- Serena -

I was sitting upright in my bed, beads of crushed ice on my forehead.

I closed my eyes, feeling the light warm breeze in my room shift and mix into the atmosphere. Humid thick hot air replaced the cool air that I will definitely miss.

It's been three years since the incident and now I never feel cold. It wasn't because my tolerance for the cold was really good, I really never felt cold.

But I still appreciate the chilly breeze, it beats the humidity and stale hot air. My body temperature is way lower than my surroundings and even my sweat came out of me as crushed ice.

Sometimes anyway, when the weather is extremely hot like right now.

I wiped the crushed ice away from my forehead.

It's getting really warm, warmer than usual.

I've observed normal people and they were switching their long sleeves and jeans for tees and shorts. For ladies, they were wearing shorts and tank tops. Of course.

It meant that summer was fucking here again.

It was early in the morning and I've not slept a wink. The humid air was like hell to me.

I got up, stripped off my cotton top and night shorts that were damp with my sweat and went into my bathroom. I turned the shower on, to the coolest setting my bath had but it was still warm to me.

I got dressed, in my black tank top and high wasted denim shorts like every other day and walked down to my shop. Ice was appearing on my forehead again and I had to keep wiping it off in case someone saw it.

It would be better to keep my powers to myself. And my one best friend.

The sun was barely rising and yet the heat was already killing me.

I stopped outside my shop and looked across the road, seems like there was a new tenant.

'Hot Indulgence' was the name of the shop lot. Must be some restaurant from the looks of it.

The tables and chairs were a mixture of metal and timbre and the fixtures were really pretty. With geometrical lights hanging from the ceiling and a huge glass wall that I could see was the kitchen.

A see-through kitchen? That's kinda cool.

I searched my pockets for my keys and realised I forgot to take them when I left my apartment. 

Again.

I sighed and looked around, not a soul in sight.

I opened my hand in front of me and felt the chill from my fingers freeze and an ice key magically appeared on my hand.

I unlocked the door with my makeshift ice key and went into my ice cream cafe.

It smelt wonderful.

Roxanne wanted to start selling waffles with our ice cream and the savoury scent of the waffle batter still hung heavily in the air from yesterday.

A batch of ice cream was freezing in the freezer and I loaded the mixer with cream and sugar for tomorrow's batch of ice cream.

I tossed my ice key into the cashier drawer and went back to watch the cream mixture. I stared at the pot, my eyes getting heavier as I watched the mixer going round and round.

"Ugh I'm tired I'm hot I'm sweaty and the bloody air conditioner is made for pussies," I grumbled and sighed.

There was no way I was getting through the day without sleep. I looked at my watch, there was still three hours before Roxanne, my best friend came to work at ten so I'll just catch some snooze while I can.

Roxanne was also my half-owner of this cafe. We bought this space and worked together. She knew about my powers and says it's an irony I still have a freezer when I can do the freezing.

She forgot the fact that nothing can melt the ice I create.

I looked out to the front of my shop, the huge clear glass wall and door illuminating the interior with whatever light from the street because I was too lazy to switch on the lights.

The sun was slowly rising and I grimaced, I pulled the shades down so no one could look into the cafe.

I took a deep breath and raised my hand up to the furthest wall at the back of the cafe.

I felt the cold from my core, surge up through my arm and to my palm, stinging my fingertips slightly.

A thick layer of ice appeared in the middle of the wall and I motioned across to the right and the ice grew following my movements.

Hmm, thinking about it, our cafe looked like the opposite of our new neighbour's restaurant. Our cafe was mostly white with a marble countertop, whereas the restaurant was mostly wooden furniture with black metal frames. 

Soon the whole wall was layered with thick ice and I did the same to the rest of the cafe. Even the tables and chairs were coated in it.

I could see the frost emitting off the walls and the coolness calmed me down. It felt like my own little winter wonderland.

It wasn't the first time I froze the cafe. Roxanne would always find it amazing that I could do something like this. When it was actually just second nature to me.

I sat on one of the seats and rested my head on the cold surface of the table. My body and mood immediately cooled down further.

I closed my eyes and dozed off.

***

Until I woke up to Roxanne yelling in my ear.

"Serena wake up! What the fuck?! The store is flooded!"

I opened my eyes, trying to adjust to the glaring sun streaming into the shop from the door and my best friend rushing about with a mop.

It was weird seeing her so anxious. Don't get me wrong, Roxanne was crazy and beautiful in her own way.

Her pixie-cut pitch-black hair and her red make-up made her look so mysterious and that was what drew guys in. She was also really very outgoing and confident, hence her bold choice of colours.

She was slim and today she wore a black tank top with a pair of denim shorts. Like me. Her face was in total distraught and even her carefree eyes were disturbed by the mess around us.

"Whut? What's going on?" I slurred. Then I looked down and saw water up to my ankles.

My ice never melted. 

Yet all the ice I've plastered on the wall has melted and is gushing towards the nearest drain outside the shop and to the bathroom at the back.

"Stop staring and get your ass off the chair and help me!" 

I looked up at Roxanne, she was clearly panicking.

I put my hand out and the water froze up. Roxanne screamed and I laughed, the water around her feet was frozen and so was mine.

"I can't move Serena!"

I twisted my hand into a fist and the ice around us cracked. I lifted my hand and the ice dissipated into thin air.

Roxanne collapsed on the floor, breathing hard, her eyes were glassy as if she couldn't believe what just happened.

I couldn't either, this was the first time my ice melted without my control.

Crushed ice started appearing on my forehead and I groaned. The earlier mess and flood were already put at the back of my mind.

"The fucking weather is driving me insane Roxy, it's like hell for me," I mumbled as I turned the air conditioner's temperature down and blasted the fan speed.

She was glaring at me and I took the tubs of ice cream out of the freezer, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She stood up and pointed a finger at me, "What the fuck just happened back there?! The whole place was fucking flooded and you slept through it!"

I shrugged and put the ice cream into the display case, "Roxy, water and ice are a part of me."

"That's not what I meant! How can you sleep through something like that?!"

I sighed and brushed my hair away from my sweaty face, "I've not been getting enough snooze what with the seasons changing. It's summer again and it feels a hundred times warmer for me than it is for you."

Her expression softened very slightly, she understood but was still that tad bit annoyed with the mini flooding, "Serena, your ice never melts. Why did the whole place melt? You froze it didn't you?"

I nodded and raised an eyebrow, "It is kinda weird, is the weather really that hot?"

She rolled her eyes, "I really hope it was the weather. I wouldn't like to think that someone else has powers like you."

I turned to her, "Do you really think there are people like me?"

"No, not really."

I elbowed her and she quickly dodged before laughing, "You're so weird. The first time I saw you creating a heap of ice with your hand was in the middle of summer. Now you flood the whole cafe. What next?"

"I didn't flood the cafe Roxanne, I really just froze it. And no weather can melt my ice, you know that."

She nodded and went over to the cashier drawer, "Why is there water in here?"

I looked inside and realised my makeshift key was gone.

"I placed my key in there earlier," I touched the water and the water froze.

"God Serena, you forgot your key again?"

"I can always make one that's why I keep forgetting."

"Seriously Serena why is your ice melting, are you like, having your period or something?"

I wanted to laugh but it was kind of worrying, was the weather really that hot that my ice can't withstand it?

"You know, maybe you can, chill more?" Roxy laughed at her own pun and I couldn't help snickering, "Remind me why you're my best friend again?"

"Because I'm the only one that can tolerate all the cold air you breathe out Missy, everyone gets the chills when they get close to you."

I smiled and turned to the shop's glass front after Roxy walked over to pull the shades up, seeing someone standing behind the counters of 'Hot Indulgence', serving a customer.

"You noticed the new shop too huh," Roxy grabbed a lollipop from the counter.

"Yeah, but I avoid anything with the word 'hot'. For obvious reasons," I pointed to my frosted forehead and she laughed.

"Well yeah, but maybe you don't have to avoid hot guys," she nudged me and I saw the man from behind the counter turn and stare straight at us.

He was strikingly handsome. His dark red almost brown locks neatly combed back.

He wore a black leather jacket with a simple black shirt inside. It accentuated his broad chest and shoulders' masculinity. His masculinity.

I felt my knees go weak.

Then...

And then he flipped us off.

"Did he just-" Roxy started but heaved out angrily.

My eyes were wide, what was that? Did we piss him off?

He turned back to his customers and smiled widely at them. It looked fake as hell to me now.

"Serena did you see that?! What the hell did we do to him?! He's such a- I'm gonna kill him-" Roxy stomped towards the door and I froze the door hinges.

She struggled to open it and glared at me, "I'm going to kill you first if you don't let me out!"

I turned back to look at the man across the street, "Let's just leave him alone alright? We'll be the bigger person, okay?"

Roxy scoffed and folded her arms to stare me down. I stared straight back at her.

She has always been hot-headed. Her temperament was never easy to handle but somehow she still bothers with me.

She threw her hands up in the air, "Fine! Fine! But if he dares to do it the second time, I'm having his head you hear me?"

"Which head?" I wriggled my eyebrows and she rolled her eyes.

"Now remind me why you are my best friend again?" She mimicked me and I laughed.

"Because I'm the only one that can handle all your temper tantrums."

The tension in her shoulders disappeared and I smiled, happy to have gotten her out of her short moment of rage.

"I'm not letting that bastard go though. He's freaking ridiculous you know that," she raised a finger at me.

I smiled at her and nodded, "Whatever you say Roxy."