Winter made her way down the stairs and through the building door. She lept over the gate, tapping it a little with her toe, causing her heart to stop for a second. It was as if it knew she was going to die so it finally found a way to cover up its suicide. But alas, Winter didn't fall and die, disappointing her poor lonely heart. Oh, how it pumped oxygen throughout her body without complaining, and yet it never got even a little "thank you". How it wished to hear those words. If it could have, it would have given a sad sigh but still, it continued to pump blood through Winter's body as she skipped to the end of the alley.

She paused and immediately squatted, "DAMMIT. DAMN IT. DAMN IT. DAMN IT."

Carter stared at her wide-eyed, "Uh, Wintah? Ya good, buddy?"

Winter kept her eyes on the ground, slightly tilted her head to Carter, and murmured, "I forgot to brush my teeth."

"Oh, oh yeah. I forgot about that. What a shame," he paused, "And it was a cool exit, too."

She glared at him. Carter flashed his pearly whites. Winter slowly got back up again, a lock of hair fell in front of her face. He watched as she deliberately used her hand to brush it away. She looked at him again. This time, Carter could see and feel the fire burning in her eyes. He started to sweat a little. His pulse quickened. His fight or flight instincts took over. He slowly twisted his body around, still feeling Winter's eyes on him. As he took a step towards the building, Winter mimicked his movement. Carter started to walk faster. Soon enough he broke into a sprint. Winter was right behind him. She watched as Carter struggled to open the gate. As soon as he made it through the gate, he closed it as fast as he could and hid behind a pillar. By the time Winter got to the gate, she was already completely out of breath.

Winter leaned on the gate, "Phew... Oh, geez... woo... blahhhhhhhhhh..."

Carter looked at her from behind the pillar and grinned.

"You- damn- you are a dead man. Gahhhhhh..." she pointed at him as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Ya need help breathing again?" he made his way to the gate.

"Th-that would, uh, that would be very nice. Phew..."

"Alright," Carter gracefully lept over the fence, "Lean over and put your hands on your knees. Just slump over, really."

Winter looked at him suspiciously, "Isn't that not as good as putting your hands on your head?"

"Nope! It's better for your diaph to suck in more air."

"My-my diaph?"

He sighed, "Diaphragm."

"Oh, I thought you meant diagram but mispronounced it," she gave a tiny chuckle as she put her hands on her knees.

"Better?"

"Hooo. Oh, yeah, my lungs feel much better. Thanks, bro," Winter pat his back.

"Anytime, bro."

"Bro," she put a hand over her heart and gave him a soft smile.

"Bro," Carter returned the smile and opened the gate.

Winter pulled out the keys and unlocked the door. They climbed up a flight of narrow steps and used a strange-looking key to open the apartment door. Winter looked at Carter as they went through the doorway. His eyes were glued to the bathroom. She squinted at him. Carter slightly glanced at her but his eyes went back to the bathroom. A second passed. His eyes widened and went back to the tiny white-haired child.

She gave him an "I have my eyes on you" gesture while walking to the bathroom. Carter just stood there, smiling. Winter slipped into the bathroom and stopped in front of the sink. She turned to the mirror. Winter leaned over the sink to take a closer look at herself. She examined herself closely. Voices flooded her mind. She tried to block them out but there were too many of them.

Fat. Disgusting. Gross. Weird. Loud. Stupid. Anorexic. Ugly. Fat. Nosy. Outsider. Freak. No taste. Weird. Short. Fat. No one likes you. Why are you so... you? Wide shoulders. Your hair is so weird. What's up with her hair? Why do you even try? No one likes you anyway. How does someone even get that fat?

She poked her cheeks and squeezed them. Finally, she looked down and took a step back to get a better view of herself. Halfway through that step, she was stopped. Winter looked up at the mirror. Carter was there, grinning.

"FUCKING CHEESE! WHAT?! HOW? Wheeeen???" Winter spun around, shocked by Carter's ability to move so silently.

He crinkled his nose, "Mmmm... I would rather not like to imagine cheese fucking. Oh, gosh, it's stuck in my head now. Thanks."

Carter looked down at Winter again and smiled.

"What were you looking at?"

He raised an eyebrow and beamed, "Do you really want to know?"

She turned back around confused. Winter picked up her toothbrush and began her brushing ritual. She wet the bristles, flicked off the water, squeezed a little toothpaste on, wet the bristles and toothpaste, and then brushed her teeth. A small habit she picked up sometime during middle school. Winter wasn't sure why or how she picked it up but she didn't mind.

Carter followed suit, but without the whole ritual of course. He just put on the toothpaste and commenced the brushing of his teeth. He looked at his watch to know when to stop. Winter furrowed her brows at him through the mirror. They locked eyes. Carter raised his eyebrows quizically. Just as fast, he tilted his head up and gave a sound of apprehension.

"Mmmmmmm. Mph, mhm. Ef ehfeher," he said, attempting to keep the toothpaste foam from leaking.

"Ah, mo pay," Winter nodded, "Hath itp ehn ehree enehts?"

"Mo. Poo more," Carter couldn't help but smirk.

Winter smirked, as well, "Ha, poo. Vahf's fuhehy."

Winter gave a very childish giggle. Carter watched in amusement. Winter kept giggling. It seemed as though a curtain had been lifted and the light that had been revealed washed away her worries. She watched in wonder as Carter spit out the toothpaste. She spat out her toothpaste, rinsing the brush immediately after. She continued to giggle. Finally, it hit her.

"Oh! You were looking at my hiney, weren't you?" her voice got higher as she turned to Carter with a childish grin.

Carter helped her out of the bathroom, "Was I?"

She leaned her head back so she could see him, "Yeah, you were. Ha! I have a very attractive booty. . . Heehee..."

"Oh, yeah, you do," Carter chuckled, "C'mon. We gotta get the numbers, remember?"

She furrowed her brows. She changed her mind. She didn't want to leave now. She didn't know why but she didn't want to leave. Carter was obviously going to try to make her leave but she didn't know how to tell him that she didn't want to. How could she communicate to him that she didn't want to even though she didn't know how? She already had trouble communicating her emotions, so how could she do that now with something she'd never shown before? Winter knew only one way to do so.

She stuffed herself into the corner of the couch, hugging a pillow, "NO. I don't wanna!"

"Wasn't it you who forgot to brush their teeth because you wanted to get the numbers?" He made his way to the couch.

"NO!" she threw her pillow at him.

He easily caught it, "Hey, Minty, what's going on?"

"No! Nononono! I don't wanna!" she began to yell and hit the couch.

She began to reach for a cup on the coffee table.

"Woah! Woah, woah, woah, woah," Carter plopped himself next to her and held her, "Hey, shhh. Hey, it's okay. It's okay. We don't have to go out today, alright? I'll call the director for a list, okay? Would you like that? Hm? Does that sound like a good idea to you?"

Her eyes began to tear up, "... sure."

Her voice still sounded like that of a child. She wasn't able to control herself during the small tantrum. She didn't know why, but it felt nice. Not having any control. Letting loose of all the fear, anger, and worries. She was feeling better but it wasn't all gone. The cup. She wanted to throw the cup. She needed to throw the cup in order to be completely at rest. It was sitting right there. Right there in front of her, begging to be broken. She could easily slip out and throw the glass but Carter was holding on too tight. She imagined it being thrown against the wall and erupting into thousands of little shards. The glass would shatter but she wouldn't mind. She would finally feel free and the world would be at peace. Winter struggled to come back. Winter began to negotiate with herself.

But the mess. Who would clean it? Carter's already doing a lot. Don't do it! The neighbors will complain. Please, don't You don't have to do it. We'll find something else to do! Please. We can go to the park! Or maybe a playground! Just don't throw the glass.

She complied.

"Carter?" her voice was still that of a child, "Can I throw a pillow at you?"

Carter looked down at her and smiled, "Sure thing, darlin'"

He got up, stood near the edge of the couch, and outstretched his arms, "Alright. Give me your best shot."

She pursed her lips and smiled. At this point, Winter has almost completely regained control. She grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it as hard as she could. It hit Carter smack dab in the center of his chest.

"Oof," he grunted.

Winter jumped up and reached to the sky with a gleeful laugh. Carter joined her and balanced the pillow on her head. Winter noticed what he was doing and slowly put her hands down. She watched his expression change according to how well the pillow was being balanced. Eventually, he got it to stay. Carter put down his hands and looked her in the eyes. He was challenging her to see how still she could stay. A task she wasn't able to accomplish easily but she accepted it anyway.

They stood there in silence, watching the pillow on Winter's head. When they did need to talk, they did with their eyes. A small trick Winter had picked up from her brothers.

Let's go to the park!

Don't forget the numbers, shortcake.

That's stupid.

You're stupid.

Gasp! How could you?!

Oh, alright. Let me call the person and then we can go to the park. You can find one while I'm on the phone.

Aye, aye, captain!

And with that, the pillow fell to the floor from a height of five feet and three inches. Carter took out his phone and dialed the director's number. Winter pulled out her computer and began researching like it was for a research paper. There were many options. There was the National Garden, Filopappou Hill, Pedion tou Areos, and other places in Greek that she couldn't understand.

"Oh!" Carter covered his phone's microphone, "There was this one park I went to when I was younger. Uh... I think it was the national garden? I could be wrong. But, yeah, super gnarly place."

He went back to his phone call. Winter took his word. She looked up the garden and went to the map.

"Woah! It is pretty! Or, what was it that you said? Gnarly?" she looked up from her computer.

Carter looked at her and gave a thumbs up, "Uh, yeah, if you could email it to me that would be nice. Uh-huh. Yep. Alright! Thank you! Bye!"

He turned to Winter. She calmly got up and closed her computer.

"You ready?"

"I was born ready."

————————————————————————

"Oh, woah... It's so pretty!" Winter said while holding Carter's wrist, "Woah! A flower!"

She cooed as she pet a bright red flower. Most people would have complained about going to a garden but no one could resist this garden. There were fountains everywhere and it was so pristine. Every flower had been thoughtfully placed to create the most beautiful pattern Winter had ever seen.

Patterns. Her lifeblood. Being able to predict something was what kept her going. Even if she didn't want to do something, she would always stick around to see if she found the right pattern. Winter loved them. If an activity included a pattern that could be followed by a beat, she would do it. She hated sports for that. The players' brains were always different. Leading to chaos. Not even a little bit of organized chaos. But knitting patterns never changed. Patterns were everywhere. Where fast food chains placed their buildings. The streets of New York.

Oh, the grid system. Every time she thought of it, her dopamine levels would rise. Predictable, clean, and organized streets. Sometimes Winter would even look up maps of the New York grid system whenever she was feeling down. Straight lines everywhere. Well, maybe there were a couple of curves here and there but otherwise, they were all straight. And even. And perfect.

Just like her life now. She had her own place. She was going to the college she had always wanted to go to. Plus, she went there with her best friend. Wait. Boyfriend.

Boyfriend. Boy fried. Chicken nuggets. CARTER NUGGETS! Wait. Carter?

Winter stood up and looked around. Carter had continued walking and was now looking at a strange fountain that had a tiny lady on top. She ran over to him, dodging other tourists doing so. Winter took her place right next to him and held on to his right wrist again. Together they looked at the fountain. At the same time, they tilted their head to the left a little.

"She's pretty," Winter whispered.

"I like the thing she's holding," Carter whispered back, "It's very flowy."

The woman was standing on top of three rocks, each with a very unique shape. She was wearing some sort of dress that reached her feet, which had been slightly covered by a jacket dress. The jacket exposed her chest area and split just under a small belt that seemed to be made of fabric, resting gently on her hips. The sleeves of her dress were flowy and made it to her elbows. Her hair was down and she seemed to have a small fabric hat. Winter thought it looked pretty cool and subconsciously touched the top of her head. In the woman's right hand, she held a pithos that was angled down to let water flow out of it.

"Yes, very flowy, indeed," Winter responded.

Carter swung their arms, "This is nice. Relaxing while everyone else is doing our work. Isn't that nice?"

"Mmm... yeah... And the numbers are running at home," she rocked side-to-side, making them a very dynamic couple in the garden.

"Do you think the water is cold?"

"Maybe. It probably tastes weird, though."

"Yeah... Do wanna keep looking at the flowers?"

"Yeah," she said in a dream-like state.

Carter tugged her away from the fountain.

"Buh-bye, Ms. Pithos person. We shall meet again one day. I swear upon it!"

Carter gave a small smile and continued to walk. Winter followed him, still holding on to his wrist. Once they were side-by-side, Winter began to swing their arms and jump around. She even began to sing show tunes. Carter, because of the family he was raised in, couldn't help but join. Soon, they reached a playground.

Winter looked at him with puppy eyes, "Carter?"

"See-saw?" he looked at her with the same eyes.

They both grinned and ran to the nearest see-saw. Carter let Winter get on first and then pulled himself up. As soon as he was situated, Winter pushed up with her legs. Now, Carter was closest to the ground, and Winter was suspended in the air.

"Is this what it's like to be tall?! This is scary!" Winter scrunched up.

"Being tall is fun, what are you talking 'bout?"

"Get me down!" she started to whine.

"Alright, alright," Carter stood up.

"Phank you," her lips puckered.

Carter smiled. Winter's legs were still dangling but they just a tad closer to the ground now. It still meant she wasn't in control of how high she could go. He lifted his legs and let gravity work.

"NO!"

"Haha! C'mon, let's go on the swings."

"Poopy face."

They got off the see-saw and went to some open swings. Winter, of course, beat him to the swings. When she started swinging, Carter got into a seat.

"Hey, Carter?" Winter asked.

"Uh-huh?" he began to swing.

"What's up with the snowman?"

"Snowman?"

"Yeah. The tattoo. The one on your shoulder blade."

"Oh," Carter touched it, "Yeah, that one. I forgot I had it."

"What's up with it?"

"Well, it happened during one of those blackouts, ya know?"

"Oh. So... when you..."

"Yeah."

Winter and Carter slowed down their swinging.

"Do you like it?" Winter tried to make the conversation happier.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Love it."

"Really?" she giggled.

"Yeperonie. Best thing I've ever gotten," Carter smiled at her.

"Hey! I say that!"

"It's fun to say," he confessed.

Winter nodded and continued to swing. For the next couple of minutes, they sat there, swinging and laughing. It was perfect. It was all she had ever wanted. Someone she could play with. Someone who would listen to her. Someone who cared for her. That was all she ever wanted. As a child, her parents didn't pay much attention to her because of the twins. The brain twins, she called them. They were promising, smart, and talented. Winter, on the other hand, was just trouble. Her schooling wasn't as good as they wished it was but she made it anyway. She could be loud at times. Now, that didn't matter. Winter had someone now. Someone that cared for her.

She looked at Carter. His eyes lit up when they met hers. They had only been together officially for a couple of hours but it had felt like an eternity. Winter had thought out the whole day for them. After the little tantrum threw them off course, of course. After their visit to the garden, they would go to eat lunch somewhere and get ice cream. Then, they could go shopping. Winter smiled, today was going to be perfect.

Carter spoke up first, "Whatcha lookin' at?"

Winter blink. She had forgotten that they were still looking at each other.

"Nothing..."

"I'll tell you what you're lookin' at. The hottest man alive," he pointed a thumb at himself.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She laughed a little.

"Then, how come I'm always cold?" she questioned.

He let his feet drag through the mulch. Finally, he gave his answer.

"Because you're special!"

"How special?!"

"Very," Carter poked her arm jokingly.

"What are you looking at?"

He scoffed, "You don't know? Ha! I'm looking at only THE most amazingest person in the whole world. Pfft, I can't believe you didn't know."

Winter gave a smug smile, "Hm, now that you mention it. I did know that!"

Carter's stomach grumbled loudly. He looked at her, obviously embarrassed due to the fact there were some other kids on the swings. She shook her head.

"C'mon, mangiamo," she smiled inwardly for remembering how to say it.

Winter continued to swing but jumped off when it was at its highest. Just like the elementary days when people weren't discriminating against her for her hair. Ah, yes, the good old days. Now she was older and rich and could keep whoever she wants from swinging. Carter waited for her to catch up. When she did, she held on to his wrist again.

"Why do you keep holding my wrist?" he asked.

Winter let go and held her own hands in front of her face so she went cross-eyed, "Because holding hands is too intimate for me. It's like having sex but with hands."

She repeatedly put and took her hands together and apart.

"But we're already sleeping in the same bed," Carter pointed out.

Winter looked at him, "Carter, sweetie. That has nothing to do with what I'm saying."

He nodded uncertainly but accepted it anyway. Winter nodded, as well. Nothing like an understanding relationship to brighten your day. They walked down the sidewalks without knowing where they were going to end up. They walked past the front of the Zappeio Hall. On its right, they saw a small restaurant.

Carter patted his belly and looked at Winter. She patted her belly as well and nodded in approval. He raised his shoulders in excitement. They looked at each other again and began to jog to the restaurant, stopping every now and then for Winter to catch her breath. 

*GASP. I'M ALIVE. Hot damn that took me a while. Kumon. That's my excuse. How y'all been? How's quarantine been treatin' you? I've never felt better. Quarantine is da bomb. I love it. More time to be introverted, amiright? Anyway, see you in the next chapters!