Kaori stared at the ceiling. Everything for her seemed like a blur now; it had been 2 months since she left America. Kai had fallen asleep a few hours ago, she could tell by his even breathing.
She crept out of her laced bed and stepped out to the balcony, leaning on the railing. The cold Canadian air smashed into her face, but she welcomed it with a sense of home, the snow she was raised with.
Smiling, she recalled her past. It had been hard, she thought, but her friends had helped her through the recovery from when her past had almost destroyed her future.
She jumped out of her skin when her mobile phone rang suddenly. Seeing who was calling, the corners of her mouth tilted upwards.
Kai stirred. He had woken up, but not been disturbed. He turned to slumber again, but his eyes snapped open as he heard voices outside. He distinctly knew one was Kaori, and the other he did not recognize.
"Hey." Kaori smirked at her.
"Chow, Squirt," the other grunted.
It was then that Kai finally realized that she was on the phone-the reception was loud and out in the balcony- he concluded as he felt the chilly air brush his skin.
"Whazzup? Havin' fun?" The person at the end of the line snickered.
"No. Got stuck with a guy in my room."
A throaty laugh could be heard from the earpiece. "Good luck."
Kaori pouted, and protested, "Gimme a break, Zoe. They're all guys, and the only girl traveling with us had stayed with her bf. For god's sake, that seriously reminds me of Helga and co."
Zoe snickered, "She's that bad!"
"Yeah."
Suddenly changing the subject, Zoe became serious, "Can't sleep?"
"…" The silence meant yes.
She sighed, "There's no-one to look after you now, just take care, ok?"
Kaori snorted, "I never needed much caring, but ok."
Zoe suddenly swore, "Gotta go Squirt, Lance just killed the floor. Bye!"
Feeling her old self, "Astelabista Zoe."
The conversation ended there with a beep and Kaori turned to head through the door but froze when she saw Kai in his boxers and not looking very happy.
She glared at him in the eye and moved to pass him and snarled when he grabbed her arm. "Let go of me!" she hissed.
Kai stared back at her coldly and snapped at her. "Why aren't you sleeping?"
"You're not!"
"I was woken up by you!"
"Fine. Sor-ry! Better? Now let go of my hand!" she screeched shrilly and yanked her arm of his grip. She's strong, he mused.
"I asked you a question!" he sneered. Kaori stopped mid-step and sighed.
"I can't sleep, ok?"
"No."
"I got a nightmare, I always do, now shut up!"
This statement shocked him, although he remained his emotionless self. She could not sleep, that was normal, but the fact that she never did was not.
Clasping a hand over her mouth, she stormed out of the room, and out of the hotel, still in her jeans and shirt.
Winds slapped her across the face, but she didn't bother. After all the years in the snow, no blizzard could freeze her, she was unaffected by its cold.
How could she have let that slip? It was a secret to her, it had taken months for Zoe to find out, and now she had told the cold sardonic bastard that she had met only a week ago?
She frowned and stared out at the mountains in the distance. She longed for the wind rushing through her face, the joy of being snowboarding champion…
Her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps sloshing in the snow behind her.
Swiveling around, she turned to glare at the intruder.
"What the-?
Kai shoved a jacket over her shoulders, "You'll freeze!"
"You forget who I am, Kai. I have been around ice for all my life, and now am not going to freeze like the wimps you are!" she growled coldly.
Shrugging off the jacket, she stepped out in the snow, towards the mountains.
"Stop where you are." Kai's voice came out of nowhere, dangerous like the avalanche top of the mountain.
There was something in his tone that made her shiver. The sound that had always been haunting her. The exact anger that had been laced in Tanaya's voice when she had screamed at her. The past that had been haunting her all her seventeen years.
Without thinking, Kaori screamed.