And such, the winds changed in Yule Town, bringing forth November's looming winter. No longer were the streets smelling like pumpkin, nor were there any leaves at all on the trees, neither was there sunlight through the day, instead replaced with a forever grey sky filled with clouds that menaced an upcoming storm.
Something Connor had learnt growing up in the cold north his entire life, and not seeing any other place in the world so far, was that winter was both the most solemn and saddest of ladies. She arrived unannounced, unwanted, and brought with her only darkness and ice. She was cold, unforgiving. Misunderstood. When he was a lot younger, during his first years as a foster kid living in the orphanage with Alexis, they used to be told fairytales to bed. Those were the few good times they had in that unforgiving house. The nanny used to read them some classic stories, such as Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. But she also had some that she made up herself.
Every time there was a blizzard in the streets of Minneapolis, and the orphanage was shut down, she would tell them a story about a lonely queen named Lady Winter. She had no sisters or brothers, no children or spouse. She was born in a snowy day and lived alone in a huge Ice Palace. She was queen of the lands of ice, and every year she rode her flying carriage and traveled the entire world, spinning around it. Wherever she passed, it would snow and be cold for months.
This year, Lady Winter had gotten pretty early, or so the news said. There wasn't any snow yet, and everyone said it would be unlikely there would be. But Connor kept thinking to his insides that those types of things could never be predicted. That was one of the few things he remembered learning from his late father.
As Connor walked outside of the school bus, among the rest of the children arriving to school that morning, he took a minute to close his eyes, and just breathe. He brooded, trying to make memory of his father's exact words, one winter in particular in which the power of their house had been cut off by the blizzard, and all his siblings and mother were asleep. Connor wasn't able to sleep that night all. Instead, he stayed up with his dad, Peter, who rocked him back and forth, and kept soothing him with his words.
"We'll never leave this place...", young Connor would say.
"That's a possibility.", his father had replied, "But one can never know for certain with nature, Connor. And it's wise not to question it, for she is far older and far wiser than any man who has ever walked the Earth."
Perhaps he hadn't understood what those words meant back then, but now he had a vague idea.
He had always felt safe whenever his dad was there...
-"Connor?"
Connor was taken out of his trance by Mikey's voice, who was standing in front of him, with Alexis next to him. They were both clad in their winter coats, for it was chilling outside. Mikey's glasses were getting foggy, and Alexis had a red scarf that matched her beanie.
-"We're gonna be late."—Mikey said again, calling out his foster brother's attention.
-"Right."—Connor replied, walking towards the two—"Sorry."
Once he had caught up, the three walked in unison towards the school's entrance. People all around were going at a very slow pace, clearly bummed out from the loss of Halloween's hype, and now dreading having to go back to the same routine they did every day. Maybe some would have said that the Holidays were coming up soon, trying to make an effort to fill up the air with Christmas joy. But it was just November, and it was already a hassle having to put down all the Halloween decorations all over town before they had to start putting up Christmas and Hanukah ones. The generally felt down mood made the entry to the school quite dreadful, even more so than other days.
-"You know, in other countries around the world, they celebrate the day of the dead."—Alexis commented, as the three made their way through the gloomy hallway—"It's the next day after Halloween."
-"Is it?"—Mikey asked, intrigued—"I don't think I've heard of it before."
-"Technically, that's the actual holiday."—Alexis explained—"It's a catholic day, taken from a Celtic tradition. All Hollow's Day. And, the night before, is All Hollow's Eve."
-"Halloween..."—Mikey commented, earning a nod from Alexis.
-"Yeah. The British were the first ones to adapt the celebration differently. That happened with many other holidays as well; Christmas, Easter..."
-"You sure know a lot about these things."—Mikey observed.
-"Growing up, Al would spend hours checking out history books."—Connor commented, making Mikey turn in his direction—"But not the ones from school; she loved going to the library and reading the stuff they didn't teach us. She usually dragged me along. More than once we got into trouble for not having a library card."
Alexis blushed and smiled at the memory. There was once a time she had taken a book from the library of the town she and Connor were staying at by mistake, and got caught. Connor then took the blame for her. They were banned from the library, but it didn't matter, because they were moved out the next day.
-"Yeah, she has always been like that."—Connor kept on saying—"She also loved reading plays out loud in her room when no one was listening."
At this, Alexis' blush turned deeper into that of embarrassment, as Mikey tried to contain a laugh, and as she stared daggers at Connor.
-"Yeah, I've overheard her..."—Mikey admitted, making Alexis slap him in the arm.
Then, Connor remembered a certain something he had almost forgotten from the last time he had spoken with Lia.
-"Hey, Al."—he said, earning her attention—"What part are you playing in the end? For the drama club?"
Alexis' features turned to that of panic, and she then looked straight up ahead, unwilling to look back at Connor and doing here best at remaining impassive.
-"An extra."—she answered flatly.
-"Why?"—Connor asked.
-"Yeah, how come? I've seen you practicing for the role of Alice, I've heard you recite the lines! And you were doing great!"—Mikey said, then turning to Connor questioningly—"Is Mr. Dawson that blind?"
-"He isn't. He's great. I just..."
Alexis let ought a sigh, fixing her beanie a little before she could go on speaking. She then answered, still not meeting their eyes.
-"... I never auditioned for Alice."
At this, both Connor and Mikey stopped dead on their tracks, wide-eyed. Connor pulled Alexis' arm gently, making her turn around and face them. She looked frankly very exhausted, but also very resolved. She didn't look embarrassed anymore.
-"Why didn't you?"—Mikey asked softly, clearly not understanding.
-"Because...!"
Alexis didn't seem to have the words to express her motives. She kept biting her lips and looking all around her, as if trying to come up with a good excuse. However, she eased up eventually, sighing once again and facing the boys.
-"I would have ruined it! What would I have been able to do with a lead role? I've never ever done theatre before; this is the first time I've been lucky enough to be in the team! Let alone the play! I'm not going to jeopardize the entire production just because I think I'm good enough! I need practice! And... and baby steps, and a slow pace!"
Connor didn't buy any of it.
-"Who got those ideas into your heard? Johnson?"—he asked, frowning sternly and clenching his fist just from the mental picture of Lia saying all that bullshit to Alexis.
-"No! Alright? It-It doesn't matter! Just please, please, PLEASE promise me you will both stay out of this, ok!?"
Connor and Mikey were both already protesting out loud, saying how that was unacceptable, and that she was in her entire right to audition just like anyone else, and about how she had a good chance at getting it, but Alexis shut them both up.
-"This is my choice, and I'm happy with it! I'm going to be in the play, and I'm in the team, and I'm going to put my back into it to the best of my capacity! So, please let me do this? Don't meddle... Okay?"
Both Connor and Mikey brooded, uttering reluctant agreements under their breaths. Alexis then said her goodbyes and headed off to her class, leaving the two of them on the base of the stairs. Connor was supposed to go up to the second floor, and Mikey was meant to go to Science. Before they parted ways, Mikey turned towards Connor.
-"We're meddling, right?"
-"The theatre, after school."—Connor stated—"We need to have a word with Mr. Dawson."
-"It's settled then."—Mikey said, offering Connor his right palm, and the latter shaking it confidently—"We meet after class."
After that, Mikey went about his way, and Connor headed directly towards Ms. Ballinger's classroom. He was well received, with her smiling widely at him. She had replaced her usual flowery dresses with a pair of white pants, a flowery blouse, a coat and a pair of matching leather gloves. Clearly the winter's cold was getting to her, too. Connor entered the classroom, spotting several empty seats. Lilly wasn't there yet, and there were several kids who seemed to be arriving late as well. However, Troye was sitting quite comfortably in his usual spot, next to the window, staring at the sky with his usual white headphones on. Resolved, and right before he could make up his mind differently, Connor went ahead and took a seat next to him. Troye didn't notice at first, lost to the blast of his music, but after a minute he noticed Connor, and took off the headphones.
-"Hey!"—Troye greeted quite excitingly—"How you've been?"
-"Hmph. Funny question, since we've just seen each other a couple of days ago."
Troye reddened a bit after Connor's comment, and seemed to be about to reply, but the two were soon joined by a third as Lilly took a seat in front of Connor, wearing her usual baseball cap, which didn't fit too well with the large coat her mom had made her wear that morning.
-"Hey guys! It's freezing outside but in here I'm SUFFOCATING! And dammit I hate this stupid coat, God bless..."
Troye shook his head and Connor laughed, waiting for Lilly to take off the coat and wiping off the sweat on her forehead.
-"Much, much better!"
She then started taking out here notebooks, organizing her desk. Connor found it funny that she didn't ask him anything about where he was off to after he left the Halloween party, though. So he leaned in with a questioning, suggestive raise of eyebrows.
-"Say, Lilly... where were you after the party, hmm?"
-"WHAT!? P-P-Party!? I-I... Eh... Oli and I... went out for some ice cream—DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK!"
Connor was, effectively, looking at her as if she had just spilled out her deepest, darkest secret. The tilting of his head didn't help much. Troye, on the other hand, was wide eyed and pale, quite shocked at the reveal.
-"Y-Y-You a-a-and Oli? What? W-When...?"
-"Never! We're just friends! Stop stuttering and you—YOU stop looking at me like that! Get that filthy idea off your head, you sicko! Give me a break, for God's sakes!"
It's safe to say Connor didn't give her a break throughout the entire day.
---
Later, at the end of the day, Troye announced he had to go and practice with Lia for their audition. Apparently she had finally found a song she thought was appropriate, and Troye had to play it up to the point of perfection, so that was supposed to take a while. Connor thought it would be better that way, because it meant that Lia would be busy and that left him time alone to talk with Mr. Dawson. He was supposed to meet Mikey just outside the auditorium, but something was giving him a hard time to it.
Or rather, someone.
-"But tell meeeeee...! What is it so important that you have to do!?"—Lilly whined and begged, really wanting to know what was it that made Connor seem so upset.
-"Listen, it's not really that big of a deal, and besides it has nothing to do with you, son stop fretting!"—Connor commanded in return, walking hastily towards the accorded place and trying to shake off his friend.
-"But you're not going on the way to swimming! Are you skipping today's practice? What could possibly be so important to make you stop going? And you seem so all over the place! Is it a girl? Are you meeting with Alexa?"
-"Look—Lilly, give it a rest."—Connor said, stopping on his tracks just when they were about to make the final turn to the hallway he needed to head to—"It's just this little thing I need to get done today, nothing more, ok?"
Lilly was about to protest again, but just before she could, Mikey emerged from the corner of the hallway, accompanied by Luke.
-"Hey, look, there he is! Connor!"—Mikey called out, walking towards them with Luke right next to him, as Connor rolled his eyes—"Here you are! We've been waiting!"
-"Mikey, what is Luke doing here? Why did you bring him along?"—Connor said, motioning towards Luke, who smirked and raised his hands in ignorance.
-"Gee, thanks."—Luke replied under his breath.
-"It's ok."—Mikey said to Luke, then turning to Connor—"What's with it? He's my best friend, he's here to have our backs. Besides, you brought yours, too! Or else what's Lilly doing here?"
Lily took a hand to her chest, looking quite touched.
-"Aaaaaaawe! Oh, bad boy! Am I your best friend!?"
Connor felt like throwing up.
-"Ok, whatever! Let's just see if we can catch him before he leaves the school!"
Lilly had many questions about what they were planning, but neither of the boys paid attention to her protesting, instead, they all walked at quick pace towards the auditorium, expecting to find Mr. Dawson in his office or getting ready for Drama Club practice. Instead, they found him reading some forms right outside the auditorium, with the double doors closed behind him. He was wearing his usual black turtle neck sweater and matching pants and shoes, and next to him the chubby boy named Carl he had yelled at last time. And to whom he was scolding yet again now.
-"... No, no Carl, these aren't the scripts I asked for! I asked you for the late twenty-first century adaptation, not the early twentieth! Damn it kid, can't you do ANYTHING right!?"
Carl seemed to be in the verge of tears, like usual, but that was entirely beside the point. When the party reached Mr. Dawson, he looked at the entire lot with an eyebrow raised. He sent a particular look of distrust to Connor, who was staring right back at him, and then he repaired on Lilly, looking particularly surprised.
-"Ms. Singh!"—he greeted with a grin, handing over the papers to Carl a bit violently—"Yours is a face I haven't seen in a long time!"
-"Hehe... same, director."—Lilly greeted slightly under her breath.
-"I don't suppose I'm lucky enough to have one of my best actresses back?"—asked Mr. Dawson, making Connor, Mikey and Luke all turn towards Lilly questioningly.
Lilly's brownish cheeks were turning slightly pink, but she was quick to compose herself. Connor made a mental note to dig in further to this issue later.
-"I'm flattered, director, but I'm here actually accompanying them."
-"Oh. I see."—Mr. Dawson said, then losing his grin, placing his hands on his hips flamboyantly and then looking straight into Connor's eyes—"Well, Mr. Franta, I don't suppose you're here to accuse me again of bad leadership of my own production?"
Connor felt like spitting profanities, and Mikey noticed, so he spoke up instead.
-"Actually, Mr. Dawson—we're here on behalf of a friend. Alexis Zall."
-"Ms. Zall?"—asked the director, crossing his arms over his chest—"What happened, is she sick?"
-"No, no she's doing fine... eh... how do I put this...?"—Mikey stalled, trying to find the correct words.
Connor managed to calm down a bit, closing his eyes momentarily and taking a moment to breathe. Then looking up at the teacher.
-"Alexis didn't audition for the role of Alice in the play."—Connor stated.
-"I'm fully aware."—answered the teacher—"I was expecting her to do, but she didn't show. I'm announcing the cast tomorrow morning, and currently the chosen candidate for the part is Ms. Johnson."
-"Yes, but that's the thing! She did want to audition, she really did!"—Mikey exclaimed.
-"She didn't go because she felt very intimidated."—Connor explained—"But she has been looking forward so much for this play, and she just didn't think she was talented enough..."
-"I beg to differ. From the little I've seen, I can tell that she is very passionate and well disciplined."—Mr. Dawson agreed, much to everyone's surprise—"However, there are rules to this club like every other, and I can't just go out and about making exceptions, and the audition date has already passed."
-"C-Couldn't you give her another chance?"—Luke said, intervening in the conversation—"She's very shy, but she's got it. Mikey and I are in the film club, and we're helping with the production and all, so we're here a lot and we've seen her do a little acting, and she's great! I know she can make a very good Alice."
-"The best Alice!"—Mikey exclaimed.
-"She just needs one opportunity to prove it to you... sir."
Connor didn't like calling anyone that, let alone Mr. Dawson, but he felt like it was appropriate. Lilly bit her fingernails as she watched the entire thing, and Carl looked expectantly at his teacher with sweat dripping off his forehead. Mr. Dawson didn't seem to be fazed, but he eventually let out a sigh.
-"Look, kids, let me be honest; I was really looking forward to give her the part if she was right for it."—he said with reluctance in his voice—"But if she didn't show up it's gotta be for a reason. She probably doesn't want it badly enough."
Mr. Dawson didn't react to everyone's shocked expressions. He extended his right arm towards Carl, who stared at it for a minute clueless on what to do.
-"... Damn it Carl MY GLASSES!"
After jumping from the impression, Carl took out a pair of large, black glasses, and handed them over to Mr. Dawson, who put them on and gave out a sigh.
-"Well, kids, I appreciate the effort, but unfortunately I don't have any more time. The rest of the kids who are actually in my club are coming soon to discuss the script... If we had the right one, that is."—he said, looking menacingly at Carl from the corner of his eye—"Now, if you'll excuse me..."
Mr. Dawson turned around to open the double doors, and walked into the carpeted hallway that lead to the auditorium, followed by Carl. Mikey, Luke and Lilly stood there defeated. But Connor didn't. Resolved, he started walking right behind Mr. Dawson, resolved to making him change his mind.
-"Mr. Dawson you can't just assume she doesn't want it badly enough! I tell you, she does!"
-"Does she? Then how come she isn't here but you are?"
-"She doesn't know we've come to talk to you!"
-"Ah, typical. The older brother coming to defend the skin of the little sister. I have to admit it, it's kind of cute."
-"We're not siblings! And that's not the point! You have to give her a chance!"
-"Listen, kid."—Mr. Dawson said, turning around and facing Connor once again, whisper-yelling at him—"Even if I wanted to give her another chance to audition-which I don't, I can't just alter the rules like that. There's a reason we have them. If I did this for her, I'd have to do the same for every kid who walks into this auditorium too scared to audition in the future and who backs down at the very last minute. And I'm not going to let the reputation of this institution suffer because of one kid."
Connor was about to protest yet again, but something kept him from it.
A sound.
A sound of a girl talking.
Or was it two girls?
No, it was definitely one girl. Or at least one same voice. But she was having a conversation, with two different accents. Mr. Dawson noticed as well, and he curiously looked over his shoulder in the direction of the entry to the auditorium. Quietly, making sure they didn't make any noise, Mr. Dawson, Carl and Connor tip-toed to the space right before the auditorium seats, concealed by shadows. And from there, they saw Alexis standing all on her own on top of the scenario, talking. And then, she moved fluently to another position, and talked again, as if having a conversation with herself as two different people. Only she was talking in a different accent. A British accent.
She was reenacting her favorite scene from The Parent Trap.
Connor smiled to himself as he watched, and was later joined by Mikey, Luke and Lilly, who watched her from his side. At one moment, she was the American girl Hallie, and at the other, she was her twin sister Annie, who was raised in London. And it was amazing. Connor had heard her before in the past, but she had gotten so, so much better with time and practice. And just looking at her eyes one could tell that she loved playing that part with every bit of joy in her heart.
-"... This is so freaky..."—she said aloud, in a British accent way more convincing than Joe's, pretending to hold a picture between her arms and using a random paper sheet to do so—"Okay, on the count of three we'll show them to each other, ok?"
She then switched positions, and talked with the thick Californian accent that Hallie sported in the film.
-"Okay... one... two... three!"
Connor remembered that part of the movie. It was when they showed each other the picture of their parents torn in half, and they recognized them, and realized they were siblings.
Family.
Like Alexis had always dreamed.
-"That's my dad...! And that's my mum!"—she then looked to the sky, as if reckoning a sound—"That's the lunch bell...! I'm not so hungry anymore... So if... if your mom, is my mom... and my dad is your dad... And we're both born on October eleven... Then you and I are like—like sisters!"
She took a second to change places and compose herself. She always got emotional at this part, now in the British persona once again.
-"Sisters! Hallie, we're like twins!"
It was such a sweet, endearing moment. The following scene of the movie was a hug between the two, and for Alexis' interpretation, that meant an air hug and a few tears of joy that Connor suspected she didn't know were there. At this point, the door of the auditorium opened up again, leading in a rather unwelcome Lia Marie Johnson, accompanied by a not so good looking Troye. She was smiling wide, but the second she noticed Alexis on the stage, she went pale. Connor looked straight at Mr. Dawson, unable to read his thoughts, and wishing he could.
And then, Mr. Dawson started clapping. Slowly at first, but then quite enthusiastically. He started walking towards the stage, as Alexis became aware of his presence, getting up and turning red immediately. Connor and the rest followed suit, and stood their distance, waiting from Mr. Dawson's words.
-"That. Was. Incredible."—he announced, finally stopping his claps and crossing his arms—"You are very talented, Ms. Zall."
-"W-Who, me? No, I'm... I'm barely learning...!"—Alexis brushed off, but it could be told from the grin she was trying to hide that she loved the compliment.
-"I know potential when I see it. I saw yours the second you walked in through that door."—Mr. Dawson pointed out—"And that British accent? Where did you learn to speak it?"
-"F-From movies, sir..."—Alexis said humbly—"And practice..."
-"... From now on, Ms. Zall, please call me director."
Alexis nodded, and Carl raised his eyebrows at his teacher, handing him over a paper sheet, which he received.
-"Thank you, Carl... Now, Ms. Zall, as you may know, I am very strict when it comes to my performers... And it's very unlike me to make exceptions. However, some as some of your... friends..."—he gave Connor and the rest a spiteful look for a second—"Pointed out... there's the necessity to make one with you at this very moment."
Alexis couldn't believe her ears, and neither could Connor. Everybody, even Troye, was looking at him with anticipation, with the exception of Lia, who looked most displeased.
-"... I'd like you to have the lead role of Alice in this year's play, Ms. Zall."
Alexis' eyes widened, a smile appearing on her face at the very second, as Lia's face turned into one of shock.
-"B-But sir—!"
-"—Director."
-"Yes, of course, I'm sorry... But, director! I... I didn't audition!"
-"It appears to me you just did."—Mr. Dawson clarified, smiling genuinely for the first time Connor had ever seen him do—"Welcome on board, Alice."
Alexis' joy couldn't be contained. She immediately started thanking him profusely, getting off the stage and engulfing Connor in a tremendous bear hug, and then Mikey. She was saying how much she didn't see this coming, and how she had just come to read some lines because she felt like using the spare time before practice. She couldn't believe it, and she didn't even mind that Connor and the rest were there when she asked them not to, she was too ecstatic to care. And everyone shared her enjoyment.
Except of course one person.
-"Ehem... sorry, Mr. Dawson?"
Alexis' celebration was cut short by Lia's intervention. Everybody looked at her, waiting for whatever she had to say about it. Troye looked like he didn't like what was about to come, and exchanged a very nervous glance with Connor. Mr. Dawson looked at Lia firmly, and waited for her complaint.
-"It's not that I don't think that Alexis' little number up there wasn't... charming."—Lia spoke every syllable with dangerous venom, sporting a gigantic fake smile that made Connor's stomach churn—"However, I feel obligated to remind you that there's already a lead for Alice: me!"
Alexis' gaze fell to the floor, as she took a step back, standing behind Connor, clearly intimidated. Connor knew that Lia had a point, and despite whatever he wanted to spit at her, he knew that it wouldn't look good, and that could cost Alexis the part. Staying silent was a tough choice, but it was the only one he could make.
-"Besides, she isn't hardly experienced enough for a lead role; I am, and I know how stressful it can be. She would need personal coaching! And clearly if she is set to lead, I won't be able to do that for her anymore."
Every argument Lia made seemed to have the more solid base. Despite everything, she was right, and Connor hated that. He hated that he didn't have anything to say to defend Alexis.
And that's when out of all the people, Lilly stepped up, with her head held high and her chest inflated.
-"Well if that's the issue then you shouldn't worry so much, darling; I'm going to coach her."
Everybody, including Mr. Dawson, looked surprised at Lilly. Alexis had raised her head with a hopeful look on her face.
Lia raised an eyebrow.
-"Who? You, Singh? Really?"
-"Yes, really."
-"Pfft. I mean no offense but it's been years since you last formed part of this club—"
-"And I mean no offense either but frankly, I think I'm more experienced with coaching than what you are. I am perfectly able for the job, if I do say so myself."
Connor had seen Lilly and Lia have arguments before, countless times. But he had never seen such a despiteful look on Lia's eyes before in his entire life. Next to Lilly's resolve, the two of them looked like they were about to clash in an epic battle. At this, Mr. Dawson intervened.
-"I think that's a very good idea, Ms. Singh. I'd be happy to accept you back in the drama club, if you are interested."
-"Thank you, Mr. Dawson."—Lilly said, not taking her sight off Lia—"I'd be happy to."
Lilly flipped her long hair, turned around and walked towards Alexis, taking her by the shoulder to a side so that they could talk privately. Connor mouthed a voiceless 'thank you' to his friend as she took Alexis away, knowing she was going to comfort the young girl. Meanwhile, Lia was starting to seriously fret.
-"But this isn't fair! I got the part, not her!"
-"The cast hasn't even been officially announced yet, Ms. Johnson. I don't know why you are so convinced that you are playing the lead."—Mr. Dawson said very seriously, earning a look of disbelief from Lia's part.
-"It's obvious I got it! I was the best at the audition! Everybody saw that!"
-"Well, Ms. Johnson, unfortunately it is I who decides who's best for each part, and I have decided Ms. Zall is our lead for this year's winter play. And that's a relief, because that means we can use your talent for another different role which I hadn't cast yet. So, as of today, you will be playing the Queen of Hearts."
Lia's face drained from all color, her cheeks looking extremely pale for their usually very tan tone. She stared at everyone present; at Mr. Dawson, at Mikey, Luke, at Lilly and Alexis talking a bit further ahead, even at Carl. She repaired briefly on Connor, looking at him like she had been ridiculed in front of the entire world. Connor did his best not to show it, but he couldn't avoid the slight smirk that appeared on his lips. When all seemed to be going from bad to worse, however, Troye placed his hand on her shoulder, and she snapped her head directly towards him.
-"... Lia, let it go."—was all he said.
And that's all he had to say for her to slap his hand away, looking furious, and then walk out of the auditorium in very large steps. Troye stood there in shock, before turning to Connor with a look of panic, and then chasing right after her, exiting the room.
-"... Well I think that means we won't be able to rehearse any of her scenes for today."—Mr. Dawson announced.
He then turned to the remaining kids present, with a rather apologetic look on his face.
-"Well, I must ask you all to leave. Rehearsals will start briefly and I there's a lot I need to get prepared. I would appreciate if you gave me and my students some space."
-"S-Sure! Sure, of course, Mr. Dawson, sir..."—Luke said, tapping Mikey quickly on his back, clearly eager to leave—"Thanks for listening! W-We'll be seeing ya! Come on, Mikey, let's go..."
Mikey was still in shock from the entire ordeal, but Luke managed to make him move anyway. Connor was soon following them as well, checking over his shoulder Alexis and Lilly now heading to the scenario, where they were bound to begin practicing. He made another mental note; one that reminded him that he was lucky to have such a good friend as Superwoman in his life.
---
Mikey and Luke were hasty to leave the school grounds, since film club was not gathering that day. It was a rather dark day outside now that it was afternoon, and Connor didn't find it in him to run after them. Apparently Luke had gotten his hands on the latest Metal Gear Solid or something. Connor just walked at his even pace, sure that he would find the bus nonetheless, and if not then he would just walk all the way to Grace's home. If his memory served him right, she was going out that night with Chester, so she wouldn't mind him being there before usual anyway.
But on his way out, Connor didn't come across the bus, so he started walking, and after little time he came across a park. One he usually went by every time he walked to or from school, but he barely every looked at. Only this time, sitting all on his own in one of the benches that faced the central fountain of the park, was no other than the mysterious gas station kid. And from the looks of it, Lia had gotten away from him.
He was probably feeling very down at the moment, and wanted to be alone. Connor knew this, he knew it perfectly; and he also knew that meant he shouldn't bother him.
But he couldn't help himself.
He made his way to Troye's bench, making little noise, and standing right behind him. He saw that he was texting someone on his phone on some chat of sorts; but the contact info didn't read "Lia" or "Bae" or any of those cheesy stupid pet names teenagers called each other nowadays. It only read "Sage".
-"That's your sister?"
Troye turned around and faced Connor, a bit astonished, closing his phone in the process. Connor didn't get a chance to look at the conversation any further. However, now he had a full view of Troye's face, and it was evident he had been crying.
-"Oh. It's just you."—Troye said, wiping off the excess tears.
-"Geez... sorry..."
-"What? Never seen a guy cry before?"
Troye turned around once again, facing away from Connor, still sitting down on the bench. After debating it for a bit, Connor took his place on the empty spot to Troye's left, and just stayed silent. Neither said anything, Troye because he didn't feel like talking and Connor because he didn't know what to say. Whatever had Troye this upset probably had something to do with Lia, and Connor didn't want to get into that terrain.
But it was necessary, if his intention was to comfort his friend.
-"... Is... is everything ok? With... with Lia?"
Troye scoffed, shaking his head slightly.
-"She's pissed, that much is for sure."—he said in an almost mocking tone—"But no, we've not broken up, if that's what you think."
Connor just nodded his head in silence, staring at the water fountain in front of him. It wasn't very fancy, but it had some pretty flower details carved on its surface.
-"She keeps saying that I don't support her enough, and she won't listen to me."—Troye went on—"And just today I found out something she had been keeping from me..."
-"... What was that?"—Connor asked, genuinely curious.
-"It's... it's nothing important. It's... it's just something she doesn't necessarily like, and instead of telling me she kept it bottled up for a very long time."
It was obvious that Troye didn't want to keep talking about this, so Connor just stayed quiet. The grey clouds were starting to turn more black, and were engulfing Yule's sky in darkness.
-"... I hate cold."—Troye said out of the blue—"Here it's almost always cold. Here in Yule. Back in Perth, we had summer almost all year long. And the most beautiful sunsets..."
Connor scoffed, thinking about the fantasy of a world with more green than grey and a big, big city with a bright blue sky all year long.
-"... One gets used to it. The cold. And the grey."—was all Connor said.
Back to silence, Connor kept his attention focused on the fountain, whilst Troye had his on the base of his feet. He kept looking at the running water, when suddenly, a small white something caught his attention. Something that came floating down in the wind, and that landed inside the water. At first he thought it had been dust, or a leaf. But then, another tiny white something fell, landing a few feet away on the ground lightly. And that one was followed by yet another one, and so forth, until there were many of them falling all around them, at a very slow pace.
Unbeknownst to himself, Connor was shaking Troye's shoulder, trying to get his attention. Troye raised up his gaze.
-"What is it?"
-"Look! Look."—Connor said, almost in trance—"Snow."
It was the first snow of Yule's winter.
Soon enough, all around them the park and the streets were being coated in white, and people were stopping on their walks to look at the sky. Some went out of their houses and watched, and some others went inside to get something else to wear.
Connor kept forgetting just how dumbfounded he became every time he saw it was snowing for the first time in the year. It wasn't like he loved snow or was fascinated by it; he had lived among it his whole life, and so had Alexis. But he couldn't help but admire, year after year, when the first snow of the season came upon him.
-"... That's odd, it's very early this year..."—Troye observed, as the snowflakes landed on his eyelashes.
He turned his head towards Connor, batting his eyes repeatedly to rid of the ice particles that had landed on them. For some reason, Connor noticed details of Troye's features he had never paid too much attention to before. Like the brown freckles across his nose and upper cheeks, or the single curl of hair that, despite how much he tried to prevent it, always ended up on the upper left side of his forehead.
-"... It's nice, though."—Troye said.
Connor nodded. It was nice. It was a lot nicer than what he had imagined it.
Yule, the town of white snow.
-"... You know, if you don't have any plans."—Connor said—"We could go over to my place and hang out. You know, to get your mind off things."
-"You sure?"—Troye asked—"I don't want to disturb or anything..."
-"No, no, you wouldn't be disturbing anyone! Everybody's busy today... We could work on the lyrics for that song of yours if you like, and stuff."
Troye looked absently at the street, and held strongly to his cellphone, which was still on his hands. Connor realized he probably wanted to talk to his sister and finish the conversation they were having. But even so, after a few second he agreed to accompany Connor.
And for a brief moment there, Connor could swear he saw Troye smiling.
---
A/N
Ya'll have no clue how much trouble my PC has given me the past week.
To make it brief, let's just say that an update went wrong. As a result, it was unnoperative for six days
:) I :) Do :) Not :) Want :) To :) Kill :) Someone :) Right :) Now :)
And don't get me STARTED on getting my stories back, because yes they were ERASED. I literally had to copy paste them from my wattpad account to Microsoft Word. And yes it was beyond dreadful.
Seriously, if I didn't have this inconvenience, this update would've been up a week earlier as a Christmas present. But oh well, that's all in the past now, and here I am! So, first off, Happy early New Year everyone! May 2016 be good for all of you and all your loved ones <3
Now on to the question of this chapter; what do you think it was that Lia told Troye that she didn't like but kept to herself? I wanna read what ya'll think of this.
Also, you should probably know; now that it's officialy winter in Yule, SHIT WILL GO DOWN
Ok now I gotta go :)
See ya soon, you crazy lot!
--Coffee