𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒸ℴ𝓊𝓃𝓉 𝒹𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃ℊ

As the first snowflake settled, it whispered secrets of a winter tale waiting to unfold. The air is electrocuted with anticipation. The feeling of winter finally settles over the calm, still city. There's a charged feeling in the world- as if anything could happen. This is the time we can feel most connected to the universe, times when the world really is our oyster- our whole damn sea.

Or maybe I'm just high. Regardless, the night is magic. City lights and Christmas strings decorate the streets in a way that lights up the night only this time of year can do.

I reach up without a thought and take a picture down the winding street, focusing the image on the lights. I'll edit it later.

I have a headache and the amount of creepy dolls and Santa faces I've seen is starting to make me regret being outside. But the cold air is strikingly cool against my skin and I never wanna leave.

The glow of my phone screen illuminates my face and I have to squint- stiff, freezing fingers gliding over the smooth surface. (There's only a small crack in the bottom. Barely noticeable. Doesn't matter.) My nose is bitterly frozen, my cheeks flushed.

Who would be willing to randomly drop everything and come wander the city streets with me during the frigid December night?

The fact that his face is the first I think of is so absurd it's almost amusing. (Almost.)

"Jules!" My face brightens when she picks up the phone. (Did I wake her up?) "How're youu??"

Her chuckle is fuzzy through the small rectangle, like a robot instead of my best friend's voice. "Aidyn? Hi."

"Hii! There's a party tonight~ do you wanna go with me?? Finally get out of your shell and talk to some people. We can chill out together." (I don't really wanna see any of them right now.)

"No thanks, Lyn," she sighs with a chuckle. "Besides, I'm planning to have a movie call with Mateo soon. Sorry," I can hear her sheepish smile and just the sound of my best friend's voice makes my face soften.

"Aww you guys are seriously so sickeningly adorable. Wish you all the best, then. I do want you to come out with me somewhere soon though! Okay? I miss youu, we haven't really hung out in a while."

"Yeah, I miss you too, Lyn."

I pause, my voice not going up high and happy, and just sigh into the warm screen against the chilling cold. "Love you, Jules."

"Mm. Love you too."

My heart hangs on the line as her voice disappears, and I'm alone again in the dark cold. I probably shouldn't go back for a while if Juliet is gonna be busy, don't wanna disturb them. We share a dorm during the year but since I'm out of state she lets me stay with her and her brother during breaks.

Juliet and Mateo are the most cheesy and endearing couple I know. Juliet is such a sweet person, even if a lot of people don't see past her quiet nature. And Mateo is perfect for her- I can't think of anyone better to entrust my friend to. And maybe this is already in her happily ever after- her entire love story going through its own plot of drama last year until it finally concluded to a nice, peaceful long distance relationship- by far the cutest couple around. I'm living in her wake, the after story of her happily ever after.

Last year seemed seriously strikingly similar to the generic romance plots of a movie for Juliet, an entire plot mountain of her year. Almost laughable. She met Mateo through Instagram, I think- him commenting on her book account. I guess they clicked really well really fast. Even if they had their fair share of challenges, they're so adorable together. Sometimes makes me wish I had something like that.

The air feels full of wishes. Of possibilities.

I'm definitely no "main character" persona, just The Best Friend. And that's fine, I love Juliet. She's been there for me and is genuinely a great person. I wish I could be more of a good person.

My sigh takes form against the piercing air. My feet drag me across the rough sidewalk to unventured places until I recognize where I'm at. The movie theater is near here.. they're probably open decently late. (Right?)

It's not even that late yet, but it feels like the middle of the night. Winter is weird. Everything is fuzzy and the lights blur together into one bright string against the dark void of a sky. The moon slices through a sliver in the corner of my vision.

There’s a fountain littered with rusted coins. The water is dried out, no longer flowing this time of year. (Would it be weird to step in it?) The coins look sad in the dried, empty fountain. Long lost and forgotten, thrown at a moment of urge and joy to rest hope in a symbol.

How pathetic is watching a movie alone? Probably not too weird. Right? (I hope.)

"This sucks," I murmur under my breath. I kick a stray rock and my boot scrapes the pavement.

The concrete of the fountain is cold under my ass and sends a shiver up my spine. The light of my phone shocks my eyes again as I scroll through movies playing. A few seem interesting. Something to pass the time too, anyway. And again, before I've even realized what I was doing, I'm dialing the next number. The person I know will definitely pick up, even if it'll be awkward or embarrassing.

"Hey." His voice is rough through the speaker, rich and low. It sounds like he just woke up. (Though I know that isn't true.) That's just his voice. It's comforting in a weird way. I wish I could take a picture of the sound. Capture it in colors and shapes.

How can you know someone so well, yet know nothing about them at all ?

"Hey," my voice is lighter than his, carried away in the drops of snow. The snowflakes paralyze and disintegrate as soon as they touch the wet sidewalk. Never staying long enough to be seen other than in passing flurries. "You busy?" (My question holds weight I don't know if realizes.)

"Nah." A beat. "Where you need me?"

My lips quirk, as featherlight of a hint of a smile as the breezy snow lingering in the air of promise. I'm thankful he never aks questions. Never bombards with why's, simply where and when's. It's refreshing and much needed sometimes.

"There any movies playing right now interesting you?" I keep my tone playful, light.

"Mm. I'm sure there could be." A pause. "I can meet you there in 15. That cool?"

"Mhm."

He lets out the ghost of a breath, the edge of a chuckle but not quite there yet. Then silence.

I wait. More snowflakes fall around me and my ass is numb, the streetlights giving the world an orange glow around the blueish of the night.

I love the way the world looks at night. Especially in winter. I don't particularly love winter or the over-the-top amount of fake holiday spirit and Christmas songs, but the way the world glows a faint blue at night under the reflection of snow is breathtaking every time.

❄️

Jai arrives sooner than I thought, but later than I'd like. Or maybe it's the other way around. (Probably both and neither at the same time.) His brown skin tone contrasts with the shimmering backdrop, and from the angle as he walks up, he's almost as breathtaking as the winter. Snow has begun to fall at a steadier pace since we last talked, Jai's dark brown hair littered with specks of white dusty snowflakes. His eyes are deep and piercing. (I capture the moment in a mental picture.)

When his lips tug into a soft smirk, I'm hit with the ridiculousness of all of this. Us and our completely random and weird as fuck interactions, and this weird thing we have going on. I don't even know what it is anymore.

Jai stands close enough to softly flick me in the forehead as greeting.

"Hello to you too, Asshole," I roll my eyes. His laugh is brilliant.

"So what movie are we watching, Snowflake?" He makes his way towards the entrance.

"Snowflake? You can do better than that." I laugh more genuine than before.

Jai chuckles with arms raised in mock surrender. "Hey! You're the one who didn't like 'cotton candy' last time."

"Yeah, that one's almost more stupid," I roll my eyes with a hint of a smile.

"Your hair is literally the color of blue cotton candy. Of course I would use that nickname first! And it's fluffy too."

"Okay okay, just think of something better next time. Come on." I can feel his eyes on me and I thread my gloved fingers through Jai's and pull him to the movie theater.

❄️

Just as I had thought, there's a special couple's deal for discounted tickets. When I look around, I notice a similar one for popcorn, too. (Sweet!)

I cling closer to Jai as we walk up to the counter, and there are (thankfully) more people than I thought around. Night coming sooner during winter is throwing off my sense of time.

After Jai chooses the movie tickets, I've already pulled my wallet from my small purse.

"What? Babe, I can pay for our tickets!" He protests.

I have to stifle a laugh at the use of 'babe.'

"Aw, but you paid last time, honey." I look up at him through my eyelashes with a fake-pouting look. "I can do it this time."

I can feel his hand tighten when I emphasize the nickname, and the corners of his mouth are threatening to betray his voice. "What if you go get us some snacks and I grab these, sweetie?" I sigh with a tone of reluctance before slipping away. He kisses the side of my head before our departing.

I'm not completely sure which kinds of snacks Jai would want. Candy, probably. Which ones? (Is he allergic to any, like peanuts in Reese's?) Maybe he doesn't even like sweets.

Sometimes it's crazy how little I know about him. I mean, it makes sense- we barely ever talk. I don't even know how this weird, call-up fake dating thing we have happened. (I do quite enjoy free food, though.) A string of coincidences turned into routine. And now he's one of the only people I call on a lonely night. (What is wrong with me?)

Much to my luck, Jai returns before I've finished picking everything out anyway. He wraps his arms around my waist from behind me, leaning down to look over my shoulder at the options. I try to make my laugh sound like an in-love, cheesy, embarrassed laugh. (Did it work? I dunno.)

"Oh, look, honey. They have a discount on a large popcorn for couples. Let's get that to share," Jai says close to my ear. I lean into his embrace and look up at him.

"Sure thing, pookie bear." I grin. Turns out Jai is not allergic to Reese's. And he likes them too, apparently, since he gets some. Good, that'd be a total deal-breaker in the relationship if he didn't like them.

I'm surprised by the movie Jai picked out. It seems like it'll be a good one- one of the movies I'd been eyeing as I looked through their site- but I'm surprised he chose it.

Jai rests a hand briefly on my beanie as I collect my change for our snacks. He grabs our popcorn with his drink (we also ordered a milkshake, two straws) (who knew there were so many couple deals around Christmas? wow) and he directs us to which theater. "Come on, honey bun," he smirks.

I lean up to kiss his cheek. "Of course, pumpkin." His nose wrinkles. Not a fan of pumpkin? This makes my smile widen with new opportunities for teasing during our charades.

We don't have to pretend once we're inside. We laugh about the look on the workers' faces, about different nicknames and embarrassing ones we're most definitely going to use later too. He chose seats closer to the front of the theater, and I'm realizing it may be better than the back of the theater after all.

Everything at a movie theater is unnecessarily overpriced for the less-than-average taste, but here in the night and with our laughs, it's not so bad. (Maybe the discounts helped too, just a little) The pizza tastes both charred and soggy, definitely not the best ever, but it's perfect anyway. I take a sip out of one of the straws of our shared milkshake. At least Jai chose a decent flavor.

The candy is split between us, and even with the overpriced movie theater candy, it's not so bad shared. Jai scoffs when I steal a Reese's buttercup from him, so of course I have to do it again with a grin. The lights fall dim and we stifle our laughs. The popcorn is buttery to an extreme only movie theaters can achieve, and it's amazing.

The intro to the movie gives my cinematic heart a breath of relief in appreciation. Jai is watching me for a moment, and I lock eyes with his deep brown ones. The sight of him dead-on makes me almost start laughing again, just from the sheer absurdity of everything alone. Winter is an interesting time.

~Days Left Until Christmas: 9~