Sebastian was bored. Honestly, the only reason why he was even working at this stupid outdoor equipment centre was because he needed the money. He ran his fingers through his dark hair, frustrated. His co worker didn’t help either. Ms. Haylee Winters enjoyed making repeated innuendos. And she made no effort in hiding them either. Really, there was a limit to the number someone could take. Or the fact that she was in her early twenties and he was still seventeen. Pedophile, anyone? That woman liked hitting on anything that was male and on two legs. He wouldn’t be surprised if he ever saw her grinding her hips up against a store mannequin either. So, now it was her personal mission to seduce him before the day was over. In fact, it had been her mission ever since he had started working there. Of course, it helped that she never understood the meaning of ‘stay away’.

Business was slow this morning. In fact, it was slow every morning. For the entire day. This wasn’t helped by the fact that they were beside a popular outdoor wear store. He stared out the window, watching the derisive glances that people made at their cheap little store display before heading into the entrance of their rival shop. And the comments made by his brainless co worker weren’t exactly ones where he wished to waste brain power on.

“So, Seb, what do you look for in the opposite sex?” Her voice was husky. Oh yes, she had the perfect voice as well. A pity that he had to endure it – and the unoriginal comments that were spoken – for the entire day. It was a turn on at first, but the repetitiveness of the words which were said was simply…well, boring.

“I thought I answered you yesterday.” He drawled, thinly disguising his lack of attention. He lazily turned around to face her, his arms crossed across his broad chest.

She pouted and flicked her red hair back before pressing her chest into his face as she reached for something behind his shoulder. “Oh really? I must have forgotten.” she paused and licked her lips slowly. “You know Sebastian, I have to tell you, that bright blue eyes with dark hair are always a turn on for me.” She looked pointedly into his eyes. She continued her examination, brushing her eyes down his lean figure. He took a quick look at her chest before a look of distaste crossed his face. For the love of man, he was the one who was supposed to making the advances. Not women. Especially not ones who were older than him.

He rolled his eyes sardonically and pushed her off him. “Good for you. Now, get away from me.”

She pressed her hips into his and purred. “You really don’t mean that. Lots of guys say that to me and I know they’re just trying to get away from me before they do something…drastic.” She dug her nails into his back.

The entry buzzer sounded, a welcome sound. Finally. Potential customers. Distraction from the desperate red head who liked to invade his personal space. Haylee pushed herself off him and turned to smile charmingly at the people who had entered. A diminutive Asian woman walked in, followed by a teenage girl who appeared to be her daughter. She was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans; her legs were uncommonly long, he mused. Her hair was straight and shoulder length, a side fringe sweeping past her face. High cheekbones and full lips. Nice figure. He mentally catalogued her appearance, like the shallow high school attending, hormone pumped teenager he was. The teenager looked dismissively at Haylee, her dark eyes unimpressed, and turned her focus on some feather down coats, as if they were more interesting than her. Which of course, was true. Feather down coats didn’t make repeated attempts at seduction. Several failed attempts, mind you. She felt his eyes on her and shifted slightly, raised an eyebrow faintly as if amused, and stalked off. He grinned and sauntered from behind the counter.

“Need any help?” He asked the woman. He looked boldly at the teenager who answered.

She stared back, a wry smile playing about her lips. “No, we’re fine. Thanks for your help anyway. Besides,” She paused, a smirk appearing. “She might get a little jealous.” She looked in Haylee’s direction before turning around, her long, smooth hair flicking around.

Two could play at that game. He turned to her mother, ignoring the glare on her daughter’s face. “Ma’am? Is there something specific you’re looking for?”

The Asian woman nodded. “Yes. I’m looking for a feather down coat for her. Do you have any long ones?”

He eyed the teenager critically, appreciating her curves. “What length do you want it to be?”

The mother turned to face her daughter. “Adele, I was thinking about knee length.”

Ah. He smiled smugly at her. So, her name was Adele. She pursed her lips disapprovingly before nodding in agreement with her mother. “So, do you have any?” Her mother prompted.

“Yeah, we might do in the back.” He answered, and the woman nodded, before browsing through other racks.

“So, what kind of thickness are you looking for?” He looked directly at Adele, attempting conversation with her. This was one valuable opportunity at intelligent conversation for the entire day, and hell was he going to take it.

“I’m going to uni down south and I need something warm when it snows.” She said guardedly.

“Have you ever been in the snow?”

“No.” She glared at him, warning him not to ask any further questions.

Of course, the warning went unheeded. “The snow’s great down south. What are you planning to study?”

A glint appeared in her eyes. “Self defense. From stalkers. There’s a lot of creepy people around, don’t you think? How about you?”

“Counseling,” He met her eyes, grinning. He had caught the meaning behind her words. “I feel so sorry for the people who walk around so uptight, you know?” Finally. Someone who was actually able to keep up with conversation instead of collapsing in awe at his feet.

A devious look came into her eyes as she glanced past his shoulder. Her dark eyes lit up with suppressed amusement as she tapped her mother on the shoulder. “Hey, I think there’s some in the shop next door. Looks like it’s on sale too.” She met his stunned expression with a practiced smirk. That was staggering. It was the first time he had been rendered speechless. Not to mention, outwitted.

Her mother turned eagerly around. “Oh, in that case, we’d better go have a look,” She turned to face him. “Thanks for your help anyway.” The woman nodded and left. Adele trailed behind, a smug grin appearing on her face.

He turned on the brilliance of his departing smile, determined not to be beaten again. “Good luck with your studies. I’m sure you’ll need it.”

“Need what? Good luck or study?” She had left that wide open.

“Both.” He smirked in return.

She tipped her head slightly in recognition of his little victory and left. Gone was the refreshing break from his arduous day. He memorised her face and turned back to his work.

Haylee pounced on him as soon as Adele had left. “Oh, my gosh. Did you see that slut? She was all over you.”

He sighed, finally exasperated. “Are you talking about yourself there?”

She spluttered indignantly. “Excuse me! I don’t crawl over people when they don’t want me to,” Her tone became husky once more and she stroked his shoulder, grinding her hips into his once more. The irony and complete stupidity of the moment was not lost on him. “I know you want me. The backroom?” She sighed and tipped her head back.

He grasped her wrists firmly and detached himself. “If we do anything in the backroom, who do you think is going to look over the counter? Secondly, why would I even want to do anything with you? Now, for the sake of my sanity, stay away!”

Haylee sulked. “Guys don’t usually react this way,” She murmured before thrusting her hands under his shirt, feeling his rippled chest.

This was it, he thought to himself. Screw appearances. He looked at her in earnest and sighed, as if he was imparting some reluctant secret. “Okay. I’m gay. That’s why.”

She leapt away, alarmed. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? You know what? I think some stock needs to be err, shifted.” She flounced off.

He grinned triumphantly. Peace. At last.

---

Adele sighed and lifted her head from the books. She gazed blearily at the clock on the wall. It was three in the afternoon and she had only been sitting at her desk for a grand total of fifteen minutes. It seemed like hours had passed already. She rubbed her sore eyes, yawned and stretched out her cramped legs. First year medicine was not a joke. She had been holed up in her dorm, reading notes frantically for the past half year.

Summer had faded away into autumn, and then into winter. It was cold, but to her disappointment, it hadn’t started to snow yet. She had yet to experience snow and waited in eager anticipation. The snow was staying away just to spite her and she knew it. She looked to the black coat hanging off the hook on her wall wistfully and grinned as she remembered vividly the day she had bought it. What was his name again? She closed her eyes briefly before an image of his name tag appeared. That’s right. It was Sebastian. She snickered. Even if she hadn’t remembered his name, she could have recalled his face. Bright blue eyes, an antithesis with his dark hair. Lean figure with catlike grace. Adele groaned and slapped herself. All that study had actually driven her insane. She was actually starting to sound poetic.

A soft pattering on her window alerted her and she looked outside. Falling down was the first few snowflakes of the year. Her eyes widened in delight and she closed the textbooks. She shrugged on her coat hastily and ran like an eager little girl, uncaring of anyone who saw her. She pushed the glass doors open and walked outside, her arms spread eagled. She breathed in deeply, appreciating the refreshing cool air. The skies above her were a bright pure azure, snowflakes swirling around her. She caught one in her hand and examined the small points on it before it melted in the warmth of her hand.

A distant figure came closer, the footsteps crunching in the gravel. As he walked past, brown eyes met blue eyes. Adele started as she recognised the face.

“It’s. You.” They said in unison.

“Adele?” He asked, surprise in his voice.

“Sebastian?” Adele blinked. “What are you doing here?” What was he? An apparition? She had definitely spent too long in her room studying.

“Studying,” He smirked. “What else would I be doing here?”

She snickered. “You could be stalking hapless young girls in stores.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and I’m a counselor.”

“Are you?” She asked, interested.

He grinned. “No, I’m doing a commerce degree. Yes, very ironic.” His laugh echoed through the still air, white crystals appearing.

She joined in. “Very. I thought that your experience with co-workers would have scarred you for life.”

“How much did you see that day?” He asked after they caught their breath.

She smirked. “Enough to scar me. You looked pretty uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, and you had the grace to leave me there with her,” He met her eyes and smiled wryly. Then he made a sweeping glance. “So, I guess this is the coat that you got from our rival store?”

Adele flushed slightly. “No, actually I came back, but you weren’t working on that day.”

He smirked. “Missed me, didn’t you?”

“Oh, in your dreams.” She said, her eyes roaming around his face. He was still incredibly handsome. Perhaps even more so.

“So,” He paused slightly. “Want to tell me why you decided to leave when I was working?”

She snickered. “To get away from you. Besides, your co worker looked like she was about to murder me.” And the fact that I wanted to rip off your clothes there and then, she added silently.

“She was,” He admitted with a dry smile. “Until I told her I was gay.”

Adele bent over double, laughing, her breath puffing out in small clouds. “Damn. Maybe I shouldn’t have walked out so fast.”

Sebastian smiled widely, his white teeth showing. “She stayed away from me after that. You know, I was wondering why I didn’t say that earlier.”

“You’re thick. That’s why.” She said, still entertained by the thought.

He looked at her, amused. “So, what are you doing now? Or is that being stalkerish?”

“Medicine.” She said after a moment, watching a lone snowflake fall down.

He raised his eyebrows. “Aren’t doctors supposed to be nice?” He grinned roguishly.

“What are you implying?” She said, scowling.

“Nothing.” He answered meekly. There was a moment of silence before he spoke up again. “Why are you outside? I thought trainee med students spent their entire day studying.”

“Looking at the snow. Yes, go ahead and laugh at the poor Chinese girl who has never seen snow in her life.” She said with a twist of her lips.

But he didn’t laugh. “That’s right. So, what do you make of it?”

She paused for a brief moment. “It’s…magical.” She regretted that as soon as it left her mouth. He was definitely going to take that opening and exploit it.

Sebastian nodded and reached out, a snowflake landing on his outstretched palm. “I guess so. You never get tired of snow falling. There’s something fascinating being outside when the snow first starts falling,” He looked at her, his mouth pursed. “Now I really sound gay, don’t I?”

Adele laughed and shook her head. “It’s okay being in touch with your feminine side once in awhile.”

Her gaze followed yet another snowflake which fell from the clear sky. It floated lazily on the light breeze until it fell onto Sebastian’s nose. She grinned.

He sighed. “What is it about me that amuses you now?”

“There’s a snowflake on your nose.” She said.

He wrinkled his nose. “Where?”

Adele pointed towards it and found herself looking at his perfectly shaped lips. She couldn’t look away, her eyes captured. She found two warm hands gently grasping her cheeks. Her face was lifted up, her dark eyes meeting intense sapphire eyes. Perfect opposites. She closed her eyes, his finger lightly brushed an errant snowflake from her eyelashes. She opened them again, only to feel his fingertips running over her jaw. Their breath stilled, the white crystals disappearing as he swept a finger across her lips. She closed her eyes once more as his lips closed the agonizingly long distance and finally met hers.

The snowfall grew heavier, until the sky was no longer empty, white crystals dancing in the air. But Adele didn’t mind. The magic of the snow was enough for her.