On the ninth day of Christmas, we celebrated our anniversary.

My alarm kept on blaring in the background and instead of shutting it, I simply stared up at the ceiling above me. I barely had any sleep and that was because of this special day.

Rolling off to my side, I reached out to grab my phone and get rid of that annoying sound. The date and time was flashed across the screen and I gulped, remembering once again why I wanted to wake up early today.

Throwing the covers off of my body, I rubbed my eyes to get rid of any remaining sleep. Standing up, I walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open to allow a bit of sunlight into my room. The fact that there was now something illuminating showed how messy my room was, photo albums and memory boxes littered the floor. Sighing, I side stepped past everything so I could go to the bathroom and take a shower.

Today was a special day so I decided to dress in my best clothes. After grabbing my keys and wallet, I started my descent downstairs where my family was getting ready to start the day.

"Morning son," dad greeted from his spot on the couch, sipping on his coffee while his attention was glued to the news anchor chatting away onscreen.

"Hey dad," I replied, going straight the kitchen where I knew my mom was preparing breakfast. She turned from her position by the stove and gave me a smile, handing me my plate of food, "Hi mom."

As I hopped onto a stool by the kitchen island, I could feel the way she was observing my movements before finally exhaling loudly at the way I was dressed up, "It's been a year, hasn't it?"

It had been a year and a half since I met Annie and exactly a year since we're shared a promise to be together. As corny as it sounded, she made me believe that there was something worth fighting for and today, I planned to see her first thing.

"I'm so sorry!" I kept apologizing to the girl who was fanatically trying to wipe the orange juice from her blouse, "It's my fault, I wasn't looking."

Finally realizing that it was hopeless, she just hugged her jacket tighter around her body, trying to conceal the stain, "We all have those days."

"Let me at least treat you to coffee or something as an apology," I offered.

Despite what I did to her, she managed to smile kindly, not a trace of anger or annoyance was present in her face, "I'll take you up on that then."

"So what's your name?" I asked as we started to walk side by side.

"Annie," she said.

"You cleaned up good," my sister commented when she entered the room, her phone screen showing a concert of one of the celebrities she loved.

"And it seems like you're still hypnotized by that chick," I quipped back just as she took the seat next to mine.

"Alright, not only is her family like Hollywood royalty, she insanely talented," she defended, placing her attention back onto the video, "And people are speculating from her songs that she's in a relationship so as one of her biggest fans, I can't be left out on the news."

Rolling my eyes, I allowed her to get sucked into that blackhole of getting interested by another person's life. It's just phase, it will pass soon enough.

I finished my breakfast and drank the glass of water mom handed me, "I better get going, I can't keep her waiting."

My sister laughed softly before waving me goodbye while mom simply nodded in acknowledgement with a smile. As I passed by my dad, I said that I was leaving and he only responded with a hum of recognition.

I exited the house and closed the door behind me. Judging from the light layer of whiteness resting on the ground and on the surface of my car, I could guess that it snowed a bit last night. I could almost picture Annie with a huge smile because of the weather, she was delighted by the sight of snow.

"You're late!" she snapped when I came rushing into the small diner. I bent down and grabbed my knees, trying to even my breathing while scattering a bunch of apologies at the same time.

Her expression softened before reaching forward to swipe away the hairs that was sticking to my forehead after running so fast. She let out a small laugh while she gestured to the seat across her, "Come on, I was only kidding."

"Annie," I pouted, plopping down on the chair, "I'm so sorry, my car broke."

"Calm down, I was the one who invited you so suddenly," she assured, drinking from her coffee mug, "We haven't been seeing much of each other lately because of work so I kind of missed you."

I lifted my head so quickly that I was afraid I pulled something bad. She was there, smiling as kindly as the day I met her and I knew that her words were sincere.

It had been a few months since that accident and over that small treat to pay up for the disaster that I caused, we exchanged number and soon became good friends. She was cheerful and always nice, making my friends and family like her in an instant. She was my best friend, though sometimes, I think that we could be something more.

But I push that idea to the back of my head because what we have now is too good to ruin.

"Just call me anytime," I grinned, "I'll be there for you in an instant."

She lifted her mug slightly and nodded, "Same, I'll always be there for you."

Before I went to where she currently stayed in, I drove first to the nearby flower shop in order to pick up my gift for her. When I went inside, the woman by the counter perked up when she saw me, "Right on schedule, boy."

Shrugging, I gave her a smile. I come here at least once a month for the past year to buy flowers for Annie so the woman here practically knows me already. Annie loves flowers, her room used to be filled with them and she always tended to the flower beds growing in her parents' backyard.

"Here we go," the woman said, dropping the beautifully arrange bouquet on top of the counter, "I'll give you a discount today as an early Christmas gift."

Taking out my wallet and getting my credit card, I handed it to her before examining the bouquet, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," she muttered, doing the transaction, "I hope they don't die, it's quite cold."

"She'll take care of them," I assured her as I took my credit card back along with the receipt.

I wished her a Merry Christmas before going back out and slipping into my car, placing the bouquet on the passenger seat beside me.

"Ta-dah!" I grinned showing off my new baby.

Annie, who stood by her front door blinked at the large piece of metal parked in front of her driveway. It took her a full minute, before squealing and running up to the vehicle, "You finally got a new car."

"What do you mean by 'finally'," I huffed, my tone obviously joking.

"Well, I was starting to grow tired of you calling me at strange hours of the day to pick you up because your old car died," she laughed, patting the hood of the vehicle.

It had been months since the first time my car broke, and as always, she was still the same kind person I could count on anytime. When she told me that she'll be there, she stood with her word. I'm not afraid to wait by a curb for hours, because I was sure that if I all her, she would come.

And she knows that I would do exactly the same for her.

"You did promise me you're always going to be there for me," I teased, poking her side.

"Of course," she laughed, "Because we'll always be together."

The place she currently stayed in was gated, protecting her and her other neighbors. Well, she did deserve that kind of security and privacy. I parked right outside the fence and carried the bouquet while I exited the vehicle, locking it right after I closed the door.

The gate me a loud screeching sound when I opened it. I ignored the sound and followed the path to her place. Finally seeing her residence, I grinned and walked up to her, the bouquet being clutched to my side.

"Hi Annie," I greeted, staring down at her, "I'm sorry we haven't seen each other for a while."

She stayed silent and I frowned, it's been like this for a while – I'll keep talking and she won't respond with a single word nor even a sound. I don't mind though, I knew her reasons for it and I certainly don't blame her for it.

I dropped to the ground and placed the flowers right in front of her, reaching out to touch her.

I wanted to hug her, touch her, and feel her warmth again, but alas, whenever my skin touches her, all I feel is a cold reminder. Taking a deep breath, I lifted a hand to trace the writing on the tombstone.

Annie Kerry.

Loving daughter and friend.

"I miss you," I mumbled, my throat starting to feel heavy as I tried to say out the words I've been thinking of for a long time, "Happy anniversary, baby."

"Mistletoe!" everybody chanted as I found myself at the middle of one of my friends' living room with the crowd cheering Annie and me.

When they pushed us through the entryway to the living room, I had no idea that my friends had this crazy scheme of making us kiss in front of them. Some of them had been teasing us regularly about an oncoming romance between us, but all we've done is wave it off with a laugh.

Though know that I've thought about it, we have never explicitly denied the idea.

Looking down towards her, I could see her blushing madly at our current situation. Her mouth slightly agape in surprise, her hair a little disheveled because she was twirling around earlier with our friends, and her eyes were frantic as her gaze scanned around the room.

She looked absolutely beautiful.

Taking a deep breath, I rested my hands on her waist and this caused her to jump in surprise, her face turning to me. Mustering up all the courage I had, I slowly brought my lips down towards her, stopping just a few inches apart to look into her eyes.

She gave me a light nod and we sealed our lips together.

"The guys are planning to visit you soon," I said, sitting down on the frosted grass, "They miss you too."

I probably looked silly, talking to someone who wasn't even replying to me, but they're wrong. I know she's replying, it's just that none of us can hear her.

She's there, because she promised that we would always be together.

My eyes were glued to her tombstone as if it was Annie herself. The date of her death was glaring at me, and how painful it was to think that the anniversary of when we got together was also the anniversary of her death.

"So where does this put us now?" I asked as my hand was wrapped around hers after we finally escaped the huge group of our friends.

"Where do you want us to be?" she countered.

Instead of replying, I leaned down and pressed another kiss to her lips, feeling her smile.

No words were needed to explain what happened, we just silently agreed that we would be together.

The more I think of it, the more I want to cry. The problem? I couldn't. All my tears were already drained from that day.

And I know she wouldn't want to see me crying because of her.

When we stepped outside, I could see the twinkle in her eye when she saw the snow slowly falling from the sky.

"You like snow?" I questioned, turning to her, frost coming out of my mouth.

She nodded with enthusiasm, reaching out her hand to catch the few snowflakes, "I love it."

The irony of her love of snow is that it was the thing that led to her ultimate death.

She loved it, and I guess it loved her as well, because it took her away from me.

Leaning down, I allowed my forehead to touch her tombstone, closing my eyes to feel the cold surface. For once, she was cold. She always welcomed me with this happy warmth, a kind smile, and a loving embrace.

But now, all she greeted me with was a cold stone.

People around me were wearing black and I couldn't even see Annie's face anymore, as my vision was being blurred with tears.

I don't even care anymore what I looked like, she was gone.

That night, I got a call from her mom, telling me the news.

Everything was perfect until it happened.

Her tires slipped on the road because of the snow, and it went straight into a roadside lake. It wasn't that she drowned, but it was because of the impact and amount of shattered glass that poked her body that killed her.

My mother was rubbing smoothing circles around my back, but my whole body was numb. I loved her, I loved her so much and yet, she was taken away from me.

"I love you, Annie," I whispered to her.

One day, we'll see each other again and I can see your smile that got me weak and that laugh that got me thinking that nothing could go wrong with the world. But for now, this will be the closest thing we can do.

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Shoutout to my sleep schedule, it's the reason why update times are going whack.