The sun had sunk under the horizon, twilight casting faint shadows in the snowy footprints that litter the walkways. Slurry stained Silas’ pant cuffs, seeping into his shoes and soaking his socks. He figured Lenore would be annoyed at him for being late, but he hadn’t realized how long the sun would take to fully set. 

Ignoring the inkling of annoyance he had towards himself, Silas approached a stand near the campus center that was selling hot cups of coffee. He wasn’t sure what kind of drink Lneore would want. Probably something sweet and filled with sugar… Eh, better not chance it. He opted for a simple cream and sugar, the steam swirling around his nose as he walked toward the library. Oh, how he hated the smell of the roasted beans, but he figured it was better to keep on Lenore’s good side. 

The library was nearly empty when he entered. The librarian was half asleep at the checkout counter, and all but two of the computers were empty. He tapped on the counter as he approached it. 

“Can I help you?” The young stewardess asked with a tone of distaste. She was no doubt a student employee and only worked here for credits or discounts in the campus store. 

“Um, yeah. Have you seen a girl about yay high,” he held his hands up to nose level, then gestured towards his hair, “She’s got brown hair with blue in the front?”

The clerk rolled her eyes, “yeah, she’s in the back, been here all day. Can you tell her we’ll close soon?”

“Sure thing, thanks,” He said with a wink and smile. The girl rolled her eyes again as he walked further into the rows of shelves. 

Stacks of books were precariously balanced on one another as he approached the table in the very back of the library. It looked more like Lenore was trying to build a fort rather than study. 

She was sat with her back to the rest of the library, with headphones blasting music in her ears. In front of her she had a few notebooks open, taking notes and scribbling all over. She was so focused, she hadn’t heard Sila's approach. Interesting, he thought. 

Lenore startled as he tapped the desk to the right of where she was writing. 

“Jesus Fu-! Dude seriously?” She said as he leaned over shoulder, offering the cup of coffee to her. 

“What?” he said with his head hovering over her shoulder, looking down to where she was reaching for the cup. He swiped an earbud out of her ear as he leaned in a little further, his breath skating over her cheek, “You just looked so… spook-a-ble.”

She swatted his hand away from her face, cheeks tinged with a slight hint of red. ”Spookable?”

He moved to sit in the seat to her left, taking and twirling her pencil as he spoke, “Sorry I'm late, I got held up with some stuff at home.”

Lenore hummed. 

“My mom wanted me to do some stuff for her, I had no choice. Really.”

She snagged her pencil back from him and turned to a new page in her notebook. ”I never said I didn't believe you,” She was taking a sip from the drink as he chuckled.

“Can we get on with this? We have an hour before they kick us out and there is a lot to cover,” Lenore said with a tilt of her head. Silas waved her onward. 

They stayed relatively quiet for the next forty-five minutes or so as they both studied and took notes. Silas would groan in frustration before Lenore would explain to him what a certain passage was trying to say. Each time he would watch her intently as she focused on what she was doing. He wouldn’t admit it to her but he was feigning the inability to understand, he just wanted to watch her talk. She spoke with such conviction, that anyone else would have thought her an expert on the subject already. 

After another ten or so minutes, he spoke up. She was tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as he cleared his throat, “You know,” he started. “Nah, nevermind.”

She leaned against the back of her chair and crossed her arms, a small smile on her lips. “What? Spit it out. Am I finally getting through that thick noggin of yours?” 

“Nothing, I just think it's cute how focused you are on this.” he had leant forward and rested his arm on the table, half turned toward her. 

“Stop it,” she said, the red returning to her face again. “You should be focused on this too. Or you’ll fail and–”

Silas cut her off by leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. She didn’t react at first, and then gently pushed him off of her, though slowly like she didn’t really want to do it to begin with. 

“What are you doing?” She asked, face beet red and eyebrows furrowed. 

“I told you,” He said. In all honesty, he didn’t know why he did it. Maybe he really did want to just shut her up. “Listen, Lenore, I have a question to ask you.”

“Oh god, he better not ask me back to his place, we’ve barely kissed and… I’m not opposed to–” He had to force himself to stop listening to the thoughts in her head. “Does she really think I'm the type to try to hit on the first date?” he thought to himself. 

“My mother is hosting a dinner next week. She’s invited all of my cousins and their parents. I would love for you to come with me. As a date.” He said, all but pushing the idea onto her. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to but I figured since we’re getting on so well…”

“Oh, I. Um, s-sure.” She said with an air of timidness surrounding her. 

“Excellent!” He exclaimed as he reached for her hand on the desk. 

If Lenore’s face could get any redder, it would have. Such a sweet color. He thought as he watched her face turn shades by the seconds. 

“Excuse me, but you and your girlfriend need to leave. We’ve been close for ten minutes.” The clerk from before interrupted. 

“Oh, i’m sorry. We must have gotten carried away..” Lenore shot straight up out of her seat, scurrying to gather all of her things. 

“You can leave the books, I have to organize before I leave anyway,” the librarian said with a flick of her wrist and a turn of her heel. 

Silas rolled his eyes as Lenore had her back turned to him. Mostly at the girl for interrupting them, but partly at Lenore for speeding to pull away from him.

After having cleared their area and gathering their things, they left the library. Lenore was bundled in her coat and scarf, Silas in his jacket. 

“Shall I walk you home?” Silas says as he steps in front of Lenore, gently grabbing the ends of her scarf. 

Lenore chuckles as she puts her hands in her pockets. “Aren’t you cold?”

“Not in the slightest.” He responds and begins to lead her off toward the park that would lead to her apartment. 

The park was empty, as usually for this time of night. The only sound being the nearby crush of cars rolling in the slush on the roads. 

“Are you often out this late?” Lenore asked, breaking the silence between them.

“Only on good days.” Silas says as he walks a little closer to Lenore. “Or nights rather.”

Lenore hummed in agreement. After a few moments of silent walking, Silas noticed Lneore shivering despite wearing her heavy coat. He reaches into her pocket and grasps her hand. 

“Your hands are freezing!” Lenore says as she pulls herself away suddenly,”you don’t have gloves? How are you not hypothermic?”

Silas laughs as he reaches for her hand again, “You’ll have to warm them up then.”

She gives a soft laugh as she agrees, holding his hand properly for the first time. 

By the time they reach Lenore’s apartment, a chill has settled so intently into her bones that she thinks she will never get warm again. Silas, on the other hand, was left unbothered. 

“So…,” Silas says as he swings her hand a little between them. “You sure you want to come to this “family reunion” with me?”

“Yeah. Maybe I'll get the chance to learn some more about who you are.” she says, twisting her hand in his. 

Silas doesn’t respond, but grins as he watches their hands intertwined. The redness in Lenore’s face is much more prominent now, though that could just be a symptom of the cold weather. Either way, Silas enjoyed the view. 

He suddenly pulls her hand so that she is pulled against his chest, a puff of air ghosting across his neck as she exhales suddenly from the action. Lenore pulls her hand free from his and gently grabs the front of his jacket, the cool material wrinkling under her fingertips. 

“Oh my god. Oh my God,. Oh my God," Lenore thinks as Silas leans in to her. His breath skates across her cheek as he presses his mouth to hers. This time, Lenore doesn’t hesitate to press back. 

Silas could hear her blood rushing and heart pumping faster the longer they stood there kissing. It was delicious. 

He deepened the kiss as he slid his hand from hers and up to her neck, grasping gently so as to keep her there. When he ran his tongue along her bottom lip, she paused. Lenore stood still as a statue, frozen in place. 

“Please not now,” she thought urgently. “You couldn’t have chosen a better time to torment me?”

Torment you?, Silas thought to himself, what is she talking about?

“Hey,” he said, leaning back and looking her in the eyes, “You good?” 

Suddenly a violent wind brushed against his back, putting pressure on his spine in a way he had never felt before. It felt as if someone was gripping the back of neck and trying to pull him away from her. The hair on the back of his neck felt as if it were sticking straight out, like some sort of static was pulling at it. 

“Listen, I, um, I think you should go. It's cold out and it's getting late. I’m sure you mom and sister are wondering where you are.” Lenore said as she stepped away and around Silas, toward the steps leading up to her apartment. 

Silas reached out and grasped her hand again. “You sure you're okay?” He asked, concern laced in his words. 

Just as soon as he touched her hand, the wind picked up, even harder than before. He could feel the chill traveling up his legs from his ankles. The pressure on the back of his neck increased. It felt as if he couldn’t turn his head, and if he did, his neck would snap. 

“Please leave him alone! Stop!”  Lenore thought as grimaced. It looked like she knew exactly what was causing the pressure on Silas’ back and neck. What could that be all about? He thought. 

Silas let her hand go as she stepped onto the first step, her eyes now level with his. He looked into them and smiled as if he couldn’t feel whatever that was that was bothering them both. “I’ll call you okay?” He said finally. She gave him a false smile in return. 

Before he turned to leave, Silas placed a light peck on her cheek. He felt a pull on his back, like someone was shoving him away. It wasn’t strong enough to actually move him, but enough to let him know he should step off. 

Silas waited until Lenore had entered and closed the door to her apartment before dropping the smile on his face. As soon as the door closed, the wind and pressure died down. Silas brushed his hands off on his jeans and turned to leave.