I blew steam off my cup of coffee, wrapping my near-frozen hands around the warm handle. Fairy lights were strung up along the walls of the small cafe, and the space was packed with people and the overwhelming smell of caffeine and pastries. Linh and our seven friends took up two tables all on our own, which did nothing to help the crowded atmosphere.

Linh nudged me. "Stop acting all brooding. This is supposed to be fun! First semester finals are over, winter break's here, and it's snowing like there's no tomorrow. Don't you love the city?"

"I wasn't brooding," I grumbled, taking a sip of my coffee. "I'm just being calm. You know, like someone who hasn't had fifty cups of coffee," I added pointedly, and my sister shrugged.

"Blame Marella," she said. "She's the one that keeps buying them for me."

I leaned in front of Linh and Wylie and raised my eyebrows at Marella. She grinned at me and threw back her mug, downing the last of whatever had been in there.

I sighed and sat back. "That's gonna be fun later."

"At least you don't have to deal with an over-caffeinated Linh," Wylie reminded me.

"It's part of the deal, dude," I told him. "You should've seen her when she was younger. Absolute nightmare."

"At least I didn't go around with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders and screaming 'I'm the master of shadows!" Linh said casually, smirking over her mug.

I stared at her in shock. "I didn't--"

"You did."

I huffed and crossed my arms. "Fine."

My eyes wandered past Fitz, Sophie and Keefe, over to Biana sitting on the end. She was talking animatedly to Marella, probably gossiping about someone at school. She glanced over and broke off from her rant long enough to give me a smile.

My heart pounded and I immediately sat back, keeping her in sight long enough to see her smile fade.

The lights dimmed, and a small spotlight appeared on the stage at the front of the cafe. One of the workers bounded up and grabbed the microphone standing there, giving us a dazzling smile.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to our karaoke night!" he called, and paused as a round of applause roared through the cafe. "Anyone interested in signing up for a night of music can do so at the back." He pointed to the bar at the far wall, and the girl behind it waved. "Enjoy the rest of your night, and we'll be back in half an hour!"

Linh turned to me as the lights came back on. "That sounds fun."

I shook my head. "Not a chance. I'm sure Wylie would love to do it, though."

He froze with a croissant halfway to his mouth. "I don't sing."

I smiled. It was true, but he'd still be better at it than me.

"Come on, Tammy," she pleaded, giving me her puppy dog eyes.

I laughed. "It's funny that you think those still work on me. I'm a heartless monster, remember?"

It was a running joke between my sister and I, and all because I didn't cry during the Lion King. Linh, nearly sobbing her eyes out, had asked where my heart went, and I'd told her I didn't have one. Now neither of us ever let it go.

Linh glanced at Wylie for support, but quickly whipped back around with a grin. "Someone's checking out my brother."

I followed her gaze to see Biana staring at me with an unreadable expression. When she noticed me looking, she quickly turned back towards Marella.

I wished my hands were still cold so I could cure my burning face. "So?"

Linh rolled her eyes. "Goodness, Tam. Neck deep in denial. She likes you!"

"That is the best joke you've ever made," I told her. "Who knew you were such a comedian?"

"Who likes Bangs Boy?" Keefe asked, breaking away from his keep-away game with Sophie to grin at me. "They'd better get some mental help fast, before their lack of taste kills them."

"I'd say the same about Sophie, but I don't want to insult her," I told him, and Sophie snorted, finally snatching her phone out of Keefe's raised hand.

He shrugged. "Fair enough. Fitzy, did you know someone had a crush on Bangs Boy?"

Fitz glanced over at me. "No....but okay, I guess?"

"Thank you," I muttered. "Everyone follow Fitz's lead and not care."

Keefe grinned again. "No can do, Tammy Boy."

"That is even worse than Bangs Boy," I told him. He laughed.

I looked out the window and tried to stare past the reflections of me and my friends. Fat flakes of snow were drifting lazily from the sky, settling softly on the window sill and coating the ground in a puffy blanket. Suddenly, I wished I was out there. It was getting really hot inside.

"And we are back!" The employee was back on the stage, and the lights went off again. "Get ready for some spectacular performances!"

I snorted. I was willing to bet a lot of money that everyone up there was either drunk or insane, or quite possibly both.

I was pretty much right. There were a couple decent ones, but most of the acts were just up there to mess around. Keefe and Sophie did pretty well, surprisingly. They looked really natural together, and I was kind of proud of myself for calling their eventual couple-ness before anyone else.

People trickled out throughout the night, bundling up under the dark winter sky, and soon the streetlights were casting their yellow glow across the sidewalk outside, making the snow under them sparkle with gold. Pretty soon, it was just our group and a couple stragglers talking in lowered voices.

I found myself looking at Biana again, her hair braided and wearing a sleeveless top and denim jacket. I stifled a sigh. I really was hopeless.

Linh scooted back in her chair and stood, taking my hand. Before I could ask what she was doing, I was yanked to my feet with a yelp and dragged over to bar.

"Linh!" I protested. "What are you doing?"

"You're signing up," she told me. "Come on, Tam. Please? It'll be fun."

"It's too late, isn't it?" I asked, trying to sound like I wasn't searching for any excuse not to go up. "Sign-ups ended a while ago."

Linh turned to the girl behind the counter, who had been watching us with interest. "Is there any chance you guys can play one more song?"

The girl glanced at the clock behind her and shrugged. "Sure. What song?"

"Linh--"

"Smile, by Landon Austin," my sister said quickly before cutting me off. "You need to tell Biana how you feel. Now."

I stared at her. "So that's what this is about? Linh, I can't do that--"

"Are you ever going to tell her?" Linh asked, looking me straight in the eye.

"No!"

"Then sing it to her."

"Linh, what do you think this is, a Disney movie?" I asked incredulously. "Those things don't work in real life!"

"Well they do today." She nodded to the girl, asked for another microphone and grabbed my hand again, dragging me towards the stage. "I'll even sing it with you." She turned pink with her next words. "I'd like Wylie to know a few things."

The next thing I knew, I was standing on the stage, a mic in front of me and my sister standing to my left, tapping her foot as the music started.

"Sometimes I just need a break, a little sunshine on a rainy day," she sang, her voice soft and sweet, staring directly at Wylie. "My whole world changes with you."

I watched Wylie realize what she meant and his face went red. Linh looked at me pointedly, and I realized it was my turn.

"It's in the way you look at me, no words could say what your eyes speak. I get lost in those baby blues." My eyes were on Biana, and she smiled encouragingly. My face was burning, but it was too late to stop now.

"Cause girl, I wanna let you know: your smile gets me out of my bed, puts a kick in my step, whatever comes next, I'm ready. Your smile puts the wind in my sail, baby how could I fail, there's nothing else that I need, just smile."

I was fully aware that I was looking nowhere but her face, and she seemed to realize it. Her encouraging smile faded into something I couldn't read, and fear panged painfully through my chest. I was messing everything up with every word.

Linh finished off the song, and the pattering of applause spread throughout the small number of people still in the cafe. Keefe wolf-whistled and gave me a teasing wink. I rolled my eyes as Sophie elbowed him playfully, giving me an apologetic smile.

Linh pulled me off the stage and hugged me. "That was so good! You're just as good as I remember."

I hugged her back, but my eyes still found Biana, who was staring at me with a cautious uncertainty, and a flicker of...was that hope?

No. It wasn't.

"Hey Linh, it's getting really hot in here. I'm gonna go sit outside for a minute, okay?" I said, pulling away. She glanced at me in concern, but nodded, and I headed for the door.

Was I mad at her? No. With me acting as obvious as I was, it was bound to come out eventually. But I could still be mad at myself.

At least I'd been friends with her. Who knew what would happen now?

I tugged on my jacket and sat on the steps, watching the dots of melted snow settling on my jeans. I wiped my sweaty hands in the snow and rubbed off the excess water, stuffing them in my pockets. I wouldn't have coffee to warm them up later.

It really was peaceful out there. The streetlamps created small yellow rings on the piled snow, tire tracks carved into the coated road. It was dark and quiet, the apartments across the street silent as the time moved towards the early hours of the morning, the sounds of my friends muffled through glass and brick.

The door jingled open, and I turned to see Biana pulling her jacket closer to her, closing the copper buttons as she sat down beside me.

"It's kinda cold out here, don't you think?" she asked, as if trying to start a conversation she wasn't really invested in. "You should come back inside."

"I'm good," I said, avoiding her eyes. "Thanks."

She sighed and started unraveling her braid, looking at the snow.

I opened my mouth, then thought better of it and looked away. When she didn't say anything, I mustered up my courage and asked, "What's wrong?"

Biana studied me, like she was trying to see how much I cared. "Why are you always so weird around me? You never have an actual conversation, you always avoid looking at me...do you not like me or something?"

"No!" Biana blinked in surprise as hurt flashed across her face, and I wanted to slap myself. "No, I mean no, I do like you. A lot. But like, as a friend. Not like, like like. Cause that would be awkward..." I sighed. At this point, I had given up.

"Well, that's a shame," she mumbled, weaving the strands of her wavy hair between her fingers. "Cause I kinda like like you, and I wasn't going to tell you, but since you don't like me back, I figured I might as well get it out of the way so I can move on."

I'd never been punched in the face, but I figured this was pretty close to what it felt like.

"Wait wait wait," I said, holding up my hands as if I could pause everything that was happening. "You're serious?"

"Yeah." She sounded resigned, her teal eyes fixed on the snow, turned green by the glow of the streetlights. "But it's fine. Sorry if I just messed up our weird relationship." She looked at me and smiled but it seemed forced. "Friends?"

I blinked, and my brain finally started functioning again. "No, no wait, Biana--I like you too."

Now it was her turn to look shocked. "What?"

"Yeah. I mean, I've liked you a while now, so this kind of a shock, but yeah...yeah I like you too."

Biana's face split into the happiest smile I'd ever seen, and she laughed. "Good. That was really awkward for a second."

I smiled. "Yeah."

She fiddled with her buttons for a second. "So....what now?"

"Uh.....I guess we figure it out?"

She nodded. "Okay. I can work with that."she looked at me again and smiled, and for a second, everything was in perfect clarity--the golden light on her hair, her shining teal/green eyes, the smile that almost made it daytime again.

"I just need one thing though," I said with a grin, and she raised her eyebrows. "Just smile."

Biana laughed and swatted my arm, getting to her feet. She brushed herself off and offered me her hand. "Now, come on. Linh's gonna think you turned into an icicle."

I smiled, and took her hand. 

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Ok, so it won't let me put the link up top for some reason so here's a link to the song.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9OgYNzNlnxc