Nick shivered slightly and pulled up his scarf so it also covered his nose too. It was cold, very cold. And there was actually snow !

This was going to be the best Christmas ever. Nick had experienced a white Christmas only once before, but that was so long ago he had forgotten most of it already. But he would never forget how wonderful it was.

When he woke up at 8 o'clock this morning and saw every surface outside covered with a thick layer of snow, he couldn't contain his happiness. He wanted to run outside immediately, but reminded himself he should dress properly and have breakfast with the family first. And by family, he meant his parents. His sister couldn't make it in time, she'd arrive somewhere tonight, and his brother wasn't coming at all.

After a sumptuous dinner which took way too long in Nick's eyes, he had rushed outside to touch the snow. He wanted to put it in his mouth, but he didn't want to risk falling ill at Christmas, so he decided not to and looked around for victims to attack with snow balls, but no one was around. Church had started an hour ago, but Nick's neighbourhood wasn't that religious so there were only a couple of footprints in the snow. The rest was probably still sleeping. Oh how he wished his sister was there ..

Nick didn't have much else to do, so he decided he'd go for a walk through the park. The snow there was practically untouched, and he felt like an intruder to the world of white beauty.

He strolled down the path he always walked, but it looked much prettier now the snow covered all the trash on the ground. He sat down on a bench and looked out over the white, glittery world of snow. He sighed at the beauty of it, and little foggy clouds escaped his mouth.

The world looked just like Narnia in the second book. A song came to Nick's mind, and since no one was around, he started singing.

It's always nice to look out the window
And see those very first few flakes of snow
And later on we can go outside
And create the impression of an angel that just fell from the sky

He got up to feet again and walked in the direction of the houses again, not stopping the song.

When February rolls around I'll roll my eyes
Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies
And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh
For the green grass waiting on the other side

The wall that surrounded and protected the neighbourhood appeared out of the white and told Nick he was close to civilization again.

It's always winter but never Christmas
It seems this curse just can't be lifted

As he walked closer, he noticed colour between the white, there against the wall, in the corner. Nick started walking faster, and as he approached, he could distuinguish more and more of what was covered up with snow in the corner.

Yet in the midst of all this ice and snow
Our hearts stay warm cause they are filled with hope

His voice trailed off when he realized it was a boy sitting against the wall. He had pulled his legs up against his chest in an attempt to save some warmth, his face was pale, but his cheeks and adorable nose were both red from cold, his once pale blue scarf was darker from moisture, and his blonde, half frozen hair stuck on his head.

Nick rushed to the boy and kneeled down in front of him to check if he was still alive, and sighed relieved when he noticed the boy was still breathing. He wiped away the snow from the top of the boy's head and the rest of his body (the layer of snow wasn't as thick as on the ground, so Nick knew the boy must've sat down somewhere in the last hour or so of the snowstorm last night), and tried to find his hands. Although they were pulled up in his sleeves and clenched to wrists, they were freezing cold –which wasn't surprising since the boy wasn't wearing any gloves.

He took off his gloves, took one of the boy's wrists, opened it and took the almost lifeless hand between his own and started rubbing it until it started to get some colour again. He muffled the boy's hand in his glove, his own hands were warm enough anyway, and grabbed the other one. While he rubbed the other hand warm, he looked up and studied the boy's face.

Nick recognized him from somewhere. He was absolutely positive he had seen him before, but he couldn't remember where.

The blonde sniffed and opened his eyes which he had kept squeezed shut until now. He looked from Nick to his hands and back to Nick again. His almost blue lips moved. "Thank you." he said barely audible.

Nick smiled. "It's alright." He put the blonde's other hand in his other glove and got to his feet again. "Can you walk ?" he asked insecure.

The blonde nodded. "I don't see why not." He said hoarsely.

Nick had to hold in a snicker. This boy was almost hypothermic and if he had been here for a couple of hours longer, he probably would've died, and he didn't see why he might not be able to walk ?

Instead he just smiled again and offered his hand. The boy took it and slowly pulled himself up, but it didn't quite work and Nick offered his other hand too and helped him get up.

When the boy finally stood, Nick realized who this was. This was Jeff Sterling, he was in the same year, he used to see him pass in the corridors at school, but he never really talked to him. Except for when Jeff's father died of a heart attack half a year ago, he had politely offered his condolences. A couple of weeks ago, Jeff disappeared from school though, no one had heard anything from him ever since.

"You're Jeff, right ?" he asked, just to make sure he wasn't mistaken. "Jeff Sterling ?"

The boy nodded. "That's right. And you are .. uhm .. I know who you are, but I can't remember your name right now." He sounded apologetic.

"Nick. I'm Nick."

"Of course." Jeff's expression relaxed, but he still looked a bit uncomfortable.

Nick hesitated. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly were you doing there ?" he asked softly. "You're not homeless, are you ?"

Jeff shook his head. "Well, I used to live with my mom, but she kicked me out about two weeks ago. I lived with a couple of so-called 'friends' for a couple of days, but I couldn't stay there for longer. So I live outside now." He gave a small shrug.

Nick knew the blonde pretended not to care, but he couldn't fool Nick. He knew this was hard on him, but he decided to drop the subject. "So, you want to come to mine's ? It's almost lunch time." There was no way Nick was going to let him stay outside. Especially not with Christmas.

Jeff glanced up and studied Nick's face as if he didn't believe he was serious. Then he smiled for the first time. "Sure."

I will continue this soon, I promise ! I just didn't have the time to type more up :s

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, and happy Niffmas everybody ! :D