I, on the other hand, wasn’t; a black box had been edited in to conceal my entire body, so it wasn’t clear who Noelle was pushing against the lockers.

Below it was an article, shorter than most others, but even snider in tone.

If you’ve been following The Chitter Chatter for a while (or have a set of working eyes), you might know that Noelle Daniels is what some might call a slut. To me, it seems like none of her relationships have ever been anything serious. It’s always a few weeks of snogging at parties and then she drops them like nothing’s ever happened. Honestly, I have started to doubt if Noelle Daniels is even capable of truly loving someone other than herself.

Now, she’s found her next victim. I think I’ll let you figure this one out yourselves, but one thing is for sure: the person deserves much better than Noelle.

(Thank you to the anonymous submitter for this photo.)

Before I could even process these words, which stood in such stark contrast to the picture that it made my head spin, the door burst open and Noelle rushed inside. “Evelyn! Have you looked outside?”

I lowered the phone as she crossed the room, a gust of cold air following her. She had left for her morning run while I had still been fast asleep; now she stood next to my bed with her hair in a ponytail and a flush on her cheeks.

“What is it?”

“See for yourself,” she said, icy fingers grabbing my hand to pull me to my feet.

My eyes widened when I saw what had caused the bright grin on her face. Overnight, the landscape around Seven Hills had transformed into a Christmas postcard. Behind the ice flowers glittering on the window, I could see the dusting of snow that covered the Hills and trees, a perfectly even blanket that was marred only by Noelle’s footprints that led around the castle.

Glancing over my shoulder at Noelle, who was beaming like it was her birthday, I remembered how she had told me that winter was her favorite season. Now, pressing her palms against the glass and breathing against it to be able to look outside, she truly did look like this was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

“I can’t believe you went for a run in this cold,” I said, unable to hide the slightest bit of concern from my voice.

“It was so nice! At least until I couldn’t feel my toes anymore.

And my fingers. And the tip of my nose.”

Chuckling, I stepped closer to drop a kiss onto said nose, only for her to tilt her head and lean in for a real kiss. Her lips were so cold I felt like mine were going numb with it, making me let go of her after only a few seconds. “You’re freezing. Go have a shower.”

“Stop fussing, I’m fine.” She leaned in again and I closed my eyes, certain she was going for another kiss. Instead, she wrapped her arms around me and slid her ice-cold hands under my shirt.