Melodies

I woke up earlier than anyone else, to no one's surprise. I was only able to sleep a few hours at a time. I woke up around 6, and there was nothing but silence.

Sydney and I had a room to ourselves. Kim and Elizabeth shared a bed in a room with Courtney and Brittany, who shared the other bed. Alex and Ashton were sleeping on the furniture in the living room area. And as far as I knew, no one else was awake. There was no speech, laughter, music or clicking on phones. It was so quiet, and so perfect.

I turned around in bed to look out the huge window that we slept in front of. It was still so dark out, and the stillness of everything was magical. The snow covered everything in a thick, but fragile layer of comfort and cleanliness.

I knew immediately that I had to be out there.

I crawled out of bed slowly, making sure not to wake Sydney, who was dead asleep and hot as hell. I pulled on a coat and Sydney's boots, going outside through the back door.

It was so cold outside, but I didn't mind. It was just beautiful. There weren't any animals, any stupid insects. There was no noise except for the occasional hushed sound of wind as it started to snow again. I was freezing, but I couldn't make myself go back in. It was like I was in another world.

I was out there for a little while, captivated by everything, when the quiet was broken by the sound of a door opening and shutting. I looked around to see Sydney walking towards me, looking so cute in his coat.

I turned back around as he approached me, taking in my last few seconds alone with the outside world. He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, and I leaned back, his weight supporting me.

"It's so pretty."

"It's also like 6:30," he grumbled.

I turned to see a sleepy pout on his face. "Why are you out here then?"

He sighed. "I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep without you."

I grinned. "Maybe we should go back inside."

"Maybe."

We stood outside, surrounded by the trees and the snow and the darkness for a little bit more, until I took him by his hand and pulled him back inside, where we got back in bed, trying to get closer and closer together to warm up again.

He pulled the covers tighter around us. "I can't believe you went outside. You hate nature." He muttered softly, and it became increasingly apparent how close he was to falling back asleep.

"It was different. There weren't any bugs."

He smiled. "They're all at a business meeting, plotting against you."

I rolled my eyes. "Go to sleep."