"H-hey." Chris said as he waved awkwardly towards the girl. His cheeks felt hot as he slowly blushed, making them even more red than due to the cold.

Not exactly making the situation any less awkward, Amelia answered him with a distant "Hey…" as they both realized they had been locking eyes for way too long. They both quickly disengaged and looked another way. Despite it, Chris started walking again, and walked up to Amelia, stopping about a meter in front of her.

"Um… Have you been waiting here for a while?"

"N-no… I just arrived."

This is so awkward! What do you even say at times like these? Chris thought as they both stood there in silence until… A silent chuckle came out of Amelia. Chris could do nothing but join in as they both laughed at the awkwardness, instantly making the situation more relaxed.

"Should we start?" Amelia asked as she pointed towards the snow-covered road into the park.

"Sure!" Chris happily said as they both started walking next to each other, leaving the lamppost behind.

"Do you walk here often?"

"I usually don't walk that often, but when I need some fresh air, or calm myself down, I often take this route and watch the scenery."

"Oh really? Usually when I'm in that mood I try to write or listen to some music, but this is definitely a nice change of pace. Thanks for bringing me along!"

"N-no problem…" Amelia stuttered as she slowly turned her blushing face away from Chris. "Well… I guess I can see why you would be so attracted to this place."

"Huh?" Her eyes widened as she turned towards him.

"It definitely gives off its own sense aura, especially with the snow and darkness. It's almost like looking at a painting."

Amelia, visibly surprised and intrigued by this side of Chris she had never seen, listened closely to what he had to say.

"The darkness seems never ending and is perfectly contrasted with the white snow."

"Right! You feel like you're in your own world, separated from everything else!"

Chris was surprised by Amelia's sudden surge of energy. She really gets intense when talking about something she likes, completely forgetting how shy and timid she usually is. Chris couldn't hold back a smile as he saw how passionately she talked about it, quietly listening on her ramblings.

"You know, it's quite cute how passionate you are when talking about the things you like." A grinning Chris said as Amelia finished her rant.

"W-WH-WHAT???" That, as well as realizing how long she had talked, turned her face completely red with embarrassment. She quickly turned away from Chris, who could do nothing but laugh at her adorable reaction to being called cute.

"D-do you really think I'm c-cute?" Silently made its way out from Amelia's mouth.

"Sure. Everything from the way you behave to how you talk is cute!"

That was the final straw for Amelia, who couldn't handle the sudden praise. She quickly bent down and filled her hand with the white layer from the ground. She then turned around, throwing it all on Chris, who flinched in surprise at the sudden attack. As he looked back at Amelia, he was met with a pouting face. Well, that face certainly doesn't make you any less cute. In fear of being attacked once again, he decided it would be best to maybe not say that out loud. Instead, he started laughing, and before long, Amelia joined in.

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"Say, how did your text turn out?"

"M-mine? It turned out okay. There were definitely some things I would have done differently if I had written it now." Chris answered honestly.

"I… liked your text. It will definitely be the winner, in my opinion"

"Really?" Chris blushed a little bit.

"Y-yes. You portrayed your characters so realistic, it was almost impossible to not feel sympathetic for them. And your twists, caught me off guard…I was really impressed by your work."

"Wow. Coming from you, it really means a lot."

"From me?"

"Yeah. I really believe you've got talent Amelia. I've never seen someone play with words the way you do. It's almost moving to read."

Amelia lit up while listening to Chris' opinion on her work. Happily strutting past Chris, she took the lead. Seeing her so energetic, made Chris truly happy, as he had seen how shy she could be around people. He had only seen her act like this around Mia, so basically only around people she really trusted.

Walking next to her during this time made him get a really good look at her. It made him realize just how pretty the girl who usually hid behind her hair was. Her brown puppy eyes truly could capture any boy in them, and her perfectly proportionate face entranced Chris with only a glance. Chris also noticed her sense of fashion. Now that he thought about it, every time he had been with her she had worn an outfit carefully assembled. She usually wore baggy clothes, with different shades of pink and white, matching her pure personality.

Making their way through the park at a decent pace. They suddenly encountered a fountain. Due to the weather, it was shut down and filled with snow. At the top, a lion stood on its back feet, roaring. Water would have come out of its mouth; had it been turned on.

Amelia suddenly stopped in front of the fountain and turned around towards Chris. Her eyes shone bright with the reflection of light around them as they locked onto the boy in question. Silence befell them.

"T-there's…something I would like to tell you." Amelia said in a low voice before taking a deep breath. Chris could feel his heartbeat almost taking over. As he stood there dumbfounded. Amelia raised her hands to her chest before opening her mouth. Chris stood in anticipation.

"Chris… You're funny, nice, cool, and always helpful. You stood by me despite my shyness and talked to me. No matter what. And through this past half a year, I feel like we've really connected."

Wait. Is she actually going to say what I think? Why is my heart pounding so much, and why am I so hot? How can someone like her like me? She's one of the funniest and nicest people I know as well. I'm wayyyy outta her league.

"What I'm trying t-to say is… I like you Chris…"

Amelia looked at Chris with hopeful eyes as she finally confessed her feelings to him. Chris didn't know what to say. He stood there completely still, and his mind had went into overdrive trying to figure out what to do.

"Amelia. I'm… I'm sorry… I just can't. There's someone else I like."

Just as quickly as her head had been raised in anticipation, it fell down once again in agony. It went completely silent, until some almost silent sounds came from Amelia. Chris suddenly looked up in surprise. Snow started falling on them.

Looking back down, he could now visibly see Amelia shaking, and a few tears falling from her usually more timid face.

Oh god… Chris knew what he had done. But he didn't know something like this would affect him so much as well. His whole body felt hollow, as if every part of him had been dragged out and replaced by the darkness surrounding them. P-please Amelia. I don't want to see you like this. Chris fought to keep his own tears from leaving his eyes. Seeing Amelia, who he still held dearly, being so distraught over something he had done made him want to run away and hide in a hole somewhere, never to return. But he knew he had to take it. He had no right to be the one to feel sad after doing something like this.

"I-It's Lilly…right?"

"W-what?" Chris was left speechless as she mentioned that name. Amelia wiped away her tears before raising her head, looking at Chris once again.

"You don't need to say anything. I had a hunch after reading your text."

Now it was Chris' turn to feel humiliated. He broke their eye contact, feeling too uncomfortable to look at the girl he just rejected.

"Your characters, they were just too real to not be inspired by yourself. Seeing your main character struggle. Seeing you struggle to overcome your problems. The way you were able to portray your emotions. That was when I knew how I felt about you."

Tears now running down his own cheeks, Chris couldn't contain it anymore. He felt naked. Completely exposed to the guilt. Layer upon layer of guilt fell on him. Amelia, knowing she had close to no chance of succeeding, but trying anyway. It was truly something admirable. Despite being so shy, she had still managed something he hadn't.

They both stood there, tears running down their cheeks, snow piling up on their heads.

"Amelia. Please."

"I hope you succeed." She said, before doing a complete 180 and started to run away, leaving Chris alone.

"Wait!" But Chris' last attempt to reach out to her failed. He now stood in silence, seeing her move out of sight. The darkness completely taking over.

Now it was just him. Him in his own world, isolated from the rest of the world. Staring into the woods. Tears in his eyes.