A very intense smell of fruit and freshly made sweets had the two girls curiously standing in front of a bright red booth, interrupting their usual walk home. It had never been there before, on none of their passings through this snowy park, but here it was, right in between the two old oak trees which were wide enough to hide multiple people behind them. They threw two giant shadows upon the grassy area of the park, creating a very well visited picnic date spot in summer. Many carvings of hearts with initials inside were remainings of those dates, dozens if not hundreds of them.

It wasn't rare for Stevie to pass those trees and stare at the snow that was stuck into the letters by the wind, making some of the cuts look like white drawings on a dark paper, wishing she could leave behind the letters X and S among the others.

"How about we split a crepe?" asked the blonde while staring at the assortment of waffles, pancakes and freshly brewed tea. Her counterpart nodded and then pondered for a moment before pointing at an item on the tea menu. Stevie knew what she meant, had this been their usual routine for the past weeks. Xenja would point at the things she wanted to order, Stevie did the talking, then Xenja would pay for both meals.

Not this time. It took Stevie some self-control, but she managed to save some money by holding back on makeup and clothes, just so she could treat Xenja for once. She knew the raven-haired girl didn't mind paying for their meals - did she get enough pocket money for the two of them - it was still important for Stevie to also pay sometimes, even if it meant restraining from going shopping and saving the little allowance she got from her grandma. According to this, Stevie only ordered the crepe and Xenja's tea, not getting a beverage for herself - like this she could save money so she would have some left for next time.

"No, this time it's on me," spoke Stevie when Xenja tried to take out money. She then ordered and paid, not only feeling good about spending money for the first time in many months, but also lessening the bad feeling she had from being treated for food so often. A few weeks had passed since the girls' first lunch together, which had changed the daily life of both. Meeting up only twice a week to play the piano turned into eating lunch and going home together on most days, the lessons of exclusively making music soon changed into friendly hangouts. The blonde didn't think much of it when Xenja asked her to hang out after a lesson, but after accepting the offer she noticed a big exhale of relief come out between the slightly chubby cheeks of her counterpart. Xenja must have been very nervous before asking, reminding Stevie that they only got to meet because the silent girl had been very lonely in the past.

Knowing that she wanted to befriend Xenja either way, Stevie started taking the initiative. Asking to meet up whenever possible, texting in the evenings, they grew close quickly. For the first time, the shell of makeup, tan, and expensive clothes began to break. To her own surprise, the hazel-eyed girl didn't seem to mind. Underneath all that was a girl, not just similar to, but also as pure as Xenja. Rather shy without her faked extrovertness, inexperienced without her made up boyfriends.

The two girls – Xenja and the real Stevie – had much in common, despite their big differences. Because this was real, not a made-up shell, it felt pleasant to be around Xenja, totally different from the fake friends she used to have.

Wanting to spend their time together, the girls started to stick together like glue. They went to school hand in hand, met up in their breaks, and then waited for each other to go back home.

For Stevie, enjoying all this seemed natural, had she fallen in love with Xenja the first time they met. At the same time, she was hurting, assuming that her crush wouldn't want a romantic relationship.

Nevertheless, she was willing to sacrifice herself, bury her romantic feelings under friendship, as that was what Xenja needed.

Or was it?

The raven girl in question wasn't sure herself. She never had friends, and what she had with Stevie certainly felt different from her relationship with Amy. Simultaneously, her nervousness around her new friend wasn't like the anxiety she felt around strangers. It felt like she didn't want to mess up in front of her, trying to be her best self, wanting this single person's attention.

While inexperienced, Xenja surely wasn't ignorant of how the world worked. She knew that her own behavior matched what people did when they were in love. Or at least, that's what watching TV had taught her.

The confusing part was, knowing if she was actually having romantic feelings, or if her mind was just confused from being lonely. This question got her thinking while looking at Stevie who was happily munching on a crepe while playing with Xenja's fingers that were intertwined with her own.

What would change if they were to date? They were already holding hands, which Xenja did instinctively after their second encounter as if holding her chance for friendship itself between her slender fingers.

She subconsciously muted out Stevie's voice, while looking down at the girl's hands. Inspecting those painted nails, feeling the warmth of her skin, heated from her own hands.

Xenja decided that she enjoyed that. She liked the contact, she wanted to hold those hands.

The next thing that came to mind was going on dates. The two of them hung out every day, went to get food together and – although not cuddling – did watch movies while being close on a bed.

Xenja decided, that she enjoyed all of that, and adding embraces and cuddles would only make everything more pleasant.

It was then that her mind, still muting out what was happening around her, jumped to thoughts of even more skinship. Her eyes making a short jump to Stevie's chest were enough for Xenja to realize that she was not ready for that type of relationship, totally unrelated to whom it would be with.

Though, when her eyes jumped back up, they lingered on the pink lips of her counterpart. How would a kiss feel?

It could be warm and soft like the contact of skin Xenja decided she enjoyed. People seemed to like kissing, so for Xenja it only made sense that it had to feel good.

She was curious to find out, while obviously not expecting to experience a kiss anytime soon. But the imagination of seeing those hazel eyes right in front of her own, being closer to Stevie than she had ever been, it was all that was on her mind now.

Staring at those pink lips and the warm brown eyes, not realizing what she was doing, Xenja leaned in. Curiosity, affection, a wild mix of emotions had taken over her body and mind.

What followed was - although highly unexpected for herself - the first kiss, something Xenja didn't think to ever experience. It was a strange sensation, soft and warm, but at the same time cold from the snow and wind. Just tiny moments had passed between their lips touching and Xenja pulling away, shocked by herself, but the feeling of Stevie's lips on hers lingered around for many moments more. Obviously, she couldn't know if she did it correctly, had she not even planned on doing it, to begin with. But one thing she knew for sure. Xenja had messed up.

After breaking the contact, she was looking at a stunned face. She couldn't apologize nor explain herself, explain that she was just being curious and that it didn't mean anything – if that was what Stevie wanted. Unable to deal with the situation she was in and scared of the words she was about to hear, she ran, ignoring Stevie's voice that was calling her name and ordering her to stop. The pretty girl was running after her, the steps in the distance made that clear, but as they started to fade Xenja hoped she had gotten away. All she wanted was to hide, hide at the one place that had her feel at peace.