ONE CHANCE, kotlc

Chapter 13: Ask Me

Sophie stared outside the kitchen window as she ate her cheerios. She wanted to go and play in the fluffy white, snow, but she didn't want to seem like . . . a child. For goodness sake, she was eating cheerios! Well, it was Christmas break . . .

"What are you going to be up to today, kiddo?" Grady asked as he sipped on his mug of warm coffee and flipped through channels on the TV. 

"I don't know. I might go outside," She shrugged. 

"Edaline and I need to go shopping today. Are you okay alone?" 

"Yep," Sophie smiled as she got up and washed her bowl and spoon. "I think I'm going to head out." 

"Okay, bring the keys! We're leaving soon," He reminded her.

Sophie quickly put on some sweatpants, her warm winter coat, boots, gloves, and finally, her hat. She hurried out the door and locked it, smiling when she felt the cool, winter air on her cheeks, and how her breath came out in white puffs. 

She strode down the sidewalk, her boots crunching in the snow. 

Sophie strolled around the park and watched as kids made snowmen. 

All of a sudden, she was shoved into the snow, sending snow into her jacket, which trailed onto her back and neck. "Oomph!"

"Sophie!" Her ears rang as she took a helping hand up. "Sorry."

Sophie's gloved hand still managed to tingle as she realized it was Tam. 

"Stina was going to bump into you and instead, she bumped into me, who ended up bumping into you," Tam rambled as he adjusted his hat. 

"It's fine," Sophie nodded. 

"I was with the group, and we were about to go get you but, I got separated. Here," He offered her his hand. Sophie took it and walked alongside him as he led the way. 

Sophie let out a yelp as she saw Grady's red car slowly go by, and she shoved Tam into a bush as she ducked down, hoping Grady didn't see her holding Tam's hand. 

Sophie put a gloved finger to her lip as Grady's red car halted for a minute but quickly drove off. 

"What happened?" Tam asked. 

"My mistake. It was nothing," Sophie replied, a little too rushed. 

Once they had found their friends, Biana had a suggestion: "Snowball fight!" She whipped a freshly made snowball at Fitz, who yelped but flung one right back at her. 

Sophie smiled and hurled one at Tam, who ducked, but managed to get her on the knee. 

Linh threw lightly, not wanting to hurt anyone. Fitz, Tam, and Keefe threw hard, and Marella and Dex whipped snowballs everywhere. Biana smacked everyone at least a hundred times each, and Sophie was mostly just aiming and trying to dodge while staying on her feet. 

In the end, she was the one who got the most pelted in snowballs. 

All of her friends lay on the snow, laughing as they spoke and talked. 

Once they'd finished up, Sophie shook her hat off and started to walk home when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, and her breath hitched when she saw Tam. 

"Sophie, can I ask you something?" He asked sheepishly and utterly softly. 

"Sure," Sophie nodded, her cheeks turning red. She could blame how cold it was for her flushed cheeks. 

"Will you be my girlfriend?" 

Sophie stood there for what felt like an hour but was only one second. She stared into his eyes, so full of hope. 

"Yes," She whispered.