I gave an involuntary groan as the alarm on my phone went off, and I swung my arm in an arch to stop the noise as I clawed out of the fog of sleep. I was momentarily confused as to why I was still in jeans, since I normally only slept in boxers, but then memories began flooding back of the girl that had occupied my bed with me last night. I panicked a bit when I realized she wasn't in the room, but I quickly swallowed it down and stumbled down the hallway.

        I saw a figure in the living area, and it made me smile as I crossed my arms over my bare chest and leaned against the cool wall of the threshold. "H... hey," I croaked, my voice gravel from sleep. Amanda was sitting cross-legged on the sofa with my laptop in front of her. She had tied up her hair and apparently found her trousers from last and one of my blizzard tee shirts that she currently wore. She was swallowed by it a bit, since most of my tee shirts ran large because of how tall I was, but it gave her a cute, playful look.

        She looked over her shoulder when she heard my voice. "Morning," she said quietly, giving me the tiniest smile. Something seemed off, but I wrote it off as both of us being over tired from lack of sleep. I made my way around the couch, completely comfortable with my state of dress, and fell down on the couch next to her. "Campus is closed today," she muttered, returning her gaze to my laptop which looked to have her email open.

        "Because of the snow?" I asked, sitting up and trying to look out the window. I didn't think the storm had been that bad last night, but upon further investigation I could see about three or four inches blanketing the streets below. "Oh, wow..." I observed, "I guess we did get a ton of snow."

        Amanda grunted her disapproval. "You babies, I used to brush this much off my car every morning back in New York," she scoffed, still staring intently at the computer screen.

        I let the curtain fall back to cover the window as I rejoined her back on the sofa. "Oh excuse me," I laughed, "I'm sorry we only have the infrastructure for the foot of snow we usually get over the accumulation of a year." I threw my arm around the back of the couch and quickly leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek, still feeling flirty from last night.

        I felt my stomach churn when she only gave me a despondent smile, and I leaned into her to see what she was so fixated with. It looked like a regular email, and there wasn't anything special about it until I noticed a small icon attached to the email. "What's that?" I asked, pointing at it.

        She slammed the laptop closed as soon as she realized I was looking over her shoulder, and announced that she was going to take a shower. She placed my computer beside her and jumped up, hair swinging with every slight turn of her head. As I watched her quickly disappear through the dim hallway, I felt my heart rate jump up. I tried to go over everything that had happened last night and come up with any explanation to the way she was acting. I didn't really do anything too suggestive, and even as we progressed physically, I always gave her time to stop me before proceeding.

        I leaned my head into my hands, completely shaken at the thought of pushing our relationship too far; I didn't even know what to consider her, yet I was taking her clothes off last night. Were we still considering each other just friend? It terrified me to think she didn't want any of it yet allowing it to happen anyway to spare my feelings or, even worse, she was afraid of repercussions. I had nearly worried myself sick, almost convincing myself that she didn't even like me and I was actually just a chauvinist pig who took advantage of women when I noticed the laptop in front of me.

        Pushing the irrational thoughts out of my head, I reopened the computer and gave a silent cheer as Amanda's Gmail account appeared on screen. I knew it was so wrong (and illegal) to look through her messages, but I couldn't help myself as I searched for the email that I had seen earlier. It was her school email, so there was a lot of exchanges between professors, as well as quiet a few different chains between her and Nick, which caused my blood to boil. There wasn't anything personal, just business things about editing and channel uploads, but the fact that she was still talking to him made me green with envy.

        I looked over my shoulder to make sure that she wasn't going to appear behind me, and then continued my snooping. Upon opening a email that read 'midterm grade reports for advanced 2D design' near the top, I noticed the attachment I had seen earlier. I quickly downloaded it, and saw a familiar drawing, though it had been completed since last time.

        It was the viola and cello, and was one of my favorite works from her. The pencil lines were so fine and detailed, and the light, softness of the piece reminded me of her personality. I smiled, knowing that she was going to go places with such a eye for detail, and her talent was not something one sees everyday; even with all the fan art I'm exposed to.

        I heard the water shut off and I was about to close out of the email when I noticed what the professor had said. Apparently he didn't share the same feelings.

        'The piece lacks range of values and an understanding of the subject matter and techniques. I would like to see more work and development in our next still life. 54'

        I read over the statement again, trying to comprehend what he had said. Did he really believe that she didn't put enough work into something so masterfully done? How could she receive a grade like that? I involuntarily clenched my fists, experiencing only a fraction of what she must feel. Now I knew why she was so upset, and I sympathized with her.

        "Ross Hornby?" she said as I heard her pad down the hall, her hair dripping water and her face flushed from the heat and steam. "Can I borrow this shirt?" she asked, pulling at the hem of my blizzard shirt to look down at the design.

        "Yeah, sure," I said absently, clicking on the red x in the corner of my screen before she saw what I had been doing. "So you have no where to go today?" I asked, already forming a plan in my head.

        "Yeah," she muttered, settling in the arm chair and looking at the hands in her lap, "I think I'll just go back and work on some projects..."

        I pulled out my phone and searched through my contact list, not responding to her depressed tone. Hitting the call button, I stood up and brought the phone to my ear, much to Amanda's confusion.

        "Hello?" my boss answered.

        "Hey, Lewis," I greeted, giving Amanda a sly smile. "I don't know if I'll be able to make it to my office today; my road's not even been cleared yet," I lied, earning another confused look from the girl as her eyebrows knitted together.

        "That's fine Ross," he assured me, "We probably won't be opening until 1 or 2 today anyway. If you don't feel comfortable enough driving here then don't worry about it."

        "Yeah, the roads are pretty bad," I agreed, still smiling at Amanda.

        "Will you let Amanda know?" he asked, "I'm sure it's just as bad at the campus."

        I gave a chuckle. "Yeah, I'll tell her," I said, winking, "Be safe out there Lewis."

        "You too, Ross," he said warmly, "Good day."

        I said Goodbye to my boss and hung up. Walking over to Amanda, I grabbed her wrists and tugged her to her feet. "Looks like I'm free for the day too," I smiled, leaning down to plant a kiss on her hairline, not wanting her to experience my morning breath.

        "I should probably go back and get some studying do-" she said, trying to take a step away from me.

        "You're not supposed to work on a snow day," I laughed, wrapping my hands around her waist, "That defeats the purpose."

        She sighed and once again tried to pull away from me. "Ross Hor-" she tried to say. 

        "I'm going to go take a shower," I cut her off, grabbing her shoulders and making her look me in the eye, "And then we'll do something fun. Okay?"

        Her eyes turned up to look at me through her dark lashes, and the sunlight that filtered weakly into the room made them shine a million different shades of brown and green. I was desperate to pull her into a kiss, but I had to resist until I got cleaned up. "Alright," she said quietly, the left side of her mouth twitching up into the tiniest smile.

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        "How much salt!?" I asked incredulously, looking over her shoulder to see the recipe.

        "It says one tablespoon!" she said, shaking her phone at me and then laughing lightly.

        "That's a ton of salt, are you sure it doesn't say sugar?" I said, trying to check the recipe in her hand. We had found vegan oatmeal cookies online which apparently had won many awards, but the measurements seemed a bit skewed.

        It had taken a while to get Amanda to open up again, but her mood started to lighten as the day progressed. One Lord of The Rings marathon and very angry monopoly game later, she was back to her regular, bubbly self. Even doing lame, clique things together was incredibly endearing and though she was pretty quiet most of the time (except when she landed on one of my hotels), I never got bored or tired of hanging out with her. I only hoped that she felt the same way, because I wanted to make sure this snow day was good enough that she could forget about that awful professor for at least a few hours.

        "Look, 1 tablespoon salt," she read, holding it out for me to look at since my hands were full with a box of salt and a set of teaspoons.

        I grimaced as I read over the last ingredient. "I guess... Maybe it wont be too much once it's all mixed in..." I muttered, measuring out the granules over the sink before dumping it into the lumpy mixture. I wasn't a baker, or a cook for that matter, but I had a feeling this would turn out badly for everyone involved.

        "Here, let me stir," she said, grabbing the spoon from my hand and bumping her hip against mine. She had found the Hat Films apron we had bought years ago and tied it around her hips, though it nearly wrapped all the way around her; she looked somewhat childish but still adorable. Her waist and stomach were dusted with white hand prints, and I was the one who made most of them.

        I got out of the way, but then migrated to stand behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. Reaching under her arm to sneak my finger into the bowl, I stole a pinch of batter and tasted it. "Ugh," I groaned, grimacing against the salty, spicy taste of the uncooked cookies, "Taste it, it's really gross." I watched her lick the soon and react in a similar fashion, and I laughed at our failed attempts to make something appetizing.

        "Well..." Amanda said despairingly, "Maybe once it's baked it will taste better...." I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but she didn't sound too hopeful.

        We quickly finished the cookies and cleaned up the mess we had made, and then settled back in the living room. "Wanna play some Block and Load?" I suggest, "We have 12 minutes until the cookies are done."

        "Actually...um..." she stammered, bringing a knee up to her chest and turning to face me. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but then gave an annoyed sigh, saying "Listen; I wanted to ask you something."

        Her tone of voice worried me, and I wondered if I had done something wrong. "Go on..." I said warily.

        There was a pause as she played with the hem of he trouser leg as she sat there thinking, and then her head snapped up and she fixed me with a worried glance. "What are you doing during Christmas?" she blurted out, "Because they're kinda shutting down the campus and... and I wouldn't ask you if I wasn't completely desperate..." She gave me an apologetic smile as a crinkle appeared between her eyebrows.

        As much as the prospect of her to stay at my place for two weeks or more excited me beyond belief, there was a small problem. "I was actually going down to Swindon for the few days I have off to go see my family..." I said, already trying to think of a solution; the only idea I had was for her to come with me, but, again, I was afraid of pushing things to far. I really liked Amanda; I didn't want to scare her away by introducing her to my extended family when we had only formally met about a month ago.

        She let her eyes drop to stare at a random spot on the floor. "That's fine," she said, trying to mask her disappointment, "I can ask Alex Smith if I could stay a few days with him if he's around... and if worse comes to worse I can rent a hotel room..."

        I braced myself for what I was about to suggest and took a deep breath. "Just come with me," I smiled, sounding a lot more relaxed than I felt. "It will only be for a few days, and then you're welcome to stay here for as long as you need until they reopen your uni," I suggested.

        "Are you sure you want me around your family?" she asked, a hint of sarcasm leaking into her voice as she smiled up at me.

        "My mum will absolutely love you," I laughed, meaning it. She was crazy about any girl I brought home, and any parent would love a polite, quiet one like this.

        "I don't know Ross Hornby," she sighed, refusing to look me in the eye, "I mean, you already invited me to the Witcher event, and now I'm mooching off of you again-"

        I leaned in to plant a long, sweet kiss on her lips. "Honestly," I assured her when we pulled away, "spending time with you isn't a chore." I laughed and grabbed her hand, trying to get her to smile as well.

        "You sure?" she asked, looking at our hands as the fingers intertwined together, 'I'll pay half you're rent for the month..." 

        "Don't worry about it," I smiled, pulling her into a kiss again. We made out until we heard the timer go off, and I was able to silence any opposition or apprehension Amanda might have been feeling. Though we hadn't discussed the status of our relationship yet, I felt like we were becoming quite the couple. Now all I needed to do was hold onto her and not mess this up.

        The cookies turned out to taste only slightly better than the batter, though it didn't seem to ruin the comfortable and loving mood of our snow day.

A/N Sorry if this story is dragging a bit, I liked writing semi-fluff and I really want to start developing their relationship more, and I imagine Ross always being really concerned and worried about a girl he's crushing on (like the cute bastard he is) so I hope I portrayed that correctly. I love all the support you guys are giving me, and I will try to update more than once a week now that finals and midterms are over. Thank you, happy reading.