Winter sat on her bed for a long time, weeping like a lost child, replaying the message over and over in her head. The sound of Qrows voice grew more and more twisted and demented as time went on, her mind felt like it was getting torn apart in the chaos. Then, something peculiar happened. She stopped.
The tears came to a halt and her bottom lip stopped its pathetic shivering as she sat up and wiped her face dry. She stood from the bed, flattening out the wrinkles so it was nice and pristine before she left the room, closing the door gently behind her like she was trying not to wake a sleeping child.
She went to the table in the kitchen and started to rummage around in her backpack blindly, her hands guiding her in the darkness of the bag. She felt something crisp and thin, and locked her hands on it, pulling it free from the clutches of the bag. Winter was expecting to see the picture of her mom and Weiss, but felt her smile drop when she found a piece of paper with hastily written scribbles on it.
"Add two teaspoons of honey into the pot, make sure it's warm before you add the milk or you'll get weird dreams? Oh yeah, Amy gave me this," Winter recalled as she read the list from top to bottom.
She put the recipe on the table, her eyes going back to it every few seconds as she shoved her hand back into the bag, which was a lot fuller than she remembered. Thankfully she actually managed to find the picture in her next attempt. "Gotta get a frame for you soon, don't want anything bad happening, eh mom?," the girl said to the picture, carefully placing it on the table before picking the note up again.
"There's no way I have all this in here, right?" Winter wondered aloud, but as she started to look around the kitchen, she kept stumbling upon exactly what she needed, "I think I might actually have all this in stock. Huh, that's a first," She chuckled as she went about the kitchen, grabbing this and that, and following the instructions to a T. She reached into her cupboard in an attempt to grab some cinnamon, but she somehow managed to catch her nail on something, a small chunk of her nail getting cut off, "Guess I need a manicure now," Winter sighed, but a smile grew on her face, a little bit of pampering sounding great for once.
The only side effect of the recipe that Amy had told her about was the weird dream thing, but who knows what the woman might have forgotten? It was a pretty simple recipe, aside from a few odd things like putting cinnamon in the honey and letting it settle to the bottom for some reason, and in no time at all Winter was sitting down on the couch, a warm mug of tea in her hands.
It smelled like a warm summer night filled with fireflies and late night talks. Her tongue danced when she took her first sip. It was sweet, but not like candy, like fresh apples and watermelon mixed with a dash of honey. It reminded Winter of something she might have found at the farmers market with her mom when she managed to sneak her out to one. Even holding the mug brought a sense of peace to her, bringing a sleepy and content smile to her face.
Winter picked up her phone and sent a quick text to Amy, saying thank you and a few other things before she called Weiss and Klein, telling them she'd arrived in one piece. They talked for a while about this and that for a few minutes, but after they were done she tossed the phone on the couch, forgetting about it.
She sipped her tea and relaxed, letting her mind and body get some well deserved rest after weeks of stress and strain slowly tearing her down. She knew there were things to do, problems to fix, but there wasn't exactly a lot she could do at the moment. So, she decided to simply relax and turn on a movie, shutting her brain off for a bit for the first time in too long.
She got about twenty minutes into an animated movie about a girl going into a world where people had buttons for eyes before her own eyes started to weigh her down like cement shoes in a river.
"This stuff really packs a punch," a groggy Winter said as she put her quarter filled cup on the table. After the lights were off, Winter made her way over to her room in the dark, knowing exactly how many steps to take despite the darkness. She made it to the bed, succeeding in only bumping her pinky toe on the wall twice. The sheets were cold, but Winter still wrapped herself up into a tight ball of blankets and pillows, her knees pulled up to her chest. Her warmth was quickly seeping into the covers around her, bringing her fortress to a comfortable temperature rather quickly. The distant noises of city traffic brought a smile to her face as her eyes ever so slowly fell, like a feather riding the winds.
Right as Winer felt peace roll into her mind, there was a screech outside of the window, and Winters eyes fluttered open. "Come on you stupid city, can't a girl get a wink of beauty sleep?" Whined Winter as she slowly emerged from her sphere of blankets. It was the middle of the night, so she'd expected to find the city still half asleep, or at least a little groggy. But when her head finally broke free, she realized that everyone else in the city was already fully awake.
Morning sunlight was already flooding into her room, the cars in the streets below were already zooming at dangerous speeds. Winter crawled out from the blankets and checked the time on her phone, "Wow, twelve-thirty… Maybe this isn't exactly morning sunlight," Admitted Winter as she stretched her arms.
Without any real idea how, Winter had apparently slept through the night. Not only that, but she actually felt refreshed for once! That's a nice change of pace, thought Winter as she opened up her phone.
She saw that Amy had responded, and Winter couldn't help but grin like an idiot. Sure, I'd love to hangout! I'll meet you downtown at two! The fluttery redhead had said. Before she put down her phone, she couldn't help but notice something, the date. It was Christmas eve, and she couldn't help feeling like she was forgetting something.
Winter shrugged, knowing that it would come to her with time. Winter's usual routine was typically a quick and chaotic affair, with her rushing and trying to get out of the door as quickly as possible. Today, she was taking her time. She allowed the warm water to relax and melt away the knots in her muscles that had developed after hours of driving, humming some song she'd heard on the radio the day before.
When it was time to comb her hair Winter didn't attack it in a blind furry for once. Rather, she lovingly combed it out as much as it needed, coaxing the hair loose from any knots that had grown in the night. She couldn't help notice that she really had a lot of knots going on today.
She was about to put her white locks up into her usual bun, but she stopped, letting her hair fall down her back in white waves. She struck some poses in the mirror, giggling as her hair danced with her. She grabbed a hair tie and settled on a simple ponytail for today, happy she didn't have to fight her hair into submission for once and that they'd found peace, at least for now.
She grabbed an apple for breakfast- er, lunch, and headed out the door with a hop in her step. The elevator door popped open quickly after she tapped the button, but she instantly regretted not taking the stairs when the doors moved aside and revealed the tall, lanky frame of Tyrian.
His hands were behind his back, his posture reminding her of a twisted branch as he leaned too far forward. He had a robotically pleasant smile on his face, like he'd spent a little longer in front of the mirror this morning getting it almost right, "Bottom floor, Winter?" He asked her, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Yeah. Thanks, Tyrian," Winter nodded, standing in the back corner of the elevator, as far away as she could.
"Anytime. So, got any plans for Christmas? I half expected you to be visiting family," He wondered, half turning to look at her.
"I did, it was a quick trip." sassed Winter in a spiteful tone. Winter couldn't help but feel guilty as she saw the hurt grow in his eyes. He turned away from her, clearly done with the conversation. Maybe I was a bit defensive? She wondered to herself, questioning if she should say something else.
Winters eyes widened as she realized what she'd forgotten earlier.
"I actually have a work party tonight," Winter admitted, she didn't say it for him, but more because she was scared that if she didn't say anything about her plans, the idea might scamper off again and she'd lose it again.
"Really? That sounds fun. Is it being held anywhere interesting?" the tall man questioned, seemingly half interested at this point.
"Not really, it's gonna be at some banquet hall uptown. It's got an open bar and free food at least," Winter shrugged, thinking about if she should be going. "What about you?"
"Oh, I'm staying in tonight, probably watching a few movies. I believe this is our stop," Tyrian remarked as the doors opened to the ground floor of the building. He stepped out and took out his phone, walking slowly towards the exit.
Winter took a sharp left and grinned at Earl, "I might be back a bit late tonight, so don't lose sleep over me, ok?" She told him warmly, watching him write something in his book.
"Thank ya, was that so hard?" He told her as he looked up from his book with a smile on his face. "Have fun,"
"I'll try," She hummed as she walked away, quickly over taking Tyrian and getting out the front door before him. She walked happily to her car, excited to be on her way to meet her friend.
The drive was quick, and Winter somehow managed to arrive on time. Normally, that would be a good thing, but when it came to Amy… Well, it was best to show up late when you made plans with her, that way you wouldn't be left waiting for so long.
Despite the snow and the ground and the nip in the air, there were swaths of people in the street. Many had bags in their hands, doing last minute Christmas shopping. Maybe this wasn't the best day for hanging out downtown?
Winter stood as far out of the way of the crowds as she could. Her heart beating slightly harder than normal as she watched the crowds of people more like one large, intimidating organism.
"Boo!" Someone shouted in Winter's ear, making her jump about a foot in the air.
"Son of a B!" Winter yelped in shock, getting the attention of just about everyone that was walking on the sidewalk. Winter turned around and saw Amy on her knees laughing so hard she could barely get a breath in. "Amy! Why!" fretted Winter, her hand on her chest as she tried to catch the breath that had ran away from her lungs in terror.
"Y-Your f-f-face! Too good! Had to!" Was all the poor girl managed to squeak out between laughs, tears rolling down her face.
"Ya know, you're really lucky you're my best friend, or I might actually be angry at you" Winter sighed as she reached down and helped the girl back to her feet. Winter stood with her arms crossed over her chest, a sour expression on her face as she waited way too long for Amy to get down from her high, her laughs slowing down before they picked right back up again. It took awhile, but eventually her laughter petered out into giggles, before they turned into simple chuckles.
"Hehe… So funny. Oh, look at you! You're looking so much better!" Amy beamed as she reached out and squished Winters face with her hands, moving Winters head to get a look from the best angles. "You have so much more color on your checks, and you look so lively!"
"Maybe that has something to do with you yelling in my ear and scaring me?" Winter said sarcastically, but she felt a smidge of pride from the loving words.
"Nope! You're doing better, I can tell" Amy cheered as she reached out and gave the white haired girl a quick hug. "You even called me out here to help you shop for tonight, I'm so proud" The red head bubbled as she pulled away.
"Wait, what? I just wanted to hangout a little bit," pipped Winter, as Amy's face grew confused.
"You mean you didn't wanna go clothes shopping for the party?"
"Not really. I mean, I wasn't even sure if I'm going" Winter admitted, shuffling from one foot to the other.
"Of course you're going," Amy told her straight faced, "You promised me you were going if you were back in town, and here you are" She smiled, gesturing at Winter.
"I… Ugh, I guess I did promise, didn't I? Fine, I'll go. But only for a little bit, I have some stuff I need to take care of tonight," Winter relented as Amy jumped in the air and pounded her fist in victory. Then, the red head stopped and looked at Winter with a tilted head.
"Actually, why are you back in town? From the way you were speaking it sounded like you were gonna be gone for awhile,"
Winter couldn't help but deflate a bit. This was the whole reason for bringing Amy out here, but it felt so awkward just talking about all of her issues. But, she needed to talk about them.
"Wanna hear a story while we shop?" Winter suggested, and like that the two set off into the crowd of people while Winter told Amy everything. And Winter did tell her everything.
The two of them stuck close by each other in the crowds, Winters voice loud so her friend could hear her. When they were in stores, Winter talked in hushed whispers so last minute Christmas shoppers couldn't snoop and hear what was being said.
Winter didn't simply tell Amy about why she was back early, she told her about why she left in the first place. Not only why she left the city, but Atlas too. It was a long story, but when Winter started telling it, she couldn't stop. She told Amy about how she got stranded, saved, about her time with Qrow and the girls, her feelings and thoughts. Then, Winter told Amy about how she messed up. How she'd broken his heart and ran away, how he'd left that message and destroyed her, if only for a moment.
Amy stood quietly as Winter told her story, only interrupting to ask the occasional question or to comment on a dress that Winter was trying on. She'd heard some of it already, but never in this much detail, but she still listened and nodded along anyway. The story came to an end after all the shopping was done, and the two girls were sitting in a restaurant with bags at their feet. Amy sat there, thinking.
"I wish I knew what to say. Your dad's a total dick, that's for sure," Amy finally said before shoving a huge fork full of spaghetti into her mouth.
"Trust me, I know," Winter chuckled as she took a bite of her sandwich.
"No, I'm not sure if you really get it. Or, I guess I don't know how big of a deal this is. Your dad hit you, screamed his head off, was about to ship you away, and forced you to run away! Not to mention how he basically manipulated you for your whole childhood and treated you like a tool!" condemned Amy, her voice rising as her anger bubbled over like Winter had never seen before. "Prick!" That last comment made a few people turn their way.
"Amy calm down, the past is the past, no point in obsessing over it," Winter tried to soothe her friend's anger, but Amy didn't seem done yet.
"Maybe there's no point in you obsessing over it, but I'm still gonna get mad! This guy messed with my best friend, and that's not something someone should get away with!" Winters heart skipped a beat as the words her friend spoke settled in, and a smile crawled up her face.
"Thanks for being mad for me," thanked Winter, her smile starting to work magic on Amy. Amy's rage shrank like turning down the gas of a stove, the fire shrank, but didn't go away.
"You're sure you're not the secretary right? Because sometimes you really are dense," Amy grumbled as she crossed her arms, but Winter just kept smiling. "If he ever comes near you again, text me. I'll make sure he goes packing right back to Atlas," Amy huffed as she leaned back in her chair and took another bite of her food.
Winter had spent a long time being mad, and she still was, but now she simply wanted to live her own life. As long as Weiss was safe with Klein, everything would be ok.
"What do you think you're gonna do about Qrow? Are you just… done?" Amy questioned, trying her best to phrase the question in a way that wouldn't sound insensitive.
Winter looked up, and suddenly her sparkling eyes that normally looked like a carefree ocean looked like a hardened glacier. Maybe she'd picked up some of that Schnee spirit her father always blabbered on about, or maybe she was finally ready to fight for once.
"I'm not done, not by a longshot. When I first heard his message, I thought that everything was over, and that there wasn't anything for me to do. Then, I thought about it. I messed up and really hurt him, but I can ask him to forgive me. I can try. So that's what I'm gonna do. After the party tonight, I'm gonna go over to his house, explain myself, and then beg him to forgive me, on my hands and knees if I have to. Even if he doesn't wanna date or anything after this, I at least still want to be friends. My lifes so much better with him and those girls in it, I don't think I could stand it without them," Winter laughed as she took a bite of her food with a wide grin on her face.
"Aren't you scared?" A concerned Amy asked her, leaning towards her with an awed expression.
"Utterly terrified," Winter chuckled, "But I still have to do all I can and try my best, anything past that I can't really change, so I shouldn't worry about. I guess that's how I'm thinking about it at least," Winter explained as she tapped her chin in thought. She was scared, but she couldn't really see herself not talking to Qrow tonight. She simply had to.
"Wow, that's… That's really mature. Ok, maybe you are a psychologist after all. Did you bump your head while you were gone or something?" Amy questioned as she really started to dig into her food, making Winter chuckle.
"I hope not, otherwise I won't be able to go to the party tonight. Which would just be, like, the wooorst," said Winter sarcastically with a wink. "Really, I'm not sure what happened. I went home and talked to Weiss, and everything sort of fell into place in my mind. I think now that I've stopped thinking about home and Weiss so much I can finally start living a bit more in the moment, ya know?"
"I think I get it. Like you have a lot less weight on your shoulders and can finally relax?"
"Exactly! That's a good way to put it!" Winter said with her mouth half full of sandwich as she pointed at Amy.
"Are you sure you wanna go to the party then? Because you really do have some important stuff to do tonight, don't feel like you have to go because of me, we can go drinking any night," Amy shrugged, her food finally gone. Winter shook her head as she finished chewing her last bite.
"No, I wanna go. I don't really wanna miss hanging out with everyone at work because of a guy. I'll stay for a bit, have some fun, maybe have a little, little, bit of liquid courage before going to see him," Winter grinned, not realizing until she said it how true it was. She did wanna hangout with everyone from work, to relax a little and spend time with her friends.
"Fair enough, we'll keep it to five shots,"
"Amy!" Winter laughed.
"Fine, you win… Three"
"One, at best. We can save the other ones for another night," Winter admitted as she fished out her wallet.
"Fiiiine, always such a spoilsport," joked Amy, "Just so you know, that guy better say yes to you or I'm gonna kick his butt. Maybe I should start a list of guys I should keep a look out for or something," Amy considered as she grabbed her own money. "What do you wanna do now? We have a few hours till the party,"
Winter gulped, suddenly nervous. "Well, if you wanted, we could go to my place. I was hoping you could do my makeup," Winter stuttered, looking away from the redhead.
Amys mouth was wide open as she gaped at the girl. Then she stood up and threw enough money on the table to cover their bills and a good tip, grabbed Winters hand and their bags off the floor, before rushing to the door.
"Amy, what's wrong?" Winter asked as her arm was being harshly pulled.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? I'm gonna get you looking so good that a princess would get jealous and I only have a few hours to do it, that's what's wrong! Come on, you're driving!" The red head ordered warmly as she dragged Winter down the road.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Winter saluted with her free hand, happy to point out the directions to her car. Winter let out a big belly laugh as she was dragged. Here she was, getting dragged in the middle of a huge city with tons of people all around her by her best friend, who wasn't her sister. About to go to a party and then about to confess her feelings to someone she's liked for months. It was scary and daunting, her heart was beating hard as she thought about what exactly she was going to do tonight. She had no idea how anything would go, and that thought was terrifying.
But Winter couldn't help but feel excited. Her life at the manor was so boring, with her only ray of life being Weiss. Now here she was, terrified of what her night was going to bring! She had no clue why, but something about all this just seemed so fun!
-authors note-
Ok, so we're actually getting pretty close to the end now! I'd say anywhere between 6-8 more chapters and this story will come to an end, but don't quote me on that please! I hope everyone's enjoying how the story had been going lately, if not, tell me why please. I wanna get better as a writer, and comments really help! I hope everyone has a great week!