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Baz must not be far away, I can still hear footsteps and branches breaking.
I came in search of him at dusk, when I saw him sneaking off to Wavering Wood, acting too suspicious.
However, it has already started to get dark —which means we must have been playing hide-and-seek for at least an hour— and the temperature has dropped dramatically. I wouldn't be surprised if it starts snowing harder at any time.
The steps lead me to a clearing that the snow has already started to cover. My hand goes straight to my hip, where the spell summons my sword; ready to face Baz —or whoever that has drawn me here
I take a look around, but there is no one or anything. For a second, I think I've imagined it all. That some nymph has lured me here, just to annoy me.
" Boo ." Someone whispers behind my back.
I can't help but scream. My sword falls to the ground, and I instinctively throw punches at whoever is behind me.
"Baz?!" The bastard laughs at me, that I didn't even manage to give a single blow.
"Well, well, what have we here?" Are you lost, Chosen One?"
I move away from him, picking up my sword from the ground, and pointing it at him: if he tries to do something to me, then I'll attack him first.
"I've come to find you." In that way, it sounds a little strange. "I know you're up to something."
"Crowley, here we go again." He rolls his eyes, as if he's done with me. "Would you mind telling me what I'm up to this time? Like stealing your girlfriend? Or how to get rid of you? I need ideas."
I growl, annoyed with him, and because there's no longer a girlfriend to steal —it sounds a bit sexist; Agatha has never been an object, and it was she who decided to break up with me—. Maybe I could attack him, after all, we are in the middle of the forest, and it's already dark: nobody would notice.
Oh, it's already dark.
"Shit!" I forget about Baz for a second. They always raise the bridge at nightfall, and don't lower it again until the next morning. Maybe, just maybe, if I hurry, I can find a way to get onto campus again.
But I have a problem: I have no idea how to get back.
I was so busy finding Baz that I didn't even look at the path I was taking.
"This is your fucking fault!" I accuse him. "We are stuck here in the middle of nowhere and during a snowstorm."
Baz looks at me in confusion, crossing both arms over his chest.
"Well, maybe if someone wasn't so fucking obsessed with following my every step, things would be different, right?"
I won't admit that he is right. I decide to venture out and try to retrace my steps into the forest. I walk for about five minutes, all alone, until I meet one of the wood nymphs.
"What are you doing here, Chosen One?"
They will never stop looking strange to me, with bark like skin and strange clothes. I shrug my shoulders.
"I'm lost, and I need to go back to school. I can't spend the night out here."
She is silent for a few seconds, with her eyes closed.
"There's no way you can come back, not today. They've closed the doors, and you're stuck here.
I couldn't expect anything good, could I?
"But there are some hidden cottages along the forest. If you're smart enough, maybe you can find one and spend the night there.
One good thing, at least.
"Snow?" I look for my way back to the clearing, where Baz is still.
I wonder what he called me for.
"I thought you were lost." I hope to hear mockery in his voice. If I didn't know him better, I'd think he was worried.
"I wanted to go back to school."
"By this time they've raised the bridge. You knew that, didn't you?"
"Of course I know. But I found a nymph, and she said there must be a cottage near here to spend the night.”
He nods. I look at him again, and I realize that although he is wearing a coat over his uniform, he is shaking. The snowflakes get caught in his dark hair.
For some reason, I decide to walk to the right side, the opposite of where I saw the nymph. I wait for Baz to follow me, but he stays in his place.
"Would you rather die of hypothermia there, or come with me?"
He casts a glance at me, and I prefer to blame the cold for the chill that ran down my spine. In a matter of seconds, he's walking beside me.
It takes at least half an hour until we find the cottage; the snow is denser now. I try to open the door, but he doesn't give in.
"Let me try." Baz casts an Open Sesame , and it opens completely. He enters first.
Everything is dark inside, the moonlight being the only thing that illuminates a portion of the ground.
Until I realize it and see Baz holding a flame on his hand, and then he throws it at a wall. I worry that he is trying to set the cottage on fire, but in reality, he was just lighting the fireplace.
Slowly, the place starts to feel warmer. I take a look around, which does not seem to have been lived in recently: there are a couple of chairs and a small table in front of the fireplace and a small kitchen, and at the end of the room there are two doors.
I decide to look inside, finding a bathroom in the first one, and a room in the second one. One room, with only one bed.
I swallow, nervous only to imagine that there is no alternative but to share the bed with Baz. There is no couch available to avoid it. I'm not going to sleep on the floor, and I guess he won't either.
I decide to ignore that for a while, going back to the living room. Baz has got rid of his coat and school jacket, leaving only his white shirt. His shoes rest next to his clothes too, near the fire. I suppose he wants to dry them.
I do the same, and sit on the floor next to him.
The fire illuminates his pale skin, and I see that he has stopped shaking.
The silence feels a little uncomfortable, so I decide to break it. "I keep wondering what you were doing in the woods.”
Baz turns to look at me, frowning a little. "It's none of your business."
"Well, considering that it's the reason we're here, I think it is. ”
He drops backwards, lying on his back. That way, I can feel the soft movements of his chest when he breathes.
"I just wanted to be alone for a while.”
I don't know what else to say. Part of me feels a little guilty for stealing the moment of tranquillity I was looking for, but another part of me knows that with him, you never know, and that it was logical to find out what he was doing.
His hand brushes mine on its way to his face. I know it was an accident, but the slight touch sends shivers down my spine —this time, I'm going to blame the cold of his skin.
The heat from the fireplace gently hits my face. For a moment, I think it's the first time in a while that I feel at peace. There are no monsters to be defeated, no orders to be followed. Although Baz is still here.
Inevitably, I end up lying on the floor next to him, and I realize that his presence here doesn't bother me, not like I had thought. It doesn't bother me at all.
I turn towards the window, where the snow is falling hard. Maybe the storm won't stop until the morning.
"There's only one bed in the room." I whisper. I don't know why I told him, really.
"Perfect, Snow. I call it."
"What?" I get up, leaning on my elbow. "No, you don't. I'm the one who discovered it, so it's mine.
I realize that he's trying to get up and run into the room. Still lying on the floor, I pull at his waist to avoid him to.
He tries to free himself from my grip, kicking and squeezing my wrist, but it doesn't work. I place myself on top of him, leaving him motionless.
Even if that means we are only a couple of centimetres apart.
His hands reach out to my shoulders, but he doesn't try to push me away. His legs have also remained still, intertwined with mine.
"Let me get up, Snow." He whispers. We are so close that I feel his breath against my cheek.
"No."
Then he tries to move again. Our bodies touch in so many places that I don't even bother to count them, feeling the chills again, and I'm afraid I have no one to blame this time.
When I look at him, my eyes go straight to his lips. Half-open and pinkish. For a second, I wonder if they are soft.
"Snow..."
I look into his eyes. The grey colour now has a small glow.
Almost automatically, I lean towards him and shorten the distance between us. Our noses brush against each other, and when he nods, I finally kiss his lips.
I try to convince myself that I'm kissing him just to disarm him, so I can take over the bed, but in reality, I know I want to. Indeed, his lips feel soft under the touch of my tongue.
I realize then that the chills have turned into butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I am lying on his body, my hands on both sides of his head, and his cupping my cheeks.
The warmth of the fireplace is nothing compared to what I feel now, even if Baz is as cold as the snow outside.
When he takes me away, I fear that the sound that escapes my lips seems like a soft moan.
"I'm sorry. I didn't-"
Baz places a finger on my lips, making me shut up, before kissing me again, just giving me time to catch my breath.
At some point, now I'm the one who ends up underneath him. His lips run along my jaw, until they reach my neck and suck a little. This time, I'm sure he's made me moan.
My reaction makes him laugh — I made Baz Pitch laugh— and he comes back to me, both face to face.
I can't help but caress his face. He closes his eyes, and takes my hand to his lips.
"I can't believe you kissed me.” Whispers. For a moment, I realize that I have made a mistake. I am about to ask him to forgive me, when he speaks again. " Fucking finally ."
" What? Did you expect me to do it before?” He smiles slightly, before hiding his face in my neck.
"I've waited for three years, yes."
What. The. Fuck.
"I can't believe it, Baz. I thought you hated me."
Baz stands up, laying next to me again.
"I don't want to talk about it. I want to keep kissing you."
He commands, and I obey. I pull him until he is on top of me, and I realize my mistake, because he stands up a couple of centimetres, making me reach for his lips. I do.
His hands hold my waist, until he has lifted me from the ground, making me stand up. Unconsciously, I jump into his arms, surrounding his waist with my legs.
Baz holds my thighs while he takes me to the room, without stopping kissing me for a single second.
We spend hours kissing each other, until sleep overcomes us. Side by side, with our legs intertwined and his arms keeping me close to him.
At the end, we did end up sharing the bed.