There's so much more going on in the sky than the day---as have all days lately,---sprinting towards its end. The early November air is leaning more to winter than summer. Yet the Einstein that is Scarlet Greene thought it appropriate to wear nothing but a tank top on her upper body. Then again, it might as well have been Theo's idea, since he suggested that she wear something casual. She had agreed even if she didn't know why. Not that she was going to dress to impress in the first place anyway, but she'd found out later that Theo had this crazy notion going in his head that she, Scarlet Greene would climb on the monstrous being that took the form of his bike.

She let him know to wake her up whenever he'd finished dreaming. Of course.

"Where are we going?" She asks for the millionth time, rubbing her palms against her arms for some warmth. The sidewalk is still filled with autumn leaves even if there's no trees in sight. They've been walking around town for almost fifteen minutes now, after abandoning Han's mustang somewhere that he definitely would never approve of. Then again, while the cat is away...

"I don't know," for the millionth time comes the curt reply, followed by a shrug of one of his shoulders and a pair of fisted hands being shoved into the pockets of his black jeans.

What is wrong with this man? Again, for the millionth time Scarlet asks herself.

"Do you always do this? Not know where you're taking your girlfriend for a date?" she asks irritably.

Theo sighs, "that's the problem."

"What?"

"You're not my girlfriend and neither is this a date." he states.

"Oh."

Why did that hurt? Why did her heart twist painfully in her chest?

Because you're stupid. Clearly.

For the first time, possibly, Scarlet agrees with her conscience. So ignore her feelings and walk beside Theo in silence she does, until five strangely warm fingers for a cold night wrap themselves around her wrist, and against her better judgement, Scarlet's heart flutters wildly inside it's cage.

"Here." Did Theo just whisper the word? Or is it her?

When her eyes meet his face, Theo is staring intently at where their hands have made contact. His Adam's apple bobs up then down.

Oh yes he did!

Scarlet subtly tugs at her own hand, freeing herself from his touch when all she really wants is to wrap herself in all of him. What? Her own thoughts are scaring her lately, and that's putting it lightly.

Theo clears his throat, "it's here," he says more clearly, for a moment there he too, was hypnotised. Scarlet can't be as dumb as to miss it. Maybe, just maybe she affects him too. Surely, not the same way he does her but it's still something.

And he still has a girlfriend.

Leave it to her subconscious to hit Scarlet with the blow of reality. She ignores it this time though, and instead her eyes turn to the building at whose entrance they've stopped. How they even got here is a mystery awaiting to be solved. The revolving doors at the ground floor of said building rotate nonstop as people come in and out of it, the first part is a bank. Scarlet knows this because she banks here.
Now the question is why they've stopped at a bank. Is he going to give her money? Now that's a first, yet undoubtedly fine date idea! Who doesn't want money? Scarlet finds herself stiffling a giggle that's trying to fight it's way onto her lips because of her silliness. Yet his words find their way into her head all over again, making said giggle take off faster than drivers at a green light "GO".

You're not my girlfriend, it's not a date.

"Up," Theo says. Scarlet couldn't be more thankful for his intervention. "We're going up."

And up one thousand and five hundred floors they go. Theo wraps his hand around Scarlet's wrist again, tugging her toward the doors. They trot inside through the hallway to the elevators like two wild teenagers about to do something stupid disguised as crazy. Scarlet hopes not.

"I thought you didn't know where we were going?" she asks, filling the eerie silence in the elevator.

Theo shrugs, "I didn't," he says, making Scarlet's brows raise asking him to elaborate. He rolls his eyes. "Well," he adds. "This is a place I take girls to on dates and..."

"Hah!" Scarlet chuckles dryly, cutting him off. "I feel so special right now!"

Theo snorts his distaste. "You should, you're the first girl I'm taking here as a friend," he says.

When the elevator dings, announcing their surprisingly uninterrupted arrival to the one thousand five hundredth floor, Theo takes her hand again, leading her towards another hallway. There are rooms lining it. Most of which are marked "Restricted area, Staff only". They reach a staircase, Scarlet can see a dim sunlight illuminating it from outside as it is almost setting. Their footsteps echo on the stairs as they climb up, and then they're on top of the world. Literally.

This is their destination? Scarlet is amazed to say the least. What she finds isn't something that had crossed her mind, it doesn't seem like Theo.
Then again, nothing did cross her mind. There, on the top most roof of the skyscraper is the greenest compound she's ever seen, greener than her backyard. And that is saying something. Sprawled out on the grass, is a wide red blanket, decorated with a heap of numerous throw pillows in different colours. There's a small wooden table on the side, like the ones used to serve breakfast in bed. And on it is a basket full of different types of fruits, a flask and a box of...pizza. well...

Theo does know the way to a woman's heart all right. Scarlet thinks it's all...beautiful and very thoughtful of him, but instead of telling him, she just raises a mocking eyebrow at him.

"Cheeseball," she grumbles. But Theo just rolls his eyes and lets himself fall back on the pillows just as Scarlet's phone goes off.

"Hey baby," she says on picking up.

"Hey mama, are you going to pick me up?" Celine screeches into the phone.

Scarlet sighs, "sorry baby I can't tonight. But Walters is on his way."

"Why?" she asks.

"Well, um...I'm...out with Theo."

"Are you dating now? Is he your boyfriend?"

"Bye honey, we'll talk about this later. Love you Cee."

Celine sighs, "Love you Scar."

Scarlet exhales and sits down, if she didn't hang up, knowing her daughter very well, it would've turned into an interrogation. Her eyes finally notice the beautiful view of the yellows and oranges in the evening sky as they watch the sun set. The view that probably only she and Theo are experiencing at the moment in the whole world. Everything is beautiful from up here. A hum of satisfaction leaves her throat.
And just like that, her whole week is a beautiful blur of days full of Celine and evenings with Theo Steiner.

.....~.....

Some days can be so awful you find yourself counting each every second until it ends. Yet others, like Scarlet's days for the past three weeks have been nothing but pure ecstasy, so blissful that she finds herself unable to tell where each day ends or where another starts, until it's Friday night of the third week. Theo's date ideas have been so much fun and not cheesy in the slightest. Well, at times they were, like the previous Sunday when they'd gone stargazing. They'd driven around the city, Theo taking her places she had no idea existed from five in the evening up to nine o'clock when the sky had become completely dark, and then, they'd parked his car somewhere near a play park and laid on it's hood. Scarlet had never before found sense in the activity of looking at stars like some weirdo. Yet somehow, she'd done and enjoyed it. They'd talked and talked. Though it had mostly been Theo telling her about himself.

Perhaps it had been the recognition of the beauty of the numerous stars that dotted the sky, perhaps it had been the company of the man that had laid and fit beside her like it's right where he belonged, Scarlet can't tell why. But she'd found herself stargazing until she'd lost track of time. Her phone had said it was midnight. For her, it'd felt like they had parked the car only a few seconds earlier. She'd realised, there's always so much going on in the sky while she isn't looking.

Today they'd visited a kickboxing gym, and of course, Scarlet kickboxed the shit out of Theo, thanks to Han's training. After driving her back to her house, Theo seems hesitant to leave, so against Scarlet's will, they've found themselves standing stranded at her doorway. She doesn't like the feeling, like a teenager awaiting her first kiss after a first date. She does not want to kiss him, all she wants is to go inside and lose sleep over Victor's proposal like she's done for the past three weeks. He hasn't contacted her since, which comes as no surprise to Scarlet. He has never been one to beg. But maybe she could use her mother's insight on the whole thing. She's coming back tomorrow after all.

"I had a good time, today," Scarlet blurts, wanting to break the awkward silence as she fidgets with the pockets of her jeans. "I...I mean, no... it's not that I haven't been having fun before...everything is just...you get it, thank you Theo." Ugh! Why can't she for once make some sense?

"Yeah? Well I didn't." Theo groans, his fingers brushing his lip which is broken at the corners thanks to Scarlet's punches. "This isn't my idea of a good time."

Scarlet chuckles. "Goodnight Theo, and sorry about that." she starts retreating, making her way back inside the house. She always uses the back door to avoid inconveniencing Becca.

"Scarlet wait...I need to t---" Theo says but he doesn't get to finish his sentence.

"Oh my God!" Scarlet exclaims, stopping in her tracks.

"Oh fuck!" Theo states.

Scarlet's house has three back doors, a small one for entrance and the two floor to ceiling glass doors that provide a view of the backyard to whoever is inside, but it's all been shuttered to pieces. Well not all but a huge part of it has been broken. They will probably need replacing.

"What the fuck?" Theo says again.

Scarlet shrugs, "not that I've seen any before but I guess it must be some kids from the neighbourhood." She sighs, opening the door. "Let's just go inside, I want to make sure everyone is okay." By everyone she means Becca and Celine. And by let's, she has invited Theo in. Great.

The house smells like bleach. Again. "Becca?" Scarlet calls. Throwing her keys on the coffee table. Becca has this irrational fear of germs, it's like some kind of disorder. So Scarlet's poor house always falls victim to bleaching. And she also says she likes its smell. How can someone like the smell of bleach? The woman is abnormal.

"Hey Scar, hey Theo. How was your date?" Becca asks, approaching from the kitchen.

"It was not a fucking date Becca!" Scarlet throws her head back and groans. "And it went well, Where's my daughter?"

Scarlet asks Theo to take a seat after Becca tells her that Celine is sleeping, making her way up the stairs to check on her. But on reaching her room, the bed is covered in blue comforters just like Scarlet had left it earlier, she isn't there. Scarlet sighs, Becca fell for Celine's lies again. She probably in Scarlet's room playing games on her phone. But when she does go there, it's empty too. So is every room in the house.

Where the hell is she ? Scarlet opens the door to her study, but the room is filled with darkness. Her heart lurches in panic.

Oh no! Where the hell is her baby?

"Becca?" Scarlet shouts. "Theo? Could you guys check outside and see if Celine is there?" But what could she be doing out at midnight? She also runs down the stairs to join them, Becca goes to the back while Theo and Scarlet go to search at the front.

"Celine?" Theo calls.

"Celine?" Scarlet yells. Nothing. The only response they get is the silence of the night.

She has probably plugged her ears. Scarlet tells herself as she climbs up the tree house. "Baby?" She calls again, but it's dark. Like Scarlet, Celine fears darkness too. She can't be here. Oh god! No!

"Hey Scarlet," Theo calls from down. "Come on down the car is open, I think she might be in there?"

Scarlet all but jumps down, maybe Celine is sitting in there. Please let her be in there!

And when they reach it, Celine is in the car. She is.

Except she isn't sitting.

An avalanche of different kinds of pain hits Scarlet in the gut; the kind you feel in your stomach when your heart breaks. The kind you get from food poisoning, also the kind you feel when someone is shooting a million bullets into your heart, it all hits her like a hurricane.
Scarlet swallows, she hiccups, she starts shaking her head.

"The car is locked," someone says, but Scarlet can barely register who it is or if they're talking to her.

"The car is locked where are the keys?" They ask again. Scarlet is too deafened by the sound her heart beating and blood rushing to her ears as she watches her whole world crumble to the ground.

Someone grabs her shoulders, shaking her. "Scarlet you need to tell me where the car keys are! Can you hear me? Talk to me please!"

"Scarlet! We gotta get Celine out of here! Concentrate! Where are the car keys?" He yells.

Scarlet wants to talk to him, she wants to. The car keys, they're on the key rack in the kitchen. Why can't she tell him this? But she can't, she just can't.

"SCARLET!"

Winter does not become winter in a day, rather, it gets cold with each passing day, the first snowflakes fall, the plants start to dull completely, until it really starts to snow, and before you know it, the whole world is white, roads and porches covered in thick amounts of snow.

For Scarlet, just like everyone else, winter is the cold, yet to her, it means so much more. To her, winter is wearing layers and layers of clothing, it is curling up on the couch beside the fireplace, watching a movie on the side with Celine snuggling deeper and deeper into her limited warmth. It is sitting on the white couch in her living area and not feel the prickling coldness of its leather because right through the glass doors, Celine is happily twirling around outside, a million snowflakes gracing her curly hair, her giggles filling and lighting up the otherwise dull atmosphere and simultaneously turning said leather into a warm blanket. It is that time of the year, when she and her daughter do not have to discuss her relationship problems to bond. Because during winter, silence, a movie and each other's warmth is everything they need.

Yet, winter must have come early this year. Because right now, Scarlet's blood is another road covered in snow. Or maybe winter came, passed her by and is now taking everything it means to her with it.

As Scarlet's feet come to a robotic halt, her heart becoming a huge frozen stone in her chest, she forgets how to breathe. Instead, the piece of ice in her chest twists painfully, freezing her entire being. Her eyes become water works and soft but somehow rough hiccups leave her mouth. It takes her a full five seconds to figure out that that's in fact her, sobbing.
Scarlet falls to her knees, a sharp pain shooting through them from the impact of the pavers. Yet all she can do is cover a hand over her mouth, crying, yet not because of said pain. But because her own daughter, her baby, her whole life, the only reason for her existence, her every season of the year, her Celine, is lying right there in the car, not being her dramatic self, despite having headphones in her ears, not listening to the soft hum of music Scarlet knows is playing, not even waiting to scold her mother. But she's laying there...dea...no she can't be. Of course she isn't...she's just laying there...unconscious.

Blood is running from Celine's little nose, her fragile skin is slowly turning blue, the lights are on in the car, and so is the heat. And the car is locked.

As someone fumbles with the keys to open the car door, Scarlet doesn't know how, or when or where she gets it from, but she hits the car window with a stone. The glass shutters and falls all over Celine. Yet not even that glass impact wakes her up. Scarlet screams. She will wake up from this nightmare after she screams.

She always does.