Snowed In

Sitting at the counter of the little shop, Alicia wondered what she was still doing there. The resort was being evacuated and the only people staying were the employees that were supposed to clean and close it up. Clearly the people in charge thought she had no life, so there she was stuck looking at the counter she had just cleaned up and thinking of what else she needed to do. Everything was already done, at least in the little ski supply store.

Sighing, she moved away from the glass counter and started for the back of the shop to find Liam. He had been the one to train her in and from the first second they’d met, they’d been on bad terms. Not because he was rude or mean or really for any reason. Just because Alicia didn’t like the way she felt around him. She couldn’t even describe why, but something about him just made her very nervous.

“Hey, Liam,” she said as she found him lining up boxes with skis in them. “Is there anything else I need to do?”

“You finished the front of the store?” he asked his eyes not leaving the boxes for even a second.

“Like I said five minutes ago, it’s been finished,” she replied a hand hitting her hip as she raised an eyebrow at him. “Honestly, do you ever open your ears?”

“Honestly, can’t you just do your job?” he retorted mocking her tone as he turned to look at her. “I mean really, Ali-”

“Alicia.”

“Ali, I’m sure you can find something that needs to be done, I don’t know why you’re asking me.”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I’ve been working here a month and this is the first blizzard I’ve been here for, while you on the other hand have been here for years and know what needs to be done,” she replied with a snippy tone. Turning her head, she looked to the window where the snow was piling up faster than she’d ever seen before. Whipping back around, her thick dark hair flew around her. “I think the blizzard is going to be bad. I can barely see out the window.”

“It’s just a little snow, Ali-“

“Alicia!”

“Ali, I don’t know why you’re so worried,” he said as he turned to the window. “Whoa.”

“Yeah.”

Giving him her best ‘I told you so’ look, she leaned against the white wall she stood by. She liked to be right and she liked it even better when Liam Payne was wrong. He turned his gaze back to her, eyes worried.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to get out of here,” he said. “It looks like we’ve already got around three or four feet of snow and it seems to only be getting worse.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Afraid not.”

“You mean I’m stuck here with you?” She asked her eyes turning to the popcorn ceiling as she prayed it wasn’t true.

“Yep, me and whoever else is still at the lodge.”

“This. Is a nightmare.” Shaking her head, she couldn’t believe it. Luckily for the both of them the little shop was in the lodge and not off on its own like some of the cabins. “A real nightmare.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Ali-“

“Alicia!”

“Ali, It’s not that bad.” He finished giving the girl a glare just as the lights flickered. “At the worst we’ll end up snowed in for a little while.”

“How long is a little while?”

“I don’t know, does it look like I can tell the future?”

Alicia pursed her lips, already feeling fed up with the boy. If he was going to be this obnoxious she didn’t want to be around him so, instead of answering his question, she walked away heading towards the entrance to the lodge. Just as she stepped into the lodge’s hallway, she heard footsteps beside her and found Liam had come along, turned off the lights in the shop and was now going to pull down the metal gate that would lock the shop up completely.

“Mind giving me a hand?” he asked as he started to pull the heavy gate down.

Sighing, she grabbed the gate as soon as he’d gotten in down enough for her to reach it and helped him pull it down. It really was a two person job, but it made sure nothing was stolen. Liam smiled at her and opened his mouth to say something, but just as his voice could be heard, the power went out.

“Ali?” he said worried.

“Alicia!” she snapped for the fourth time that night. “And I’m right here.” Reaching out a hand, she brushed what she hoped was his shoulder with her fingertips. The cotton fabric of his plaid button up was soft to her touch and for a moment she forgot how annoying he was and how he never called her by her name. For a moment she just pictured the handsome short haired boy in the plaid shirt.

“Good,” he said as his hand took hers. “The back-up generator should kick in soon, but stay close until it does.”

“Okay,” she whispered. She didn’t want to admit it, but she liked the warmth of his hand as it held hers. “Just try not to be annoying and we shouldn’t have any problems,” she said, hoping the generator wouldn’t kick in until after the blush that decorated her cheeks was gone. She really didn’t want him to think she liked him or anything.

“I am not annoying,” Liam replied, his hand pulling hers up to where his shoulder really was so that she knew she had missed his shoulder by nearly five inches. “You just don’t get my humor.”

“Can we please just try to get out of this hallway?” She said pulling her hand off his warm shirt. “It’s pitch black.”

“Yeah,” he said and the two started in the direction they hoped would lead to at least a little light.

As they reached the end of the hall they heard a loud hum and the lights came back on, dimmer than they had been before, but on none the less. Alicia sighed in relief and pulled her hand away from his. Turning back to look at him, she saw the boy biting his lip as he slowly returned his hand to his side. His eyes wouldn’t meet hers and for a second Alicia thought she looked funny, like maybe her hair had decide to frizz out like it would at times and make her look like Einstein. Then she noticed the light blush on his cheeks.

“Are you okay?” She asked her brows furrowing in a bit of worry and confusion.

“Yeah, I just don’t like the dark,” he said as they started for the main room of the lodge, the one with the large fireplace. “It’s kind of an embarrassing little fear.”

“Oh.” Biting her lip, Alicia was happy to see the room with the fireplace. Sitting in it were a few other people and she couldn’t have been more relieved. She wouldn’t be stuck with Payne all by herself. Yet, at the same time she could feel just the tiniest bit of disappointment. Shaking her head, she wrote it off, pushing even the slightest thought of it to the back of her mind and found a spot on one of the couches to wait out the storm.