A Little Snow And A Jacket

[Ai Nightray]

Ai absolutely loved the winter. She loved the snow and she loved the view. All in all, she loved the season even if there was a harsh cold accompanying it. For the Hufflepuff, the cold was a small price to pay for the beauty of winter. Though throughout her admiration of winter, she just couldn't help but think of a reason why Jeremiah Raven wanted to meet her in the outdoors. After all, most students preferred to stay within the comforts of their common rooms and dormitories instead of being in the Lawn or at the Lake and risk freezing. And so, she had to wonder why Jeremiah had thought of this. Though she had to admit that she was quite excited about it that she readily left her dormitory as soon as it was time for her and Miah to meet up even though most of those she passed by thought that she wasn't dressed properly for the freezing winter cold outside and yet she didn't care.

It snowed in Japan once a year so Ai was a bit used to the freezing weather and she had to admit that the falling snow felt good on her bare arms. The Head Girl trudged on from the castle to the Lawn and continued to walk towards the lake where she and Miah were to meet. Hopefully, she didn't have to wait long though cause even the snow brought her painful memories of Heath that she didn't want to remember while waiting for the Gryffindor. And so as she waited, the girl resorted to drawing in snow which was a bad rough sketch of her brother that it was so unrecognizable and she wondered how long before Jeremiah arrived.

 

[Jeremiah Raven]

Jeremiah hated winter. There was nothing more irritating than having snow seep into ones socks and freezing their toes. Snow was, to put it flatly, the worst. Everything the snow touched was cold and wet, and there was no way of fixing it. Not really. Everything was turned white, and nothing looked remotely unique when covered with (even a light layer of) snow. However, he was not cold as he had enough forethought to wear a jacket outside, as he had asked Ai to join him by the lake. It was much too cold to go outside in anything but winter wear. Italy could at times get chilly, but that did not mean he was anymore adept to the cold, considering he was sure he spent far more time in New Zealand than he did back home. It was not too surprising, since his relationship with his family was subjective at best, but he was trying to make a conscious effort to pay more attention to his family home life than that of friends. They were his family, and he was supposed to care about them, right?

He walked towards the lake, but paused when he saw Ai, his jaw dropping. What in Merlin's name was wrong with her? Was she wearing summer wear? Running chilled fingers through his hair, Jeremiah trudged over to where she was, and shook his head as he got closer. She was crazy. Absolutely bonkers. Why was she allowed out on her own? He removed his jacket, his arms protesting at the sudden cold attacking them, and tapped Ai's shoulder to gain her attention. "Ai, you must be freezing," he said, giving her the jacket and folding his arms across his chest. "You're Head Girl now, you're supposed to be a shining example." He smiled as he said this, trying to lighten her mood. He had not missed the sketch, or her sad behaviour as of late. He was not completely confident in what was wrong with her, but he knew that she needed to talk to someone. "You okay?"
​

 

[Ai Nightray]

Ai could barely believe what was happening with her life really and though she tried to act indifferent and apathetic or even pretend to be happy once in a while, she knew she was utterly failing. She had been good with acting, but hiding her own feelings completely while in everyday life was a different matter. Seriously, she felt like she was bound to burst any moment if she wasn't careful with the emotions she showed to the people in front of her. Her life was filled with ups and downs and she really didn't know on whether to be happy or not. She had been having a lot of achievements while in Hogwarts. Her grades were satisfactory and sometimes even exceptional, she was the Quidditch Captain for her house team, she had been one of the girls leading the Heta Omega for years and now she was the president, she had been a prefect for two years, and now, she was the Head Girl. That was her initial plans when she entered Hogwarts right? Prove to everyone that she wasn't useless, that she wasn't a nobody, prove her aunts wrong. Maybe she had succeeded in doing so, but it felt as if she had lost everything. First was Conan, then at some point, Ryuuji-niisan graduated, her relationship with Miah had a rift and of course, she should have known that she was going to lose Heath as well. She had achievements, but she, in a sense, had lost the people important to her.

Ai smiled a little bit sadly as she finished her very bad rough sketch of her brother. She had always been bad at drawing and yet it showed how much she missed her brother. As the time passed, she was slowly feeling the cold with her arms protesting and obviously wanting her to cover up, but she was still waiting for Miah and the snow was offering a good comfort to her right now as well. Suddenly though she had felt the tap on her shoulder and she nearly jumped with shocked and turned her head to meet Jeremiah's gaze. He was giving her his jacket and she looked at it awkwardly. Yes, she was freezing, but she wasn't about to let Miah freeze just because she had his jacket. She stood from her place and rubbed her arms, they were cold obviously but it seemed that she had no choice in the matter and so she wore it. It was big for her petite frame as it hung loosely on her and the sleeves were big as well. She chuckled lightly at his words that she should be an example. When had she ever been an example really? "What about you? You might freeze to death and it would not be good for my reputation," she said with a shrug as her eyes glazed over to her ugly sketch of Conan and began to kick some snow around to cover it up before once again looking at Miah. She bit the inside of her cheek, she bit her lip. Nobody had dared to ask her that question in a long time. Was she okay? No, she wasn't. It had been too long since she had last been okay, but even then, she had dared to lie. Ai nodded her head, her eyes threatened to glisten with tears that she was somehow managing to reign over and she stuttered out, "Yes."

 

[Jeremiah Raven]

There was obviously something wrong, but right now Miah saw no way to help fix it. He could not force her to open up to him out of the blue, he had to ease into it, which was why he wanted to see her in thefirst place. They were in their final year. He was a failure, and was fine with that. He was angry, he was frustrated, and he was making mistakes almost as much as he was breathing. He did not care anymore. Ai was different. She was smart, she was in a good place and the Gryffindor refused to allow her to be like this. She deserved better. At least she had taken the jacket. He smiled slightly at her words, and shook his head. "I am but a random Gryffindor in a see of red, Ai. I'm not worried about my reputation." What sort of reputation did he even have? He was known for fighting, and he never even meant to fight. He had a temper and it flared more than he liked. He couldn't help it, but he did regret it. Now, however, he just couldn't be bothered trying to help others. He was deciding that he would be a little more selfish this year. Whenever he tried something, it all just turned against him.

Jeremiah had hoped that Ai would be straight with him. He could plainly see that there was something wrong, something that did not sit well with the Hufflepuff, and it made the Gryffindor uncomfortable. They had not hid things from each other, well, not his side. He had even arranged for her to have a place to live after she was disowned. He felt that they were good enough friends to be able to take about the serious stuff. He frowned at her, his blue eyes staring into her dark ones. She looked about ready to cry, and the Gryffindor was not sure how to react. He gently grabbed her shoulders, opening himself to a hug if she wished, and lent down to even their heights a little. "Ai Edogawa, are you okay?" He nudged her, trying to coax some movement or some sort of response. "Do you need a hug?"​

 

[Ai Nightray]

Ai did not know if she deserved everything that had happened and was happening to her life. Was every success she had enough to compensate for every loss? Or was her every loss the price she had to pay for every success? Either way she suffered and she rejoiced. She did not even know if it was all worth it, but now she had no way of knowing. She had lost everything and yet she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. She had only planned on having high grades, and yet she became a prefect and eventually, Head Girl. She only wanted to play Quidditch and after a few years, she became the Quidditch Captain of her house team. She only wished to be accepted for who she was so she joined a sorority and who would've thought that she'd be leading that sorority now? And yet as he success continued, she had failed to take care of those whom had the chance at leaving. Everybody left. Just as she knew from the very start they would. She was alone. Well, until today. Until she met up with Jeremiah. She thought he would've left her too. But somehow. Somehow, he was still there. Making her wear his jacket and smiling at her like nothing awkward had happened between them more than a year ago. A small smile graced her Asian features that even her eyes that had lost their light long ago seemed to have regained something. Even just a spark. "Don't say that Miah. You're not just a random Gryffindor. Not to me."

This was one of the times that Ai wished she wasn't such an open book. Especially to those who knew her well enough to tell whether she was telling the truth or lying and convincing both herself and the one she's talking to. Why did he have to ask her if she was okay? No one had asked her that for months. No one had dared to approach her once just to ask if she was alright. Why did he have to do it now? Now that she was starting to feel numb and cold and not just because of the snow around them. Why? When she was already learning to control her masks and facade. She should have known that she wouldn't be able to control herself around him. Because he was the only one left. He was the only one who cared enough to stay. "I... I..." she couldn't even bear to speak coherently. She couldn't do this. She couldn't pretend that she was okay, that she was fine, and that her chest is not filled with pain. For the first time in more than a year, Ai completely broke down into tears and sobs that she could no longer contain. She wanted to tell him that yes, she needed a hug, but more than a hug, she needed someone to be there for her. And maybe, just maybe she had found that person. She wasn't as strong as everyone thought she was. In fact, she was completely vulnerable though she tried to hide it. But now, she couldn't. All she could do was pull Jeremiah close to her as she felt the wetness fall from her face, effectively chilling her more. For now, all Ai Edogawa could do was cry and sob in the arms of Jeremiah Raven.