the kiss list, adrian pucey
𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟐

chapter eighteen
number six: GEORGE WEASLEY

✧ ━━━ · ✦ · ━━━ ✧

     BEATING ADRIAN'S ASS MAY HAVE been fun while it lasted, but Bianca wasn't sure she had actually learned much during her first session of Lockhart's dueling club. She may have improved the charms she already knew prior, but she hadn't learned any in addition, nor had she mastered them. Nonetheless, a clear win, proclaiming Bianca a better dueller than Adrian (for now at least) and giving her much wanted and deserved bragging rights for the time being about her triumph, was enough for one night.

     The Gryffindor common room was busy with life, but not overcrowded. It rarely was, only when the Quidditch team won a match, and when that happened, you could barely move a limb, or even get out. But as Bianca sat in a far corner, finishing off some pieces of extra work, as the evening drew to a close, Leo and Alicia laughing away beside her, she wasn't disturbed by the gleeful atmosphere, her common room always possessed.

     The only thing that could be of annoyance, had it escalated, was Fred and George's laughter, as they, and a few other Gryffindors in their year, played a game of cards, that Bianca couldn't identify from where she was sitting.

     Everyone knew George Weasley and his twin brother Fred. The school's pranksters, but the twins themselves, preferred the term 'masterminds'. They spent more time planning pranks and fooling around rather than doing what they were supposed to. Bianca herself could never care that little about school and homework, but she respected how carefree they were.

    "Hey, Bi?" she heard a familiar voice speak from a little over.

     She looked for where he was sat, and her eyes eventually fell on Leo, who was calling her over.

     She put down her pen and got up, making her way to the group that was cheering, and groaning at the different outcomes of the game.

     "Everyone's playing Blackjack. I know you're good, wanna play?" he suggested.

     Blackjack is simple at first watch. But playing it is another story. Yes, it is purely a game of luck, but betting is completely down to the player.

     Each participant attempts to beat the dealer by getting a count as close to 21 as possible, without going over 21. It is up to each individual player if an ace is worth one or eleven. Face cards ─ kings, queens, and jacks ─ are worth 10 and any other card is its pip value.

     When all the players have placed their bets, the dealer gives each player two cards, including themselves.

     The player to the left of the dealer goes first and must decide whether to 'stand', which is to not ask for another card, or 'hit', which is to ask for another card in an attempt to get closer to a count of 21 or even hit 21 exactly. If the player is to go over the sum total of 21 and bust, they are immediately out.

     When the dealer has served every player, the dealer's face-down card is turned up. If the total is 17 or more, it must stand. If the total is 16 or under, they must take a card.

     Bianca did love the game, and it was a game almost completely based on luck, but she knew strategies that would help her when it came down to the betting part of the game.

     She would eventually like to play a game against her housemates, but first, she wanted to see who she would be up against if she wanted to bet anything.

     She took a seat beside Leo, in front of George, who had just been dealt his cards.

     Oliver, Lee, Katie, Angelina, George, and Fred (the dealer) were all sat in a circle; Alicia and Leo sat offside, watching the same as Bianca.

     They each had a smallish pile of what looked like a collection of Honeydukes' sweets, playing the part of their coins that they would bet.

     Bianca had a clear view of George's hand that, when he picked up, was the Ace of Clubs and the seven of Diamonds.

     She watched as Katie and Angelina both took their goes; Angelina busting on twenty-two (very unlucky) and she noticed George tapping his hand on his leg as if he were unsure as to what to do.

     An amateur at Blackjack would most definitely stand, but Bianca had played her fair few games of Blackjack. Her father taught her many things: chess, cycling, and card games, to the point she could take out a group of fully grown men in a casino in Vegas if she wanted to.

     She knew George would stick, and she wanted to help.

     "George!" she whisper-yelled, as to not attract anyone else's attention. "George!" she repeated until the ginger boy turned his head to face her.

     "What?" he asked.

     She leaned forward to meet his ear, "Double down." she advised.

     "What?" his eyebrows knitted together.

     "Double your bets," she chuckled.

     "Why would I do that?" he questioned.

     "You've got a soft eighteen."

     "So? I'm gonna stand. I can't twist, it's too high.

     "But a soft eighteen means you have one card and an ace. You have a greater chance of improving your hand with a single card." she explained, "Besides, Katie already is closer to 21 than you are; she has a nineteen." Bianca had seen Katie's cards long before she had decided to help George.

     "Just because she has higher than me, doesn't justify why I should double my bets," he argued.

     "Just trust me," she smiled, before leaning back and relaxing into her chair.

     It was quickly George's turn, Angelina busting, and Katie rightfully standing. He gave her one more look, hoping she was right, before putting his complete trust in a girl he had never seen play before.

     He pushed two more jelly slugs into the center, signaling his move to double down. Fred gave a questioning look, before handing over his only and last card.

     He flipped it mid-air, before laying it flat out in front of George, revealing that it was the two of Spades.

     It wasn't 21, but it was still better than Katie.

     George calmly picked up the card and placed it against his other two, making his twenty.

     Bianca nodded her head with contentment, waiting for everyone to reveal their cards when each player had had their turn.

     Lee was the last player to be dealt and he ended up busting and the rest were now beginning to reveal their cards with their final score. Angelina had a flimsy score (in Bianca's opinion) of seventeen; Oliver closely beating her with eighteen; Leo, the same; Katie soon after with nineteen; and George wiped them all out with his twenty, with the help and advice from Bianca ─ Fred too managing only a nineteen.

     With a large grin, George grasped all of the candy from the center, sweeping them into his now great big pile of winnings.

     "Another round?" Lee suggested, probably because he wanted another go at winning, seen as he had lost abysmally.

     There were nods all around, Alicia joining in to play this game and Bianca deciding to stay back for at least the next few rounds, much to the delight of George ─ he didn't mind her help at all.

     "Stick, yeah?" George confirmed. He was leaned back into the sofa, still facing the circle, just to get Bianca's advice.

     They were on their seventh game of the night, Bianca's fifth whilst helping George. He ─ well they ─ had won all four previous games, much to the annoyance of everyone else. Oliver and Lee had given up after three of George's wins, not seeing the point on practically giving over their now very minuscule pile of remaining sweets.

     "Twist," she said, unsure of herself.

     "You're serious? But twenty is a good score!" he protested in a whisper-yell.

     "You asked for my opinion," she surrendered her hands.

     "What are the chances of me getting an ace?" he asked, still distrustful.

     "Less than seven percent," she said, skeptical of what she had advised him to do.

     George's mouth fell open a little, "Less than seven percent?!" he repeated, "I can't do that!" he whisper-yelled.

     Bianca leaned in a little closer, "Look, you've won practically every other game with my help, and I've been right all those other times. These twats don't have any strategies whatsoever, and technically no, this isn't one either, but you have to take that chance. What do you have to lose?"

     "Two cauldron cakes," he said with a sulky pout.

     Bianca rolled her eyes, "You wanna trust me?" she queried.

     He turned away, sighing, waiting for his go.

     Leo and Katie both bust with a score of twenty-three on his go, and twenty-nine on hers, leaving Alicia, Katie, Angelina, and Fred, the dealer, to beat.

     George took a deep breath in. Bianca was unsure as to why he was getting so stressed about this, seen as it was only one card game. "Twist," he finally said reluctantly.

     "Don't make it obvious," she quickly whispered just in time, in case Fred did in fact draw an ace.

     Both Bianca and George were on the edge of their seats (well technically George was on the floor) waiting for the card to be seen. Bianca was surprised at how into the game she had gotten.

     The card once again, flipped mid-air before Fred placed it in front of George, revealing the Ace of Hearts.

     Bianca could sense George's shoulders tense up a little with excitement, but he heard what she had said, and picked up the card as calmly and as collectively as he could, "Stand." he said casually.

     Bianca's lips had pursed together, but she leaned back, folding her arms, waiting for the time to come when she knew they had most likely won.

     Alicia managed nineteen, Katie the same and when it came to Angelina, a player before George, she smugly pressed her cards against the rug, revealing a nine and three of Hearts, Five of Spades, and the four of Clubs: 21.

     George let out a huff, and Bianca's eyes narrowed, wondering if he actually knew the rules of the game.

     "George," Fred instructed to reveal his count.

     George laid down his two tens, and one ace, also equating to twenty-one.

     "So it's a tie?" Alicia asked.

     "No," Bianca said, "That's a four-card 21," she inclined her head to Angelina's fan of cards on the floor, "His is a three-card 21. His beats hers. Not to mention his involves two tens," she explained, calmly, like she didn't just win herself.

     "She's right," Fred nodded.

     "So unless Fred can beat that, I believe George just won for the fifth time in a row," she smirked.

     Fred turned to his own two cards; the top one, that was facing up being the nine of diamonds. He slowly turned over the one beside it revealing the eight of hearts, "Seventeen. I have to stick. Well done Georgie. You win. Again," he huffed, earning groans from the entire group bar the duo.

     George, once again, delved into the large pile of everyone's collective bets, adding them to his own pile, which was now very big.

     After admiring his load of winnings, he turned around to look at Bianca, his face beaming with glee, "I could kiss you right now," he grinned.

     Once again, The Kiss List hadn't occurred to her once. She was simply helping out a friend before he made a mistake and lost a load of Fizzing Whizzbees in a game of Blackjack, not flirting with him. At least that wasn't her intention, nor did she think that was what she was doing.

     She felt Leo's eyes on her, smirking himself, "So why don't you?" she suggested, flirtatiously this time.

     His grin grew even larger, like a child's on Christmas morning would, standing up and closing the gap between them. He cupped her cheeks, slightly forcefully, and pressed his lips against hers, in a drunken sort of peck, that was all meant to be a joke.

     He pulled away after a second, his smile bigger than it was then before.

     Leo whacked her arm playfully, causing her to jolt out of her seating position, laughing along with everyone else.

     "One more round?" Fred suggested, with a shrug, motioning to the tatted deck of cards in his hands.

     "Hey Bianca, wanna play? You seem to know what you are doing." Lee said.

     "Yeah, please play. These losers aren't much competition," Oliver complained.

     "Correct me if I'm wrong, Oliver, but did you not just give up because you were losing so much?" Bianca sneered.

     His expression was slightly embarrassed, but he nodded his head, admitting she was right.

     "I think you should play, Bi," George smiled.

     Bianca wanted to play at some point, why not now?

     She looked over to George, who didn't break the eye contact, even when everyone around her was encouraging her to play. She gazed into his eyes ─ a light, soft brown sort of colour; one that made her feel all warm and cozy inside. Not like she was being stared down or intimidated. Her housemates all cheering things like: "Yeah go on Bianca, play a game!"

     She sucked lightly on her top row of teeth, before agreeing, "Alright."

     Bianca knew the rules inside out, plus a variety of strategies. She could easily beat George Weasley ─ or any of them for that matter ─ even if he had had a little practice working from the advice she had given him during his plays.

     After Bianca had been given her pile of sweets that she would use as counters to bet, and everyone had pushed in two pieces of candy of their choice into the center, Fred dealt each player, two cards, everyone deciding to play this round. 

     Making sure her cards were out of sight from anyone, George who was sat directly beside her especially, she lifted them up to meet her eyes.

     The Ace of Diamonds and the Jack of Clubs.

     Blackjack.

     She scoffed subtly, hiding her smirk behind her two winning cards. It was that easy? This was the part of the game that made it so easy to win, even if it was real money.

     "Right, Katie. Hit or stand?" Fred turned to the girl.

     "Stand." the chaser replied.

     "Angelina?"

     "Hit," she said, still with confidence.

     Fred handed her the top card from his deck. The card ending up being the Ten of Hearts.

     She rolled her eyes, dropping her cards on the floor, declaring that she had bust on twenty-four.

     Fred continued around the circle, Lee and Oliver also standing.

     George had the same smug look when he announced he was sticking with his hand, looking directly at Bianca as he said it.

     "Bianca?" Fred reached had finally reached her.

     "I'll stand," she said, expressionless, as to not give anything away. Something Oliver could have thought to do; she found it hilarious how smug he looked when Fred dealt him the Three of Spades. Nothing could beat her hand.

     Quickly, it was time to show their cards: Katie managing nineteen again; Lee moaning at only seventeen and a little too confident Oliver announcing his three-card 21 (although he had every right to be proud).

     Bianca displayed her two cards out in front of everyone, earning a few huffs, George included as he threw his two tens onto the rug.

     She proudly leaned over to collect her winnings, Oliver stopping her halfway.

     "Hey!" he protested, "I got 21 too!"

     Bianca rolled her eyes, "Read the cards, dumbass." she slid her Ace of Diamonds and Jack of Clubs in his direction, "Blackjack. Nothing beats Blackjack." she finished dragging the sweets into her pile, ready for another game.

     "Why don't we up the stakes?" George suggested.

     "What were you thinking?" Katie asked.

"Two galleons. Each," he said.

     There were a few nods, and everyone began filing through their pockets, each gathering two galleons and chucking them forcefully into the middle; the clanking of the money hitting the sweets as they met.

     Fred dealt the cards, as usual, each receiving two cards, face down. There was a moment, where everyone took the time to evaluate what they were given and decide what they were to do: hit or stand.

     Bianca slid her cards up carefully, keeping them out of prying eyes, to see that she had the seven of Clubs and the four of Diamonds: eleven. A good number for a double down.

     As the game went on, no one had bust yet, but Bianca hadn't seen any smug looks on the Gryffindors that had already gone. She thought that maybe they had learned to be more careful.

     George's turn came before hers and he opted to twist.

     Fred took the top card off of the deck and handed it to George: the six of Spades.

     George huffed, almost as if he couldn't take it anymore, despite winning several times before Bianca decided to play. It had only been two games and yet he looked as though he could give up.

     "Right, George's bust. Bianca? Hit or Stand?" Fred asked, grinning that his brother had just lost.

     Bianca took out two more galleons from her pocket, signifying she was doubling her bets. There were a few wolf-whistles from the group. "Hit," she replied, her face clear of emotion.

     Fred passed her the Five of Hearts.

     COUNT: SIXTEEN

     "Hit."

     The Two of Clubs.

     COUNT: EIGHTEEN.

     "Hit."

     The Three of Diamonds.

     COUNT: TWENTY-ONE.

     Twenty-one. A five-card, twenty-one.

     She had collected the cards, breathing out to stop herself from smirking. Any sort of expression would give it away. It wasn't a guaranteed win, like her last hand, but she had a high chance of it.

     Fred continued going around, Oliver, Lee, and Alicia all busting, until everyone revealed their cards: Katie had twenty; Angelina nineteen; and Leo; also on twenty.

     "Bianca?" Fred announced, staring her down. They were the only two left in the game that hadn't revealed their hand.

     "Correct me if I'm wrong but," she displayed her five cards out in a fan on the floor, for everyone to see, "That's a five-card trick."

     There were a few groans from the Gryffindors, ones that had already bust, but still felt defeated seen as she had won twice in a row now. Katie and Leo aggressively throwing their cards onto the rug with a grunt.

     Fred picked up his two cards: a ten and a nine. He had to stick due to the dealer's rules. He rolled his eyes, almost expecting that to have happened.

     Bianca let her face finally show emotion and it melted into a playful grin.

     Despite losing two galleons and a few sweets, the group lightened up after a moment or two, their groans and sulks turning into laughs and separate conversations.

     Fred began collecting each of their hands into one big deck, assuming that would be their last round for the night. But just before he could, Bianca glanced over to George's previous hand: the six, which was the card Fred had handed him when George decided to twist, and two other nines.

     "George, why did you twist on eighteen?" she questioned, slightly concerned, as she studied the cards he had just thrown.

     "You advised me to do the same last round when I was on twenty!" he argued.

     "Yeah, because you had nothing to lose, and as I said, none of these idjits know any Blackjack tactics anyway!" she explained. None of them seemed particularly offended by the fact she called them all 'idjits'.

     "Well, what about the time you told me to double down? I was on eighteen then!"

     "That was a soft eighteen! One card and an Ace! An Ace can go two ways: either an eleven or a one! What you've got right there is a hard eighteen. No one in their right mind would play with that when there is actual money at stake!"

     George looked defeated. Now she said it, it sort of made sense.

     "Right . . ." he scratched his neck. The group let out little separate laughs. George decided to push aside any disappointment and embarrassment he felt. "Well, Bianca, it's not Blackjack, but-"

     "-I believe that means I still win," she interjected, smirking.

     "Yes it does," he replied, peeved.

     "Stop being such a sore loser, Georgie," she gathered her winnings, both the galleons and Honeyduke's candy, "It doesn't suit you."

     She pocketed the sweets, but before getting up and leaving the group, she made sure to slip three galleons into a pocket of George's in her view, for not only kissing her but for being a good sport.

➼

     NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD voluntarily sit out in the courtyard in weather such as the current, just to enjoy the pleasure of reading a book and appreciating the snowfall. Bianca saw nothing wrong with this, even though she was all alone, no one in sight.

     Sitting by the fire and playing games with housemates, like she had done the night before, in the comfort and warmth of your common room was the natural thing to do in temperatures as low as it was, and usually, playing chess with friends, accompanied by a hot chocolate and stolen sweets from the kitchens would have been her afternoon plan, had she not wanted to clear her head and be alone for once. A good old-fashioned muggle book and a bench in the courtyard would suffice.

     Elsewhere, not far from Bianca, who was now starting the next chapter of her book ─ "Modern Chess Openings" by Richard Clewin Griffith and John Herbert White (it was training for the Championship, let her be)  ─ and was beginning to settle down for at least an hour before she would eventually freeze up to the point staying out any longer would be stupid, Adrian was roaming around, heading back from a quick pit-stop at the Kitchens, which he too, frequently visited.

     He hadn't seen much of her all day, and, to her, that wasn't exactly a problem, but to Adrian, just one interaction was enough.

     To his luck, just a stroll around the grounds, on route to returning to the Slytherin common room, after giving up on 'accidentally finding her' and because he was starting to get quite cold, he stumbled upon her, sat on a bench, the snow falling around her, with a book, unsurprisingly, open in her hands.

     "You gonna teach me?"

     Adrian's words startled Bianca, and her head shot up from where his voice was coming from, sighing in relief when it was only him.

     "Teach you?" she repeated, returning to her book, as Adrian sat down beside her, not before swiping off some of the existing snow that had settled on the bench beforehand; it fell to the ground, clearing a spot of wood for him to rest comfortably.

     "Chess." he pointed to the book in her hands, before putting his bare hands into the pockets of his robes. He had already begun to feel the cold.

     "You still want me to?"

     "Sure. Another thing I could beat you at." he sneered.

     "In your dreams, Pucey. You could never beat me, no matter how well I teach you," she said complacently. He huffed in amusement, a small, misty cloud floating out of his nose, as he began to shiver a little. Bianca noticed this, out of the corner of her eye, her herself, not cold at all ─ yet. "Are you cold?" she questioned.

     "No, no, I'm fine. Just a bit chilly outside. No bother." he stifled a little laugh, covering up the fact that he felt as though his body could turn to ice, due to how numb it currently was. His ears were burning up already. He had no hat, and you lose all of your body heat from your head. He knew he wouldn't last long, but, as he found her, he forced himself to hang on a little longer because she was there.

     "What are you doing here?" he asked, to ease the lull.

     "Escaping." she shrugged, not taking her eyes off of the book out in front of her.

     "Escaping from what? Me? Because you haven't spoken to me all day and that's not like you." Adrian said, leaning forward and over in an attempt to meet her eyes.

     "First of all, you're not entitled to a conversation with me and I'm not really sure why it bothered you that much and second, you don't know what I'm like," she said.

     He smirked, "I know more about you than you think."

     "Okay, like what?" she clapped her book together, not before marking where she was and she placed it beside her, out of the snow, temporarily.

     He thought for a moment, "Your favourite holiday is Christmas."

     She scoffed, "Just like half the population. That tells me nothing."

     "Your favourite food is grapes."

     "That just means you stare too much." she narrowed her eyes at him.

     "Your birthday is June eighth."

     Bianca paused, inquisitive as to where he was going with this, "That just means you have a good memory."

     He let out a deep breath to stop their repeating conversation pattern. "Okay, let me think . . . you hate Valentine's day because you believe it's just some made-up bullcrap holiday that gives couples an excuse to gloat about their relationship and a day to make everyone that's not in one, feel like shit."

     Bianca may not want a boyfriend, because she didn't hate the holiday because she was jealous of all the couples that were happy and in 'love', she hated it because of the sickly PDAs, and the masses of mounts of empty bright pink chocolate boxes that ended up everywhere and anywhere.

     She laughed this time, "That is true."

     "See, I do know you, Bianca."

     "I'm not convinced," she said.

     "Okay, I can go on." he replied, smirking, before continuing, "You love music. I see you around school with those things over your ears." Adrian said, pulling his hands out of his pockets, briefly, to motion two headphones on his ears, like he had seen Bianca wearing. Muggle things.

     Bianca had managed to convince Dumbledore to ease the restrictions on Muggle objects during her third year for "educational purposes for the rest of the school".

     "So does literally everyone," she rolled her eyes and spoke as if it were obvious. "Give me an example."

     "Muggle music." he shrugged, "Specifically, The Beagles─ wait no The Beatles." he squinted his eyes as if making sure he had gotten the name right. He had in fact done his research, but it would be embarrassing if he got it wrong, due to how much she seemed to admire them. "They were decades before your time." he turned his head away from her and stared out of the far carved-out window and onto the sparkling, white-covered grass.

     "The Beatles are timeless and are literally the most listened to band of all time. Even Wizards, like yourself, know who they are. You clearly don't know as much about me as you say you do." she said with a scoff.

     "I know your favourite Beatle is George," he said calmly. She looked to meet his eyes, narrowing them a little, curious as to why he brought this up. "George Harrison? You believe that he deserves more attention, despite Paul, was it? And John's deeper influence in terms of songwriting."

     She didn't say anything. Not in defense, or denial, but just by her saying nothing, he knew he was right.

     Adrian wasn't a stalker, but more of the 'interested' type. Being a pureblood, even with strict, prejudiced parents when it comes to blood status, he was always curious about how muggles acted, lived, and went about life. Bianca happened to know a lot about that, being Muggleborn. He paid a lot of attention, that's all.

     And by attention, that means he has overheard many a conversation in which Bianca and Leo Raywood have discussed (more Bianca explaining to the boy) how "the Beatles have shaped the pathway for modern music that we experience in today's version of the music industry." In her words.

     It got him interested, that's all.

     "I'm right aren't I?" he smirked, "If you want more proof, your second favourite Beatle is Ringo because he wrote Oc-"

     "-Okay, okay stop," she chuckled subtly, interjecting before he could creep her out anymore, despite her being pleasantly surprised he paid so much attention. "This is getting too specific. Besides, I said 'you don't know what I'm like,' not 'you don't know me'."

     "Okay," he replied, understandingly, "You're funny, but you never show it. You're reserved. You don't let a lot of people get to know you unless you trust them completely. You never cry. You hide your feelings away because you pretend you don't have them, only because you don't think anyone would listen." he finished, looking down at her; her eyes staring into his.

     Adrian noticed how her breathing was heavier like she was trying to slow it down. She was speechless almost. She felt as though he had looked far enough into her head, passed her skull, and read her mind like a book.

     "What are you? A therapist?" she joked, to break the undeniable tension that had fallen, causing him to cackle a little. She drew her gaze away from Adrian, him doing the same.

     "Nah, I just pay attention," he defended, lifting his shoulders to meet his ears, whilst trying to warm them up without taking his hands out of his pocket, due to how cold they had gotten.

     "Yeah, maybe a bit too much," she stifled a laugh.

     A quietness fell. Bianca had her eyes back on her book, scanning the words, taking in the information, written in black and white.

     Was her kiss with George something necessary to mention? She wouldn't mind gloating, but something inside her told her not to.

     Adrian and Bianca had an odd kind of relationship, but Adrian knew what Bianca was feeling when she was feeling it. He knew she was sat on her own, in mid-November, with icy temperatures such as these, because she didn't want to be bothered by someone passing by, which he felt like that was what he had done.

     So leaving her be, seemed to be the right choice.

     "Well, I'll uh . . . I'll let you," he gestured to the book still laden out in her hands that were hidden under two woolen gloves.

     She offered him a half-smile, but not one that read: 'great, thanks. It's about time,' but one that was more sweet and genuine, like she didn't mind what he decided to do; stay for a while longer, or leave her to finish what she went there to do.

      He got up from his seat, readjusted his robe, so it shut out any cold air, because, at this point, he was almost completely frozen, and sent her a hesitant, frail wave, before finally walking away; the snow crunching beneath his boots, signaling that he had left.

     Bianca waited until the crunches were no more, and that he was back onto the stone pathing of the castle floors, which eventually faded till he was out of earshot. She looked back over to where he once was, tapping her foot lightly against the carpeted snow, like she was waiting for him to come back.