Wriothesley and Clorinde walked into the main hallway to start the school day. Wriothesley had never been this cold… He knew Clorinde lived way too close to the school to justify driving but it was so cold and snowy today. Why did they have to be here if it was snowing this hard anyway?
"I have a feeling we will have a short day with how hard it is snowing." Clorinde said. "Meet me at your locker if we do. That way we can have a meeting point if chaos breaks out."
"Please don't worry about me like that Rinde…" Wriothesley sighed. She waved goodbye to him as he went the opposite way to his locker and first period. He was packing his locker with his winter gear when he heard someone tap the locker door. He moved the door back to see Neuvillette smiling and holding a small present bag in his hands.
"Ah good morning Neuvillette. I didn't expect you to come all the way down here. What's going on?" Wriothesley asked, hanging his scarf up in the locker.
"Well I had asked Clorinde when your birthday was… she said you don't like to celebrate for personal reasons, which I completely understand. But I figured a few weeks had passed and I… I wanted to give you something for an 18th birthday present. It's a big milestone and I wanted to get my friend something so… here." Neuvillette passed him the small bag, a blush dusting his cheeks.
Wriothesley was taken aback. He didn't expect this at all. But he was thankful Clorinde respected his boundaries when it came to his birthday. He hasn't celebrated that in years…since he was 5 or 6 to be honest. He almost had not realized he was 18 now. He peaked in the bag at its contents. Wriothesley gasped in surprise. Neuvillette had got him a variety of teas, both bagged and loose. They were all his favorites.
"How… Did you know these were my favorite?" Wriothesley asked softly in surprise.
"Clorinde mentioned a few but I've seen you bring some of these varieties to school or when we go out to coffee shops and such. Do you like the gift? I didn't step, did i?" Neuvillette asked, suddenly worried.
"No! I love them, thank you so much! I'm just… surprised is all. I will be honest with you, this is the first present I've gotten for a birthday since I was little." Wriothesley admitted.
"Im…so sorry. You deserve better." Neuvillette said, worried about his friend.
"It's alright. I ask Clorinde to not get me anything ever so that's why. Otherwise she and her parents would smother me in them. I already struggle to accept their kindness as it is." Wriothesley set his gift in his locker gently. He knew Neuvillette had a December birthday but… he didn't know the date. He had been working hard on something special for his birthday but it wasn't quite done yet. "Shall we go to class?"
"Ah yes… first period will be starting in 10 minutes. I have heard rumors that today will be a half day though. The snow storm is supposed to be picking up around noon." Neuvillette said, walking with his friend down the hallway.
"That would be cool honestly. I could use a little time away in a warmer building than this." He shivered in his hoodie. Two layers of long sleeves wasn't enough… The school was too cheap to heat this place properly. Neuvillette nodded in agreement.
As they entered the classroom, Wriothesley noticed the lights were off. That was… weird. Maybe their teacher was late and other students just accepted the dark. Neuvillette opened the door slowly, looking around when he heard, "SURPRISE!"
Wriothesley nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden loud noise. He had no idea what was going on but it triggered a flashback for him of a prison riot he survived…barely. He came back to reality to realize his fellow students set up banners and balloons for… Neuvillettes birthday? That… that was today?!
"Are you alright Wriothesley?" Navia asked, coming out of the classroom to check on her frozen friend.
"Um yeah… just fine. I was startled is all." Wriothesley tried weakly to put up a front. "I had no idea today was his birthday."
"He doesn't share it often! Furina was the one to plan this out. They are close friends. She just gets very busy is all." Navia pulled him inside the classroom. Their classmates were celebrating the class president when the announcements came on.
"Attention students. The weather service just alerted us that the storm has accelerated. Please head home as soon as possible while the storm is at its lightest. We ask all students to leave by 9am for the safest travels possible. We are also announcing school being canceled for tomorrow. Please enjoy your snow days!" the announcements ended.
"Ah shit i have to go find Clorinde at my locker." Wriothesley sighed. He had JUST got all of his winter gear off.
"Um Wriothesley…" Neuvillette came over to him. "Would you like a ride home? I saw you and Clorinde walked today and it is very windy in this storm."
"That would be incredible." Wriothesley sighed in relief. "You don't mind birthday boy?"
"Not at all… it would be my pleasure." Neuvillette thanked his fellow students for surprising him and headed to the meeting point with Wriothesley.
"Would you maybe want to hang out a bit today? I know it's snowy so you don't have to or anything but we could watch a movie or something?" Wriothesley looked away shyly. "The house is big too… you can stay the night if you'd like."
"Honestly I'd love to." Neuvillette smiled. "Spending my 18th birthday with two of my closest friends sounds wonderful."
"Only two?!" Navia gasped as she approached with Clorinde. "Im hurt Neuvillette!"
"I'm so sorry Navia I didn't–." He was cut off by her laughing.
"I'm joking of course! I had done the same as you and offered Clorinde a ride home. Maybe we can all have a sleepover together!" Navia inquired happily.
"That sounds like fun." Clorinde nodded.
"Then it's settled! Clorinde and I will go to my house first for supplies while you two go to Neuvillettes house for supplies. We meet at Clorinde's by 9 o'clock so we are safe in the storm. An hour should be enough time to travel a few miles." Navia cheered. "Off we go!"
Wriothesley put on his winter gear once again, bracing himself for the cold. Neuvillette led them out to his car, seeing Navia and Clorinde fighting their way in the wind nearby. He sighed as soon as his car door was closed and the heat was turned on.
"Well shall we head to my house?" Neuvillette offered. "I will be fast I promise."
"Yeah, let's head off!" Wriothesley smiled as the car started and the heat began warming the car. "It was really nice of everyone to do a little surprise this morning."
"It was… I was definitely surprised. I apologize I didn't tell you today was my birthday. It honestly slipped my mind." Neuvillette apologized.
"It's no worries. We'll have our own little get together now and spend our snow day in the warmth of Clorinde's house!" Wriothesley laughed.
"May I ask something?" Neuvillette asked quietly.
"Of course…what's on your mind?" the other gave his full attention
"Are you and Clorinde related?"
"No, not even a little." Wriothesley laughed. "She's my childhood friend. We met when we were like… 5 or 6? She's like a sister to me but no blood relation at all."
"May I ask why you live there then…?" Neuvillette asked. He noticed his friend tense up immediately. He wished he could have snatched the question out of the air.
"That's um… complicated. I-I'm sorry I can't answer it fully right now but she's the closest thing to family I have left. She and her family were kind enough to take me in when I moved here. I am grateful to them. Clorinde's parents are super successful entrepreneurs so they often aren't even home. We basically have a 2000 square foot house all to ourselves except for maybe once a month. I think theyre in Inazuma right now on business." Wriothesley said.
"I am so sorry Wriothesley. I didn't mean to pry that deeply. You have my sincerest apology if I made you uncomfortable." Neuvillette said, pulling into his driveway and looking at his friend.
"Don't apologize. It is alright. It's normal to want to know more about your friends. If anything, I'm sorry for being so secretive. Just… My life has been very complicated. It isn't something that can be explained easily." Wriothesley smiled at his friend. "Want me to stay here or come in to help?"
"Please come in… the house is much warmer than the car." Neuvillette smiled before heading inside. The inside of Neuvillettes house was very clean and simple. It seemed to be color schemed in light blues, grays and whites. Wriothesley looked around in awe. It was very different from his current abode but it felt welcoming here. Neuvillette walked down a short hallway to his bedroom, Wriothesley close behind.
Neuvillette set a small duffel bag on the bed and started packing his essential items. "Please Wriothesley, make yourself comfortable. I just need to grab a few things out of the bathroom."
Wriothesley nodded, sitting on the desk chair. He wanted to observe his surroundings. Neuvillette's room was a dark gray and seafoam blue. It was quite large for the house it seemed…filled with books and shelves. There was a desktop computer at the desk he was sitting at. It seems Neuvillette was a simple man as well. He really hoped Neuvillette liked the surprise he had for his birthday gift later. Being in his room made it feel like it would match very well.
"What's that smile for?" Neuvillette chuckled as he came back into the room.
"Nothing really. Just got lost in thought I guess." Wriothesley shrugged.
"Ah I see… I apologize that my house is a little bit boring. I am not here often it feels like." Neuvillette chuckled. He quickly packed up the clothes and things he needed for the night and zipped the bag shut. "Shall we head to your house? Is there anything else we need?"
"I don't think so other than anything you'd need for today and tomorrow." Wriothesley shrugged. "We have tons of food and games."
"Perfect. Let's head to the house then. The storm seems to be picking up." Neuvillette grabbed everything, stopping in the kitchen to write his family a quick note on where he was going to be today and tomorrow. They drove back to Clorinde's in a comfortable silence. Navia and Clorinde had not arrived yet it seemed. That worried the boys… the storm seemed to be getting stronger.
"Why don't we set up the living room so we can all hang out in the same room? Are you alright sleeping in the living room as a group or would you rather us split up later?" Wriothesley asked.
"I think it would be great making a home base in the living room. Let's get started." Neuvillette smiled. He set his bags down in the corner of the living room. They already had 2 couches in there so the girls could sleep comfortably on them. Wriothesley got to work setting up the camping mats Clorinde's parents had. They would be good to set up sleeping areas for the boys or to sit on while playing games. Wriothesley was pulling all the games from the upstairs closet when he heard the door open.
"Hellooo party people!" Navia chirped as she came inside. "Sorry we took so long. We decided to run to the store and get some groceries! Clorinde's making breakfast!"
"Hell yeah did you get bacon and sausage too?" Wriothesley asked. Clorinde gave a thumbs up before heading into the kitchen to begin cooking.
"You boys seem to be on top of things! It looks great here!" Navia commended as she dropped her large suitcase in the living room. "Ah food, games, movies and a sleepover with my friends! Papa would be so proud."
"Yes he would." Neuvillette smiled fondly at the blonde girl. They had known each other for a long time and he knew exactly what she meant. "We figured you and Clorinde could each take a couch to sleep and we could take the floor."
"Oh how chivalrous of you!" Navia giggled. "We could each have a girl couch and a boy couch and share?" She wiggled her eyebrows at her friend, trying to help him out.
"That wouldn't be possible Navia, I don't physically fit laying down on these couches." Wriothesley shrugged, oblivious to what she was even implying. Neuvillette cleared his throat, trying to push down the rising feeling of embarrassment.
"Let's go check on breakfast." Neuvillette offered. The group moved to the kitchen to see Clorinde plating a stack of pancakes. She had a whole layout of various breakfast foods ready for them.
"Bacon is almost done. French toast is next." Clorinde said, checking the oven and beginning her prep for the toast. "Please take a seat at the island and start eating. It won't be long now."
The group dug into Clorinde's delicious and hearty breakfast. The day passed quickly filled with laughs, games and a movie marathon. Surprisingly Neuvillette picked the insidious series to watch for their movie night. Around the middle of the second movie, Wriothesley realized it was actually so Navia would cuddle up to Clorinde when she got frightened. He really was rooting for those two. After the third movie, the group decided it was time for bed, being well past midnight.
They got almost 10 inches of snow over the course of the day and the storm was still going strong. They were not used to this much winter precipitation. It rarely snowed in Fontaine even in the winter… let alone this much! Wriothesley went up to his room when the others weren't looking. He slid the window open and pushed his head out. He had never seen so much snow before. He had only seen snow a handful of times in his life. It was so peaceful and so magical. It was like the world was silent besides the wind and the tiny snowflakes.
"I was wondering where you went. You okay?" Clorinde asked from the doorway.
"Yeah… I just wanted a private minute with my thoughts. The snow is so peaceful." Wriothesley smiled. "What are you doing up here?"
"Blankets… it's going to be chilly in the living room tonight i'm sure even with the heat on how it is. I just wanted to make sure you'd be okay sleeping in a group." Clorinde's voice was laced with worry about her friend.
"I will be okay. I will come upstairs if it gets to be too much." Wriothesley smiled. Clorinde gave a nod and continued on her mission to find more blankets and pillows for their friends. Wriothesley grabbed his blanket off the bed and headed back downstairs. They all laid down for the night, listening to the patter of snow hitting the large living room bay window.
The group had been asleep for a few hours when Wriothesley started groaning in his sleep. He was mumbling to himself softly. Neuvillette woke at this point, being an extremely light sleeper. He noticed his friend curling into himself and sounding like he was groaning in pain.
"No mama…" Wriothesley mumbled in his sleep. "I…be good…no…hurts…cant."
Neuvillette tapped his friend's arm, trying to wake him from his nightmare as gently as possible. It didn't seem to work as he just stiffened flat and continued to mumble. Should he wake Clorinde for help?
"I didn't mean to…" Wriothesley mumbled. The large man began shaking in his sleep. The sweat started to show through his dark shirt as the nightmare got worse. "Blood… so much…wasn't… fault… Rina… no not her…"
"Wriothesley it's just a nightmare." Neuvillette said softly. He pushed the blankets off his friend to maybe cool him off or wake him up. He saw Clorinde and Navia both fast asleep still.
Wriothesley's nightmare took a turn for the worst when he made a choking sound. His eyes pinched tighter and every muscle tensed. Tears started to fall down his cheeks unconsciously, It hurt Neuvillette to watch his friend and not be able to wake him. Suddenly, Wriothesley sat up, eyes shooting open.
"MARINA!" He shouted as he woke up suddenly. He couldn't breath, hyperventilating from the anxiety of his terrible nightmare. No… it wasn't a nightmare at all. It was a memory of that night. Why did he have to have a flashback when his friends were over? Why did he have to be the one to cause the awkward moment at his first sleep over in his new life?
The shout was loud enough to wake Navia and Clorinde from a dead sleep. Clorinde knew exactly what was happening as Wriothesley began rocking back and forth. She jumped down and wrapped a blanket around Wriothesley, hugging him tight.
"Hey, it's okay. It's not real…it's just in your head. No one is going to hurt you. I'm sorry Rina isn't here. Please don't retreat into your head." Clorinde hushed gently as she rocked back and forth with him. Navia covered her mouth, worried about her friend. Neither she nor Neuvillette knew what was happening or how to help their friend at all.
"I couldn't stop them. It was all for nothing. Why did I do it…why am I here?" Wriothesley cried. "She should be not me… not me… why me…"
"Because you're strong. You'll get through this. You're safe Wrio… please come back to me. Come back to Neuvillette and Navia. We need you here with us, not locked away in your head." Clorinde tried to convince, rubbing small circles into his back.
"Y-yes!" Navia joined in, climbing off the couch and near Wriothesley. She grabbed his hand and stroked it softly. "We need you Wriothesley. We don't know what happened in the past but what matters is you're here now. We need our friend by our side." Navia motioned Neuvillette to join.
"We do need you Wriothesley." Neuvillette began. He put his hand on his back and rubbed the back of his neck above where Clorinde was. "You are kind and great to be around. You make all of us laugh and smile. We couldn't imagine our friend group without you. I don't want to live a life without you. You are my best friend."
The tears seemed to stop… he was still rocking back and forth but seemed to be coming out of it a bit. The group spent a few minutes comforting their friend before he finally looked up. He looked at all of his friends and weakly mumbled a thank you.
Within the hour Wriothesley had returned to his normal state, embarrassed his friends had to witness a flashback episode as severe as the one he had. He wasn't sure what triggered it. His mind simply betrayed him.
"I am really sorry guys…" Wriothesley said after a sip of water. "I should have slept separately."
"No you shouldn't have. Who would have helped you calm down if you had? We may not have heard you!" Navia said.
"I agree with Navia. It could have been more severe if we were delayed in finding you, even if it was minutes." Neuvillette nodded.
"I should have at least told you about my nightmares…" Wriothesley looked down.
"You don't have them often anymore. This is the first in almost two months. You didn't know. Please don't blame yourself." Clorinde smiled softly. "You're doing the best you can."
"I said something bad didn't i? I mumble in my sleep." Wriothesley looked at the group.
"You were mumbling, yes but it just seemed like a nightmare induced rambling…nothing really coherent." Neuvillette reported.
"What did I say?" Wriothesley hesitated to ask.
"No mama, hurts, something about blood, a lot of no's and the name Rina. You woke up screaming the name Marina. Are they the same person?" Neuvillette asked.
"Yes… my sister…" Wriothesley said, closing his eyes in thought. He was too tired to put up a wall.
"He can't say much more." Clorinde quickly shut down the conversation. "A second episode wouldn't be fair tonight." the other two nodded in agreement.
"I will go lay down upstairs so you guys can sleep peacefully…" Wriothesley stood up to leave but Navia grabbed his hand.
"No! We aren't going to let you isolate yourself for no reason. I know you think you need to but you definitely don't need to. At this point we are all pretty awake… Why don't we do something fun huh? The storm seems to have ended… let's go play in the snow!" Navia suggested.
"Navia it is 4am." Clorinde sighed.
"So? Are you scared of the dark or something? Let's go into the backyard and build a snowman!" Navia stood up and grabbed her coat and mittens. "Last one outside is a rotten egg!"
The others threw on their winter gear as well and followed the blonde outside. There was so much snow! Wriothesley stared out into the pure white winter wonderland. He had never seen such a sight. His awe was cut short by a snowball hitting his chest. He looked up to see Navia snickering behind her mitten. That initiated an all out snowball fight between the four. By sunrise, the group was back inside, exhausted from the snowball fight and a few hours of sleep. They sipped coffee and tea to warm up.
Clorinde made the group breakfast again that morning, enjoying cooking for them all. Shortly after breakfast the two guests were preparing to leave to spend their snow days back at their respective homes. Before he could leave, Wriothesley pulled Neuvillette to his room and sat him on the bed, himself sitting across from him in a desk chair.
"I just… wanted to apologize before you leave." Wriothesley started. "You heard me mumble things that I wish I could explain further but… I'm not quite ready yet. It's not like I'm hiding it… I just need more time to process everything. I'm… im…i'm working on it in therapy." he blushed and looked down, slightly embarrassed. "What I am ready to say is I had an incredibly hard life. My happy memories from my whole life are of Clorinde and these few months I've been living here. I had very complex trauma that I'm afraid will scare you and Navia the second you hear about it. I am so sorry that you had to witness one of my episodes. I wish I could have prepared you for that."
"Wriothesley." Neuvillette gave a true smile. "You don't need to apologize nor explain. Life is hard. I get that. I have my own traumas and life experiences I have had to work through. I am proud of you for working through it. Please don't be embarrassed. I am so thankful to be in your happy memories… I promise you will have many more."
"I wanted to give you something. It's a little bit rough. I ran out of time working on it. I wasn't sure when your birthday was, I just knew it was in december. But I'd like you to have it." Wriothesley opened a desk drawer to pull out a small canvas art piece. He handed it to Neuvillette with a small smile.
Neuvillette examined the art piece and gave a warm smile. It was truly the best gift he had ever received. Wriothesley had drawn out all of his friends from the beach trip. Everyone was there… Wriothesley, Clorinde, Navia, Furina, Chiori, Lynette, Lyney and of course, Neuvillette. It was so life-like and accurate it was like a photograph in pencil lead. He had no idea his friend was so talented in the arts.
"Wriothesley I had no idea you were an artist." Neuvillette gasped in amazement. "This is simply incredible, thank you so much!"
"I'm not really an artist. It's just a hobby I picked up to calm myself over the years. Get lost in your own little world type of hobby you know?" Wriothesley laughed. "Happy 18th birthday, my friend."