Breath pooling into small clouds reminded (name) that it wasn't summertime anymore. It hadn't dawned on her until the chill set in, despite the trench coat, that the seasons would be opposite, considering she was from the bottom half of the world. She shivers and zips the trench coat up to her chin, covering herself to preserve body heat. Randy notices this and could only laugh, earning a sideways glare from a now-freezing (name). "Hey, be sympathetic! It was summer where I came from." She pouts as Randy only laughs harder at her misery as if it was the funniest thing he had seen all day. She considered it seemed as if he had been sleeping in when she arrived. It probably was.

The huffs of laughter created great, billowing clouds of condensation that flittered away in the breeze. Both teens' faces were flushed pink from the cold, but Randy's was noticeably redder from all the laughing. Wheezing, he clapped a hand on (name)'s shoulder and opened his mouth as if to say something before breaking into laughter again. She rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile. "Oh shut up, you big dork." He grins up at her, slowly regaining his composure. "Alright," he huffs, taking a deep breath of fresh air. "Well, I oughta' show you the way to school from here. Otherwise, you'll be lost without me," Randy teases, albeit still slightly winded from laughing so hard before. 

(Name) rolls her eyes and nudges Randy away from her in a playful manner. "Go on, pretend to save the day," she bites back a laugh of her own, gesturing for him to lead the way. He instead links arms with her and begins to yank her down the footpath, starting the mini 'tour' with a little chuckle as she stumbled behind him before matching pace. "The school isn't too far from here, as long as you know the shortcuts." With a confused look, (name) begins trying to question, "But didn't Sarah say—-" only to be cut off by a grinning Randy. "What mom doesn't know won't hurt her." (Name) couldn't stop the eye-roll that followed his statement, even if she wanted to. "Wow, a real charmer," she drawls sarcastically, doing her best to keep up with his long strides. "Well, if you want to be sure you're getting to school with time to spare, then this is the way we'll go."

Snow crunches beneath their feet, the strange squeaking noise it made sending a wave of uncomfortable shivers up her spine. Randy took notice of the way (name)'s face scrunched and contorted unpleasantly and smiled softly, knowing the source of her discomfort. "Hey, you get used to it," he said in a drawn-out breath, watching the puffs of condensation whisp out of his mouth each time he exhaled. "Just take your mind off the sound, and focus on something else." Turning her head to face him, (name) gives a small, forced smile. "Like what?" Randy shrugs. "Hadn't thought that far ahead," he chuckles, his tone of voice amused, "what's something you want to know about me?"

"Well," she begins, wracking her mind for conversation material, "what classes do you like?" (Name) asks, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to keep them warm. "Ah, well," he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, "I'm not the best at any of them. I guess I'm good in my gym classes, but I'm failing everything else. In ELA, I'm a whale; I never go past the 'C' level." (Name) stops walking—which causes Randy to be tugged back towards her—as if she needed to process what had just been said. She takes a moment before bursting out into laughter. "Wow, what a terrible pun," she tried to deadpan, but there was no way she could hide her obvious amusement with all that laughter. "Aw, c'mon, (name), you loved it."

She shakes her head and huffs jokingly, shoving him slightly. "You're terrible, you know." Randy laughs before deciding he will detour the park after they get to the school. "Alright, well, what about you?" His gaze flitters over to the girl beside him, somewhat nestled against his body, their arms linked. "What classes do you enjoy?" Beaming, (name) starts listing off all the academic classes before concluding with; "I especially love English and Science," she says with a big grin, "there's so much creative freedom between the two, and I love being able to explore that alongside fuelling the fire that is my analytical mind." Her grin grew a little sinister with her following few words, however. "Plus, I especially like to set things on fire. And the only place I can do that without getting in trouble is in the Science classrooms." He gives her a small, startled look, eyes wide with shock and possibly some sense of primal fear. "...Right," it came out strangled, though he lets out a small, terrified chuckle, "remind me not to be anywhere near you if there's fire involved."

(Name) starts laughing loudly, burying her face into Randy's arm and holding onto it tightly as she laughed and wept as if she would fall over at any moment. His face grew a more noticeable hue of colour, the newfound warmth creeping up his neck and ears, resting along his nose and cheeks like the bottom half of his ninja mask. Something about this girl, one he'd only known for maybe half an hour at best, made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Perhaps it was just that she was a cute girl? He knew he always felt these kinds of things around any other pretty girls. But something, a twinge deep in his gut, made him second guess that. What was so different about this one girl?

"Oh!" She exclaims, face no longer against his arm, instead now taking in her surroundings with a deep hue visible on her face. "Is this the school?" Randy quickly looks away from her in embarrassment, turning his attention to where they were standing. They were standing out in front of the high school building. "Yep, this is good ol' Norrisville High. You'll be stuck here with me for the whole semester." He gestures vaguely at the pristine building in front of them before looking down at her. "You say that like it's a bad thing," she teases, grinning mischievously at him. "Oh no! Not to be stuck with Randy for the rest of the school year!" Her voice was dramatic and overdone, but sarcasm oozed from her entire body. "Whatever will I do?" (Name) brings the back of her hand to her forehead, feigning a sad look.

Randy rolled his eyes and lurched forward, wrapping his arms around her middle. "You're stuck with me now!" He proclaims before attempting to tickle her. Instead, she lets out a squeak, writhing and slipping out of his grasp before backing up from him, a challenging look in her eyes. "You'll have to catch me first!" And with that, she proceeds to make a run for it. Randy found himself worried that she didn't know where anything was for a split second, but the feeling was quickly washed away with a sort of primal instinct kicking in. 

He chased after her, surprised a little by how fast she moved. However, he was quicker. After a few long strides, he managed to tackle her to the snow-covered footpath, becoming part of a writhing heap of teenagers on the floor. She was agile and kind of slippery; he'd give her that. She pried his hands off her before slipping away again, skidding on the pavement as she turned the corner. Randy slipped, if only slightly, as he got to his feet and ran after her. She didn't get much further before he grabbed her again, pulling her close to his body. They were both breathlessly laughing now, faces red from breathing so heavily and being exposed to the cold. "Looks like you really are stuck with me for now!" He grins, resting his head on her shoulder so she can see his triumphant grin.

(Name) rolls her eyes and flushes a little darker, turning her head to the side. "Only," she huffs a little, gasping for air,  "only, for now, I'll escape when you least suspect it," she teases, slipping yet again from his grasp. The pair laughed again, dying down to silence for a brief yet somewhat awkward moment. "H-Hey, how's about we head off to the park?" Randy asks sheepishly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Beaming, (name) links arms with him like he had done to her beforehand. "Lead the way, you dork."

"You held up pretty well there, (name)." He starts as they head off towards the park. "Mhm," she muses, smiling, "I've got three older brothers, so I had to learn how to fight back quickly." Randy gives her a surprised look. "Did they harass you a lot or something?" She blinks up at him in confusion before shaking her head. "What? Oh, oh no. Sure we play fought a lot, but that's not why. You see, Harris loves collecting Barbie dolls. Elias used to cry every time he heard a sad song," she smiles fondly, "and Corey kills it in six-inch heels and a cocktail dress. So I had to learn how to take on someone bigger than myself because there was no way I would let anyone give them shit for any of it." Randy does a double-take, a look of awe on his face. "Oh, wow, that's nice of you." (Name) beams up at him, face scrunching happily.

"I'd do anything for my siblings, even if sometimes we don't get along."

He flushes and turns away, eyes on the snow-covered pavement. "So you're the youngest, then?" She laughs and shakes her head, slowing her pace and putting one foot in front of the other as if walking on a tight rope. She held out her free arm as if to balance, despite her other arm being linked with Randy's, which kept her upright. "I've got three younger siblings. I'm the middle child. I've got one younger brother, and my youngest siblings are twins. Those two, honestly," she chuckles, "they're the most troublesome of all us kids. One look and you think they're sweet little girls, but that's a huge lie." (Name) stops her imaginary tight-rope walk, but keeps up the slowed pace by Randy's side. "But I still love them, even when they're super annoying."

Randy looks up, eyes trailing (name)'s face for a moment as if trying to think of what to say before noticing the park behind her. "Oh, look!" He exclaims, gesturing with his free hand towards her, "There's the park!" She furrows her brows for a moment, wondering how she is in the park, before turning her head and seeing the park behind her. The park was blanketed in a thick layer of snow, making it look like a cheesy holiday card background. "It's so pretty!" Her face lights up like the lights of a Christmas tree, and he mutters something about seeing something prettier, but it falls on deaf ears as she slides her arm out from under his, making a mad dash towards one of the nearby trees in the park. It was massive, with large, knotted roots and branches splayed out sporadically in a beautifully chaotic way along the trunk.

Randy watches as she reaches the base of the tree, momentarily glancing back at him with a giddy, childish grin before turning back to the tree and beginning to climb the lower branches. He tails behind her up to the base of the tree, snow falling on his head and face as she disturbs more branches to get higher up. Then, finally, he splutters, shaking his head like a wet dog and wiping his face. "Bleugh," he groans, narrowing his eyes at the girl in the tree. "What the hell are you doing?" She pauses, looking back down at the now small-looking fifteen-year-old and grinning. "Beating your ass in a tree-climbing contest, that's what!" 

Suddenly glaring and filled with a newfound sense of competition, Randy quickly begins climbing the tree. Grinning evilly, (name) made sure to purposely shake as many branches as she could on her way up, glancing down briefly at her competitor to laugh as he batted away heaping piles of snow. "You cheater!" He calls up, but even from her higher perch, she could hear the laughter laced in his voice. "I'm sorry!" She calls down, giggling away. "I don't speak sore loser!" Randy growls playfully, climbing up faster now that less snow is coming his way.

(Name) squeals, climbing higher, before feeling a hand grab at her ankle. She tried to kick his hand off, but his grip was stronger than anticipated. When she finally gave in and sat down at her current branch, and Randy was sure she wouldn't squirm away, he laughed and climbed to her height. He settled himself on a branch that was only just higher than hers. With a playful tongue poke, he throws his hands up in victory. She rolls her eyes, accepting the defeat. "I'll beat you next time, cheater." He huffs and shakes his head, "Oh, what's that, cheater?" Narrowing her eyes, (name) slaps his knee playfully. "A headstart is not cheating!" 

Randy, deviously grinning, leans forward. "I'm sorry," he mocks, "I don't speak sore loser." Smacking his knee playfully (name) only makes him laugh louder. She smiles, amused that at least things were fun and the pair got along well. The smile softens for a moment; she was just glad she'd at least have one friend during her stay in Norrisville. She just hoped that nothing would go wrong between the two; while she could deal with losing friends, she didn't think she would survive an entire semester in someone's house if they didn't like her. She didn't realise that she was shivering, though, and she was startled when Randy gently placed a hand over her knee to get her attention back.

"Hey, let's head on home, okay? You're freezing." She opens her mouth to object, but then her thoughts trail to having a nice, hot shower and perhaps a hot mug of cocoa or coffee. "Alright, but we're listening to music on the way back!" She says, already making her way down the trunk of the tree. Randy watches her go before quickly following her down. "I didn't bring earphones, though," he says, confused. "I'll lend you an earbud, okay?" She replies, looking up at him through her lashes, feet safely touching the ground. He stumbles on the last branch when he sees how she looks at him. Instead of catching himself and standing upright as he had hoped, Randy trips and falls flat on his face.

(Name) chuckles before offering a hand to help him up. He groans as she grabs his hand between both of hers, comically pulling him up off the ground. He teeters forward, their chests bumping briefly before he pulls away, flushing and rubbing the back of his neck. 

(Name) instead, focuses on rummaging through her pockets for her phone and earphones. After untangling the wires of her earphones, she plugs the jack into the phone, beaming as she hands Randy the right earbud. "I'm just going to put my most listened songs on shuffle, okay?" He nods in confirmation, putting it in his ear as she puts in hers before pulling up her playlist. She hits the 'shuffle' button, and the first song to play seemingly causes her to grow embarrassed. Some guitar riff? It sounds vaguely familiar, though she hits skip quickly. The next song, 'Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers', begins playing instead. "Oh, I love this song." He smiles, snow crunching underfoot as he taps his foot to the beat. "Well, let's be off. Lead the way," she gestures before linking arms with him yet again.

Randy led (name) back to his place as the lyrics picked up. It didn't take them all that long, just enough to hear a couple more songs. Most notably, 'No One Knows - Queens of the Stone Age', 'Dance, Dance - Fall Out Boy' and 'Rock The House - Gorillaz'. What impressed Randy mostly was that (name) knew all the lyrics to the last one, quietly belting them out even as he unlocked the front door and the pair entered the house. Once the song ended, she hit the pause button on the next one, smiling at Randy. "Care to continue jamming out in your bedroom?"

"I thought you would never ask," he replies jokingly, handing back her earbud so she could shove the earphones back into the pocket of her trench coat. He ushers her into his room, shutting the door behind him as she resumes the playlist, turning up the volume on her phone. "Ooh, another Red Hot Chili Peppers song," (name) smiles happily, setting the phone down on his desk as 'Dark Necessities - Red Hot Chili Peppers' starts playing. She comically saunters her way over, in a terrible, dance-like fashion, before grabbing both of his hands and dragging Randy into her little dance. It wasn't on the beat or even remotely in tune with the song, but the duo had fun.

Holding his hand as high as she could, (name) giggles as he not-so-gracefully twirls, having to duck under her arm. After the twirl, Randy breaks into a fit of giggles alongside (name). As 'Melody - Plustwo' begins playing on, the pair took on a fast 'slow-dance' approach, holding each other as one would do in ballroom dancing, but with sporadic and fast movements lot more fun. And perhaps a bit of blushing at the lyrics, but we won't mention that, will we?

As they grew tired, (name)'s head rested on Randy's chest, their movements slowing and becoming a gentle sway. Randy's face grew hot with a heavily flustered blush, the realisation settling in on how they stood, moulded into each other. Unfazed, (name) sighs contently. "I' ve enjoyed today more than I thought I would," she begins, the music being forgotten at this point. "We'll have to do something like this again another day. Hopefully sometime soon." But as quick as the moment came, it had ended. The pair jolts apart at the sound of rampant knocking, presumably from the front door.

"We, you, uh," (name) stammers, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights, "should—we should get that." She finally manages to spit out, face bright red in embarrassment. Randy nods quickly, regaining his composure. "Uh, right!" He darts out of the room, (name) blinking before quickly following him. However, she was too slow to stop and found herself slamming into his back as he opened the door. "Hey, How—-ACK!" The pair topple to the floor, silent momentarily before falling into a fit of giggles.

"Cunningham, I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

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You're welcome for the big, c h o n k y chapter I've written for y'all. It's been a long work in progress, but after dedicating the past....idk five hours(?) to this, it's finally done. I'm now going to sleep because it's three in the morning here.

Also, as a heads up, I don't really do author's notes at the end of my chapters, however, this is a bit of a special occasion as I was supposed to have uploaded this two weeks ago and kept putting it off. So, I guess think of this as an apology of sorts?

Anyways, night. Hopefully, you enjoyed this little, fluffy chapter.