DONUT SHOP ; m.c.

gingerbread

"This is dumb." Maxinne mutters for the fifth time since she and Rena had started walking. The snow is piled high on the sidewalks and melting into Maxinne's jeans. The cold water is seeping through the leggings she's wearing underneath and she hates every second of it.

Normally, Maxinne loves the wintertime. She enjoys sitting with a cup of tea and watching the snowflakes dance in the wind and kiss the trees, but the heavily falling snow is making her want to burn it all away.

She isn't even sure why she let her best friend talk her into going out in a developing snow storm. Especially since she's just meeting up with her stupid boyfriend and a couple of his stupid friends. Maxinne's hands are numb in her pockets and her socks are soggy, so right now, everything is stupid.

Rena had been whining about how she and Ashton were supposed to have their date night at the local donut shop and that she wasn't going to let the storm stop her.

Maxinne didn't know why their date couldn't wait, but she insisted that she'd drop Rena off if she wanted to go that badly. She'd never forgive herself if she'd let the girl go out on her own and something would have happened to her.

At the moment, though, Maxinne thinks Rena would've been fine by herself.

"You're doing this because you love me, though." Rena grins way too widely for someone who's marching through hills of sludge, but she's probably just happy that she gets to cuddle up with her boy when they get to the shop.

"Yeah, sure. Tell Ashton that when he gets his car fixed, he owes me, like, three free rides."

When the boy had told his girl to meet him at Sarah's Sweets, the snow had been coming down lighter and he didn't think he would have to walk and get her. Maxinne wishes that he had bothered to check the weather that's conveniently on the homepage of his phone. He wouldn't be owing her anything if he had.

Rena chuckles, briefly pulling her coat down tighter over her frame. "Okay, deal." She says, glancing up at the snow covered sign above her. The awning is sagging, full of sleet and dangerously looming over the entrance of the shop.

Maxinne can see Ashton surrounded by who she assumes are his friends, and just one worker behind the counter. That makes sense to her, seeing as no one else is crazy enough to come outside in weather like this.

He turns around and smiles when he catches sight of his girlfriend, standing from the booth and opening the door for both girls. "Hey, babe," He presses a quick kiss to Rena's forehead before moving on to greet Maxinne. "Hey, Max." Ashton puts the arm that's not holding the door out and gives her half of a hug.

"Hey, Ash," Maxinne craves the warmth radiating from inside the shop, but also wants to get back home, where she can be warm and change into some dry clothes. "Well, I dropped off your package, so I think I'm gonna head back before it gets too wild."

She opts for the latter, already hearing her pajamas calling her name. She'll go through a little more snow and wind if that meant she got to be covered from head to toe in her blankets.

Ashton shakes his head, ushering Rena inside and moving to do the same with Maxinne. "No, Max, you gotta stay and try this new donut they have." He says, pointing a thumb at the display case.

Maxinne doesn't think a donut is worth sitting in damp clothes for, but Ashton and Rena's puppy dog faces are very convincing when they're done together and Maxinne finds herself rolling her eyes as she follows them inside. The free ride count just went up to four.

"I'll try the donut, but then I gotta beat the storm back home." She gives, trying not to smile at their cheer.

Ashton leads them to the table and Maxinne realizes that she hasn't actually met any of Ashton's friends before. Rena clearly has, Maxinne notices, watching her pink haired friend hug each of the boys.