December 17th, 2012
“This is my favorite spot in Buffalo to eat.”
I looked across a booth from Winter as a uninterested middle aged woman with her hair tied back into a slicked, greasy bun handed us our menus. She whipped out a pen from her pocket and in a monotone voice, she droned on, as if read from a card, “Hello, and welcome to Charlie’s Diner, where love is in every bite. May I take your order?”
Coming from a woman who looked like she’d very well spit in our food, even the most considerate of introductions was not reassuring.
I looked across the table at Winter and smiled lopsidedly, but before I could even ask her to order, she had slammed the menu down, decided.
“Chocolate chip pancakes, please!” She chirped excitedly, grinning.
The woman looked at her strangely, narrowing her eyes at her as if she was confused by her enthusiasm. I grinned, finding amusement at Winter’s childish excitement, and at the woman’s disinterest as she jotted down her order and took away her menu. She spun towards me, her piercing stare directed at me, “And you, son?”
I glanced over at Winter, and smiled, handing the woman my menu. “I’ll have the same as her.”
The woman nodded, sighing as she took down my order right next to Winter’s. “I’ll be back soon with your orders,” she said, nodding at both of us before turning away, heading towards the back. Once she’d left, I rolled up the sleeves of my sweater, adjusting my glasses as Winter sipped at the milkshake she’d ordered at noon.
I grinned at her, “Going all out, huh?”
She looked up, wiping the chocolate from her mouth with the back of her hand. “I rarely make it into the city, it’s worth it.” She said with a smirk. She leaned against the table, her bony elbows hitting the wooden surface with a clink. “You’ll love the pancakes here, trust me. They’re my favorite.”
I nodded, hopeful that they would be. I played with the straw of my water, letting the ice cubes dance in suspension, happy to be with Winter, yet having something much heavier weighing in on my mind. She seemed to notice something was wrong, as she often did, and spoke up, “Are you alright, Henry?”
I looked up at her, blinking. I straightened my posture and nodded, “O-oh, yeah. I’m okay, I mean…I was just wondering about something.”
“About what?” She asked, intrigued as she pulled herself closer over the table, her hair falling to frame her pale face.
I thought of all the things that’d been running through my head for the past months; all about the boy from the party, about Winter and Noelle, and about everything that Winter was hiding behind that seemingly innocent face of hers that seemed to carry the weight of the world. I scratched my neck nervously, not reluctant to talk, but more indecisive on where to start.
“Well,” I started awkwardly. “I was just…thinking…you know, about how we’ve spent a lot of time together lately.”
She nodded naively, grinning, “Yeah. I’ve had fun, haven’t you?”
“Yes, definitely,” I said, nodding. She didn’t quite seem to pick up what I meant; granted, I wasn’t quite sure what I meant, either. “But, anyway, I was just thinking…I mean, we’ve spent so much time together—but we don’t really know each other.”
She paused to look at me more intently, her head tilting to the side. She frowned, deep in puzzlement, “…I think I know you pretty well, Henry.” She said quietly, sounding nearly confused.
I nodded my head, “Yeah, but I just…”
“…You don’t know her.”
“So? Do you?”
“…I feel like I don’t know you that well.”
Winter frowned, looking at me directly, her gaze not faltering even for a second. I bit down on the inside of my cheek, nervously anticipating what she’d say to me; if she’d get mad at me for prying, like usual, or if she’d just plainly dismiss it.
“Then ask me something,” she said simply, relaxing back in her chair, as if preparing herself for a long interrogation. She crossed her arms and looked at me, smiling.
I tried not to make it too obvious that I was shocked; shocked that she was letting me in; shocked because she hadn’t before. But to avoid conflict, I leaned in slightly and thought of one of the most general questions imaginable; a sort of question that might be on a survey you get at school, or in a quiz you take on the back of a magazine for fun.
I smiled, adjusting my glasses. “Alright,” I said quietly, scanning my brain for something that would suffice, “um…do you have any brothers or sisters?”
Winter paused for a minute, as if to keep me on the edge. She pursed her lips, looking at me blankly, “I have one sister. Bronwyn. She’s twenty-two years old.”
I smiled, “You never told me you had a sister.”
“Well, I am now.” She said, shrugging simply. She kicked one foot over the other, sitting cross-legged, “Any other burning questions simply dying to be answered?”
I went on, firing questions like a cannon, “Any pets?”
“Nope.”
“Favorite color?”
“Don’t have one. Don’t have a favorite number, either. I think it’s stupid. What’s that supposed to tell you about me?”
I shrugged, “Touché,” I mumbled, “Got any other friends besides me?”
She smirked, “You’re more of a pet, Henry.” She said, laughing, “But no, not really. I don’t usually do friends.”
“Why not?”
“They’re not dependable.”
“Well, that’s a bit of a contradiction.”
“How?”
“Friends are supposed to be dependable.”
She rolled her eyes, unamused, “Well, raisins aren’t supposed to taste like shit, but they do.”
“Have you tasted shit?”
“Next question please, Mr. Carson.”
I smirked, though I wasn’t going to let go of this opportunity so willingly. “So, why do you feel so negatively about making friends?”
“It’s never worked out for me.”
I made a dramatic gesture to myself, and she laughed.
“You’re a different story, Book Boy,” she said with a shrug. “Most people don’t like to stick around, you know?”
“Like who?”
“Like everyone.”
I leaned against the table, wanting to come right out with it and say her name. I wanted to ask what everyone had against each other, and why I was pushed into the middle of a war when I didn’t even know what they were fighting for. But I didn’t want to, and I couldn’t, and I knew I never would.
I fumbled around with my words, trying to still sound discreet, “But, I mean, in particular—”
“Henry,” she sighed, rolling her eyes. I looked up to her, and she was shaking her head, chuckling, amused, “you’re so bad at trying to hide your actual intentions.”
My eyes widened, and I wondered if I had been found out. What would she do? Would she yell? Would she storm off, and leave without warning, like she’d done so many times before? Or would she just cut me off, leaving me to be one of those people she only thought about in past tense?
“O-oh?”
She nodded, “Mmm-hmm.” She hummed, “And the answer is no, Henry. I don’t think you’d leave me.”
I blinked, taken slightly aback, “Wait, what—”
“You’re my best friend, Henry,” she said, patting me fondly on the back of my hand. She was smiling, “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
I knew that that wasn’t the question I was going for, but still, I nodded, knowing it’d be too hard to go back now. I supposed that it was a feat of its own. Winter hadn’t yelled at me; in fact, she’d called me her best friend.
“You’re my best friend, too, Winter.” Is all I said.
So I just looked at her, and she looked at me, and we smiled, thinking about the proclamation we’d both just made. But even though it was a happy occasion, best friends were supposed to know everything about each other, right? Best friends didn’t keep secrets?
I supposed we were just different.
“Oh!” Winter immediately squealed, bringing me back immediately to the real world. Her hand left mine, feeling like a cord that’d snapped, so that she could bring her own to hands together as the waitress returned, setting down a plate of chocolate pancakes for her. “Thank you!”
The woman nodded at her, then set mine down on the spot in front of me. We shared a mutual head nod, a conversation that needed no words, and she walked off, leaving us alone again.
Winter had begun to drizzle pounds of maple syrup over the pancakes already, and dug in without hesitating. I watched her, laughing to myself, until she looked up.
“Go ahead, try yours!” She said, gesturing to the fork at my side.
Sighing, I picked it up and cut into the pancakes, drizzling some syrup on them before I took a forkful. I chewed on them, looking up at her as I tasted them. Normally, I would not be too keen on sweets, but for her, I smiled, “Very good.”
“So, worth the risk?” She asked finally, looking up at my smugly as she piled another forkful of pancakes in her mouth, giddy as a child.
I looked at her, smiling.
“Definitely.”
❄
By the time we returned to town, school was already over.
“We spent a lot more time out than I thought we would,” I murmured as Winter drove past the school, and we gazed out amongst all the students either waiting for their ride or talking mindlessly by the field.
“Are you regretting it?” She asked, taking a sharp turn that would lead us to my house.
I shook my head, “No, it’s just, it feels weird.”
“What feels weird?”
I smiled bashfully, “Breaking the rules.”
Winter chuckled, nodding, “Well, congratulations. You just took your first risk.”
“Do I get a medal?”
“No,” she said, laughing lightly, “but you do get a rousing applause—once my hands aren’t on the steering wheel, of course.”
I nodded, “Of course.”
She smiled, and continued to drive until we reached my house. Parking on the curb, she unlocked the doors, checking the time. “It’s three o’clock sharp. Perfect timing.”
I grinned at her, “Well, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For making me take that risk. And for the pancakes.”
She pointed a finger at me, “Which you’ll pay me back for one day.”
I nodded unsurely at her, smirking. “I’ll see you later, then.”
She saluted me, as if it was the last time she’d ever see me. “See you—”
“Henry Arthur Carson, where have you been all day?!”
I knew that voice all too well, and my mouth dropped, the words spilling out of my mouth.
“Oh, shit.”
“Your teachers say they marked you down as absent all day!” My mother snapped. I turned around, able to see her stomping down the stone steps, down the walkway, until she was inches away from me, pointing a perfectly manicured figure at me accusingly, “Am I to believe that you skipped school?”
My mouth hung wide open, and I fumbled for words, unable to think of anything coherent to say, “Mom, it’s not what it looks like—”
“Oh, then what is it, then?—”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Carson,” I suddenly heard Winter pipe up, still in the car, her window rolled down. She smiled genially at her, and I could only imagine what sort of excuse she’d concocted, “It’s my fault, really. I’ve been taking down attendance lately in the office to help out and earn a few extra credits, and I must’ve missed Henry’s name. I was just giving him a ride home to repay him, seeing as I made a mistake.”
My mother’s eyes narrowed at her, frowning peculiarly, “And who are you?”
She held out a hand, grinning wide, “My name’s Winter McLane. I’m in Henry’s class.”
Her eyes immediately widened, her mouth falling open, “Oh my goodness!” She said, beaming, “Well, that changes everything.”
It was Winter’s turn to be confused, and she frowned, “Oh…?”
“Henry’s told me so much about you!”
She grinned widely, looking at me smugly, “Did he?”
“I did not!” I snapped indignantly, feeling my cheeks heat up like a furnace.
My mother didn’t seem to mind my outrage, though, and went on as if I wasn’t there, “Winter, I was wondering if you’d like to join us on Christmas dinner.”
Winter’s eyes went wide, her mouth hanging open, “You want me at your home on Christmas?”
“We’d love it—!”
I nudged my mother, thoroughly embarrassed, “Mom, Winter has other things to do on Christmas then be with us—”
“No, actually, I’d love to come over.” She said with a smile, surprising me. I looked at her with wide eyes.
“…You would?”
She nodded, “I would.”
“Then it’s settled!” She chirped, clapping her hands together. “I’ll be looking forward to it!"
Winter nodded, and with that, my mother was swept away, walking back up the steps into the house and leaving us alone again. I turned to Winter, crossing my arms, “I’ll see you then, I guess.”
She grinned, “I suppose I will. Don’t get too excited, though, Book Boy.”
“I’ll try my best,” I told her with a grin.
She nodded then and waved me a goodbye, right before she drove off in her car, leaving me standing on the sidewalk and watching as she faded into the distance. And so, I turned on my heel, heading back towards the house, knowing now exactly how I’d finish my story.
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a/n: dedicated to chei because her message to me yesterday made my week, she's gonna make me a gif with queen florence and because she showed me "the local natives" which is pretty much the best band ever so she's pretty much perfect
and sorry chei, there wasn't any wintery action in this chapter but i promise you there will be very, very soon
hehe