Winter Is Magic Chapter 4
Chaol opened the door to Pete's while Celaena followed behind him. They chose a table next to the window that was decorated for Christmas and gave them a perfect view of the snow covered town. Bright lights decorated the trees that had lost their leaves. Celaena smiled at the sight. "Can I get you two something" a waitress said as she approached the table. Celaena opened her menu and couldn't help the grin that came over her face. "I'll have a gingerbread latte, with a slice of gingerbread coffee cake" she said, unable to hide her excitement. Chaol chuckled lightly. "And i'll have a coffee, no sugar, and a turkey sandwich" he said politely. "Alright, i'll be out with that in a few minutes" the waitress said before walking back to the kitchen. "So you really like gingerbread , huh?" Chaol said with a grin. Celaena looked away sheepishly. "It's my favorite" she said. "Well, now you know something about me so tell me something about you" Celaena said. Chaol sighed. "Alright, since I know about your family issue I might as well tell you mine. As you probably know, I'm captain of the football team and I'm hoping to get a scholarship in sports. But, my dad wants me to be involved in politics"He said. Celaena wrinkled her nose. "who in their right mind gets involved in politics these days?" she asked. "Exactly, but I almost agreed to it. My dad said a bunch of nonsense about disowning me as his son if I didn't agree to it. And he would have done it if my mother hadn't had a say in it" he said. "That's terrible" Celaena whisperd. "It's not that bad, he avoids me most of the time, so I don't have to put up with him" he said with a grin. The two talked about likes and dislikes until their food was served. "How can you not absolutely love Imagine Dragons, They're the best!" Celaena said. Chaol laughed as she dug into her coffee cake. "It's not as if i don't like them, i've just never bothered to look them up" he said with a small chuckle. "Look them up, TONIGHT." Celaena said with her mouth full of cake, making Chaol laugh. "What's so funny" Celaena asked after swallowing her cake. "you are, you're hilarious." he said smiling. Celaena felt blood rush to her face. No don't blush you idiot, he just wants to be your friend.
Celaena looked at Cholo's smiling face and couldn't help her next thought. or does he? she thought. "I'll make you a deal, if I look up Imagine dragons, you have to read Ranger's Apprentice" he said with a grin. "Deal!" Celaena exclaimed. Chaol chuckled lightly before looking at his watch. "I should probably take you home now, It's getting late" he said. Celaena nodded and grabbed what remained of her coffee. The two of them got into the car and Chaol drove to her apartment. After they had climbed the stairs,Celaena unlocked her door and was about to step inside when Chaol's voice stopped her. "Have lunch with me and my friends tomorrow" he said. Celaena looked at him with wide eyes. "Please" he added.
"Sure" she said lightly before entering her apartment. "goodnight,Chaol" she said. "Goodnight" he replied before she closed the door. Chaol smiled and headed for the stairs. He would drive her to school tomorrow. It had been snowing the past two days and he would feel bad if she were to catch a cold.
Celaena walked into her apartment and sat in her soft armchair. She pulled out her flip phone and dialed the number she had practically memorized by heart. "Hello". "Hey Nehemia, I think I made a friend today" Celaena said. Nehemiah was silent. "Can you trust this person? Are you sure they aren't in league with him?" She asked. Celaena smiled bitterly. "He's probably never even heard the name Arobynn Hamel" Celaena said. "Be careful, Aelin" Nehemiah said. Celaena grit her teeth. "Please never use that name" Celaena whispered. "I apologize" Nehemiah added. "i didn't mean to upset you" she said. " I know, It's okay" Celaena said. Nehemia and Celaena said their goodbye's before she took a hot shower then got into bed. She could trust Chaol. He wasn't in link with Arobynn Hamel. But he couldn't find out about him. For his own good. Celaena fell asleep quickly that night. she had to get up for school tomorrow and definitely didn't want to oversleep. As she was drifting off to sleep she heard a ding on her phone but decided she would check it in the morning.
Celaena awoke to knocking on her door. Hadn't the same thing happened last night. She quickly slipped into her clothes for school before grabbing her things and heading to the door. "How did I know you were going to be here" she said in exasperation but couldn't hold back her smile. "I thought it would be a bad idea for you to walk to school in the snow for the third time this week" he said smiling "Thanks" she said. "Just let me grab my phone" she said, realizing she had left it on her nightstand. Celaena picked up her flip phone and remembered the message she had received last night. she opened her phone to find something that made her stop in her tracks. It took all her self control not to drop her phone. It was an unknown number and all the message said was "so youve been hiding in Ohio" Celaena didnt have to think hard to know who had sent it. She had thought she had escaped. Chaol. She couldn't keep hanging around him. She could put him in danger. "Celaena, is everything okay?" she heard Chaol yell from the door. Celaena had to think fast. She couldn't be seen near Chaol, she had to get him to leave. Then she would need to leave. "Celaena?". Celaena jumped when she heard him right behind him. "Chaol, i'm not feeling too well, I think i should just stay home today" Celaena said. It wasn't a complete lie. She did feel like she was about to puke, just not for the seasons he would think. "Oh, do you need anything?" he asked, clearly worried. "No, I just need to take it easy for now, i… i think i'm going to be sick" she said before rushing to the bathroom. she emptied the contents of her stomach into the sink before heading back into the living room where she found him on the couch. "are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?" Chaol asked. Celaena put on her best fake smile before answering him. "no, i'll be alright" she said. Chaol frowned but nodded before getting up and walking towards her. he handed her a folded piece of paper. "call me if you need anything"he said before saying goodbye and walking out the door. Celaena sighed before going into her bedroom and started packing. She would go visit Nehemia for a few weeks, then she would come back to Ohio and….. and make up some absurd story to tell Chaol. If he hadn't forgotten about her. That would be much easier but there was little chance of that happening. Celaena grabbed her suitcase, phone and keys. she was halfway to the airport when she realized something. Arobynn could be tracking her from her phone. Without a second thought she tossed it into the sewer, before running to the airport. The only person who had her phone number was Nehemia, and she had her number memorized. She suddenly remembered Chaol's phone number was in her pocket. She would have to call him once she arrived in Maine and could buy a new phone. When she arrived at the airport she immediately went to the ATM and withdrew everything in her account before snapping her debit card in half and throwing it into the airport's fireplace. She bought a ticket and boarded her plane. She knew this was going to be a long flight.
Chaol couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with Celaena. she had looked as if she saw a ghost. He drove straight to her apartment after school. when he came to her door he knocked. there was no answer. HE tried opening the door and found that she hadn't locked it. It had taken him a quick sweep of the apartment to confirm she wasn't there. Chaol couldn't help the feeling of dread that formed in his gut. He should have stayed with her. Something wasn't right.