"Are you really sure this is going to work?"

"Of course it's going to work."

"But how are you so sure?"

"Because, mon ami, I am French."

Antonio looked up from his cell phone and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Francis answered without looking away from the two pretty girls he was waving at. "It means that I know everything there is to know about amour."

"Kesesese! I don't know what the two of you are talking about, but you'll never be as awesome as me!"

Francis turned toward their friend Gilbert and sniffed haughtily. "Awesome or not, it does not change the fact that you are late."

"What? Awesome is never late!"

Before Francis could respond and he and Gilbert could get into yet another argument about the validity of Gilbert's awesomeness Antonio stepped between his two friends and draped an arm around both their shoulders. "Come on, let's go in. It's cold out here and I'm starving!"

Francis shot Antonio a grateful glance while Gilbert chuckled, but they both allowed themselves to be steered into the campus dining hall. They paid for their upcoming meals with a swipe of their student IDs and set off towards the big buffet set up against the back of the room.

They were barely halfway to it when Gilbert suddenly froze, causing Francis and Antonio to run into him. Following his gaze was easy enough and led his friends to focus on a girl sitting at a nearby table. She was short, but curvy, and had hair such a dark brown it was nearly black. She was focused intently on a group of raucous freshman on the other side of the dining hall.

Antonio and Francis exchanged triumphant glances. She was exactly where she was supposed to be. Phase one of their plan could begin.

Gilbert took a deep breath and shouted, his voice echoing through the entire room. "Ashe!"

Ashe jumped so violently that she nearly knocked her plate of greasy pizza on the floor. She whirled around in her seat and her eyes went wide with joy as she spotted them. "Gilbert!"

Ashe launched herself forward, completely unconcerned about all the attention she was attracting, and threw herself at Gilbert. Laughing, Gilbert caught her up in a bear hug and swung her around. As soon as her feet were back on the ground Ashe threw her arms around her other two friends. "Francis! Antonio!"

"Hola!" Antonio replied cheerfully.

"Good day, mon ami," was Francis's reply as he hugged her back.

"So how are your finals going?" Gilbert asked, playfully ruffling Ashe's hair as she attempted to bat his hands away.

Ashe got a big grin on her face as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Canceled!" she exclaimed and they all laughed. It had snowed nearly a foot the night before causing the campus to be shut down for all intents and purposes. Finals had been postponed for at least a day and potentially more.

"I guess we have to find an awesomely appropriate way to celebrate then!"

Ashe agreed but before she and Gilbert could start brainstorming Francis interrupted with a polite but forceful cough. "No need to worry," he said airily. "Antonio and I already have the perfect idea."

Gilbert and Ashe turned to them, surprised. "What?"

Antonio reached over and snagged an unused tray from a nearby table, ignoring the baleful look its occupant sent his way. "Tray sledding!" He presented the tray proudly to his friends.

Gilbert and Ashe's eyes went wide before they turned to each other, ecstatic. "Awesome!"

…

The four friends were not the only students on the big hill behind the library, but they were the most enthusiastic. For the last half hour they'd been sledding down the hill, laughing and joking as they added to the tracks that crisscrossed the snowy slope. Ashe had just taken off with the help of a push from Gilbert when Antonio pulled Francis aside.

"Ok, so this is really fun and all, but nothing is happening!"

"Hmm…" Francis glanced over Antonio's shoulder, watching as Gilbert chased Ashe down the hill, slipped, fell, and rolled the rest of the way down to land at Ashe's feet. They both roared with laughter. "You're right. It's time to move to phase two." Antonio grinned.

Francis and Antonio stood side-by-side as Ashe and Gilbert made their way up the hill. Once they were within earshot Francis held his tray aloft and declared, "I think it's time for a race, mon amis!"

"A race? Awesome!" Gilbert shouted, leaping forward, his eyes shining eagerly. "I'm totally going to win!"

"What?! No you're not! I'm going to win!" Ashe protested, giving Gilbert a playful shove.

"Wrong again!" Antonio interrupted with a smile. "You're either going to win together or lose together."

"Huh?" Ashe and Gilbert glanced at each other skeptically.

"It's a pair's race," Francis said, though neither Gilbert nor Ashe noticed his diabolical smirk. "The two of you against the two of us."

Not five minutes later Ashe and Gilbert's enthusiasm had waned. "This is a stupid idea," Gilbert muttered, the deep red in his cheeks standing out starkly against his pale skin. Ashe sat ready on her tray, her head down and drawing absentminded shapes with her fingertip in the snow. Her cheeks were dusted pink.

"It most certainly is not a stupid idea," Francis sniffed, offended. He sat on his tray in the circle of Antonio's legs. Antonio's arms were draped over his shoulders and his head rested on his friend's shoulder, his usually easygoing grin in place.

"I'm not going to do it," Gilbert replied, his eyes flicking momentarily to Ashe. His blush darkened.

Francis smirked. "Oh, I see what's going on here." Gilbert jerked, surprised, but didn't respond. "You know you're going to lose."

Gilbert froze before slowly turning a fierce glare on his friends. "You're joking right? There's no way I'd lose."

"Nuh uh," Francis tutted. "Of course that's what you're worried about. Why else wouldn't you want to race us?"

"I… You…"

"Isn't that right Antonio?"

"Sí. I guess that means we're the awesome ones." They laughed.

Gilbert gritted his teeth, his face flushing to such a dark red that he was nearly purple. "Damn it!" He stalked over to his tray where it waited behind Ashe, sat down, and wrapped his arms and legs around her. Ashe jumped, her blush quickly going from faint to blazing.

Francis turned around and winked at Antonio. He grinned in response.

"On the count of three…" Gilbert growled. "One…two…THREE!"

The four friends pushed off with a lot of shouting and a flurry of snow as they all tried as hard as they could to build up some speed. Antonio, arms working madly, glanced over at Ashe and Gilbert. "Francis," he hissed. "What're we doing? I thought we were supposed to let them win!"

"We will let them win." Francis replied without losing his focus on the bottom of the hill, his arms working even more furiously than Antonio's. "But that doesn't mean we can't give them a race first!"

Antonio sighed and rolled his eyes. He should have figured that Francis's competitive steak would kick in now.

"Faster, Gilbert, faster!" Ashe shrieked as she scrambled in the snow.

"Don't worry! With my awesomeness there's no way we'll lose!" Gilbert grunted with effort as he dugs his hands into the snow and heaved them forward.

They were approaching the bottom of the hill and both teams had built up an appreciable amount of speed. There were still neck and neck, however, and Antonio was starting to get worried that their plan would backfire. At least until he and Francis hit some sort of bump and were sent sprawling, rolling and skidding the rest of the way down the hill.

"We did it!" Ashe shouted, throwing her hands triumphantly in the air as Gilbert let out a whoop.

"Kesesese! I told you, you couldn't beat my awesomeness!" Gilbert exclaimed as he ran over to where Francis and Antonio were picking themselves up.

"Hmph," Francis snorted as he brushed the snow from his jacket. "Glad to see you're as arrogant as ever. That doesn't mean we have to stand around and listen, however. Let's go Antonio."

"See ya!" Antonio said cheerfully, clapping Gilbert on the back and following after Francis as he stalked away.

"Huh? What're you guys going on about?" Gilbert shouted after them, confused. Francis and Antonio didn't respond and Gilbert's confusion quickly shifted to irritation. "Whatever! You're just sore losers! Kesesese!"

"What was that about?" Ashe asked as she stepped up next to him.

Gilbert glanced at her and his face flushed as he realized they were alone. "I have no idea."

"Well done, mon ami, well done."

Antonio grinned as he shook Francis's hand. "It did go well, didn't it? Now we just have to hope that Gilbert doesn't mess things up."

"We won't let him."

…

Ashe and Gilbert fooled around for a while longer, pushing each other down the hill and throwing snowballs, before heading back towards the dorms, tired and cold but happy. Francis and Antonio skulked in the bushes behind them to make sure that their plan came to fruition without a hitch.

Ashe and Gilbert walked together for a while until they came to the spot where they would have to part ways- Ashe's dorm was in one direction and Gilbert's was in the other.

"This was fun," Ashe said, brushing her bangs out of her eyes as she turned to smile at Gilbert.

"Kesesese, of course it was!" Gilbert laughed. "So I guess I'll, uh, see you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully, his cheeks tingeing with just the faintest hint of pink.

Ashe's cheeks warmed in response, but her smile slowly fell. "I dunno. I guess it depends on whether we have finals or not."

"Oh, right." There was an awkward silence as both of them looked everywhere but at each other. "Well, I'll see you whenever then I guess. Good luck with your finals."

"Yea. You too." They looked at each other for just a moment longer before they both turned and walked away.

Behind the bushes Francis smacked his hand against his forehead. "Gilbert, you idiot!" he hissed.

Antonio was not one to sit idly by, however. He snuck down the row of hedges until he was in front of Gilbert and when his friend walked by he stuck his foot out. Gilbert tripped. He managed to catch himself, but the ground was slick with ice and snow and he couldn't regain his balance.

"Whoooa!" Gilbert shouted, his arms windmilling as he feet scrambled for purchase on the sidewalk.

"Gilbert!" Ashe, alarmed, lunged forward in attempt to catch her friend. She'd barely taken a step when she slipped too. "Crap!"

"Ashe!"

"Gilbert!" They slipped and slid towards each other.

"Look out!" There was an unpleasant sounding crash as they collided and fell to the ground, Ashe on top of Gilbert.

"Are you ok?" Ashe asked, propping herself up. Gilbert moaned in response and then they realized what position they were in.

Ashe bolted backwards so quickly that she fell straight back on her butt, her face bright red. Gilbert sat up, his face nearly luminescent. "I'm fine…you?" he coughed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

Ashe brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I…I'm fine too."

A long uncomfortable silence stretched between the two of them as they tried to look at each other without making it look like they were looking at each other. Finally Gilbert swallowed hard and cleared his throat. "Listen Ashe. There's something that I…that I've been meaning to tell you for a while now."

"Yes?" she asked almost too quickly.

"I…well I…I…um…" Francis and Antonio didn't dare breath as they waited eagerly for Gilbert to finally confess.

"I…I think I might need some help studying for that chemistry final," Gilbert finished lamely. Francis smacked his hand to his forehead again and Antonio cradled his face in his palms.

"Oh…ok. Sure." Ashe replied, clearly disappointed. Gilbert didn't even try to make eye contact with her now.

"Thanks." Gilbert stood and offered his hand to Ashe. She took it, but once he had pulled her to her feet she didn't let go. "Um…Ashe?" Gilbert's blush, which had started to fade, returned full force.

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you too, Gilbert."

"What?" Gilbert blinked in surprise. Francis and Antonio froze for a moment before exchanging hopeful glances and leaning forward to make sure they didn't miss anything.

"I…" Ashe looked up at Gilbert. "I…" She bit her lip. And then she tugged on Gilbert's hand to pull him down and kissed him.

When she pulled away Gilbert gaped at her open mouthed. "I…Wha…You…Huh?!"

"I like you, Gilbert," Ashe admitted, her expression determined despite her violent blush. "I really like you. And I have for a long time."

Gilbert stared at her for so long that she started to fidget, her eyes dropping towards the ground. Suddenly Gilbert reached out, gently grabbed Ashe by the back of the neck, and pulled her in for another kiss. "I like you too," he said grinning madly once they broke apart again.

Ashe grinned back and threw her arms around Gilbert, her enthusiasm nearly knocking them both to the ground again. The kissed some more, each touch of their lips emphasized by Gilbert's shout. "This! Is! So! Awesome!" Ashe laughed.

Francis and Antonio quietly snuck away in order to give Gilbert and Ashe some privacy and to properly congratulate themselves.

"Wow, Francis! You really did know what you were talking about!"

"Of course," Francis replied, flicking a stray lock of hair over his shoulder.

"Do you think you could help me with Lovi?" Antonio asked hopefully.

Francis sighed dramatically. "That, mon ami, would take a miracle beyond even my powers."

So this is the final prize for my World History 101 thing. It's for Rinny009 featuring her OC Ashe. I'm so, so sorry it took me so long to write it! T T I hope you like it anyways!

Anyways, the tray sledding thing is totally real. I haven't done (because I'm boring), but I've seen people doing it when I was in undergrad. And this was really fun to write. I love the BTT!

Thanks for reading!

imagination junkie