January:
Michaela yawned widely and snuggled down further in her fleecy blanket. Wolf had curled up next to her like a giant, furry rug and she could feel her eyes drifting closed. It was very cosy, lazing by the fire as the bitter wind continued to pound against the window pane and hurl the soft snowy mounds into deceptively deep drifts. Michaela had plunged unsuspectingly into just such a drift earlier that morning and had since refused to move from her position by the fire in protest.
"Don't get too comfy, we're going out in a few."
The familiar voice broke the comfortable silence and Michaela propped herself up her elbow to glare at the doorway.
"I beg your pardon," she began icily, "I'm not going anywhere."
"Well I promised you I'd take you to a decent party didn't I?" replied Sully with a mischievous grin, "so that's what we're gunna do."
"A party?" exclaimed Michaela, the blanket falling off her as she sat up and gestured to the window, "it's like the Arctic out there! I wouldn't be surprised if there were glaciers relaxing on the front porch."
"Nice pyjamas" teased Sully as he took in her unusual ensemble, "they big on grunge music at Harvard?"
"Shut up," snapped Michaela with a scowl down at the bottoms she had thrown on under her Harvard sweatshirt, "it was either these or your "lakers girls rock" ones."
"They didn't appeal to you?" queried Sully, in a tone of mock horror.
"Not so much," retorted Michaela dryly as she grabbed the blanket again and draped it over the offending pyjamas.
"So are you serious about this party?"
"Sure," replied Sully easily, "and don't worry, the porch is glacier free. The band is playing, so I gotta go."
"Wait…you're in a band?" gaped Michaela, as his words sunk in, "how…when….how do I not know about this?"
"Oh, I dunno," chuckled Sully. "If you didn't insist on hogging all the phone time we ever get with endless questions about calculus, maybe I would have had a chance to mention it!"
"Not all of us are freakishly gifted with numbers," grumbled Michaela, but Sully headed her off before she could get too waspish.
"We just started playing a few weeks ago," he explained quickly, "tonight's our first real gig. I figured you wouldn't wanna miss it."
"Course I don't," confirmed Michaela instantly, "I wouldn't miss it for the world.
"Whatever will I wear," she added with a wide grin.
The music vibrated around the room, seemingly bouncing off the walls and the throng of teenagers to rise into a heavy haze above them. Michaela felt the beats ripple through her and against her will, she felt her body start to move in time to the beat. Ordinarily, she would have been far too self conscious to even consider dancing at a party where she barely knew anyone but as the tempo increased, the room seemed to fade away; she was consumed and mastered by the notes and she had no option but to yield.
Sully drifted through the crush of bodies and finally broke through into a free space by the door. He lifted himself up and scanned the sea of faces, looking for any sign of her. She was so small that she tended to simply get swallowed up by a crowd, even when that crowd wasn't constantly shifting, like the ebb and flow of some great tide. A sudden flash of copper caught his eye and he turned quickly, his eyes widening in shock.
She had stripped off her chunky, crimson sweater to reveal a shimmering, black tank top that clung to her figure and accentuated the pale limbs twisting at her side. Her short skirt flared up around her as she spun in time to the music, the scarlet belt catching and fixing his gaze. He had always known that Michaela was pretty, even beautiful when she wasn't glaring at him. She, however, had always been so blissfully unaware of that fact and not to mention completely repelled by the few boys she'd encountered, that he had never really felt worried. Yet as he registered the number of glances cast in her direction, their intent clear, his eyes narrowed; he would have to take decisive action.
Pushing past the familiar faces, he finally made it to her side and slung his arm around her shoulder, instantly stilling her movements.
"I got you a drink," he shouted over the din, pointing at the bottles in his hand and a gesturing away from chaotic hub of the party.
Michaela nodded, smiling broadly and followed Sully's lead out the back door and into the frozen yard.
The piercing gusts were welcome after the heated crush inside and Michaela closed her eyes, breathing deeply.
"Drink?" queried Sully, drawing his eyes forcibly away from the strands that had come loose from her messy chignon and were now clinging to the flushed nape of her neck.
"Yes, please," agreed Michaela eagerly, reaching out for a bottle. "Wait, is that beer?"
"Don't worry," laughed Sully, holding out the smaller of the two, "I got you a coke."
"You're not really going to drink that?" asked Michaela in horror.
"Sure I am," replied Sully with a grin, "watch me."
Her brows pulled together as Sully flipped the top off and took a deep swig from the bottle. It seemed to take him an age to swallow. She watched as the column of his throat shook with barely supressed laughter and for a moment, she was entirely distracted. Her frown deepened as her gaze trailed down the dark shadow of his throat to his shoulder and then the curve of his arm. Sully had always been slight, gangly even. Yet with a jolt, she realised that his arm was easily double the size of hers. His frame had filled out and his hair now waved just above his shoulders, the honeyed streaks accentuating the cobalt tint to his eyes. He looked less like the boy she had chased around Charlotte's yard and more like a man; when had that happened?
"Relax," chuckled Sully, misinterpreting her searching glance, "I barely had a sip. We best get back inside, before you become a human snow man."
"Snow woman, technically," corrected Michaela quickly as she glanced down at her arms. The frigid temperature had raised goose bumps on her bare skin and despite the warmth radiating from her cheeks, a sudden shiver ran through her.
"Whatever," laughed Sully good naturedly, nudging her shoulder, "let's go."