The light from Romeo's phone burned my eyes when he turned it on.

The power was out and, from the sound of it, the rain had picked up. Heavy raindrops hit the roof. The wind howled. How'd I miss that slight drizzle turn into a full on storm? My answer was sitting right across from me.

It was easy to forget when he was around.

I couldn't think about that right then. "The kids." I hopped to my feet, turning on the flashlight of my phone before rushing up the stairs. Romeo followed, checking in on Carter while I checked on Kennedy. They were both, surprisingly, still asleep. The storm outside probably sounded no different from the one that played over their white noise machines. Hopefully, they stayed asleep until their parents got back.

Romeo stood in front of a large window across from the top of the stairs. Fat rain drops soon turned into balls of ice pinging off the windows.

"I don't think I've ever seen hail before," he said, staring out at the backyard.

The hail gathered on the bright blue pool cover and bounced off the glass. The sound was loud, like rocks in a washing machine. "I hate it." I tore my gaze away from the window and started down the stairs, stopping to take a seat on a middle step.

If I was at home, I'd have the tv turned up so loud it'd drown out the storm. Romeo was right, something wasn't normal with the Wrights for putting a lock on their tv. For now, I just buried my face in my knees.

Romeo sat beside me, his arm pressed against mine. Having him close momentarily distracted me from the weather.

"It's really not that bad." He shifted, placing his hand on my back. It was there only a second before he snatched away. "Think about the weather in the mid-west or east coast. This is probably nothing to them."

What was it with guys acting like touching me was going to give them some incurable disease? Or maybe it was for my benefit. They didn't want me getting the wrong idea from a touch. They didn't have to worry about that. I got the message loud and clear.

"Come on." Rome stood, tugging a reluctant me with him by the sleeve of my hoodie.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked as I allowed him to pull me down the stairs, our phones lighting the way.

When we got to the front entrance of the house, he grabbed our shoes from the shoe rack. "Outside."

"What?" That time I didn't budge when tried to lead me away. "I'm not going out there. I could get a concussion."

He flashed the light in my face like I was being interrogated. "You're joking, right?"

No. "Maybe."

"They're tiny balls of ice."

"You have tiny balls of ice."

From the way his eyes narrowed at me, I knew I messed up. He lifted me over his shoulder before I could even think about running. When did he get so strong?

"Where's the back door?" He asked, trying to navigate the dark halls of the Wrights' oversized house.

"At the back of the house." I deadpanned.

He pinched my thigh. I pinched his side, causing him to jerk to the side and almost drop me.

I snorted a laugh. "Someone's ticklish." I went for his side again, but he expected it and his reaction wasn't as intense.

"Keep playing and I will drop you." The sound of hail got louder the closer we got to the backdoor. The noise intensified when he slid open the glass door.

Finally, he sat me on the floor. He dropped our shoes as well, slipping his on. "It won't sound as bad when we're out there," he promised when he saw I wasn't putting on my shoes. "Have I ever steered you wrong?"

I folded my arms, brow raising. "Do I have to show you the scar on my elbow from when you literally steered me into a brick wall?"

"That was your own fault," he said, a laugh on his lips. "You trusted someone who didn't know how to ride a bike to teach you how to ride yours."

My mouth popped open. "You said you knew how to ride!"

"I knew how to use YouTube and I watched, like, three whole videos before I came over that day."

I couldn't even be mad at him. He took a crash course in bike riding to help me out. It was probably one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for me.

When I started to put on my shoes, Romeo grinned. "If I die--"

"We'll play Side To Side by Ariana Grande at your funeral," he cut in with a smirk. Suddenly, I hated having him as a friend on Spotify. I had the random urge to listen to that song repeatedly for a week straight.

He slid open the screen and motioned for me to go. "Ladies first."

I rolled my eyes, then shoved him out into the cold. He almost slipped, but caught himself on some patio furniture.

He glared at me. "If I die--"

"Pump It Harder by the Black Eyed Peas will be your funeral song." I said, pulling my hood up over my two-strand twists and stepping out into the winter storm. He was right. The hail hitting the house wasn't as loud as it was inside.

His eyes went wide for a second before he shrugged. "That's my work out song," he said. "So, when I'm listening to that, it means I'm going hard doing push-ups. Chin-ups. Sit-ups."

I gave him a look I hope perfectly conveyed that I thought he was full of it.

He coughed, then pointed to the sky. "It's snowing."

"Don't change the--It's snowing!" A smile spread across my face and I couldn't control it. I held out my hand, catching snowflakes in my palm. They instantly melted, but I didn't care. It was snowing.

"Weren't you afraid of the weather a second ago?" He asked, a smile of his own graced his face.

"Nope. Don't know what you're talking about," I said as I pulled up Spotify on my phone. "We need mood music."

The opening lines of All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey played.

Romeo shook his head. "It's February."

I ignored him and used my phone as a microphone as I sang. "I don't want a lot for Christmas,. There is just one thing I need..." I sang the song and danced around the backyard. Romeo laughed as he watched me.

Singing wasn't my strong suit. Honestly, neither was dancing. But it didn't matter because it was snowing. Embarrassment didn't count in the snow.

Grabbing Romeo's hands, I pulled him into dancing with me. My arms wrapped around his neck as we swayed back and forth. I turned my face up to the sky, eyes closed as I let snowflakes kiss my cheeks and eyelids.

Mariah continued to sing about wanting Santa to bring her baby as I looked up at Romeo. He focused on his phone that he held behind me. "People are going crazy on HALLZ about the snow."

It shouldn't have hurt so much, knowing how uninterested he was in me. That didn't stop my chest from squeezing so tight I couldn't breathe.

I dropped my arms from his neck, turning away to catch my breath. "I wish it'd stick." It was nothing but slush by the time it hit the ground. "Then I could destroy you in a snowball fight."

The thought of nailing him in the face with a snowball was strangely satisfying.

"I don't know about destroy."

"True, I think slaughter is a better word." I turned to face him, my arms wrapped around me because my hoodie was useless in this weather. "If you wanted to kiss someone, would you do it?"

He forgot about his phone as his gaze darted to me, brow furrowed. "Where the hell did that come from?"

I shrugged. I didn't know. My head was all over the place. Confused. The old feelings I had for Romeo and the new feelings I have for Andre came together, starting a whirlwind in my chest. Everything was mixed up, making it impossible to tell them apart.

"I guess..." I trailed off, trying to decide if I should tell him about Andre. Romeo was my friend. He was also a guy and would have insight that I didn't.

"Andre was at my house last night." That really got his attention. "I thought he was going to kiss me, but he didn't. And since you're the most experienced out of the two of us..."

What Indy said about Romeo having his first kiss came back to me. Why would he tell my sister before me?

"Wait." Romeo's voice broke me from my thoughts. "I thought you and Andre--"

"We ran out of time," I cut in. That was the first time I'd told anyone the truth. I watched him closely as he processed my confession. But it was dark, the pale blue moon that filtered through the clouds giving little light.

"Oh."

Oh. I didn't know what I expected from that one word. Surprise? Relief? All I got was indifference.

"Yeah," I said, pushing forward. "So if you had the opportunity to kiss a girl that you liked, would you do it?"

"Honestly," he said, running a hand over his tight curls. "Depends. I might be too nervous. Andre probably was."

I snorted at that. "I'm talking about Andre Walker. He oozes confidence."

He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. "It also depends on the girl. Knowing a kiss could lead somewhere can be scarier than knowing it'll mean nothing."

He spoke like it was from experience. I guessed maybe it was. Which category did the girl he kiss fall under?

Before I could ask, my phone rang. "Mrs. Wright," I announced before slipping back into the house.

"They're stuck," I told Romeo after I got off the phone.

He had come back in the house. There was an actual flashlight to brighten the dark living room. I joined him on the floor in front of the couch.

"The weather is way worse wherever they are," I continued. "They can't get on the freeway without chains on their tires and the stores in the area are sold out."

When I passed the window at the top of the stairs the stormed seemed to have calmed down. No signs that it ever hailed or snowed. Just puddles and an eerie stillness.

"Where'd you get the flashlight?" I asked him.

"My trunk," he told me. "Dad keeps an emergency bag. There were also granola bars from 2016, if you're hungry."

I chuckled. "No, thank you."

I wasn't hungry, but I was getting tired. My head rested on Romeo's shoulder while I stifled a yawn. "Do you have to go home?" It was almost one in the morning, the time slipping without me knowing.

"Would they mind that I'm here?"

A boy they never met in their house with their children? I'd definitely be out of a job. "Probably, but I'll tell them you were my ride home or something."

He squinted at me before saying, "You're trying to keep me here because you're scared of the dark."

"No."

He didn't buy my lie for a second, smirking. "You're afraid of everything."

Growing up with an overprotective mom who shielded you from getting so much as a hangnail had its downsides. It surprised me she hadn't called since the lights went out. Knowing her, she was probably in her big comfy bed, testing out the pillows that promised the best night of sleep ever.

"So, you'll stay?"

"Fine, but I get half your pay for having to babysit you."

I smiled at him before standing. "I'll grab some blankets."