It was actually another few days before Sebastian and I could meet. The snow had gotten worse, leaving families stranded in their houses. Yesterday, it hadn't snowed so people were able to go and shovel their driveways and pathways. It was now Christmas Eve and the day I was going out to see Sebastian. I had dressed in a pair of sweats with some thermal leggings underneath. I want to be comfortable not cute. I have a sweater on underneath a thick jacket and some knockoff Uggs. As I walk down the stairs, I nearly slip, letting me know that I'll need to scrape up the bottom of my boots for tread.

I walk off the steps to see my mom, dad, and aunt Shelly sitting on the couch. They have the fireplace going, the TV playing a classic: How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The Jim Carrey version, not the cartoon and not the latest that just came out in theaters. I smile at the sight. Shelly is quiet, her eyes on the screen and her hands gripping a mug. My mom is nuzzled against my dad with his arm around her. It looks picture perfect and I would be with them if I didn't have this important business.

My boots slap against the hardwood, notifying everyone of my presence. They all turn their heads, Shelly losing interest once she sees it's just me. My mom gives me a small smile while my dad gives me a stern look. They motion me forward.

"So, let me get this straight," my dad starts, removing his arm from my mom to fully turn to face me. "Instead of staying in a warm house and talking over the phone, you're going to walk into the snow and freeze your butt off just to go talk to a boy in the park?" He glances at my mom, raising an eyebrow. "How is this okay?"

My mom rolls her eyes, slapping my dad on the chest lightly. "Because, we trust Emie to be safe and not stay out past an hour." she then gives me the same stern look my dad had. "We're serious, Emie. No more than an hour. We don't need you getting sick, okay? Tell Sebastian we said hi."

"I promise." I nod and start making my way to the door. When my hand is on the knob, Shelly decides to speak.

"Wait, isn't this Sebastian guy gay?" She inquires. My eyes widen as I turn to her, shooting her a deadly look. While my mom knows about Sebastian, my dad doesn't. "Why are you going out in the cold to see him?"

"What! Sebastian is gay? Why am I left out of the loop?" Dad wonders, shooting to his feet quickly. "Emerson, come back here. Di he break your heart? Has he always been gay?"

I turn around and shake my head. "That's what we're going to talk about."

My mom stands calmly. She places a hand on my dad's shoulder, patting it lightly. "Calm down, Ray. Emie is old enough to handle herself. You don't know what's happening and I think we need to let her handle this. This is the real world and Emie deserves to experience this."

I watch as my dad turns to my mom. They whisper to each other, shaking their heads and nodding at certain things. Their relationship makes me want to go out there and demand that Sebastian and I work through this. Seeing what love is and what it can be, I want that. But on the other hand, I want Sebastian to explore this other side of him. I want him to discover himself, not b stuck with me forever, no matter how much I may want this.

"I'm going. Sebastian is waiting and this is a talk that's been waiting for an extremely long time." Without waiting, I rip the door open.

The wind is hefty and quick to blow me away. I step out and close the door. Since my hood isn't on my head, my hair whips all around, slapping me in the face and forcing its way into my mouth. I push it back and grab the hair tie from my wrist to tie it up. Then I place the hood on my head, immediately feeling a small amount of extra warmth. With a sign, I make my way across the snow-covered lawn. Looks like we'll be having a white Christmas. Last year, there had been a spike in the temperature so we had a fairly warm Christmas which sucked to say the least. This year, though, all I see is white. Cars are covered in snow along with lawns, houses, and everything else.

I reach into my pocket and pull my phone out to take a picture. The sun is shining, though it's still too cold to melt the snow, and the sun is flashing against the snow, causing a glare. The sky is clear and blue, looking amazing. I click the camera on my phone and take a picture.

Stepping onto the sidewalk, I start making my way to the park. The park is the perfect in between from my house and Sebastian's house. It also happens to be the only playground in Elderwood, save for at the daycare and elementary school. It doesn't take too long, maybe ten minutes before I reach. I already see a figure clad in jeans and a large, puffy jacket. Nobody else is at the park, most likely because the place is covered in snow.

"Sebastian," I breathe out as I start nearing him. He turns and gives me a small, nervous smile.

Once I stop in front of him, I shove my hands into my pocket and begin kicking the show around. A hand grabs onto my shoulder and I look up to see Sebastian staring down at me kindly. With a deep breath, I motion to the swings. He nods and leads the way. There, we shake the seat of snow and sit down.

"I'm glad you called me, Emie. I didn't think you'd ever want to talk to me again." Sebastian admits, a sad smile on his face.

I start berating myself silently for telling him to leave me alone. It was a jerkish think to say and I shouldn't have. At the time, I had thought he wanted me to suffer by playing with my feelings. But now, not so much.

"I shouldn't have said that." I admit, looking down at my boots. The black is a large contrast to the white snow.

"No," Sebastian reaches over to me. He places his hand on my face, and I shiver from his cold fingers. "You had every right to. I'm so sorry for putting you through this, Emie."

I grab his hand and lean my cheek into it more, closing my eyes. "I know this is a confusing time for you. I don't want you to feel pressured and I don't want to hold you back."

"Emie," he calls and I open my eyes to look at him. "What do you mean? You've been so supportive and I don't know what I would do without you. I should've never asked you to cover for me, knowing how you feel about me. That doesn't matter now. I love you so much, Emie. I'm in love with you and I want to give you my undivided attention."

I pull my face away from him, causing his hand to fall. With a frown on my face, I shrink away from him. Sebastian bites his bottom lip and turns his gaze towards in front of us where the jungle gym sits. My grip on the swing chain loosens. I regret not wearing gloves because my palms are an angry red and my fingers are numb.

"Sebastian," I turn to look at him, my eyebrows furrowed. "Are you just going to brush your feelings for Cody off? I don't think we'll go anywhere if you're going to always be thinking about the side of you that hasn't been explored."

Sebastian's head turns towards me harshly. So hard, it makes me cringe at the whiplash he's probably just given himself. His gaze is angry and broken almost. For the first time, I really gaze at him, notice him. Dark bags are placed under his eyes. Letting me know he hasn't been sleeping much. His lips are chapped and I'm not sure if it's from the cold or because he hasn't been taking care of himself properly. His normal tan skin has taken on a lighter shade, but that could also be due to the weather. Naturally, winter isn't exactly bright for tanning. He looks terrible and I'm sure under his black beanie, his hair is unkempt.

"Ten," I mumble, lifting a hand to shove a strand of hair from my forehead.

"Cody is a dick, Emie." Sebastian surprises me by his words. By eyebrow raises involuntarily and my mouth drops open. A breeze blows, hitting me in the face and causing my teeth to ache from the cold.

"What...I thought you guys were friends?" I speak with uncertainty. Had something happened between Sebastian and Cody. I thought this would give Cody the chance to get closer to Sebastian, but apparently not.

Sebastian shakes his head, laughing humorlessly. "No, he's a jerk. Jesus, you don't even know the half of it, Emie. Cody is a fucking lunatic and I could never be with him."

I blow out a breath at Sebastian's admittance. So maybe it wasn't just me who had noticed something was off about Cody? As of lately, I've been feeling like he's out to get me, well, technically just that one day we worked together. It seemed like he was intentionally trying to hurt me with his smug face.

"Is he threatening you or something, Sebastian?" I gasp, my head already filled with little ideas about what Cody could have said to Sebastian.

"Don't worry about it, Emie bear." Sebastian shakes his head. He shoves his hands into his pockets, sighing and glaring at the snow-covered ground. "I don't want to talk about him. I want to talk about us."

Despite Sebastian wanting to change the subject, I can't help but continue to think about Cody. It's odd how a whole family can just pick up and relocate. Especially coming from Hawaii, such a beautiful place, to settle down in our small town. How would Cody have been able to convince his parents to do this? Possibly with the Hawaiian shop, but even then, it's still odd. If I'm being honest, it's a little offsetting that a boy packed all of his stuff to chase my boyfriend.

"Emie, I want to give us another chance. I really do." Sebastian's voice pulls me from my thoughts. I was half listening, but his last words are what really catches my attention.

"What? Sebastian, no. I feel like you still have so much to figure out. What happens if we get married and have kids then you suddenly start to doubt your feelings again? I can't go through this again, Sebastian. I barely made it through this heartbreak."

Sebastian looks guilty, his eyes wincing. I see his coat jacket move at the pockets and I assume he's clenching his fists. I don't want to say 'no' but I have to. My heart is too fragile to possibly experience another heartbreak. The only thing to do is deny his wishes.

He looks over at me, his blue eyes pleading. "Emie, I can't apologize enough for that. I realize what I've lost, okay? Please...I miss you so much."

I shake my head and his eyes drop from me along with his head. "No, Sebastian. Please don't make this hard for me..." As I trail off, my voice becomes high pitched from me choking up.

My hands shoot to my face, covering them as I sob. I hadn't expected to start full on crying, definitely not ugly cry too. The other swing makes a clunking noise and before I know it, Sebastian is crouched in front of me. His eyes are wide and full of guilt as he pulls my hands from my face. As I look at him, my cries grow wilder, my shoulders shaking. Without another thought, I throw my arms around his neck. Sebastian acts quickly, wrapping his arms around my midsection and tightening as I move from the swing. We're in an awkward position, Sebastian now sat in the snow and me, somewhat in his lap.

I'm not sure how long we sit there. Both of us are cold and shivering, teeth chattering. It's definitely gotten colder since we got here and I can bet it'll be snowing within the hour. My tears dry up and I'm reduced to sniffles.

"I'll walk you home." Sebastian breaks the silence. I nod against his shoulder, sniffling one last time. It's no longer from the tears but from the chill.

We both get up, me first then Sebastian with my help. He places his arm around me and I choose not to argue. It's too cold now and I'm ready to go take a shower and curl up in bed with some hot chocolate. The walk to my house seems to take a long time though it was the same amount of time it took me to walk to the park. I think it's because my legs are aching, freezing. After sitting in the snow, my leggings and sweats combo isn't providing much warmth. But alas, we make it to my house, beating the inevitable snow.

"You're okay to walk home?" I ask Sebastian, my throat dry from the crying. "It's really cold now and I'm not sure you'll beat the snow.

Sebastian nods and gives me a small smile. "Yeah, I'll be okay, Emie."

I'm about to protest, but Sebastian steps forward and places a kiss right on my lips. Both of our lips are cold, both chapped and I can't say his lips are soft like normal. At the moment, they dry from the cold, but I don't stop him. Call me weak, but I think I needed this. I missed this.

Sebastian pulls away with a small smile, looking proud of himself. H then kisses my cheeks before turning and walking away. Neither of us bother with farewell's, taking the kiss as out goodbye.

I turn towards my door and open it, happy they left it unlocked for m since I had forgotten my key. The warmth of my house is welcoming, but it makes my body feel even colder with the sudden temperature change. I shakily pull my jacket off, my teeth chattering loudly. I hurry to kick my boots off. They had accidentally trailed in some snow that was already melting against the wood. Quickly, I run over to the couch, jumping down next to my dad who had been staring at the door intensely. He quickly wraps his arm around me as I lean into his side, throwing the blanket he has over me. I'm still shivering, but at least my body is warming.

I realize my sweats are still wet so I squirm around to pull them off. My dad protest, giving me a disturbed look before I show him that I'm wearing leggings. A small laugh leaves me as his ears become red and I shake my head. Home Alone is playing on the TV, the ultimate, classic Christmas movie.

"Wait," Shelly turns and looks at me, a confused look on her face. "I thought the kid was gay? Why the hell were you guys lip locking?" I frown at her, my eyes trailing to the window after she glances them.

The curtains had been open this whole time.

*Chapter thirty y'all! Are you guys proud of me? Man I can't believe it. I keep saying this, but it's the truth. Anyways, how did you guys like this chapter? Do you believe that Sebastian is really ready to get back with Emie? Is Emie right for brushing his feelings off or should they have talked more about it? And how about Sebastian's confession about Cody, what do you think is happening there? Please don't forget to vote and comment. Thanks so much for reading.*