Maybe Friends.

Avery sat on her front steps for hours. She moved around as various parts of her body became numb, but she always had the same pout on her face. She'd never been a real friend of mine, but we'd been neighbors since we were little. We just grew up and hung with different crowds.

It was impossible not to notice Avery James though. She had a classic kind of look that stood out even among the pretty girls. Her hair was a mix of natural blondes instead of those fake dyed types. Her eyes were a bright blue green that could usually only be achieved by colored contacts. Her smile always captivated the most attention though. It was like she had a secret that she loved keeping from everyone.

After about the sixth time I'd seen her pout through the window for what I knew had to be at least three hours since I first saw her, I stepped outside. It was cold and bright. I squinted toward her but I couldn't tell if she was looking this way or not. I debated with myself still as I stood there. We weren't friends, just mere acquaintances.

I finally discarded my doubt and started toward her. It wasn't until I was in her yard and the shadow of her house covered me that I could actually see her. She had been leaning against the hand rail to her stairs before, but she was sitting up straight now. Her eyes were more blue today and they stared at me questionably.

"Hey Eric." Her voice wraps around me name and I almost forget why I came over.

"H-hey Avery." I get the words out but my mind isn't sure anymore. "What are you doing?"

She shrugged. "Enjoying the Arizona air?"

I clear my throat. "You all right though? You looked kind of upset. That's why I came over." I squint again, pretending it's bright so I don't have to look directly at her.

"I was just glowering at the weather." She shrugs again, like this is something normal.

"Did it do something wrong?" I kind of chuckle as she glares up toward the sky.

"Well it's December, and it'll be Christmas soon, and there's no snow." She looks back at me. "There should be snow."

"It's definitely cold though. It would be only a matter of time before it snows." I hated how much I sounded like my own parents.

"It's not Christmas without snow." She mumbled and sighed. "The news predicts we won't get any until after Christmas."

"Since when is the news right about the weather though?" I try a smile and she just shakes her head.

"It's not even close to cold enough for snow." She stands up. "Thank you for checking on me though. That's sweet of you." She gives me one of those smiles. The secret holding kind.

"Anytime." My turn to shrug as I take a few steps backwards. "Don't give up yet though. I'm sure things will turn your way." We exchange half waves before I turn around and head back into my own house.

Everything feels weird when I get there though. There's something that's just off. It's not until I'm up safe in my room that it hits me.

Avery and I have never had an actual conversation. We've talked in school about projects or homework or assignments We've never talked about ourselves or even the weather. We're not friends, but Avery James knew my name.



Christmas Eve came and still there was no snow. There wasn't even a chance of snow coming. It was cold, sure, but Avery had called it. It wasn't cold enough to snow for Christmas. She hadn't been out pouting anymore, but I felt like I could still feel her disappointment.

It's not Christmas without snow.

She had said that like she didn't want me to hear it. Another secret like her smile. I tried to shake her from my thoughts but it turned out useless. She would always sneak back with those blue green eyes or that angry pout at the sky. It was almost evening when I made my decision.

Avery James wanted a white Christmas, and we may not be friends, but she deserved a white Christmas and I seemed to be the only chance she had at getting to have one.

Calling around town was my first attempt. It was futile though. No one had fake snow. It would be pointless to get it offline because of course it couldn't make it one time. That left me with the only option I really had. To make snow myself.

I searched the internet and started to immediately hate myself for committing to this. The most popular way people had found to make fake snow was to tear apart baby diapers and pour water on the weird gel that was supposed to absorb baby pee. Not the ideal way to spend Christmas Eve by far.

Thankfully I finally found a helpful stay at home mom from Ohio who taught me to make snow from baking soda and water. What she needed fake snow for in Ohio was behind me, but it got the job done. I spent a good portion of the night pouring baking soda and water into buckets and mixing it so it would be fluffy enough.

My body ached by early morning when I took it outside. Her happiness outweighed my fear of her parents anger so I dusted the whole front yard and some of the porch with the snow. They seemed to be heavy sleepers since no one stopped me.

The hardest part was figuring out how to get the stuff on the roof. I tried one snow ball but after the sound I immediately decided the effect was not worth the risk. The noise was too much so I left the roof mostly untouched.

There were still two buckets full of fake snow when I decided the yard looked good enough. I carried them back to my hard and left them at the side of the house. I smiled sleepily as I looked over my work. It obviously hadn't snowed, but it should at least make it a good Christmas for her.

I forced my feet back inside and slid into bed shortly after three in the morning. I was dragged out of bed in only a few more hours by my brother though. He was still young so the Christmas morning thing was important to my parents for now. I barely made it through opening presents but I welcomed a warm cup of hot chocolate.

"It looks like the James' got super into the Christmas spirit this year." I hid my grin at my dads comment behind my cup.

I managed to excuse myself outside at the perfect timing though. I was standing on my porch watching her house. The lights were on, so I knew they were up. I wondered if she'd even noticed yet, or if I'd even get to know what she thought about it.

Avery James stepped out the front door then with the biggest smile I'd ever seen. She ran over to me as soon as her eyes could peel themselves from the white fluff on her grass. She was panting when she stopped at the bottom of my steps.

"This was you?" She was still grinning wide.

I shrugged and tried hard to keep my own smile from splitting my face. "I can't control the weather." She giggled and before I could fully register it, she was up the stairs. Her lips were cool as they quickly pressed against mine and then disappeared. I blinked and she was back at the bottom of the stairs. I could smell some kind of flower in her absence.

"Thank you." I started to think maybe her secret smile wasn't so secret. Maybe I just hadn't ever actually took the time to ask her what the secret was.

"I have some left over. What do you say to a snowball fight?" Her eyes lit up and seemed to flare more green with her excitement.

"You are going to be creamed, Eric." She giggled again as she jogged back toward the fake snow ground.

Avery James got her wish of a white Christmas, and we may not be friends, but I had a feeling we would definitely become friends. Maybe we could be something more. Maybe we could be infinite.