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13 » fuck this winter wonderland

13 » fuck this winter wonderland

❅

The clock struck six on the morning of December fifteenth, and for the first time since the dreaded month had begun, I felt like I was able to truly breathe.

Avery and I had spent nearly five hours writing our thoughts, and even with our newfound meaning of Christmas, we still struggled to perfectly word it. Ironically enough, we struggled to find the right words.

But we managed to do it, and by the time three-thirty came, we had a draft we were actually proud of. That didn't mean it was perfect, or anywhere close. Grammatically, it needed work. Lots of it. We went through twelve edits. Our final product wasn't ready until exactly five-thirty-six. I spent a minute calming Avery done, who had apparently avoided any clocks until we were done. Once she saw how close we were cutting it, she panicked. Full-blown panicked.

I was surprised Jack hadn't woken from the scene she put on, but he must've already been exhausted from all the petting and snuggles Avery had given him throughout the night into early morning. He had been locked away in my room, taking advantage of the full-sized bed solely for him due to my absence.

Amin, on the other hand, hadn't been so lucky to sleep through Avery's meltdown.

"Get her to shut the hell up, Scrooge," he had angrily muttered to me after texting me to meet him in the hall.

"Tell her yourself," I had replied, knowing that despite his all-the-time anger, he wouldn't have actually gone over to her. I could tell he liked her. Before he went off to sleep at two in the morning, he'd actually sat with us, which was something he never did with my friends. He was joking and laughing with Avery—mainly about me—and he seemed to be having a great time. I was having one too, but I still didn't like their nickname for me. "And stop calling me that."

He had lifted a hand and flicked me on the forehead. Actually flicked me. It was so absurd that all I had done was blink, and by the time I opened my eyes, Amin disappeared. Like a ghost.

I was back on the couch shortly after, whispering to Avery in a gentle tone that we'd made it. We had time. We had finished our project.

She had taken a second to pause, think over my words, and then she did something odd. She hugged me. It was weird, but also oddly comforting. We kept it short, mainly just her arms thrown around my neck and one of my arms loosely holding her waist.

"We actually did it!" she had cheered.

I only nodded, content with taking in her own happiness, and then motioning toward the laptop in front of me. "Time to actually send it."

So I did. And I had to admit, it was the biggest relief. It was like the heaviest weight in the world had just been tossed off of my shoulders.

I had been tempted to reach for Avery and actually hug her. Not the half-assed hug we had shared. But I refrained, instead just sharing in the smile she flashed me and basking in the relief.

Thirty minutes later, we were in my car, pulling up to the curb in front of her house. "Is it the brick one?"

"It's the tan one next to it, but this is fine. Thanks for the ride," she said as she unclicked her seatbelt.