The first night in the cabin was awkward. Parsons and I had some tension between us since our time in the kitchen so sleeping in the same room was a little weird, to say the least. However, we didn't get the chance to test how tense it would be. When I woke up, his bed looked untouched and I hadn't heard him come in the room during the night. A part of me wishes he had slept in the room with me but I rid myself of those thoughts.
"What's on the agenda for today?" It's about two in the afternoon and we're all bored out of our minds. The tension between me and Parsons has not gone away and I think it's making us all uncomfortable.
"We don't have any plans. Any ideas?" Cam shrugs his shoulders as he lays sprawled against the sofa. The TV plays some movie on the Hallmark channel but none of us are actually watching, besides Ollie. He sits crisscross on the floor beside Cam, his eyes glued to the screen. Liv sits in one of the two recliners, playing Flappy Bird on her phone. Elliott occupies the other recliner and is also on his phone. Parsons and I sit on the other couch, having as much distance between us as we can.
"I need to finish my Christmas shopping. Does anyone need to?" Liv gives this as an answer.
"Me too." Cam chimes in.
"I need more ribbon." Ollie says. He eyes stay on the screen, mumbling something afterwards about how "oblivious the characters are" and how they need to "stop acting like children and just kiss already."
Shockingly, Elliott agrees. "Now that I think about it, I have some last minute things I need to get."
I look at Elliott with a questioning look. "You do? I thought you told me you were done shopping?"
"I forgot about getting your mom a gift." He shifts his eyes as he answers my question. This has always been a tell that Elliott is lying to me. But why would he lie about this?
"I'm done with my shopping." Parsons says. I feel his eyes on me after he is done talking.
"Me too." I admit.
"Then it's settled. Us four will do some shopping and you guys can stay here." Liv says, with a more chipper tone in her voice. I do understand being jolly for the season, but I remember Liv saying how much she loathes holidays, especially Christmas. Something about seeing all these merry people burns her eyes. Her words, not mine.
"Wait-" I go to say something but by the time I am about to, everyone has gathered their things and have begun to leave.
I look to Parsons who has the same look as me: confusion. He just shrugs his shoulders and I laugh slightly.
"Then there were two." He says this in an awkward tone. "What do you want to do?"
"I'm not sure." I look around the room and realize I haven't finished exploring the cabin. "I'm going to look around the cabin a bit more." I stand up and begin walking around. I find myself walking through the kitchen and enter the dining area. There is a rectangular, wooden table that seats six next to a bay window. The cushions and decorations in the area follow a fall theme and I feel warmed but the usage of reds and oranges. A pair of sliding doors sit next to the table and I look outside. Snow covers the large outdoor patio and I notice a pool looking object sitting on the far side of the porch, probably a hot tub. I follow a small hallway past the dining room and find a laundry room and a small bathroom.
I walk back towards the main area and Parsons has disappeared. I find myself wondering where he went but don't overthink it. I follow the hallway where the rooms are and find the cabin getting warmer. As I found out yesterday, there are four bedrooms. The master bedroom, where Cam and Ollie are staying, has an attached bathroom to it. There is also another bathroom at the very end of the hall, past the rest of the bedrooms that the rest of us are using.
As I approach our room, I hear the shower running. I noticed the door cracked but no steaming exiting the room. I knock on the door slightly, just double checking that it is indeed Parsons in the bathroom and not some serial killer. Cabins like these are perfect for murders; they are in the middle of nowhere and it would take a while for someone to find the body.
"Parsons?" I knock on the door a few times, lightly, but when I don't get a response, I begin to worry. "Parsons?" I ask this a little louder but he does not respond. I peak my eyes through the door and find my eyes widening at the sight.
My eyes stayed glued to Parsons as I watch as he pulls his shirt from his body. His back muscles clench and I find my eyes being drawn to his abs in the mirror. You can very clearly see his muscles and six pack.
He looks so hot right now.
When I realize he's about to take off the rest of his clothes, I immediately back away from the door and go back to the living room. I find my heart racing and my mind falling into the gutter.
I scroll through the channels on the TV and land on the discovery channel, trying to distract my mind. However, since it was a boring documentary, I found myself dozing off to the sound of birds chirping.
I find myself waking up to the feeling of someone touching me. I slowly open my eyes and feel something move from under me. I look around, unsure of what's going on. I see a finger twirling my hair and instantly have a flashback from when Parsons did this a couple weeks ago.
I begin to sit up and he stops twirling my hair.
"Look who's awake."
I yawn and do a small stretch before responding. "How long have I been asleep?" I look around and see everything is the same, besides the lack of people.
"Not too long. I took a short shower and I've been sitting here for about twenty minutes." He combs his hand through his damp hair. His shirt rides up slightly and I can't help but look at the hidden abs.
"Like what you see?" A smirk plays on his lips and I feel a blush rise on my cheeks. I find myself turning away but feeling of his hand on mine causes me not to. I look down from his hand and up to his eyes. They hold a certain softness to them that makes my heart melt. My heart swells as its rhythm speeds up.
I try to look away from his eyes, but I can't. Something about them lures me and I find myself unable to escape from the trance they emit.
His lips move but I don't hear him. I watch as they morph into a soothing smile and I find myself craving his lips to be on mine.
"Beanie?" His voice finally fills my ears and I am pulled back to reality.
"Yes?" I say.
"Do you want to?"
"Want to what?" The confusion evident in my voice. He chuckles lightly and shakes his head. His hand moves from mine and I find myself frowning a little.
"Do you want to build a snowman?" I find myself laughing but stop when I realize he's being serious.
"Seriously?" He nods. The most serious expression sits on his face. "Do you realize how cold it is outside?" I gesture to the outdoors. As I say that, I feel my body get colder and my body shivers.
"We'll wear lots of layers. Please." He pouts his lip and gives me puppy dog eyes.
He looks so cute when he begs.
"Fine." I mutter but he hears me and the biggest grin forms on his face. He gets up off the couch and pulls me to our room. I stand there and watch as he puts a short-sleeved shirt over the long-sleeved one he wears. He puts on a pair of tennis shoes and a thick jacket.
"Come on, slow-poke. We don't have all day." He gives me a pointed look and I raise my hands in surrender. I walk to the pile of clothes I brought and find thicker clothing. I put on another pair of socks and throw a black pair of snow boots over my leggings and socks. I grab the first sweatshirt I can find and find a beanie to match it.
I look over to Parsons as I finish adding layers and a smile sits on his lips. He looks at me in a way he never has never.
"What?" I say, feeling weird with how he's looking at me.
He shakes his head a little, the smile still there. "Nothing." He says before walking out the room. I follow behind him and we grab some gloves before we go outside.
"Have you ever built a snowman?" He asks once we've left the warmth of the cabin. I find myself rubbing my arms in an attempt to warm myself but it doesn't help. He walks to an area with a lot of snow and immediately begins gathering snow.
"I grew up in the same house until I was twelve. My mom hated the snow so we lived in a fairly warm area. It never got cold enough for it to snow." I admit. A memory appears in my head and I find myself smiling.
"Please, babe. Erin has never seen snow before." Dad looks into Mom's eyes with a pleading look. She sits in her chair with an unamused look on her face.
"You know how much I hate the snow, Rob." Mom shakes her head and I watch as Dad gets on his knees in front of her. He takes her hands in his and I watch her begin to smile.
"Pleaseee." He drags out the word. "For Erin?" He looks over to me and winks with confidence, as if he knows that he'll get his way.
"Fine." She mumbles but we both heard it. Dad runs over to me and picks me up. He twirls me around and I can't help but laugh.
"Get ready, Princess. You're gonna be seeing snow by this time tomorrow." The biggest grin sits on my face. I wrap my arms around Dad's neck and watch as Mom smiles at us.
I stand with a smile on my face after recalling the memory.
I swore I was the happiest girl in the world at that moment.
"Is this your first time seeing snow?" He looks over to me. He has this pleading look on my face, as if saying "please say no."
I shake my head and chuckle. "Of course not. I first saw snow when I was seven." A smile stays on my face as I watch the memory unfold in my mind. "What about you?" I ask.
"I grew up in England; it's always cold enough for snow." He laughs and I smile at the sound of it. He gestures for me to join him and I do so, hesitantly. I mimic his movements and gather snow to help build the shape of a snowman.
"What was it like in England?" I ask. He doesn't talk much about his past so you could say I was curious.
"Well I only lived there until I was five. I don't have many memories but I do remember winters there. My mum would come home from work and surprise me with a sweet. I remember getting so happy by just her handing me my favorite sweet before dragging me outside to build a snowman." He smiles at the memory. I find myself smiling as well. "Before my pops left us, he would come home and I was always scared that he would be mad at me for playing in the snow but instead he would be the one to start the snowball fights." His smile falters for a moment until his eyes reach mine and that breathtaking smile is on his face again.
"What's your favorite sweet?" I say the last word in a "British accent" but it is so bad that he laughs.
"I can't remember the name but it was some specific flavor of taffy. It got discontinued and I remember crying when Mum told me." He laughs and I smile at him. "What's your favorite candy?" He says candy in the most American accent and I laugh.
"Swedish Fish." I say. His mouth drops open in awe.
"Swedish Fish? Out of all the good sweets in the world, you chose Swedish Fish?" He looks at me like I'm crazy.
"They are so underrated." I fire back.
"They are the worst sweet out there." He says this and gives me a "duh" look as well.
"Are not." I find myself taking a step closer to him.
"Are too." He takes a step closer to me.
"Are not." Our bodies are only millimeters away.
"Are not." His hand brushes against mine.
"Are too." I speak but I don't realize what I've said until I see the smirk on his face.
"You admitted it." I scoff and turn away from him in annoyance. I begin to walk away but find myself being turned back to him.
"I'm not talking to you." I cross my arms over my chest and avoid eye contact.
"Don't be like that, Beanie. I was just teasing." He pokes my cheek but I turn my head further from him. "Beanie." He pokes my face more and I find myself beginning to smile but I try to suppress the action. "What can I do to get you to talk to me?"
"Admit it." I say, finally looking at him.
"Admit what?"
"That Swedish Fish aren't the worst candy." I watch his face as he contemplates how to place this out before he speaks.
"Fine. Swedish Fish aren't the worst candy." He speaks in his "American accent" and I can't help but crack a smile.
"I'm glad we can both agree." I give him a satisfied grin before going back to building the snowman.
A silence builds between us and I can't help but feel weirded out by it.
"Why'd you move?" He asks and his question stuns me for a moment and I find myself freezing in place.
"What?" I say, not sure if I heard him correctly.
"Why'd you move when you were twelve?" He doesn't look at me so he doesn't realize the impact the question has on me.
"We just needed a change of scenery." I say honestly. Mom and I needed to get out of that house so we moved.
"And you moved here?" We've finally finished the bottom two parts and he begins working on the head.
"No." I say. A part of me hates him for asking, trying to learn about my past. Another parts of me wants him to keep asking so I can tell someone. "We moved to six other towns before we found this one." He looks at me with curiosity. I can tell he wants to know more and before I can think through what to do, I tell him more. "We moved so much because I kept getting into fights. People tried to take my beanie off and I wasn't having it so I punched them." I don't look at him, scared that he'll look at me differently.
After a moment, I feel his fingers under my chin, urging me to look at him. I comply to his request and I feel confused once my eyes meet his. He holds this soft look in his eyes and I wasn't expecting it.
"Did you win the fights?" He jokingly says this and I can't help but laugh.
"Of course." I say. I chuckle and he laughs with me.
"Beanie?" He says after a minute. I look back to him and his playful look has vanished. I feel my anxiety rise as I wonder what he's going to say next. "If anyone gives you any trouble, please tell me. I'd hate for you to get into another fight and have to leave." He says this with sincerity and I find my heart swelling at his words.
This boy is too perfect.
Maybe we can tell him?
Maybe we can.
"Okay." I give him an assuring smile and he gives me a genuine one in return.
We go back to building the snowman and we don't talk. But I think we're both okay with not talking.
I find some rocks and some sticks to finish the snowman while Parsons goes inside to find some type of hat.
"A beanie?" I say once I realize what hat he grabbed.
"It's your signature." He shrugs and places the cloth on the head of the snowman while I give it arms, eyes, a mouth, and a nose.
We step back and burst into laughter once we realize how terrible it looks.
"It looks so bad." I've fallen to the ground and double in laughter.
"That's all your fault." He says, laughing with me.
I gasp and hold a hand to my heart, as if I've been stabbed. "This was my first time building one. I just had a terrible teacher." I retort back.
"The teacher was great. The student was terrible." He holds a smirk on his face and that upsets me. Before I know it, I find myself throwing snow into his face.
I throw my hands over my mouth in shock of what I did.
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I was-" I'm cut off by the feeling of snow hitting my face. I open my eyes after wiping the snow off and am met with the face of a grinning Parsons.
"Game on." I say before making another ball of snow and throwing it at him before running away and hiding behind a tree.
I'm sure not sure how much time passed but I didn't realize the group got back until they said something.
"What's going on here?" Liv interrupts. She holds a questioning look and Parsons and I look at each other for a moment. We nod and smirk at each other before throwing snowballs at her.
Parsons and I team up and begin attacking the newcomers. Liv and Elliott team up and take fortress on the front porch. Ollie and Cam use the car as their base and Parsons and I claim the trees.
We act as if this is war and I can't help but laugh as I see Ollie dramatically fall as he gets hit in the heart.
We throw snowball after snowball and I find myself smiling the whole time.
This is the first snowball fight I've ever had and I don't think it'll be the last with this group.