The East Wind

[Benedict]

Benedict had finally gotten permission from one of his teachers to skip the rest of the class. He immediately headed up for the roof, which was one of his favorite places to be. It was accessible to everyone, but there were rarely other people there when he went. As soon as the cold air reached his skin, he shivered and pulled is coat tighter around himself. This is probably one of the reasons no one else comes up here. He thought.
It's cold, but I don't really mind. It doesn't interfere with thinking or reading, so it's not something to worry about. His next period was lunch, so he could be up there for about an hour and a half.

Ben sat on the ground at the edge of the roof and pulled out the book he was reading, opening it to the bookmarked page. He crossed his legs beneath him and blew a few stray hairs out of his eyes. After a while, his feet began to grow numb, and he shifted his weight, turning his head to check his watch. Lunch period had just started. Benedict almost never ate lunch, preferring to go to the library or roof. He continued reading, but his mind began to wander. I wonder if I'll ever find anyone who actually understands me. I don't really need anyone, but it would nice to have someone I could talk to once in a while. He leaned his head back to look at the sky, but immediately snapped it back to look forwards when he heard someone coming up the stairs.

[Crystal]

Crystal was walking up the stairs to the roof with Flurry following, she decided to eat there for some peace and quiet. She opened the door just a little bit to look around. From her point of view, no one was there. What a relief. I think I deserve some alone time. The girl slowly opened the door more to catch a glimpse of the sky. There were few clouds, and the color of the sky was one of Crystal's favorite types of blue. She walked outside and stretched her arms out wide. "Ugh. I hate school, there's nothing good about it. I already know some of the stuff I'm learning anyways. At least, I do in art." She walked to the railing to look at the town. Why am I even looking down? I'm afraid of heights! Crystal pushed away from the railing and sat down.

She wanted something sweet to eat, but she didn't know what. Well, I have some candy bars from home. Might as well cool them off and eat. The blonde girl waved her hand around and the chocolate bars and they froze, but not rock solid. She opened one and started crunching away. "Chocolate is always better cold." She said with a cheery smile. Suddenly she saw something black and long on the cement next to her. She moved her head up to see that sitting next to her was a boy around her age. He had curly black hair and stunning blue eyes. "AHHHHHH!" She jolted away from him in fright.

[Benedict]

Benedict watched as a small girl with blonde hair stepped through the door. Her mouth was moving, and he assumed she was trying to talk to him, but then he realized that wasn't the case. She was talking to herself. That's a bit weird... He thought to himself. But then again, I do that sometimes too when no body is there to listen. He followed the girl with his eyes as she moved to lean over the rail before sitting down right next to him. I wonder why she hasn't seen me yet? He wondered. She must be pretty oblivious. She had pulled out a few chocolate bars and was waving her hand around them, saying that chocolate was always better cold.

Is she trying to fan them? He asked himself, confused. She unwrapped one of them and Ben saw that they were perfect looking, not melty as you would expect from chocolate bars that had been in a bag or coat. She took a bite of one of them and he heard a soft crunch. Suddenly, she stopped chewing and looked at him. As soon as she did, she yelled and jumped backwards. One of his hands flew up to his ear at the unexpected noise while the other reflexively reached out to catch the chocolate if it fell. Which it did. He caught it perfectly and felt that it was ice cold. Ben stood and reached out his hand to help the girl up while asking her, "How did you get your chocolate so cold?"

[Crystal]

She noticed that when she flipped out, she dropped the chocolate bar! In her head a fast thought went through. My chocolate! Don't fall! Then Crystal saw the boy had caught it before it fell. She noticed that he stood up and reached out for her hand to help her up. Her heart skipped a beat. This boy, is so, handsome. How did I not notice him when I came out here?! Crystal blushed very red and took his hand to stand up. She wobbled a bit, but caught her balance quickly. The boy asked her a question and the first thought that went through her head was, He even sounds handsome! How can someone this perfect be talking to me? "Oh, uh. I'm Dia's daughter. She's the snow fairy here." The girl was still blushing.

Crystal remembered that he was still holding her chocolate bar she perfectly got cold. She slouched to one side, crossed her arms, and spoke in a different tone that even she didn't know she had. "Can I have that back? I wasn't done eating it." She sounded sassy and kept that pose on the outside. But on the inside, she was thinking, Why am I talking like this to such a cute boy?! This isn't even me anymore, this is like someone else is in my place! Crystal then put one hand on her hip and the other was reaching out, waiting for the boy to give back the chocolate. "Well, can I?" Person I don't know, please stop ruining my chances with this boy! Her thoughts were starting to go crazy waiting for a reply.

[Benedict]

Benedict didn't notice the girl's blush or her little wobble as he helped her up. All he heard was that she was the daughter of the snow fairy. Benedict wasn't too fond of fairies, and he preferred logic over magic. But, he thought. This is Wonderland after all. The blonde has crossed her arms and demanded in a completely different tone from earlier that she wanted her chocolate back. Well she's a bit rude. He thought before he could help himself. Ben handed it to her wordlessly before crouching down and picking up his book, which had fallen on the ground. he checked to see if any of the pages were bent, which, thankfully, they weren't, before turning his attention back to the girl. She was a few inches shorter than him, with blue eyes and bangs. He supposed other boys would think her pretty or cute, but he didn't really care much.

Then Benedict noticed the bunny behind her. It was pure white and looked a bit like snow. It must be because of the fairy. He thought. Another power or something. He walked over to it and stroked it's ears. Humans he had troubles with, but animals always seemed to like him, and the bunny was no exception. He straightened up and brushed his hands on his legs after his hand started getting cold from petting the snow bunny. He stretched out his hand - the one that wasn't cold- to the girl saying, "My name is Ben. What about you?"

[Crystal]

Crystal's composure went away very quickly when the boy gave her back the chocolate. Then went to pick up his books. She fell silent and started blushing again, but this time she knew that he could tell. The girl looked down to see that the boy went to pet her bunny. "That's Flurry." But she spoke so softly that he probably didn't hear her. The blonde noticed that Flurry was being even more friendly with this mysterious boy, then he does with other people. That's strange. He's never THIS friendly with others, ever. Maybe he has a good feeling about this guy. She gave a warm smile at Flurry, then slipped the bar into her pocket.

She turned to see the boy's hand in front of her. He introduced himself like a gentleman. Then asked for her name. "Um, I-I'm Crystal! I r-really like your eyes, t-there like crystals themselves!" She stuttered a lot and blushed like crazy! "I mean! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that!" She ran to near the door that led inside. But she didn't go in, Crystal just sat, wrapped her arms around her legs, and plopped her face on her knees. Who knew I could get this nervous around men? Dad, why did you leave me and have this happen? The girl started to cry a little, remembering her father, and how he mysteriously died. Only a few tears were shed, and luckily she wasn't making any noises.

[Benedict]

The girl switched back from her sassy pose to blushing and stuttering. She introduced herself as Crystal and said something about his eyes being crystals too. Benedict suddenly pictured himself with crystal Crystal eyes, but shook his head to clear away the image. He realized he was still holding his hand out, Crystal hadn't shaken it. Instead, she had run over to the door and curled into a ball. I wonder if she's okay. He thought.

Ben's feet started moving towards her slowly, and even though she was quiet and far away, he could tell she was crying. I guess not... He replied to himself. When he reached her, he squatted down and hesitated before awkwardly patting her on the shoulder. He wondered why she was crying and suddenly realized it could have been something he did. Other people sometimes did have that sort of reaction. But I didn't even deduce her out loud... That's usually why people do that.  He scooped up her bunny, he thought seeing him might comfort her, and asked her what was wrong.

[Crystal]

Crystal felt something on her shoulder, but continued to stare down to her legs. Then she saw something white and fluffy in front of her. It was Flurry! She completely forgot about him while she cried. She lightly took her bunny and saw Ben. The girl sat on her legs, revealing her face, and sat Flurry on her on her lap. She looked down at at her bunny, not wanting the boy to see her tears. She wiped away her tears just in case he could still see them, and then petted her rabbit. "I'm sorry. Did you see me crying?" She spoke in a soft voice, so soft the boy probably didn't hear.

Crystal slowly stood up and Flurry hopped into her arms. She wanted to leave, but in a way, felt like she had to stay for some reason. Crystal walked back over to the edge part of the roof they were at earlier, and stared at the sky. It was a beautiful light blue, and partly purple. This is wonderland after all, I'd be surprised to see a full on normal sky here. She thought to herself about some things, some totally off topic from each other. Doesn't Ben notice that I'm now standing all by myself? He's probably gonna leave like my dad did. I miss him, he's was so nice and made my mom and I laugh. Crystal started to frown again, but didn't cry this time. Have to stay strong, dad would be mad at me if I cried. She started to have a war in her own mind. She sighed. "Maybe I'm bipolar and I don't know it."

[Benedict]

"Yes, I did." Benedict answered Crystal's question. She had said it very softly, so he wasn't sure what she said at first, but he figured it out eventually. Her bunny hopped out of his arm and into hers, and she got up and walked over to the edge of the roof. Ben followed. He stood next to her, fidgeting nervously  for a little, darting little sideways glances at her to see whether she was still crying. She wasn't. Instead, she was looking up at the sky with a look of wonder on her face. He looked up too. The blue-purple color of the sky, he had to admit, was beautiful, especially with the few pure white clouds scuttling along the skyline. 

Benedict realized that Crystal still hadn't answered his question, and all his worry flooded back. What if it really was me that made her cry? I bet it was, she doesn't look like the person who would have much to cry about... Maybe I should leave so I don't upset her again. He backed away from the railing and started to leave, but stopped when a little voice in his head said, What if it wasn't you though? Maybe you should stay to see if she's alright. That was enough to convince him. He turned back around and asked Crystal, "Why were you crying? Was it me? Did I do something?"

[Crystal]

Crystal turned to see that Ben, yet again, was right next to her without her noticing. She turned back to look at the sky and wonderland sitting underneath the clouds. How am I so oblivious. How can I never notice that he's right next to me. He doesn't blend in with anything up here, so it's just me. She sighed, then noticed that he was walking away from her. In a way, I'm glad he's leaving. I can't take these multiple emotions going through me. And knowing that there's another character inside me is a little weird. The boy turned around, to face her again. He asked a few questions and the two went silent. Crystal also faced the boy to answer.

"Oh. It, it wasn't you. It's just that." Crystal took a deep breath. "My dad died when I was seven. I don't know how, no one ever told me how he died. My mom probably knows though." She bent down to pick up Flurry and hold him in her arms. "I think about my dad a lot, more then girls would usually think about their fathers. I'm an idiot, I know it." The last sentence she said sounded kind of girly and soft. She was never comfortable to talk about her dad in front of others, especially if they were people she barely knew. She expected to hear a super mean comment from him, but then again, she didn't know what to expect from the handsome boy.

[Benedict]

Benedict stood there, at a loss for words. Her dad is dead? That's horrible... I mean, my dad is almost never home, but I can't imagine him being dead. He continued standing there, blinking, until he decided just to say, "I'm sorry, that must be awful." And took a deep breath. Normally, this is when he would leave because he was afraid to say the wrong thing, to upset someone, but for some reason he decided to stay and continue. "I can't imagine having no father. Actually, I guess I can. My parents are always out on trips, but I do have my brother, Mike, and a few of the staff that look after me and give me advice. I guess what I can't imagine is having someone die and leave you forever with only one other person."

Ben took another breath, this time letting it out in a slow, careful sigh. That was probably the most he had ever said at once to someone he didn't know very well, and certainly the most he'd said about himself or how he felt. Suddenly, he felt scared that he had said too much, that he had overwhelmed Crystal with his words. He took a quick step backwards and spun around, checking his watch. Lunch period was almost over. He patted the snow bunny's head one last time before sprinting away, his coat flapping behind him. He stopped at the door before he entered the building and called over his shoulder, "Well, bye, I have to go to class, it was nice meeting you!" Which, indeed, it had been.