Chapter Text
Nighttime has always been harsh for Ralph Allback, mainly because that hellhole named school he lived in had no heating, and the coldness irradiated from the walls when he wanted to rest. He then seemed obliged to pile the entire stack of quilts he had, but it was all futile: His fingers were cold, his toes were freezing and in the middle of the night, he could distinguish his breaths become mist and dance into nothingness.
His room was entirely coloured in a dull blue, as well as other's students, and that did not help at all at the idea of living one of the coldest winters of his life. Although, he would admit that the soft beams of the sunlight were like a blessing each morning. That was the only time his body would melt the ice from the night and allow him to feel his limbs again.
Even though the morning sunrays were the most pleasant, Ralph couldn't stand that he was always fully awake to receive them. Between the unbearable coldness of the room and the screaming whispers from the wind, the mix would make anyone go crazy enough to forbid them to catch some Zs.
That was the exact time he was left alone with his thoughts. Terrifying, haunting and nightmarish. He could not stand being by himself, feeling the racing beats of his heart and the blonde hairs sticking into his sweaty forehead, trembling in sheer terror and lost in the dark. He hated the nights, the blue, the cold and the loneliness, every part of it.
***
He thought things would get better with the annual trip to France. He had enjoyed it the last time they went to Nord-Pas-de-Calais, even though the entire country seemed a little too humdrum compared to other tourist destinations like the famous country of freedom that shone from the other side of the pond. But Ralph could not complain: his monotonous school with its boring rooms had to go on a trip to a boring country full of bland cheese and incredibly long baguettes.
What was even more boring was finally arriving and going to dull museums that didn't show anything new but old and stolen things from the past. Now they went to Normandy, expecting some novelty, but it was all the same for Ralph. The great Church of Saint-Maclou stood across the street from him and the rest of his classmates and welcomed him with loud chimes. The holiness was hard to stare at: it felt like chlorine burning his eyes as the incense made him dizzy.
He had to sit down before falling to his knees as he examined the enormous white walls, dyed glasses and the vertiginous organ. The wintery scenery resonated with the whiteness of the insides and made Ralph feel cold again, even though he had a scarf wrapped up tight around his neck. As before, he was freezing, blue and alone in France, the only difference being that it was daytime, but the night promised similar plans.
A flame appeared in his vision, moving solemnly and wearing a long thick black cape. There he was, the choir leader with an amused smile all over his face. Unlike Ralph, Jack Merridew seemed to have the time of his life. He was always like that. He loved France, winter, the cold, the blue, the church, and everything Ralph could despise. He was so interested and captured by this that made Ralph snort with irony and bitterness.
***
Of all places they could go in darn France, Normandy had to be in at the lowest positions of Ralph's ranking. The trip was not to last over two days and a night, but when he thought things couldn't get worse, his arrival at the hotel room came. While opening the door, he met a cosy bedroom with warm lighting and two beds covered in white sheets.
He rolled his eyes over, hoping he would at least get a normal flatmate, and he placed his suitcase on the bed below the window. He opened it a little, just enough for the cold breeze to keep him calm and blow away the negativity from him. He felt a little humidity while inhaling, sensing a good storm for tomorrow morning and smiled. Maybe the awful and boring museums would close if there was a storm, and then he would have more time to sleep. That sounded delightful in his mind.
The intrigue replaced that peaceful feeling as he heard a specific knocking on the door.
Tap, tap... tap, tap... tap.
A unique melody was patted from the other side, expecting an answer.
Ralph did not have enough time to respond to it since the door was now open and showed a particular ginger coming through it. The awestruck smile that Jack used to have in the church was now a blank stare of disbelief. The blonde closed his eyes while feeling the growing pain developing at the bridge of his nose and escalating into his entire head.
This trip couldn't get worse, right?