Algid (#TronnorAU)

Chapter 41: Connor, cold as ice

The snow fell, as the previously clean streets were now dressed in white once again. It was impossible to look past four feet ahead of you, and Connor couldn't understand how Troye could still manage to be driving. He knew he wouldn't have been able to, if he knew how to drive. It was as if a million times a million bullets kept falling on the windshield, and the wipers never went off, as they tried to give some vision to the driver. To top it off, the tension in the air between Connor and Troye was hurting more than what the former could manage. Never before had it crossed his mind that such a thing would affect him so, but as it turns out, it did. But it couldn't be helped; whatever it was that Troye had in his mind, Connor had no idea what it was. Connor had his eyes lost in the window as he struggled to breathe, knowing he was on the edge of a breakdown, and Troye just kept driving onwards, without uttering a single word of despise or consolation.

It didn't take them long before they were out of the Andrew Graham Foundation grounds and back in the ghostly streets of Yule, empty of pedestrians or running cars due to the sudden snowstorm. It occurred then to Connor he didn't know where Troye exactly was driving them, but it couldn't be to Troye's house, because they passed the Blue Neighborhood right by instead of going inside the district. Yeah, Troye was probably driving Connor to Grace's house. Even at this time and hour, he was still going to do that for him.

The picturesque suburban houses that lined up the exit of the Blue Neighborhood where replaced with The Drunk Kitchen's downtown shops and boutiques, lining up the boulevard. Connor spotted the café where he first met up with Red on their first "date", after the camping trip in which he and Troye had first seen each other naked. He had panicked after what happened, and in a fit of craziness called her cellphone at ungodly hours, not knowing what to expect. Hadn't he made that call, hadn't he slept with her that first time... perhaps now she wouldn't blame him for people finding out about Lucy. And as the snow fell, Connor couldn't help but wonder: was what happened somehow his fault?

Was Red on her entire right to blame him for what happened?

Nobody knew who had done it anyway; who was to say if indirectly, this wasn't related to him? That maybe some crazy friend of Dallas or perhaps Dallas himself did this out of spite of him?

Because who could hate Red? It just made no sense, she always kept to herself too well. She didn't give anyone any reason to dislike her.

All of this kept running through Connor's head, and his eyes nervously went from one corner of the road to the next, searching frantically for something he didn't know he was looking for. Until, at a certain turn, the car had to stop at the sight of a red light.

-"Shit..."-Troye muttered.

But Connor's eyes widened, as his body perched up. He knew where he was. He recognized this street.

-"Make a left on the next turn."-he commanded out loud.

-"What?"-Troye asked, confused, turning to his copilot-"We have to go straight forward if we want to get to your house before it gets even later-"

-"There's somewhere I must go."

-"What the fuck are you talking about!?"

-"Just turn left!"

As they started to argue, the light turned green. A car had arrived from behind them and it stood right behind Troye's. It then started honking, desperate to advance.

-"Listen-whatever the hell you are trying to accomplish here, it's pointless, I will get you home at once so that I can go back to mine and just forget about this damned crazy day..."