Kissing in the Snow

“Vic, guess what?”

I close my locker and turn around to face my boyfriend Kellin, who looks like he’s about to explode with excitement. “What?” I ask.

"The weather reports say we’re supposed to get a ton of snow tomorrow," he says. "It’s gonna be, like, at least a foot, or something like that. Which means no school. Which means snowmen and sledding and yes.” He pumps his fist, smiling like a small child. That’s how Kellin is when it comes to snow, especially in this case, since we haven’t had any yet this season.

"Shhh, don’t get my hopes up," I tease. "You’re gonna jinx it. We’ll probably get all excited and expect to get a day off, and then we’ll wake up and there’ll be no snow at all."

"Shut up," he replies. "There’s a very high chance of us getting snow tomorrow. Stop trying to ruin my fun, Grinch."

"I’m just being realistic," I say, but I know there’s no dampening his spirit. He could find out that he’s failing all his classes and still walk around like it’s the best day ever. It’s adorable, really.

"Realistic isn’t fun. Let me live in my winter wonderland fantasy world."

Throughout the day, I overhear him talking about it to other people, and by lunchtime, I can feel a buzz of anticipation in the air. Other kids are saying that they saw it on the news, too, and now it seems like everyone is at least somewhat excited at the thought of a foot of snow, though most of us are probably more excited about missing school than we are about the actual snow. A few people—Kellin included—are even occasionally glancing out the windows, just in case the snow comes early. It’s crazy—you’d think, living in the northern US, that we’d be used to this by now. Maybe it’s just the fact that it’s the first snow of the season. Maybe, in my case, it’s just the way Kellin has talked about it, the way he practically skips down the hallway. He really is like a child.

Every weather report is saying different things, but they all have the same promise: Snow. When I go to sleep that night, it still hasn’t started yet, but it’s almost guaranteed that there will be something on the ground when I wake up.

—

I guess we should’ve known not to get our hopes up. It’s Murphy’s Law.

The school air seems especially depressing this morning. There is nothing on the ground; not a single snowflake has fallen. Weather reports are inaccurate all the time, but these felt like they had to be right. And they weren’t.

"I was wrong."

Kellin’s voice is quiet and sad, his hopes crushed. He watches me intently as we stand by my locker, as if he’s waiting for me to say, “I told you so.”

I don’t.

"It’s okay," I assure him. "It’s not your fault. Weather reports are wrong sometimes."

He just stares at me for a few seconds. “I just…I got, like, the whole school excited, and now there’s nothing.” He shakes his head and looks away. “I just wanted it to snow, damn it.” Then he looks back up at me. “Why do I even care so much? It’s just snow, for fuck’s sake. What am I, five?”

I give him a quick kiss, because it looks like he needs it. “For the record,” I say, “I think your passion for snow is quite adorable.”

He smiles a little, blushing slightly. “Thank you.”

The whole day goes by in slow motion, even though it’s just like any other school day. I go home, do my homework, text Kellin, argue with my brother Mike about something irrelevant…it’s all just a normal night. What I don’t expect is for Mike to wake me up the next morning and shout in my ear, “Vic, you’re late!”

I rub my eyes. “Wha…?”

Out in the hallway, I hear my mom call, “Mike, let your brother sleep in!”

"Huh?" I say, pushing myself up into a sitting position. "What’s going on?"

"I’m kidding, you’re not late," Mike says, pointing out my bedroom window. "Looks like the weather reports were, though. See for yourself."

I climb out of bed and look out the window. Sure enough, there it is in all its glory—the snow that was falsely promised yesterday. “Holy shit.”

I grab my phone off the nightstand, but there are no messages from Kellin—he must still be sleeping. Perfect. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he wakes up.

"Hey, Mom, I’m going to Kellin’s house," I say after rapidly getting myself ready. Mom just gives me a thumbs-up sign and tells me to be back by dinnertime. Kellin and I have been best friends for years, even before we started dating, and we live really close, so our parents are used to us walking over to each other’s houses at this point. The closeness is especially convenient right now, since I really don’t want to be driving in this wintery mess.

"Is Kellin still asleep?" I ask his mom once I’ve reached his house. "More importantly, can I wake him up?"

"Yes and yes," his mother replies, grinning. "He’s gonna love this."

I rush upstairs and into his room, taking a quick moment to smile to myself at how cute he is while he’s sleeping. I grab one of his shirts from his closet and tie it around his eyes as a makeshift blindfold. “Hey, Kellin,” I whisper, “you should wake up.” I kiss him on the cheek.

He makes a tiny noise and shifts around. “Vic?” he says sleepily, tugging at the blindfold. “What are you…?”

"Don’t pull that off," I tell him. "I want to show you something."

"Wait, what time is it? Shouldn’t we be in school?"

"It’s early. School starts in an hour," I lie. "We’ve got time." I take his wrist and pull him up. "Now come on."

"Um, okay," he says slowly, letting me lead him downstairs.

"You might want to put shoes on," I say. "And a coat. And maybe a hat. We’re going outside."

"Wait, why? How big is this thing? Is it an early Christmas gift or something? Oh, God, how much money did you spend on it? Do you want me to pay you back?" He bombards me with questions as I help him clumsily put on his shoes, a coat, and a beanie.

"Hush, child," I tease. "All shall be revealed. In about fifteen seconds. I’ve got a surprise for you. Actually, that sounds weird, because that implies that I got this surprise for you. I didn’t. Mother Nature did."

"Wait, what?" Kellin says as I open the front door and lead him out onto the porch. The smile he gives me is a cautious one, as if he’s afraid to get his hopes up again. "Is this what I think it might be?"

"Maybe it is." I untie the blindfold and pull it off, revealing his snow-covered neighborhood, along with the snowflakes still falling from the sky. "Is this what you thought it might be?"

Kellin gasps a little, eyes wide with wonder. “Oh my God,” he breathes, turning to me. “You’re the best.” Unexpectedly, he hugs me.

I laugh, hugging him back. “You say this as if I just magically made it snow for you.”

"Well, still. You’re the best." He pulls away and drags me out into the yard, letting the snow fall down all around us. It really does feel magical, in a strange sort of way. Once again, maybe it’s just Kellin. Maybe he’s the one who makes it magical.

"People always talk about kissing in the rain," he says, "but what about kissing in the snow?"

Before I can react, he’s pressing his lips to mine, and I kiss him back, wrapping my arms around his waist as he wraps his around my neck. His lips are soft and warm despite the cold, and I’ve decided that I want to stay like this forever.