Ted wasn't a huge fan of cold weather. Today, of all days, his mom had pressured him to "get outside" and "get off his video games for once," despite the fact that it happened to be snowing outside and freezing cold. Now, Ted had nothing against being outdoors-heck, most of his summers were spent outside-but winter was a time for being at home, where it's warm and cozy, and curling up with a good game.

However, Ted decided that he'd at least make the most of it. He and his mother had dressed up and gone to the park, and he'd decided to bring his skateboard along just so he could love around a bit and get warm. His mom had gone off to take a stroll somewhere, and he had to say this wasn't so bad. As long as he didn't fall face-first into the snow or anything, he'd be fi-

SLAM!

Like a cruel trick of fate, Ted suddenly found himself getting slammed from behind by something, falling off his board and-of course-face-first into the snow. The universe just hated him, didn't it?

Coughing and sputtering to get the cold snow out of his face and mouth, Ted groggily picked himself up and turned to glare at whatever had hit him.

To his surprise, he saw a tiny white dog standing in the snow with a ball in its mouth, staring at him almost apologetically. Ted blinked awkwardly, not sure if he should really get mad at a cute dog.

Before he could wonder about it any longer, he heard frantic footsteps running over, and he glanced up to see a young girl-probably the dog's owner, run over with a frantic look on her face. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" she cried. "Are you ok?"

Ted finally sat himself upright and dusted the snow off his shoulders. "Er...uh, it's ok, I guess...strong dog you've got there."

"Yeah, he's pretty energetic..." she knelt down to the dog and gently pulled the ball out of his mouth. "Bolt, you silly dog," she scolded affectionately. "I told you to fetch the ball, not tackle someone down."

Ted snickered at his, wiping the last bits of snow off his face. Bolt watched him do this and walked warily over, sniffing the boy's hand and looking up at him cautiously.

The girl giggled. "I think he's trying to say sorry."

Ted smiled, allowing the dog to sniff his hand and giving him a soft pet on the head. "Don't worry about it, buddy," he told the dog. "Hey, could I see that ball for a second?"

The girl looked surprised, but she handed the toy over. Bolt's eyes lit up when he saw Ted holding his ball, and he started to bounce up and down with an excited bark. Ted grinned, stood up and tossed the ball a few feet away, and Bolt happily chased after it.

The girl laughed merrily at this and stood up next to Ted. "Awww," she cooed. "He likes you now."

"Great. I guess I can't forgive him for knocking me over now," Ted snickered. "Must be nice having a dog, huh?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah. Lots of maintenance but it's worth it."

Ted nodded and played another round of fetch with the dog, noticing that the girl's gazes seemed to be lingering on him for a little more time than necessary. "Yeah, I've always wanted a dog," he continued. "Never got to get one though. Our place is too small."

"Oh. That's too bad."

There was a pause, before she turned to him once again. "So, um...what's your name, anyway?"

"Oh, sorry," he replied, holding out a hand. "I'm Ted. Ted Wiggins."

"I'm Penny," the girl told him, a huge smile on her face as she took his hand.

"Cool."

There was yet another silence as Bolt kept coming back to them for more rounds of fetch. Penny tucked a strand of her short red hair behind her ear, and Ted placed his hands in his pockets. Even Bolt seemed to sense the slight awkwardness forming between them, but he was too caught up in chasing the ball to really care.

"So, Penny." Ted began again, breaking the silence. "Do you like to board?"

Penny shrugged. "Sometimes. But I usually just ride on my scooter."

"Yeah? I don't usually see scooter riders around here. Can you do any tricks?"

"Not really, but I like racing."

Ted smirked. "Hey, that's cool. Wanna race around the park? You know, just to move around a bit because it's freezing."

Penny laughed and nodded enthusiastically. "Oh my gosh, yes! I hate the cold too. Let's go."

After Penny made sure Bolt was seated safely out of the way, she grabbed her scooter and helmet and met up with Ted near a bare tree, where a nice track was carved out of the snow for kids like them.

"Ok, here we go," Ted announced cheekily. "Skateboard vs Scooter. We'll see who's superior."

Penny giggled and stood ready, as Ted did the same. "Ok, first one to go around and back to Bolt is the winner. Ready?...Go!"

The two kids took off, kicking furiously at the pavement to gain momentum. Ted cringed slightly at the cold air hitting his face so fast, and turned his head slightly to glance at Penny. The girl was making this adorable face of concentration, but she smiled sweetly at her new friend as she went.

It was a close race, but it was Ted who eventually won, with Penny jokingly asking for a rematch.

Unfortunately, their time was cut short when Ted's phone started buzzing in his pocket. "Sorry, that's my mom," he told Penny, looking at his phone and texting her back. "I'll probably have to leave now."

Penny looked disappointed but nodded. "Oh...ok. It was nice hanging out with you, Ted..."

"You too," he replied, spitting his mother hurrying over from far away. Pausing for a moment, he turned back to the girl with a slight smile. "Do you come here often? Maybe we could hang out again."

Penny smiled at the ground. "S-sometimes...I don't know. By the way, what school do you go to?"

"Eh? Uh, Lincoln Middle School, why?"

Penny beamed. "No way! Me too!"

Ted smiled right back. "Really! Awesome! So maybe I'll see you there."

"Yeah, maybe," she replied with a giggle. "See you later, Ted."

"Right. Bye."

Ted turned on his heel and started heading over to where his mother was standing, a smile on his face as he watched Penny jog back over to Bolt.

His mom was smirking as he made his way over to her. "Well, Ted, who was that nice girl?" She teased him. "Your new girlfriend, maybe?"

Ted glared up at his mother and turned red. "What? No! She's just someone from school, that's all."

"If you say so," the woman snickered. But then she dropped the subject and huddled into her winter coat. "Anyway, let's get back home already, I'm freezing."

Ted rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You're the one who kept saying we should come out here!"

"I know, I know, don't rub it in! Come on, let's go get some hot chocolate or something."

Ted laughed followed his mom back home, huddling into his own coat along the way. True, he hadn't really wanted to go outside today, but after what had happened, he couldn't say he regretted it at all.

A/N: Welp. I'm the only person on the face of the planet who ships this, but I felt the need to write this short drabble anyway. I hope someone will appreciate this, at least. XD

Don't forget to review!