Time. It's been moving slower than usual. The days shorter as it gets darker earlier. And while it's been nice having so much time with family, nothing exciting has been happening. Thanksgiving came and went and it was one for the books. The happiest holiday I've had in quite a few years and I took in all that I was thankful for, because I was surrounded by those I was more than thankful for this year.

I was able to spend some time with Kate and Carter who were home for the holiday and Harry got to see Niall, and it was a blessing to see friends again. To hear about how they're doing and how much they're loving California and school. They were still the same people they always were and the short visit with them made me miss them more than I ever allowed myself to. They were succeeding and I...well, I'm not, just yet.

Since they left, nothing has felt the same. In fact, I feel like I've been spiraling down a hole that I want more than anything to come out of. Harry and I are still waiting for acceptance letters for schools and everything is still up in the air. Day in and day out, just waiting to see what our future is going to hold and I'm starting to get that sinking feeling we won't get into a school together and our plans will be broken.

"Jayde! Wake up!" Next to me, Harry makes the bed bounce as he lets his body fall on it to wake me. My eyes shoot open to look at him. He has a bright excited smile on his face, his hair an unruly mess of curls. "It snowed!"

I groan and attempt to turn over, but Harry won't let me. "We're going out to play," he whispers. "Get up!" Grabbing my hand, he pulls me up and drags me across his room to the stairs, down them, down the hall passed what used to be my room and is now my mom's and down the other flight of stairs without missing a beat.

I'm still not fully awake yet, wanting to turn at the front door to go to the kitchen for coffee, but Harry pulls me into him, making me stop at the bottom of the stairs. I notice then, that he's got our coats, hats and some gloves ready and there's two circle toboggans leaning against the wall.

"We're going sledding?" I ask. I instantly feel myself light up. The last time I went sledding, I was still a kid. It was before everything with my parents changed and I remember how much Carter and I laughed going down the hill in the Clearing. Once again, I know what Harry is doing. He's wanting to remind me just how freeing doing childlike things are, that even in times that are stressful, there's still a way to smile, to get through it.

With our hats and mittens and coats on, we run through his backyard through the woods and into the Clearing, carrying our toboggans. We are already laughing before we get there, not caring we're both wearing plaid pajama pants.

It's still snowing out, the big fluffy snowflakes coming down gently around us as we reach the top of the hill. I want to take in the moment of how serene everything looks all covered in snow, but Harry grabs my hand and smiles at me.

"I'll race ya to the bottom!"

There is nothing better than to be here with Harry. This is our place now. Before him, it was mine and mine alone, but I know it never really was just mine. Not after knowing how long Harry had watched me from his window and all our memories here after. Not all memories here are great, but they're ours and for as long as it took us to get where we are now, I wouldn't change a thing. Because we're sledding down this hill, this hill he had me once run down to help me feel freedom when I needed it the most and we're laughing just as we were that day.

My heart is pounding hard as we reach the top for the fourth time to go down again. Through the laughter and exertion of getting back up the hill over and over again, trying to breathe through the cold air, I'm getting tired fast. I'm having so much fun and just seeing how big the smile on his face is, brings this to one of my favorite times with him.

There may not be twinkle lights, but there's snowflakes and they're just as pretty as the stars are right now, because they're making his green eyes even brighter, his smile bigger and his laugh, music to my ears.

He grabs a hold of my hand as we lay down on our circle toboggans on our stomach and we push together with our feet to move us down the hill together. We don't let go of each other's hands, our arms spread out at our sides as if we're flying and I can't keep my eyes off of him. He is so beautiful. His laughter is beautiful. I'm so lucky to call him mine.

When we reach the bottom, he scoots off his sled to move closer to me, turning me over so I'm laying on my back and he kisses me, instantly warming me up. "I love you," he says softly, brushing a loose hair from my face.

"And I love you."

He lets out a long breath of air as he lays down next to me. We're both breathing hard as we stare up at the snowy sky. This truly is a beautiful morning. While it's cold, it's bearable. There's no sun, but the snow brightens up everything around us perfectly. I'm happy Harry has done this for me. For how I've been feeling lately, I think he knew I needed it, and the snow just helped him do it.

"Feeling better?" he asks after a long time. My attention is taken from the sky as I look over at him with eyebrows slightly raised, seeing that he's already looking at me. "Come on Jayde," he smiles. "I know you well enough to know you haven't been yourself lately."

I look back up to the sky and let out a breath, watching the cold air come out like a cloud. I give myself a few moments to gather my thoughts before speaking, because I know I'm going to say more than he thinks I am.

"I feel like we should be doing more," I start. "Don't get me wrong, I love being here with your mom and mine. Getting to know my mom again and being able to spend time with her has been good and I have loved every second of it. But I feel like we should be doing more."

"Like what?" he asks.

"I think because I left and was always going somewhere before," I continue. "That being here kind of makes me feel like I'm stuck. And then seeing Kate and Carter and hearing them talk about California and school," I pause. "I don't know. I guess I miss it there. I think I want for us to go to school there."

"Of all the schools we applied to, you want to go to California?" he asks.

"Yes."

He looks up to the sky and I wonder what he's thinking about. I can't tell from the expression on his face how he feels about my decision or what he might say next, and so I continue talking.

"Like I said before, I love that we're here with our moms," I say. "And I'm happy to be wherever you are, that hasn't changed. But I feel like we should have went somewhere while we're waiting to find out about schools. I miss going places and seeing things. Even if it was just a small trip somewhere. I don't know," I sigh. "I just feel like we're stuck here playing a waiting game and I'm so afraid the end result won't be what we want it to be. Do you even want to go to California?"

He smiles as he looks back at me. "I'll be happy as long as I'm with you," he reminds me. "Plus, Niall has made Cali sound pretty awesome. But I just want to be with you, so if you want to go to California, then I'm there."

"One more time down the hill?" I ask. "And then I think we should go have some hot chocolate."

"Sounds like a plan to me!"

Harry has proved himself to me over and over again that no matter what, he'll do what makes me happiest and I wonder if that's really what will make him happy. It's a bit worrisome that maybe one day he'd resent me for making such a huge decision for us, because I know that I'd be happy with him no matter where we went to school together and I let myself say out loud that I'd prefer California over anywhere else without asking how he felt about it. But I have to trust what he says and hope that he really would be happy in the end no matter what, because he deserves happiness just as much, if not more, than I do.

A/N: When this book is done, there is going to be a small giveaway on my page! So be sure to follow me and keep your eyes peeled for it to happen!

There are only two chapters left of this book. Jayde and Harry's story is finally coming to an end, and while I'm sad that I won't be telling their story anymore, I know it's time to move on and tell another story. 2 years of my life have been dedicated to these 2 characters and I'm so attached to them, it will hurt to say goodbye and move on.

I hope you will be here for my new book, Dreamscape.☺

Stay tuned for the next chapter, Lovies! Hopefully it won't take me too long to write it for you!