The Storm That Follows
Sugar Free
"Got any kings?"
"Go fish." Celeste swore as she pulled yet another card for the deck that was growing smaller than her hand. Mark smirked at her. "Got any twos?"
"Well you know what," She threw three cards at him in disgusted. " you, too, Mark Tuan."
Most of the people in the common room of the lodge had gone to bed. The embers of the fireplace was the only thing still burning and snow fell softly outside. There was a relaxed, restful sort of quite in the room around them as they played. It was a nice change of pace from the loud chaos that the two often had to deal with when they hung out with the rest of their friends.
"What do you want to bet that the second we get back the others drag me off to spend sometime with me without you?" Celeste said as she pulled yet another card out of the stack.
"If that doesn't happen, I'd worry about them." Mark replied.
"You'd think they have something better to do. We go to the rich private school. Why don't they, i don't know, go fly around on their helicopters or something?"
"Because they love you more than they love their helicopters."
"Amazing. I feel so special." She deadpanned.
"You'd miss them if they didn't spend do much time around them."
"Yeah." She sighed. "Yeah I would."
After they finished their game and began to put everything a way so they could go to bed when Mark's aunt rushed down the stairs and stopped in front of them, panted heavily and sweating dripping down her bulging cheeks.
"Mark!" She hobbled straight past Celeste without even a glance. "Have you seen Jinju? She's not in her room."
"i haven't seen her since you introduced us. She said she wanted to go skiing."
"Why didn't you go with her!" She smacked his arm. "What if something has happened to her?"
"She wanted to go alone." Mark crinkled his nose and rubbed his arm where she had hit him. "I didn't want to bother her."
"You'd better go find her! There's a storm coming!" She started to push him toward the door.
"We should tell a ranger. It'll be dangerous to go out in a storm."
"I've already tried! They're all asleep! You need to go do it, Mark." She glanced to the side at Celeste and glared at her, as if Mark was making good judgments was her fault.
"I'll go with you, Mark." Celeste spoke up. "It'll be quicker i we both go. We can take a quick peak around the mountain to see if she's anywhere. Auntie," She turned toward the old woman who was trying to object to her going with him. "It's also safer if we both go. We wouldn't want him to get hurt, now would we?"
"No. No, of course not." She regained her composer but did not look happy about this whole thing. "Thank you for offering to go with him."
"You're welcome!" Celeste smiled sarcastically at her and took Mark's hand. "Come on. Let's go get our coats."
Mark nodded and they left his Aunt looking like she had been forced to swallow some very foul medicine.
***
"You wouldn't happen to have her number, would you?" Celeste shivered as they walked toward the ski lift.
"No. Why would I? I just met her." Mark pulled her closer to him and wrapped one end of his scarf around her neck.
"I was just hoping. That would have made this while thing a lot easier." She furrowed her brows as a thought occurred to her. "Does it look like the snow it getting heavier to you?"
Mark frowned and held out it gloved hand to catch the falling snow. "Yeah, it does. I thought My Aunt was lying. Maybe there really is a storm." He glanced at Celeste. "We better hurry. We need to find Jinju before it hits."
"Yeah. We do."
Half an hour passed as they trudged through the snow, too cold to even speak. Mark and Celeste clung to each other as they walked, trying to keep each other warm. The snow was getting heavier and heavier and it was getting harder and harder to see.
"M-Mark..." Celeste said thorough her chattering teeth. "We need to go back. We've done all we can."
He looked at her face. She was shivering violently and snowflakes clung to her every eyelash. "... Yeah. Lets go back." He signed his hold on her and they turned around.
But in their focus to find Jinju, they had lost themselves in the mountain. The snow had quickly covered their tracks so they couldn't follow them either. Every tree looked the same and the endless white of the snow covered mountain made impossible to distinguish anything that could help them figure out where they are.
Mark and Celeste wandered around the mountain for what felt like hours.
"Celeste... I don't see a-anything. We're l-lost."
"W-We c-can't give up n-now." Her face from frozen stiff and she couldn't move it at all. "We c-can d-do t-this."
"B-But w-what if we-"
"MARK TUAN IF YOU START PULLING SOME 'WE'RE GOING TO DIE LET'S MAKE OUT' ROMCOM BULL I WILL LEAVE YOUR SORRY IN THE SNOW. WE ARE GOING TO BE FINE."
"B-But-"
She cut him off again and Mark was about to get irritated until he saw her pointing at something."Oh my god is that light?"
He looked in the horizon and could just barely make out a but of light in the snows flurry. They looked at each other in amazement before taking off toward it.
When they got close, they found that it was a small one room cabin with its lights will on. More importantly though, it was unlocked.
Mark opened the door and shoved Celeste in first. He ran in and fought against the howling wind to shut it again.
"Theres a heater!" Celeste cried happily and ran over to turn it on. "And blankets!" She gabbed the off the shelf along the wall and threw them in the air happily. "We're saved!"
"T-Take off your Jacket." He told her as he took of his own. "It's covered in snow."
"'kay." She mumbled as she ped it and shrugged it off. "Come over here, the heater is nice and warm."
Mark walked over and sat down next to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her close to him and pressed a kiss to her cheek before burying his face in her neck.
Celeste wrapped her arms around him and smiled as she whispered, "We're okay, Mark. We did it. I'm alive and you're alive, too."
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