Absolute Zero; Chapter 2

The air vanished from Matthew's body, and he stiffened. Quebec? Suddenly, the German behind him began laughing, saying, "Whoa, you vill have to make her like you so she vill not vant to become independent! Tat vill be hard, though. You aren't very likeable."

Matthew sighed and just slid the pillow under the girl's head. He tried to pat her cold cheeks, to wake her up, and he found himself hoping. He didn't know if he was hoping for her to be human or for being Quebec. He felt confused, and if she could explain herself, then he wouldn't need to worry.

A groan came from the girl's lips, and Matthew nearly jumped in fear. The German began laughing about how girly that Matt was, so Matt said, "Gilbert, please be quiet. U-Um, m-miss, are you-you okay?"

She groaned again, and her eyes fluttered open. She stared into space almost fearfully. She had very pretty pale blue eyes, but they weren't like the sky, like Alfred's eyes, or like violet-blue like Matt's eyes. They were the color of blue Forget-me-nots, and they were very bright with her black eyelashes, making her eyes seem to glow. Matt was amazed at how beautiful she was, and almost felt honored that she could possibly be a part of him. Although her eyes were pretty, they seemed large for some reason, though. Still, she was very pretty.

"U-um..." Matt stammered softly, "A-are you okay?"

The young girl gasped, eyes looking in every direction wildly. She looked at Matt several times but never seemed to see him, and she gasped, saying, "I-I can't see! M-my glasses!"

Now, Matt understood why her eyes looked big. She must try to peel her eyes open to try and see without her glasses. She was in the middle of panicking, which made Matt feel weird, so he said, "P-Please, calm down, do-do you know where your glasses might be?"

She gulped, shaking slightly. Finally, she said, "Um, I think in my coat."

Gilbert peered around Matt, reaching for the girl's navy-blue coat, and he said, "Kesesesese, you can't see, let me get it-"

Matt managed to push Gilbert away while the girl patted herself up and down for it. Finally, she found her coat zipper and unzipped it. A navy-blue shirt with gold stars all over it, making her appear like the night sky. It looked like the night sky was peeled down like a wallpaper and stuck onto her body. Some stars were brighter than others, some forming recognizable constellations-Matt could identify the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper, and he also saw Sirius A and the North Star. The girl reached into an inside coat pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses. They were gold and glittered, as though polished. She slipped them onto her face. They were large, like sterotypical nerd glasses, but she looked cute with them on. Her eyes appeared smaller now, more anatomically correct.

The girl blinked rapidly, her long black lashes fluttering up and down. Matt noticed that little white anchors were imprinted on the temples of her glasses, along with the imprint of what appeared to be a Forget-me-not next to the anchors. The girl turned her gaze to Matt, and she looked him in the eyes. She gulped and stammered, "M-Mister, where am I?"

Matt tried to think of how to explain it. Gilbert laughed and said, "You be graced with the Aweome Me's presence!"

"Bad grammar," the girl said. Gilbert stiffened, staring at her awkwardly. She continued, "You said 'You be' but that is incorrect. 'You are' is more accurate."

Gilbert grumbled and sulked away, murmuring, "Not awesome...she's definitely Quebec..."

Matt found himself smiling, and he told the girl, "I'm Matthew Williams. That is Gilbert Beilschmidt. I, uh, I found you in the woods not far away...do you know what happened to you?"

She gulped, shaking her head, and said, "I don't know. All I remember is a snow storm, and I was trying to get through it. Then I blacked out."

"Okay," Matt said softly. "Do you know your name or where you're from?"

The girl shook her head, "I only know my first name, not the surname or my current residence. I'm Lauren."

Lauren, Matt thought. Would Quebec go by that name? The girl continued, hugging the blanket to herself, "I, I'm kind of scared. I don't remember anything. I'd rather have a scary history than forget it, I think. Do you know who I am?"

With a gulp, Matt said, "I, I think I do."