↠Monday, December 16, Before School

It was a cold winter morning when I realized there was a lot of little tiny things that I never realized about Beckett.

I guess it had to do with the fact that I was so focused on what was weird about him that I never noticed the... not-weird things? That sounded really bad. Yeah, that was absolutely not what I meant at all--

I didn't really know how to explain it at all. But, nonetheless...

"Wait... when did you get your ear pierced?"

I blinked, looking at the small silver hoop in Beckett's right ear. I had never noticed it before, but I guessed it was because his hair usually covered his ears. But, today, his hair was tied into a high ponytail that was just short of passing chin. Plenty of strands of hair had fallen out, however.

"Uhhh," Beckett hesitated, seeming to slip into thought. "A couple years ago."

"N-No way...! Your ear was not pierced before. Definitely not."

"It has been? Always?"

"Are you-- Are you serious?"

"...Are we really talking about my piercing right now?"

I felt a suddenly flash of anxiety. Was this a not-normal conversation that we were having? Did normal people talk about piercings? Did Beckett think I was being weird? Was I making him uncomfortable with my questions? Does everyone else worry about these kinds of things? Did the mere fact that I was thinking about this make me weird?

"I-Is that... weird?" I struggled even to say that, fighting to keep my voice even.

I guess I had a weird look on my face, because Beckett suddenly looked at me and his eyes softened.

"No, not really," he then said. He didn't skip a beat before moving on. "I guess I should wear my hair up more often, huh?"

--take several deep breaths.

"Um... yeah. D-Definitely! ...if you want to, o-of course."

I quickly glanced away, before looking back up at Beckett. I guess... the best way to say it was like I liked it a lot when his hair was tied up. It let me see his face more.

I really didn't want this conversation to end, so I said the literal first thing that popped into my mind.

"...H-Have you always had freckles?"

Beckett was laughing, a nice sound. 

"No, they just starting popping up a couple days ago," he said nonchalantly, leaving me to over-think whether he was joking or not. "I don't know where they keep coming from."

Beckett's hands found themselves in his jacket pockets. Yes, his light jacket pockets. I feared that I would never understand Beckett. It was probably around 3 degrees outside, and yet he completely lacked any winter gear whatsoever? No boots, no gloves, no nothing. He had his black jacket on, and was wearing sneakers.

On the other hand. I currently found myself completely decked out: a heavy winter coat--with a jacket underneath--mittens, snow boots, and a wool black-and-blue striped scarf that Jay had knitted for me herself.

And, yet, I knew for a fact that my entire face was completely red from the cold. My ears were numb, and my fingers were on the way there.

Of course, of course, Beckett was perfectly fine standing in this weather, so maybe I was just overreacting. 

"Now you're just making me feel bad," I said, crossing my arms. I had decided that he was only joking.

"What? I'm not the one that doesn't notice anything."

"I notice lots of things!"

"Like what?"

I scanned my memories for a good example. I knew perfectly well that I noticed plenty of things, but I also knew perfectly well that if I said those things, it would be very creepy. And I passed on that one.

Beckett opened his mouth to say something smug, but I spoke first.

"W-Well, we should probably get to first period, shouldn't we? I'll see you later."

I was walking away before he could say anything else. I had to get to my first class, you see.

I didn't want to be late, after all.

↠Thursday, December 19, Early Evening

I always thought that it was never really too early to start thinking about Christmas. And considering that Christmas was only 6 days away, I was a little late to the party.

Usually, this "thinking about Christmas" consisted of me being horrifically anxious about money. But, this year, there was a new topic right-smack at the top of my list.

Beckett!

What was I supposed to get him? What kinds of things would he like? 

I knew that I would be perfectly happy with anything he decided to get me--that is, if he got me anything at all. I mean, it wasn't like I was expecting-- He didn't owe me--

What was I thinking about? 

Right, I didn't know what I should get for Beckett. That was what was important right now.

I personally felt like you didn't really know someone until you knew what kind of gifts they liked. So apparently I didn't really know Beckett at all.

I was determined to change that.

I highly doubted I would be able to afford to buy him something, so I considered making him something instead. But then I had to figure out what.

Like I've mentioned before, I'm not good at most kinds of art. So... no drawing, painting, or sculpting. That didn't leave very much else.

I was beginning to feel like I would never figure out what to do, when an idea came to me. The longer I thought on it, the more perfect my idea seemed.

"Lynn! I need to borrow your bracelet-making kit!"