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A clear sky of luminescent stars and no wind. Ceaseless sheets of white spread on every corner, on the pavement, silencing footsteps and muffling ambient noise, rendering the roads soundless and the street guestless, so endless, so abundant yet repetitious. It weighed the roofs, holding houses down and people in. It fabricated a perfect deception of a vacant city as if its inhabitants had vanished without a trace, or opted for a hibernal withdrawal from the cold. The winter itself had descended that night, and only she was outside greeting it.
The glacial atmosphere held no frigidness to its demeanor. It had an outlandish welcoming aspect to it that can only be explained by the effect of the after-the-holiday mood. Christmas lights still decorated the houses and the foggy windows' glass reflected their glow. An abandoned snowman stood persistent and tireless in her front yard, its carrot nose long forgotten and buried in the snow beneath it. The silly sculpture was made by her and her close friends. The girl smiled fondly at the memory before lying on her back to gaze at the stars.
Her friends and her mother were all extra nice to her, bargaining her forgiveness with additional kindness, typical of them after wronging her. She forgave them. After all, they were her family. She couldn't choose otherwise, even if the betrayal had pained her greatly. Thus, she sat on the roof of her house, staring at the sky in tranquil solitude, enjoying the undisturbed quiet mood.
Jenny heard snow beads being crushed under heavy footwear. Footsteps were in an uncoordinated pattern as the boots sunk lubberly in the thick coat of white. She wouldn't give a second thought to the wandering soul otherwise, but they happened to be in her front yard, and so she sat up straight to inspect who her visitor was.
He stood there with a beaming grin on his face, both hands waved at her in a silent greeting. Chest heaving under the purple coat and tiny vapor clouds accompanied each exhale he made. She snickered at the almost too-ridiculous sight. She knew it was an exhausting task to walk on the snow-covered roads, so she wondered what brought the boy to her door that night.
The teenage robot, from the spot she claimed on the three-stories-high rooftop, stood and literally extended her arm to him. For a moment, he stared at the porcelain hand before him not knowing what to do with it, but then, his hands closed on hers, and the smile he had morphed into a brief yelp as he was yanked to the rooftop next to the tall girl.
"Hi Jenny, what're you doin'?" the boy greeted cheerfully while trying to regain his composure on the slippery tiles. Hazy mist escaped his lips with each word. A flush of pink was painted on the freckled cheeks under the effect of the chilled air.
She wanted to ask the same, given how cold it was, but she yearned for companionship and his presence was strangely welcomed. She smiled and sat down. "Just stars gazing."
"Can I stare gaze with you?" he asked, sitting down beside her, careful not to slip. She nodded in response without averting her eyes. No words needed to be said as they sat in comfortable silence. Both were content with the mere presence of the other.
He was the sole person who didn't lose faith in her when she was controlled by ill-willed hands, and she was grateful to him for saving her life. She'd learn to appreciate the boy a little more as a result. For instance, she confirmed he loved her dearly, and nothing in the world would change that.
She had her doubts that he might've been confusing his passion for robotics with his feelings for her, and that he didn't love her for who she was, but for what she was. Nevertheless, he had proven otherwise with this incident, and she was oddly glad for that.
She glanced at him. The same silly smile was still drawn on his pale face. She couldn't help but notice that her lips were curved upward as well. She questioned: "aren't you cold?"
He shook his head lightly and turned to face her. "Not really, I just wanted to spend some time with you because…" He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, "well, I missed you." The moon shone its light on her snow-matching face, as gorgeous as a pearl, which didn't help at all with his nervousness.
"I guess it's been a long year for you, huh?" she acknowledged, and he merely nodded. It was still difficult to believe how long she had been out. She was grateful that not many things had changed, at least, but still, there was one thing bothering her. "I just hope school won't make me repeat the year."
"Yeah, I don't think that would be fair to you, or us, I mean… I want us all to graduate together," he stated, pulling his legs closer to his chest to keep warm.
"Mom contacted the school, and they said there is the possibility of me not repeating if I can pass some exams of the previous semesters," she explained, resting her chin on her knee, "I might also do summer school."
It took him several seconds to answer, "I might, if you want, hack into the school system and change those exams' results," he suggested, raising a hand up for explanation, "although we might get in trouble for that."
"You can do that?!" she exclaimed, clasping that hand with hers. He recoiled ever so slightly at the contact and nodded, but she caught the almost unnoticeable discomfort clearly. She let go of it, still maintaining the same level of enthusiasm in her voice as she added: "you're the best, Sheldon!"
"Anything for you," he murmured, grinning. The compliment made him a little more ecstatic than it should have. "Can I… Uhm-" he scratched his cheek with an index finger, not daring to look at her as he requested- "can I keep holding your hand?"
The request surprised her. She stared at the reddish knuckles contrasting the pale skin on his hand, pulsing with life against the dead cold. Then she glared back at her icy-cold, unpigmented one. Moments like that always made her wish she had flesh and blood underneath skin instead of unfeeling, rigid steel. "Isn't it too cold for you?" She asked, not that she knew what cold felt like.
"No, your hand should be at the ambient temperature by the rules of thermodynamics," he elaborated in his typical nerdy enthusiasm, "so, it's as cold as about everything else around us, but it conducts heat away because it's metallic and that's why it feels cold. So, technically, it's not too cold for me."
"You sure about that?" She smirked, slowly raising both arms.
"Uhm…" His nervousness spiked up at the threatening gaze, " why are you looking at me like- Aaah owe! Stop!" he yelped after she pushed her hands under his scarf. Frozen fingers gently pressed on the previously warm neck.
She giggled as he recoiled away from her touch. His eyes held a betrayed look and his lip curled into a pout. "Now that's just mean!" he complained while regaining his posture.
"Sorry," she apologized, the giggle never ceasing.
"I still insist, though."
"Hmm, okay," she agreed, putting her hand on top of his smaller one and inserting her fingers between his, giving it a gentle squeeze as they fell back into the comfortable silence. At that moment, he was almost sure that he was the happiest person alive in the world.
Maybe she should have suggested they go inside for warmth, but she didn't. Jenny wouldn't trade that little cheery moment for anything else in the world, and neither would Sheldon.