Artemis lifted her face to the sky. It was heavy with grey clouds, not a hint of blue to be seen. A cool breeze played with her hair as she walked along the icy pavements. She let her mind wander, a thing she was letting herself do more and more often these days. As she often did, she found herself thinking about Ranger. She imagined him here right now, beside her, imagined him reaching out and taking her hand. As she imagended her body acted out what she was dreaming, and she found herself reaching out for a hand that was not there. Instead of interlocking with soft skin and warm kindness, her fingers interlocked with bitter winds and cold realisation. Realisation that he was not there. She put her hands in her pockets to stop herself doing something stupid like that agian. What would Ranger think of her? He'd think her stupid, never want to be seen with her again. She continued walking, not really knowing where she was going anymore. She let her mind plunge her deep into daydreams as she wandered through the streets towards the park. She could hear the church bells ringing, but her mind changed them to wedding bells, and she was the bride. She was awoken from her trance by the noise of barking, and the feeling of a wet tongue on her face.

"Coco" she laughed, pushing the chocolate labrador down.

"Sorry" the unmistakable voice of her sweetheart said.

"Don't worry about it" she told Ranger.

"She is really excited today" Ranger laughed. Artemis stared into his beautiful eyes, hoping to catch his gaze, but he was focused on the uncontrollable dog.

"What brings you here?" she asked her friend.

"Just walking Coco, oh by the way I've been meaning to give you this" he pulled a red envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Merry Christmas" Last friday at school she had given him a very similar envelope. She carefully ran her finger under the celce and lifted the card inside out. She was met with a beautiful picture of a chocolate labrador playing in the snow. She read the card, it was the standard funny-nicknames-and-inside-joke-filled card, but the second last word caught her eye. Love. Love Ranger. She smiled and thanked him with a hug. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then" Ranger said, as Coco wandered off, telling them she was bored. "Unless you want to come over for a while?"

"I'd love that, but I've got to deliver this to my granny" she pulled a small box out of her coat pocket. Wrapped in red paper with a golden ribbon, she had put all her best efforts into making this gift.

"Why don't I come with you? Coco needs a change of route"

"That would be great" she smiled at him, but he didn't see it.

"Coco, this way" he called to his dog. Together, they walked the short distance to Artemis' granny's house, laughing and talking all the while. Artemis didn't know why, but when she was with Ranger she just couldn't help laughing at every little thing he'd say.

"Did you hear what Aron said?" Ranger asked her, out of the blue.

"No? What did he say?"

"He texted me this morning, in fact let me show you" he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Opening text, he read Aron's message aloud. "Did Artemis already tell you? Yesterday, while she was at mine, she asked me out. I said yes then she kissed me" Ranger put away his phone. "Just want to add I don't think any of this is true"

"He did not just say that!" Artemis cried, unsure how to feel about this. Aron was her friend, but it would be hard to maintain a relationship with a person who was saying things like that.

"It must be hard, living knowing your friend has such a big crush on you, if I had a friend like that, and I didn't like them back, I don't think I'd ever talk to them again" that was it. The words, a simple throw away line in conversation, hit Artemis like nothing she could have ever imagined. That there, that was the reason she would never tell Ranger how she really felt, for fear she would lose him. It was as if Ranger had just taken a spear and thrown it straight through her chest. "Artemis, are you ok?"

"Huh? Yeah"

"You went all blank, did something happen?"

"Well, I have a friend"

"Yeah, I know that"

"No, let me finish. I have a friend who I have a crush on, and I'm scared he will be like you and never talk to me again if I say to him"

"And you don't want to lose him?"

"Exactly"

"Well, is he a close friend?"

"About as close as I am to you"

"Well, if it was me you were telling, I wouldn't never talk to you again, you are too good a friend for that, it would just be kinda awkward probaby" and with those words most of Artemis' wounds were healed. It was strange how much impact this boy could have on her, strange how words that would mean nothing coming from someone else could shut her down completely, or open her up like an angel taking flight. Coco began barking at the sky.

"What's she seen?" laughed Artemis.

"Coco, what is it girl?" The dog began running around in circles. Artemis felt something land on her head, it wasn't hard enough to be a raindrop, but it was wet and about the size of one.

"Is that...snow?" she asked, holding out her hands.

"It is!" laughed Ranger, lifting his face to the sky. Artemis and Ranger walked amongst the fluffy white flakes with their palms to the sky. Artemis glanced at Ranger,

"You've got snow in your hair" she laughed.

"So do you" he told her. She giggled and stuck her tongue out, trying to catch a falling snowflake on it. Coco ran around barking at the snow, she had never seen anything like it before, and was confused as to what it was. It fell strong and fast, and within half an hour Artemis and Ranger were ankle deep in cold white snow. "Artemis" she looked round to see the boy she loved holding a huge snowball. He threw it at her. She laughed and dived out of the way, into the soft deep snow. Gathering her own snowball, she took aim.

"Wasn't me" she giggled as Ranger spun around to see what had hit him.

"Was so" he laughed, returning fire. They laughed and ran around the park, tossing snowballs at each other and falling down in snow banks to make the biggest snow angles they could. As Artemis lay side by side with the boy she wanted more than anything, laughing so hard she felt her chest would explode, she felt more whole than she ever had. She got up and looked at her perfect snow angel next to his wonky one. They both burst out laughing, before returning to the snowball fight.