They exchange notes in the form of cranes. Karina's cranes in all different forms of colors, Winter's the same blue from the stack she never ever returned to her desk mate. Karina recommends her more songs to listen to and when Winter was asleep, she'd make sure to add the day's homework and materials too. On the other hand, Winter's notes were a little different. Sometimes she'd write a funny thing that happened to her that day, sometimes she'd tell her how pretty she looked, sometimes she'd formulate a quote about spring and flowers because she knew how much Karina admired spring, and sometimes she doodles on the paper. It accumulated and by the end of the week, she had a handful of them, neatly displayed in her room.

Today was a different type of Monday as it was the tryouts festival that the school organized yearly for freshman students to look at clubs and for clubs to promote themselves. There would be no morning broadcasts and lessons, every faculty member and student busying themselves with the event.

Likewise, the soccer team had a booth with all the other sports clubs on the school field. 

"Are you kidding me?" Winter groaned as she strolled towards their booth, staring at the pathetic banner which looked like it was designed by a 5 year-old kid. She grabbed the very first brochure on its stack, feeling her breakfast rise up her throat as she flipped through it. Blurry pictures, fonts in Comic Sans, bright reds and yellows, layout as messy as her room. It took all of her willpower not to tear down the booth and rip up the brochures into shreds.

"Not too bad, huh?" Ryujin says with a proud smirk on her face, walking up to her captain from behind. Did she also forget to mention that Ryujin was the person in charge of designing? The person she trusted not to fuck their booth up on such an important day?

Winter scrunches up the brochure in her hand, smiling over at her friend widely. She smiled so brightly that even the sun quivered in fear of its next big competitor. "It's so wonderful, I couldn't have imagined anything better than this! I'm so proud of you Winter!" she says with the most sarcastic tone ever.

"See? I told you that you could trust me, I've been told that I have a keen eye for aesthetics and such," Ryujin bragged, shoulders held so high she could almost knock on gates of Heaven, Winter's obvious sarcasm flying over her head.

She fights the urge to tackle Ryujin on the floor and shoves the crumpled brochure into her chest instead. "Very well then, since you're so proud of your fine work, you'll be in charge of handing them out," Winter says definitively.

Ryujin grabs the brochure and frowns deeply at its state before her mouth flies open. "B-but you said I could just sit here all day and won't have to move a muscle!"

"That's if you actually did a fucking decent job. You can't even spell soccer right." Winter pointed out, annoyance seething through her teeth.

"Isn't it socker?" Ryujin asked, straightening the brochure out to stare at the header.

"Kill me now." Winter cursed under her breath. The least they could do right now was to grab a marker or pen to correct the spelling. She was not about to have the soccer club be the absolute joke of the year.

Since none of them were smart enough to bring some stationery, Winter had to ask the other clubs for a pen.

"Ning!" she called out towards the booth diagonally in front of hers, waving an arm to grab her attention.

Ningning was in the middle of a conversation with her teammates before she looked over at the owner of the loud voice. She breaks into a smile and waved back to her.

Winter shuffled over to their booth, feeling a knife stab through her heart. Compared to the soccer club, the volleyball team's booth was like royalty. Freshmen would most definitely flock there. "What's up?"

"Could I borrow a permanent marker?" she asked sheepishly, tearing her gaze away from the banner and brochures to her friend.

"Oh of course, give me a moment," Ningning says before bending down to look through her bag.

Winter nodded, drumming her fingers against the stand as she waited patiently. She looked over at the rest of the clubs here and sighed. She would have to think of something soon, or they might have to take in students who either didn't sign up for any clubs or didn't make it into other clubs.

Everyone wasn't in uniform that day. They were either dressed in jerseys, club shirts, jackets and uniforms if they were part of scouts or groups like that. As for Winter, she was in her red and white soccer jersey, the number '8' plastered in the center.

"Here," Ningning says while standing back up with two black markers, perfect for what she needed.

"Thank you so much," Winter says gratefully before returning to her booth.

She sighs exasperatedly and hands Ryujin one of the markers. "Cancel out the 'k' in front and change it to an 'c'. We don't have much time now, it starts in 15 minutes."

At exactly 10 in the morning, all the freshman students were released from the hall to explore the different booths scattered in various locations.

Soon enough, a whole bunch of them were eagerly making their way over to the sports booths. Winter cancelled the very last brochure, getting up from her seat. "Finally! We should steal some of them over here. Don't just pick them blindly okay? We need lithe members," Winter instructed the team before they parted ways, the red and white jerseys standing out among the other sports teams. At least they had that going for them.

The next few hours consisted of Winter facilitating the tryouts with her vice captain. Her team members would bring back a bunch of students and they'd take turns to score goals, then split into two teams for a simple first-to-five game. While that was happening, she would take down names for those she thought were good or had potential.

The cycle repeated for up to 4 hours. Winter felt so drained from having to stand under the sun, watching freshman students make poor attempts at scoring, occasionally feeling a spark of joy when someone with some skills show up to their booth. "How many names?" she asked, grabbing a bottle of water which had become warm after sitting in the sun for so long, chugging it thirstily.

"In total 15, but we have 8 that were definitely better than the others."

"Oh thank god, that's good enough," Winter sighs in relief, squeezing the empty water bottle in her hand. "Could you tell the others to start clearing up the booth? I'll return the soccer balls and equipment into the storage room."

She picked up the stray soccer balls rolling around the open field, tossing them into the cart. "You're my sunflower, whoa-oh," she began to sing along to the song Karina recommended, trying to fill up her boredom as she pushed the cart towards the storage room. "Ijen I'm unstoppable~"

Speaking of Karina, she had not seen her anywhere this entire event. She was pretty sure that the girl was busy moving between booths in the school. She was council president, part of the school events committee, broadcast club, and Winter probably missed out on a couple more as the list goes on.

Honestly, a part of her thinks that the horrid soccer booth banner and brochures weren't the only reason she felt grumpy and easily annoyed the entire day. In actual fact, this was how Winter was before she met Karina Yu, the girl who loves spring so much she might just be spring itself.

As the cart rolls along the grass, Winter notices the flowers growing along the vines which cover the tall green fences, surrounding the school compound. She noticed the bright green leaves swaying in the trees. She exhaled softly, taking time to admire the view around her. It was nice and all, but it wasn't enough to lift her spirits up.

"This is stupid," she says, pushing the cart further towards the storage room. She pulled open the cranky doors, noticing that the other sports clubs had already returned their equipment. They didn't have the luxury of space, so she had to do a little rearranging for the cart of soccer balls to fit.

Now, Winter's goal was to head home and take a nice long nap. She whistled a little tune, casually stepping out of the stuffy and musty storage room until she heard loud footsteps approaching from her side.

Then, she spots a very familiar figure running straight towards her. The girl she had been thinking about was sprinting in her direction, wind blowing in her hair, her skirt flying as her white sneakers trudged through the uneven grass. Winter stands by the door, looking at her from a distance.

It had occurred to her that she has never seen Karina run before. She looked a little funny running too, it makes her chuckle. As she approached, she sees the flash of fear in her eyes. That does not look like the face of someone who was excited to see her.

"K- Karina, are you okay?" she asked when she was close enough.

Karina shook her head, looking over her shoulder frantically. "Get inside," she says hastily, grabbing Winter by her wrist. Without an actual explanation, she tugged her into the storeroom quickly and closed the doors shut.

"What's going on? Could you at least explain-" Winter opens her mouth to speak, her mind extremely bewildered by this situation.

"Shut up," Karina's eyes widened as soon as she heard footsteps and voices from outside the storeroom. She leaned forward, slapping her hand against Winter's lips to cover her mouth entirely and prevent her from making any sound.

The pair of them were currently standing by the corner of the room, Winter's back pressed against a shelf, Karina's body just standing inches away from her.

Winter holds her breath, her heart thrumming loudly against her chest from anxiety. Beyond this scary predicament, she looks down at Karina who was standing way too close for comfort, her palm against her soft lips. She had never been alone with Karina, she had never been this close to Karina, she had never imagined this happening to her.

"Did you see her?"

"I think she turned this way, she might have ran to the other block."

"Okay, let's go."

The voices outside seemed to be from two male students. Winter couldn't recognize them based on their voice, too muffled and soft. Who were they and what did they want from Karina?

The sound of their footsteps eventually fade out as they ran off, away from the storage room.

When they are finally gone, Karina releases a small sigh and turns to look up at Winter who had been silent the entire time, just as she requested.

She feels something soft and plush against her palm. Karina's cheeks immediately flared up, the reality sinking in. She had not noticed that her hand was on her lips, body almost flushed against Winter's in the tiny space they had. She stumbled back, calves hitting the low gymnastic mats on the floor.

Winter notices the danger instantly. "Watch out!" she warned, leaping forward and reaching for Karina's arm to save her from falling.

Everything happens too fast for both of them to process. Before they knew it, Winter was half a second too late. Karina tripped against the mats, throwing off her balance. The only thing in reach for her to hold onto was Winter's outstretched arm. In such a dire situation, Karina grabs onto her arm and unfortunately pulls the taller girl down with her, miscalculating the timing.

Karina lands on her back, a soft grunt escaping her lips from the impact against her back. The slight pain shot up her back, but before she could recover from it, she sees the light disappear above her.

Winter was falling, she was literally going to crash and fall on top of Karina. In an attempt to save her, she was about to be the next danger hazard Karina would experience soon. In a split moment, she extended her arm and bent her elbows, landing onto the mat with the support of her bicep muscles, supporting her upper body weight before she accidentally crushes Karina with her whole entire body.

The pain from the fall accompanied by the ache in her arms was something Winter never wanted to experience again. It would've been completely unbearable until she hears Karina's breath hitch.

Winter hovered above the raven, their faces incredibly close. Karina could literally hear her pant from the exertion, she could feel her breath against her lips. One wrong move and their lips would collide.

The silence was anything but comfortable, tension thick in the air. Winter gazed down at Karina, her hair sprawled out on the mat, dark eyes peering up into hers, lips parted. Even in this position, Winter feels the air escape her lungs, her mind blanking out. All she could think about was how beautiful Karina looked in this moment.

All she could think about would be how cliché it would be to kiss her right then and there.

Both of them stayed in the same position, afraid to make a wrong move. Karina swallowed as Winter's arms began to give way, her body lowering, face moving closer towards her.

She doesn't pull away and neither does Winter.

Winter's lips barely brush against hers before Karina tilts her head to the side, right before they landed on hers. Instead, her soft lips made contact with her cheek.

The brief moment which hazed Winter's mind disappears as fast as Karina looked away. "O-oh, I'm so sorry," Winter fumbled over her words, lifting herself up and standing back up on her feet properly. Did she just try to kiss Karina Yu?

She had not intended to, but something deep inside her heart had tugged her in, like a magnet pulling her towards Karina. "I didn't mean to do that, sorry, I don't know what came over me. My brain's all over the place right now," Winter rambled, her breaths short and heavy. She suddenly finds it hard to breathe.

Karina sat up on the mat, fingers brushing against her cheek where Winter's lips once were. Whatever Winter was saying went completely unregistered. She was just as confused, just as dazed, just as lost as the redheaded girl.

She rose to her feet, brushing her skirt down. The room was incredibly stuffy and with Winter being so close to her moments ago, she needs some air to breathe.

It seemed like both of them had the same idea. They took a step towards the door.

"Ah, you can go..." Winter motioned, stepping aside.

"No, Winter, you should go..." she replied, shaking her head.

"Come on, it should be you."

"No you."

"No you..."

They bicker back and forth until the security guard calls out from outside. "Hey get out of there kids, we're going to lock the storage room up." The old man opens the door, revealing a disheveled looking Winter and Karina.

They mumbled a few apologies before leaving the storage room hurriedly.

None of them speak to each other as they leave the campus. Karina clasped her hands together, fiddling with her fingers nervously as Winter walks a distance behind her, rubbing her neck, eyes on the floor.

The leaves rustle, the birds sing, the flowers dance, the clouds float by, the two trailing along the pavement in the same direction until they arrived at the same traffic light.

Winter stopped, seeing as the pedestrian light was red. She looked over as Karina continues to walk away, back turned against her. She continues to watch her retreating figure, the green light flashing behind her.

She realizes something important in that instance which was enough to propel Winter forward.

"Karina Yu!" she called after her, jogging up towards her from behind.

Karina's footsteps slow down, eventually coming to a complete stop as she spun around, ears perking up at her name.

Winter doesn't stop running until she was in front of Karina once again.

She doesn't have anything to say to her, she doesn't even know what to do after going through such an embarrassing situation. She wonders if Karina wanted nothing to do with her ever again, it makes her heart ache at the thought of not being able to hear her name fall off her lips again.

"I haven't..." she struggles to find the right words to say. Karina continues to stare up at her, squeezing her fingers.

"I haven't seen you smile today. I haven't heard your laugh today," Winter says, the truth falling off her tongue like a scared confession. She feels like she was standing naked in front of a crowd. She feels like this moment would determine the course of their situation. Fate was in her hands and she knew she couldn't bare to see Karina walk away from her.

"Spring isn't even over yet." Winter blurted out without context.

Karina quirks a brow. "What?"

Winter bites her tongue. She squeezes her eyes shut and forces something out of her stupid brain. Anything right now, anything to make her laugh.

So she starts to sing.

"You're my sunflower, you're my sunflower..." her voice was hoarse, tune slightly off-key from how incredibly nerve-wrecking this moment was. She stands like a branch, body swaying from side to side as she sang the song to Karina.

Her eyes remain shut, afraid to even take a peek at Karina's reaction. This was extremely detrimental to her ego and esteem. If any of her friends or teammates saw her like this, Winter knew she'd have to leave the country.

But the feeling doesn't last, replaced by the warmth she embraced with open arms when she was greeted with Karina's giggle.

The song comes to an end and Karina's giggle turns into a genuine laugh.

Winter decides to open her eyes before it all ends, seeing her pink tinted lips curled up, sweet laughs filling up the afternoon spring air which was once heavy and almost heartbreaking.

"I made you laugh," Winter breathed out, nearly falling onto her knees and thanking the skies and heavens.

"Mhmm, thank you, Winter-yah," Karina says, her hands now resting behind her back.

It catches her off guard. "What for?"

Karina hummed in thought and then broke into the most beautiful smile Winter has ever seen.

"For making every bad day a good one, for making me smile and laugh, and for being who you are."

Winter steps forward again. She wrapped her arms around Karina's waist, pulling her into a hug and she didn't let go because Karina's arms are now around her shoulders. She smells her flowery perfume, she hears her heart beating against hers as they stood in each other's arms.

They held each other tight, cars passing by, leaves rustling, birds singing, flowers dancing, clouds floating.

Spring is like a hug, Winter thinks.