Nicole shivered in her denim jacket and jeans and clutched her books and portfolio tighter to her chest as she crossed the street to the coffee shop in front of the campus. It was late evening by now and the sun had dipped under the horizon, giving rise to a full moon.

The night breeze teased Nicole's hair into knots as she pushed the door to the coffee shop open and a blast of warm air greeted her. Winter was still some time away, but the temperature had dropped by several degrees in the last few days. September had almost come to an end and October was just around the corner. Nicole still couldn't believe a month flew by so fast. So much could change in a month. It was hard to keep up with this tangled mess that we call life and its confusing ways.

The bell jingled as Nicole opened the door and entered. As usual, Amy greeted her with a warm smile. Her hair had come loose from her bun and there was a coffee stain on her shirt. She looks like she had a long day today, Nicole thought as she made her way to the counter in the front, behind which Amy was preparing an order for a table.

"Hello Nicole, how was your day?" Amy asked, as she poured coffee into two mugs.

"It was good, how was yours?"

"Tiring, as I'm sure you can tell from my blotched face," Amy said with a tired but amused smile. "I see you didn't bring Erik today".

All the sympathy that Nicole felt for Amy disappeared at the last sentence. She knew her reaction was ridiculous, but she couldn't help it.

"No, Erik didn't come with me today. Can I get two lattes, two eclairs and a pack of chocolate cookies please, to take?" Nicole said in a tight voice.

"Sure. I'll have your order ready in a minute. So how come Erik didn't come with you today?" Amy asked, trying to sound nonchalant as she decorated a coffee with some whipped cream.

"He was busy, but I'm supposed to meet him later," Nicole said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, are you two dating, cause if you're not then..." Amy trailed off and winked at Nicole, who was trying desperately to keep her emotions in check. This shouldn't bother Nicole as much as it did. Yes they hung out a lot and Erik was a nice and sweet friend, but that's all they were, friends, even though lately Nicole found herself staring more often at Erik when he wasn't looking and how dimples formed in his cheeks when he laughed and how perfect his platinum blonde hair looked with those mesmerizing blue-green eyes and how his cheeks had turned a crimson red when their hands had brushed last Friday, when they were studying together and Nicole was helping him catch up with the other students as promised.

Nicole smiled at the memory, but her expression quickly turned sour as she looked up and saw Amy's impatient eyes, waiting for an answer. "No, we aren't dating, we're just friends," Nicole said.

"Just friends huh?" Amy asked, looking quite bemused.

God, she really can't take a hint, can she, Nicole thought as she tried to avoid eye contact so that Amy wouldn't be able to read her thoughts. "Yeah, we're just friends," Nicole said. Her voice held a finality to it that clearly emphasized the end of discussion.

Amy wasn't as clueless as Nicole thought she was. She could clearly see the tinge of red in Nicole's cheeks as she talked about Erik and how she became irritated by her probing question. Amy only did it to gauge Nicole's reaction, she didn't really plan to make a move on Erik. She had seen how Erik had eyes only for her and had completely avoided her attempts at flirting. She wasn't hurt or jealous. She was happy for Nicole. It was high time this girl took a break from her books and learnt how to have fun, Amy thought as she prepared Nicole's order and packed them. She handed Nicole her coffees and eclairs and bade her good night.

Nicole exited the shop, juggling the coffees and books in her hand. She had decided to get a car this year but she couldn't find the time to visit some lots and choose a car. And she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to make time anytime soon.

Nicole took her usual route to Lake Mendota. It was a Friday and Nicole and Erik had planned to have their "lessons" by the Lake today. They usually had it under the Locust tree or sometimes in the library, after Nicole's shift. As it was a Friday, this part of the city was empty as the students were busy getting wasted.

There were hardly any people at Lake Mendota when Nicole arrived. The Sports area had been closed for the winter, and as a result, very few people visited it nowadays. The Lake would freeze in another two months.

Lake Mendota was just as beautiful to Nicole frozen, as it was in the summer. There was a haunting beauty to the place, surrounded by trees who had seen memories being made and had kept it a secret. Sometimes, when Nicole came here to visit Brian and relax, she would lie on the grass in her secret place and listen to the wind howl and watch the trees sway to its rhythm. Sometimes, she could swear that the trees whispered their secrets to her as she lay watching them.

Thinking of Brian and her favourite place made a small smile bloom on Nicole's lips. She cut through the trail to the clearing and saw the familiar golden furry body lying under one of the trees. Brian's ears perked up when he heard Nicole approaching and, as usual, he bounded over to her and tried to stand up on his hind legs and lick her face.

Nicole laughed and set her books and coffee down carefully on the grass, making sure that the coffee didn't spill. She kneeled down in front of Brian and scratched him behind his ears, his favourite spot to be scratched. Brian's tongue came out and he started panting. he whimpered when Nicole stopped cuddling him and reached for the bag to take out the cookies she had brought. Brian cheered up immediately at the sight of cookies.

Brian layed down with his head on Nicole's lap as she fed the cookies to him. She still had some time before she was supposed to meet Erik at a place by the lake, not far from her secret spot. She heard a twig snap somewhere and her and Brian's head lifted up in synchronisation.

Brian got up immediately and looked closely at some trees hidden in shadows in front of them. He was tense, his ears perked up listening to the slightest of sounds.

Nicole stood up as well, and goosebumps formed on her arms as she scanned the trees, trying to make out the source of the noise. Suddenly, a figure approached them from between two trees, from the trail that Nicole took to get here.

The figure had platinum-blonde hair and green eyes.

It was Erik.

"Erik?"

"Nicole?"

Both of them blurted out at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" Nicole asked, a little defensively. Her eyes were wide and shock was evident in them. No one knew about this place, it was practically impossible to reach since it was so well hidden. Erik couldn't have known about it unless someone had shown it to him, or he had followed someone here.

Nicole suddenly remembered the silhouette that she had seen not long ago over here. It was the same day when she had first properly met Erik. In fact, all of her troubles began after Erik came here. Could he have something to do with Him?, Nicole wondered as Erik stepped in front of her and stared into her eyes. His expression was unreadable.