How do you pronounce "caricature?"

Brendon and I went downstairs and left Flack Hall just as it began to snow again. He looked up for a moment and then said, "You know, when I first moved here, I thought snow was the most beautiful thing in the world," Brendon said. "Now it's just kind of annoying."

"I think it's magical," I said as I followed Brendon off campus and into the heart of Old Haven. I had never paid much attention to the town that I lived in. Usually, I stayed within the boundaries of the Kale campus, with the exceptions of my daily trips to the Aubergine. As it turned out, Old Haven was an adorable little town, especially in the winter. There were all sorts of small shops and houses lining the streets, and the snow accentuated the town's folksy charm. Old Haven was the opposite of Las Vegas, with its flashing lights and sweltering heat, and that was what I loved about it. "I feel like I'm in a postcard," I told Brendon.

"Me too, but I think that might just be because you're here," Brendon said as he gave me a smile. "Where do you want to go first?"

I looked around at all of the places that Brendon and I could go. It was a little bit overwhelming. "How about the smoothie shop across the street?" I suggested.

"It's too cold for that," Brendon said. "I do have some great memories there though."

"What happened there?" I asked Brendon as I came a little bit closer to him.

"I worked there before I got my job at the Aubergine," Brendon explained. "I used to sing to customers for tips."

"That's so cute, Brendon," I said.

"I don't know about that," Brendon said. "There were some people who didn't like it - mostly the other employees."

"They were just jealous of how many tips you were getting," I said.

Brendon laughed and said, "I doubt that. There's a really cool record store next to the smoothie shop though."

"Let's go there," I said.

"Alright," Brendon said. "I'll race you there." All of a sudden, Brendon sprinted across the street, and I tried to catch up with him. Brendon had quite a bit of a head start, but nevertheless, I almost beat him. Both of us were out of breath by the time we made it into the record store.

"Congratulations Brendon," I said as I tried to catch my breath. "You beat me."

"You're faster than I thought you were, Ryan," Brendon said. "Wait a second, is that a Queen record?" Brendon ran off to the other end of the store, and I followed him. By the time I caught up with him, however, he was looking at musical soundtracks. When he ran over to the hip hop section, I just gave up. Brendon's music taste was just as eclectic as he had claimed, while I was alone in the classic rock section, trying to keep myself from having another existential crisis.

I watched Brendon go all the way around the store, picking out record after record. It was entertaining just watching him get excited over music. Then again, Brendon was the sort of person who could get excited over anything. I had to take a few deep breaths to keep my heart from exploding as Brendon continued to look through the record store's collection. After nearly an hour in the store, Brendon finally came back to me with a huge bag of newly purchased records in his hands.

"When are you ever going to have time to listen to those?" I asked.

"I don't know," Brendon admitted. "I don't even have a turntable to play them on."

"Why did you buy these if you can't even play them?" I asked.

"I'm saving up for a record player," Brendon said. "I almost have enough money to buy one."

I still thought that it didn't make sense to buy records that you couldn't listen to yet, but to each his own. Brendon's odd purchasing habits didn't make me love him any less. "Where are we going next?" I asked.

"I don't know," Brendon said. "Let's just walk around for a while."

The two of us left the record store, and all of a sudden, Brendon's hand latched onto mine. I let my hand stay nestled in his, and my eyes drifted to meet his. Brendon gave me a small smile, making my heart melt.

Brendon and I wandered around Old Haven for a while, admiring the beauty of the town. It had stopped snowing, making it a little bit easier for us to wander aimlessly. Old Haven was a gorgeous place, but it could never match Brendon's beauty. I began to doubt that anything could. I was lucky to have someone like him in my life. Who knew that a dorky piano-playing philosopher major could earn the affection of someone like Brendon?

"Hey Ryan, look at this," Brendon said. "It says that we can get our caricatures done here. That sounds kind of fun."

"Brendon, that is not how you pronounce 'caricature,'" I said.

"How do you pronounce 'caricature?'" he asked, making the exact same mistake that he had made earlier.

"It's CA-ri-CA-ture, not ca-RI-ca-TURE," I said.

"That's what I was saying!" Brendon said.

"No, you were pronouncing it ca-RI-ca-TURE," I said.

Brendon shrugged and said, "Whatever. You're kind of acting like Hermione Granger in the first Harry Potter book, Ryan. You might as well be telling me to pronounce it Levi-O-sa instead of Levio-SA."

"I guess you're right," I said.

"Now that that's resolved, let's go get our ca-RI-ca-TURES done," Brendon said, making me roll my eyes. Then again, mispronouncing words was a minor flaw. If that was the worst thing about Brendon, then I would be lucky.

The artist ended up doing a remarkable job of capturing Brendon and I, mostly by expanding Brendon's forehead to be even larger than it already was. "I look so ridiculous," Brendon commented when he looked at the drawing.

"I think you look beautiful," I said.

"Even with the oversized forehead?" Brendon asked.

"Yes, even with the oversized forehead, you still look gorgeous," I said.

"You're so sweet, Ryan," Brendon said. "Come on. Let's go get something to eat. I'm hungry."

I followed Brendon into Taste of Thailand, and the two of us sat down and ordered. I ended up getting a noodle dish, while Brendon ordered fried rice. "I didn't even know that there was a Thai restaurant in Old Haven," I told him. "I knew that there was a pizza place, because Patrick ordered from there when we did the All-Nighter Pizza Challenge, but I had no idea that this existed..."

"Let me guess - did Pete win the All-Nighter Pizza Challenge?" Brendon asked.

"As far as I know, yes," I said. "He said that he ate forty three pizzas that night, but I don't know if I believe him."

"I'd believe it," Brendon said. "Pete ate forty two last year."

"How is that even possible?" I asked.

"I don't know," Brendon said. "I guess he just really likes pizza."

"That's insane," I said as the waiter brought out our food. "I love noodles, for example, but I couldn't eat forty three plates of them in one night." I took a bite of my dinner, and it reminded me of the Thai restaurant back in Las Vegas that I loved. Brendon had picked the perfect restaurant for our date.

"How do you like the food?" Brendon asked.

"It's delicious," I said. "What do you think?"

"This is one of my favorite restaurants in Old Haven, but it's even better when I have you around to share it with," Brendon said.

"Thanks, Brendon," I said, blushing. Did Brendon think about me in the same way that I thought about him? Brendon constantly found new ways to invade thoughts and new reasons to make me fall in love with him, but I wasn't sure if I was doing the same thing to him. Brendon certainly seemed like he liked me though. Perhaps I just had to have faith that he did see something in me.

"You're welcome," Brendon said. "What else has been going on with you?"

"Patrick's been acting weird," I said.

"Was he the one with the glasses and the fedora that I saw when I picked you up?" Brendon asked. I nodded, and he asked, "Why is he acting weird?"

"I don't know," I said. "I asked him, but he won't give me a clear answer. I suspect that it has to do with his internship."

"Internships can be stressful," Brendon said. "I was an intern at a theater in New York a few summers ago. It was frustrating at time, but I also had a lot of fun. Just give it some time."

"I will, but I'll have to keep an eye on him," I said. "I'm kind of worried about Patrick."

"I don't think you need to be," Brendon said.

"Alright, Brendon," I said.

Once the two of us finished our meals, and we had both paid, we left the restaurant and headed back to Flack Hall. "Why does this date have to be over so quickly?" I asked Brendon. "I could spend a few more hours with you, Brendon."

"Me too, but I should probably get you home," Brendon said. "I'll see you at the Aubergine later anyways."

All of a sudden, I felt a tiny snowflake fall onto my face. I looked up and noticed that it was snowing yet again. "I've got a brilliant idea," Brendon said as the two of us approached Flack Hall. "Let's build a snowman."

"How old are you - five?" I asked, but it wasn't a bad idea. I began rolling the snow that was lying in front of my residence hall into a ball as Brendon collected a few items to use as accessories.

"I'm five at heart," Brendon answered. It didn't take us long to assemble the snowman, but when the two of us stepped back to admire our work, something seemed like it was missing. "I think it needs a hat," Brendon said. "Where can we get a hat?"

"There's usually a hat on top of the M.C. Moneybags statue," I said. I headed off to find a hat, and Brendon followed me. The two of us ended up walking halfway across campus, but we did find what we were looking for. Someone had placed a top hat on M.C. Moneybags' head, complete with a kale leaf tucked inside.

After a few tries, I managed to knock the hat off of the statue's head. Brendon and I then brought it back to Flack Hall and put it on top of our snowman's head. "It looks great," Brendon said as he headed towards the residence hall.

"We have made an excellent addition to Flack Hall's decor," I said.

"Ryan, I had an amazing time today," Brendon said as he stepped closer to me.

"Me too," I told him. In fact, it had been one of the best days out of all of the eighteen years that I had been in existence.

"We should do this again sometime," Brendon said.

"We definitely should," I replied. That was when Brendon and I finally closed the distance between us. I'm still not sure which one of us started the kiss, but it didn't matter. Brendon's soft lips touched mine, if only for a second, and it was the best feeling in the world.

"I'll see you soon, Ryan," Brendon said. He gave me a quick wave, and I headed inside to keep myself from either dying of frostbite or dying from spontaneous combustion caused by intense, undying love for Brendon Urie.

I climbed upstairs and ran into my dorm room, where Patrick didn't even bother to acknowledge my presence. All I could think about was the tear in my heart known as Brendon, and for once, I was just fine with that.