And as the Snowflakes Fall...

Max stood in the middle as the three boys watched Scarlet throw herself around the stage screaming her lungs out, inviting the fans to do the same. She was clearly born for this, and by the public's response, she was really good at it. Watching Marc to his left, he saw him tap his foot slightly at the beat and even mouth along to the words at choruses. As for Kris, he was alternating between looking at the stage and the bar. He himself couldn't peel his eyes away from Scarlet for more than a second or two, completely captivated by her stage presence.

The fact that the afternoon kept replaying in his mind wasn't helping either. When he finally arrived home, he crashed on the couch and stared at the ceiling for at least an hour, one particular girl completely filling his thoughts. He thought about what he could've done differently, how he would've wanted her to react. But all of that didn't matter. She had invited him to her gig that night, and he was determined to make a difference this time. So he called Marc before jumping in the shower, trying to ignore the lead butterflies in his stomach.

But here he was now, and he was having second thoughts about his decision. Chickening out, really. There probably was a reason why she acted the was she did. Probably the same reason that made her grimace at the very sound of his name. But if she did hate him, why had she invited him? Maybe she felt bad for him, forcing him out of his hole to find some attractive and slightly slutty girl to bring home. But why exactly would she do that...?

The one thing he did notice though, was how close she seemed to be with her lead guitarist. Just a little taller than she was, his spiked blond hair gave him an inch or two. He too was throwing himself all over the place, and when he wasn't, he was right up in Scarlet's personal space, breathing in her ear while she sang and letting her rest her head on his shoulder while she rocked out her solos. He even saw him lick a long stripe on her neck once, making the fans go wild. She simply grinned back and grabbed his ass, skipping a bar before coming right back into the song.

Why couldn't she be like that with him?

He grew more and more anxious as the songs flew by, bringing him closer to what he had to do. He had already decided his course of action. He was going to go backstage, walk right up to her, and kiss her in front of everyone and God. Everything that happened after would be unimportant, although he hoped he wouldn't have too big of a whiplash from her slap.

The show finally ended after two encores, and the mob at the stage started to make its way to the actual bar. He said a quick goodbye to his friends, saying he'd talk to them the next day, before heading towards where the band had exited. Oblivious to Marc's inquiring look, he jumped onto the stage, as confident-looking as if he were allowed to do that, and walked behind the curtain to find... the guitarist.

He froze, unsure about what to do next. He was about to leave and call it quits when the guy turned around to face him. "Hey man." He said, coiling some wire that lay around. "What you up to?"

Max coughed, unsure about what to say. "Hey, I'm just looking for Scarlet..."

The guy smiled and shook his head. "Look man, just because she's single doesn't mean..."

"Oh no, I know her." He cut in. "My name's Max, and she asked me to meet her backstage." He stretched the truth a little, but if that was what it took, then he was going to do it.

The musician stayed passive, sizing him up. "So you're Max." He stated matter-of-factly.

Max swallowed the huge lump that was forming in his throat. "Yeah."

He nodded. "Scarlet talks about you sometimes." He didn't elaborate, and his voice betrayed nothing more. "I'm Kyle by the way."

"Cool. So, do you know where she is?" He asked, not wanting to know whether it was a good thing or not if she talked about him.

Kyle simply continued to stare at him, lost in his thoughts. Finally he said, "Just go back there and turn right." He pointed.

Max grinned, his confidence coming back. "Thanks a bunch." He started walking away when Kyle called out to him. Confused, he turned.

"Hurt her and I kill you." Was all he said. Max nodded and he turned away, walking to the door that led outdoors and disappearing behind it.

It took a second for Max to recover from his comment, but he kept on walking, more sure than ever. He soon came up to an open space where Scarlet stood, her back to him. She looked so tiny, surrounded by all sorts of shit he didn't really care about. All he saw was her, and he quickly walked up to her, his plan perfectly etched in his mind,

But he chickened out. At the very last second, he wrapped his arm around her waist, feeling her jump as his chest pressed against her back and placed a soft kiss where her neck meets her collar bone.

"What are you doing?" She asked, trying to pull away. It had little to no conviction though, as he didn't even have to try to pull her back. He knew perfectly well that, in other circumstances, he would have had all the trouble in the world to keep her.

"I just want to talk to you." He didn't mean it to come out as a whisper, but he still found that the murmur of his voice resonated in the empty local. He waited for her to say something, and started getting edgy until she finally said, equally loud, "well, talk."

He swallowed, trying to gather his thoughts. The silence around them was comfortable as she placed her hands on top of his, waiting patiently for him to say what was on his mind. He hoped this was a good sign.

"Listen, about what happened this afternoon..." He trailed off, unsure about what to say. His thoughts were jumping all over the place, and all he wanted to do was to turn her around and kiss her. But he knew that they needed to talk, as hard as it may be.

"I know." He felt her smile against him. "Temporary laps of judgment from both of us. Won't happen again, right?" She nodded to herself, breaking his heart in two. Well, nothing to lose now.

"What if I want it to happen again?" He pressed his lips to her ear, whispering. She didn't respond right away, and he closed his eyes, hoping.

She unwrapped his arms from around her. "No way. I refuse to be one of your one-night stands." She whirled around to face him. Her makeup was running due to the sweat, her hair was disheveled and her face was pink from the workout she had on stage. She had never looked so beautiful.

"That's not what I want. How could you think that?" He moved forward, but she stepped back, keeping the distance.

"Um, maybe 'cause that's you? That's what you do, hookups. When's the last time you've had an honest-to-God relationship?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, there's this one girl I really like, but she won't even look at me." He smiled weakly in her direction, fighting the overwhelming urge to look at the ground.

Scarlet's hard look softened somewhat, but she didn't budge. "Why do you flirt with every other girl when she's around then?" She asked, following his game.

He tried stepping towards her again, and this time she didn't move. He wrapped his arms around her once again, noticing like every time how well she fit against him. "I wanted you to notice me. You never acknowledge me when I'm around." He looked at her straight in the eyes,hoping he wasn't laying all his cards down for nothing.

Scarlet simply stared back, her face blank. This was suicide. Just because they had a moment, one single moment, it had erased all the other times they had been together from his mind. But then again, she was still here, safe in his arms. Finally she asked, "do you wear your glasses for me?" Her voice was weak, uncertain.

He smiled. "Yeah. I still don't understand why you fall for guys with glasses, but I figured..." He let his sentence hang. The end was obvious for both of them.

She nodded, her cheeks flushing. "Well, it does make you more handsome." She admitted, smiling into space.

"So I'm handsome?" He grinned, pressing his nose against hers. She just pushed his chest playfully, making him laugh. She looked up at the sound, and she bit her lip, making her that much more adorable. His lips inched closer to hers, stopping just before. "Can I kiss you now?" He asked, his lips brushing against her own.

"Do you really have to ask?" She grumbled, and he had a smile on his lips when he finally pressed them against hers.

He was only partly aware of her arms slipping around his neck, fully into the kiss he had been dreaming about for so long. Goosebumps ran across his body when she started playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, and he picked her up off the ground, making her squeal but never break the kiss.

He slipped his hand under her shirt, running his hand up her back when an exaggerated cough came from behind him, making them both jump and pull apart. There stood Kyle, arms crossed in front of his chest and a smile on his lips. "Hate to break the little love fest here, but we really need to fuck off."

Scarlet narrowed her eyes at her band mate as she felt now-familiar arms slip around her waist yet again. "I hate you Kyle." She huffed.

"Love you too honey." He winked, making Max tighten his hold on her protectively.

Scarlet laughed, raising her head and pecking him on the lips as Kyle left, shaking his head. "A little jealous, are we?"

"What? I just don't like when others hit on my girl." He huffed, pouting like a five year old.

Scarlet just smiled. "So I'm your girl then?"

He looked down at her, serious. "Only if you want to be."

She only stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, still smiling.

And that was the reason why Max Talbot, who absolutely loathed winter, ended up thanking every higher power for the wonderful snow day they had given him.