Chapter 2

Blanche slowly made her way down the street to her small condo. The lights were dark and there was a healthy amount of snow on her porch. Opening the door she put her gear down just inside the door and grabbed the shovel. It didn't take her very long to clear her porch. She threw every shovel-full of snow with a little extra flourish so the snow would float down like confetti then she'd start again. Before long the porch was clear and she had worked up a nice sheen on her skin doing it. Had her mind been on the task at hand she would have hung up her coat and then she wouldn't have gotten so hot. But all she could think about was Seth and if he'd found his friends. Telling herself to forget about it she sighed and went inside.

Her condo was two stories with two beds, two bathrooms, one shower, a small kitchen, a small living room, and a hot tub on the porch, all with just the right proportions. Sighing she walked into the downstairs bathroom, the one containing the only shower, and stripped. Blanche decided that a hot shower was just what she needed to forget Seth and chase any remaining cold for her bones. After finishing with her usual shower ritual, Blanche stood for a long time under the hot spray just thinking.

No one had ever flipped her life upside down as quickly as Seth had. Everything she had denied herself all of her life she had suddenly been given over the course of the day. Blanche was so lost in thought that it took her forever to notice that someone was banging quite loudly on her front door. Startled Blanche jumped out of her shower and went skidding to the door in just a green fluffy towel. She whipped open the door only to come face to face with a bemused looking Seth.

"Whoa! It's not my birthday for a while yet, no need to get undressed!" he laughed as water dripped off of a shocked Blanche.

"What are you doing here Seth?" Blanche asked when she finally found her voice again.

"Uh so funny thing," he said looking at the ground. "My friends moved to Denver last week and forgot to tell me." Seth looked up and grinned at her before scratching the back of his head. "Last time I just drop in on somebody."

"So what you're trying to ask me is if you can crash here. Am I right?" Blanche said placing her hands on her hips. Seth's grin quickly changed to something similar to the look a lost puppy gives a stranger.

"Can I?" He asked staring her down. Blanche didn't know what to do, the door was open, her hair was frozen, she was frozen, and there was a hot guy asking to stay with her. If she were Elle she would already have him thrown him on the couch and straddled him by now. She couldn't just let him freeze and she did have and extra bedroom that wasn't being used.

"I guess. You can have the other room next to mine. Now get in here before I freeze to death." Blanche growled stepping back to let him in. Seth's smile, Blanche swore, reached from one ear to the other as he entered the condo and looked around.

"Not too shabby." He said, "Lead the way oh gracious one." Blanche rolled her eyes and walked over the stairs with him directly in toe. When they reached the top of the stairs she pointed out his room.

"There's your room make yourself comfortable." Blanche couldn't help but smile at him. "Meet me down stairs when you're unpacked. I have to get dressed." Seth nodded and the pair split, entering different bedrooms.

Blanche quickly dug out a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved "Life is Good" shirt and ran a brush through her half dry, half ice stick straight hair. She looked in the mirror, satisfied with herself, then put a little perfume at the base of her neck. Poking her head out of her door she looked at the door next to her. She could hear Seth opening drawers and changing the channels on the tv. Blanche slipped past his door and down the stairs as quietly as she possibly could before she dove into the couch in front of the downstairs tv. Wrapping herself in a fuzzy blanket she quickly skimmed the channels before deciding on Mtv.

Unfortunately, Mtv News was on, Blanche grumbled glaring at the tv, knowing that one of her siblings would be on in a few moments. Sure enough Henry popped up with his tongue down some actresses throat on a red carpet somewhere. He had his arm around the pencil thin girl destined to be "The Next Big Thing". His violet eyes smiled smugly out at her through the television screen before jamming his tongue down her throat again. He didn't look like a bad boy. He was clean cut and outrageously handsome but he did bad things. Blanche made a sound of disgust.

"I completely agree with you McCallister." Seth said. Blanche was so startled she almost fell off the couch. She was beginning to hate how clumsy he made her just by being around. "Is that your brother?" Seth asked plopping down on the couch next to her, completely ignoring the other couch that was next to it. Blanche's heart leapt into her throat when he gently scooped up her feet and deposited them in his lap, somewhere she heard herself answer yes to his question.

"What are you thinking Blanche? You're very quiet." Seth said finally after a few long minutes of silence. Blanche looked over at him and quickly realized something. His hair, he wasn't wearing a hat or a helmet and those stony green eyes stared out at her from under a shaggy mop of dark blonde wavy hair. Typical ski bum. Blanche snorted trying to hold in her laughter as they stared each other down.

"I'm thinking that I'm hungry and that we should make one of the frozen pizzas in the fridge." She grinned at him and brought her face as close as she dared to him, " I'm just trying to figure out who's gonna make it."

"Rock, Paper, Scissors." Seth said seriously, putting his face closer to hers. Blanche snorted, "You're kidding me."

"No I'm not, haven't you ever played Rock, Paper, Scissors?" he asked bemused.

"Once, with Henry when one of his friends taught him it. I think I was about 6." Blanche blushed turning away from him. It was obvious to her that this was something at most normal kids played and yet she barely knew the basics of it. Seth ran a hand through his mass of hair.

"Ok, so Rock Paper Scissors goes like this..."

Seth had lost 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' three out of the five times they had played and ended up making the pizza while he casually talked to Blanche. She couldn't remember a time when she had laughed more in her life. Blanche sighed thinking about her night while pulling on a pair of flannel pajamas. She buttoned the top and shuffled to the bathroom next door to brush her teeth. She felt good. She felt happy, today had been a great day and hopefully tomorrow would be better. She couldn't wait to learn more about Seth.

Seth entered the bathroom to find a sight that turned Blanche red. She had been humming and dancing around with her toothbrush in her mouth. She quickly spit out her toothpaste and gaped at Seth, who mimicked her and danced around while pretending to sing. Blanche playfully stuck her tongue out at him and didn't anticipate his next move. Seth scooted up next to her and kissed her. It was as if a spark jumped back and forth at every point where their bodies were touching. Seth didn't want to pull away from her. His mind was filled with her, the smell of her perfume, how soft her lips where, how good it felt just to be with her. Just as he was going to deepen the kiss, she broke the contact. Blanche's blush deepened when she pulled away and she bit her lip, peering at him with her large violet eyes. Seth immediately became lost in them, wondering what he had done to meet her.

"Sorry." Seth blurted out as Blanche touched her lips, as if she were slightly confused.

"No... it's... it's ok." She was shaken; so many things were running through her head at the same time. It had been a long time since she had been kissed. The last time had been a boy that her mother had hired to seduce her off the ski hill. She remembered how hurt she had been when she had found out. But Seth, with his honest eyes and wide smile, it couldn't be another ploy could it?

Blanche, still blushing, backed away from him and walked into her bedroom before shutting the door. He heard the lock click before letting out a long, "Shhhhiiiiiiiiitttt," to his reflection. "Smooth dude, you really fucked that one up." He slammed his fist on the counter top and looked forlornly towards Blanche's door. He could hear her moving around inside. He heard a small squeak as she got into bed and noises that distinctly sounded like crying.