The coldness of the Northvale air during these months of the year was unforgiving.

I pulled the sleeves of my thick cashmere sweater down to my palms and took in a shaky breath as I quickened my pace towards Java Jones. Once I had two cups of coffee in my hands, I exited the small coffee shop and continued on my way to school, my sneakers making quiet noises against the concrete pavement amidst the silence of a six o'clock morning on a Monday.

Sutton was the only person occupying the staff room when I entered. I placed one cup on the desk in front of her. "Where's everyone?"

"On their way," she answered, raising the coffee in thanks. I dropped myself on the office chair across from her. "We just need to talk about the final touches and the layout changes with Ezra before we publish this issue."

Nodding, I took a sip from my own drink and leaned back.

"...so?"

I raised an eyebrow and sat up. Sutton's smile widened, eyes going wide with a question. "So...what?"

"You're dating Faust."

"We've established that during the last game."   

"I want to say I told you so, but as your very good friend, I won't."

The smugness in her grin made me roll my eyes, but the corners of my lips turned up. "I appreciate that so much."

"You should," she said, running a hand through her golden hair. "The whole school is talking about you two though."

"Well, I don't really care about what the school has to say about my dating life."

She gave me a high-five for that statement. "I'm glad Faust isn't the douche you made him out to be."

"Let's agree to not talk about that."

"I'm also glad that most guys here are actually very amiable. Back in my hometown, you rarely came across a guy who struck you with real politeness and charisma."

I sat up. "Really?"

She tugged her bottom lip in between her teeth. "When you meet one...some people screw that over," Sutton said quietly, eyes glossing over. "A lot of people screw that over. They take advantage of that kindness."

"Sutton..."

"When I transferred here last year...I was just—well, I remember thinking that it was much different from the people back where I lived..."

"Modoc, right?" I asked carefully.

Sutton's gaze snapped back to mine. "Uh, yeah. Modoc."

The look on her face made me want to question her further, but the door opened loudly, disrupting our conversation. Both our heads turned towards the noise.

"Thea, Sutton!" the newcomer chirped. My eyes widened as I stood. "Long time, no see."

"Killian," I muttered, cocking my head to the side. He looked as healthy and as cheerful as ever. "I thought—what happened to that contagious disease?"

"Are you alright now?" Sutton asked quickly at the same time.

"Relax, guys," he laughed, his blonde curls shaking with every movement. "It was an excuse to get out of school for a bit. I had to visit my grandparents in Ravelstoke."

I heaved a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on my face. "That's great, Killian, I'm glad you weren't really sick in the first place. Are your grandparents okay?"

He nodded, settling down on one of the bean bags. "They'll live. How's the paper coming along?"

"Just fine," Tara answered as she walked inside, already approaching him. "Even without your help. We missed you."

Killian hugged her back with one arm. "Glad to be back, doll. Gotta catch up on a lot of work, though. What's the agenda?"

Sutton placed her coffee back down on the table. "We can wait another five minutes for the others before we start, I'm sure they're near."

"In the meantime, tell us more about the great Ravelstoke on the other side of the world," the brunette said excitedly.

Killian shrugged. "There's nothing to tell, really, but it's beautiful. I visited a lot of places like the said Cairo of the country, King City, which was absolutely breathtaking. There was also Glenview Manor, Marthasville, Camden Point, Landsdale—we were also able to try the country-famous roasted pears with Espresso cream. It was amazing."

Tara continued to gush and ask about Killian's experience while my attention drifted to my phone after it buzzed with a text message. it's cold.

Unknown number. Huh. I typed a reply back, furrowing my eyebrows. I'm aware, thank you. Who is this?

After a minute, there was still no response. I stared at the screen of my phone, waiting for it to light up, but Sutton tugged on my elbow to pull me closer to her. "Camden Point is a ghost town," she whispered, keeping her eyes away from my own. "The closest civilization to Camden Point is Altadena, which is about seventy-five miles away."

I drew my eyebrows together. "I don't understand."

Sutton sighed and shook her head. "Me neither. Never mind."

I shrugged, all thoughts leaving my mind as soon as the rest of the staffers filled the room and the meeting began.

*

We were finally releasing our issue next week, and Sutton had decided she wanted to take the staff out for burgers and milkshakes after my shift at the library. We'd all agreed to meet up later in the evening at the local diner Dale's to celebrate our small triumph.

I stole a glance at the clock as I rearranged books from one of the shelves; it was half past two. I sighed, my mind beginning to wander elsewhere when cold hands encircled my waist from behind, causing me to jump in surprise. The books I'd been fixing dropped directly on my head.

"Ouch," I groaned, rubbing my forehead as my face twisted in pain and embarrassment.

The sound of deep laughter gave me a jolt of recognition as I opened my eyes, meeting Faust's amused, aqua ones as he clutched his stomach. "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

Although I was sure the impact of the books had earned me a huge lump on my forehead, I couldn't resist the smile that formed on my face when I saw his happy expression. Even though he was technically laughing at me. "I'll live, thanks for asking. You just surprised me. What are you doing here? I thought you had training?"

"I do, actually, but it can wait," he said before dipping his head down and placing a soft kiss on my cheek. "Came to say hello to my favorite girl first."

"That's sweet of you."

"How was your lunch with your family yesterday?"

"Mom was delighted. She's been waiting months to eat at that restaurant. The food was good, too."

"I'm glad you enjoyed. Did you hear about the news circulating around school?"

I shrugged, looking up at him. "I know we're kind of the talk of the town right now. I just ignore every whisper and glance sent my way."

He curled his hand around my waist to pull me closer. "It's best to ignore them, but they aren't really bad. I've heard recently that some ladies cried upon finding out I'm off the market."

"Exaggerating the story makes you quite shameless," I told him with a laugh, shaking my head.

"Alright, they were just a little sad," he said, chuckling.

"Much better."

Faust's hand reached up to carefully touch the tender spot on my forehead, and I winced a little. "You're so clumsy," he whispered. "Let's go for a drive."

I bit my bottom lip as I contemplated the thought. "I can't leave work."

"After work," he countered, eyes twinkling.

"I have plans with Sutton and the staff," I answered a little regrettably as I wrinkled my nose.

"Cancel them."

"I'm not that girl, Faust."

He groaned, hanging his head back as his hands drew closer to the curve of my waist. 

Another laugh escaped my lips as I pushed him gently, walking around him to hold the handle of the cart as I wheeled to the next shelf, Faust carefully following behind me. "Your coach will be pissed at you if you don't go to training, you know? You're going to semifinals in a few weeks."

He quickened his pace to stop the cart from moving, standing beside me. "Speaking of the game, I love the fact that you decided to wear my letterman jacket the other day." Faust's fingers found their way to my hand as he interlaced them together, the sincerity showing in his eyes. "It means more to me than you can imagine."

I smiled. "Of course."

"Also, I see Coach and the team every single day. You see Sutton and the staff all the time. It's my turn, Thea."

Not true. It was the first time in months that we were going to spend time together, and Sutton had noticed that we hadn't had the chance to actually make plans, knowing that we were all busy with our own lives. Our group outing was long past due.

Faust leaned down to murmur in my ear, "There's this drive in movie theater a few blocks from Crown Pointe Park..."

It was tempting, I'll give him that, but I wasn't the type of girl to drop my plans with my friends just because of my boyfriend. "I really can't, Faust, I'm sorry. But you can come if you want?" I added quickly when I noticed the crestfallen look on his face.

His lips pressed together in a hard line. "I was actually hoping to spend time with you, not with your friends."

"Technically, you will be—"

"Alone."

I sighed. "Faust. I like you."

"I would hope so," he laughed. "I like you too."

"How about this instead? I'll go and meet my friends, and you go to training until after it's over. Then we can do as you suggested because I don't have to be home until eleven."

His grin widened. "Deal. I'll let you work. Text me when and where I'm picking you up. Training ends at seven."