“What’s Truffington?” Jonathan asked as we strolled down the front steps and onto the crisp green grass. I wrapped my jacket tighter around me and dug my hands into the pockets.

“It’s a city right outside of the boundaries of town,” I answered as we began walking through the thin trees of the forest. An icy chill ran down my spine as we went farther into the forest, and I shuddered. Jonathan looked at me sideways.

“I was going to ask if your cold, but I’d just get that same smart a** answer again, huh?” he predicted as I shivered once more. I stopped to smile at him.

“Yeah,” I agreed, “I’d give you the same answer,” He laughed silently, too. Jonathan looked at me curiously and raised his hand slowly to my face. He laid the back of his warm hand against my cheek, and the evilness of the cold fled with his triumphant touch.

“You don’t feel cod,” he noticed, “You’re rather warm, actually,” He removed his hand from my face and, as expected, the warmth was forced away, leaving an icy chill

“Ugh,” I sighed, shaking my head and continuing to lead our path through the forest. Jonathan caught up with me and looked at me oddly.

“What did I do?” he asked incuriously. I looked at him apologetically.

“Nothing, it’s just frustrating…” I trailed off.

“What’s frustrating?” he asked in a tone that suggested worry. I closed my eyes before answering.

“It’s frustrating that… every time you touch me, even without meaning too, I stop being cold.” I admitted shyly.

“What do you mean?” We began walking into thicker trees, meaning the town’s boundaries weren’t far. I stopped again and looked into the bright pools of his eyes.

“I don’t know. I mean, I’m not sure. When there’s any physical contact between us, I feel… warm. Like the cold that’s always there doesn’t exist, anymore; like it never existed.” Darn his beautiful eyes. I didn’t even attempt to ask how he stole the words from my mouth again: he wouldn’t tell. I couldn’t read his expression as he stared back at me.

“You’re… warm?” he confirmed slowly. “When I… touch you?” I nodded. “Why?” I smiled lightly.

“I don’t know,”

“So… this-” Jonathan took my hand from my side gently and held it in his own. “Makes you warm?” The warmth flooded through me almost as if Jonathan had opened a floodgate. I closed my eyes and smiled.

“Yes,” Jonathan stared at me for an awkward moment before smiling and turning forward. His hand never left mine.

“So where are we going?” I was eternally thankful that he moved to another subject, but also worried that he was questioning my own sanity.

“Truffington,” I said again.

“And Truffington is-?” he prompted.

“A city,”

“Really? Wouldn’t have guessed,” I rolled my eyes at the sarcasm that was strung through his voice.

“You asked,” I reminded him. He shrugged.

“My point-” he began again, “is why are we going there?”

“:To eat,”

“And the school just let’s you walk away?”

“No,”

“You know you’re really not helping to answer my questions,” he noted. I sighed

“There is a fence about twenty feet tall that we climb over, but that’s all. Really easy,” I confirmed. He nodded and the fence appeared to us, almost as if on cue. The large metal-wired fence stood in front of us, the rusty mesh towering over us.

“Yeah, easy, as long as you don’t get blood poisoning from the metal,” he said. I rolled my eyes.

“Just come on,” I pulled my hand from his and my head throbbed from the cold, making my vision twisted and obscured. “Whoa,” I sighed. The three Jonathan’s I saw had concerned expressions on their faces.

“Are you-?” Jonathan was about to ask.

“Fine,” I lied. I tried to block the cold away, with little success, but enough to let me climb the fence.