Danny sighed, tossing a fluffy waterproof jacket over his small frame. He opened a window only to shut it quickly, admiring his stupidity. As soon as he had heaved in a breath of the icy air he shut the window, sparing his fingers only by a few centimeters.
"Where ya' goin'?" said a voice that seemed to pierce the fragile membrane of Danny's eardrums. Danny jumped at the sound of the squeaky voice. Wasn't she asleep, he pondered, glancing over at the messy pink bed in the corner of the small room. "Yeah, 'm fast babay," she said as if reading his thoughts. She made a faint clicking noise with her tongue and formed a gun with her skinny hands.
"Put some gloves on," Danny said annoyed and tossed a pair of polka-dotted gloves that were resting on her desk at his little sister.
"'His is why we 'ave a t'ermostat," she replied grumpily.
"No, that's only when it's really cold," he pressed, stretching out the word really.
"'Ou don't call t'is cold?" she asked, gesturing to the thermostat on 58 degrees.
"I'm sorry, here, I'll make you some hot chocolate, okay?" he sighed.
Her face brightened at the mention of her favorite snack and agreed. She hoisted herself into a chair where her legs couldn't touch the tile floor. She patiently swung her legs back and forth waiting in silence almost as cold as if the air floating around outside flooded the room. She watched Danny with his back to her as he watched the hot chocolate maker.
Finally he broke the silence, "Here you go," he said, forcing a small smile. He was satisfied as a smile broke over his little sister's face. She flinched after her first sip, but was fine afterwards. He grabbed Coca-Cola and stalked over to a window.
The house next door was for sale, which was no surprise. Most people couldn't stand the cold for long before needing an escape. Something caught his eye in the backyard. He squinted to see clearer. He looked through the slits he allowed his eyes to take the shape of and saw long, deep brown hair. Interested, he looked closer and made out the shape of a girl around the age of eighteen walking around. She wasn't wearing as many layers as Danny, and didn't even look partially cold. The girl quickly spun around and her chocolate colored eyes landed on his. As blood rushed to the tops of Danny's ears he turned around and sat with his sister.
She was just finishing the rest of her drink when Danny sat down. She burped loudly and he waved his hand in a teasing way. She giggled but he couldn't focus on anything other than the girl outside. She must've been about five years older than him. Her beauty had stunned him, but he doubted that it wouldn't stun everyone.
He was snapped back to reality by the snapping and weird looks his sister was giving him. Danny planted a kiss on the top of Madisen's head and tossed his Coke can in the recycling. He looked out of the window and saw the girl, this time not looking at him. He then realized a longing in the pit of his stomach to know her.