That night, my parents gave the twins an earful about the incident at the Lanes'. Not being that keen on hearing it, I went to my room, feeling embarrassed. I'd managed to save face in front of Riley but I had hated being in that position...I hoped Riley wasn't angry about the incident... I'd meant to apologise again, but the words had been caught in my tongue. I'd become a lot more confident in the past year, but I still felt like the same gawky kid I'd once been with Riley.

She'd always been pretty, but she was even more so now. I closed my eyes, recalling how her smile would light up her face, the sound of her laughter, the spark in her warm, brown eyes when she was cheerful... She'd always had that energy radiating off her. That was in fact what had inspired me to change. I'd wanted to be as confident at her.

I was in my room, lost in thought, when a soft knocking sound pulled me back to reality.

"Scott, dear? Can I come in?"

It was Mum's voice.

"Yeah, of course," I said.

She came in and closed the door behind her.

"How are the Lanes doing?" she asked.

"They seem fine," I said.

Riley had told me her parents had meant to invite mine for dinner, but they hadn't had a chance to reply. I didn't think they'd even spoken yet.

"Good. You and Riley seem to be getting along," she commented, sitting on the edge of my bed, a knowing smile on her face.

I blinked at her.

"Mum, we've always gotten along," I pointed out.

"Well, yes, as children, of course," she agreed. "But three years can change a person. I mean, look at you!"

"Why would that mean we can't get along?"

"Oh, it doesn't, dear, of course not!" Mum exclaimed as though she'd never considered anything else. "I just mean that after not seeing one another for a while, people sometimes lose the connection they once had."

I frowned at her. If I knew my mother, she had something up her sleeve. She was a kind and loving mother, but had a tendency to try and... how was it Dad put it? Bend people's minds to follow her opinions.

"What are you getting at, Mum?"

She shifted uneasily. I had an idea why. Even when we were smaller, I'd always gotten the feeling my mother didn't much like Riley. She'd never said so, of course, but I had seen the way she would look at Riley sometimes. Though I couldn't for the life of me figure out what she had against Riley. I crossed my arms as I waited for her to answer.

"Oh, nothing. I just don't want you to get carried away, that's all."

"Mum, we're not doing anything wrong! We're just friends, and friends spend time together."

"Well, yes, naturally, but..."

"Then what's the problem?"

Again, she hesitated before answering.

"... I've always thought that Riley... was a little too... exuberant for you."

"Exuberant?" I repeated sceptically. "Since when does being exuberant mean you can't be friends with someone who's not?"

"Because she makes you act in ways you might not in other circumstances..."

"You never had a problem with us being friends when we were smaller!"

"That was before... this." Mum said.

I frowned at first, not following what she was talking about. Then, it hit me.

"... You mean... you think she told me to change?"

"Well, it's only after that last summer she was here that you even started wanting to lose weight and get rid of your braces..."

If I had been expecting anything, this wasn't it. I was so shocked, I was rendered speechless for several minutes.

"Mum... you can't be... you mean you didn't want me to feel better about myself?"

'Oh, of course I did, darling, but in your own skin! This... this isn't you!"

"It is absolutely me! I've felt more myself in the past year than all the rest of my life! How can you not see that?"

"I see a boy I don't recognise! And... it scares me... You were just fine as you were..."

"People called me Podgy, Mum!" I snapped. "Please, do tell me in what universe that would enable anyone to feel fine?!"

"I wa-"

"You're my mother. Of course I'm always perfect in your eyes. Or was, seeing your current disposition. But this change was not about you. It was about me being the one I wanted to be, the one I knew I could be inside. Riley showed me that, and I will be eternally grateful to her for believing in me that unconditionally. So I'm sorry if you disapprove, Mother. But I care about Riley, and if we get along, I see no reason not to spend time together."

* * * * * *

I was woken by the sound of a snowball fight. I couldn't tell who it was, but the voices were young, if the cries of laughter were anything to go by.

Probably Mary and Lucy playing outside, I told myself.

With a groan I sat up, pushing my tangled hair out of my eyes. The weather was clear but cloudy, today. I let out a very unattractive yawn and meant to get up when I stopped in my tracks. Looking at the window again, I noticed something I had missed a moment before. I definitely remembered seeing the book on the desk the night before. It had been closed, I was certain of it.

So how in the world had it ended up being open this morning? I slowly got to my feet and walked over to it. It was open on two blank pages. I carefully turned the left page over to look at the one before. It was the last ones I'd written.

"Lucas!" I called. "Lucas, come here now!"

I heard the shuffling of feet, followed by my little brother poking his head in the door. He had that grumpy look that said I'd interrupted him in the middle of something important.

"What?" he demanded.

"Did you touch my book?" I asked.

A frown of confusion touched his freckled face.

"What book?" he asked, stepping closer.

"This book!" I replied, lifting it so he could see. "I left it closed last night, and it was open when I woke up this morning."

"Well, it wasn't me," Lucas said indignantly. "Why would I want your book, anyway?"

I couldn't say I had an answer. He hated writing, and wasn't much of a reader, either. Not to mention he was convinced I only wrote cheesy romance stories. Which I didn't.

"Can I go, now? I'm in the middle of a great episode of my favourite show!"

"Fine." I sighed, rolling my eyes.

He marched out. I sighed, wondering whether we'd ever be able to have a conversation that wasn't riddled with tension. I set the book back down and looked out the window. Sure enough, Mary and Lucy were playing outside, throwing snowballs at each other. I smiled. Scott was with them. They were all running after one another, trying to get snow down each other's necks.

Mary hit Scott with one of her ammunitions and he grasped his stomach, pretending to be fatally wounded; He fell back in the snow and the twins leaped on top of him, laughing heartily. I watched them for a moment. It reminded me of the fun Lucas and I used to have as children. But ever since I'd turned thirteen, he'd been distant, and I didn't know why. Every time I dared attempt to bring it up, he would go into his room.

Scott was getting up, and looked up in my direction. Startled, I flushed. He waved at me. I waved back. He then motioned me to come join them. I smiled and nodded. Quickly pulling on my jeans and a warm jacket, I went downstairs, quickly greeted my parents and grandmother, grabbed a piece of toast from the rack, and held it between my teeth as I slid on my coat.

Scott was leaning against the wall when I came out, snow sprayed over his hat and coat. His face was pink from the cold, but his eyes were as striking as ever. I fought to keep my fluster off my face as I walked towards him. He smiled at me as he kept an eye on the twins who were playing in the snow like it was candy.

"Morning," Scott said brightly.

"Hi," I smiled. "You look like you're having fun."

"Well, they wouldn't have given me any peace until I gave in, so..." he shrugged with a grin.

I laughed at that.

"Lucas is the same." I told him. "When he wants something, there's practically nothing that'll get it out of his head."

"I have a little last minute shopping to do in the village. Care to join us?"

"Sounds great," I replied.

And so, we set off, the twins walking peacefully ahead of us. Snow was starting to fall again, and the small population of the village was busier than ever, some carrying only a couple of bags, others loaded with packages. We made casual conversation, stopping at the jeweller's to pick up a bracelet Mr. Miller had bought for his wife, then a few ingredients they didn't have time to get themselves before Christmas.

We were just leaving the grocery store (after having to wrestle the last bag of Brussels sprouts from a grumpy woman who finally relented), and were thinking of grabbing some hot chocolate before heading back when we noticed a rather large group of people gathered. We paused to look, trying to figure out what was going on. After exchanging a perplexed glance, Scott and I went closer.

"What could have done it?" said a voice among the buzz of conversation.

"Dunno, some animal, I expect," said someone else, "but I can't think what it might be..."

"An animal..?" I asked, surprised.

"That's odd... we've never had any animal sightings here, as far as I remember..." Scott commented with a frown. "Let's try and get a better look. Girls, stay close to me."

"Mum never mentioned it, either..." I replied.

We made our way through the crowd until we could see the prints for ourselves. And sure enough, they were like nothing I'd ever seen... The closest I could think of to describe was... a tentacle with smaller ones sticking out to keep its balance...

"Baah, it's probably just some kids playing jokes," a reasonable voice said beside us.

Several others agreed, but I wasn't so sure. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something about this footprint or whatever it was that felt familiar.

"Something wrong, Riley?" Scott asked.

"No... no, I'm fine." I said. "Come on, we should get going."

Scott nodded and took my arm so we weren't separated, while we each held a twin's hand. Soon enough, we were free and made our way back towards the street leading to our houses. As we were walking, however, I slowed, listening. I could hear little bells chiming somewhere, but there were none in sight.

"Riley, is everything okay?" Scott asked.

"D'you hear that?" I asked, looking around, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

He seemed to be fighting a frown.

"Uh... hear what?"

I looked at him and noticed his expression. He was eyeing me with what I thought looked like concern, but he was trying to conceal it. The girls, on the other hand, weren't trying to hide their looks, which clearly said "she's gone loopy".

"... Nothing," I finally said. "Must have been my imagination."