• C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - O N E •

the one with
the blizzard: christmas flashback pt.3

January 1, 2016
12:05 AM

It was minutes after the countdown and Veronica rushed outside the house with their dog, Wayne, close to her.

Fireworks exploded in the sky, and she ducked, her hands clasped on her ears while Wayne's tail was tucked between its legs.

The moment she shut the door Wayne hid in the corner with its head resting on the wall.

"You poor baby..." Veronica mumbled and caressed its back.

"Is it the fireworks?"

She shot her head up, only to find Allen sitting on one of the wicker chairs. She didn't realize he was sitting out on the porch. She expected him to be out in the backyard with the rest of her family getting excited over fireworks bursting in the sky.

"Yup." She stood straighter, pushing her hair out of her face, looking at his lying frame and meeting his droopy eyes. "It scares the living Hell out of both of us." She ushered at Wayne. "So, until they're done firing shit up the sky, we're avoiding the danger zone."

Allen quietly laughed and she crouched down to pet Wayne, smiling down at his puppy eyes. "How come you're here?" She asked absently.

"I drank a little too much and am trying to sober up before I barf on any furniture." She turned and he ushered at the water bottle in his hands. She smiled and stood, her nerves easing when the sound of crackling vanished. The peaceful sound of waves crashing on the shore filled the silence between them and created an atmosphere of tranquility as they sat under the crescent moon and shining stars.

"Aren't you cold out here?" She asked and took a seat on the chair next to his. He shrugged.

"It's nice."

She studied him carefully when he rested his head back and closed his eyes. Nothing could ever outshine his outer beauty more than his inner one. It was shocking to her just how warm he could be yet so intimidating.

He caught her looking right before she was about to turn, and she froze under the intensity of his stare.

He gave her a gentle smile that made her heart flutter and her mouth run with words to fill the silence because that was what she knew how to do best. Run.

Little did she know that no matter how fast she ran, in only a few more minutes her insides were going to inevitably combust and blaze the velvet darkness of the sky right before his eyes.

7:02 AM

Natasha's fingers ached as twisted her the keys off the ignition and shut her car. Her shoulders felt heavy and her eyes stung. She looked like she just woke up from the worst hangover in history and what was hilarious was that it wasn't anything like that.

"Bonne Année!"

She winced at the sudden shrill and recognized the voice immediately. She turned and offered a small smile. Elena hopped off the stairs and rushed to her. Natasha dreaded what was coming.

"Happy New Year's-Oof." She bit back a wince when she felt the firmness of arms and legs wrapped around her tired frame, almost choking her. She loved Elena, she did. Despite the five-year age gap, Elena had always felt they shared a sisterly bond that took Natasha time to get used to. But, it was barely seven in the morning and she was exhausted - she barely got an hour of sleep last night; the party went on and on and it never once stopped.

Her entire body ached.

"Why don't you ever spend New Year's with us?" She pouted. Natasha's lips rolled inside her mouth as she gently pushed her away so they could walk inside the mansion. She needed to thank Harrison Durant for the opportunity he offered her yesterday. No matter how many times he granted his support, she constantly felt the urge to thank him right after thanking Richard, her mother's husband.

She owed it to them for being able to pursue her dream. It brought a tightness in her chest at the thought.

"Sorry, El." She hooked an arm around her as they made their way inside. "I-"

"I know. I know. How was it?"

"It was great." She smiled. It was spectacular, was how it was. But she never was one to openly express her thoughts. "How you holding up?" She asked. She hadn't seen her since Christmas, and she remembered just how nervous she'd been as she dressed up.

Elena faltered and Natasha regretted asking.

"Cava. I guess..." She shrugged, tucking a blonde strand behind her ear. "They leave today. But I'll go visit. So, it's...fine."

Natasha nodded, her eyes accidentally skipped down to Elena's phone as it rang, and the name Blake flashed the screen. Her eyes darted away just as Elena beamed and excused herself to the next room. Natasha smiled, shaking her head as her lively voice filled the empty mansion.

She knew Elena trusted her deeply, but she also knew what she was hiding, and she knew that it'd take time for her to open up. But she didn't push. She never would.

December 24, 2019

No one looked forward to Christmas Eve.

It meant inviting their parents over to spend it together, but it always erupted with a catastrophic fight or the silliest arguments that grew explosive or even passive-aggressiveness that left everyone feeling fired up.

It was to everyone's relief - even Ethan's - that the blizzard intensified by five p.m. and the roads were closed, the snow piled the pavement, the wind howled, and lightning bolts were rupturing in the dark sky.

Veronica and Danielle were sitting by the window couch with the perfect view of the Happy Family exchanging presents with hot chocolate in hands. One of the twins was crying after she dropped her mug on the ground and her father had her on his lap, consoling her with his knee jittering to make her laugh. They watched with a wistful gaze of what looked to be the perfect childhood to them. The little girl eventually did laugh, the mother helping both girls wear their ugly sweaters and they all watched TV swarmed under the covers on the couch.

"I hate that I envy them," Danielle said, and Veronica hummed.

"Me too."

"You guys, I found the Christmas sweaters!"

Both girls bolted off their seats and rushed over to where Chloe stood, holding a pile of thick wool that she dropped on the coffee table. Danielle instantly claimed the one with Santa's favorite ho! before Veronica got the chance to call dibs. The latter huffed as she was left with the lame red and green one with gold gift wrap all around it.

"You can't have it twice a year!" Veronica argued but Danielle was already putting it on. "For fuck's sake," she hissed with an eye-roll. She turned to face Chloe, who poured herself a glass of wine and took the grocery they bought on their way home outside of the bags so she could start preparing dinner.

She frowned when her eyes settled on an interesting item.

"What's with the pregnancy test?" Veronica's eyes cut to Danielle's, whose brows pulled together.

"Not mine."

Chloe hummed quickly, swallowed her drink, "That's me."

They stilled, eying her carefully. She rolled her eyes. "My period is irregular, I'm paranoid. It's just for precautions."

"You want to marry the guy yet you're paranoid to bear his child, what does that tell you?" Danielle sneered and Veronica snorted.

"That is an excellent, excellent point."

Chloe decided to ignore, and Veronica being upset about the tree and the sweater, wanted to push her buttons - just then, the door opened.

"Yo, strippers." Ethan popped his head inside.

"You need me to wear my garter belt? Is that it?" Chloe was quick to snap.

"Allen and I are gonna see if the bar at the lobby can sell us any wine. Who's up for it?"

"Only one of you can go. I need help setting up the table," Chloe warned and Veronica rushed to the door before Danielle could.

"Let's go!" She shrilled and pushed Ethan outside.

"No!" Danielle whined. "Don't leave me with Hitler!"

"You picked the wrong battle," Veronica sneered in triumph as she turned to flip her the middle finger. She was unfazed when she was pushed aside by Bilal who stepped in.

"Weren't you leaving?" Veronica asked and Chloe internally thanked her for voicing the questions she wouldn't bring herself to ask.

Bilal shot Ethan a glare to which the latter replied with an eye roll. He was supposed to leave right after he got his charger from him, but Ethan lured him into a game of NBA knowing fully well how competitive Bilal could get. Safe to say, hours later, Bilal was now stuck here unable to properly work and forced to take a day off.

"Bilal owes me fifty bucks!" Danielle yelped like he was her hero. "He can help you." He gave her a look as if to say don't be ridiculous, and huffed.

"If I help, you'll owe me fifty bucks."

Chloe rolled her eyes and pushed Veronica outside mid-dance, shutting the door. She turned to face both Bilal and Danielle, sending them a cold stare when she noticed the former already sprawled on the couch and the latter went back to staring out the window.

Chloe knew something like that would happen, so she took out the colorful fringe party horn, with HAPPY NEW YEAR! written in glitter across the plastic, from the discarded box of Christmas decoration. She took brisk strides to reach them and right as Bilal's eyes were fluttering close, she blew it in his ear.

"The fuck Chlo," Bilal hissed, covering his side of his face and glowering at her through his fingers.

"That's not helping," she snarled.

"I never said I would."

"C'mon Dan!" Chloe clapped her hands loudly, and her sister groaned in frustration.

"I could just as easily unleash my bugs - don't test me." She narrowed her eyes and Chloe glared. Bilal arched an eyebrow at the thought.

"Bugs can shut you up?" A smug smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. "Where has this information been all along?"

"Just thought of it, actually..." An evil spark glazed her eyes and Chloe crossed her arms against her chest.

"Keep thinking about it while I bring out the fish tank from the lobby," she countered coolly and Danielle gagged, shaking abruptly at the thought.

Bilal's eyebrows shot up. "You sleep with spiders but you draw the line on fish?"

"They freak me out!"

"Come on, now." She popped the horn back in her mouth and blew a sharp exhale-

Bilal's teeth gritted together, and he sat up in a flash. He abruptly caught the horn mid-blow, squeezing it in his palm and pulling Chloe down to his level. His eyes hardened and so did hers.

"I haven't slept in days," he told her with a voice dangerously low, almost threatening and she gave him a vicious smile, the object trapped between her bared teeth.

"You should've thought of that before you got yourself stuck here with me." Their voices were low and taunting. The atmosphere took an uncomfortable twist for Danielle, who awkwardly pushed herself off the seat and snuck her way to her room. Sure enough, they were too enthralled in the moment to notice.

"I wouldn't be here if I knew it was an option."

"Hmm?" Chloe arched an eyebrow, pushing the horn aside, closing the gap between them bit by bit. Bilal started to notice, his eyes growing darker at the feeling of her warm breath against his lips. Chloe's smile settled into a smug one, hand reaching for his shoulder and she patted him twice. "Keep lying to yourself."

She pushed him down to pull herself up. Bilal blinked, unable to look away as she turned back to the kitchen. She turned, meeting his stare and tilting her head that meant 'go on'. Bilal swallowed, following her and standing by her side. She started giving him instructions and he nodded, both slowly falling back into their habit of oblivion.

"The vending machine isn't working?" Veronica was appalled. Ethan assumed her tone would be no different if he told her their parents were coming after all.

"Afraid not, ma'am." The bartender answered and Veronica flushed. The question was meant to be rhetorical, and she didn't expect him to be standing there still and call her 'ma'am'.

"Chloe's cooking, what do you need the vending for?" Ethan quirked an eyebrow and she shrugged, coming to stand next to him by the bar and looking at the extravagant set of options aligned right before them.

Imagine if all the bottles were replaced with lines and lines of snacks.

"Because snacks are important. Do you want to eat Gougeres in the middle of the night?" She gagged. "Do you have snacks?" She addressed Allen, who had been quietly standing beside them, his phone in the air. Veronica frowned when he didn't hear her and got her head closer. "No wireless?" She ushered at the sign at the top of his screen.

"Hmm?" He absently asked and turned to face her, eyes skipping to her lips briefly before meeting her eyes. The movement was so fast she almost didn't catch it, but she did, and her stomach was tingling. "Yeah, no. It's getting worse out there."

"Let's go," Ethan said as he handed Veronica - more like shoved it on her - the bag. She barely felt it as a thought lightened her brain.

"Why don't we get snacks!"

Ethan rolled his eyes and turned to leave without a word.

Allen frowned. "From where?"

"It's down Greenwich Street, barely a five minutes' walk, so if we run - it'll take us two minutes!" She was jumping on her feet now, pulling him by the wrists down the lobby to reach the doors. Ethan was already standing before the elevator, unbothered.

Allen's eyebrows could reach the ceiling. "You do know that running in this weather is basically walking so no, it'll take us five whole minutes if not more."

She huffed and shot him a glare, standing put with her hands on her waist. "Okay, if you're going to be realistic about this then I can't help you. Where's your daredevil side? Don't you want to live?"

"...I do, and it's precisely why I'm arguing against it."

"You're no fun."

"You're insane."

"Come on!" She latched his wrists again and dragged him out the door and he groaned in exasperation.

"Fine, fine, fine, but if I lose a finger, you're paying for it."

Just as he spoke, the frosty gust bit their skin in small sharp nips. Veronica squinted her eyes and hugged her frame tightly. Allen looked at her with the obvious words I told you so right at the tip of his tongue. She ignored him.

"I'll make it up to you with warm hot chocolate once we get back."

"Veronica, I've tasted your hot chocolate..."

"And?"

"And, I might as well have ordered a sack of sugar."

Her jaw slacked and he fought the laugh at her indignation. "More the reason why I should make one for you." She plastered a tight smile. "You have a problem with sugar, my friend."

"I don't have a problem with you."

Veronica stopped. Turned. Blinked. Allen howled with laughter.

"Oh, God." She deadpanned. "Don't do it again. Ever."

"Your face said otherwise."

"That's because you violated every rule there is to flirting."

"The key is in the surprise."

"If it didn't make me want to jump you, then it's not good flirting."

"And you would know?"

"I'd like to think that - yes."

Allen arched an eyebrow. "Show me, then."

She rolled her eyes. "It comes naturally. If I force it out, it sounds tacky."

"How does flirting come naturally?"

"I don't know... I flirt with everyone." She couldn't count the times her friendliness was misunderstood and suddenly found herself leading the other person on.

"Except me." Allen mused. "Should that offend me?"

Veronica faltered. "No."

The gust piled up snow in drifts and blinded the night with icy dust. The street lamps were barely visible despite the looming darkness, and Veronica had to rely on her sense of direction to find the right way. She'd been there too many times to count, especially during finals period. She knew the road like the back of her hand. But at one point, as they pushed through the strong whirlwind with back bent, Allen looped his arm around her shoulder and pushed her close instinctively.

"Regretting it yet?" He asked, flinching when Veronica squealed.

"Are you kidding? I've never felt more alive!" She dramatically threw her body forward and Allen laughed when she sputtered out a ball of snow that went right through her mouth.

Ethan got inside the lift and pressed the button to his floor.

"Hold it!"

He startled, shooting his arm up to press the button to open the door just as Natasha slid inside. He couldn't stop himself from swiftly skimming her appearance, noticing she was wearing a bright red dress reaching her thighs, the color matching her lipstick. She was oddly glittery, and she noticed Ethan quirked his eyebrow in question. She rolled her eyes.

"That's the theme..." She trailed and he nodded.

"Glitter suits you." He flashed a smile and she shoved his shoulder lightly. "I'm serious." He chuckled.

"I have more in my purse if you like."

"What kind of party were you going to?" His eyes widened and she giggled.

"I'm just thankful I kept a Buche de Noel in my fridge to indulge for the rest of the night." She sighed and took off her gloves. Ethan frowned at the thought.

"Come spend it with us," he blurted and Natasha's eyes widened.

"Oh no, I don't want to intrude."

"Of course not." He gave her a look that meant don't be ridiculous. "You dealt with our noise complaints for years, let this be our way of paying you back."

Natasha laughed, shaking her head. "I enjoy dealing with your mess."

"And we'll enjoy your company." I'll enjoy your company, was really what he meant.

Natasha held his gaze for a beat longer before she nodded, just as the elevator doors slid open on her floor. "Okay. I'll just have to get the Buche."

Ethan nodded and stayed put as she stepped out. She turned, giving him a playful look. "You coming?"

He blinked. "Uh, sure."

He was a little taken off guard. He'd never seen or been near Natasha's apartment. She felt his hesitation when she opened her door and had to step aside to let him in first.

"Don't be shy," she teased. "Make yourself comfortable." She had to bite back a laugh when she noticed a hint of red on Ethan's cheeks. She nipped her bottom lip and her heels clattered against the tile as she headed for the kitchen. Ethan's eyes wandered around the room in the meantime, a little surprised to see a stash of vinyl records on every corner in the room, an old guitar hanging by the white brick wall. The aesthetic of the room showcased a side of Natasha he never expected to see.

"You play the guitar?" He asked just as she closed the fridge behind her, turning to face him. She followed his vision and shook her head.

"No. It was my dad's," she said, and Ethan nodded, wanting to ask about the past tense but hesitant to pry. His eyes caught the grand piano in the middle of the room, its glossy black color and enormous size almost impossible to ignore.

He was about to ask-

Thunder flashed and rattled the entire building. In barely under a second, darkness swarmed the room.

Every lamp outside the street shut off.

The entire city drowned in obscurity.

Ethan moved to stare out the window. It was pitch-black, nothing but faint white dust was visible outside now. The moon and the stars were all but a distant layer above them.

"That's weird. The entire city's blacked out."

Natasha moved to stand next to him, her brows pulled as the blizzard seemed to have intensified over the hours.

"You can't see a thing."

Ethan hummed and tilted his head to see she had the dessert between her arms. He extended his arms to take it from her and she shook her head, angling her body away. "I'm your guest." She shoed him away.

He chuckled. "After you." He motioned for her to lead the way, taking another clockwise glance around the place before he followed her.

"What are you doing?" Chloe demanded the moment she hung up the phone after a lengthy conversation with her mother telling her to be careful, and that it seemed the power will be back once the weather improved.

Bilal didn't even move his head as he tore his eyes away from the crusty sourdough bread to shoot her a side-eye. "Cooking."

"How were you gonna cut this?" She tested with narrowed eyes as he was holding the knife right in the middle. Bilal looked down, then back up at her slowly.

"Slices."

She shook her head. "This is a cheese and garlic crack bread; it's supposed to be cut diagonally from each side." She explained and Bilal's top lip curled in utter confusion.

"What?"

"Let me." She bumped his shoulder to move him aside, reaching to take the knife off his hand. She momentarily froze when she touched his cold fingers, unable to stop the gasp as it escaped her lips. Her eyes widened in alarm. "You're freezing!"

His muscles tensed when she took his hands in hers, her warm palms engulfing his, testing his skin. They were ice-cold. Chloe was sure his fingers would fall off in the next few minutes.

"Not really." He was about to tell her his body tended to stay warm but the tip of his fingers and toes were always cold, but she was already rushing inside her bedroom.

"Let me get you something," she yelled out, her voice muffled through the walls. "There's no heater now that the power's out, you can't stay like this."

"Chloe. I'm fine-"

"Okay, that'll suit you." She paced back out and held out a wool jumper. Bilal froze. It was an ordinary sweater, navy blue with white Fairisle Design - but it was Aiden's and he knew because he got the Christmas card and had taken a good look at it before he had reached for his lighter and used it instead of tinder to light the fireplace.

He shot her a glacial stare and Chloe blinked, taken off guard when her entire body turned taut.

"This is your boyfriend's," he bit out. Chloe held herself upright despite feeling the blush blooming her cheeks. Bilal never failed to remind her just how derogatory it was for Aiden to hold such a title.

"So? I don't have anything else."

Bilal shrugged. "I'll be fine."

He bypassed her and she stared down at the sweater with a frown. She realized, in that instant, just how much she felt like burning it.

Then she realized that she did hate it.

Then she wondered why she kept it in the first place if every time she had to look at it, she felt like she was going to be sick.

Her shoulders relaxed at the sudden realization that pulled a heavy weight off them, and she turned to look at her phone.

She didn't have to keep it if it was making her miserable. She didn't have to keep anything that wasn't bringing her the happiness she finally felt she deserved.