New one-shot! Yay! It's late, but my computer decided it wanted to play games with me...

Nick hates the snow.

ENJOY.

Nick had never like the snow.

Even as a child, he never seemed to enjoy it as much as the other children did. It was cold and wet and it made running hard to do. It made his hands hurt. And it was just an excuse for the other kids to throw things at each other.

Now he didn't like seeing the snow. It reminded him of life before, and the memories of what had been were just too painful to think about.

He absolutely hated the snow.

Clementine opened tired eyes, sitting up from where she lay. The curtains were open. "Snow..." Her eyes widened and she jumped out of bed, making her way over to the window. Sarah stirred a bit from the movement.

"Snow!" Clementine cried, "It's snowing!" She dashed back over to the bed giving her new friend a shake. "Sarah! Sarah, wake up!"

"Clem?" Sarah groaned.

"Get up." She said. "Get up."

"Huh?" Sarah groggily opened her eyes.

"Look outside!" Clementine says.

"What?"

"Just hurry up and look out the window." Clementine is still shaking her.

"Why?" Sarah asked, sleepily.

"It's snowing!" Clementine announces.

Sarah quickly shot up, nearly head-butting the younger girl. "Snow?!"

"Yeah!" Clementine nodded watching as her friend made her way to the window. "Let's go outside!"

"But-"

"Hurry up and get ready." Clementine cut her off, already changing from the old pajamas Sarah had allowed her to use and into some her normal clothes.

"Alright..." Sarah sighed, doing the same.

Once they finished changing, Clementine turned to Sarah eagerly. "What are you waiting for?" She asked. "Let's go!" She looked like she was about to start hopping in place.

"We gotta ask my dad first." Sarah replied.

"Do we...have to?" Clementine asked, a bit nervous.

"Yeah. He'll get upset if we don't."

"Okay..." Clementine sighed. She knew Carlos didn't trust her very much. She was surprised he even allowed her to sleep in Sarah's room, although it had took a lot of being from the older girl. Still, she wondered how this would turn out.

The two girls tiptoed through the house, not wanting to wake anyone they made their way to Carlos' room. When he didn't respond to her knocking, Sarah opened the door, Clementine followed behind her as the older girl slipped into the room.

"Daaaaad!" Sarah called shaking his shoulder, much like Clem had done to her. "Oh, daaaaaaaad!"

"Go back to bed Sarah." Carlos grumbled.

Sarah pouted, turning to Clementine, "Your turn."

Clementine took a deep breath, approaching the man.

"Carlos... Carlos, will you please wake up?" She wanted to stay as close to Carlos' good side as possible and a rude awakening would probably only make him dislike her more.

"What girls?!" Carlos cried causing Clementine to give a small jump. "What do you need?"

"Umm...It's snowing..." Sarah said twiddling her fingers together.

"And?" Carlos urged her to continue.

"We...We wanted to know..." Sarah began quietly.

"Know what Sarah?"

"If we could go outside and play." Clementine finished.

Carlos sent the little girl a glare. This was exactly why he didn't want her around Sarah, he knew she try to encourage Sarah to do things. "It's too dangerous."

"Please?!" Clementine begged much to the man's surprise. "We'll be very careful! And I'll protect Sarah so she doesn't get hurt!

"Please dad? We'll only be in the backyard." Sarah joined in on the begging.

"Pleeeeaaaase?" They both asked, giving the best puppy dog eyes they could manage.

Carlos thought for a minute. Looking at the too little girls' excited faces, he sighed, "...Alright."

"Yay!" Sarah exclaimed taking Clementine's hand.

"You have to wear a jacket." Carlos said, sitting up.

"I will dad." Sarah nodded.

"You too Clem!" He quickly added. He might not completely trust the girl, but he didn't want her getting a cold or worse.

Clementine was a little surprised that he addressed her, but also gave a nod.

"We got it dad!" Sarah spoke for her.

"Don't forget to put on a hat!" Carlos reminded, getting up out of the bed and following the two into the hall.

"Uh-huh." Sarah sighed.

"And make sure to-"

"Yeah, we got it." Sarah stopped him. "Daddy, we'll be fine."

"I don't want you getting sick." He said as the girl turned to face him. He looked down at innocent little Clementine, "Neither of you."

He noticed a tiny smile cross Clementine's face.

"We'll be fine." Sarah said, pulling Clementine along. "Come on, Clem!"

"Be careful!" Carlos called as Sarah began dragging Clementine from the room. '

"We will!" Clementine called back allowing the older girl to drag her.

"I'm surprised dad let us outside." Sarah said, rolling the snow around in her gloved hands.

"Why?" Clementine asked.

"He doesn't let me do many things." She huffed. "Everything's too dangerous."

Clementine shrugged. "...He's...He's just trying to protect you."

"I guess. I love him...It's just annoying sometimes." She shrugged.

Clementine gave a sad smile, biting her tongue to keep from saying, 'At least you have your dad'. Instead she decided to change the subject and say, "Thanks for letting me borrow this jacket."

"You're welcome. I can't really fit it anymore." Sarah said. "It might be a little big on you, but you can have it if you want."

"Really?"

Sarah nodded. "Sure."

"Thank you."

Sarah smiled. "We're friends, right?"

"Yeah." Clementine smiled back. "We are."

After a moment of standing around Clementine spoke again, "So...What should we do?"

"I don't know." Sarah shrugged. "It's freezing..." She wrapped her arms around herself to warm up.

"I know." Clementine agreed. "...What do you want to do Sarah?"

"Umm...Lets make snow angels." Sarah suggested.

"Okay..." Clementine nodded before asking, "...How do you do that?"

Sarah sent her a surprised look. "You've never made a snow angel before?"

Clementine shook her head, "Uh-uh."

"Hmm...I'll teach you then!" Sarah smiled brightly.

"Okay." Clementine responded.

"Lay down." Sarah said.

"Alright." Clementine did as she was told. "It's cold." She complained.

"Well, you're lying in the snow." Sarah pointed out.

"What do I do now?" Clementine asked.

"Move your arms and legs back and forth." Sarah told her.

Clementine began to move her little arms and legs. "Like this?"

"Yeah." Sarah said, "Just like that." Sarah smiled. "Now stand up."

"Alright...?" Clementine stood up, stumbling forward a little. She looked over to Sarah, "What now?"

"Look what you made." Sarah pointed to the spot that Clem had just stood from.

Clementine's eyes widened and she excitedly exclaimed, "Wow!"

"Yep." Sarah smiled.

"I want to make another one!" Clementine said, happily.

"Okay." Sarah dropped down beside her to make one of her own.

"Hey, Carlos."

"Good Morning." Carlos nodded towards the younger man. "You're up early today."

"Yeah." Nick scratched the back of his neck. "Why do you keep glancing out the window? See something interesting?"

"The girls are outside." Carlos responded.

"Oh." Nick nodded in understanding. "You going out there?"

"Unfortunately." Carlos breathed.

"I'm guessing you don't you wanna go out there?" Nick said

Carlos sent him a weird stare, "Are you kidding me?"

"What?" Nick asked.

"It's cold." Carlos simply replied.

"Oh..." Seemed like Carlos shared his distaste for the snow. At least he wasn't the only one who hated it.

"How about you...?" Carlos mumbled.

"How about I what?" Nick asked.

"Go keep an eye on the girls...?"

"Me?" Nick questioned in disbelief.

"Yes." Carlos nodded.

"T-They're..." He quickly shook his head. "I'm not good with kids." Plus he hated the snow.

"I'll take your watch tonight." Carlos said.

"Really?" That meant he'd be able to sleep...All night. It sounded so tempting.

"You have my word."

Nick couldn't refuse such an offer. "...Deal." How hard could it be? All he had to do was stand still and watch the kids. Make sure they didn't kill each other or themselves. It was simple enough.

Hearing the door open, Sarah quickly whipped around to see who it was, "Nick!" She called with a grin.

"Hey Sarah." He said as the girl ran up to him.

"Look at our snowmen!" She pointed over to a pair of snowmen that Nick assumed her and Clementine had made.

"You made that?" He asked, pretty impressed.

"Clementine and I...Here's the mommy. And here's the baby!" She grinned, "It's good, isn't it?"

"...Yeah. It's nice." He replied.

Sarah's smile widened before she called out to Clementine, "Nick says he likes our snowman."

Clementine gave a shy smile, slowly making her way over to the two.

"Hey Clem." Nick greeted the small girl a bit awkwardly as she approached.

"Hi." Clementine said staying weary of the man. She still didn't know how much she could trust the group. And even if Nick had apologize, he still almost shot her. Because of how the group treated her she remained on her guard around them, however she was slowly warming up to them all.

"What were you two doing?" He asked.

"Making snow angels." Clementine said. "Want to try?"

"Uh..." He shook his head, face flushing. "No thanks, Clem."

"Oh...Okay..." Clem responded, wondering why his face turned so red. She brushed it off. Maybe he was just cold?

"Why are you out here Nick?" Sarah asked.

Babysitting duty. "...No reason." He replied.

"Wanna play with us?" The teen asked.

"Play?" Nick asked back.

Sarah nodded. "Yeah."

"No thanks." He refused.

"Suit yourself." She shrugged. "Let's make a snow castle Clem!"

Clementine beamed. "Sure."

"Hey guys." A familiar voice reached their ears.

"Hi Luke!" Sarah sat on her knees as she waved to the man.

At the sound of his friend's voice, Nick quickly jumped away from the castle.

"Thought you didn't like the snow..." Luke teased walking over.

"Uh, Luke..." Nick started.

"What?"

"Look." He followed Nick's finger to see the tiny snowman he had destroyed. Looking back at the girls who both looked upset.

"I'm sorry." He raised his hands in surrender as Clementine glared at him. "I didn't see it."

Clementine sniffed, eyes filling with tears, she lowered her gaze so the others wouldn't see her cry.

"Sorry Clem." Luke ruffled her hair before inching back towards the house to avoid the glares he was receiving, leaving Clementine, who now seemed to be glaring at what was left of her snowman.

Any other kid would probably freak out over something like that. But then again, Clementine wasn't a normal kid. She didn't care about frivolous stuff like-

Hearing a sniffle, Nick called, "Clem?"

"Luke...Luke k-killed-"

He was mistaken, Clementine really did care about crazy stuff like this. "Hey. Don't cry."

"But...He killed the baby-"

"We'll help you make another one!" Sarah beamed.

"Really?" Clementine brightened.

"Sure...Why not?" Nick sighed.

After a while they had managed to make two snowmen, Clementine seemed to be a lot happier than she was before.

"Thanks guys."

"Yep..." Nick replied. "Can we go inside now? It's too cold for this shit."

"No. Now we have to finish our castle." Sarah said.

"Yeah." Clementine agreed crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fiiine." Grumbled Nick. He just wanted to go inside. He really hated the snow.

"Girls...Come on inside." Carlos called from the doorway.

"Do we have to?" Sarah whined. She knew they had been out for a long while, but she didn't want to go in just yet!

"I'll make you some hot tea." He said.

Sarah quickly jumped up. "Okay dad!" Noticing Clementine hadn't moved from her spot she looked at the girl, "Clem?"

"One minute..." Clementine muttered.

"I'll meet you inside then?" She said, a bit unsure.

"Mm-hm." Clementine said absentmindedly.

"Clementine?" Carlos called as Sarah approached him without the younger girl.

"She's fine. Nick's gonna stay with her." Sarah reassured him.

Great... Nick sighed. Sarah just had to volunteer him.

Clementine seemed to be concentrating on whatever she was doing on the ground. So Nick waved Carlos off.

Now that everyone had gone inside and he and Clementine were the only ones left it seemed a lot colder than before. Nick found himself continuously glancing at the door.

"Hurry up Clem..." He spoke in a firm voice. He really wanted to go inside.

"Two minutes." Clementine said quietly.

Those two minutes somehow turned into five and five into ten. Nick was growing annoyed.

"What are you doing?" He asked, knelling beside her.

"Trying to make a bunny." She replied.

He raised a brow, "Bunny?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

Nick sat down next to her making a small pile of snow. "...Like this?" He asked, showing her what he had made.

Clementine's eyes widen. "Yeah!" She exclaimed, "That's amazing! How did you do that?"

"I'll show you tomorrow." He said, standing up.

"Promise?" She asked.

"...Sure." He agreed, holding out a hand to help the girl up. "C'mon. Let's go inside."

"Alright!" She chirped, jumping up and grabbing hold of his hand.

-Next day-

A knock at his door made Nick groan. It was too early for someone to be waking him up. He tried to ignore it, but the knocking wouldn't stop.

"WHAT?!" He growled.

"Niiiiiick!" Sarah?

"What do you want?"

"It's snowing!" Clementine. "It's snowing again!"

"Okay?"

The two girls burst through the door.

"What do you want from me?!" He asked.

"Can we... go play in the snow?" Sarah questioned.

"Why are you asking me?" He wondered. "Where's Carlos?"

"He's out." Sarah responded. "Rebecca's sleeping and everyone else is gone."

"Can we go? Please?" Clementine begged.

"Sure..." He shrugged. As long as they left him alone.

"Yes!" They left the room as fast as they had arrived.

After a few minutes of lying there, Nick groaned, knowing if he let them go out alone he be in for hell with Carlos, he pushed himself out of bed.

He really hated the snow.

"Look, Clem. Our snowman is still here!" Sarah cried happily.

"Dammit." It was too cold to be out there. He really, really hated the snow.

"Nick!" Clementine's little voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"What?" He snapped.

"You said you would show me how to make a snow bunny." Clementine reminded.

"Snow bunny?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah. He made one yesterday." She took her friend's hand and led her over to where Nick's bunny had been. It's over h- -It's DEAD!" She gasped. "Nick! Someone squashed your bunny!"

"It's alright. It's fine." Nick jumped up, not wanting to deal with a crying child. "We can...make a new one."

"Okay!"

"Yeah, you got it." Nick praised, "See. It's not that hard to make."

"Mine's not like yours though." Clementine pouted.

"Mine's not either." Sarah agreed. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Nick asked.

"Make it like that." Sarah said.

"The same way I've showed you." Nick shrugged. "It's not a huge difference."

"Are you kidding me? Yours is perfect!" Clementine cried.

"It just takes prac-"

Suddenly, a big snowball flew across the air and hit Nick in the face. "Hey!" Nick cried, looking around while the two girls laughed.

Before he could find the source, he was hit by another one.

"Knock it off!"

Clementine giggled.

"Stop laughing." He snapped, looking around. "Where the hell did that come from?"

Before the girls could respond another one hit him.

"Stop!" He grumbled.

"Got you."

"Luke? What the fuck, man?" He glared at his friend.

Luke response was yet another snowball to the face.

"Stop it. Seriously."

"Snowball fight!" Sarah squeaked.

"They seem excited about the snow." Alvin chuckled as him and Carlos made their way onto the porch.

"They're like children." Carlos responded, stopping for a moment, but feeling the girls would be fine with Luke and Nick out there, he went inside the house.

Despite Nick's protest, Luke continued to throw snowballs at Nick, much like he would when they were children.

"Ow! That one hurt." Nick wiped the snow from his face. "Did you put something in that snowball?"

"Maaaaaybe..." Luke said, a mischievous grin crossing his lips.

"Why?"

"I don't know..." He was still grinning.

"Fine. Take this!" Nick snapped, throwing a snowball of his own.

"Whoa!" Luke cried, quickly jumping out of the way. "You missed."

"Not this time." He replied, throwing another.

"Missed again." Luke teased.

"You suck at throwing Nick." Clementine spoke.

"I do not." Nick said.

"Here." Luke took his distracted moment to hit him with another snowball.

"Ow!"

"Got ya." Luke laughed.

"She distracted me!" Nick complained.

"You still suck." Luke replied.

Frustrated, Nick began throwing snowball after snowball.

"You didn't get a single hit on him." Sarah pointed out.

"Don't worry, Nick. I'll be on your team." Clementine offered.

"Me too." Sarah smiled.

"I don't need your pity...!" Nick huffed.

"We'll all gang up on Luke!" Sarah said."

"What?!" Luke crossed his arms. "No fair!"

"This is a war. There is no fair." Clementine responded.

"Fine! Three against one." Luke said. "I'll still win."

"Clem, take this." Nick quickly passed her a snowball.

"Hmm?"

"Look. Luke's not paying attention. Throw it at him." He commanded.

"Okay." She nodded eagerly.

"That was close...Buuuuut...You missed!" Luke childishly stuck his tongue out.

"I won't miss next time!" Clementine said.

"Go ahead then. Give it another try, Clem." Luke taunted.

And she did. Much to their surprised the girl was true to her word, she hit him.

"Oh no! You got me." Luke dramatically held the spot where he'd been hit.

"Told you I wouldn't miss." Clementine beamed proudly.

"Well, now I need revenge." Luke said, grabbing snow into his palms he tossed it at the girl. "Take this!"

"Missed!" Clementine now teased, doing as Luke had done and sticking her tongue out.

"Ha! Who's bad at throwing now?" Nick laughed as Clementine was dodging each of Luke's throws.

"Still you!" Luke shot back.

Nick could have sworn his eye gave a twitch. "Really?"

"You haven't got a single hit on me yet." Luke pointed out. "This little girl throws better than you."

"She does not." Nick

"Yes I do." Clementine piped in.

"Wanna bet?" He asked, turning his attention to her.

"Sure. Cause you're really bad at this, Nick." She said, confidently.

"Am I?" He rolled his eyes.

"Yep." She giggled.

"Fine." He threw a snowball at the girl causing her to yelp.

"Traitor. I'm not on your team anymore!" She marched away from him. Luke held out a hand to him.

Luke dramatically reached a hand out to the child, "Yes...! Join the dark-side Clem."

"Yeees, Luuuuke!" She accepted his hand.

"Clementine, No!" Sarah called, but it was no use, Luke had lured her to his team.

"Clementine, help us!" Sarah pleaded.

"I can't help you, Sarah. You have to join the dark-side." Clementine shook her head. "It's your only choice!"

"Never! I'll never join the dark-side." Sarah turned away. "Here, Nick!" She shoved the snowballs she made towards him. "Use these."

"What?"

"I'll make the snowballs and you can throw them!" She ordered before pausing and scratching her neck, "On second thought, maybe I should throw them."

"I'll do it!"

He took them and did as she told. Throwing as fast as he could. Going up against Luke had been a challenge, but with Clem on his team, they were unstoppable.

"Take this!" Sarah cried, tossing a snowball.

"Whoa!" Luke attempted to dodge but was unsuccessful, "I've been hit, Clem." He said, falling to the ground.

"No!" Clementine quickly ran over to him, dropping to her knees. "Don't die Luke!"

"It's too late for me." He said, closing his eyes.

"Nick, I hit him." Sarah smiled. "You can finish them now!"

Nick eyes widened and he threw a snowball. Time slowed down for him as he thought maybe he'd hit them, but instead, it flew right over their heads.

"Ha! You still missed!" Luke laughed.

"Shut up Luke!" Nick spat.

"Let's take a break." Clementine said.

"Yeah. I'm tired." Sarah said, making her way over to the younger girl as Luke and Nick continued their battle.

"You're not beating me."

"Just give up Nick!"

He wouldn't give up. There was no way he was going to lose.

"Hey Luke, want to see our snow bunnies?" Clementine asked.

"Sure." Luke said, allowing the girl to take his hand.

"Look!" She excitedly pointed to the three snow bunnies that they had made earlier.

"That's awesome Clem." He said.

"Nick helped us make them." She explained.

Luke smiled, "He's always been able to make amazing things with the snow."

"Yeah. But someone killed the little bunny." She said sending him a suspicious look.

"Don't look at me like that Clem. I promise you, it wasn't me." He said, nervously.

"If you say so." She said, but she wasn't buying it.

"I'm bored." Sarah complained.

"Me too." Clementine sighed.

"I got an idea." Luke spoke up.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Let's build a fort." Luke suggested.

"A fort?" Clementine questioned.

"Yeah." He said, already making a pile of snow. "Nick and I used to make them when we were younger."

"Alright." They agreed.

Nick didn't want to admit it, but it was actually kind of fun playing with them. He sort of enjoyed it. Maybe the snow wasn't so bad.

Luke and Nick had started their snowball fight again. Luke was now taking cover in the fort they had made. It wasn't huge, but they were all really proud of it.

"I'm pretty tired now." Clementine said.

"Yeah. Let's take a nap." Sarah replied.

"In the snow?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah." Sarah smiled.

Clementine sent her a look, "Won't it be cold?"

"You won't feel it after you lay down for a while." Sarah said, falling back.

"Okay..." Clementine followed her friend's example.

The two girls laid down in the snow, looking up at the sky. They could hear Nick yelling something about how Luke was cheating.

"Are you cold, Clem?" Sarah asked.

"Uh-uh." Clementine replied before getting an idea. "Hey Sarah,"

"Yeah?"

"Bury me in the snow!" She requested.

"Alright." Sarah shrugged at her friend's strange request but sat up and began doing so.

"How long have we been out here?"

"I have no idea."

"How about we get the girls and-"

Noticing what the two girls were doing, Nick's eyes widened, "Hey, hey! What are you doing?!"

"P-Playing." Sarah replied frightened at Nick's sudden outburst.

"That's not playing!" Nick said.

"Nick, chill man." Luke said. "They were just having fun."

"People can die that way!" He snapped, dropping to his knees and brushing the snow off of a terrified looking Clementine.

"Don't do that!" He said. "You never do that again, you hear me?"

Clementine's eyes were wide as the man practically yanked her to her feet. Sarah nervously grasp her arm.

"Nick stop." Luke scold. "You're scaring 'em."

"I don't care." Nick said.

Luke narrowed his eyes, "Is this about what happened when we were kids-"

"Don't fucking talk about that!" He snapped. "Let's just...Let's go inside." Nick said turning on his heels and bumping into the one of the snowmen Sarah and Clementine had made the previous day.

"Oh shit." Nick muttered freezing.

"Y-You killed my snowman!"

It had been a whole day and Nick was still upset about the burying thing, Clementine and Sarah couldn't understand why. It wasn't a big deal. They were just playing.

"Hey Nick!" Clementine greeted as the man came from his room.

"What?" Nick immediately asked, sensing the child was up to something.

"Are you coming outside?" She asked.

"No."

Her face fell, "Why not?!"

"There's nothing to do outside, but freeze." He said, walking pass her.

She quickly followed him "...That's how you feel?"

"Yep."

"Is that how you feel?!"

"Yep." He repeated.

"Is that how you feel? You want to go outside?"

"No I don't." Nick answered, she was purposely trying to annoy him.

"Yes you do." She replied.

"No I don't. It's fucking cold." He shook his head.

"Yes you do." She quickly ran in front of him, blocking his path to the stairs.

"No I don't want to go outside. You can't tell me what I want."

"Please?" She whined.

"No. I don't want to fucking freeze to death." He said.

"You won't."

"I hate the cold, so I'd rather just sleep."

"Hmph." Clementine turned away. "Fine." She walked away and he heard her bedroom door open,

"Sarah," He heard her little voice cry.

"What?" Sarah's voice asked,

"Nick said he's coming outside." Clementine said.

"YAY!" Sarah yelled.

"Clementine, I heard that!" He said before mumbling, "Little liar."

After using the bathroom, Nick headed back upstairs, only to find Sarah sitting in his bed.

"What are you doing in my room?" He asked.

"Waiting for you." She said as if it was obvious.

"What?"

"Come on." Sarah said, hopping up she took hold of his wrist and gave it a few tugs. "Let's go outside."

"I don't want to." Nick pulled away.

"What?" Sarah suddenly looked disappointed.

"It's too fucking cold." Nick said, moving away from her to sit on his bed.

"Pleaaase?" She whined.

"No." He answered, getting a glare from her. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I'm mad at you." Sarah said.

"How can you be mad at me for not wanting to go outside?" Nick asked.

"Because I want you to go outside with us!"

"Why?"

"Because its booooring out there." Sarah said, moving to sit next to him.

"How am I going to make it fun?"

"You made it fun last time." She said.

That made him feel good, but he wasn't going to tell her that. "How?"

"When we had the snowball fight."

"Yeah!" A sudden voice made him jump.

"Where did you come from?" He asked as Clementine pulled herself up beside him.

"Under the bed." She smiled.

"Why- nevermind, just get out." He motioned towards the door, wanting the two girls to leave.

"We want you to come play with us!" Clementine stamped her foot.

"You two have a snowball fight." He said.

"We did. And I hit Clementine in the eye." Sarah mumbled.

He held back a chuckle. "Why?"

"It was an accident." Sarah replied.

"It hurt." Clementine added. "But I didn't cry."

"O...kay?" Nick responded wondering why she was saying she didn't cry. Was she proud or something.

"Okay? So get dressed." Sarah jumped to her feet once again.

"Not okay to that."

"Come on! We'll wait for you." Sarah uttered.

"I never said I was going." Nick sighed.

"Hurry, hurry." Clementine said, ignoring his protest.

"No."

"Clem, you lied." Sarah said.

"No I didn't."

"He doesn't want to go outside." She sounded disappointed.

"He did want to go." Clementine said, crossing her arms.

"No. I didn't."

"Fine. Don't." Sarah said, turning to Clementine. "Let's just go play without him."

"Okay..." Clementine reluctantly agreed, taking Sarah's hand.

"NICK!" Hearing that cry first thing in the morning was terrifying.

However, Nick wasn't expecting to be tackled as soon as he stepped foot by the stairs.

"GAH!" He yelled, "Get off me."

"You're not getting downstairs." Clementine said.

"Not unless you go outside." Sarah added.

"I'm not going outside." He groaned.

"Come onnnn!" Sarah whined.

"LETS GOOOO!" Clementine joined in.

"NO!" He tried to shake them off but, they grabbed his legs, holding him like weights on his ankles. "CARLOS help!"

"We're not letting you go." Clementine said.

"Girls," He called calmly.

"Yes?" Sarah asked.

"Let me go and I'll come outside with you." He said.

"Promise?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah." He nodded, giving her a warm smile.

"No Sarah! He's lying." Clementine said, noticing her friend was giving in.

"I am not." He said before pointing to his door, "Anyway, my clothes are in my room."

"Fine, go get them." They released him. "We'll follow you so-" Before she could finish her sentence he was gone. "Catch him Sarah! Don't let him get away!" Clementine cried.

"He's too fast Clem." Sarah complained.

As Nick raced back into his room, shutting the door behind him.

He had done it. He'd managed to get out of his room, and down the stairs. He was almost to the kitchen when-"

"FREEZE!"

"Where do you think you're going?!" Clementine asked.

"To get a drink!" He said.

"No way!" She grabbed him.

"Let me go!" He snapped.

"NEVER!"

"You said you were going to sleep. So go." Sarah said.

"I want a drink." He repeated.

"Then you have to come outside." Sarah replied.

"No."

"Too late. If I get you a drink you have to." Sarah said.

"I said no." Nick huffed.

"I'll get you a drink." Sarah skipped from the room, calling over her shoulder, "Clementine, hold him so he can't run away."

"Got it!" Clementine nodded.

"Clem, let go." Nick said sternly.

"Uh-uh." Clementine shook her head.

"Clem-"

"No." Clem cut him off giving her head another shake.

"I'll give you a cookie if you let me go." He said.

Clementine let out a gasp, releasing him from her grip.

"Sike!"

Before he could get away he heard Sarah cry, "Clementine catch him."

"Alright, alright, alright." He stopped, "I'll come outside."

"For real?"

"Yeah." To make it more believable, he grabbed his shoes.

They brightened, "Okay."

"I'm thirsty Clem." Sarah said, as Nick was putting on his shoes.

"Me too."

"Let's get a drink."

Clementine followed Sarah, but not before commanding Nick to, "Wait here."

"I sure will." He assured.

Once the two girls were in the kitchen, Nick quickly took the opportunity to dash away.

"I give up." Sarah plopped down on the couch with a sigh.

"Me too. I guess he really doesn't want to go outside." Clementine let out a sigh as well.

"Yeah." Sarah leaned back, "Do you think it's because I was burying you?"

"I don't know. Why would he care about that?"

Sarah only shrugged in response. "Let's just-" She stopped as the front door opened, "Hey Luke's back!"

The quickly jumped up racing to meet him. "Luke!"

"Nick!" Clementine had practically pounced on him the moment she spotted him. Nick was surprised that the kid had become so attached to him within a matter of days. "Finally decided to play with us?"

"I thought you haaaaated the snow." Of course Luke had to have his say.

Placing a gentle hand on Clementine's capped-head, without looking up, Nick called, "Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"Do me a favor." Nick started.

"Sure thing?"

He smirked, finally meeting his friend's eyes. "Shut up."

"All the snow is melted." Clementine whined, looking out the window.

"Thank God!" Nick said.

"What do you mean, "thank God"?! It's terrible!" Clementine exclaimed.

"Why's it terrible?" Nick asked.

"Our snowman melted." Clementine pouted. "Aren't you sad?"

"Not really. I hate the snow." Nick said.

"Why?" Sarah asked curiously.

"...It...It doesn't matter." Nick replied.

"But we wanna know." Clementine pressed.

"I'm going to bed!" Nick announced.

"But it's still morning!" Sarah said.

"Goodnight!"

Clementine and Sarah exchanged glances, wondering why he had avoided answering their question.

"Hey Luke." Sarah greeted sitting beside the man.

"Hey girls." Luke offered them a smile.

"Can we ask you a question?" Clementine asked. It was time to get to the bottom of it.

"Yeah." Luke said.

Clementine was straight-forward with her question, "What happened to Nick when you were kids?"

"What do you mean?" Luke question a bit taken-back by her question.

"Why does he hate the snow?" Clementine asked.

Luke hesitated looking at their expecting faces before slowly speaking, "...When we were kids we were playing with a few of our friends..."

"STOP!" Nick yelled as he was tackled onto the snowy ground.

"Boys, don't be too rough." Luke's mother scold the young boys.

"We're not mom." Luke said innocently. "We were just playing with him."

Ignoring her son, she helped little Nick to his feet. "Are you alright, honey?"

"Y-Yeah." Nick sniffed.

"Okay." She gave him a pat on the head, turning to the other boys, "Play nice."

"You're such a crybaby Nick!" One of the boys, Jacob said.

"You pushed me!" Nick said, in his defense.

"You're not a girl! You can handle it." Another boy, Conner, spoke.

"It really hurt." The nine year old complained, "I nearly broke my arm."

"I really hate playing with you." Jacob huffed.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"Because you cry every five seconds." Jacob snapped.

"Do not!" Nick denied.

"Do too." Connor butt in.

"Do not!" Nick said, louder.

"Do too!" Jacob said.

"Luke, do I cry every five seconds?" Nick asked, turning to his friend. Luke would definitely have his side.

"...Not every five seconds...But you..." Luke stopped for a moment, trying to find the right words, "You just get upset."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick asked.

"When things don't go your way...you just get upset." Luke repeated.

"And?" Nick urged him to go on.

"And you...cry." Luke shrugged.

Nick frowned. "I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend!" Luke exclaimed.

"But you're being mean." Nick pouted, crossing his arms.

"How?"

"Because...You...You think I'm a crybaby..." He said. "Don't you?"

Luke quickly shook his head. "No I don't!"

"Promise?"

"Yeah." Luke smiled. "I promise." He said causing Nick to smile.

"Hey guys. Let's have a snowball fight!"

Seeing Nick's face fall, Luke took his hand. "It's alright Nick, I'll be on your team!" Luke exclaimed.

"Really?" Nick asked. Luke was only the best snowball thrower ever. Everyone knew that and everyone wanted him on their team.

Luke nodded. "Yeah."

"He's being on your team out of pity,"

"Nu-uh! Luke's my friend!" Nick pouted.

"Luke's my fwiend!" One of the boys teased, causing Nick's face to flush.

"Guys stop picking on him." Luke was quick to stick up for him, much to his appreciation.

"Whatever. Are we doing this or not?" Jacob asked, as the other boys gather snow.

"Why are you only throwing at me?!" Nick whined.

"Yeah, you can try to hit me too." Luke said.

"No way." Conner yelled, still trying to hit Nick.

"Stop!" Nick cried. "I don't want to play anymore!"

"What?! Why not?" Jacob demanded.

"You guys keep ganging up on me!" Nick whined.

"You're just a sissy boy!" Jacob teased.

"I am not. You weren't even throwing any at Luke. Only at me." Nick said.

"Whatever, sissy boy." Jacob said. "You just sit there. We'll play without you."

"Leave him alone." Luke scold walking over to the younger boy. "Are you okay, Nick?"

"Yeah." Nick said, trying his best not to cry over the insults.

"I know you're not a sissy." Luke said.

"They're mean." Nick muttered.

"Don't listen to them. C'mon." He held out a hand to Nick waiting for him to accept.

"I don't wanna." Nick said, refusing to grasp his friend's hand.

"Alright Nick. Do you want me to stay with you?" Luke asked kindly.

"No thanks." He didn't want to keep Luke from having fun. "You can go play with them." They were Luke's friends after all. He'd invited them over and Nick's mother had told him he always had to be polite to guest, which Nick himself was barely considered, having known Luke for over a year.

"Are you sure?" Luke asked. He didn't want to leave Nick alone if the younger boy would be bored.

"Uh-huh." Nick nodded.

"Alright." Luke offered him a smile before running off to join the snowball fight. "Bet you guys can't hit me!"

"Would you look at that, sissy boy is making a snow angel." Connor laughed.

"Maybe he IS a girl!" Jacob added with a laugh of his own.

"I'm not a girl!" Nick spat, sitting up.

"Says you." Connor continued to laugh.

"I'm not!" Nick yelled.

"How do we know that? You're small, you cry a lot, and now you're making a snow angel." Jacob said.

"So what."

"Only girls do that."

"That's not true!" Nick argued.

"Yes it is."

"Stop calling me a girl!" He commanded.

"Make us."

"Guys, don't be like that." Luke cut in. "Nick's not a girl."

"You don't have to defend your boyfriend." Jacob huffed.

Luke's face twisted in disgust, eyes wide, "He's not my boyfriend."

"Luke and Nicky sitting in a tree." Connor sung.

"K-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Jacob finished.

"SHUT UP!" Nick screamed.

"Or what? You going to cry?" Connor taunted.

"Would you guys stop it? You're being jerks." Luke said. "If you keep it up, I'm going to ask my mom to send you home."

"Whatever this is boring anyway." Jacob shrugged. "Luke, if we don't do something fun we're leaving."

"Wait. I got an idea."

"What?"

"Let's make a snow fort!"

"I'm tired." Nick said, rubbing his hands together.

"Really?" Connor asked in disbelief. "You barely helped."

"I helped a lot." Nick protested, "Didn't I Luke?"

"Yeah." Luke smiled.

"Nick you should get some muscles." Jacob said.

Nick looked down at his arms. "I have muscles."

"Bigger ones. Then you can lift heavy stuff." Jacob continued with a grin.

"Like what?" Nick quizzed.

"The snow." Jacob said, causing both his and Connor to burst into a laughing fit.

Nick huffed and walked away. Luke sent the other boys a glare before walking over to his friend.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he approached Nick who was laying back on the ground.

"Nothing." Nick said.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked.

"I'm fine." Nick replied sounding slightly irritated, "Don't you want to go play with your friends?"

"Nah. I'd rather stay with you." Luke said.

"Why?" Nick questioned.

"Cause you're my best friend." Luke grinned.

"...Thanks." Nick muttered as Luke laid beside him.

"Are you still tired?"

"A little." Nick admit.

"Wanna take a nap?" Luke asked.

"Where?"

"Right here."

Nick raised a brow, "In the snow?"

"Mm-hm." Luke nodded, "It'll be cool. Sleeping in the snow."

Nick shrugged. "'Kay." He whispered, closing his eyes.

"Luke, what are you doing?" Connor asked, walking near the two boys who were laying in the snow.

"Taking a nap." Luke said.

"That's stupid." Connor replied.

"Aww...Is the baby sleeping." Jacob said, poking at Nick's cheek.

"You guys don't have to be so mean to him. He's younger than us." Luke defended his friend.

"By like a year." Connor pointed out. "Why'd you invite him anyway?"

"Yeah. All he does is cry." Jacob added.

"He's my friend." Luke said. "And he's really fun if you actually play with him."

"I doubt it." Jacob responded.

"He is. You guys were acting like bullies. He's really...umm..." Luke tried to find the right words.

"Girly?" Jacob laughed.

"No...He's...Uh...He's sensitive." Luke said.

"Like a girl!" Connor said.

"NO!" Luke sighed. "Just stop alright."

"Whatever you say Luke."

Jacob continued to poke at the sleeping boy. "Aww...He looks so peaceful." Looking up to Connor with a devilish grin he spoke, "Let's bury him."

"Huh?" Luke's eyes widened.

"C'mon."

"No. Leave him alone." Luke said. He wished they'd just leave Nick alone.

"Calm down, Luke." Connor said. "It'll be fine."

"You want to bury him!" Luke quickly moved in front of Nick, blocking him from the other two boys.

"Yeah. Like you do on the beach." Jacob explained. "We won't cover his face."

Luke thought about it for a second. That did sound a bit funny. "...Okay."

He wondered how Nick would react when he woke up. It was just an innocent little prank right, Nick wouldn't be upset about that, right? They'd probably laugh about it later.

"Maybe we should get him out now." Luke said, feeling nervousness sitting in the pit of his stomach.

"Why?" Connor asked.

"What if we get in trouble?" Luke shifted from side to side, looking around. What if his mom came out and started yelling at them.

"We won't." Jacob said.

"Well, what if he gets mad?"

"It's just a joke. Why would he get mad?" Jacob replied.

"Relax Luke." Connor continued to pile snow on Nick as he spoke, "He's not hurt or anything.

"You'll let him out after, right?" Luke asked, chewing at his lip.

"Of course." Connor rolled his eyes. "There."

"It's perfect." They grinned.

"Now let's get him out."

"In a minute."

"Are you boys up for some hot chocolate?"

The three boys' eyes beamed.

"C'mon Luke,"

"But Nick!" Luke paused.

"We'll come back for him."

"Right after we finish the hot chocolate.

Luke reluctantly followed the boys as they raced inside.

"Anyways...We sort of forgot about Nick and started playing video games. He had to break his way out. To say the least, he was pissed."

"Luke?" Nick called opening his eye, expecting to see his friend beside him. He attempted to sit up, but was kept down by a pressure on his small body. "What the-?"

"L-Luke!" He called a little louder. There was no answer. Where was Luke? He began struggling about, trying his best to get out of the snow that had been piled on top of him.

He didn't know how long it took, but as soon as he managed to escape, he found the air to be a lot colder than it was before.

"Luke?!" He called again, holding back sniffles.

Where had his friend wandered off to?

Standing up he moved closer towards the house. He quickly spotted Luke's two friends sitting on the couch, but Luke was nowhere to be found. Maybe he could ask them.

Knocking on the door, one of the boys quickly opened it.

"Oh. You're awake." The boy sounded completely uninterested."

"Y-Yeah." Nick shivered. "Where's Luke."

"C'mon." He led Nick to the living room.

"Nick!"

"Luke?"

"What's going-" He coughed, "What's going on?"

"I can explain. We were just-"

"You got out." Jacob cut him off.

Nick glared at the others. "It wasn't easy! Why'd you leave me?!"

"Sorry...We sort of forgot you were out there." Luke admit, regretting his decision to help bury his friend

"Well why'd you bury me in the first place?!"

"We...We thought it would be fun." Luke mumbled.

Nick shot him a glare, "Whatever."

"Nick-"

He put a hand up, cutting him off. "Save it."

"You're not a really good friend." Clementine said.

"I was ten!" Luke attempted to justify his actions.

The girls weren't overlooking his cruelness however, "Excuses! Excuses!" Clementine chanted.

"How come you guys are still friends?" Sarah asked.

"Well..."

"What are you doing?" Luke asked as Nick stood from the couch. Jacob and Connor had gone home and it was only him and Nick left, although Nick hadn't said a word to him since he came back in the house.

"I'm going home."

"I thought you were sleeping over."

"I changed my mind." Nick said walking away.

Luke quickly followed after him. "But it's really cold out there."

"You didn't care about that before." Nick grumbled.

"Nick, I'm sorry. I really am." Luke apologized, grabbing Nick's wrist to stop him from walking..

"I don't care. I don't forgive you." Nick jerked away, opening the door.

"Niiick, wait!" He grabbed the younger boy's shoulder.

"Why should I?" Nick asked.

"You can't go out there alone." Luke stressed, nearly panicking. "W-What if you get kidnapped."

Nick stopped, taking in what he said. "...I'll call my mom to come get me then."

"Why?" Luke asked. He didn't want Nick to leave. They had been planning this sleepover for weeks.

"I don't like you anymore." Nick simply replied. He walked into the living room, picking up the phone.

"Wait! Nick, wait!" Luke grabbed for the phone causing Nick to pull away.

"No."

"Please." Luke begged. "I said I was sorry."

"I don't care." Nick shook his head. "Leave me alone."

"Nick, please!"

"LEAVE. ME. ALONE." Nick growled, trying to dial his mother's number as quick as possible.

"Nick!" He yanked the phone from the boy's hands.

"Luke, just stop." Nick sighed. "We're not friends anymore."

"Just...Just give me one more chance." He pleaded. "One more."

Nick looked down and Luke expected him to pull away and say no, "...Fine."

"Really?" Luke beamed.

"Yeah."

Nick was surprised as Luke squeezed him tightly. "Thank you!" He cried, he thought for sure he'd lost his best friend.

"But you owe me some candy." Nick said.

Luke rolled his eyes, but smiled, "Of course."

"A few days later I had tried calling him. I thought he might still be mad at me because he never wanted to talk. So I stopped by to give him a visit."

"If it isn't Lucas!"

"H-Hey Pete. Is Nick home?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. He's in his room."

That was weird. He hadn't seen the boy in days, not at school, not anywhere. He thought he was out of town or something. "Can I see him?"

"I...I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Please. I...I need to see him." Luke was practically begging.

"...Alright."

Luke brightened as Pete opened the door wider to allow him into the house. "But don't say I didn't warn you." Pete called as Luke ran pass him.

Luke gave a knock at the door. Hearing a voice that sounded so much smaller than what Nick's usually sounded, "Come in."

He turned the knob wondering what could be wrong. Was Nick upset? Was he sick? What happened?

"Hey." He said as he opened the door.

"H-Hi." Nick replied.

"You...don't look to good." Luke noted. His friend looked really pale.

"I don't feel too good either."

"You're sick?" Luke asked, concerned for his dear friend.

"I think so...Thanks to someone." Nick responded.

"Yeah...Sorry about that." Luke said, nervously. "I promise I'll make it up to you."

"I know you will. You still owe me that candy." Nick smiled.

"As soon as I get my allowance, we can hit the candy store." Luke replied, cheerily.

"Good."

"Hey, Nick," Luke called after a moment of silence. He was a little scared of what Nick's answer would be.

"Huh?"

"You don't...hate me, do you?" He asked.

"'Course not. W-We're friends. Right?"

Luke smiled. "The best of friends."

"...He ended up catching what his mom thought was a cold. Turned out to be a really bad flu that knocked him in the hospital. He hated the snow ever since."

"Poor Nick..." Clementine said.

"Yeah," Luke sighed, "Plus, we would always gang up on him during snowball fights, 'cause he sucked."

"That's mean!" Sarah said, sending him an accusing stare.

"He could handle it!" Luke spoke in an offended tone. Nick wasn't always so innocent.

"We should gang up on you in a snowball fight." Clementine said.

"You already did!" Luke shouted.

"Oh yeah..."

"And you missed every shot."

"We hit you." Sarah said.

"Barely." Luke smirked, "Face it, I'm the snowball champion."

"Fine, next time it snows us against you." Clementine challenged.

"You're on!"

-One week later-

"Luke!"

"Hey, Clem."

"Hi there, Clementine. How are you?" Pete asked looking down at the girl.

"Good." Clementine replied, "Where were you."

"Pete and I went out to get us some dinner." Luke responded.

"Without me." Clementine crossed her arms.

"Aw, sorry kiddo." He ruffled her hat.

"We'll bring you next time." Pete smiled at the little girl.

"Promise." She asked, pursing her lips into a pout.

"Yeah." Luke placed a hand on her cheek making her jump at the coldness.

"Your hands are cold!" She squeaked and pulled away.

"From the snow." Luke said.

"Snow?" She asked. "It's snowing?!"

"Pretty deep too. Snowed quite a lot last night." Pete added.

Clementine raced to the window, seeing white covered the entire ground, she beamed, "Sarah!" She called, "Sarah! It's snowing!"

"You've probably caught a cold from being outside so long." Carlos said, straightening up. "Get some rest and you'll be fine." With that he was gone.

"Fine my ass..." Nick mumbled, pulling his blanket over him. His head was killing him and he had the chills.

He decided the best source of action would be to go to sleep.

"It's snowing!" That innocent cry, made Nick want to bury himself in a hole any hide away,

"Nick! Wake up. You promised you'd make six snowmen with me!" The knocking only got louder, "Come on! Come on!" The little girl chanted.

"Nick, you pinky swore. A pinky swear is forever!" Dammit Sarah!

Nick groaned, pulling the blanket over his head, hoping the children would go away.

He now had two more reasons to hate the snow.

Thanks for reading! Please review!