And as the Snowflakes Fall...

Scarlet sighed, standing up from the dinner table. “I gotta go,” she looked out the window at the huge snow fluffs falling to the ground. “By the time I take the snow off my car, I’ll already have to be at the gig.” Walking towards the door, she heard a chair screech against the linoleum and turned around to find Max on his feet, already pushing his chair back in. “I’ll help you,” he said, circling her waist with his arm and pulling her towards the coat closet. “I was about to leave anyway.

The girl looked back at the table to find her best friend, Marc, and Kris looking at both of them, perplexed. She reacted by moving forward, letting his arm fall by his side. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone that she found Max’s habit of flirting with anyone over eighteen with boobs more than annoying, especially since he seemed to particularly enjoy hitting on her. So, grabbing her coat, she pulled on her boots and was out the door before he could even reach the hall. “See you guys later.” She left, leaving the door open for Max anyway because, hey, she wasn’t a mean kid.

Once outside, she breathed in her hands to warm them up. Cursing her habit of never wanting a hat or gloves, she started shuffling through her pockets for her car keys, going faster when she couldn’t fins them. C’mon, she had arrived here by car. It simply was impossible that...

“Looking for these?” She heard behind her.

She turned around to see Max standing a couple feet away from her, jingling her keys and smiling innocently. He was wearing his glasses that day, and they kept getting splashed by the humongous snowflakes that still floated around, and his two-day stubble started to attract the snow until half his jaw was white. Even she had to admit that, standing there in this fairy-like background, he did have some charm. A lot in fact, not that she would ever tell him.

“Thanks.” She said instead, taking her keys and unlocking her doors. She bent down to grab her broom from the floor (she always put it on the backseat but, well, she was a girl who enjoyed speed. A lot.) and stood back up, turning to find Max’s eyes snap up to lock onto hers once again. She couldn’t not know what he was looking at before, but she did try to kid herself that the light feeling in her chest was simply from the wind around her. Alright, she would admit he was hot. Very hot even, but such a jerk.

Jerk, that’s why he offered to help her. Obviously.

“Sorry, I only have one broom.” She shrugged as he kept wiping his glasses with his fingers, desperately trying to see properly. She didn’t understand why he had them on at the moment; he hated wearing them, especially when he was trying to impress someone. Say, a girl. But as she thought back, she had to realize that she had seen him more and more with them in he past few weeks. And she didn’t need some of her own to see that it suited him very well, making him that much more handsome.

Max just shook his sleeves over his hands as an answer. “No problem.” He grinned widely, making her unable to resist the small smile tugging at her own lips. “Alright then.” She said.

They had been working for less than five minutes when she already got bored. Not only did she have a short attention span, but the heavy snow kept erasing all the work they were doing, making the whole operation hopeless. So she looked up at the horizon instead, drinking in the scenery this town in the outskirts of Montreal had to offer.

“Urgh, I’m getting sick of this snow.” Max complained, shaking his sleeves back up. “It doesn’t look like we’ve done anything,”

“Yeah but, look how pretty it is.” She said back. Her companion simply slid next to her, wrapping both his arms around her waist and leaning slightly against her. She decided to ignore it this time, focusing instead on the beauty of the landscape. Tilting her head up, she stuck her tongue out to catch snowflakes, simply resulting in flinching when she saw their size, laughing at herself. She tried again with the same result.

Max looked at her, bemused. “Are you afraid of snowflakes?” He looked up with her, noticing how her body fit against his, even through the layers of padding a Canadian winter asked for.

“I’m not afraid.” She answered. “Just... surprised.” She looked back down at the horizon, pouting ever-so-slightly.

He laughed, looking back down at her. “I don’t know for you, but regular people usually stop being surprised after the first or second time.” His remark made her narrow her eyes at him, her heart jumping at the sight of his genuinely amused face so close to hers. She couldn’t permit herself to see him as anything more than her best friend’s annoying tag-along. He flirted with anyone, she wasn’t anything special.

“Very funny.” She tried to cover, looking away. As she opened her mouth to say some sarcastic comment or another, a big, fluffy piece of snow landed square on her nose. She crossed her eyes slightly to look at it, laughing whole-heartily at the innocence of it all. Max couldn’t help but laugh along, watching the flake melt slowly on her face.

Scarlet was still laughing when she felt his lips on her nose, melting the snowflake and making the blood rush to her cheeks. He was smiling down at her sweetly, but broke the moment when he sighed, annoyed, and wiped another splotch in his glasses. She smiled a little, stepping back slightly to put some distance between the two of them. His arms stayed around her waist though.

“Why are you wearing your glasses today? I thought you hated them.” She asked, trying to get her mind off what had just happened.

Max shrugged, moving sideways almost unconsciously to close the space that had formed between the two. "I felt like it. Didn't know I'd be blinded by big fluffs of white though." He sniffled, nose running from the cold. "What are you complaining about anyway? I thought you liked guys with glasses."

Her eyebrows show up at the comment, surprised. She faintly remembered telling Marc, one day or another, that glasses on a guy were a definite plus. That couldn't be the sole reason he actually had them on, right?

"Hmm. There are a lot of inconveniences of wearing glasses in the wintertime." Scarlet agreed, a plan forming in her mind. It didn't cross her mind that this was the first time the two of them have had real, honest conversation, and it was far from being unpleasant.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Max couldn't hid the fact that he was intrigued; this was the first time in months that she flirted back, and he was curious to see where it would all lead to.

Instead of answering, she simply breathed in his eyes, fogging up his glasses, before starting to run. Unfortunately, she had forgotten the vice grip he held on her waist, and simply managed to make them both topple over onto the nearest snowbank, her falling on her back and him falling over her.

"Hey!" He laughed. "If you wanted me, you just had to say."

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "This did not work out the way I planned." She sighed, freeing her hand to remove the fog from his glasses since he made no move to free his own from under her. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes locked with his, suddenly very aware of how romantic the situation seemed, but she found herself unable to move. Max seemed to realize the same thing, as his goofy grin melted into his permanent little smile, his eyes roaming her face, landing on her lips before looking back up.

They stayed like that for a while, unmoving, the rise and fall of their chests almost perfectly in sync. Her heart beating faster, she licked her now-dry lips instinctively, which immediately grabbed Max's attention, and his eyes stayed fixed on her lips for what seemed like an eternity before his head started to drop, his intention clear.

Her brain flipped into panic mode. Was Max really about to kiss her? Did she actually want this to happen? Was the cold affecting her even more than usual? Absent-mindedly, she noticed that the snow had eased relatively to become tiny flecks of cold falling around them. Chickening out, she turned her head to the side, uncomfortable. "Um, my butt's getting cold." She said lamely.

She could feel his breath on her cheek, but she kept her eyes fixed on the mass of white that was now her car, praying silently for him to get off already. Finally he stood, offering a hand to help her, which she accepted. His face was made of stone when she gathered the courage to look at him, and she picked up her broom from the ground just to have an excuse to look away. What had just happened two seconds ago? Was she really about to kiss her best friend's teammate? The one she couldn't see in picture, the one she passed her time trying to avoid? And most importantly, why was she so disappointed he hadn't insisted?

"Um, the guys will be waiting for me, and I gotta go pick up Dragon on the way." She regained her composure, working on her windshield once again.

Max snorted half-heatedly, turning towards her to reply. "I can't believe you actually named your guitar." He started dusting the snow off her back, but stopped when she pulled back.

"It's not only a guitar, it's my very first and the very best I ever had. So yes, I did name him." She replied seriously, ignoring his roll of eyes when she said 'him'. Instead, she finished sweeping the snow off her car and stood back to admire the icy 2002 Sunfire. She was proud of her old car, whatever the boys said about it. Apart from Kyle, they could all talk; they could easily afford a brand new car.

She turned to see Max rooted to the spot, hands shoved deep in his pockets. "Where's your car?"

He shrugged. "I walked over here," was all he said.

Scarlet bit her lip, looking back. "Well, I could give you a lift if you want."

He stayed silent for a moment, eyes fixed on a point around her head before sighing, coming back to reality. "Sure. Thanks for the offer."

She simply nodded, holding the passenger door open for him until he was settled. She then hurried back to her seat, plopping down behind the wheel and starting the engine, turning the heating on full blast. "Ahh, warmth." She said happily, making her companion smile. "So, where to?" She asked, shifting her gear into drive and leaving the parking lot.

"My place." He answered, looking at the inside of her car. She waited for him to elaborate, but when he stayed silent, she tried to shake him from his calm state. It practically scared her; he was usually the hyper little shit. "Getting pampered for your hot date tonight?" She plastered a grin, ignoring the stirring it caused in her chest. What did it change in her life if he was promiscuous? Nothing at all.

"Not really." He smiled back, looking back at her at last. "I've got nothing to do tonight."

She continued to drive as silence fell in the car, and after a minute or two, she spoke up again. "Look, you know I'm playing at the bar tonight. Marc's gonna be there; I think Kris is supposed to come also. If you're interested..." She trailed off, shrugging. "Why don't you tag along?"

"Sure. I'd like that." He smiled at her as she drove into his driveway, shifting the gear into park. Opening his door, he stepped out of the car before turning around, leaning against the door and looking at her. "Thanks for the ride. And the invitation."

"No problem." she smiled back, leaning back against her seat.

He stayed silent for a while before continuing. "You know, I really like that. Talking with you without there being a murder I mean. It's nice."

"Well, I'll stop being a bitch the day you stop being an asshole." She winked at his, making him laugh. "Hey, I'll see you tonight, I really gotta fly." She raised her hand, him doing the same.

"See ya." He closed her car door, walking slowly to his front door while watching her drive away.