I woke up to soft thumps against my window, progressively getting more violent. I stumbled out of bed and to my window, drawing back the curtains and letting the clear bright sunlight shine through the glass. Jack was standing in my front yard, scooping up snow from the ground and pelting it at my window.

"Cease fire!" I called down to him, opening my window. He lowered his snow filled hand and called back,

"Come on! We have things to do! Snowmen to build!"

"Give me five minutes." I scrambled to get dressed warmly, brush my teeth and hair, and eat a poptart before meeting Jack in his yard. He was wearing an oversized blue coat and a red scarf.

"Let's do this," he greeted me. Every time it snowed enough for us to miss school, we hung out and built the best snowman we could. Sure, you could say we were too old for that, but some things are just tradition.

"You make the base while I collect sticks and rocks for the details," I instructed him. "And this," I added, gathering a fistfull of snow, "is for assaulting my window." I threw the snow at Jack, hitting his head and causing snow to disperse through his curls.

"I would so kill you right now if I didn't have work to do. Let's get building," he said, giving me a threatening look and trying to contain his smile. "By the way, Finn said he couldn't make it today," he informed me. I shrugged.

"Sucks. At least we have each other," I winked, causing him to giggle. I went about collecting sticks and rocks around his yard while he assembled the base of our creation. We worked together to add the stick arms and buttons.

"He definitely needs a hat and scarf. And a nose," I said, stepping back to observe our work. Jack agreed. "I'll go inside and grab the gear, you stay out here and come up with a name for our snowman," I told him, and ran inside his house. His mom was in the kitchen, and was happy to give me a carrot for our unnamed artwork's nose.

"It's great you guys still play outside in the snow," she said as she searched the refrigerator for a carrot worth sacrificing.

"Of course. Sometimes there's nothing better than good old fashioned fun," I responded. And it was true. We'd only been in the snow for about ten minutes, but it already felt like old times. She finally picked a carrot and gave it to me. I ran up to Jack's room and searched his closet for a hat and scarf. I settled with a pink bucket hat sporting a pineapple design and a yellow scarf, and I was on my way. Jack was sitting in the snow, his face downturned to his phone. He was typing vigorously.

"Who ya talking to?" I asked, approaching.

"Ellie. We're planning a date for this weekend," he smiled. My stomach dropped. The same Ellie who, just yesterday, had told me she didn't like Jack anymore, was planning a date with him. Not on my watch. Then again, I didn't want Ellie to fuck up my day with Jack. I told myself I'd deal with it later, and instead asked if Jack had come up with a name for our snowman.

"Chuck."

"What the fuck kind of name is Chuck."

We both laughed, and began to add the final touches to Chuck.

"He's perfect!" I exclaimed, stepping back to admire our work.

"We did great, didn't we," Jack agreed. We both appreciated our creation for a minute.

"Stand with Chuck for a sec, I need a picture of our hard work," I said, and Jack stood next to Chuck, a huge grin on his face, holding up two thumbs up.

"Hot Chocolate time!" he squealed, and grabbed my arm, yanking me inside. Although Jack wasn't a good cook by any means, he made a hot chocolate to die for. I sat in the bay window in his living room while he brewed our drinks in the kitchen. His house was still a little messy from the party, but it seemed he had cleaned most of it yesterday after he had got home. Taking advantage of our time apart, I decided to text Ellie and confront her about this "date" she was supposed to be having with Jack next weekend.

ellie. what do you think you're playing at.

Hello to you too

why the fuck are you planning a date with jack

after you just told me you wanna break up with him

Its complicated.

Uh huh

im suuuuuuure it is

Did you see what Millie posted on instagram

no

wait stop trying to change the subject

Bye, madison

No wait

You can just do that

I bit my lip angrily. Ellie can't just admit her loss of feelings for Jack while setting up a date with him and claiming it's "complicated." Remembering what Ellie had mentioned about instagram, I open the app nervously. Why should I care about what Millie was posting?

: there's no day like a snow day! tagged:

: the cutest boy

I panicked and commented on impulse, knowing that might make everything worse. Finn couldn't come today because he was hanging out with Millie? I had no right to assume things though. They were partners for that school project, and it was due once we got back to school. They were just working on it. That's all. Right? I looked at the pictures of Jack I had just taken to ease my mind while he completed our warm drinks. There was an adorable one of him eating snow that I decided I wanted to post.

: jack eating chuck tagged:

: you cant blame me ok it was good

: nutrition at its finest. also faves

: babyyyyy

: lol

Finn texted me just as I had uploaded the pic

Hey

I just wanted to say im sorry i couldnt come today

awwww

its ok

have fun with millie

thanks

we're working on a school project just an fyi

have fun!!

Jack entered with our hot chocolates and I shut off my phone. It was good to get some clarity on the Finn situation so I could devote my full attention to Jack.

"Here you go," he said, handing it to me carefully. It was beautifully crafted, piled with whipped cream and marshmallows, sprinkled with cinnamon and cocoa cocoa powder, and topped with a cinnamon stick protruding from the side.

"I also added a little-" he lowered his voice so his parents in the other room wouldn't hear, "vodka." I rolled my eyes. "If you don't want to drink I have some leftover regular hot chocolate in the kitchen, I can make you a new one," he added quickly. I smiled.

"No, this one's good," I confirmed, and took a sip. It burned my throat a little, but other than that it was delicious. Plus, after what Millie had just posted, I would need all the distraction I could get.

"Wanna go sledding after we finish these?" Jack asked me.

"Sounds like a plan."

—

authors note: thank you so much for 1k reads. that absolutely blows my mind and i'm so so grateful, thank you so much. ily

also this chapter is in two parts so 12 will be more of the snow day yeee!!