#anyways i rly hate that i write rly short and awkwardly if im not 140% fizxated on the character

[mariasflores]

parts of us

Book: High School Story, Book 2, Chapter #9

Pairing: Maria Flores x F!MC (Elodie)

Rating: G

Word Count: 881

Summary: Elodie gets competitive and cold with Maria, quite literally. For @cordonia for #ChoicesSecretSanta, part the second! 

Disclaimer: Choices, HSS, and respective characters do not belong to me; Elodie is cordonia’s MC.  This is after the diamond scene in Chapter #9 where you go ice skating.

A/N: I haven’t written for real in a year, so it’s rough and really short. Also I channelled my ‘let Maria be happy PLEASE’ feelings into this somehow even though that seems OOC in hindsight. Also, there are too many references to eyes and hands. Disclaimer: I love Maria’s eyes. And hands that don’t show often, I guess.

The sky turns a burnt orange before Maria draws their conversation to a close. She nudges Elodie and, with some reluctance, says that it’s time to go home. “School tomorrow,” she sighs. “Have to be ready for whatever’s in store.” Her eyes are teasing, however, and Elodie remembers school is going to feel better tomorrow, just knowing we had fun today, so she slips her hand into Maria’s with a grin.

“Walk you home?” she offers but Maria is already ahead of her, standing up from the bench and tugging Elodie with her. Maria draws her hand from Elodie, only to brush away a smattering of snow in her long hair.

Her reply is an amused “thought you’d never ask,” contrasting her blushing cheeks and shy smile. Elodie chuckles, marveling at how the sun’s last rays reflect Maria’s radiant happiness and thinks, if only this could never end.

They take the long way back, hand in hand. Neither seem to mind.

Walking through the quiet suburbs in winter feels quaint. There are people outside but, to Elodie, it’s only the two of them - whispering together, wrapped up in their own warmth.

They continue their talk of small things that makes Maria breath out her laughter as frost. Maybe Elodie gets a little silly, swinging their joined hands around as she regals a story with wild gestures and exaggerations, but she’ll do anything to see Maria’s eyes lacking the constant worry that seems so prevalent these days.

And it’s during one of those stories where Elodie claims, “not to brag, but I’m, like, the best there is in snowball fights. In fact, I’m the queen of anything snow in general.”

Maria hums. “I recall both of us being very adept at ice-skating earlier.”

“Excuse me, did you see my figure eights? Beginner’s luck, maybe, but they were good figure eights!” She demonstrates this by twirling them around. On the sidewalk. Some heads turn, but Elodie spies a few smiles. She’s smiling herself, too.

The girl in her arms laughs a bit. There’s a smile, tucked behind hair. “Alright, alright, I admit it.” She untangles herself and Elodie feels only a small pang of disappointment. “I have to warn you, though, that I have good aim, so your declaration is not that impressive.”

And maybe Elodie’s imagining it, but Maria has the bring it on look on her face that calls for immediate competition. “Oh, yeah? Want to test that, one declaration of skill to another?”

“Bring it on.”

Elodie grins. I’m never wrong. “Winner gets a kiss, of course.” Part one: the stakes.

“Won’t the loser get one too?” Maria points out. “Though I’m not complaining about getting a kiss.”

“Uh, winner gets the satisfaction of being the snowball fight champion, while everyone involved gets a lovely kiss for participating?” She takes Maria’s chuckle as affirmative. “So, where to?”

Maria looks around, then beckons Elodie to follow her. They go to a little spot that might have been a picnic area in the summer. Now, it’s just blankets of white and bare tables. A few trees. Part two: the battleground. “Not ideal, but it’s getting dark, so we don’t have much time-”

“It’s perfect,” Elodie reassures. “Any rules? My only no is ‘please don’t smack me in the face.’”

Maria is quick to set them. Part three: the laws. “A minute to prepare, I’ll count. We can go anywhere but we have to stay in each other’s sights. No snowballs to the face. Anything else is game. First to get hit dies.”

“… dies?”

“Loses,” Maria amends. She flashes a quick smile that is absolutely frightening. “This starts now.”

Part four: the game.

Elodie takes off for the picnic tables with both fear and determination. Maria seems to have headed for the trees, but she can’t see for sure. No time. She crouches behind one table, making a snowball for each hand. She starts making a small pile but it’s too late.

“Time!” Maria calls out, her voice coming somewhere from the left. Elodie mutters a curse under her breath. Steeling herself, she charges from safety with a courageous battle cry, snowballs ready to fly from her hand.

“Girlfriend or not, there will be no mercy!” she yells, turning her head left and right, searching for Maria, except -

I can’t find her! I swear I heard her voice coming from this way. There is no noise except for her laboured breathing and the snow crunching beneath her boots. The utter silence makes Elodie nervous, and her eyes dart around. Left. Her voice came from the left.

She warily approaches the trees that stands at the edge of the area. They’re big fir trees. large enough for Maria to hide behind. She circles them and searches for any sign of Maria. Elodie feels a sliver of apprehension, then hears what definitely aren’t her own feet behind her and -

“Boo.” That’s accompanied by a cold, wet smack to her shoulder. “ I believe I win.”

“Oh my god,” and Maria’s behind her, arms crossed and smirking and looking way too smug for her own good, “you cheater!”

“Sneaking isn’t cheating, it’s called having a tactical approach.” Maria leans into her, eyes sparkling with mirth. “Where’s the prize, hmm?”

And really, Elodie can only grin and comply.

the end