"So, what do you think?" Earl questioned as they made their way back down the elevator.
"It's… Nice. I think it could do with a new coat of paint though"
"Well, you can do whatever you want to it, as long as you don't wreck it. It's my building after all. Besides, new paint shouldn't bring down the value that much" laughed Earl as the elevator squeaked open on the ground floor.
"Really? Thank you!" Winter smiled, already feeling giddy for her future home makeover.
Soon enough the two of them found themselves back at the front desk, and Earl was slowly sitting back down in his chair and picking up his crossword book again, "So what do I do now?" Asked Winter, not having the slightest clue how you go about getting an apartment.
"Nothing. You signed all the paperwork online. Odd really, hardly anybody ever does that before seeing the building in person. You already paid last and these months rent over the computer too. You got the key and know the room, so now you move in. If I can help ya with anything else, let me know"
Winter thought of her car filled to the brim with her odds and ends but doubted he'd be able to help her too much with that limp. "I should be ok. Thanks, Earl" Earl smiled up at her and held it out a hand again. Winter smiled and took it.
"Just so ya know, you gotta get better at shaking hands. Going all limp-wristed like that will give people the wrong idea about ya" Earl laughed as he moved his arm up and down, watching Winter's wrist flap with it. Winter's face exploded in a blush as he released her from his grip. She tried to say something, but nothing came out. Earl laughed, and Winter rushed out the front door with her head held low, heading for her car.
It was well after one am when Winter finally finished moving all of her stuff into her apartment. Boxes littered the living room like some kind of labyrinth. She was impressed with how much stuff she and Weiss had packed in her bug in just one rushed night of packing. Winter layed on the floor of the living room, right in the center of the mess. She was panting and could hardly move her arms they hurt so much. A part of her, most of her actually, wanted to just pass out right there on the floor.
Shakily, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. Opening it up, she was shocked to see no less than thirty-five text messages. Winter grimaced as she skimmed them, finding most of them to be more or less the same: Did you make it there ok? Why did you try and call me so many times? Are you alive? Why aren't you answering? I'm getting scared!
Winter drew in a shaky breath as she hit the call button, scared of what fury might await her on the other end. Ring… Ri- "Winter?"
"Heeeey, Weiss. What are you doing up?" Winter was hoping, just a little, that her sister had passed out early after their long night the day before.
"What am I doing up? Waiting for you, you dolt! You were supposed to call me when you got to the apartment! Which, in case you forgot, was supposed to be hours ago!"
"I'm sorry! My car died on me in the middle of nowhere for a while and it put me a little bit behind schedule, ok?"
"I'm sorry, did you say that your car died! Why didn't you call!" Weiss demanded Winter could almost see her baby sister's face start to glow pink with how worked up she was getting. The thought made her smile, even though she was getting chewed out.
Winter explained what happened out on the road, from her car dying on her to her three strange saviors. It took a while to get it all out though because Weiss kept interrupting with questions and more than a few lectures on how Winter had to be much more careful of strangers in the future.
"Well, at least they were nice" Weiss begrudgingly admitted "And they helped you, so they must not be that bad" Winter could swear she could see her baby sister pouting and had to hold back her giggles.
"Yeah, I think you would have liked the girls, one of them looked like she was your age, and the other one was a little bit younger and looked cute as a button" Winter gabbed, clearly picturing Yang and Ruby.
"From what you told me, she sounds annoying" Weiss snickered.
"Nah, it was endearing," Winter said as she rolled over onto her side, her back was starting to hurt from the ground. "So do you know what songs you're gonna go over tomorrow?"
There was a pause at the other end like Weiss was thinking, "Sighhhhh, I have no idea, Win. I'm sure told me in our last lesson, but all her songs are just so boring, I can never remember them" Weiss sighed. This wasn't the first time Weiss had told Winter about this, and she could feel the burn of tears just behind the surface of her face at not being there to cheer up her sister anymore.
"You know how Father is, just try your best to push through it so he's happy. But make sure you play what you want when you can, and be sure to make something up for your big sister, ok?".
"You know I will, Win" Weiss yawned happily through the phone.
Winter checked the time on her phone and was shocked to see it was already half-past two, "Alright, Weiss, I think it's time for bed" Winter yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Winter suddenly realized just how exhausted she was from the past two days.
"Oh, alright. I'll talk to you soon, right?"
There was so much hope in her voice, she sounds just like she did when she used to ask to sleep in my bed, Winter grabbed her chest feeling homesick for the first time. "Yeah, of course. Just make sure nobody knows, or they might take away the phone I gave you"
"I'm not dumb Winter, I remember" Weiss sighed, but Winter could hear her run over to her bedroom door and check to make sure nobody was nearby.
"Just gotta be sure. Night Weiss, love you"
"Love you too, Win! Oh, and good luck on Monday!" And with a small click, the conversation was over.
Winter stood up, her legs cramped and fighting her every move. Winter struggled to walk over to one of the bigger boxes she had set aside earlier and opened it. Pulling out a big comforter, Winter wrapped herself up in it like a cloak and started to waddle over to the bedroom with a beautiful view. Winter fell onto the mattress and curled up in the blanket, with only her nose sticking out of her ball.
On the brink of sleep, two last thoughts came to Winter sleep-deprived mind. This is the first time I've ever been on my own, and This is the only time I've ever slept on a bed that wasn't made… Not too bad. And then, she was out like a light.
-Authors note-
So people liked this story a lot more than I thought, so I'm gonna continue it! This is again, my first story, so any comments of support are welcome and wanted! Whether it's criticisms or compliments, anything is nice! This is gonna be a bit of a long story, and I'm gonna try to make Saturdays the day I update everything. Thanks to anyone who's read this, and have a great day!