The moonlight shined onto the lodge's white and pink sheets, draping over the restless Hilary. She turned her gaze from the blank ceiling to the window. Through the blinds, there seemed to be miles of snow and ice piled on the once clear roads and fields surrounding the cabin. They probably wouldn't get out of the isolation tomorrow if they tried trudging through the harsh weather. Letting out a heavy sigh, she turned to see her soundly sleeping roommates drifting away into the depths of their dreams. All but one pair of eyes were closed. Tyson's amber eyes were fixed at the blizzard outside, but soon met with hers. She noticed the bags under them, telling her that he couldn't sleep either.
Hilary nodded to him, signalling that she wanted to talk. Her dainty stocking feet touched the floor and the icy feeling pierced her toes. Tile floors aren't that warm in cold wintery weather, even with socks on. She tiptoed on her recently numbed feet, trying not to wake anyone else. The doorknob shocked her as she went to give it a turn and she let out a small squeak. Looking back at Tyson, he gave her a gentle "shhh" as he was putting on his slippers. Sarcastically rolling her eyes to herself, she made her way out the door.
In the hallway, she found a bench close to a heater and sat herself down. Hilary fixed her green nightgown and curled up, trying to keep warm.
"So, you can't sleep either?" Tyson said moving his way to the bench. He brought the white sheet from his bed and draped it over them.
"I've never been able to sleep during a blizzard," Hilary stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "I always get scared that I'll be trapped in my bedroom, shut away from the world forever."
"Just in your bedroom?" he laughed.
"Hey! Why not? It can happen!"
She shifted her weight to the side and suddenly a draft of air came in under the blanket. Tyson scooted the blanket more on Hilary's side. She was about to complain about the unfair distribution of blanket when he changed the subject on her before a word fell from her mouth. "Do you think we should go into the city tomorrow?"
Hilary looked at his solemn face hidden behind his messy navy blue hair, and it made her heart wrench. She wanted to cheer him up no matter how hopeless the trip seemed to be. "I think we can make it," she stood up and made a powerful pose, her fist striking the air, "It may only be two in the morning but I can already see that the last snowflake has fallen, making our hopes of getting outside one step closer!"
She slid her foot, trying to strike another proud and hopeful pose for Tyson but twisted her ankle and collided with the floor. As the white blanket glided onto her brown hair, she rubbed her ankle and let out a laugh.
Looking down at the silly girl laughing on the floor, Tyson let out a grin and got down to help her. He tenderly took the blanket of her head and put his hands over her foot to take the sock off her aching ankle. The contact of his warm hands on her bare skin made her stomach flutter and her heart soar. Hilary's cheeks turned a rosy shade as he made his way next to her body. Tyson moved the blanket over their legs and uncovered the end to leave her sore foot out in the cold.
"W-what are you doing?" she asked, increasingly getting more flustered.
"It's not good to constrict your ankle with the sock and very favourable to keep it cold for a little while. Plus I figured I'd keep the rest of you warm while your bare foot froze."
She giggled at his "smart voice" and looked to him for a moment. Quickly realizing that their faces would only be an inch or two away from each other, she looked at the floor. He bent his neck down to look at her face and gave her that familiar smile. Tyson's smiles were the best medicine the world could offer. They could make a bad day a million times better, solve world peace, or even help you to forget about an aching foot. Hilary soaked in the tranquil moment sitting next to him, feeling his body heat radiating into her veins. She never wanted this moment to end.
Hilary leaned forward slightly to get more comfortable, when suddenly a small snap rang throughout the cabin's hallway. Tyson was startled and looked around. Hilary, who was also startled, was holding her back in an awkward position and messing with the back of her nightgown. Her hand hastily searched around her back as her eyes nervously glanced up at the now standing Tyson. Letting out a sigh, she picked up the blanket and held it tightly to her chest. Carefully taking off one hand, she tapped Tyson on the shoulder and returned it back to its job holding up the blanket.
He whipped around, half expecting an intruder and half hoping it were Hilary. He noticed her odd posture and quickly became concerned.
"Umm . . ." she tried to say something but she was red-hot with embarrassment.
"Is there something wrong Hilary?"
"Uh . . . kind of," she tried dodging the humiliating subject as much as she was avoiding eye contact, "Could you do me a favor?"
Tyson shrugged his shoulders, "Sure."
"Are you really sure?"
"Yes! Whatever it is, I'll do my best to help!"
She looked up at his naïve and confident face, "Okay . . ."
Taking in a deep breath to calm herself down, Hilary thought of various ways to say it to him. Maybe she should slowly work her way up to it in a strange out-of-the-blue conversation, or maybe she should just run away from the situation completely and sacrifice her time with him. Finally coming to a brave decision, she hesitantly said, "I need you to re-fasten my bra strap."
All she did was tell it like it was, but her stomach was twisting and turning, only expecting a single syllable answer to the suggestion. She chewed on her lip and looked at him nervously, hoping that this didn't end badly.
Tyson's eyes quickly changed emotions, and took a large gulp. "Oh."
It was the predicted answer. Yet, his face turned red in discomfiture and nodded his head. All the sudden, everything seemed to slow down. He noticed how her beautiful red eyes sparkled in the dusk's dull light, how when she turned around her walnut hair seemed to dance around in midair, and how slender and soft her body looked by simply standing there. He tried snapping out of it to get to the situation, but as he felt around her back for the clasps, his head got lighter. Goosebumps appeared on her neck, and he realized that he was breathing deeply into her neck now. Tyson took another gulp and found the clasps, trying to put them together through her nightgown. However, his hands were shaking so much he couldn't get it back together and kept missing.
"I can't get it. I guess I'm not very good at this sort of thing," he laughed trying to lighten the moment a little. He dropped his hands to the side as if to give up.
Hilary's hands clenched onto the blanket in front of her, but soon fell to the ground as she looked at Tyson through the corner of her eye. "Lift up my dress . . . and fix it . . ."
"What!?"
"Either that or . . . uh," her eye's flickered with emotion, realizing that she probably could have avoided this situation to begin with by simply telling him to turn around as she fixed her bra. Giving herself a mental smack in the head, Hilary knew there was nothing she could do about it now.
Tyson, on the other hand was fully fixed on the situation. His head was too dizzy to think of any other solution. "So should I just . . ."
". . . yeah."
He wiped his sweaty palms on his red flannel pants and carefully began to lift the back of her nightdress. Timed slowed once more and Tyson saw every second. As her upper legs revealed themselves, he felt his breathing become deeper once more. She shivered at the touch of his warm breath and started to feel feverishly hot. Hilary's panties started to show and he turned his head away to seem like he was respectful enough not to look, but he saw them anyway. They were pink with a printed pattern. He reached up to her back, actually trying to respect her now, and tried to resist sweeping his hands across her warm skin. Tyson felt so weak.
Quickly finding the clasps, he fixed them back together and dropped her dress back down. He stepped back and wiped his palms on his pants again, and gasped for air. Apparently, he had stopped breathing for a little while. They looked at each other red-faced, took large sighs of relief, and sat back down on the now refreshing floor.
"Thanks," Hilary thanked simply.
"You're welcome . . . it was . . . no problem," he replied and gave her another one of those cure-all smiles.
A happy yet awkward silence filled the hallway like water filled a glass. They just looked at each other and smiled, still regaining composure to what had just happened. Tyson could still feel his hands shaking, unsure if it was the cold or the adrenalin pumping through his veins. Time seemed normal, but he couldn't stop seeing the light in her ruby eyes. Hilary could still feel his breath tickle her back, as if he was still standing behind her.
The serene moment was broken with an unexpected yawn from Hilary. Realizing it was probably time to get back to bed, Tyson got up to help her to her feet. As she stumbled up, trying to put as little weight on the throbbing ankle, she slipped on the chilly floor and fell into his arms.
His expression became worried and told her in a soothing voice, "Be careful."
She gave him an impulsive hug and waddled her way to the room leaning the whole way on his strong shoulders.
With not much time left until sunrise, both of the once restless teenagers lay in their own beds staring at the ceiling. The moonlight shined across Hilary's sheets, casting striped shadows through the window's blinds. She turned her gaze to her sleeping roommates and noticed those pair of amber eyes once more. He quietly crept to her bed, and lay down next to her back-to-back. The warmth of each other overpowered the icy cold spell casted by the blizzard. Smiling, they drifted off to sleep, unafraid of the storm's effects tomorrow.
