Because of You, Well, Us

Chase

I didn't play very long since not many people had gotten back from break yet. The second I finished, I packed my stuff, collected my payment, and headed back for campus.

As usual, I casually strolled past Kate's dorm. I wasn't even sure if she came back from break yet. As creepy as it may have been, I'd passed Kate's dorm every chance I had, ever since Ellen's birthday when I found out she lived there. A few days after we sang to her, Ellen came by and I asked if she had a redhead named Kate living with her, and she said yes before latching onto Lance, and I escaped to the library.

I didn't even know why I walked there now. I only came back to Yale so early because of the gig, otherwise I would have stayed back at home with my parents. I doubted she had already returned to campus, not with it being her dad's first Christmas as an empty nester. I tightened my grip on my guitar case and stuck my nose into my scarf, trying to ward off the cold.

Just as I passed a bench, I heard a voice whisper my name. Eerily, I turned to see none other than Kate sitting on there. I walked over to her.

"Kate, how long have you sat here?"

"Since your first song." She said with a light laugh. Then I saw the Crazy Pete's cup in her hand.

"Kate, I started over an hour ago. We're going inside." Suddenly I stopped. "You came? Why did you leave?" Then I remembered.

Kate had a fear of the dark when we were younger, which made it hard for her to sleep. I would play for her to help the dark seem friendlier. She loved that I did that for her even though I had just started playing the guitar wasn't exactly the best at it. The number I used to open usually helped the most. Pulling her off the bench and putting an arm around her, I led her back to her dorm.

Once inside, I put down my guitar case and tossed my jacket in a nearby chair. Kate looked surprised.

"Wait, you're staying?" She questioned.

I flicked my scarf into the chair as well, "Yeah, I am. Got a problem with that?" I shot her one of my never-ending funny faces. At least it got her to smile, but it also may have been the fact that my glasses fogged in the warmth of the building after being outside in the cold.

A piano sat in a corner of the lobby. Although she would never admit it, Kate was a fantastic pianist. She really only did it as a hobby, though, and she refused to ever play with me. Nodding towards it, I asked her to play for me "To keep your fingers warm."

She sat on the bench and rubbed her hands together. Kate started playing some tune I didn't know, but I didn't care, just staying here with Kate felt like more than enough for me. As you can tell, I hadn't really stopped liking her. Walking over to her, I gently started rubbing her shoulders, and I felt her relax into my touch. Resting my chin on the top of her head, I silently observed her fingers as they danced across the keys, and she relaxed even more.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw snow gently falling. Pressing a little harder I whispered, "You know, snow is just frozen rain."

Kate's fingers stopped their moving. "I take it you want to go out?" She turned towards me with a smile and then ran for her coat. Once she got outside, Kate started jumping around like a wild woman, and I had to laugh. It had seemed like so long since we had last done something like this, and that had ended terribly. I realized how full circle we had come from then, since that ended up becoming the day of our first kiss, and just after she found out how I had really felt about her. I couldn't let that pass me by. I knew I had to do something brave.

Reaching for her flailing hand, I took it and twirled her slowly, and the smile in her face got even wider. It sfelt like forever since I had seen her smile like that. "Dancing like that is reserved for actual rain." I whispered as I pulled her as close as possible.