Chapter 6

I'm starting to regret agreeing to Skyler to go out and learn snowboarding today. It's so cold. I miss my warm bed and blanket.

I have been learning with him the whole afternoon. I do enjoy snowboarding, especially the first time I actually got down the beginner's slope. Now, he wants to drag me to a higher one.

"Sky, I appreciate your confidence in me but no, that is just too high and I'm already too cold. How about this? I'll go in that cafe over there and drink something to warm my body and you play to your heart's content." I suggested and he pouted.

"Come on. I had fun, really, I did but I'm tired so go have fun." I urged him.

"Then let's both get something warm to drink." He said.

"Hey, I know you still want to play so go have fun. I'll be there. I promise I won't run away. " I assured him.

"Fine." He replied and I went to the cafe. 

It was so warm when I came in, it felt so great. I ordered my drink and was lucky to find a place to sit by myself. There were a lot of people who were also resting there.

I took out my earphones from my pocket and started playing Greenfield's songs. They have only released 4 songs so far but I love them and I'm not biased because I know the lead singer. They're really great. 

I started scanning my social media for whatever that's there and when I got bored, I started searching for some web novels to read.

After a while, someone approached me. I thought it was Skyler so I looked up and saw a man I don't know. I took off my earphones to hear what he's trying to say.

"Do you mind if I sit with you? Everywhere else is full." He said and I looked around and saw that he's right so I told him sure.

I put my earphones back and continued reading while sipping my drink from time to time.

I took off my earphone again when I saw the man in front of me trying to get my attention.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Are you here alone?" He asked.

"No. My friend's with me. He's somewhere out there." I replied politely and tried to put my earphones back on.

"Oh, then why are you here and not out there with him?" He asked.

"I wanted something to warm me." I replied.

"And he didn't decide to join you?" He asked, shocked.

"I told him I'll be fine." I replied politely.

"It's getting late though… aren't you getting hungry? He might be still playing there. Want to grab something light to eat?" He asked.

Why can't this guy understand that I'm not interested in having small talks with him? I have been trying to put my earphones back on my ear for a couple of times now, just to show that I don't want to talk. 

Where is Skyler? Should I call him? Should I pretend to receive a call from him and leave?

"No, thank you." I answered.

"Are you sure? It's already late." He asked again.

"Yeah, we made plans." I still answered politely but I really want to leave now.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind." He tried to convince me again.

Ughh… what to do? Oh wait, is that Skyler I see outside.

"No, thanks. My friend just arrived. Excuse me." I said and I quickly put my things in my bag.

I ignored the guy in front of me and left the cafe.

I'm honestly not sure if that was really Skyler, but I couldn't care less. The guy was starting to get pushy.

"Sky!" I called the guy who I thought was him and he was shocked to see me.

"Why did you come out?" He asked when he saw me running/approaching him.

"Hey, you didn't need to leave like that. I'm just trying to be friendly." Said a voice behind me and I saw the man from the cafe following me.

I saw Skyler start to approach me also and when he reached me, he put his arm around my shoulder and I hugged his waist. The guy is giving me the creeps.

"Is there a problem?" He asked the man.

Skyler looked like he was trying to intimidate the other man with his height.

"Are you her friend?" The man asked.

"Yes." Skyler answered.

"You shouldn't leave her like that alone. She seemed to be hungry so I invited her to dinner. You wouldn't mind if we had dinner, right?" The man asked.

Seriously? Dude, f*ck off!

"Thank you for your concern but there's no need for that. She's tired so we'll be returning to our place." Skyler replied.

We didn't wait for him to reply and left the place. Skyler made sure we're not being followed before we made our way back to the hotel.

"I don't think it's safe to leave you by yourself." Skyler commented when we arrived in our room.

"I didn't expect that to happen." I said.

That was scary. This is why I hate going outside. This happens most of the time when I leave my house by myself. Do I look like someone easy to target?

"Are you alright?" He asked, worried about me.

"Yes. Not the first time it happened but I'm glad you were there this time. Would it be alright if we just eat here tonight? I don't really feel like going out again." I answered.

"Sure. I'll order take outs then." He replied.

"Can you just ask them to deliver it here? I don't want you to go." I said, feeling a little clingy.

"Okay then. Why don't you change clothes first and I'll order food." He suggested.

I changed clothes while Skyler ordered food.

"Come here." Skyler said when I came out of the bathroom.

I went to the bed and he tucked me in.

"Stay warm here but don't sleep yet. The food will arrive in an hour." He said before he left to change clothes.

My heart fluttered a bit when he tucked me in the bed. It feels nice having someone take care of you. 

Our food arrived after an hour, we ate them with relish. I realized I was hungry a few minutes after he ordered food. I guess I didn't realize it before because of what happened.

After dinner, we decided to spend time in the hot springs.

"This felt good after staying outside in the cold for the whole afternoon." I exclaimed after entering the water.

"It really is. Did you have fun today?" He asked.

"I did. I enjoyed it a lot. You're a great teacher." I told him.

"It's good that you enjoyed it." He said.

"So what are your plans tomorrow?" I asked.

"Have you tried ice fishing?" He asked.

"Nope. Does this mean we're going to be out in the cold for the whole day?" I asked warily.

"Half day." He replied.

"3 hours?" I bargained.

"How about we go there around 10 am then go home around 3 pm? That way it'll be relatively warmer." He said.

"Fine. That sounds good." I agreed.

"Seriously, what's with you, and going outside?" Skyler asked defeatedly.

"We live in a harsh world." I replied solemnly and Skyler gave me an 'are you serious'-look. 

"Did you forget what happened a while ago?" I asked him.

"How did you even meet that guy?" He asked curiously.

"I was sitting in the cafe minding my own business when he came and asked if he could sit on the chair in front of me. Since there were no other seats, I let him sit then he started trying to talk to me. I'm just glad you came back when you did." I explained.

"I'm also glad I did. I guess I better not leave you alone from now on. After all, we met the same way." He replied.

"Yeah but at least I wasn't being a creep when I asked you to share a table." I said.

"So this is not the first time it happened?" He asked.

"This is a harsh world." I replied solemnly and Skyler couldn't help but laugh.

"Fine then but at least in this harsh world I get to meet you so I guess it wasn't that bad at all." He replied and I blushed.