I woke up shivering. The wind was howling outside the cottage and rain continued to beat relentlessly against the walls. I sat up and pulled the thin blanket closer around me. With a smile I suddenly realised that Griffin must have put it on me last night when I was asleep. I had been so tired that I'd fallen asleep while he'd been chopping wood.

I looked around the dimly lit cottage and saw Griffin sleeping on the floor beside the fireplace, his face peaceful. I drew my blanket around my entire body and stood up, making my way over to the fireplace. I sat down and stuck my hands and feet closer to the heat emitting from the flames.

"Princess?" I heard Griffin murmur. "Are you okay?"

"I got a bit chilly over there," I replied.

"Shit sorry. I wasn't thinking. We can switch places and you can sleep by the fire."

I shook my head. "Then you'll get cold and we'll be no better off than we are now." I hesitated knowing his reaction to what I was about to say. "Can I sleep with you?"

Griffin looked at me and a grin broke out on his face "Could you repeat please? I was walking my fish and missed what you just said."

"Can I sleep with you please?"

He smirked. "Am I dreaming?"

"Forget it, I'll go freeze on the couch."

He moved over, teasing tone gone. "Of course you can sleep with me."

I lay down in-between him and the fire.

"You really are an ice cube," he exclaimed. "I can feel you draining my heat from a distance."

I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist and he pulled me under his own blanket, pressing me against his body and wrapping me in a cocoon of warmth. I snuggled in even closer. "Thank you," I whispered.

He pressed a kiss to the side of my neck. "Anything for you, princess."

Butterflies danced in my stomach and I couldn't stop the smile appearing on my face.

"How did you know I was going to run into the trap?" I asked the question that had been lingering in my mind.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist chasing after me."

I groaned. "I fell right into your plan."

"You did." He was silent for a moment and I'd almost drifted back off to sleep when he finally said, "But I was the one who fell for you."

I opened my eyes to see sunbeams dancing into the cottage and lighting up our world. The storm was over.

"Good morning princess," Griffin said from behind me. I was still very much tucked into his embrace.

I smiled and rolled over to face him. "This is a situation I never expected."

"Neither." He smiled. "I'm hoping you haven't drawn on my face overnight."

I shook my head. "No. Wait, are the doodles still on mine?"

"To my disappointment no. The rain must've washed them off yesterday."

"Phew." My stomach rumbled and I laughed. "I think it's time to head back."

"For a short moment I forgot we were on a school trip," Griffin groaned.

I laughed. "Here's the thing about doing just chemistry. I now have no obligations for the rest of the week aside from planning pranks."

A glint appeared in Griffin's eyes and he rolled himself onto me, resting his weight on his arms either side of my head. "Here I was hoping you'd now go easy on me."

I grinned up at him. "Never."

"Are you sure?" His eyes flickered to my lips and my breathing turned irregular, matching the butterflies erupting in my stomach. And then he was there, kissing me. Like last night, a heat ignited in me and all I could think about was him, the rest of the world quickly melting away. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Eventually he pulled away, pressing a quick kiss to the end of my nose. "Did I tell you that you look beautiful this morning?"

I laughed and pushed him off me. "Now you're scaring me. I'm not used to nice Griffin."

He chuckled and watched me stand up. "Can you pass me my phone? It's on the table." I handed it to him and he glanced at the time. "Shit. I have training in an hour."

"What time is it?" I asked.

"6:42am," he said, standing up and going over to our clothes hung over chairs by the fire. "They're dry."

We quickly took it in turns getting dressed in the little room, then tidied away all the blankets. I was still half asleep by the time we closed the cottage door behind us and began walking back to school in the early morning light. 

The rain had left the whole world damp. Droplets of water clung to the leaves of trees, dripping onto us whenever a bird took flight and moved a branch.

"You know," I began, "it didn't work."

He looked at me with a confused smile. "What didn't."

I playfully elbowed him. "You can't distract me into letting you win the prank war."

We stepped out of the forest and onto the school lawn. My heart fluttered as Griffin intertwined his fingers with mine, giving my hand a squeeze. "But I can try."

Electrical sparks shot up my arm whenever we brushed against one another and the situation finally hit me. Griffin was holding my hand in his strong and comforting grasp for the whole world to see.

"I have until the end of tomorrow to beat you. This—" I held up our hands "—changes nothing."

"This?" he asked with a grin.

A beat passed. 

"Us."