Sprinkles {#Wattys2018} ✔

21 \ F R O Z E N

21 [f r o z e n]

Two weeks later.

°°°

It had been two weeks since that night in the rain.

Charlotte was left heartbroken, and Asher:  full of guilt and regret. Neither one of them had spoken since that night in the rain. He knew he didn't mean what he said, but he said it for the better. He couldn't face what he had done.

Asher didn't believe in love before he met Charlotte.

In his past, he was notorious for using girls like tissues and throwing them away the next morning like nothing. He could get any girl with his attractive looks, which eventually led him to become egocentric, cocky, and an arrogant fool. He stopped his crude acts a year before calling Charlotte; he quit ever since his father had beat some sense into him after Asher came home drunk and talked about things that he meant to keep private. Such as how nobody cared about him, that their family was a mess, and that he hated living there.

Charlotte was different than Asher was in that sense. She didn't have any experience in the area of love, but she believed that everyone has a someone. That there was someone she could discover that would make her happy and treat her right.

Both of them loved each other, and never knew it because of superstition. Asher didn't know how to love, and Charlotte didn't know what love felt like.

Things change all the time, however, and so do people.

°°°

Charlotte barely slept. Her thoughts were mostly consumed by Asher, and no matter how hard she tried to forget and tried to push away the thoughts, everything reminded her of him: whether it was scooping chocolate ice cream, playing Mario Kart, or gazing longingly at the pink telephone.

Most days she dragged her feet to work. She didn't really talk to anyone anymore besides her father when he was sober, but most of the time he was alcohol-induced.

Asher still visited Jimmy's Ice Cream Parlour everyday. He saw her working, and always snuck glances at her from the sidewalk through the glass windows of the store. He never, ever dared to go inside.

He wore a hoodie to hide his features so she wouldn't catch onto his glances. He didn't entirely regret pushing Charlotte away in hope for something better to come out of it. But he never forgot about her, and how beautiful she looked everyday, wearing the same floral apron tied around her petite waist and her golden, messy hairdo.

Charlotte gave the elderly customer his cup of ice cream, and walked back to the kitchen to make another order. On the way, she returned her eyes to the pink telephone on the wall.

Just the sight brought back so many memories. She pushed the thoughts away, wiping her eyes for any stray tears. Turning away, she heard the familiar ringing.

It was the telephone.

She didn't know if she wanted to pick it up. It was most certainly noon, and that was when Asher used to call her everyday. She was scared to think that it was him.

She ran away from the phone. "Leo! Can you get the phone for me?" Charlotte yelled across the kitchen, pretending to be busy.

Leo huffed, and slowly stalked to the phone. The ringing was annoyingly persistent, and Charlotte was getting more anxious by every ring. She wringed her sweaty hands nervously.

Leo picked up the phone and held it to his ear. The ringing stopped and Charlotte froze behind the counter, her heart pounding in her ears.

Her fellow coworker spoke, faking enthusiasm, "Hello, this is is Jimmy's Ice Cream Parlour! What can we get you today? Jim—"

"I really need some help."

"Um—"

"I think I'm in love with you."

°°°