Chapter 7 Saint John's
I woke up way too early the next morning, despite having fallen asleep late. My excitement had woken me up so early, but I at night I hadn't been able to fall asleep. The conversation I'd overheard between Henry, Emma and Regina had been running through my mind all night.
After waiting in the lounge for ten minutes, I decided to go over and ask Henry how his conversation with his parents had gone. When I came into the corridor, I could hear that they were still talking. I debated going back to my own room, but I couldn't resist the temptation of finding out what they were saying. And so I leaned on the wall, just around the corner from Emma and Regina's room. "You heard your mother." Regina said, not sounding too happy about it. "You can go." "Thanks, mom!" I heard Henry say. I grinned and could just suppress an excited squeak that would have given me away. We were allowed to go! I was so incredibly excited.
"What's the deal with you and Aïcha, anyway?" Emma asked curiously. "Mom!" Henry said embarrassedly. "Yes, Henry, what is going on between the two of you?" Regina joined the questioning. Henry groaned, but relented. "We're just friends." "Yeah, right!" Emma scoffed. "We like some of the same stuff." "And what might that be?" Emma asked teasingly. "Each other?" I heard some scrambling, and imagined that Henry had playfully punched Emma at that last statement. I was surprised that no scolding from Regina could be heard. "No-o!" Henry said fervently. "We like some of the same books. She knows Percy Jackson, and The Hunger Games. And she watches a television show-"
Henry halted abruptly, and I realised he'd almost told them about Once Upon a Time by accident. "What television show?" Regina asked curiously. "I've forgotten the name." Henry lied quickly. "Do you like her?" Regina asked. "Mom!" Henry complained again. "Just answer the question." Regina said firmly, and I was a bit annoyed at the fact that she was forcing him to answer such personal questions. But my annoyance was quickly forgotten when I heard Henry's answer. "Maybe." He said honestly. "Good for you!' Emma said, at the same time that Regina said: "Aren't you a bit young for that?" I could practically hear Emma roll her eyes. "The kid's fourteen, Regina. He can look after himself." Regina started to protest, but Emma quickly cut her off. "Go to bed, kid. Your mom and I will talk about this later." I had just enough time to scramble back into the lounge as Henry left his parents' room.
The conversation had been playing through my mind all night. Henry might like me. I wasn't sure what that meant. It was flattering to be liked, but what if I didn't like him back? I hadn't really liked anyone before – at least not like-like. I liked talking to Henry and spending time with him, but did that mean I wanted a relationship with him? I wasn't sure.
I forced myself to stop thinking about it. I got up, put on one of my Christmas sweaters, and went to the kitchen to make everyone pancakes for breakfast, just to take my mind off of things. I resolved to just enjoy the day; I didn't think there'd be much more time for fun on our journey.
Henry and I were walking into the town centre. We'd already split up from the group; they'd gone to one of the large shopping malls. "St John's is considered to be Northern America's Oldest City." Henry educated me, as we walked through the outskirts of the town. "It's the twentieth biggest town in Canada." He told me. I laughed. "How many of these facts did you memorise?" He grinned. "Those were the only ones. I read them on a plaque on the way here." He confessed. I laughed even harder.
"So, where do you want to go?" I asked him. I myself had no idea; I didn't really know anything about the town. "I was thinking we could go to Signal Hill, and then get hot chocolate at a café on the way back to the boat." Henry suggested. I was impressed. He'd really done his research. Then a thought hit me. What if he thought it was a date? Visiting some sight, then going for a drink… That sounded like date stuff. I just shrugged it off, and reminded myself of my resolution to just enjoy the day. "Sounds like a plan." I told Henry. "Lead the way."
"So, what's Signal Hill?" I asked him, as we walked in what I assumed was the right direction. "It's a hill overlooking the town." Henry told me. "Since it's up high and above the town, there used to be forts and everything." I wasn't really that interested in the forts, but the view would probably be great. I regretted not having taken my camera. I would probably have been able to take some really great pictures up there. At least I had my phone.
"It's a really popular tourist attraction, apparently. Almost all of the tourists that visit St John's go to signal tower. Or so the tourist guide said." Henry told me. "You got a tourist guide?" I asked. I never got a tourist guide anywhere, I always just relied on my phone. But it was cute that he'd gone to all that trouble.
We walked up a path towards the hill, through a beautiful, grassy landscape. "It's so pretty here." I told Henry. He grinned. "Wait till you see the view." He promised. We climbed the hill all the way up. There was an interesting stone building on the top of the hill, which Henry told me was called Cabot Tower. We went inside the tower first, to the visitor's centre. There were several exhibitions there, which Henry studied intently. I glanced at them half-heartedly. I wished I would find things like that interesting, but they couldn't hold my attention for long. "Want to go outside and look at the view?" Henry asked me, probably sensing my slight boredom. "Great!" I said enthusiastically.
I gasped as we exited the building. The view was even more beautiful than anything I could have ever imagined. On my left was the hillside, ending in the Atlantic Ocean. The sky was clear, so I could see a long way to that side. But the right side was even more beautiful. The picturesque town could be seen all the way from here, and it was so adorable! I whipped out my phone to take a picture. Then I got an idea. "Henry?" I called out. He looked up from where he was studying one of the informational plaques that were scattered across the platform. I gestured for him to come over, and he did.
"Let's take a picture." I suggested. "Okay!" Henry said. We walked over to the other side, that looked out onto the ocean. I felt it was more appropriate, seeing the trip we were on to the North Pole. I snapped a quick picture of the two of us with the great view as a backdrop. We walked around the platform some more, enjoying the view. "It's probably time to leave." Henry said reluctantly, looking at his watch. I nodded, sighing. I took one last look at the panorama, then walked back to the path with him.
As we were walking back towards the town, it suddenly started snowing. "Snow!" I yelled excitedly. I spun in a circle, my head towards the sky. When I stopped spinning, I looked at Henry. He was standing there, snowflakes falling onto his hair, laughing at me. "Oh, come on!" I yelled at him. "It's snowing! Isn't it beautiful?" I didn't wait for an answer. Instead, I grabbed his hand and started running. He was a bit reluctant, but after a while he started enjoying himself.
And there we were, running through the beautiful natural landscape, snow falling everywhere around us. I laughed with glee as we skipped along, swinging our hands between us. I couldn't remember feeling this happy at any time in my life. For the moment, all of our troubles were forgotten. Our potentially dangerous mission, my doubts and insecurities, nothing was on our minds. We were just a boy and a girl, running through the snow together. I wished that the moment would never end.
We stayed that way all the way back into town, holding hands as we ran through the snow. I had no idea where we were going, but Henry's hand was there to lightly guide me. We ducked into a small alley, just off the main road, and stopped at the cosiest, most adorable café I had ever seen. We walked through the door and a merry bell chimed. We went inside, still holding hands, laughing happily. The girl behind the bar smiled at us as we entered. "Table for two?" She asked, and Henry nodded. She guided us to a small table at the back of the café and took our coats. "You guys make such a cute couple!" She told us, smiling, before she walked away. Henry and I blushed, but neither of us denied it.
The waitress' comment had made us uncomfortable for a second. Our easy banter had ceased, and there was a slight barrier between us that I hadn't even realised had ever been there, before it had fallen away during our moment in the snow. "I'll go order drinks." Henry said awkwardly, and I just nodded. He got up, and went to order.
After a few minutes, he returned with two steaming cups of hot chocolate. I wrapped my cold hands around it gratefully. "I got you some cinnamon on top. I hope that's okay." Henry said. "It's-" "Your favourite." I said, smiling. "I know." There was less awkwardness between us now, and I could feel it disappear slowly. "You know, I actually tried hot chocolate with cinnamon for the first time after I saw the episode where you and your mother drank it in the diner." I told him amiably.
He smiled, and I could see there was a lot behind that smile. I suspected he was quite happy that he had had such an influence on my life even before we met. "Isn't it strange for you that I know so much about you, even though we've never met?" I asked him curiously. Henry seemed to think about it, and I was grateful that he was taking this question I'd posed so casually as seriously as I actually meant it. The question had been on my mind for days. "A little." He admitted honestly. "It's very strange that you know all of these things about me, and I'm worried that maybe I'm not making such a good impression on you as I otherwise could have, if you hadn't seen all of the stupid things I did as a child." I opened my mouth to interrupt, to say that everyone did stupid things as a child, and that, anyway, he had always been a good kid, but Henry held up his hand.
"I'm not finished, Miss Impatient." He joked, and I shut my mouth. He smiled and continued. "Those things do bother me sometimes. But then, you're such a nice person." I blushed at that, but he wasn't done complimenting me. "I don't even have time to think about all those things, because you're just there, and we're goofing off, and having fun, and talking about all of our favourite things, and I have so much fun with you, that everything else just stops mattering." He blushed, and it seemed he was done talking. I was incredibly touched by his speech. No one had ever said such wonderful things to me. Henry wasn't saying I was pretty, or some other shallow reason like that, but he enjoyed spending time with me. Wasn't that the best thing you could ever say to another person?
I leaned towards him, too overcome with emotion so speak. Henry looked at me, as I considered whether I was really going to do this. I was conflicted. I really liked Henry. Liked him as more than a friend, maybe. But who knew if I was ever going to see him again after this mission? I looked into Henry's eyes, really looked, and I saw it then. Saw that heknew what I was thinking. Knew what I was going through internally. And that did it. I leaned more closely towards him, and then my lips were on his.
His eyes widened in surprise, and I realised he hadn't really let himself hope, hope that there could be something between us, that I might like him, that I would really kiss him. But I did. We both pulled back soon, the kiss sloppy and strange. I had never kissed someone before, so I hadn't been sure what to expect. I hadn't really suspected it to be so strange, or so sloppy. I suspected it would get better the more we practised. And I planned to make good of our time together.
I looked up at Henry, and saw his questioning look. I grinned at him in reassurance, and he grinned back, relieved. I could feel it then, could feel the start of something new between us. I wasn't sure what it was, but I was ready to find out.
"You know, I always thought you were a great person." I told him as we were walking back to the boat. I wanted to make the best of our time in this little bubble. Too soon, we'd be back on the boat, and the mission would feel only too real again. Henry looked at me sidelong. "Yeah?" I nodded. "At first, you were this cute little kid, and then you grew up to be this brave young man. You always just kept your head in all of those difficult situations, and I felt so sorry for you every time your moms wouldn't let you join in." Henry laughed, then spun me around in the snow. "Thank you. That makes me feel better, even if you don't really mean any of it. You thought I was super annoying, and you're just making it up to comfort me." He said teasingly. I punched his chest playfully. "No!" I insisted. "I really do mean it! Ask any of my friends back home." "You know that's impossible." Henry pointed out, but then he realised something. "Wait, you talked to your friends about me?" He asked curiously. I nodded, laughing as I remembered. "Yeah. Me and one of my friends were massive fans of the show, and we would always talk about it at school every time a new episode aired. It drove my other friends crazy!" Henry laughed with me at that. It was true. I couldn't wait to tell my friend about this crazy adventure! Assuming I made it out alive, of course.
