When I wake up in the morning, my arms are freezing cold even though I'm underneath the covers. My toes feel numb. My nose and cheeks are bright red, I can feel it. I can see my breath in the air.

I bundle up into a ball underneath my covers. The attempt to keep myself warm in this freezing weather does absolutely nothing. I still feel like I'm frozen in the center of an ice cube.

"Hey, Lili, get up! It's snowing outside, we've got to go out before it stops!"

The door swings open after a few knocks. I'm still huddled underneath my blanket and not planning to move out for a bit.

"Oh, come on."

The blanket is yanked off of me, exposing me to the cold air. Drew stands over me, quirking an eyebrow.

"Really?" He asks.

"Really," I nod, trying to grab my blanket back. "It's cold."

"Get used to it, honey, we're in the mountains for a reason."

Then he leaves, taking my blanket with him. I let out a frustrated sigh then force myself out of bed. My clothes are all still in my suitcase. I pull it out and grab some light jeans and a Pearlin University sweatshirt. My rain boots are also worn, considering I don't own any other sort of boots. I brush out my hair and that's the end of it.

There's a knock on my door. I look up in the mirror one last time, making sure I look okay.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah," I reply, throwing my dirty clothes into a drawer in the dresser.

The door opens, revealing Brendan. Maybe living in the snow in the future wouldn't be so bad... Because he looks pretty freaking attractive in his dark jeans and sweater. He smiles in the doorway of the bathroom.

"You excited to go play in the snow?" Brendan asks me.

"Of course," I smile. "I just wish it wasn't so... Cold..."

"The cold is part of the experience!" Brendan says with a grin.

"Well you sure seem thrilled about all this," I smile, walking over to where he stands now.

"Not just thrilled," he says with a smile. "I'm ecstatic."

"Well then I'm glad I invited you."

"What, if you didn't invite me, would you sit up in these mountains alone?" He asks with a laugh.

"Precisely."

"Hey lovebirds," Drew calls from downstairs. "We're down here havin' a grand ole time, in case you were wondering."

Brendan smiles at me, hands lifted around my waist. I'm pulled against him so our foreheads touch. He seems to have forgotten momentarily his excitement to go outside.

"What ever this is," he says, his hand reaching up behind my head and touching my hair that's in a messy bun on my head, "I'm not going to lie, it's pretty attractive like that."

I quirk an eyebrow. "The crap bun on top of my head? You're being sarcastic right?"

"No," he says. "I'm completely serious."

"Oh," I say. "Then I'm glad I've neglected to do my hair again..."

He presses his lips to mine softly, bringing his right hand back to my waist. My fingers cling to the collar of the shirt he wears beneath the sweater. I don't ever want to leave this. Thinking that we were messed up hardly a year ago is crazy. One fight took us down. I'm positive that now we won't let anything between us.

"Why don't we go down there now?" Brendan asks, and I nod my head.

As we descend the steps, I brace myself mentally and physically for the cold. Brendan's fingers are intertwined with mine, even though they're mittened. He pulls open the front door of the cabin.

It isn't just lightly snowing. It's like a storm, wind blowing in every which direction. I hold my hand over my eyes, trying to block out the pelting snow coming at us. I can't see within ten feet of where we stand now.

Brendan doesn't seem to be affected the way I feel right now. He just laughs happily, his head falling back as the snow drops down his face.

"There you guys are!" Danny calls. He's with Caleb and Drew, about eight feet away from where Brendan and I are. "What took so long?"

"I think I've got a pretty good idea," Drew says with a smirk.

My cheeks go red, not just from the cold nipping at me.

"Anywho, let's get this show on the road," Danny says with a grin.

He picks up a handful of snow and throws it at Caleb, and it hits his neck then slides down his shirt. He stands suddenly, shaking his shirt out, letting out a surprised scream. As soon as the ice has been removed, he piles up some of his own and chucks it back at Danny.

Just then, I feel an impact on the side of my face and it's suddenly going numb with the cold. I hear a chuckle and look over, eyes like daggers, to find Brendan, creating another snowball.

Getting the memo, I create one of my own and hurl it back at him, hitting his shoulder.

"You've got to do better than that!" He laughs.

And with the next, I hit him square in the face. He still manages to grin, shaking the snow away.

A new snowball comes in contact with my back. I turn to face Drew, who quirks an eyebrow and taunts me on. Instead of throwing the weapon at him, he's close enough that I just kick a bunch of snow up into his face.

When Caleb runs by and shoves an armful of snow down the back of my shirt, that's the end of it. I run after him, then jump onto his back, tackling him to the ground. He's laughing, but he won't be when he's asking for mercy.

I keep him pinned down and shovel as much snow as I can onto his face and neck. Some gets into his mouth as he laughs. He only chokes a little, all the while chuckling away.

Before I know it, I'm thrown off of Caleb. I've been thrown over Brendan's shoulder. I kick my legs, now hanging upside down. Brendan doesn't release me. He just runs a ways away, me in tow behind him.

"Let me down!" I call, but I can't help myself from grinning.

"Sorry," he says. "I can't."

"Oh, I'm sure you're perfectly capable."

"I'm not."

"Help!" I shriek as he turns abruptly, my head slamming into his back.

"Nobody's going to save you now," he says, pulling me back over his shoulder and setting me down as easily as he lifted me.

I stand before him now, nobody else in sight. I take both his hands in mine, and he smirks at me.

"You're unbearable," I say.

"You love it, don't you even lie," he says.

"I do not love being dragged around over your shoulder, if that's what you're insinuating," I raise my eyebrows.

"You were laughing like a mad man, were you not?" He smirks at me.

"It was a laugh let out in pure terror, I assure you."

"Whatever you say, Lili."

"You've got snowflakes in your eyelashes," I smile.

"Is it sexy?" He smirks at me.

"Oh come on, just kiss the girl already, Brendan!" Someone shouts from the right of us. My guess is Drew.

And Brendan does. I wrap my arms around his neck, my fingers running through his snow-covered hair. One of his hands remain on my waist. The other finds my mess of hair on top of my head. His fingers grip the hair tie and pulls down my hair in one simple swipe. My wavy blonde hair now falls down my back, and his fingers entangle in it.

"Wow, that was skillful, Brendan," Danny laughs, now standing beside Drew.

"Didn't realize we had quite the audience," Brendan says, turning to them. "Glad you like my expertise, though."

*•*•*

About four hours later, I'm in my sheep-covered onesie and sitting on the couch beside Brendan. Caleb is sitting on the other side of me and Drew and Danny are on the couch beside it.

"We need some food," Danny exclaims, standing up abruptly. "Drew, come drive with me. I want to get some burgers."

"Alright," Drew nods, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. "Sounds good to me."

"Wait!" Caleb says. "Don't leave me here... I'll be the ultimate awkward third wheel."

"I see your situation..." Danny says with a brief nod. "Come, come, I wouldn't do that to you."

So, the three of them leave once they've got our orders. That leaves Brendan and I alone. I'm snuggled up at his side, head on his shoulder. He's got an arm over my shoulder.

"I think about when we weren't together sometimes," Brendan says after a while, "and those months were wretched."

"You managed before you knew me," I say.

"True, but once I had known you, I couldn't get enough of you. And being separated from you after that, for so long... It made me insufferable. Not even Kate, who usually palled around everywhere with me, could stand it."

I stay silent, not knowing what to say. I somehow managed to get on for a few months distracting myself from him. But then by the end of the semester, I realized what a mistake it was to let him go.

"Let's not think about that, any of it, anymore," I say. "I don't want to. Neither should you. Let's just move forward."

"I also think, more than just occasionally, how lucky I am," he says. His hand moves from my shoulder to my hair. He twirls a lock around his finger. "You're everything to me, Lili. And you're all mine. I can't even believe it sometimes."

I laugh lightly. "Yeah, and how do you think I feel about being with someone like you? The absolute perfection of a person."

"I am not the perfection of a person, I'm far from it. You've seen that. That's why I'm so lucky I somehow got you," Brendan says.

He takes my chin between his fingers and thumb and looks into my eyes for a long time, as if contemplating his comments. Then he draws me near again and presses his lips to my forehead. My eyes fall closed.

What he doesn't realize is that I don't mean the literal definition of perfection. He's my perfection. He's exactly the kind of person I would want to hold my heart.

*•*•*

Later that night, the guys have all decided that there is absolutely nothing better to do in a cabin in the woods than to watch a scary movie. I can't say I agree, but they're dragging me into this. 'You'll be happy you did it,' they said. 'It's all in the atmosphere of it,' they said. Yeah, right.

Back to our couch positions from earlier, Drew puts in some scary movie from the late 90's. When I decide I'm not comfy sitting straight up, I lay my head down on Brendan's lap, and my legs rest out along the couch, my feet at the end are propped up onto Caleb's lap.

"You just think you're the queen, don't you?" Caleb teases, looking from my feet on him and back to me.

"Most definitely."

The movie begins, and I'm able to handle it. I only let out the occasional squeal in the first thirty minutes. And then it gets bad. So I turn my head the other way and try to fall asleep.

When I succeed, dreams fill my head. I probably regret sleep more than the movie because whatever that creature in that movie was, it's coming into my nightmare.

I scream and try to kick it away in my dream, but it's crawling and chasing me and nipping at my toes. At some point I fall onto the ground. It climbs onto my back and I feel like I'm going to die. It's going to kill me.

I feel a hand touch me and I scream again, trying to crawl away from it. Of course, being a dream, I no longer have the ability to move. And it's right in front of my face and-

"Lili," a voice reaches me. "Lili, wake up."

My eyes open suddenly, and I almost jump in surprise. My head hurts. I rub it with one hand, pressing myself off of what must be the hardwood floor. Brendan sits above me, one hand on my arm, looking concerned.

"You alright?" He asks as I sit myself up slowly.

"I'm good, yeah," I say, letting out a sigh. It was a dream. Only a dream. "Why am I on the ground?"

"You flung yourself off the couch and started screaming," he says. "It was actually quite frightening to watch."

"Oh... Sorry..." I say, when I notice that the other three boys are watching me with equally shocked faces.

"Don't apologize, Lili," Brendan says softly.

Then he helps me up off the floor. The movie screen is paused on the same creature that entered my nightmares and I flinch.

"I'm going to take her up to bed, okay?" He asks the others. They all nod. "You can play the movie, I don't mind."

Then Brendan and I walk together up the creaky stairs. His hand is over my shoulder, mine around his waist. He presses my room's door open and turns on the lamp beside the bed. I walk over and sit down on it, watching him as he closes the blinds.

"Are you going to be alright?" He asks, then sitting down beside me.

I nod my head a few times. "Yeah, I'll be okay. Sorry I'm such a wuss."

"Hey, stop apologizing, I never mind protecting a girl when she's scared," Brendan smiles, "and it helps when she's pretty."

"Then you're protecting the wrong gal," I laugh dryly, gesturing to my face that probably still has remains of old makeup and tired bags under my eyes.

"You're right. If I want to find a pretty girl, I can walk down any old street and pick one up," he says. Then he takes my hand, looking into my eyes. "I was lucky enough to land a beautiful one."

And he kisses me lightly, his hand still holding onto mine. It's not only a sweet kiss with a sweet boy, but it distracts my mind from dwelling on the frightening images I've just viewed. I wrap an arm around his neck, not for the first time today feeling the warm buzz in my chest.

Then he releases me, asks me if I'm really okay. When I reply positively, he nods, then leaves my room, closing the door softly. I lay back under my covers, lamp still on. I don't think I'll be able to sleep without it that way. I close my eyes, the warm feeling still overwhelming me, and find my way into a non-creature-filled sleep.

*•*•*

When spring break comes to an end, it's difficult to part with Danny and Drew and head back to the real world. We say our goodbyes, and I shed a tear or two, being the emotional girl I am.

Drew and Danny both assure me I have nothing to be sad about considering they're not about to go kill themselves. They'll stay in touch and we'll meet again, probably in the summer.

And then we're driving back to Pearlin University, everything packed in the back as it was before. I hold onto Brendan's hand probably the entire drive back. Occasionally we exchange smiles, then he focuses back on the road so we don't all die in a horrible fiery car crash.

When we return home, Caleb follows me up to my dorm room. He tells me how thankful he is that I invited him to come with us. He says that he really did have a good time, that I was right. They are fun people. I tell him that I'm just glad we're back to being best friends.

Then he leaves me at the dorm room where I'm greeting happily by Ida, who tells me all about her spring break in Massachusetts with her brother.

Even though I'm home from the cabin, I feel more happy and content than I ever really have before. My heart feels like it's literally expanding and I'm going to die because of it. And for some odd reason, I might be okay with that. I'd die happy, at least. I'd die knowing that I'd forgiven my friends and they'd forgiven me.

That's the thing about friendships, they're fragile things. They're going to break. The effort put into recreating it is the most important and valuable part of it all.

Don't let those people fall from your grip. You'll realize what you've lost later on. It's too precious to keep and fix than to throw away and abandon.

I realize that now, surrounded by the people that I love. They're worth any pain I've endured to keep them.

**********

I'm sorry to say this is the end! But it's not... There will be one last chapter of 14&15 in Brendan's POV! But that's it... Thanks everyone for sticking with this! It means a lot:)