Tis the Season || Seasons of Love

10

↿♥︎.∞︎︎.♥︎↾

It gets increasingly harder to keep Henry out of my head. I also happen to bump into him more often than I ever have.

Not that we have conversations or anything. Just a quick hi or sometimes even just a smile. It's like he's everywhere I am, but the fates are determined to keep us apart.

I'm beginning to hate the fates.

When my grouchiness over the fates' cruelty gets to be too much, Faye shoves me out the door and locks it behind me. Unfortunately for me, I didn't have my keys.

Don't come back until you're in a better mood <3

Rolling my eyes, I sigh. She's right. I really shouldn't be like this. It was a single date. No reason to get all moody. I move to the elevator, twisting my neck. There's been no time for me in a little while, and I guess it's starting to get to me. No wonder I'm so moody over something this inconsequential.

The elevator dings, signaling its arrival at the ground level. I shuffle out into the cold, my breath fogging before me. Instead of pulling out my phone like I normally do, I turn my attention to the things around me. Seeing them every day, for the past three years has kind of made me immune to them, sadly. The beautiful lights adorning storefronts. All the wreaths hanging from street lights, with the dusting of snow we got this morning still clinging to the tops of them. The crispness of cold air. The crunch of fresh snow under my feet. Everything I normally take for granted fills me up, and I exhale all the negativity that has been plaguing me.

Thank you, I text Faye.
Are you ready to come back then?
Not yet

She answers with a thumbs up, and I shiver. Not now,  but definitely soon. My wandering feet take me to a little park that I pass on my way to campus almost every day. Settling down on a bench, I look up at the gray sky.

"I may not be grouchy anymore, but I'm still mad at you," I say to it. "Is it so hard to give me a happily ever after? I mean, you dangled the perfect guy right under my nose, and then snatched him away again. Or practically did, anyway. I even thought for a second that I was falling in love with him, but now I can't even have a conversation with him! Why do you hate me?"

"Hate is a strong word..." Someone murmurs beside me.

I gasp, my hand flying to my chest. Henry smiles softly at my side, bundled up in a coat and scarf.

"How long have you been sitting there?" I whisper, eyes wide.

"Not long. How long have you been sitting in the cold like that?" He asks, leaning forward to shrug out of his coat. "Your nose is redder than Rudolph's."

As he wraps his big, warm coat around my shoulders, I sigh. "I lost track." Bundling deeper into its warmth, I slip my arms into their spots. "Thank you."

"Anytime. What possessed you to come out without a coat in this weather?" He murmurs, taking my hands in his and rubbing them to get circulation back into them.

"Faye shoved me out. I may have been a grouch this past week..." Looking up at him through my lashes, I scrunch my nose. "What brought you to this park bench?"

"Faye texted me. Said you were out on a walk. I expected it was of your own free will, but..."

I laugh, sliding my fingers between his. "That little matchmaker. She thinks she knows best."