𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋'𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃, chris sturniolo

030.

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₊❏❜ ⋮ ᶠᵒᵒˡ'ˢ ᵍᵒˡᵈ ⌒
𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗋𝗍𝗒
ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ

❝ smile, sunshine. ❞

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FOUR WEEKS LATER.

         December is the month of snow, hot chocolate, and a long-awaited holiday. Bianca is finishing up packing clothes and other necessities in her duffel bag––the excitement has not stopped flowing through her veins since 8:30 this morning. Bianca's heart races with excitement as she anticipates her first Christmas in Massachusetts. It's a dream come true, a winter wonderland she's only seen in movies and on holiday cards. Growing up in the sun-drenched streets of Los Angeles, she never thought she'd have the chance to experience a white Christmas. But this year, everything is different. The very thought of snowflakes falling gently from the sky fills her with joy. She's heard stories about the soft crunch of snow underfoot, the serene beauty of trees draped in white, and the warmth of a crackling fireplace in a cozy, snow-covered cabin. For the first time in her life, she won't have to imagine it; she'll be living it. Bianca's childhood Christmases were bittersweet memories. Her mother, an honorable surgeon, would spend hours on end in the operating room, saving lives. While she admired her mother's dedication, it meant that young Bianca often spent the holiday alone, her only company being the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree and the occasional phone call from her mother, assuring her of her love and promising to make it up next year.

This is undoubtedly healing her inner child, spending the holiday the way it is meant to: surrounded by loving people, and being blithesome. From the day Marylou queried her if she would like to tag along, there was nothing else in her mind aside from the holiday.

Bianca puts any last-minute items in her second duffel bag, mostly clothes that will keep her warm whilst up in the mountain. She could not sleep last night; the adrenaline was swimming all through her veins so intensely that she could not even keep her eyes closed for longer than two minutes. All night, she tossed and turned, creating scenarios in her mind about Christmas—just simply hoping it is exactly what she has seen in holiday movies.

"You have everything?" Natasha bursts through the door, a laundry basket against her hip whilst in her usual business attire. "Sweaters? Socks? Toothbrush? Deodorant?"

"Relax, Nat," Bianca chuckles, zipping up her bag. "I'm only gone for a week, not a whole year."

"I can't believe tomorrow is your first snowy Christmas ever, and with a boyfriend!" The redhead exclaims, a smile so wide it meets her eyes. Bianca playfully rolls her eyes, shaking her head whilst a smile tugs at her lips.

"Never mind that, are you sure you can't request a day off?"

Natasha waves her off like it is nothing. "It's fine, don't worry about me. There's always next Christmas. Besides, I'll be too busy in my office or the courthouse to even remember it's the holidays."

Bianca frowns, walking over to Natasha to give her a heartfelt embrace. She knows her aunt is a little disgruntled that she cannot spend the holiday with her two girls, but she values her occupation a lot that taking one day off is not even an option for her.

"I'll bring home some Blue Hills Ski Resort merch," the teenager murmurs, making Natasha break into a fit of laughter as she pulls away. The elation in her eyes is evident - she looks like a little kid who was told she could ride the ferris wheel at the carnival. Her sleepless night was accompanied by imagining what the holiday would be like. To a local Boston person, snow is ordinary. Howbeit, to a girl born and raised in Los Angeles, it is everything.
Repetitive knocks against her glass window catch her attention as she is about to sit at the foot of her bed. She walks over to the glass, opening it whilst resting her arms on the window stool, her hands lazily hanging out––her fingertips twitching at the frigid air that gust past her. Drifting her gaze down to the backyard, the grass buried with white powder that has indentations from the footsteps of the boy who is standing beside the tree, the same pebbles in his hands that he dug from the snow. Chris in an all-grey sweatsuit along with a beanie that he has been wearing a lot more than his baseball hat. Hands in his sweatpants pockets whilst looking up at Bianca with the cold air nipping at his scarlet tinted nose. Just like Bianca, he has not rested his eyes for hours. His mind was too occupied with creating a plethora of suggestions of what the week would be like between them. That is a long time of acting as a couple in front of his family.