My feet finally sink through the layer of crusty snow covering the ground and the sidewalk. The first snowstorm of the 'winter' (It's only November, which means back home it's still sunny and 60 degrees) blew in last night, followed by sheets of freezing rain. The result is the icy-white campus surrounding me.

What's difficult about it is that I have to step down especially hard to make a footprint, which I've always enjoyed doing as a child; the only reason I'm doing it now is because if I didn't, I doubt I could find my way back to the dorms through the excessive amount of white. The wind whips my hair around, numbing my face and cheeks.

The usually loud and booming sounds of the city are somewhat muffled from the blanket of snow, and the sound echoes in my ears, just like Michael's words to me last night. Just like Moonsie's confused voice.

As I walk along the sidewalk beside the street, I continue to worry about her. My dreams were joyfully haunted with my childhood memories, and as they replayed in my mind I began to notice the little things that seem to have accumulated into what's happening with her now. I guess calling the light switch a juicebox has turned into forgetting my age constantly. How do I know anything's really happening with her? What if my knowledge of medicine is causing me to be paranoid?

A car honk sounds, loud and right next to me, and I almost fall on my butt in the snow. I freeze in my snowy footprints, and look to the right of me at a slick red muscle car, with chrome rims and tinted windows. It looks pretty cool to me, and I can't say I'm surprised when the passenger window rolls down and Michael is inside, grinning from the driver's seat. Funny, I thought he was pissed at me.

"Hey there," He muses, cruising along side as I continue to walk. "Hey..." I respond cautiously, still checking out the car. It calls to me, but on Moonsie's salary it would take another 15 years before we could afford even one of the chrome rims. "So.... I was gonna ask you if you needed a ride, but I guess I'll be needing one."

I raise my eyebrows, cocking my head. "No you don't, you already have a car." He shrugs. "This car? This isn't mine." I scoff, continuing to trudge through the snow. "Well, then whose is it? Some rich friend of yours?" "Well, she's not rich." I frown deeply looking over at him. "She?" "Oh yeah, she's definitely not rich. She's this girl I met in the last couple months, you know. She's kinda hot-headed and pretends to be perfect... well, to me she is but I'd never tell her that."

Fuming, I clench my fists. "Oh really?" "Yeah, she's pretty short too, around 5 foot maybe. She's got this crazy-pretty curly hair. And face. And eyes." "God, Michael." I sigh. This is a whole new level of cruel.

He begins laughing, cackling loudly, tapping his long fingers against the steering wheel. "God! You're actually mad! I was right when I called you hot-headed." I stop in my tracks again (literally) and face the car. "Me?" "Duh, you idiot! F or someone so smart, you're incredibly gullible." I ignore him, my mouth falling open wide. "You mean... this car..."

He pulls over, hopping out with the keys dangling from his finger. "Yup... this car now belongs to you." I choke on the breath in my throat. "No way! What? Why?" He shrugs, leaning against the car. "Last night you said you couldn't come see me because you didn't have a car. Now you have a car." "B-but what about insurance? And the gas, and the parking-" "Taken care of," He chuckles, tossing me the keys. "What're you worrying about, don't you know how to drive?" "Yeah, but..." I examine the keys in my hand.

Ferrari. He got me a freaking Ferrari. The logo adorns the key fob. "Oh my god," I stutter, looking at the car with wide eyes. He grins, shrugging me off. "It's nothing, you don't have to thank me or anything. Just wanted to do something nice for my girl." His girl. My heart warms as I practically buzz in my spot. "You doing something nice?" I tease and he rolls his eyes. "I'm not an asshole all the time."

I throw my arms around him, and he laughs again, another warm sound I like. "You like it?" "I love it," I whisper into his coat. "I'm glad." "You think my hair is crazy-pretty?" He withdraws, smirking at me. "Did I say that?" "We're gonna be late for class, come on." He smiles, seeming happy to slip into the passenger's seat. I quietly marvel at the inside, the smell of new leather and wax. I do feel bad that the car seats are leather, but now's no time to complain about animal cruelty. "God, you're amazing." "I know."

I pretend not to notice the Queen mix tapes in the glove compartment, but give him a silent smile for it.

****

I named the car 'Vegetable' in honor of Michael, which also happens to fit in with my vegan lifestyle. When I told him, he got the song reference right away, but... that's the last time I talked to him. The last interaction we've had for a week was him whispering in my ear that 'I'm a vegetable and they hate me.'

That was the last time I've talked to Michael. I see him everyday, but for reasons unknown he chooses to walk right past me like I'm not there, and scribble in his notebook (again) with a camera in his hand. I don't know what else to do to try to please him. Maybe he regrets buying Vegetable for me? It's a weight that rests on my chest, tightening every time I breathe. Yet, when I scrubbed in for another rare surgery with Will, he had the audacity to glare at me.

I get that I haven't exactly acknowledged the whole thing with Will yet, and he's deemed it appropriate yet and still for his hand to brush mine in the hall, to open doors for me and smile every time I do something right. More like grin with stars in his eyes. He's my boss, and there's no set in stone way to approach this situation, so I don't know what to do. I never seem to know what to do anymore, unless it's with a cut with a scalpel.

On top of everything? Moonsie called again. Twice. She called my Dorm Advisor the first time, and the principal the second. The first time she thought I was 10, and she was calling to see if I was at my friend Patricia's house. As if my dorm advisor was Patricia's mom. The second time, she was calling my old voice coach to see if I was at her place practicing after school. Both times they had to call me down to come calm her, and both times my worry has multiplied. I wish I had someone I could vent this to, but with the tension growing between Michael and I, I know there's nobody.

Ana's been apologizing frequently, but it's nothing I wanna hear at the moment.

I park Vegetable outside the hospital, slipping into my lab coat as I walk in. Will is waiting with two cups of coffee in his hands as usual, and I give him a slight smile as he hands it to me. "Black, no milk, no sugar." He recites as he always does, handing me the cup. I swallow hard, taking the cup. "Thanks," I half-whisper. Leaning against the nurse's station, his eyes watch me take my first sip.

"I don't know how you drink it that way, it's disgusting without cream and sugar." "What's next for today?" He smiles harder, which is the opposite of what I wanted. "Eager to work? I like that. As you know, we've got a hemispherectomy today at noon, so obviously, I want you to prep the patient and update her charts. Yeah?" I take the clipboards he hands me, silent. His green eyes seem piercing today, having a hold on me. Neither of us says anything, before I finally tear myself away.

I have a boyfriend. Even if he's ignoring me for no reason, I cannot let myself treat him the way I treated Jay.

****

It's a bit harder to keep my promise to myself (as usual) than I thought it would be, especially since Will decided to stare at me for 8 hours non-stop. Every cut I make, every move, he feels the need to praise me, like I'm a puppy being potty-trained or something. Removing half someone's brain shouldn't be a happy time, but for Will, being anywhere next to me seems to be enjoyable.

We walk into the elevator, and the doors shut. He leans against one side of the elevator, and I lean on the other side. He stares openly at me, and I sigh. "Will?"

"Yeah?" He almost purrs.

"Sir... you kissed me. And you're not acting weird about it at all." He laughs, my face warming with humiliation. "Listen to yourself, Junior. If I kissed you, why would I act weird about it? It means I like you, and I am not afraid to admit that. It's not Junior high, Junior." He chuckles at his own pun.

I wasn't expecting that. "But, I... we... I.." "I know what you're trying to say." He states, drifting towards me. This elevator seems to be moving at a snail's pace. "What?" He pulls a Michael-like move, locking his arms on either side of me as I lean back against the wall.

"You've been so flustery since it happened, and you've been pussy-footing around me, not even looking me in the eyes.. You've been uncomfortable." "God, I'm so glad you understand," I breathe. I don't know how I would've told him I can't condone what happened. "You want to kiss again, but you were too shy to say so."

"What? That's not at all where I was going!" As he leans closer, I press harder into the wall. "Funny, you don't seem to have a problem with me... buying you things, or, touching your hand..." Finally the elevator bell dings, indicating we're on the first floor finally. He's forced to back up, and I slip away down the hall through the parting doors. I feel guilty, even though nothing really happened, but I care about Michael even if he hates me at times. I'll never let Will get in the way of us.

It's obvious that words won't fix the mistake I made with Will, and I'm gonna have to set the tone with body language.

The phone at the nurse's station rings again, and my head perks up. The nurse answers it, but I already know who it is. "Moonsie?" I sigh, rushing towards the counter. She nods hard, forking over the phone immediately.

Today she thinks I'm 6 years old and she's just killed Ezra. A hand over my mouth, I study the floor, doing my best to swallow back my emotions. They keep threatening to spill from me as she promises that Ezra will come home one day, that he didn't mean to run away. I take a quivering breath. "I'm so sorry honey." How does she know this number? I nod once, blinking back tears. This is becoming too much. "It's ok Moonsie. It's fine."

When I hang up the phone, I turn and see Will watching with a worried frown. "Is everything alright?" He asks, taking a step towards me. For the sake of Michael and I, I nod, masking my sadness with a big smile. "I'm fine."

One day I'll stop lying to myself.

And to Michael.

Michael can be sweet sometimes:) Sounds like Skipper's got some problems to deal with though, lol. Vote and Comment! Another chapter soon!!