Kisses from a Snowman

"That girl."

It was always said with such disgust, such hatred for something they had no grasp of.

"That girl, that girl, that girl.." The words were spit at her when she walked past. Some sneered, and some even challenged her. Why? Well, simply because they were told that she was a punk. Simply because they were told so.

"That boy.."

It was said dreamily by the girls in the school; It was said with jealousy by the boys.

"That boy is.."

Is what? They all said things like 'dreamy', 'hot', 'kind', 'idol'.. It was creepy. He was hers, all the other girls should back off and believe it before she made their pretty little rich makeup-coated faces the news story for tomorrow night, a beating no one would forget.

But what about her? Start the sentence over. "That girl is.."

The thoughts pierced her one by one and she ended up having to grasp the sides of her head to keep hold of herself, her temper..

"That girl is scum, dirt, not worth my time, scary, deadly, violent, painful to look at, unloved, abandoned for good reason…"

She'd heard it all. It had taken everything she had to not injure them all, right then and there. She knew she could've if she had wanted to bad enough.

So, then, why..? Why did he love her when they were so different..? It didn't add up in her head, which already hurt a little from suppressing her anger.

Right at that moment, her phone buzzed on her bed sheets. Rubbing her temple with one of her hands, she reached for the phone with the other. She picked it up and pressed the "view" key, and began to read the short message - from Aiko.

"Hey, babe. I'm sorry I missed Christmas and New Year's D: I was away.. Anyway, I'm in the park. Come over now?" It read. She sighed.

"Aiko, you idiot.." She mumbled to herself, pressing the "reply" key and typing nothing more than "on my way."

She placed the phone in her skirt pocket and walked over to the window, pulling the curtain back. "Maybe I should leave Tamaki a note this time.." She mumbled, thinking. He never got used to her leaving through the window as she pleased, and always got annoyed with her for it. "Nah." She decided, shrugging and jumping out the window. And, with her agility, the two-story fall was landed perfectly, the phone still in her pocket, even. She ran to the gate and climbed over that, and she was gone until who knew when.

The walk to the park was peaceful. It was still winter, obviously, and snow laid gently sparkling on the ground. She kicked some with her boot, and it crunched up on the toe of the shoe. She smirked, remembering when she used to make snow-creatures with the stuff. That was a while ago, huh…

He didn't have to wait long. The park was close, and she saw him almost right away, sitting alone on a park bench, looking somewhat nervous. Why, though? She peeked at the ring on her finger, the engagement was set; Why was he nervous? It didn't add up, but she walked over to him, and stood in front of the bench. She waved not even once before he was up and wrapping his arms around her waist. She reacted as she usually did, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yuki.." He whispered, starting to cover her jaw line in kisses. "I'm sorry I missed the holidays.." He apologized between every impatient kiss. "I'll make it up to you…"

Breathless and enjoying the kisses, she tried to speak. "Aiko…" She breathed, making him kiss harder. "You don't have to worry about it. I've always been alone." She reminded him. He pulled back at that moment, staring at her. She was confused; Had she said something wrong?

"Yuki…" He whispered, seeming heartbroken by her statement. "You won't be anymore. I promise." He said, resolute, pulling her in a tight hug.

She blinked a few times, still confused. Why did he love her..? Why her? Why not some other girl..? She had to be the worst choice of the ones he'd had..

"Aiko…" She began, quietly, speaking into his neck. "Why..? Why do you love me..? I don't… I…" She began to stutter now, not sure what to say, or even what was wrong in the first place. He shut her up with a rough kiss on her lips. Her eyes opened wide, and then she got lost. There was no sense in trying to keep her head with him around, it was hopeless.

"Yuki.." He said, pulling back to stare in her eyes. "I love you because you're Yukiko. That's the only way I can possibly explain it." He said. Before she could reply, his lips were on hers again, as if so simply shut her up before she said something stupid; Which she most likely would, if given time.

The night passed and faded in her memory by the next day; morphed into one simple scene. She knew that at one point, they had walked around the park, hand in hand, just enjoying one another's warmth. There was more kissing, of course. Yukiko and Aiko were both the type that enjoyed that kind of thing in a relationship, if they were to be honest with themselves. But mainly, they had just spent the night together in the snowy park, admiring the beauty in life. For once, Yukiko saw some beauty in it.

They had even played in the snow a little. The next day, Yukiko went back and saw the snowman they had made together, still intact, not beaten down by kids or even wind. Smiling to herself, she walked over to it and leant down to kiss it, not caring what people thought. It was some kind of symbol to her, of course.

Walking into the city to wander for the day, she held her hand with the ring close to her heart. Now, she had a memo saved in her phone, regarding the matter.

"I love you because you're you."