Glitter in the Snow

Reader, I don't want to disappoint you, but the fact is, I didn't talk to Felix again for another two weeks. I know, I know, but what did you expect me to do, jump him? Not to give anything away, but that comes later.

For now, he was just some guy I smiled at in the hallway. He would smile back and I would glow a little. I started learning where and when I might pass him and did my best to oh-so-casually head that way. I think I'll stop there. I don't want you to think that I was stalking him. No, he had just become a... point of interest, let's say.

So the fall musical rehearsals started up, and with them started pit orchestra rehearsals. Four days a week for three to four hours each session, my friends and I, along with a reasonable portion of the student body, forfeited our social lives. Of course, that's not quite true for me, because this was probably the most typically social thing I did all year. Padric was involved, too, which was great. He was cast as Enjolras.

That's right. We were doing Les Misérables. Be jealous. Be extraordinarily, very jealous.

My best friends were with me in the pit. I haven't really told you about them, have I? Well, there's Cassidy, who's always wearing a dizzying array of bright colors, Grace, who is as sweet as her name, Bex, who's sassy and confident- and, yeah, a bitch sometimes, and Melody, who is the kind of girl who shows up on every page of the yearbook.

How she managed to do that and still be best friends with we socially insignificant people, I could never figure out.

But back to the point- pit orchestra. It was hard, fitting that in plus homework plus whatever hours I was still able to manage at work, but I did my best. Who needed sleep, anyway?

Ahem. Apparently I did. I was positively slap-happy on this particular Wednesday, just a week or so into rehearsals. Everything that happened was hilarious, especially when I played a wrong note. It amused me because the reason I had absolutely no time to practice was that I spent too much time in rehearsal.

So when I played an A sharp instead of a B, I burst out laughing, laughing so hard that my eyes watered. Because of my overfilled eyes, my vision was blurred so that I couldn't read my sheet music. The irony of that only made me laugh harder.

The conductor, Mrs. Klayman, looked at me like I was nuts, but I saw concern in her gaze, too. "Is everything alright, Ms. McKendry?" The way she always addressed her students reminded me of Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter. Stern, but caring.

"I just need more sleep, I think," I gasped as soon as I was able to breathe after my fit of laughter. I giggled again.

"What's the hold-up?" someone called from on-stage.

Now, allow me to paint you a picture. The pit that the orchestra plays from is in front of the stage, but several feet lower than the level on which the audience is seated. You know, that's why it's called a pit. It's so that they won't see us. The downfall? We couldn't see them, or anything that happened on stage unless someone was standing right at the edge.

So I had to lean back and crane my neck in order to see the speaker. When I did, my amusement died and suddenly, the whole situation wasn't so funny, after all. In fact, it was downright embarrassing. Bex, who sat on my left, nudged me.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Oh, right. I hadn't told anyone about meeting Felix. That was something that they would berate me for later. But why would I have? He was just some guy I'd run into. But that didn't mean I wanted him witnessing this.

"Just a little glitch. Let's start from the beginning." She gave me another stern look, and I knew when Felix glanced at me with an amused grin that he hadn't missed it. My cheeks flushed, but I couldn't turn away.

Bex elbowed me and said, in a voice louder than necessary, "You are spilling later even if I have to yank your wisdom teeth to get you to do it."

"How would that work? Would I be able to talk past the swelling? Besides, there's nothing to tell," I said. It was still true then, but now that I knew that he was in the musical, or was somehow involved, I fully meant to find the answers to all sorts of questions that were invading my mind. Things like, was he in the play or was he more behind-the-scenes? And if he was in the musical, itself, what was his part? Marius, that was my guess. He had the kind of romantic hero thing going for him that was generally type cast into that role.

That was just a fancy way of admitting that he was very, very easy on the eyes.

Seriously.

Padric could have told me the answers, of course, but then I wouldn't have a reason to talk to him again, and I wanted to. Half out of guilt and half because of that intriguing, exquisite walk of his.

Yeah. Normal? Not really my thing.

The only problem was that I honestly couldn't figure out a way to approach him without it seeming too… intentional. Of course, that's exactly what it was. So it was pretty lucky that, when I was packing up my viola, he walked over to me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, smiling briefly so that his dimples flashed. I frowned. Why on earth would he ask that? Was it just small talk? But that look on his face, it was too personal for that.

"How am I supposed to be feeling?" I asked. There. That was safe. Not only that, but it surprised a laugh out of him. I liked his laugh, the way it burst out of nowhere, an explosion of color in a dark room.

Boy, does that sound fake, but I meant it. All of the little things drew me in to Felix, latching little hooks in me and demanding my interest.

And as for that, my interest? He had it.

"Well, after that fall you took a couple of weeks ago…" Oh, right. That.

"I'm alright. Thanks for asking." Can you say awkward? Because that's exactly how this felt. Felix coughed uncomfortably and was about to turn away when I blurted out, "You're in the play?"

He looked relieved. "Yeah. I'm Marius."

I laughed, but instantly felt bad. "Oh, I'm not laughing at you, I promise. It's just that I was kind of guessing that you would play Marius."

"Why, do you relate yourself to Cosette?" I knew that my eyes had widened owlishly, but what was I supposed to say to that?

For those of you who aren't so familiar with Les Mis (shame on you), Cosette is Marius' love interest. I elbowed him in the rib, which only made him laugh harder.

"I like making you blush," Felix said. "With such dark hair and those grey eyes of yours, it's nice to see a little color."

"That sounds an awful lot like a compliment. I suppose I should thank you." I fumbled with my bow. My fingers were sweaty, so I was having trouble turning the knob that would loosen the hairs.

"You're flustered," Felix realized. He liked this. "And here I always imagined it would be nigh on impossible to ruffle your feathers."

"You've thought about me?" I blurted. Inwardly, I cursed myself. That was in no circumstance the right thing to say. Why did I have to get so stupid around him?

My heart was beating so fast, I felt a little sick.

"Of course I have. It's not every day I get a girl running straight into me. I was guilty for days. I have to learn to watch where I'm walking." I opened my mouth to point out that it had been all my fault, but he gave me a silencing look. "I'd like to make it up to you. How about I buy you a coffee?"

Oh. So that's what he'd been getting at. I wanted to say, "You don't even know me," but wasn't that the point of coffee dates, getting to know people? His eyes latched onto mine, daring me to refuse.

"I have a ton of homework to do," I said after a moment. His expression froze, like he was trying very hard not to react. "I wish I could, but there's just not enough time in the day. You know, there's no rehearsal on Friday."

"So, Friday?" I nodded. Why were Fridays suddenly the most exciting day in my life? I couldn't wait to tell the girls. Coffee. With Felix. "There's no backing out now," he warned. "You've gotten my hopes up."

I laughed. "What if there's a hurricane? Or maybe I'll be in a coma. Can I back out then?"

Felix shook his head. "Definitely not. It's troubled times that make it even more important to live life to the fullest."

"And spending time with you is the way to do it?" I asked dryly. He shot me a sarcastic look.

"Yes. Now, will you at least let me give you a ride home? It's raining out. You shouldn't have to walk in this." How did he know that I walked? I was just wondering whether he was as creepy as he was charming, but then he gestured toward my umbrella. "You wouldn't carry that for nothing."

"Well, alright. Okay. Thank you." I picked up my viola case and headed toward my orchestra locker. My hands shook so much that it took several tries to get the lock combination right. Felix said not a word, but I knew that he noticed. It only took meeting him once to know that he was a people-watcher.

"All set?" he asked when I turned back toward him. He looked amused. I huffed out a breath, making my bangs fly out of control. I giggled. Few things amused me more than that. Felix glanced my way as we headed side-by-side down the hallway, but rather than looking like he was questioning my sanity, he looked like he was as amused by my silly hair trick as I was. In that instant, I realized that he and I, we weren't so very different, after all.

Why did that only make me more nervous?

Now, I'll bet you're dying to hear about that coffee date, or at the very least, my ride home. But I can't just spill the whole story now, can I? I'm going to build up the suspense. And when I tell you about it, you'll revel in the glory of it all.

Okay, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement. But really, is there anything more exciting than a new kind-of-friendship? Especially with a charming, intriguing guy? Yeah, that's what I thought.