It all started that one winter evening. The air was cool and filled with stark, white snowflakes as Jordan peeked out his window. The nine year old was a curious one, but who wasn't at that age?

His parents weren't letting him outside during the blizzard's rage, which he strongly opposed. He didn't care he would freeze to death. He just wanted to bundle up, take his sled, and ride down the steep hills with his friends. But as mentioned earlier, he wasn't allowed out until the storm let up.

"Stupid parents... Stupid blizzards..." he huffed, crossing his arms under his forest green blanket. In his mind, he didn't know why he couldn't go out. So what there was enough snow falling from the gray sky to fill his house? The desire was clawing at him; just one snowflake was all he wanted.

Then, there was a crash on his window.

Glancing back to the glass and noticing icy crystals of white splattered on it, he looked down to see a figure. Another nine year old stood, feet completely invisible under the snow. His short and spiky jet black hair was coated with small flakes of snow, and so was his navy blue scarf. Bending down and taking another handful of snow, the boy rounded it into another ball and threw it at the window. "Jordan! C'mon!"

Finally, Jordan undid the locks on his window and slid it up. "Tay? Is that you?" He asked, squinting at his surprisingly-not frozen best friend. "Why are you out in the storm?"

"That's not important," he said dismissively, brushing off his friend's question as if it had no importance. "Anyways, I need you to come with me. It's an emergency."

At this point, Jordan had reached for his red-rimmed glasses and pushed them up the bridge of his nose. They still didn't have a good fit on him, being his older brother's. "My parents said I can't leave," he pouted, subconsciously wondering why he still listened to them. "Hey, what's the big deal, anyways?"

He noticed Taylor flinch at the question.

"Like I said, it's not important. All that matters is that you get out of that house right now."

Maybe it was the way he said it, or possibly, it was just that Jordan was desperate to leave his cramped and boring house, but before he knew it, he was grabbing a backpack and stuffing his belongings into it. A pillow, a blanket, water bottles, some wrapped snacks and candy, and extra pairs of clothes. Pulling on another long sleeved white shirt and a heavy black blazer, he slipped the straps of his bag on his shoulders, and he was already hopping out the window.

Unfortunately, he landed face first into the snow.

"You okay?" came Taylor's voice as he offered a hand to the younger of the two (by a few months, Jordan would always declare). He took it instantly, and with a mouth filled with snow, muttered an unintelligible 'thank you'. After getting on his feet, Tay led him through the mounds of snow and towards a forest that was bordered by a river.

"Where are we even going?" Jordan inquired, eying his surroundings as his friend dragged him past countless bare oak trees. Once and awhile an old, withered leaf would crunch under his foot, but besides that, the night was silent.

"Somewhere that isn't here."

The younger of the two was starting to get frustrated. Yes, he was happy he was finally outside, but now, he was angered. Why wouldn't Taylor tell him anything? It was important. Who knew he wasn't "leading his sheep to slaughter"? The last thought came out of nowhere; he knew his friend wouldn't send him to his death. That was crazy. 'Get that thought out of your head, Jordan. There is no way he would do that."

He was ripped from his thoughts as the older of the announced, "We're here."

Jordan was met with an iced-over stream that seemed to have no end. Suddenly, Taylor wiped a clump of snow off an old wooden sled and set it on the ice. At first, Jordan couldn't take his teal orbs off the work of carpentry. But then, his friend dragged him onto it and got on himself. "Wait, wait wait-"

"Here we go!" Tay called as he pushed the sled off, sending the two rushing against the cold air. As they overlooked a steep hill, Jordan gripped the reigns tighter, and the other boy nearly cried out in happiness. The younger felt a scream rise in his throat.

Before it could escape, the two were sliding down the hill the stream was indented in.

The wind whipped against their faces, and their matching dark hair flipped around wildly. Taylor, who was enjoying the drop, was the complete opposite of his friend. Poor Jordan was screaming so much that his throat was becoming dry, and it seemed impossible for him to stop. The older of the two nudged him, clearly making fun of the scaredy cat.

Luckily, the ice path had come to an abrupt end in front of a dim cave. Jordan almost seemed too quick to hop off what he called "the death machine of wood", but the wiser of the two slipped off with ease and began dragging the sled beside him. "C'mon, we've got to hurry. Unless you want to be caught in the storm, that is."

At first, Jordan was hesitant on following his friend. Why did he leave home? Why were they at a cave? But most importantly, he wondered why it was Taylor leading him.

"What are you, deaf? Get your icy butt over here!"

He shook his head, ridding his thoughts from his mind as he dashed-or something close to dashing, the snow being an obstacle-into the dark abyss of stone. Inside was just a flat ground of asphalt, with arched walls surrounding it. Light began to span the room as Taylor lit some sticks as makeshift torches. "A hand would be a great help right now," he demanded, dark orbs implying assistance as they fixated on the other nine year old.

Jordan hurried over, taking a stick or two, and attempted to rub them against each other in the hopes of a spark. No matter how many times he scratched the wood together, no fire would sprout and dance around the sticks. He cursed under his breath, shooting a worried glance over to his fire-frenzied companion, who seemed to have no trouble consistently lighting them.

Tay's midnight black gaze met Jordan's teal one, and the latter noticed something in his friend's eyes for the brief second. It was of both frustration and guilt. He assumed the frustration was something about Jordan not being able to do simple tasks like igniting a stick, but he didn't know what the guilt was for. It was there, but he didn't know why.

He was about to ask about it, but was rudely interrupted before the words could even leave his mouth.

"Just make yourself useful, will ya? I didn't bring you along just to carry you like dead weight."

And just as quickly as Jordan had opened his mouth, he closed it.

He bit his lip and lowered his gaze before returning to his soon-to-be sources of light. He flicked and flicked and flicked them together, until finally, one single spark flew and set the sticks ablaze. In surprise of the sudden combustion, he jumped back, dropping the growing fire to the ground. Glancing up at his friend, he saw that Taylor had mouthed one word at him.

Coward.

Jordan's vision blurred with tears as he stormed to the opposite side of the cavern, leaving the now-dimming fire in the same place he had left it.

Why had Taylor taken him away from his home in the first place? Why did Jordan think it was a good idea in the first place? Was his mind clouded with the desire for adventure, or was it oblivious to the danger looming ahead?

These were some of the thoughts running through his head as he sat in one of the corners, knees pulled close to his chest as he felt warm tears running down his reddened face. When his friend placed a torch beside him, he shot a quick glance up and saw that Taylor wasn't mad at him.

"Sorry for yelling at you, Jord. I just kind of snapped," he said, jerking his head away to avoid the younger's gaze. "I've just been too caught up with everything that's been happening lately, that's all. It's not your fault, it's mine."

As Tay concluded his small speech, Jordan slowly rose from his crouched position and wiped his tears with the back of his hand. "It's alright, don't worry about it," he said, feeling a smile tug at his lips, which ultimately, he let it. The older of the two returned the gesture and bolted back to his own pack, this one a silver hiking bag with red and navy accentuations, producing a feather-soft pillow and wooly blanket. "I think we'd better take a rest, we've got a big day ahead of us."

At the time, Jordan didn't pay much attention to the other's choice of words, as sleep was dragging him under, too. "Yeah, you're probably right- Like you always are." He chuckled lightly, before retrieving his own sleeping materials. As the two of them set up their "beds", he wondered why he had let his friend off so easily. Maybe it was the chance of their friendship being broken that held him back. Who knew? It was said and done, and that was all that mattered.

Crawling under his forest green blanket, he pondered about his family back home. Did they notice he was missing? Probably not. If they did, were they worrying about his whereabouts? Most likely, no.

"Good night." Taylor said, turning over onto his side to face the runaway.

Jordan quickly returned the saying before letting his lids slip closed. One last thought crossed his mind before his conscious was sent to the world of dreams.

Why was there guilt in his friend's eyes?

Hey guys! It's been awhile, hasn't it? Yeah, so, sorry about the super long hiatus. Luckily you like this new story, 'cause I sure do.

What do you guys think is with Ant? I wanna hear your thoughts. And what about Jordan running way with Ant? Do you think this little adventure will turn out well? Only time will tell!