As Simon released Bear’s leash, letting him loose in the dog park, a spray of snow hit the three of us. I blinked rapidly, wiping the snow off my face as I couldn’t help but laugh; Maya was gleeful as she chased after him.

“Not too far!” I called, my voice cupped by my mitten. I looked up at Simon, grin fading as I cleared my throat. “Uh, sorry. Teacher habit.”

Simon paused in wrapping up Bear’s leash. “Oh, it’s okay! I think it’s sweet,” he answered, though it made him press his lips together. He quickly added in the hope to clarify, “I mean, I’m not insulted or anything. I know you mean well. You’re looking out for her, just like I am. I mean, not exactly like I am…”

I touched his shoulder, quickly recoiling as I rethought the act. “I, uh… I know what you mean.”

I was glad for the distractions when Bear leapt into a deeper snowdrift, dowsing us in another wave of snow as he disappeared apart from the little black circles of his eyes and a cold, wet nose before he bounded off again. He barked happily, Maya a whirlwind of delight after him.

“We’re going to need lots of hot chocolate when we get back,” Simon remarked watching as Maya jumped into the snow to follow the dog, covering her pink bubble jacket in icy flakes as she played with Bear.

I shuffled my feet in the snow, my breath puffs of smoke as I looked over the sparkling snowbanks. “It’s really pretty out…” I bent down, scooping up the snow and packing into a ball with a few crunches. I needed something lighthearted; take my mind off the fact that my chest still felt tight from the sight of Simon this morning.

I nudged him, holding up the ball of snow in my hand. “Fort? Snowman? Snowball fight?” I asked, grinning.

“Oh, are you challenging me?” Simon asked, raising an eyebrow. His smirk was familiar, the same one I’d seen when we were kids. It was the kind of grin he’d give me before doing something incredibly rash and often stupid. I could recall him countless times uttering the infamous words ‘watch this’, before running off and leaving me to watch on the sidelines.

I was always two steps behind that blond boy. Always left chasing after him.

Simon bent down to make his own snowball, tossing it up in the air a few times to make sure he was satisfied with it. “I’m pretty sure you never won against me in a snowball fight. Sure, you want to try your luck?”

I took a few steps back, grinning at him. “Oh, yeah, you’re on.” I whipped the snowball at him, which exploded on the chest of his jacket. Snickering with success I quickly ran towards Bear and Maya for what was really delusional protection.

Simon’s laughter held a surprised tone, though it was quickly replaced by a wicked grin. “Did you forget I was captain of the baseball team?" he called after me.

Turning to glance over my shoulder I saw the snowball held between his hands.

“What, you mean that one time you went to nationals? Pure luck!” I taunted.

He scoffed, arm thrown back in perfect form as he threw the snowball. Though I was several feet away, I felt it hit my shoulder hard. ‘Damn. His aim’s still pretty good.’

“Huh, that must have been a lucky shot, too,” Simon shouted, sarcastically.

I'd obviously raised the stakes with my teasing, as he quickly formed another snowball.

‘He’s going to bury me in snow for that.’

In my haste I threw another quickly, my aim entirely misplaced with my sloppy attempt. It sailed right past his arm, nowhere close.

Bear went racing after the wild throw as Simon snickered, “Wow. You'll need to come a little closer if you want to actually hit me!” Simon took a challenging step forward, noting my automatic retreat with another cocky smile. “Scared, Nolan?”

Debating my next move as I tentatively packed snow between my mitts, not taking my eyes off him. He was right, I was going to have to risk getting closer. “You wish I was scared!” I called, reminding myself that there was no real risk in being blasted in the face by snow. “This is war!”

Raising the snowball in my hand I charged him. Simon launched his snowball, but the explosion of snow against my arm didn’t deter me. I was a couple of steps from shoving snow in his face when a happy bark pulled my gaze behind Simon.

I didn’t have a chance to warn Simon as Bear launched himself forward, front paws slamming into Simon’s back, making him stumble forward. I had too much momentum to suddenly stop.

I collided with Simon full force.

Bear yelped and bounded out of the way as we toppled, my back hitting the snow hard before we started sinking into the icy indent my body had made. Simon’s weight crushed me into the thick layer of snow, knocking the breath out of me. I’d never really considered how Simon was so much heavier than me.

Groaning and coughing lightly, Bear barked and jumped around us.

I was sincerely thankful for the snow softening the fall. “My god you’re heavy,” I grunted, feeling suffocated by Simon’s broad chest. I pushed a hand onto Simon’s shoulder, wincing as I blinked up at him.

My eyes widened, blush filling my face as I met his hazel eyes.

Simon was clueless, too stunned to notice our position as he looked down at me. He blinked snow out of his long, pale eyelashes and breathed a sigh of relief. His face dropped too close, his nose almost brushing the tip of mine. “I thought that was going to be worse,” Simon whispered, his breath clouding around my face, “You okay?"