A horn blared as Jesse watched a young woman slam on the brakes to narrowly avoid hitting the car turning left in front of her. He could see her yelling at the top of her lungs, though he couldn't hear her. The windows of her car were up, just like everyone else's. No one was stupid enough to cold air in on that day, certainly not when it was below 0 and wasn't expected to get any warmer as the day progressed. Well, no one except maybe Jesse, who was again beginning to wonder why he had agreed to meet outside in the middle of what seemed like an unseasonably cold February.

Shivering, he turned away from the street to go huddle next to the building he was standing in front of. His turn brought him to face a woman with short blonde hair and a tall red and white striped hat. She was larger than life, smiling out at downtown, and for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, the sight caused Jesse to jump in fright. Then, just as he had each time earlier, he settled down as he realized again it was only a poster; that the woman wasn't really there and was only advertising the musical she would be playing in soon.

Jesse laughed at his reaction, trying to cover up the uneasy feelings he was having about his upcoming meeting. Still laughing, he stuck his hands the pockets of his jeans and leaned back against the poster, spurning his previous fright. He turned his face upward to stare at the gray sky and the clouds. He was still staring at the sky, unreadable expressions crossing his face, as a hail came from his left, causing him to start and glance to his side.

"Jesse!" the woman called happily as she ran toward him.

She was, at the moment, a blur of brown hair so curly it was almost frizzy and long black coat that vaguely resembled a woman as she hurtled forward. Jesse noted that she was wearing her hair much shorter than the last time he saw her; it only reached to her shoulders, when it had once fallen to her waist. Her brown eyes shone with excitement behind the glasses that she seemed to have replaced her old contacts with. She was wearing a pair of denim overalls underneath the open black trench coat, something that would have seemed out of place if Jesse didn't know her, since she looked every bit of her twenty-seven years.

"Hey, Ren," Jesse said, stepping forward from the wall to greet his friend. "It's been a while."

She frowned, crunching her nose up in an annoyed expression, but didn't stop moving forward until she had attached herself to Jesse in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around the taller man's neck, causing him to stumble forward and almost fall over, which would have deposited both of them in a nearby snow bank. She was smiling, and her happiness at being reunited after seven years was infectious enough to cause Jesse to smile as well.

"You know, you're choking him," a man's voice drawled as he walked up behind Ren. The voice caused the smile to disappear from Jesse's face to be replaced by a frown, as he looked up sharply. Ren released Jesse quickly, an apologetic smile on her face. She seemed oblivious to the angry glare Jesse was directing at the man behind her.

Said man had stopped a few feet away and was looking right back at Jesse, though his expression was hidden by the hood of his black cloak, which was wrapped around his small frame for warmth. He stood a few inches shorter than Ren, but still managed to convey a sense of height, as if he were just as tall as Jesse. Though Jesse couldn't see his face, he knew that the man was watching him intently, and it sent a shiver up his spine. He shook his messy, slightly too long, black bangs out of his eyes and turned his gaze back to Ren, who was smoothing down her messed up coat.

"Sorry 'bout that," she said. "And you're right, it's been a while. It's been too long. Why haven't you called, or written, or something?"

"Been busy," Jesse muttered, darting another glance, more of a glare, at the other man.

"That's no excuse!" she chided. Then she reached forward to pull him farther away from the building into the light, so she could get a better look at him. "God, Jesse, you look like you haven't changed a bit! Why is it that you two look like you're still only twenty, so I'm the only one who seems to have aged?"

Her question surprised Jesse. He had assumed that she would know the reason, that the one standing behind her would have told her long ago. The fact that that obviously hadn't happened caused a slow burning anger to kindle in his heart. The slightly pained smile that he couldn't see, though he knew it was there, on the cloaked man's face only made the fire start to burn hotter.

He kept the anger hidden, though. He didn't want to upset her. So, he just shrugged. "Maybe Ethan knows," he said lightly. "As for that...just why is he here?"

He was fairy sure that he knew what she would say. The other man had been trying to contact him for a few weeks, and he had refused each and every attempt. The fact that he had shown up at his meeting with Ren, who had suggested meeting while she was in town, gave him the sinking feeling that it hadn't actually been her idea, but his.

"It was his idea to meet up again," she said. "He told me he's been trying to get in touch with you for a bit, but that you're being stubborn. I think that's horrid of you, so I agreed to help him. Why were you avoiding him anyway?" She stood back from Jesse, hand on her hips, and glared at him, the expression on her face much more suited to a girl of seven than to a fully grown woman.

"You know why I don't want to talk to him," he said stiffly.

She stared at him for a few moments, obviously trying to figure out what he was thinking at the moment. Finally, she seemed to notice the tense, almost hostile, glances that Jesse kept shooting at Ethan. An incredulous look spread across her face as she continued to stare at Jesse. Then, she started laughing.

"Don't tell me, you're still mad about the wedding thing?" she asked as she bent over with laughter.

"Of course I am," he said. Ethan stifled a chuckle, which caused Jesse to frown again. "Why shouldn't I be?"

"Maybe if you'd bothered to keep in touch you'd know that we didn't end up going through with it," Ethan said.

Jesse's royal blue eyes widened in surprise. He stared at the two for a good minute before he finally started to stammer out a reply. "B-but..." he started, but before he could get any farther Ren let out a squeak.

"Eep!" she exclaimed. "What time is it?"

Jesse glanced at the watch on his wrist. "2:10," he said. "Why?"

"Oh my God, I'm gonna be late!" she exclaimed. "I'm really sorry to run like this, but I have a signing in about 20 minutes. Jack will kill me if I'm late again. Jesse, we have to get together for real sometime before I leave town, but I gotta run now!"

She dashed off, leaving the two men standing there. Jesse looked at Ethan, his expression one of unease this time, rather than anger. Then he turned his gaze skyward again. Without glancing back down, he spoke to Ethan.

"She did that on purpose, didn't she?" he asked.

"Of course she did," the other replied. "She's known about this signing for months now. She wouldn't have arranged to meet you here at 2:00 if she'd planned on staying."

"Thought so," Jesse said. Then he tucked his hands into his pockets and started to walk away. This elicited a hurried protest from Ethan.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

"I came here today to meet up with Ren," Jesse replied. "Since she's gone now, I'm going somewhere warm."

"You won't even talk to me?" Ethan asked.

"Why would I want to do that?" Jesse asked heatedly, whirling around to face the other man angrily. He clenched his fists tightly and glared at Ethan. "I'm still pissed off at you. I'm always going to be pissed off at you. And it's not going to change just because you, or Ren, called off the wedding before it finished. The fact that the wedding started is enough!"

"Why?" Ethan asked, sounding genuinely confused. "Will you at least explain to me why it makes you so angry?"

"Why should I explain it to you when you obviously don't even trust me enough to show your face in my presence?" Jesse shot back. "I'll explain myself if you stop hiding."

"I'm not hiding," Ethan said, pushing the hood of his cloak back. He shook out his mass of golden blonde hair as he slid a hand under his thick braid to lift it out of the cloak. The sight of the familiar delicate features smiling at him and equally familiar grass green eyes watching him with the same old slightly world-weary expression sent a shock of nostalgia running through Jesse. "I was cold. How you can stand to live in the Godforsaken frozen place, I just don't know."

"You know just as well as I do that God has not forsaken Appleton, any more than He has any other city," Jesse said, his voice cold.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "It was an expression, Jesse," he said. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Then don't say it," Jesse said.

"You haven't changed a bit in the past years, have you?" Ethan asked, his eyes dancing. "Now will you tell me why you're so angry? Wait, no, let's go somewhere warm first. I saw a café back there a bit that looked nice, we can talk there. Come on."

Ethan started walking down the street at a brisk pace. He obviously expected Jesse to follow, and Jesse knew that if he abandoned the other man he would just get pestered later. He had agreed to explain himself, and he would be held to that agreement, if not by Ethan, then by himself. So, he shrugged, stuck his hands in the pockets of his heavy winter coat, and followed him through most of the city's downtown, to a place called the Pilgrim's Café.

As they made their way down the street, Jesse realized that even through the heavy material of Ethan's cloak, he could still see the other man's slender figure. A biting wind had picked up and was plastering the cloak to Ethan's back. Even while trudging down the street, shivering and obviously not happy to be out in the winter cold, he still managed to move with the seemingly unnatural, almost feline grace that Jesse had seen so often. It was the same grace that had always drawn Jesse to the other man.

Ethan glanced back, as if he felt Jesse's gaze on his back. "You're staring," he said, with a knowing smile. His voice had a teasing quality to it that caused Jesse to look away, a slight stain of red coloring his cheeks. Ethan laughed and moved backward a few feet, to walk beside Jesse, throwing his arm around the other's shoulders.

"Now this is more like the Jesse I know," he said as Jesse tried, in vain, to push him away. Together, the two of them continued down the street until they reached the café.