Runaway

Chapter 32

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~Uploaded November 27th, 2014

A knocking sound came to my bedroom door, and it took a few seconds to process that there was someone waiting on the other side for me to open it.

"Dani? You awake?" Are you kidding me? I'd recognize that voice anywhere.

What was he doing here at- I checked the time on my clock and saw that it was just shy of eight in the morning. It was impossible to sleep in with these people around me.

I put the blanket over my head again and decided to ignore Dylan. Maybe if I really played up the sleeping part, he'd leave me alone so I could actually get a full eight hours of sleep.

Knock, knock, knock. I ignored it.

Knock, knock, knock. Still ignored it.

Knock, knock, knock. Okay, now it was getting irritating.

"What do you want, Dylan?", I demanded, not even bothering to come out from under the safety and warmth of my blanket.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?", he sang out.

What? A snowman? "No, I do not want to build a snowman." He wouldn't leave me alone; I knew it was too much to hope for. I tossed the blanket back and dragged myself out of bed. "I have work today." I made a face at the idea of having to go to work again. I loved the restaurant, my coworkers, and (most of) the customers, but a change would be nice.

I wouldn't have to worry about it much longer anyways. Christine, the waitress I've been subbing for almost three months, was coming off of maternity leave in a little over two weeks. I'd be out of a job before Christmas, so I had to start finding a new job now if I wanted to keep up with my rent.

"And besides", I continued as I stumbled towards the window to open the curtains, "there isn't even any sn-" My hands froze on the edge of the curtains and I just stared, wide-eyed, at the disbelief before my eyes.

It was pristine, untouched, and so white it looked like someone had sneezed fairy dust all over the place. It covered the rooftops, which glittered in the light of the risen sun, the treetops, the ground and pretty much everything as far as the eye could see. And I knew it was also damn cold, and I didn't do cold.

I rolled over my bed to the other side and threw open the door. "It snowed."

Dylan nodded with a "duh" look on his face. "Yes, it snowed. Sound a little more enthusiastic about it. Say, "It snowed! Yay!" with a smile. Please?"

I only shook my head. "No, I won't say it, because I don't like the snow. It's cold, wet and miserable. In fact, I kind of hate it", I said honestly.

Dylan gaped at me. "You ha- Wait, did you just-" He shook his head. "First you say you don't like cartoons, then you don't like Halloween. Now you don't like snow? Dani, we're going to have to change that a bit."

"Why? It's not like you can make me like it."

Dylan seemed to take that as a challenge. "Hey, if I can make you like cartoons and make proper congee, I can do anything. I'm taking it as my personal mission for the next three months to make sure you enjoy winter, or at least make you not hate it anymore."

"Are you sure?" I crossed my arms. "I'm extremely stubborn, you know. Why would you spend time trying to convince me to like winter?"

"Because everyone else in town loves snow! Well except for the Logans, but let's just ignore them." He waved his hand aside dismissively. "And the gang and I always go ice skating and sledding and all sorts of stuff during the winter. We can't enjoy that when you're holed up inside your room like a hermit the second snow hits the ground. And what kind of family would we be to you if we just left you alone all day long?"