Thorin sat down at the kitchen table sighing softly as he stared out of the small window beside him. He watched silently as the fuzzy snowflakes eased there way from the mid November morning sky onto the white blanket of snow below. He hated the winter, ever bit of it. How cold it got in the mornings and night, the thick sticky snow he'd have to stomp through as he traveled the mile long to school. It made him shiver just thinking about it.
"Are you ready?" A voice sounded interrupting Thorin's thoughts. He turned slowly to lock gaze with no one other than Dis. She stood in front of the kitchens door frame staring impatiently at her older Brother. Her tightly braided black hair rested on her right shoulder as it always did.
"Not necessarily. School isn't worth walking through the snow, think I'll stay here." Thorin mumbled resting his elbows on the table to prop his head up.
"Well to bad because you're going." Dis said as she walked up to her elder brother rustling his hair. Thorin grunted pushing Dis's hands away.
"Why don't you act like normal teenagers and try to skip school?" He complained fixing his hair as best as he could. "Because." Dis chuckled bending down and picking up Thorin's nearly empty book bag.
"Because?" Thorin asked taking the bag and throwing it over one shoulder.
"Because she's excided to start high school." Frerin interrupted stepping into the kitchen. Frerin was taller than Thorin despite Thorin being the oldest. And unlike Thorin and Dis, Frerin's hair was golden yellow and short, his eyes were brown like their mothers instead of deep blue like the others.
Dis swung back grinning cheerfully at Frerin.
"Right!" She agreed walking past the two towards the back door. Zipping up her jacket, she yanked the door open and stepped out into the snow.
"Come on Thorin," Frerin smiled sliding a black beanie over hair as he continued," We can avoid it today big brother, but we'd have to go one of these days. Might as well be now." Then he quickly fallowed Dis outside. Thorin stood for a moment staring out at the small window once more before buttoning up his black jacket and headed outside. The wind stung his face as the chill of the outside surrounded him. The sky hung heavy gray above the beige snow covered houses that made up the cul-de-sac Thorin has known all his life. Nostalgia nagged at Thorin as he lagged behind the group of silent students also making their way to school as they did ever Monday. It was a continuous cycle Thorin seemed to find himself in, walking to school with the same air headed people who surrounded him, getting to school, listening to lectures, home, sleep and waking up to do the same thing over again. A cycle that almost made him nauseous. He wrapped his dingy gray scarf tightly around his neck, burying his snow stained nose into it for warmth. He fallowed the group from the black iced roads into the familiar wooded path. The naked trees packed tightly around the icy path that reached high above the nonchalant students that bore their fake smiles that they flashed at one another . They reminded Thorin of the small dead birds that couldn't make it out in time before the snow fell, oh how they started to look the same.
A loud grunt knocked Thorin from his haze. Almost like a misplaced voice that lost its way from the reality it belonged to, because it didn't belong in Thorin's silent one. He halted for a moment listening, eyes still glued to his ice covered gray boots. Just as he was about to dismiss it as the wind blowing something heavy from a tree. He heard it once more, this time it was more a cry. For the first time since he started walking this path, he lifted his gaze. The students in front of him moved as usual down the path, there chatter still like white noise to Thorin's ears, and suddenly the wind paused only for a moment when he finally heard it.
"Ugly!"
Thorin turned his head quickly towards the sound. There, underneath maple tree that was still holding on to its bright red leafs peeking out from the snowy blankets, stood three of the students circling something laying in the deep white snow. They kicked violently as they spat that word again.
"You Ugly, disgraceful cripple!" One of students yelled. The words hung painfully in Thorin's chest. Were they moving closer? No, his legs were moving by themselves, walking frankly towards the scene, not walking no. Running! Before he knew it he was right up on the group grabbing the closest person and slamming to the tree behind them. Snow that clung to the branches fell on top of the two, but Thorin didn't stop, he slung the body onto the other guy knocking them both to the ground with a thump. He turned towards the third, actually taking a minute to scan the boy. He was tall pale and lanky, red hair hung over his frightened face.
"Get out of here!" Thorin yelled, anger spilling out of his mouth like fire. The red head scrambled away, along with the other two. Thorin breathed deeply. Letting the random anger subside before he remembered the big object the boys were abusing. He turned back to look. A boy laid out on his stomach with his arms tucked tightly underneath him, his head pushed down in the snow. Thorin eased down to his knees grabbing the boys arm and flipping him over carefully. Warm tired green eyes stared back at him.
"What?" The boy whimpered. Snow littered his curly brown hair that covered his forehead. He was very pale with a round smooth face. His bright pink lips was pushed tightly together, clearing fighting back tears. Tears? On a perfect face. Thorin couldn't understand.
"Are, you okay?" He whispered, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"My…my chair. "The boy said breaking their eye contact and looking over towards the tree. Thorin turned his gaze there as well. Laying tilted on its side was as a gray wheel chair, with its snow mobile wheels still slowly spinning.
"You're chair?" Thorin repeated raising his eye brows at the thought of why the chair existed before he realized.
"Oh, your chair." He repeated getting up and rolling the chair over to were the boy lay.
"Do you need help?" Thorin asked giving the boy no chance to answer, instead scooping him up in his arms and sitting him awkwardly in his chair.
"Thanks." The boy muttered, embarrassment staining his voice. Silence fell between the two as the boy settled in his seat.
"Bilbo." The boy whispered, keeping his head low.
"What?"
" Bilbo. My name. Thank you, for helping me." He choked out pushing the remaining melting ice from his seat.
"Oh." Thorin said breathlessly. "Mine is Thorin and no problem Bilbo." He said, Bilbo's name tasted like honey as Thorin spoke. A taste of cold winter honey for the boy with the perfect face.
"Do you…need help getting somewhere? I could push you." Thorin suggested grabbing the cold rubber nobs on the end of Bilbo's chair.
"No, I can roll myself." Bilbo said pushing the wheels forwards away from Thorin, but Thorin kept a firm grip.
"No, the guys who were messing with you might come back. I'll take you where you're going. Where are you going by the way?" Bilbo sighed annoyed and angry.
"Fine." He spat, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "I'm going to Erebor High school. It's about a block away from here." A smile widened across Thorin's face.
"Me too. You are a student there?" He asked pushing the chair through the snow, starting on the journey to the school.
"Yes, started a week ago. I came from a small town named Shire, west from here." Bilbo murmured. Keeping his voice down.
"I haven't seen you walk this path, is this your first time?" Thorin asked looking down at the remaining ice tangled in Bilbo's curly brown hair.
"No." Bilbo sighed. "I've been going down this path all along. I see you sometimes. You normally have your head down and walk really slow. Like you're stuck in thought or something." He said rubbing his hands together for warmth.
"I am." Thorin smirked. "Just thinking of how much I hate the snow."
"I love the snow." Bilbo replied louder. "It's so still and peaceful. I like to watch the sky when it gets full and begins to snow. Like all year the clouds harbored their emotions, thoughts and concerns until the last moment and they release them and they come falling, gently like little balls of stress, falling and melting away to make room for a new state of mind. "
"Wow." Thorin paused, the smirk turning into a full smile. "That's very creative of you." He complimented trying hard to hide the sound of a smile in his voice.
"It's just a thought." Bilbo smiled as the tall high school peaked up from the trees.
"So have you lived here long?"
"Yes actually, I've lived here all my life. My dad is the mayor of this town. "
"Mayor?" Bilbo gasped looking back at Thorin. "That must be fun."
"Not really." Thorin sighed. "He's always busy and always gone, but hey he pays the bills." Thorin's smirk fell as a thought crossed his mind.
"Bilbo." He spoke, his voice evening out.
"Hm?" Bilbo asked cheerfully.
"Why, were those guys messing with you earlier?"
Bilbo paused, his smile fading as the memory creeped up once more. "Well." He breathed. Griping the sides of his chair tightly. "They make fun of my body. My chair and how I can't walk." Thorin's jaw clenched. The humiliation in Bilbo's voice heaved his feet until he eventually came to a stop. They stood motionless, surrounded by the silence of the winter morning. Thorin was heavy, heavy with confusion and anger , even the salty water steam from his eye to his cheek felt heavier than it ever did. Of his body? The porcelain body that seemed flawless? Unacceptable
"Thorin?" Bilbo whispered, confused as to why they had stopped. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Thorin replied regaining his grip on reality.
"It's 8:00. We're late for school. We should hurry." Bilbo informed laying back farther in his chair.
"Yeah, we should. Thorin agreed as they hurried through the snow towards the building peeking from the trees.