AN; Alas sad lack of actual snowball battles. Lack of sleep and we had a snow storm. Is seemed fitting...Random unrelated one shots oh boy. Apart from Insomnia.

An unfamiliar weight on my mattress woke me from my slumber. Here I had been wrapped up cozily in my blanket cacoon and I was just fast asleep and now something had disturbed the peace and quiet.

But what? Did something fall off the wall and onto my bed? No, that didn't make sense. With where I was laying the only contents nearby were my countless and seemly never ending collection of selfies. Those clearly didn't have enough heft.

Most of the other rational explanations hadn't really quite registered yet.

I inwardly chuckled to myself, eyes sleepily began to close again.

I don't know. Maybe there's a ghost in my room?

A moment later my eyes shot open and I went rigid in my bed.

A ghost? I mean, I didn't really believe in the paranormal. But with how things were going lately...It wasn't that far fetched.

I swallowed nervously before peeking my head out from the safety of my blankets to check for danger.

Thankfully I was not met by a terrifying ghost or monster. However, the sight of Dana, sitting on the edge of my bed and leaning over to stare at me...It startled me.

In a moment of panic I had tried to push myself up but I ended up pushing myself off of my bed, in doing so I had taken my pillow and all my blankets with me. My brief shriek of terror was swallowed up by all the blankets as I landed in a heap on the floor.

Dana quickly stood up and knelt down to free me from my blanket and pillow prison. Smiling apologetically as she placed my bed things back on my mattress and helped me to my feet, "I'm sorry Max, I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't realize you were so soundly asleep. When I knocked and you didn't reply, I thought you were just tired. Are you ok? You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

Too tired to stifle a yawn, I just shook my head, "Good morning, Dana. And no, it's fine, I'm fine. But why are you in my room? N-Not that I'm not happy to see you. I am. But it's just..."

While it wasn't unusual for Dana to come to visit and hangout or chill with me in my room and vise versa, I wouldn't have expected her to show up so early in the morning. When I was still asleep in bed. Granted she didn't know I was really, actually asleep.

I absentmindedly turned around to check the time, only to see that I had slept in.

By approximately twenty minutes.

I attempted to sidestep Dana in a panic, going to reach for my clothes. "We were supposed to be in class by now!"

However Dana took me by the shoulders and stopped me. "Max it's ok, we're not late. Not today anyway. Relax."

Her reply did little to quell my growing worry.

"Classes have been postponed for today. Though we have to make up the missed work, tomorrow." That last part was less than enthused.

I gently brushed past Dana and grabbed my shower things. Gathering a fresh pair of clothes along with them, I eyed my bed and blankets for a moment, contemplating if I should try to tidy it up. My curiosity about what Dana had said was stronger than my desire to remake my bed though. I took one last look before turning back around to face Dana and ask,

"Why exactly are classes postponed? Did something happen?"

She frowned and looked at me strangely. That was not comforting.

"The snow?"

That wasn't a question.

"Last nights snow? I mean I know it was unexpected. And I know some people think it's...The end of the world. Which...Wouldn't surprise me."

I huffed softly before continuing.

"But there wasn't even enough snow to catch on the pavement. It's not like a few flurries are going to be dangerous."

Dana stared blankly at me, stepping back and up to my window. And gave a gentle tap against the glass.

"Seriously? Have you looked outside at all this morning? Max, it didn't stop snowing. It actually got worse. I mean, it's not up to the windows or anything. But there is a decent amount of snow outside. I think the weather said a couple inches? I ran to get you so I missed the rest of the forecast. It's funny though, the weather caster did mention that they expected the snow to stop in the next two days. Pretty precise, huh?"

She moved to open the window, "Here, look for yourself."

A flare of panic spiked through me as Dana went to unlock it.

Lisa. She could get sick.

"Dana wait- Please don't open it!" My voice came out in a panicked squeak as I dropped my things and rushed to shield my little plant.

"If it's that cold, Lisa could die." I went to my closet and began to search through my things, eventually I found what I was looking for.

Scarves.

It really didn't have all that much in terms of heavy winter clothing. Thankfully I did have some remotely appropriate clothing that would keep me warm...Mostly.

I dropped one scarf in my pile of clothes and knelt down next to Lisa with the other and carefully tucking it around her. I know she's not a person or even a pet so maybe the scarf was a fruitless attempt to keeping her warm but I had to try anyway. Though just to be safe, I scooted her just a little closer to my the heater before standing up and turning back around to face my friend.

"Who's Lisa?" Dana looked around as if expecting someone to materialize from thin air.

I gestured down at the little ficus.

For a moment Dana was very quiet. She simply glanced at me then over to Lisa then back again.

Oh wait. Was that weird? Naming plants? Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.

"Aw, you named your plant? Max that's so cute!"

Immediately my face heated up in embarrassment. Yeah I probably shouldn't have shared that.

Turning my head away and walking over to pick up my clothes, I gave a little cough and willed the blush to go away. I talked over my shoulder to Dana, I debated whether or not it was rude of me not to face her directly when speaking as I once again grabbed my little bundle of shower things and headed for the door.

Yeah it was pretty rude.

Sorry Dana. I don't mean to...

"I can understand people being surprised by the snow. I mean, we all were. But is it really necessary to cancel classes today? That seems more than a little extreme."

Dana slipped past me to open the door as I had been fruitlessly fumbling with the knob. And we stepped out into the hall. Quietly shutting the door behind her, Dana spoke in a hushed tone.

"Honestly I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine, Max. Today has been kind of chaotic. Principle Wells said something to all the teachers this morning. A few parents called in about it too. Really weird."

She paused and glanced over at Kate's door.

"Kate's been pretty quiet all morning. Like more than usual. I think she's been having trouble sleeping. I looked in on her before I went to you and she was asleep. Hopefully she can stay that way. She really looked exhausted..."

Oh Kate...I'm sorry.

Dana motioned for me to follow her as she continued. "Hayden said that he saw Nathan's father here. He went and talked to Well's then left. I don't know what he said but Nathan was pretty stressed about it..."

I tensed up mid step at the mention of Sean Prescott and almost tripped.

"Sounds scary..."

Dana nodded as we stopped at the restrooms and nodded over towards the exit.

"I'll wait for you. But yeah, I've never met him but from what I've heard, Nathan's dad isn't very friendly."

I just nodded in response before disappearing into the bathroom and did my thing as quickly as possible. Drying my hair however, took longer than I expected. Better safe than sorry though. I don't wanna get frostbite.

I briefly returned to my room to drop off my clothes and grab my bag and camera then headed back to Dana and followed her out of the dorms and into the chilly air.

Just our luck. The only spot I could see that had ice was the few several steps that we had to descend. Dana managed to walk down the stairs perfectly fine but I narrowly avoided falling face first onto the pavement. Thankfully Dana had rescued me.

While I tried and failed to walk off my fail, Dana disappeared back in the dorms before reappearing with a piece of paper and some tape to which she stuck onto the door.

I smiled at Dana and at the impromptu 'be careful of ice' sign on the door.

"There's another on the inside of the dorm. Hopefully that'll be enough until someone puts down some ice melt. Max, I'm going to go meet up with Juliet for cocoa and chill. You want to come? It'll be fun!" She beamed cheerily.

"Thanks for the offer but I think I'll stick around here for a bit. I want to take some pictures before someone tramples all the snow."

I gave my bag a gentle pat.

"Alright. But if you change your mind just text me." She said before jogging away towards the parking lot and out of view.

After a moment of waiting for a few last girls to leave the building I began snapping away pictures of various things. Alas there were no squirrels in sight. But I did manage to get some good shots. Unsure what to photograph next, I put away my camera and finally gave into the impulse to make a snowman.

I'm not sure how long I had been rolling around snow and forming snowman but after awhile I had created a small snowman army. Emphasis on small. They were pretty small but also pretty cute. I brought out my camera for a few minutes to snap more pictures before putting it away and begun building another little snowy troop for the group.

I had neglected to hear the approaching footsteps of someone as I was too entranced with building my little snowmen creations. So much so that I didn't even jump when a voice spoke up beside me. Nor did the all too familiar voice immediately register.

"You've accumulated quite the little army."

Unphased, I responded as I continued my painstaking work.

"We're going to take over BlackWell. Then Arcadia. Then the world eventually but you have to start small." I nodded confidently.

"That's quite the lofty goal, Max. Will you be a benevolent ruler?" The voice asked, amused.

I stood up as I finally finished the last snowman and dusted off my pants, "Of course." I finished and turned around.

The long delayed jump of surprise finally kicked in as I jumped back at the sight of our photography teacher. He uttered an apology as I composed myself and tried to give him a proper greeting. "Good morning, Mr. Jefferson..."

"I see you're enjoying the snow. Good morning, Max." The corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile.

I probably wasn't the picture of maturity right now.

I wasn't sure how to act or respond so I simply tried to hide my reddening face in my scarf.

"No need to be embarrassed, Max. You're not the only one playing in the snow." A soft chuckle.

"I looked silly." I gently tugged my scarf down and let out a little huff of frustration.

Something occurred to me.

"Mr. Jefferson? Why are you here? The dorms I mean?..." Usually male teachers kept to the boys dorm and vise versa with the girls and the female teachers. For various reasons.

"I'm simply returning a few things. Several of your peers left behind some personal effects in the classroom. You left something as well. I've already returned most of the items. All but yours. All the classrooms are being reset. If someone left something and couldn't return to claim it, it would probably end up in the trash, I'm sorry to say."

Jefferson held out a familiar little pencil case to me. Oh wow I forgot that?

"That's awful nice of you. Rescuing everyone's things. Thanks, I hadn't even noticed that I forgot to grab that." Couldn't be too hard on myself given current events but I was usually so careful to grab everything before I left a room.

"Dana told me I might find you here. Normally I would ask one of your dorm mates to return this. But it's very sparse today. I can imagine those who have not driven off for the day are still in their rooms and I can't very well enter your dorm."

Yeah he definitely couldn't do that

Saying this, he bent down to inspect some of the snowmen. "Just how long have you been outside? There's an impressive number of snowmen here."

Here I had been expecting him to leave now that his task was complete. Guess not. This was a little awkward.

"For thirty or so minutes I think...I haven't exactly set a timer. Don't you have to get back to work?" I was thankful Mom and Dad had sent along extra gloves and stuff from home. I probably would have lost all feeling in my hands by now. Also maybe a few fingers to frostbite.

Jefferson stood, careful not to step on my little snowmen, and began straightening himself out.

"For once I have the luxury of time. With today's schedule being what it is. But yes, I do have to return to work."

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and spoke in an uncharacteristically chipper voice though it quickly turned into sarcasm, "Sorting through dusty old books and classrooms. Wells definitely knows how to have a good time..."

I couldn't help but frown at his words. "That can't be fun. I'm sorry, Mr. Jefferson..."

He shook his head and chuckled, "You don't have anything to apologize for, Max."

I was about to ask something else when Warren suddenly came running around the corner and over a particularly large patch of ice and didn't so much as slip or trip.

What wizardry was this?...

The smile on the hipsters face was replaced by a neutral expression as Warren finally reached us. "Hello Warren."

"Hey Mr. Jefferson! Hi Max!" How much coffee did Warren drink?

He was like an over caffeinated puppy.

"Um hey Warren. What's going on?..."

Warren grinned and motioned behind him where Brook and Trevor stood. "We're all going to the Two Whales for breakfast. I mean, not everyone is going...I don't think. Dana and Juliet are there already. So is Hayden. Wanna come with? We're having a waffle off. It'll be awesome."

"What's a waffle off? You make it sound like a duel or something."

So was this like a like saber battle with waffles? Because I'd pay to see that. Though I'm sure Joyce would kick them out if they tried.

Trevor gave a shout in the distance, "Waffle eating competition."

"Waffles are life Max." Warren said matter of factly. I was looking back towards the parking lot so I only caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye but I swore I saw Warren dab.

I turned back to Warren but looked up at Mr. Jefferson briefly. For some reason I felt that I needed to ask his permission to go. Maybe because we were mid conversation.

Noticing this, he gestured past us. "Don't let me stop you. Just please be careful on the roads."

"Cool!", This time I clearly saw Warren make a familiar and silly motion that was a dab.

Mr. Jefferson was seemingly caught off guard by the sudden movement and took a step back in alarm.

"Warren, what on earth was that?"

Warren looked at Jefferson and tilted his head slightly. "What was what?"

Jefferson paused, before mimicking Warren.

Oh no.

Warren what have you done?

"Oh. That's a dab. Y'know dabbing? It's a dance."

Jefferson eyed him skeptically.

"That's...a dance?"

Warren nodded again.

"I see.", The older man looked uncomfortable.

In a desperate move to end the awkward silence that was beginning to envelope us, and avoid any further dabbing, I began pushing Warren away and towards the parking lot.

"Wow would you look at the time. Sorry for keeping you Mr. Jefferson."

Warren tried to interject with a "But Max you don't even have a watch..." but I powered on.

"And at this rate, all the waffles might be gone by the time we get to the Two Whales!"

That got Warren moving.

"Thanks again for bringing me my case. You really didn't have to do that. I know you have better things you could've been doing. If I was paying for attention you wouldn't have had to go out of your way. I'm sorry, Mr. Jefferson." I looked up apologetically.

"No more apologies, Max. You haven't done anything wrong. If anything you've, spared me from a mountain of paperwork. So relax..."

I opened my mouth to object but the hipster held up a hand then pressed a finger to his lips in the universal sign of 'quiet'.

"Go, get some breakfast and enjoy your...'Waffle off'. Now I have to get going. I'll see you later."

I uttered a soft goodbye and feebly waved before Mr. Jefferson left to return back into the school.

I had to run awkwardly across the grass to avoid most of the ice and catch up to Warren and the others. Warren immediately expressed his concern about the possibility of his stomach eating itself out of sheer, extreme, hunger. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing. Poor Warren.

Today was certainly going to be interesting.