The Christmas break had come with love and ended with a huge bomb of news left on the Bowers. On Christmas Day, Robert had went back home with his mom before anyone had woken up in the Bower's home.
The first one to wake up that morning was Sally (of course!), and then Ruth was the next person up. She had found a note in an envelope underneath the tree. Before the others could wake up, she opened up the note:
'Merry Christmas, Ruth.
It took me a while to figure out what I should call you. Mrs. Bowers sounds too formal, and since you feel like a real friend to me, I suppose I'll call you Ruth if that's okay with you.
I want to thank you for letting me stay in your home. I felt very welcomed in your home, and I felt a very warm feeling from everyone in the house. You were right about a lot of the things you told me while I lived with you: Sometimes we have to forgive the people we love because they can't be perfect and they make mistakes too. I think about my parents when I think about that. My parents are good people who had no idea the history from where I came from, and I love them for raising me with so much love.
I need you to know that you don't have to keep growing older with the feeling of uncertainty about what happened 16 years ago in the backyard with Henry. I want you to know it wasn't your fault that your son was taken away from you. I wrote this letter for you to let you know that you can heal, and you don't have to feel that empty void anymore.
I left my phone number and address on the back of this letter. I will be in touch and visit whenever I can, and I hope you can accept me into the family as if the decade and years past never happened.
I love you very much.
Your son,Kyle xoxo'
Earl and Henry had joined Ruth and Sally in the living room right after she finished reading the note and told Earl to read it as she cried. When reality really hit them that Robert was their son and he was going to be 18 years old in January, they decided not to consider doing legal action to get him back in the family from his adopted parents. It turned out exactly how Winter thought would be best the day her and Robert talked in the gym.
Henry had conflicting feelings about everything. He was happy that his brother was alive and doing good, but hanging out with his brother for the past three weeks in his home everyday and not knowing he was his brother affected him. He had no idea the entire time that his new friend was his long-lost brother and it was hard for him to accept it.
When Henry told Winter that Robert was really Kyle, Winter had to try her hardest to be shocked and pretend that she didn't know.
"It's nice that he left it in a note instead of telling you guys in person..." Winter said as she sat with Henry on her sofa, "The emotions would have probably been too crazy, and now you guys have a note that you can look at forever and be reminded of the memory."
Henry shrugged as he looked at her, "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just weird, ya know? Like... this random dude that I became friends with, who we invited into our home because he ran away from his, is actually my brother?" He shook his head in disbelief. "He came all the way from Pittsburgh to find us."
Winter could sense his confusion and mixed feelings over everything. His life up until that point when they read Robert's note had changed drastically. He was definitely messed up about it. She went over beside him and hugged him tight, kissing him once on the neck. He turned to her and brushed her hair out of her face before kissing her on the lips.
He looked deeply into her eyes, "I don't know how it would be like if I didn't have you in my life. This whole thing would probably be more confusing and messed up to me if I didn't have you to talk to."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled at him, "It wouldn't be any other way, because we were meant to find each other before all this stuff happened in your family. I met you in September after we hadn't seen each other for 15 years and then you met Robert in December after not seeing him for 15 years. It's a pretty huge coincidence."
And then there's something connected with that damn questionable turtle.
Henry thought about it as he stared into her eyes; "You must be my angel then sent to look after me and keep me sane."
Winter smiled softly as she blushed, "Then I guess you'll always have to protect your angel from monsters," she joked.
"Any monster, or pieces of shit people, have to go through me before they could ever get to you," he told her seriously, piercing her brown eyes with his blue eyes. He grabbed her waist and pulled her into him, "I love you so much, baby."
"I love you too, baby," she kissed his cheek gently as they hugged. "You're my protector," she said softly into his ear before she kissed his earlobe.
The first day back to school from Christmas break was January 6, and Henry was excited to showoff his new Christmas present to everyone at school, or at least that's how he put it, which was Winter.
As the month passed by in the new school semester and February approached, Henry and Winter walked around school together holding hands and would spend their breaks sitting in different areas of the school hallways, kissing each other and chatting while they stared into each others eyes.
Bill, Eddie, Richie and Stan would pass by them once in a while and they would try not to laugh at the couple. Since the concert and the new deep connection the guys made with Winter, they were all comfortable joking around with her and poking fun at her. Although they still barely knew Henry, they figured he was okay if Winter was dating him.
The band hadn't decided yet when they would like to start rehearsing together again, but it seemed like Mr. Hopper was talking about booking the music room three times a week after school in beginning in March. It gave the guys and Winter a nice break from their after school activity.
Now when Winter waited for Henry to be finished with his basketball practices after school, she would either wait for him on the benches in the gym and watch, or sometimes the guys would join her and they would watch together, or sometimes they would all goof around in the hallways. Even though Bill, Eddie, Richie and Stan were 15 years old and 16 years old, and Winter was about to turn 17 in March, they all would sometimes glimpse at each other and see the adult versions of each other. It was like being stuck in a vortex for only a few seconds of different emotions until they snapped out of it and returned back to reality. There was something weird about it though - something the guys and Winter never talked about - was that whenever they got stuck in this vortex of seeing each other as adults, they never saw Stan as an adult and he never saw them as adults either.
Friday February 7, 1997
Winter's second last class of the day arrived and it was an elective that she somehow got switched into because the guidance office messed up her schedule and couldn't reverse the mistake. She had wanted to do an art class, but instead she was put in a 'Developing Partnership Dance Class'.
Although she thought it was stupid, she was happy to see Eddie's familiar face, and it looked like he was happy to see hers in the class too. He didn't want to be there either, it was his moms idea to take a class to learn how to dance.
It was finally the first day that the teacher told the students to find partners to pair with as everyday they were learning about the history of dance. This was the day that Eddie and Winter were dreading though - they had to start actually dancing.
"You want to be partners with me, right?" Eddie asked her. He obviously didn't know any other girls in the room and didn't want to be paired with someone he didn't know.
Winter quickly nodded as she felt the same looking around the dance room, "Yes, please! I don't need some random guy trying to feel my butt." She turned to Eddie, "Please don't try to feel my butt either."
"I can control myself." Winter looked to his face as they prepared to dance. He was a little taller than Henry. They looked at each other, looking like they were in pain, because they both didn't want to be in this silly class.
"Why did you choose this class willingly, Edz?" Winter asked as they began ballroom dancing as the teacher instructed them what to do.
"My mom made me. She said it was one of the only electives that I wouldn't have to worry about being influenced by bad people, because she says only stoners take art, the buff horny kids take Phys. Ed, and the experimental sex and drug groups take all the music classes..." he was looking down at his feet as he explained.
Winter was giving him a questionable look as he said everything his mom had said to him.
"You're leading, right? Am I following you or are you following me?" he asked as he kept looking from her to their feet, "I'm starting to stress."
"You lead, Edz. I don't know how to lead," she said, stepping on his toes by accident; "Dammit, sorry!"
"My mom usually leads when she tries to teach me dance moves..." he looked up at her wishing he didn't say that out-loud as he began to blush. "I mean... my mom doesn't make me dance with her." He kept stepping on her feet.
Winter backed away to take a moment as these dance moves were becoming worse rather than better. "Okay, wait, Edz... lets just take a moment to figure out our lives here..."
"Just because my mom makes me dance with her, we have to take a moment to think about our lives?" he asked anxiously before taking a puff of his puffer; "Just pretend like I didn't say it. No, my mom doesn't make me dance with her."
Winter tried to hold back her laughter and just shook her head in response, "Okay, you need to relax. Once you're relaxed, we are going to start dancing again and you are going to lead, okay? I want you to have the control of this because I don't know what the Hell I'm doing."
"Well, shit... I've never been asked to lead in my life, and having the control is something I'm not use to. But hey! Let's give this a go. New year, new me!" he said more nervously than excited.
They stared at each other for a moment. Eddie was waiting for her to go to him, but Winter was waiting for him. Once it dawned on Eddie that he was the one taking the lead and the one in control, he walked up to her and put one hand on her waist and the other one he used to grab her hand.
"See? Being the one in charge isn't that bad, right?" she smiled reassuringly at him as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Okay, so the footwork - you lead and I'll follow suit."
As Eddie started to lead her in the ballroom dance, they became to sync better to the music and to each other. At the back of her mind, Winter wished it was Henry that was there with her dancing, but unlike Winter, he was the smart one that made sure that his schedule wasn't all messed up like hers was.
Eddie had looked up to Winter since she had joined the band, thinking she was easy to work with, was the prettiest girl in the school and had good ideas. She also didn't make fun of him like how Richie did sometimes and didn't think his ideas were stupid. He was just happy to have a girl best friend that he could be silly around, could learn from and be himself around.
"How's the relationship with Henry going?" he asked her, trying to break the silence as they danced so they could be more relaxed.
She smiled at the question, obviously in love; "It's really good. You guys should talk to him more. It might be fun that all of us go out and hang out sometime."
Eddie nodded, "It should be cool. After that concert adult vortex thing that happened, I think we'll be getting to know more about Henry. Also that Mike guy that Henry plays basketball with and Beverley Marsh. I had no idea who that other guy was though - Ben, right?"
"Yeah, the name Ben kept repeating in my head too."
They looked at each other and back down at their feet repeatedly. "See? You're doing a good job taking control, Eddie. You didn't need me to lead."
Eddie smiled down at his feet and back up to her, "Cool! For the first time in my life I feel like a real man." Winter laughed and shook her head at the comment, "I'll be 16 on September 3 this year. See? Turning more manly everyday."
Winter laughed, "That you are, Edz."
Curious, Eddie asked, "What did I look like as an adult, Winter?"
Winter tried to recall the night over a month ago on stage. Slowly she tried to describe him, "You looked like you, but your face seemed a bit longer - more masculine and mature... You looked lean, like you worked out... A little bit taller than you are now... Your facial expressions were fun to look at, 'cause you're very expressive, and..." she looked up as she tried to remember, "You had really nice eyes... There was lots of character in your face."
Eddie smiled at her description as he looked down to his feet, "It makes me excited to grow up and not have people look at me as a kid anymore..." He looked back up at her when he finished. He continued on, "You look the same as an adult, but your hair had blond highlights. You kinda look like a tamer version of Carmen Electra."
Winter bursted out laughing, "Alright! I'll take that!"
Eddie looked up to her face and smiled that he made her laugh.
When the class ended, the teacher, Mrs. Riley spoke up, "The dance partner in front of you is the one you will have throughout the semester. The test at the end of the semester will be a dance routine of your choice. You can make one up yourselves or take a famous routine from a play or movie you'll have to perform in front of the class. Start preparing soon."
Eddie and Winter were happy that they didn't have to change partners, but performing in front of the class is not something they ever wanted to do.
When the class ended, Winter walked to her locker to grab her books for her next class. She felt Henry's arms wrap around her waist from behind and he snuggled her into him close.
"You know every time you come to see me before a new class, I always end up arriving late?" she laughed as she threw her head back to rest on his shoulder and smiled at his face.
He looked to her face and smiled at her, "It's worth it."
She turned around in his arms to face him and kissed him passionately at her locker, ruffling her fingers in his hair as he pulled at her waist. They kissed as the student body walked by and looked at them lovingly kissing at the locker.
They stopped kissing and looked at each other, "I have to do a dance routine with Eddie for our final exam."
He laughed, "I bet you wish it was me."
She smiled at him, "I do, but at least it's not one of those random weirdos in my class."
"Do you want to go get coffee and read and snuggle at Chapters after school?" he kissed her nose and smiled at her.
She smiled and wrinkled her nose at him, "Sounds perfect to me."