A heavy silence settled over the place as soon as the words left his mouth, thicker than the uneasy tension in the atmosphere. A pair of unsettled green eyes glanced around, trying to avoid catching the intent gaze of those two blue orbs.
Seconds turned to minutes. The air was so brittle it could snap, and if it didn't, Zane might. Winter didn't utter a word, let alone give a reply.
Zane could feel the fear in his chest wanting to take over. As the quietness grew stronger, the two of them could hear their hearts beating fast in rhythm. He let out a slow controlled breath and attempted to loosen his body movements.
"I'm sorry if I pressured you by asking you out today. But I didn't want to delay my feelings or let you know from a third party." He ran a hand through his hair and pursed his dry lips. "And it's okay, you don't have to give me an answer now. You can take all the time in the world. I'm willing to wait, and it's different if you want to flat-out reject me, which would definitely make me sad. However, I'm fine with anything as long as you are happy—"
"Well," Winter started, which made him stop his ramble and hold his breath. She was afraid to hurt him with what she was going to say, but when she met his anxious gaze, she felt calmness washing over her as she made a last moment change of decisions. So, she smiled and breathed out, "We can give this a try."
"Sorry?" he blurted out. "Can you say that again?" Zane tried not to let a toothy grin appear on his face, which he was miserably failing to.
"It's embarrassing. I can't say that again." Winter buried her red face in her hands. Her cheeks were burning with raw embarrassment.
Zane cupped his mouth, unable to believe that he wasn't left hanging or rejected. "I can't believe this." He didn't expect a positive reply from her. That's why he was so nervous. But now that she had accepted, what should he do?
"What can I say? I can't believe it, either." Winter had no idea what possessed her to accept his proposal. She was going to ask for more time, but when she saw his face, the words slipped out on their own. Despite that, she couldn't back out from her words. She was now his girlfriend. "Although," she spoke up, pulling him out of his fallacy. She didn't want him to have any misconceptions, which would hurt him later on. "Don't expect too much from me. I can't make you feel as special as you make me feel."
Zane smiled and took her left hand, entwining his fingers with hers. "I don't need a thousand reasons to feel special. All I need is to know that you chose me out of all those people out there."
"I can't make you that happy."
"Have you never noticed how I smile around you? Just thinking about you gets me feeling ecstatic," he responded with a cute smile playing on his lips.
"And I'm still not sure about my feelings for you," she added.
"Well, like I said, you can have all the time in the world to figure out your feelings. I'm willing to wait. However, I already know the results." He grinned mischievously.
"And what is it?" She arched an eyebrow.
"You will fall in love with me," he said and winked at her, making her heart skip a beat.
Winter scoffed and retreated her hand from him and folded her arms against her chest. "How are you so sure about that?"
"Otherwise, I would be heartbroken, which you wouldn't want," he stated.
"Are you, perhaps, blackmailing me?" She narrowed her eyes at him and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Who knows? I might be."
Winter hissed at him and started to walk away. Zane caught up to her and held her hand again, surprising her. She bit her lips and murmured, "Aren't you going to clean up?"
"Leon and Lucy said they would do it if you agreed to be my girlfriend." He properly locked the back door once they were out.
"So, everyone knew?" she inquired.
"Just Leon, Lucy, Cedric, and Tracy," he answered and started walking together with her.
She glared at him. "Don't tell me you sent Tracy to my house to buy time."
"I did," he admitted sheepishly. "Forget that. Let's go on a date right now."
"It's late. I need to be home before 8 o'clock during this vacation," she told him.
"Tell your dad to increase your curfew to midnight."
"On what occasion would he do that?" she snickered.
"On the occasion of his daughter getting her first boyfriend." He felt a shiver as soon as he said that.
"Are you taunting me right now, Zane?" She stopped on her track, glaring at him.
"No, not at all. That wasn't my intention." He chuckled nervously.
"Let's break up, then." She flashed him a tight-lipped smile and started walking ahead of him.
"Don't do that to me." He laughed and followed after her.
Even though Winter wasn't sure if what she felt for Zane was love, she was at least sure that he was special to her. He was the one she trusted and cared for the most in this world. Therefore, she wanted to keep cherishing him, no matter what.
°°°°°
All the negative thoughts come rushing at the moment you lie down on your bed at night—that was what happened to Winter.
Lies. Betrayal. Cheating. Distrust. Misunderstanding. Jealousy. Misdirected anger. Incompatibility. Money. Lack of communication—There were endless possibilities that came with a relationship.
Winter left no stones unturned as she kept thinking of reasons for her heartbreak that was yet to happen. She went to bed earlier at ten, and since then she couldn't stop overthinking about it.
She groaned and sat up on her bed. She tried doing some breathing exercises to clear her mind. Normally, people become too giddy to sleep on their first day, but here she was, thinking about the bad sides.
"Ugh, Zane, I hate you for making me feel like this," she grumbled. Just then, her cell phone started ringing on her nightstand. "Speak of the devil." Saying that she pressed the phone to her ear.
"Hey, come down to your front yard," he whispered through the phone.
"What? Why?" she whispered back.
"Just come for a few minutes," he urged and hung up the call.
"What's with that?" she wondered and got down from her bed. She wore a fluffy long coat over her nightwear and slowly opened the door. She went downstairs, careful not to make the wooden stairs creak.
As soon as she opened the door, she was welcomed with a cold breeze, which sent shivers down her spine. It better be worth it to come out in such freezing weather, or else, she would murder Zane.
Winter made her way to the small yard in front of her house. However, it was so dark, she couldn't spot anyone. She was twirling around in circles, trying to find Zane. Her hands were starting to get cold when she heard a chorus of hollering and a blast of crackers.
"Happy eighteenth birthday, Winter!"
Winter gasped and placed a hand on her chest, peering at her friends with round eyes. "What the fuck are you guys doing here?" she shrieked before approaching them.
"Came to celebrate our favorite Winter's birthday," Leon said and popped another cracker.
"Shhhh! Don't be loud. If my dad hears it, he won't only kick me out of the house but also get you guys arrested for trespassing," she hissed, unaware of the fact that her dad was already watching them from the window of his room. She was going to scold them some more, but when she saw the cake they were holding, her heart melted. Her eyes brimmed with happy tears as she felt grateful for making such awesome friends.
"Guys, I think I just saw someone at the window," Cedric murmured, making everyone drop silent.
"Not a good time, sweetie." Lucy gave a light pat on his shoulder.
Cedric pointed at the window, which made David pull down the curtains and go away. "Guys, why don't you look? There's some—"
Winter brushed him off and said, "Jokes like that suit Leon, not you, Cedric."
"Hey!" Leon protested.
"Don't compare me to this idiot," Cedric hissed.
"Enough gibberish talking. Winter, make a wish and cut the cake," Zane told Winter, shrugging them off.
Winter nodded her head and folded her hands in front of her. She glanced at everyone's smiling faces as they started singing her birthday song before making her wish, I want to be successful in my life so that I can repay my mom's debt and be a person of my own. Also, I want the life of everyone who cares for me to be filled with happiness and joy, especially Zane.
With that, Winter blew the candles and proceeded to cut the triple chocolate cake that was put down on the small table in the yard. She carved it into a small piece and gave the first bite to Zane, who fed her in return.
"Tastes like your mom's baking," Winter commented.
"I helped her too," Zane said. Seeing her cock an eyebrow in question, he added, "By washing the dishes."
Winter chortled and fed everyone a small bite of the cake.
"Hey, you two should blow a candle together in celebration for your new dating life," Lucy suggested.
"Ugh, can you guys just let me eat in peace?" Leon huffed and started lighting the candles again. "Hurry up now."
Making a silent wish for their togetherness, Winter and Zane blew the candles.
"Thank you for everything, guys. This really means a lot to me. It's the first time I have ever cut a birthday cake," Winter said, and they all smiled in response.
After that, they divided the cake into five parts and started eating while joking around, not being bothered by the low temperature. As Winter watched them, her heart filled with profound affection.
It was around quarter past one in the morning when they started to leave after handing over their respective gifts. Lucy and Cedric gave her two beautiful pairs of earrings and Leon gave her a photo frame. And Zane gave her a medium-sized purple teddy bear and her favorite chocolate box.
When they were leaving, Zane pulled her to a corner and said, "Sorry, I couldn't give this to you in front of everyone else." He handed her a rectangular box, which had a few organic bottles in it, making Winter raise an eyebrow at the second present. "This is an herbal lotion I made with the suggestions of my uncle, who's an herbalist. It will help your scars fade away sooner. Then you can wear whatever you want to without being self-conscious about your scars. Also, I have written the instructions inside a paper."
Winter didn't know what to say, so she just hugged him, catching him by surprise. "How… Since when did you start making it?"
"Uh, for a while. I hope it works on you." He stroked her hair with a smile playing on his lips.
She pulled away from him and said, "Once again, thank you so much." She couldn't help but feel touched at his dedication. He must have noticed how her scars made her feel recently.
Zane leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, saying, "Anything for my sweet girlfriend."
Every negative thing Winter had been thinking about just a few hours ago vanished in the air. She thanked the stars for giving Zane as the best gift of her life.
