Unsteady

The last class of the summer should've had me leaping for joy. Instead, I was leaping from one patch of snow to another. Since I wasn't an ice queen, I was grumpy personified. 

My flimsy umbrella was shelter enough to get me home before I froze to death though. There were a couple of class clowns taking selfies and hooting with laughter. But I trudged on, teeth chattering and dreaming of a sunny beach. The red sea was where nothing terrible could ever happen. The azure waters would lift up the worst swimmers and allow beginner divers to explore the worlds it kept hidden. It has been two excruciatingly long years since I was there. If I had known it would be a long time before we'd be able to meet again, I would've swum a while longer.

But if I thought I was having a bad day, fate was begging me to differ. On the pavement sat a huddled figure of a boy, head resting on his knees. His blond hair was soaked yet hale glided off his snug black waterproof jacket.

I took a step closer. "Hey are you oh...oh no."

The moment I spoke he lifted his head up and sprang to his feet. "Ms. Hei?" He asked as if I were an ancient creature, not a young woman, a tad older than his eighteen years. Invisible walls must've flourished and enclosed us in because suddenly the air was warm and the snow bounced off of us. I sighed in pleasure as my limbs defrosted. 

"That's me last I checked!" I tried to sound cool in the face of the boy's supernatural abilities. 

His ocean blue eyes widened. "How do you do?" the butterscotch voice didn't waver.

Why so formal dude?

I nodded, straightening the hem of my cotton dress. 

"Um. Do you know who I am?"

I took a deep breath, inhaling wet grass and gravel. "Noah Davis. The lead of my book E&R."

The statement turned the tip of his ears pink. I sighed in response and closed the small distance between us and let my shoulders sag against the walls of the looming building. I'd have given my auntie's judgmental cat up to run to the coziness of my room. Yet, I had a feeling it was bad etiquette to abandon your fictional character. "How long have you been out here?"

Noah shrugged. "I was hoping you'd pass by. I meant to...um..."

"Out with it," I said.

He gave me a lopsided smile. "Malik often says this." he shifted from one foot to another. "I was wondering if...you would consider..." 

I had a couple of choices. Let him fluster or give him a nudge in the right direction. I went for the latter, not because I was a softie, but because my socks needed drying. 

"Let me guess," I said. "It has to do with your boyfriend."

Noah nodded.

"You want me to talk to Malik?"

He shook his head. "Could you mediate?"

I scratched my cold nose. "Huh?"

The former homeless nerd regarded me with a fierce gaze. "You helped us meet, guided us in dark moments."

I waved a hand. "You guys did all the work—"

"Help us again," he said. "We need you, Ms. Hei." His Adam's apple bobbed. "I need you."

I cocked my head to the side. "You're asking for book two."

A fervent nod.

I motioned him to stand by my side and he obeyed until we were able to squeeze under my umbrella. "I have no plot."

"You know what happens next."

"Which isn't a plot," I insisted.

We fell into a companionable silence. It should've been awkward but we'd seen each other cry and heard our hearts break. Shyness was a wasted formality. 

"I want him," Noah trembled against my shoulder. "But as Malik said, our relationship goes beyond want."

I tried to come up with a witty repartee, finding none. This was Noah. Sweet, tough as nails, Noah. There would be no hiding. I had been trying to walk away from him, to work on other projects. There was the ebbing fear that I only had one story, his story, in me and nothing else. 

"Remember when we first met?" I cleared my throat. "I tried to make you fit the bad boy mold. Had to re-write the first chapter six times!"

Noah flinched against my shoulder. "I remember."

"God, I hated you." Another flinch. "But...it wasn't your fault. You pushed me to be honest and it hurt."

"I'm sor—"

I shook my head. "Nah. What I'm trying to say is...thank you."

Noah's brows furrowed and before he could recover I leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss against his pale cheek. 

"I..." He traced the kiss with uncertain fingertips. "So you'll do it? Write about us again?"

I laughed then. "I'll really, really, think about it. Cool?"

He bit his bottom lip. "Promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," I chuckled. "Speaking of which, sorry I almost killed you. No offense."

"None was taken." I felt Noah take my hand and squeeze it. "If you ever feel unsteady—" He tapped his head "— don't be alone. Reach out, okay?"

That kid. He's been through hell and back and has been looking out for my mental health all this time.

"You got it."

Sunrays pierced the skies then and the snow came to a halt and vanished without a trace. Noah bewitched me with a dazzling smile. The more I looked at him, the more translucent he became. Until I could make out the outline of the busy street through his slender body. I blinked and he was gone. 

Grinning, my step became lighter. The Donut House beckoned to my rumbling stomach and I entered the warm café. There was no need to run home, my laptop was safe in the backpack.

A red-haired barista rattled off my order. "You seem happy," he said.

My grin got bigger. One day the barista will make it into another one of my books but that day, I had a request from a lovesick nerd I've known for eight months.