Copyright © Emily J. - NerdyBirdie of Wattpad.
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Author's Note; Hey guys! So, welcome to Sweetly Yours! This is my NaNoWriMo 2O12 novel--and I'm a winner! This is the first novel I've EVER completed, and I'm sososo happy! This will be uploaded all through December, I'll probably edit a chapter and then post it for you all. Hope you like the prologue--yes it's a bit long (I got a bit too carried away), but the bigger the better, right?
Enjoy, my dear readers!
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Sweetly Yours
Prologue; Sweetly Stupid
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The frosty snow, which lay thickly on the ground beneath me, made a satisfying crunch with each heavy step I took in my thick fur boots, as I wandered up the lonely street towards the centre of the town. As I passed each house, the bright colours of Christmas lights greeted me, shimmering merrily. It was still light; only 2 o'clock, but it seemed everyone in the town was wrapped up in the Christmas spirit.
Well, it was the 22nd of December, and with only three days to go until the long-awaited 25th, I suppose it was justified.
I passed various snowmen on my casual stroll down the street, some quite artistic with defined features, others just odd blobs of snow with a manky carrot for a nose and a faded old woollen hat plonked on top.
A soft smile graced my lips as I passed a few young children having a snowball fight in a snowy garden, bundled in layers of coats, hats, scarves, gloves, each sporting adorably rosy cheeks and little red noses. Memories of my own snowy childhood passed through my mind, building snowmen with Mama, making snow angels with my older sister, Gabby, snowball fights with Cameron, my older brother.
They had both left school now, Gabby in her first year at Oxford University, studying medicine, and Cameron at his second year at the local college, training to be an electrician. I'd be joining them in the 'big wide world' in two years, currently still in high school; in my first year of Sixth Form doing my A Levels.
A robin singing merrily, perched on a snowy branch of a nearby tree, broke me away from my thoughts, and back to the present. Robins were such lovely little birds, just like Winter was such a lovely season.
Ah, Winter. A truly magical time of year, my personal favourite. This year, however, was going to be quite unlike any other.
This year, I was taking a risk.
My hands tightened around the small wrapped package they held preciously in their clutches, and I took a deep breath of frosty air as I thought of where I was heading, where the package was destined.
Two words; Jamie Bright.
Jamie Bright was the perfect, dream guy, a great find for any girl. He was smart, funny, sweet, athletic--not to mention extremely good looking. He was my age, seventeen, and I had been fantasising about him shamelessly for the past six months.
Yes, I had counted.
I would've struck up a conversation with him months ago, but I couldn't pluck up the courage. With practically no experience in the world of boy, I was clueless. I mean, were you meant to just talk normally to the guy you 'like'? Or are you supposed to, I don't know, clearly put across the message that you like them? How were you supposed strike up a conversation; were there certain topics?
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.