawn I lock my phone and lay back, pulling a blanket over myself to ward off the cold. It seems to get colder and colder in here by the hour as the remaining heat disappears. I shift, pulling the hood of Winter's sweatshirt over my head to cover my ears.

I close my eyes as I shiver slightly. After a few moments, I feel a blanket being draped over me and my eyes open to Winter's calm expression as he kneels beside me. He tucks the two blankets under my feet before looking at me.

"Better?" He asks.

My heart warms from the nurturing act. "Yeah. Thank you."

He gives me a soft smile and a wink. "Sure thing, Sam."