Sweetly Yours

Prologue; Sweetly Stupid

Anyway, apart from necessary conversation at school, Jamie and I hadn't really mingled, so to speak. It was last week I had decided enough was enough. Jamie was currently single, and I was going to at least attempt to associate myself with him while I could. After all, he was so lovely and perfect, if I didn't act now, sooner or later he'd be snatched up.

With the help of my close friend, Phoebe, I had decided that I was going to give Jamie a Christmas gift.

Cheesy? Quite possibly.

Weird? Most definitely.

Scary? Oh, yes.

It wasn't the actual gift that was the scary part, oh no, it was the possibility of getting caught. See, there was one tiny detail which could cause problems if I got caught delivering the gift . . .

. . . I was giving it to Jamie anonymously. 

Stupid? Hell to the yeah.

Okay, so perhaps an anonymous gift wasn't the best idea Phoebe and I could have conjured up, but it was progress, even if Jamie wouldn't know who I was. Maybe if he liked the gift, mentioned it in school or on Facebook, I'd step forward. To be honest though, just buying the gift was scary enough. Then there was the wrapping (which had to be done away from the hawk eyes of my Mama, or else the whole town would know about it) and now--the delivering.

The plan itself was quite simple, as Jamie's family owned a sweet shop and lived in the house above, so their letterbox was easily accessible. I'd simply sneak to  the back, and slip the small package inside, before making a dash for it.

It had sounded so much more appealing in theory.

Much too soon, I found myself wandering into the shopping part of town. Quaint little shops outlined the street, all decorated up for the season to be jolly. Everywhere you turned the shimmering glow of fairy lights followed, and each shop had their own little Christmas display. There was a sort of unspoken competition between all of the shops in our town, of who could produce the most extravagant window display. Bakewells', the bakery, always came out on top, going all out on decorations and a wide array of delicious Christmas bakes.

My stomach started to flutter uncomfortably as I wandered further and further up into the street, but thankfully there was still a way to go until the sweet shop, which was at the other end of the shops.

The street was quite empty, only a few groups of late shoppers rushing around, matching panicked expressions on each of their faces, and the odd loved-up couple strolling down arm in arm, pointing and smiling at the window displays.

If only that was Jamie and I, I thought wistfully, as I passed another couple. Maybe one day.

Fat flakes of snow began to float gently to the ground, adding to the mass clumps that already lay there. I watched as they seemed to dance, swirling around merrily, getting faster and faster before they reached the ground.

I began to hurry up a little, as more and more snowflakes began to descend. If I was quick enough, I could make it to the sweet shop and back home before the snow got too serious. Brought up with frequent white Christmases, I knew better than to get caught out in the snow. Add in some gusts of wind and you could be wandering around in the freezing cold for hours before you could make it home.

As I passed the bakery, I sighed, knowing I only had a few more minutes of walking left before I reached the sweet shop. Nerves surged through me, as I began to really think of what I was doing.

What if I got caught?

What if I didn't get caught?

Would Jamie like the present?

Would he tell people about it?

Would someone else take the credit?

What was this actually going to achieve?

A faint voice calling out to somebody snapped me back into reality, and I looked around in horror. The snow had escalated extremely quickly, I was such an idiot! I should have turned back as soon as the snow started to increase; there had been snow blizzard warnings all week!

Wasn't it just this morning I was watching the weather warnings? Okay, perhaps I'd been paying  more attention to shovelling cornflakes into my mouth like a madwoman than seeing the date of the potential blizzards, but still, it should have crossed my mind!

And now here I was, standing frozen on an empty street with snow swirling all around me, carried along by the bitter wind, which was whipping at my cheeks painfully. Perhaps this was a sign, a bad omen, of sorts?

I let out an uncontrollable whimper of pain as a sharp twig hit my face, carried along by the sudden wind, almost appearing from nowhere, everything being a mass of white. Stuck, I had no clue what I was going to do. I looked around, searching for the nearest shop door that I could retreat into, but all I could see was white.

White. White. White. White. Whi--

Strange moving dark blur?

A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist, picking me up effortlessly into their firm grasp. Just I was about to struggle and shout, the person took of into a swift jog, and before I knew it we were entering one of the shops, it's soft warm glow greeting me as it came into view through all of the white. All thoughts of danger escaped my mind; whoever this mystery man carrying me was, he was my saviour!

Happiness surged through me as I was brought into the inviting shelter, the door slamming shut behind me. Immediately, an absolutely delicious aroma filled my nose, sweet and oh, so very tempting. The arms encasing me lowered me gently to the ground, and I found myself staring into a familiar set of murky green eyes.

"Are you okay?" My saviour asked worriedly, and I found myself frozen, unable to speak or move, as the realisation of where I was hit me, as if I was out in the snow all over again.

Don't panic. Don't panic. It'll all be fine; it's no big deal.

No big deal? How can you be so sure? The voice in my head taunted, the urge to cringe and hide away somewhere hitting me with full force.

I was staring into the eyes Kye Bright, Jamie's older brother--in the middle of his family's sweet shop, while a furious snow blizzard raged on outside, effectively trapping me here. 

Let's just say the plan had well and truly failed.