Author's Note: This is something I wrote a really long time ago that I've decided to post up! Enjoy! By the way, I REALLY want to update "Dare You to Move", but I am in desperate need of a beta reader. Volunteers are welcome.
Disclaimer: I don't own Class of the Titans, blah blabbity blah blah blah.
Snowed In
Archie couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, the only thing he saw was her. The girl he had loved for so long. Atlanta…
Atlanta wasn't your typical girl. Normal girls paraded around in groups, looking over at you from dozens of giggling girlfriends, than shooting their heads back when they saw you looking. But Atlanta was different. The only other girl she hung around with was Theresa. Atlanta didn't nervously glance at you. She smiled and waved, and wildly gestured you to come over. She didn't let you see her weak side.
Heck, Archie wasn't even sure she had a weak side.
The way her hair shined when it hit the sun just right, the way her eyes were made up of blues, greens, and gold's, all adding up to that perfect hazel he loved. How her laugh seemed to ring in your ears. How she made even the tardiest pair of sweatpants and a dingy shirt look like the most glamorous of evening gowns.
How he knew that she would never like him.
But that didn't stop Archie. He had hinted and hinted at her. "Hey, Lan, how'd you like to go to a movie this Friday?" To which she responded, "That sounds great, Archie. I'll see if the rest of the guys wanna come too, okay?"
He was so stupid.
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Archie lay there for a few more hours until he finally decided to get up. His back was killing him, anyways.
He threw the sheets off his perspiring body and slammed his bedroom door lightly. Then, feeling his stomach rumbling slightly, walked down the stairs to the kitchen.
By a stroke of irony, Atlanta was there, sitting at the round wooden table and eating a bowl of Special K.
"What the heck are YOU doing up?" she asked through a mouth full of cereal.
"Couldn't sleep," Archie muttered, opening the door of the fridge. He finally decided on an apple and a tall glass of milk.
"Dang, it's 5:30. Have you been up all night?" Atlanta asked as Archie plopped into the chair across from her.
"Probably," he told her, taking a huge bite of his apple.
"Do you remember what day it is today?" Atlanta asked, her eyebrows rising.
"Friday?" Archie asked jokingly.
"Funny," Atlanta smirked.
"'Course I know what day it is," Archie chuckled, "How's it feel being sixteen?"
"Empowering," Atlanta said, "I can now officially get my license!"
"And who's going to teach you how to drive?" Archie smiled.
"I know how," Atlanta frowned.
"Right," Archie laughed, "That's why you smashed Herry's truck through a fence last spring when he let you park it in the garage?"
"Oooooh, don't remind me," Atlanta scowled, "That little incident set me back three hundred bucks."
Archie laughed again and went to put his glass in the dish washer.
"While you're up, can you put my bowl in there too?" Atlanta asked, holding the glass object up for Archie to take.
Archie was about to tell her to get off her lazy butt and tell her to do it herself, but he couldn't. Maybe it was because she looked so disgustingly lazy. Or the fact that it was her birthday.
But he guessed that it was most likely those beautiful eyes…
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As the sun started to set later that day, Archie and Atlanta were in the back of the Brownstone, building a snow man. Or snow PERSON, as Atlanta had called it. It was getting pretty hard, though. Flakes were blowing around so much that it was getting hard to see, and the snow was almost two feet deep.
"Where are the others anyways?" Atlanta asked as she used two black stones to make the snow whatever's eyes.
"Um… Jay mentioned something about a school project," Archie quickly lied. He couldn't tell her the truth. That their friends were back at the school, decorating for Atlanta's surprise birthday party. He was supposed to bring the red-head by in a couple of hours, but until then, he had to keep her busy until Herry called.
"And so why is Odie there?" Atlanta questioned, "He's a grade below them!"
"Why are you asking me?" Archie said, exasperated, "I'm not Mr. Psychic!"
"Yeah, but you're about to be Mr. Face Covered in Snow," Atlanta smiled evilly as she picked up a wad of snow and chucked it at Archie's head.
"God!" Archie shouted, spitting out a bunch of snow from his mouth, "Easy will you? I'm not used to the snow! I'm from Florida, remember?"
"First time for everything!" Atlanta giggled as she threw another snowball.
"Oh, that's it!" Archie smiled as he walked over to his friend and lifted her into the air, "Face wash time!"
"No!" Atlanta squealed, throwing her hands in front of her face as Archie threw her into the whiteness.
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A half-hour later, Archie and Atlanta stumbled into the house, their faces pink from the cold. They both quickly took off their coats and ran into the living room, the only place in the entire building with a fireplace. It was then that Archie's PMR rang.
"Hello?" Archie said as he picked the tiny blue phone up.
"Hey, Archie?" a voice responded on the other end, "It's Jay. We've got a bit of a problem."
Archie could feel his body turn numb. "What kind of problem?" he asked.
Atlanta looked up from her place on the carpet. "What?" she mouthed.
Archie held a finger up to tell her 'Just a minute.'
"The snow is really raging out there," Jay said, "Hera is worried that it might not be safe to drive home, so she wants us to stay at the school for the night."
"Oh jeez," Archie murmured, rubbing his forehead with two of his fingers.
"It sucks, I know," Jay said, "We'll have to have Atlanta's party tomorrow, okay?"
"It's not just that," Archie said, "It's…" But a loud buzzing noise caused him to pull the walkie-talkie away from his ear.
"Archie?" Jay asked, his voice crackling, "You still there?"
"We're getting a bad reception," Archie told him, "I'll try calling you back later, okay?"
Jay was saying something, but before Archie could fully here it, the power in the Brownstone went out and the PMR'S reception cut off completely.
"Great," Archie muttered.
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"So what do we do now?" Atlanta asked, her feet folded in front of the fireplace.
"Well, we're going to be stuck here all night, so we may as well make the best of it," Archie told her, trying to ignore how beautiful Atlanta's face looked in the glow of the fire. "You hungry?"
"Starved," Atlanta smiled, rubbing her growling stomach.
Archie walked into the kitchen and pulled a couple of flashlights out of the cupboard. He took one with him into the food cupboard to see what they could eat.
There wasn't much. Jay and the others had gone grocery shopping while they got supplies for Atlanta's party, so all their food for the next couple of weeks was with them. The only things that were offered for him and Atlanta were a couple of mushroom soup cans, a carton of apple juice, and a package of 'E-Z TO MAKE, PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE!'
'Thank God for gas stoves,' Archie thought as he grabbed everything and headed towards the oven.
"So, what do we have?" Atlanta asked as she snuck behind Archie, scaring the crap out of him.
"Nothing, much," Archie told her, "How do mushroom soup, apple cider, and peanut butter fudge grab you?"
"Yum," Atlanta muttered sarcastically, "Is that REALLY all we have?"
"Yep."
"Then I'll help you," Atlanta said, "You make the main course, and I'll make the drinks and the dessert."
"Fine," Archie grinned.
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After everything had been cooked (and Atlanta had nearly burned the house down when she forgot about the heating apple juice on top of the stove) the two friends sat down at the table, on which Archie had set up three lit candles.
"Awwww, you're so romantic," Atlanta jokingly said as she sat down at the table, noting the candles.
"I am, aren't I?" Archie asked, pushing in her chair.
The next few minutes were silent as they quietly sipped their soup.
"This is pretty good for crappy canned mushroom soup," Atlanta told Archie, examining the contents on her spoon.
"Oh, thanks," Archie laughed, "And your apple cider is also pretty awesome for something that tastes like cat pee!"
"Hey!" Atlanta exclaimed, tossing a balled up napkin at him.
Archie smiled and continued eating his dinner.
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"What time is it?" Atlanta asked, stretching her arms as she walked out of the kitchen.
Archie looked at his watch. "Nine-thirty."
"Damn, already?" Atlanta said, "Then we better start setting up."
"For what?" Archie questioned. But instead of answering, Atlanta disappeared upstairs, flashlight in hand. When she returned, her arms were over laden with various blankets and pillows. She immediately began placing them into what looked like a large bed on the floor.
"What are you doing?"
"Setting up our sleeping arrangements for the night," Atlanta said, matter-of-factly.
Archie nearly choked on his own spit. "We're sleeping here?"
"No," Atlanta said, sarcastically, "We're going to sleep in our cold, unheated bedrooms when there's a perfectly good room down here WITH a fireplace!"
"Fine," Archie told her, "Just let me get my pajamas on, okay?"
"Okay," Atlanta said, kneeling on the floor and smoothing and blanket.
Archie paused for a second before asking, "Well, are you coming upstairs with me or not?"
"Why, you scared of the dark?" Atlanta smiled.
"N-no," Archie stuttered, "I just thought that you'd wanna get changed too, or are you sleeping in that?"
"Whatever," Atlanta said, "I'll come." She jumped up and followed Archie up to the second story.
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A few minutes later, the two met each other in the hall outside their bedrooms. Archie was wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants, no shirt, and a pair of white sweat socks. Atlanta had on a tight black tank top and a pair of green flannel pants.
"Hey, aren't those MINE?" Archie asked, pointing to Atlanta's pajama bottoms.
"Maybe," Atlanta smirked, "You shouldn't leave your laundry hamper unattended, Archie!"
She laughed and walked downstairs.
"So why ARE you wearing my pants, anyways?" Archie said, chasing after her.
"Cause they're comfy!" Atlanta smirked, flopping down onto the bed she had made. Archie lay down beside her.
They were silent before Atlanta said: "I wish I was with my family right now."
"Ouch," Archie grimaced, "That comment stung a bit."
"Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that," Atlanta gasped, "I just miss them, you know?"
"Yeah," Archie said, "But you have us now. We can be like your second family."
Atlanta giggled. "Alright. But can you not treat me like I'm the helpless little sister then?"
Archie gulped down a sigh. "Atlanta, I've never thought of you as a little sister."
"Really?" Atlanta asked. "What DO you think of me then?"
Archie couldn't answer this. Too many thoughts were buzzing around his head. Without even thinking to stop himself, he wrapped his arms around Atlanta's shoulders and kissed her.
"Oh, God," Archie muttered as he realized what he had just done.
"Oh, God," Atlanta whispered as she realized that Archie had kissed her. Before she could say anything else, the door of the Brownstone was kicked open.
"Guess who had his truck converted into part snowmobile?" Herry announced as he and the rest of the team walked in.
"Oh, God," they all said how their two friends were positioned.
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The next night was Atlanta's birthday party. Nobody had mentioned what had happened, and they knew nobody wanted to bring it up. Now they were all gathered in Hera's quarters for the festivities. All the gods were there, along with a surprise guest.
"Why does Pan have to be here?" Archie complained to Jay and Herry in a quiet voice. He looked jealously over at the demi-god, who was laughing at something Atlanta had just said. Theresa had managed to convince the red-haired girl to dress up for the night, and got her to wear a short navy dress and a pair of high heels.
Archie heard Pan saying something to Atlanta about getting them some punch, then watched him lean over and kiss her hand.
"I'll kill him," Archie exclaimed, starting to go over there but felt Jay pull him back.
"What?" he said angrily.
"Don't go over to Pan," Jay told him, "Talk to Atlanta."
"Why?" Archie asked.
"You know why," Jay said.
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Archie managed to convince Atlanta to go outside with him, then turned to talk to her as they sat on the front steps of the school.
"Are you mad at me or something?" Archie asked.
"Why would I be mad at you?" Atlanta said.
"I don't know," Archie admitted, "You haven't talked to me since last night, and now you're off flirting with DJ Pan….."
"Flirting?" Atlanta interrupted, "We were NOT flirting! He's just an old friend, okay?"
"Didn't seem like that," Archie murmured under his breath.
"I'm out of here," Atlanta huffed, beginning to stand up.
"Wait," Archie begged.
"Why?"
"Oh my God, Atlanta," Archie said, beginning to get very exasperated, "Isn't it obvious? Didn't it become clear to you last night?"
"Explain it to me," Atlanta told him.
"I like you, okay?" Archie spat out, "I like you! No, actually, I love you! It was so obvious and you couldn't even see! I've loved you for so long and you haven't even known! I've kissed you before, with the Seeper….."
"I know," Atlanta murmured, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Chiron mentioned it Theresa, and….."
"You knew?" Archie asked, "How come you haven't said anything before?"
"I don't know!" Atlanta said, "Maybe I thought it wasn't something to get excited about!"
Archie strolled slowly up to her. "Well, is this then?" He closed his eyes and leaned in, his lips touching hers again.
Atlanta's eyelids fluttered open when he was done. "Yes. That is something to get excited about."
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Awwwww! A cute little fluffy for the holidays! I hope you liked it! Again, beta reader wanted. Apply within.