189A/N:
So you know, the only other changes made before this chapter are names (Roderich-Lottie) and stuff like that
The changes made will be explained in later chapters, but if you want me to explain it for you so it's easier to understand, I can totally do that! And while some of the important character traits are changed, the storyline up until the last chapter are going to be essentially the same.
Without further ado, here's the rewritten chapter!
(Guest review responses are at the bottom)
Enjoy!
Juniper sighed, noticing that her bed was really uncomfortable, as she woke up.
'It's like I'm on the floor,' Juniper thought, opening her eyes slightly, "Wait, I'm in the car, right? Then why am I so warm?'
Juniper opened her eyes fully, and was taken aback by the sight of pale skin. She noticed the arms wrapped around her, and the hot breaths on the back of her neck.
"Rider?" she asked herself quietly, tilting her head to look over at the sleeping boy.
Rider was definitely still asleep, his eyes closed gently. His mouth hung open slightly, allowing his breath to ghost over the back of her neck. Rider's cheek rested on her own, and her head rested on his upper arm.
Juniper wondered how Rider could have gotten so close to her without her waking up. She sighed, and thought to herself, 'It's not like I'm upset about this. I'm just curious as to how on Earth Rider is being so freaking sneaky. Has he been in my bed without me knowing?'
Rider sighed on his sleep, his warm breath spreading over her. Juniper tensed, and pulled her arms in closer to herself. The arm around her waist pulled her in closer, pressing her flush against him.
"Ju..nie.." Rider mumbled sleepily.
Juniper blushed deeply, her mind going a million miles an hour as she listened to Rider talk in his sleep.
"Junie... Junie..." he repeated, his hand pressing on her lower back.
"R-Rider?" she asked, her voice shaky. She looked over at his face, noticing his eyelids starting to twitch.
"Junie?" he asked, the green of his eyes starting to show.
"Rider, why are you holding onto me?" Juniper asked quickly, the blush on her face growing deeper with every moment she remained in his arms.
"You were cold. And I didn't want my only ride home dying on me." Rider said, nuzzling her cheek.
"Oh.. okay.." Juniper said, a strange wave of disappointment settling over her as he finished talking.
"Hey, Junie, I was just teasing. You were cold, and I didn't want you dying on me, but I was worried about you, too. You were shivering pretty badly," Rider said, leaning back so that their eyes met, "You feeling okay. You're kind of warm now, actually."
"Well, Rider, I wonder why I'm too hot? Maybe it's the big, warm body wrapped around me, but I don't know."
"Yeah, I know. But I can't help it if I'm too hot for you," Rider smirked, lifting his arm and rolling onto his back.
Juniper remained lying on her side, her head cradled by Rider's arm. She let her eyelids droop slightly, an empty feeling washing over her as his warmth left her.
"What time do we have to get going?" Rider asked, staring up at the ceiling of the car.
"Well, if we want to get there a bit after lunch, nine should be good," Juniper said, rolling onto her back to look at the clock.
7:52 AM. She was going to need a nap when they got to the cabin. Juniper propped her self up on her right elbow and turned away from Rider, sighing, "Alright, we should probably get going, there's a-"
"But Junie, I don't want to go yet.. you're soo warm and cuddly.." Rider said, looping his arms around her torso and pulling her towards him. He turned so that he could press his forehead to the nape of her neck, his arms tightening around her waist.
"Rider! We have to get moving!" Juniper said, her hands wrapping around his arms to get out
"Noo.. can't we just stay here? It's cold outside. Pleeeassseee, Junie?" Rider whined.
"Rider, don't you want to get something to eat, and change? We only have an hour before we have to hit the road," Juniper said, crossing her arms.
"Fine, but just for one more minute, please?" Rider asked, his grip loosening. Juniper relaxed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head slightly.
"Fine, but just one minute."
"Thank you, Junie," Rider said, moving his arm out from under her and using it as a pillow.
Juniper nodded and rested her head on his hand, sighing contentedly.
They lay there together for a minute, neither wanting to move and abandon the warmth of the other.
A few more minutes passed, and Juniper sighed, propping herself up on her elbows and turning around to face Rider. He was still lying there, his green eyes looking at her emotionlessly. He kept his arm on her waist, which, to Juniper's surprise, only made her even more reluctant to get up.
"Rider, if we don't get moving, we'll be late getting there," Juniper said, meeting his gaze.
"Alright. Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving," Rider said, leaning in and kissing her forehead. Then, he sat up and pushed the blankets off of himself.
Juniper blinked once, furrowing her brow in confusion, and looked up at him.
"Well, Junie, are you getting up?" Rider smirked.
She nodded and pushed the blankets off of herself, yawning quietly. She straightened her t-shirt, deciding that she would have to change sooner rather than later.
"Junie, look! It's snowing outside," Rider said, pointing at the windshield, where, through the space in the cement wall of the parking garage, she could see the sky outside. Sure enough, small, white flakes were falling from the sky. Rider smiled, and his eyes filled with excitement at the sight of the cold weather.
"Junie, maybe there will be enough snow there for a snowball fight! Or we could make a snowman!" Rider said giddily, reminding Juniper of a small child.
"Rider, it's Vermont, it's December, there is going to be snow." Juniper said, grinning at him.
"Well, then let's go! I wanna get to Vermont." Rider said, hurrying into his seat and chucking his suitcase back. Juniper rolled her eyes and swung her legs around the seat, falling rather gracefully into the seat. She buckled in, grabbing the keys from her pocket, and started the car.
"So, we can go to one of the restaurants in town, but first I want to get changed, so we will stop at that park over there, with the separate building for restrooms, and get dressed. Is that okay?" Juniper said, looking in the rearview mirror for cars.
"Why don't we just change in the car? I don't mind the view, and I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed." Rider smirked.
"Rider, I told you before that I am not going to be around you with any less clothing than normal, okay? Not happening." Juniper deadpanned, backing the car out of the parking spot.
"Fine. But it would save us some time," Rider said, his voice lowering as he spoke.
Juniper rolled her eyes and drove them out of the parking garage. After paying for the ticket, she turned onto the street, heading for the little park a few streets down.
"Junie, look! The snow's stuck to the ground! There has to be at least three inches!" Rider said excitedly.
"Rider, I can't look. I'm driving," Juniper said, her eyes focused on the road.
"Oh, sorry." Rider said, sitting back and shutting his mouth.
Juniper drove to the small parking lot outside of the building and parked as close as she could. "Alright, don't take too long. Just change and make yourself look as presentable as you can," Juniper said, reaching back and grabbing her suitcase. She turned in her seat and grabbed some clothes from the bag, along with her hairbrush, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste.
"Yes, ma'am!" Rider teased, mock-saluting before he grabbed some of his things from his bag as well.
Juniper grabbed her coat and threw it on before getting out of the car and walking to the small, brick building. She heard Rider shut his door behind her, and she ran up to the door, the cold creeping through her coat.
Juniper yanked the door to the female restroom open and saw that it was a small room, with just the toilet and sink against the far wall. She shut the door behind her, locking it in the process. She opened the folded up diaper changing table on the wall and set her things down.
"It's even cold in here." she mumbled, shrugging her coat off. She changed into her yellow long-sleeved shirt with the word 'Smile' on it and a pair of dark blue jeans. After brushing her teeth and putting deodorant on, she yanked the brush through her light hair. She pulled her hair back in a loose braid, shaking her head a few times to make sure it would stay. After zipping her coat up and collecting her things, she left the small room, hit by a wall of frozen air.
Juniper clenched her teeth and hurried to the car. She looked around, but saw no sign of Rider anywhere. She practically threw herself into the front seat, shaking the snow off.
She put her things back into her bag and pulled her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs.
"Rider, hurry up, it's cold," she mumbled, watching the door for him.
After a few more minutes, Rider came out, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt under his navy blue coat. He hurried to the car and got in, a big smile on his red face.
"It's cold out there, isn't it?" he said, tossing his things into his bag.
"Yeah, took you long enough to get dressed," Juniper muttered, starting the car and turning the heat up.
"Hey, it takes time to look this good," Rider smirked, winking.
Juniper rolled her eyes and pulled the car out of the parking lot.
Five hours. Only five hours before she could jump onto a warm bed and nap for hours.
"Juunniiiieee... are we there yet? I'm boorreedd.." Rider groaned, turning his head to look at her.
"Rider, do you see a cabin anywhere? No. We still have two and a half more hours," Juniper replied.
Rider sighed, slouching down in the seat. He had removed his coat once the heat had kicked in, and had even rolled his sleeves up.
Juniper had noticed him rolling his sleeves up and turned the heat down a bit.
She also noticed that his scars showed. All of them. It had almost brought her to tears when he had nonchalantly pushed the sleeves up to his elbows.
Juniper did not want to see them, she did not want him to be reminded of them, and she definitely did not want him to start thinking about cutting again.
Although the underlying sentiment did strike through her as she struggled to stay focused on driving.
Rider trusted her enough to openly show his scars. He was comfortable enough to literally show his raw, aching scars to her.
Juniper had long since removed her coat, but as she subtly turned the heat down continuously, she was regretting tossing it to the back of the car.
'I can handle the cold if it means that Rider will put his sleeves down. I can handle this, I lived in Maine for God's sake,' Juniper thought.
She felt relief wash over her as Rider shivered once, pulling his sleeves back down.
"You cold?" he asked, eyeing her up.
"Nah, I'm good." she lied, gripping the steering wheel tighter as she felt another chill run over her spine.
"Junie, I can see the nail marks you're leaving on the wheel," Rider said skeptically.
"I just am holding the wheel too tightly," she said through clenched teeth.
"Junie, why did you turn the heat down?"
"Because it looked like it was too warm for you," Juniper said quickly.
"Junie, it was fine. If it gets too hot, I'll just take my shirt off. Unless that would distract you too much?" Rider smirked, reaching over and turning the heat up.
"Rider, I am pretty sure the car will not get that hot," Juniper sighed.
"Whatever you say, Junie." Rider said, pushing his sleeves back up.
'Just two and a half more hours.. two and half more hours..' Junie thought, looking straight ahead.
Juniper turned down the familiar road, looking at the clock briefly. 12:54. They were only ten minutes away.
The scenery had changed dramatically as they got closer to the cabin. The amount of trees had tripled, and now there were snow-covered trees lining both sides of the road. The snow had become ridiculously heavy, the flurries growing in size and amount. There was now about five inches of snow on the ground, and the roads were lined with gray slush. The sky was bright white, covering the blue sky with clouds.
"Ten more minutes, Rider." Juniper said, glancing over at him.
Rider was leaning on his elbow on the door, staring outside in awe of all of the snow.
"Ten minutes? That's it? Finally!" he said, smiling at her.
Juniper smiled back, keeping her eyes on the road. She did this not only because the roads were more dangerous, but also because Rider's sleeves were still at his elbows.
'He'll put them down when we get there. He has to. It will be freezing outside, and I know that he probably does not want them to show.' Juniper thought as she turned onto the long driveway.
"Junie, how many people are going to be there again?" Rider asked, his fingers playing with the end of his sleeve.
"There are four others, and they should all already be here. I'll introduce you when we get there," Juniper muttered, her eyes scanning for the tiny sign that told her when to turn.
"And they are your friends from high school?"
"Yeah, although I've known Amelie, whose father owns the cabin, since middle school," Juniper answered, spotting the little yellow sign that read, "Noillon Residence".
"Here it is, at the end of this driveway. Can you see it up there?" Juniper asked, pointing to a building at the end of the road.
"Yes! No more car rides! And we get real beds!" Rider said, smirking.
Juniper rolled her eyes and smiled. "Can you grab our coats? It is going to be freezing when we get out there."
Rider nodded and reached back, pulling both coats from the back. He set them on his lap as he pulled his sleeves down, much to Juniper's relief. He pulled his coat on and waited to hand her her own.
Juniper pulled the car in next to a large van and smiled when she saw someone opening the door to the cabin.
"They're going to be really excited. Just to warn you," Juniper said, turning the car off and taking her coat from Rider.
"Who wouldn't be excited to see me?" Rider sneered.
After both of them were completely zippered up, they got out of the car and walked to the trunk.
By this point, there were four underdressed people running at them, wide grins on their faces.
"JJUUUUUUUNNNNNNNEEE!" a short girl in bright green shorts yelled.
"Guys! You're in shorts and t-shirts! Get back inside!" Juniper yelled as Rider took their suitcases out.
"But June, we wanted to say hello!" a taller, dark-skinned girl pouted.
"Do you want frostbite? Get back inside, and then we can say hello," Juniper sighed, taking her bag from Rider and frowning at the four people.
"Fine. But hurry! I'm cold!" the shorter girl said, grabbing the young man's hand and sprinting inside, her tank top already coated in a thin layer of snow. The other two followed them, but only after the girl grabbed Juniper's wrist and dragged her along. Rider hurried after them, a warm feeling spreading through him as he saw Juniper's growing smile.
They all got inside and Juniper and Rider removed their coats, setting them by the door with their luggage.
"JUUUNNEE!" the shorter one squealed, latching on to Juniper. The other girl and the taller boy joined in with the hug. The other person sheepishly wrapped their arms around the group, ignoring the girls' comments directed towards them.
Rider stood to the side, hands in his pockets, and watched the group.
"Hey, newbie, don't think you aren't getting in on this! Get over here!" the taller girl smirked, holding her arm out.
Rider glanced at Juniper, who nodded subtly, and then walked over to join the huddle. Juniper pulled him in, and he felt his mouth curl up in a smile.
"Whoa, guys, how about we give them some breathing space. Juniper's turning red." the tall boy said, backing up and smoothing out his gray t-shirt.
"Sorry, June!" the blond said, pouting.
"It's okay, Amelie," Juniper said, coughing a few times.
"Who's the cutie? Is this your roommate? How the hell have you not jumped him yet? Or have you?" the dark-skinned girl said, her jaw dropping.
"Drew!" Juniper said before sighing, "Yes, this is my roommate. Guys, meet Rider. Rider, these are my four friends, Amelie Noillon, Drew, Brick Jameson, and Lottie Stein." Juniper pointed to each one as she spoke, watching Rider look over them.
Rider noticed that Juniper did not say Drew's last name, but ignored it in favor of taking a breath after meeting Juniper's friends so suddenly.
"Rider? That's such a cool name! Rider sounds like a badass kind of name!" Drew sneered.
"Rider, is June a good roommate? She always talked in her sleep at sleepovers! Although, you wouldn't know. Or are you two in the same room? Does the school have those one room dorms?" Amelie asked quickly, her blue eyes full of curiosity.
"Whoa, calm down, Amelie, you're going to shock him into leaving," Brick said, setting a hand on the girl's shoulders, "Sorry, she gets a bit excited."
"Lottie, are you going to say anything to our new friend?" Amelie pouted at the quietest person in the room.
"Good afternoon, Rider, it is a pleasure to meet you." Lottie said, nodding their head.
"Aww, Lottie, you can be a little more relaxed." Drew said, smiling.
"I think what I said what fine, Andrea."
"My name is Drew."
"An-dre-a." Lottie said, stressing each syllable.
"Charlotte Alfred Stein, I will pull your teeth out in your sleep," Drew hissed.
"Andrea Elizabeth Victoria Prauss, you will do no such thing," Lottie said, crossing their arms.
"Lottie! I told you not to call me that!" Drew said, putting her hands on her hips.
"And I asked that you with refrain from calling me Charlotte, but, alas, that has not happened," Lottie said, glaring at her.
"Sorry about them, Rider, they have some... they argue a lot," Juniper said quietly.
Rider shrugged. 'It's not like I can leave. I'll have to get used to it anyways.' he thought to himself.
"Andrea Elizabeth, please remove your hands from my arm."
"Lottie, my threat still stands."
This was going to be a long two weeks.
A/N:
Again, if you're confused at all, please tell me! I'll be adding a lot more into the new chapters to explain it, since this is just the introductory chapter for four major characters.
Thank you for reading (and sticking with me, really) and please comment on anything you like/ didn't like about the new version. I most likely won't be changing anything,as it would only further set back other updates, but I'll definitely take your ideas into consideration!
Love Ya: Oh, thank you. I'm very glad that you like this. And it's wonderful to hear that you'll be looking at my other stories! I don't think I could stop writing if I tried, I just love it too much!
mylittleprincess: Thank you, darling, and the next chapter is on its way already, don't worry!
Tbird2290: (review from Chapter 1) Ahh, that's so wonderful to hear, but don't spend too much time reading my stories! I'd hate for you to lose sleep over them, haha!
(review from Chapter 4)I know, the earlier chapters are from a while ago, so they definitely aren't as well-written as my more recent writing. I'm hoping that, after the story is completed, I can go back and flesh out the earlier chapters, because, I agree, they do rush through a good four months in such a small amount of writing.