"Ow, ow, ow, that's hurts," Roselle said as Dylan disinfected her scratches.
"Almost there . . . and . . . Done." He placed a band aid on her arm. "I also have this." He handed her a lollipop out of his back pocket.
"Uh, thanks," she said, putting it in her pajama pants.
"So, I was wondering if you maybe possibly wanted to perhaps go for a walk this morning?"
"What for?"
"It's a nice day, and I love snow."
"I think I'll pass."
"Well, there actually is something important I need to talk to you about."
"Is it about our past dating life? To be honest, I think it was best to cut it off."
"It's kind of about that, but it's mostly about my grandma."
* * *
Roselle and Dylan took a walk in the park, gentle snow coming and going as it pleased.
"So, what did you want to tell me about your grandma?" Roselle asked.
He sighed. "My grandmother wants me to break up Armani and Lily, and honestly, I want that too. She told me everything about recruiting you as her accomplice, and she wants me to help you."
'Oh, so she didn't believe in me enough to let me do this on my own, huh?' Roselle thought to herself. 'I guess she had to bring in reinforcements.'
"Ro?"
"Oh, sorry." She snapped out of it. "Just . . . you know. "Thinking about something. Why are you telling this to me?"
"I was thinking that you and I could try to make him jealous. Grandma told me you two were close."
"Jealous how?"
"Tonight, at the New Years Eve Firework Display, kiss me right in front of him when the clock hits midnight."
She let out a breath of air which was visibly foggy due to the chilly atmosphere. "Dylan, Armani didn't care when you and I were dating. Why would he care if I kissed you?"
"I guess you're right . . ." He looked up in thought, then snapped his fingers. "Maybe we can do reverse psychology then."
"How?"
"Today, give extra attention to me, Eliot, and James, but none at all to him. When he sees how much fun you're having without him, maybe he'll have a change of heart about you."
Roselle frowned. "That's . . . really messed up. You want me to make him feel bad on purpose?"
"I don't like it either, but . . ." He paused for a minute, then recomposed himself. "I want to be with Lily again. In my mind, I think I'm doing the right thing. I love Lily. Armani doesn't. He loves you. Don't you think it'd be nice if people got married for love, and not politics?"
"There's still Warren, you know. You can't just back out of a deal with that guy. Even if you could, doesn't he hate your family? Could you even be with Lily if we broke them up?"
"Grandma said she'd take care of it." He looked around, probably to ensure no one was listening in. "She has a plan to get on his good side. I don't know how, but when Grandma Scott says she'll do something, it's best not to ask."
Roselle shivered. Not from the cold, but from the thought of Grandma Scott. "Noted."
"So . . . Are you in?"
"I'll see what I can do."
* * *
Dylan and Roselle spent a while in the snow, making snow angels, snowmen, and having snowball fights. They made sure to take a lot of pictures and post it online. In the pictures they appeared so cute and happy, but in reality it was a business transaction. None of it was authentic. They had no chemistry whatsoever, and both of them knew it.
* * *
The two of them got back to the house, both eating their cotton candy that they bought on the way back. They already had a fake happy conversation and pretend laughs that they rehearsed earlier, and it was all going smoothly.
"Hey, you're back," Armani said.
"Sup," Roselle said, making sure to sound as disinterested as she possibly could.
"Hey, do you want to go--"
"I'm gonna go hang out with Eliot."
Armani was taken aback by that response, but he smiled and nodded. "Well, okay. Maybe later then." He smiled.
She felt a feeling deep in the pit of her stomach when she saw his response. It was intense guilt. She told herself that the ends justify the means and that she was doing the right thing, but even still, it didn't balance out the deep feeling of liability within her soul.
Eliot walked in the room. "Ro!"
"Eliot, just the guy I wanted to see!" She was doing her best to act extra perky and happy around him since Armani was there, but ew. She was laying it on too thick. She cringed at her own peppy act.
He blushed and tried to hide his smile when he saw how happy Roselle seemed to see him. It was actually pretty cute. "Let's go out for a bike ride, dang it!" Cuteness ruined.
"Well, Michelle and I have our old bikes in the garage . . ."
"Don't you wanna go on a ride like that one time when you were holding on to me and we drove in the street?"
"No. That was terrifying."
* * *
Roselle and Eliot rode bikes to the top of a local hill where there was a view of the whole town. The snow sparkling on the ground below almost looked like sugar. The houses were colorful too, and it all contrasted. In a way, it was like a gingerbread town.
"Wow," Eliot said, marveling at the view. "It's so pretty up here."
"Yeah, but not as pretty as the view you took me to see in the helicopter ride, am I right?"
He shook his head. "Yeah, but I've been up there so many times that it got boring. This . . . I don't go to small towns that much. I thought they were depressing, but this doesn't feel depressing. It feels . . . cool. It's like that stuff you see in the Christmas movies."
"Yeah. I mean, I love Washington D.C., but this place will always hold a special place in my heart."
He frowned. "You're not going to ever leave, are you?"
"I don't know. Maybe one day, but it all depends on wherever the wind takes me."
Eliot was quiet suddenly, and scooted away a little bit.
"What's wrong?" asked Roselle.
"I . . . Whenever I care about someone, they go away. When I was a kid, my mom left me because she wanted to go back to Mexico." He sobbed a little in his gloves. "Why am I crying, dammit?! Crying isn't manly!"
Roselle widened her eyes. This really came out of nowhere, hadn't it? She patted his shoulder awkwardly. "Uh, it's okay. There, there."
He pulled her into a hug, and she decided to hug him back given the weird circumstances. "Ro, do you think it's okay for boys to cry sometimes?"
"Of course." She smelled him. "You still smell like cinnamon, but something else now too. Chocolate?"
"I made brownies with your mom while you were gone."
"Ah."
"Ro, I'm cold. Can I borrow your jacket?"
"Wha--I'm cold too! Jeez, it's twenty-seven degrees outside. Do you want me to catch a cold too?"
He sniffled. "I'm sorry."
She sighed and patted him more.
"Ro, are you going to kiss someone at midnight?"
"You mean for that stupid contest that James made up?"
"Who told you? Was it Dylan? That little snitch . . ."
"Dude, you guys were so loud last night. I could hear you through the walls." She purposely left out the convenient part of the story where she was listening in with a stethoscope. "Anyway I don't want to kiss anyone at midnight. There's no one to kiss."
"I always kiss someone at midnight, but it's usually someone I don't know . . ."
"Well, don't look at me. I'm not interested."
"Not even on the cheek?"
"Nope."
He sighed. "Alright, Ro. I understand."
"I appreciate it."
He nervously moved his hand around his pocket. "Well, I wanted to give you this as a Christmas present on that day we went Christmas shopping, but then you lost your wallet and we got side-tracked . . ." He took out a small gift that was wrapped in a stylish way with fancy folding. "Here, have this."
"Eliot, I'm not going to change my mind about the kiss."
"I know, but I want you to have it anyway."
With reluctance, Roselle took the present and gently unwrapped it. Inside, there were earrings in the shape of roses that were rose gold; the ones from the jewelry store!
She gasped. "Oh my gosh, you got me these? Wait, do your grandma and I have a matching pair?"
He laughed. "It was supposed to be for you the whole time. You liked them, and I like you, so . . . I got them."
"Thank you," she said. She took them out of the box and put them on, looking at her reflection from her phone.
"You look super pretty."
"I'll always wear them, Eliot." She swooped in to give him another warm embrace.
"Let's head home. Your mom said she's making chicken pot pie, and I wanna make sure she doesn't screw up."