Snowfall

The snow seeped through my thin white shirt. I could feel it creeping through my skin and settling in my veins. It was a horrible feeling really, but then I felt a sudden impact against my face, and my mouth broke into a wide grin.

I pulled my knees in towards my chest and lifted myself off of the white surface that was the sidewalk. I was greeted to another frigid impact, except this one was at the back of my head.

“Quinn,” I said flatly, “there are better ways to help me up.”

Quinn stalked closer to me and smirked, his breath warming my neck, “Ah, but then I couldn’t do this,” he said, then I felt him behind me as he shoved a handful of snow down my shirt.

I groaned through clenched teeth as the ice seeped into my spine, turning around so my fist could clash against his chest to push him away. “Jerk!” I yelled, leaning down to scoop up my own handful of snow as he ran across the courtyard.

I chased him, my breath crystallizing in the air. When I caught up to him, I grabbed the back of his jacket with my empty hand, and pulled him towards me so I could shove him on the freezing ground.

His startled laugh filled the frigid air as his familiar leaf green eyes stared up into mine. They turned frightful when he beheld the fistful of snow in my hand. He instantly realized what was coming and surrendered, struggling to catch his breath between fits of uncontrollable laughter.

I couldn’t help it, I dropped the snow and rolled off of him, landing to lay beside him and look up at the sky. There were small flakes of frozen water falling across our faces. I saw his pale hand reach towards the white space above us.

I turned toward him and watched as he captured a delicate snowflake on his fingertip, a small smile playing across his lips. Then he brought his hand back to his forehead to brush off a few strands of his flaming red hair.

He must have sensed my gaze because he turned towards me and his smile faltered. “Corwin,” he whispered, his mouth opening like he was about to say something, and then closing.

His eyes widened as a fistful of snow came flying towards his face. I smeared the wet powder, making sure to rub it in real good, before taking my hand away to drop the snow.

His laughter and sputtering filled the air, then he moved, and I couldn’t tell what was happening until my face got invaded with millions of new needles, I let out a barked laugh.

When I could open my eyes, I saw that Quinn had sat up, his piercing gaze roaming over my features as if he was trying to memorize them. He reached out and gently brushed a stray snowflake from my cheek, his touch soft and warm against my skin.

I grabbed his wrist lightly and stared at him for a moment. Then as if he had awoken from a nostalgic dream, Quinn blinked and pulled away hesitantly, taking his bony hand with him.

He gave me a flicker of a smile before standing up, extending an arm towards me. I took it gratefully, and we didn’t speak as we walked along the white span of grass towards the commons area.