It had been two weeks since all banks of England had shut due to the weather; snow had long since thawed leaving a skin of black ice on every road in site. Salt had been laid to grate vehicles but had proved non-effective to both roads and paths making it almost impossible to move at all. The government had as usual warned the entire nation to stay indoors as the weather outside was calculated to drop a few more degrees; but many people translated this to 'wrap up warm'. After three days the flu had spread to three out of ten families; as more degree's dropped, snow turned into sleet and the percentage of those with the flu began to rapidly plummet, the government were calling the recovery a miracle but what they didn't know was the worst was to come.

x

El-jay sighed slightly as her friend burst through the classroom door breathing heavily, sweat beading her forehead clung onto the locks of her raven hair.

"Sorry I'm late" She panted offering a smile as she sat down by her friend.

"Class is almost finished Melanie, what's the excuse this time?" The teacher asked in a annoyed tone. After regaining some of her breath the teen thought for a moment before shaking her head silently and tilting it to one side. The teacher scribbled onto her notepad and hung the detention note next to Melanie's name on the register then went back to teaching the rest of the class. El-Jay quickly turned towards her friend glancing through her golden stray hair as the younger teen began to fidget uncomfortably.

"What's wrong with you?....You've rarely make an appearance in Maths and now you're late for your favourite subject... some things up." Melanie shifted uneasily as her friend questioned her whereabouts then quickly shot back.

"The roads are still pretty messed up in our street, living in a village isn't really the best way to go these days." The bell rung just as she finished her sentence and the buzz of the classroom drowned out the teacher's warning about next week's exam, Melanie and El-jay slipped out the classroom amiss the chaos before the teacher could have a 'word' with them.

"You know you're gonna fail right?" El-Jay said as she took a seat on Steven's lap before he could protest. Steven grinned his infamous grin before his hands attempted to reach El-Jay's decent bosom, the sound of a sharp slap and a yelp proved his failure; his hand gently rubbed the red hand mark on his face and he whimpered for sympathy which everyone knew was not coming. Melanie took a bite out of her muffin, the taste of blueberries always appealed to her. "You're behind a piece of coursework, your attendance is low at this rate you're be kicked out." El-Jay stated interrupting the peaceful thought of Muffin land.

"El-Jay you try putting into words the meaning of medicine it's useless." Mel said.

El-jay craned her head over Steven's shoulder who was still rubbing his face into her back; and pointed to the guy sitting close by them, she studied his looks for a moment then identified him as a class mate who usually sat alone in medical history. The reasonably handsome face was slightly flawed by a long curved scar running down his right eye, his eye's sparkled as the sun fell onto his shoulders. Steven followed her gaze to the shady character only to suddenly met the strange boy's eyes in a dead lock. El-Jay rolled her eyes and told Steven to grow up as he tightened his hold on her, she untangled herself from his grasp and strode over to the stranger who decided to introduce himself with a bow and a polite kiss to her hand. Steven shuddered in rage and stood up but Melanie put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him back into his chair as the stranger glanced at her through hazel eyes. Finally after ending the quick conversation with the stranger, El-Jay shoved a piece of paper into his hand and scooted back with a tint of red on her cheeks. Steven immediately engaged in a dispute, waving his long mane of hair from back to forth as he shook his head in fury; Melanie watched with concern as the stranger walked away becoming slightly out of view but just as she turned back she swore she saw a tiny smile upon his face and a glint of amber as the sun cast upon his eyes.

Steven already felt hatred towards the new guy who easily made his love flutter with embarrassment and interest; his palms curled up at the thought of them two together, touching intermittently, he wanted nothing more than to wipe the smug look on that guys face as he disappeared from view. Melanie smiled as El-Jay came walking back still slightly flustered under the dim lights, then nudged the girl hard in the ribs.

"Laura and the... stranger sitting in a tree, F U C-" Steven glared at Melanie who immediately took the hint and stopped chanting, El-Jay took a seat between her two friends and sighed heavily.

"So what happened!? Did you ask him out?! Are you seeing each other?!" Steven spoke coldly unable to meet the eyes of his love interest. El-jay turned towards him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

" No.... he was just a old friend"

"old friend?"

"We might have dated one or twice.....or was it three dates?" Steven finally looked into her dark eyes a look of horror sketched onto his face. El-jay burst out laughing able to read Stevens thought's, Melanie had no idea what was going on and decided to keep eating her muffin trying to escape back into muffinland, before El-jay ruined the image by pressing a piece of paper into her face and said

"Here' his number" Stevens eyes gleamed in triumph before El-jay commented "Gonna meet him in ten minutes for lunch then a movie anyway." Hearing this Steven hung his head in misery.

X

The stranger admired the growth of his childhood friend. there was slight longing for the beautiful woman that was now walking away with a slight bounce in her step; but he knew they weren't meant to be but thought he should have a bit of fun with the boy drooling over her now. One thing was for sure though, the other girl was new to him but for El-Jay she must have been one of the friends she spoke of in her letters, although El-Jay had indeed forgotten about their relationship among her depression, he vowed to not let himself just walk away again and this time to protect the person he loved the most. He began walking past the group, he smiled to himself as he saw El-Jay laughing and was glad that she was happy, he next caught a glimpse of navy blue eyes and swore that he'd been lost in there depths before, trapped.