A Heart Warmed December

Ethan walked in through the front of his father's store, ignoring the greeter and all of the patrons. He had just returned from the bookstore where he had run into Baljeet. He entered the kitchen and deposited the plastic bag of cookbooks in his dessert area, knowing no employee would touch them. Even in the thick coat worn to protect himself from the cold of the first week of December, he moved almost silently up the stairs to where he lived with the two other members of his family. His father was cooking as per usual, but he wasn't concerned about that. He entered the room that Buford had been living in for almost a month and his sister had spent every spare moment inside of.

"Buford, you need to lie down," he heard her order. Over the past week, Buford had become increasingly restless. He was protesting his confinement and desperately trying to leave his bed. Ethan actually believed that she had been spiking his dinners with sleeping medicine. He couldn't see any other way the former football star could rest with all the energy he seemed to be burning with. However, Ethan was concerned with something much more important at the moment.

"I told you, my back his fine," he objected as he began pulling himself into sitting position, but flinched once his head was more than a foot above his pillow.

"No, it's not," she told him as she placed her hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him back down. "Just rest. You won't do anyone any good by exerting yourself."

"Fine," he grumbled. If the past was any indication, he would be back at it in two hours. Still, that was enough of a victory. "Hey Ethan," he greeted the young man, bringing Milly's attention to her brother's presence.

"Hey," he greeted them both. He walked to a chair and sat down before he continued talking. "MEBRIS needs to operate," he told them.

"First off, I thought you didn't like that name," MIlly started, her voice quizzical. "Second, what do we need to do?"

"Baljeet likes Adyson," he stated plainly. Neither of the two other occupants of the room spoke. Buford's mouth opened slightly as if to speak, but no words escaped. "I ran into him today and he told me."

"And you want us to set them up?" Milly asked. He nodded, looking to both of them for confirmation. "Okay, well, this is an idea I've been working on for a while. It might be a long shot…"

&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?

Baljeet flipped through the book he had bought at the bookstore, but it was fruitless. It wasn't that an analysis of the physics behind the concept of time travel didn't interest him, but his mind refused to be distracted from what had been its sole occupation for at least two weeks now: thinking of Adyson.

He placed the book on the side table next to the chair he was lounging in. With no desire to go home, he had come to the library. Now, even the familiar and comfortable atmosphere that came with every room filled with books was useless in calming his nerves. He couldn't ever remember caring about someone like this before. He had had a crush on Isabella many years ago, though that was due to the fact that she was the only girl he spent any considerable amount of time with. At the same time, he had found Wendy Stinglehopper both cute and intelligent, so she had also been one of his secret crushes. He had never been sure how he had felt about Mishti and, due to their distance severing their relationship over the years, any emotions he might have once harbored for her were washed away. This feeling was different from all of those. He could have fun with her, viewing her as a friend. At the same time, he felt a desire to hold her and kiss her with all the passion he could muster. These feelings didn't feel like they were opposing each other, but instead were different layers of the same emotion.

Overall, he was confused. He could ask any of his romantically involved friends, but he felt like this was something that he needed to try to understand by himself. He had ended up telling Ethan about how he felt when they ran into each other earlier, but that was because he was sure he wouldn't be able to hide anything from him. Now he couldn't help but wonder if that was the right decision. After all, he still couldn't help but feel that Cameron would be a better boyfriend and his logic loving side knew that she should date him. That didn't stop his heart from yearning for her. His whole body had become a boxing match for his brain and heart.

"You okay?" a new presence asked. It was none other than Swampy, the head librarian and occasional drummer for Love Händel.

"I've been worse," he answered, not feeling like bothering uninvolved people with his problems.

"You also look like you've been better," he told the young boy. He jumped over the back of a nearby chair and landed in a sitting position that quickly devolved into a relaxed slouch.

"Maybe I can help, one book lover to another," he told him.

"Isn't there work you need to do?" he asked, hoping he would leave.

"Nope. No one comes around this time of year. So, what's on your mind?" Swampy explained.

"You won't leave until I do, will you?" Swampy's mischievous smile said all he needed to hear. "I like a girl."

"Don't we all," he answered.

"Yeah, but there's no way she likes me back. There's a way better guy than me that's got it bad for her. I don't stand a chance against him."

"Did she tell you that, or did you tell yourself?" he asked, the words blending strangely with his relaxed, former rocker voice.

"She didn't need to tell me. Anyone with eyes could see he's better than me," he responded. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to read."

"Before I go, can I tell you a story? Don't worry, it's short," he asked.

"Fine," Baljeet sighed, giving up.

"It was at the height of Love Händel's popularity. We had just released 'You Snuck Your Way Right Into my Heart.' I met this girl a while back and I had been seeing her occasionally as a friend. I had serious feelings for her, so I asked her out. I had money, fame, talent, and I was decent looking if I do say so myself. I thought there was no way she would refuse me. She did. The guy she chose had nothing I had, but she still wanted him more than she wanted me. I never saw her after that, but I hear they ended up getting married and had a daughter. Anyway, see you around," Swampy finished as he left for the front desk. Baljeet was in a daze. If rock stars could be refused, why couldn't Cameron? When he thought this, he felt a buzzing from his cellphone in his pocket.

&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?&?

"Addie, you alright?" Christina asked the girl from down the street that was sitting in her living room right now. It seemed like she had been avoiding her own house for weeks now, and no one could understand why. Even Holly had given up on learning why, and that was no small feat.

"Cameron gave me an ultimatum," she answered. "He said he wants to know what I plan to do by Monday."

"So he's forcing you to you to answer him? That's horrible," Christina stated.

"Not really," Adyson replied, surprised she was defending the other boy. "It's been almost a month since he told me he was serious about me, and I haven't given a response yet. Anyone would be driven mad by it. I been avoiding so he couldn't find me."

"So you don't like him. Just tell him," she told her. "What's the worst he could do?"

"But I'm not sure I don't like him. At the very least, I feel like he deserves a chance, but…" she trailed off, unable to finish the thought that still confused her.

"Baljeet?" Christina interjected, knowing that was who she was thinking of.

"Yeah. Every time I think of Cameron's confession, I can't help but remember Baljeet."

"You always talk about him too," Christina added. "Not to mention, you look at him differently than you do anyone else."

"I'm not sure why. I may sound stupid-"

"You don't," Christina assured her.

"But I just don't know what I feel for him. I don't know if it's anger or friendship or something else. I feel both of those when I'm with him, but also a lot more. It's all so confusing," she groaned as she covered her face with her hands.

"Don't stress about it," Christina told her. "The way I see it, what will happen will happen. You just need to follow your heart when it you need to. If you force yourself to make a decision you're not sure about, I can promise you'll make the wrong one."

"Thanks," Adyson smiled to her friend. Holly's brutal words worked sometimes, but other times kindness and reassurance was what she needed to hear.

"After all, it much more interesting this way," she teased, causing Adyson to give an exaggerated groan.

"I take that back," she told her. They shared a laugh as Adyson's pocket began to buzz. Removing her phone, she saw the number was one she didn't recognize.

Adyson, It's Baljeet

Meet me on Main Street

I need to talk to you

"Any idea what he wants?" Christina asked as she read the message over Adyson's shoulder.

"None. I don't get why he has a new number either," she replied.

"This looks really sketchy," she told her. "Do you plan on going?"

"Oh course. I'll drive down there and if he's not around, I'll leave. If I don't leave the car, I'll be fine."

"Okay. Be careful," Christina warned as her friend wrapped herself up for the cold outside. "Don't get out to look for him."

"I'll be fine. See ya later," she said as she ran out the door. She was in her car soon after that. Her old clunker took time to start up, and she was more frustrated at it than she ever had before. She wanted it to move faster than she knew it was either capable of or was legal. After getting to Main Street not fast enough, she saw it was completely deserted. All of the buildings were dark, leaving only streetlights and her headlights to illuminate the streets. She drove down until she saw a single parked car with Baljeet standing next to it, looking quite confused. He was staring at her, trying to identify the vehicle.

"Hey!" she yelled as she rolled down her window. She pulled directly behind his car and got out.

"Nice to see you," he said as she ran up to him.

"What's going on here?" she asked him. "I didn't know Danville could be this deserted."

"Same here," he responded.

"You…didn't do this?" she inquired. Since he had called her out here, she was certain he was responsible for this, whatever this was.

"I thought you did. After all, you sent me that strange text," he told her.

"But I got a weird text from you," she objected.

"Well-" Baljeet tried to explain, but as he tried to speak, light exploded from all of the buildings on the street. It wasn't the white or yellow light that was usually seen here, but golden. The two turned around to stare down the fantastical setting. Such a familiar sight to both of them, but lacking one of the most important aspects: people. Like this, it was like they were the only people in Danville. No, it felt like they were the only ones in the world. They both backed up slowly until they bumped into each other. Neither could find it in themselves to move from there. Piercing through the silence that surrounded them was a sound very familiar to Adyson. It was the opening keys of one of her favorite guilty pleasure songs.

Making my way downtown

Walkin' fast, faces pass and I'm homebound

Starin' blankly ahead, just makin' my way

Makin' a way through the crowd

She turned ever so slightly so she could see the boy she was backed up against. He looked just as confused and even more flustered than she did. The music was of incredible clarity, as if the song was being played right before them.

Baljeet was practically screaming in his head as the music continued to play. He cursed Ethan since he knew was the one responsible for this, but at the same time was battling furiously with himself. As he looked down the street again, he realized something so vitally important. He would never, and he meant never, have a chance like this again. He remained silent until the song began to wind down. As it did, he turned to look at her. She felt him move and did the same. When the music was done, they were face to face.

"Adyson," he started. He wasn't a poet, though he was praying to anything to take away all of his science and math abilities in return for the most eloquent way to say what he was going to. When nothing came, he decided to just say it. "I like you. I like you more than a friend."

Adyson didn't speak at first. The sheer weight at what had just happened was crushing her. When she heard him, her heart melted. She knew now why she couldn't have responded to Cameron. It was because she had already fallen for Baljeet. She saw something above her and looked up to see snowflakes drifting down onto them. Baljeet also took notice and stared in amazement. The scene was truly picturesque, like someone had ripped it off the cover of a romance novel. Adyson was thinking of everything when she finally responded.

"I'm sorry Baljeet, but I can't go out with you."

The first snowflakes hit the ground.