knj imagines

cold bones || d. statham

"It looks so pretty outside." I was leaning against the window frame and gazing outside as the snow fell perfectly, almost as if we were in a snow globe and someone had tipped it upside down. "Too bad Crawford is too busy doing work to enjoy it," I yelled so he could hear me loud and clear from the kitchen.

The whole group had decided to take a mini vacation before Christmas because we had all worked so hard during the year. We agreed to put work aside, but it was easier for some more than others.

"I told you I just had a few more emails to answer! Yell at Will, he's been on his phone all night," he said, gesturing to where Will was perched on the arm of the couch like he was ready to launch at a moments notice.

I sat beside him and he jumped at my hand on his shoulder as if he hadn't just heard the conversation Crawford and I had. His phone was clutched tightly in his grip and he brought it up to his ear, grunting in frustration a moment later. "Voicemail again. That's the tenth time in the past half hour. Don't you think Dyl should be back by now?"

I rubbed my hand over his shoulder with a smile and shook my head. "Maybe there's traffic? People are probably driving really slow from the snow on the roads," I said, trying to soothe some of his tension.

"I don't know (Y/N), he left two hours ago. Don't you think that's long enough to go to the grocery store?" Crawford emerged from the kitchen and sat down on my other side.

"I'm sure he's fine. He'll be here any minute," I said, pulling Will down onto the cushion beside me and into a hug. I knew he would still worry about his best friend no matter what I said, but he relaxed into the hug and smiled in thanks.

Another hour passed, and although both of the boys were still anxiously waiting for Dylan's car to pull up in the driveway, they had eventually passed out on the couch. I shook them both awake and Will jolted up.

"Is he here?"

"No, but you guys are exhausted. Just go to bed and I'll wait up for him, okay? Everyone else is probably asleep by now." Will tried to protest but I pushed him towards the stairs. "Seriously, you need to sleep somewhere that isn't a lumpy couch. Both of you. I'll wake you up when he's home."

I made sure the porch light was on before settling on the window seat to wait. I called him, but it went straight to voicemail like it did with Will. I figured he was probably focused on driving, so I leaned my head against the cool glass and watched the road for a pair of headlights.

I had closed my eyes for what I thought was only a second, but when I opened them again I checked the clock to see I had been asleep for two hours. I blinked sleepily and looked around, but there was still no sign of Dylan and no car in the driveway.

Worry settled in the pit of my stomach and I was about to go upstairs to get Will when I heard a scratch at the door. I cautiously opened it to find Dylan fumbling with his keys. "Dyl?" He looked up with a weak smile and it took me a minute to realize his whole body was shaking, and not just the normal shaking that comes from a cold day . "Woah Dylan, are you okay?"

"Y-y-yeah, I'm j-just," he trailed off, his knees buckling and forcing him to grab onto the doorframe for support. "H-help, please."

I quickly grabbed his forearm, grunting at the sudden weight I had to hold. I took in his appearance, raw skin from being in the wind for too long and a thin sweatshirt that wouldn't have kept him warm for ten minutes let alone how long he had been outside. I helped him onto the couch and threw a blanket over him, which he immediately curled into.

"T-thank you." His teeth were chattering so hard that I was afraid he wouldn't be left with any by the time he warmed up.

"What happened? Where's your car?" I didn't know what to do to help him, so I went to the kitchen to make him tea. I thought holding a mug of something warm would hopefully help the rest of his body begin to warm up.

"Well, um, m-my car is on the, uh, the highway s-somewhere," he said as I pushed the mug into his hands. He sighed happily at the warmth but I was concerned at his words still slurring and stuttering despite the throw blanket pulled tightly around him.

"The highway? What happened?" He was attempting to stutter out a reply but I put my hand on his knee to stop him. "It's okay, we can talk when you warm up. I need to go get Will or Crawford or someone that will know what to do for you."

I turned away but I felt his ice block of a hand grab mine. "P-please stay h-h-here with me," he said, pulling me back towards the couch. I hesitated, his body still shaking uncontrollably, and decided that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to leave him down here alone.

I assured him I was going to stay, rummaging on the top shelf of the coat closet to hopefully find something warmer for him. I came up triumphant with a thick, wool blanket and brought it back over to the couch, getting comfortable before pulling him between my legs so he was laying on my chest.

He tensed and turned his head to give me a confused look as I tucked the blanket around both of us. I could feel a blush forming but I tried to ignore it and hoped that would make it go away. "You need more body heat and cuddling helps."

"T-t-thank you."

"You're welcome. Now stop talking," I whispered back, absently running my fingers through his hair and letting my other hand rub up and down his arm. I could slowly feel his body relax against mine until he had completely stopped shaking and I couldn't hear his teeth chatter anymore.

He looked up at my with a goofy smile and touched the tip of his nose with his finger. "My nose f-feels red, like um, Cupid," he said, his thoughts obviously still muddled from being in the cold for however long it was.

"That's Rudolph, but nice try," I said. "Are you getting warmer?"

He pushed his head further into my chest and nodded lightly. "My bones are still cold but this is h-helping. You're really warm." He was speaking more clearly and I felt some of my worry dissipate.

I giggled at his phrase. "Well can you ignore your cold bones enough to explain what happened?"

"My car broke down and my phone died so I had to walk here," he replied sleepily. I began to tell him how dangerous that was but he shrugged and closed his eyes. "I made it back alive."

"Yeah, barely. We were worried about you," I said, my eyebrows drawn together in concern. He gave me a smug smile and reached up to twirl a piece of my hair.

"Even you?"

"Yes, even me. Again, just so we're clear, we're cuddling to conserve heat," I said, but he just laughed lightly and snuggled against me.

"Whatever helps you sleep (Y/N)."

The next morning we were roughly shaken awake by a panicked Will. "God (Y/N), you were supposed to wake me up when he came back. We all woke up worried!" He took in our comfortable position and frowned. "Why are you two cuddling on the couch?"

I glanced down to see Dylan had color back in his face and he was looking a lot livelier than he did last night. I shrugged, guilty that I had fallen asleep and forgotten to tell him, but Dyl patted his shoulder and got up with a stretch. "(Y/N) was a little busy last night, but long story short I needed to borrow some body heat and she was the perfect candidate."

Will looked confused and followed Dylan to the kitchen, firing questions at him faster than he could process. He looked back at me with a smile and I felt butterflies in my stomach. Maybe I'll try being cold tonight too.