Blizzard Revelations.Two best friends, stranded in a car, find fun ways to keep warm.

Based on a post by LindseyLuv. Listen to the Podcast at My First Time.

"Hey, Lindsey; you all set?"

A tall, shaggy-haired fella came up from the basement guest bedroom, then strode the hallway, and called up the staircase to her 2nd story bedroom, from near the front door. Lindsey felt her stomach flutter once again. Jackson was actually back from college. In his hand, he carried a suitcase of his own, and a laptop bag slung over his shoulder. He smiled at her as she came down the big oak stairs, and she nodded.

"Yep, Jack; just gotta grab my rucksack and lock up, and we're good to go!"

She couldn't remember when the two of them had first met. Their parents had been close friends for years, before they'd even been born. So far as she cared, she'd known Jackson forever. They'd grown up together, referred to each other as cousins. The pair had been almost inseparable, all the way up to Jackson leaving for college.

Worst yet, his parents had to move; when the corporation shut down the local factory, and his dad had to move in order to fill another management position, or face unemployment at age 51. Lindsey’s anxieties were mounting, until yesterday, when his flight arrived. She'd been absolutely heartbroken last August. to see him go. But he kept his promise, that he'd visit as soon as he came back for the holidays.

Which sadly coincided with her own family’s reunion. Her parents insisted that she come with them, but she negotiated a compromise. Jackson would use her car to drive her, on his way to his own relative’s gathering.

It just so happened the day he flew back was the day before her Great Aunt's get-together, so while her parents left yesterday morning, she hung around to pick him up at the airport. The plan was for him to stay over that night, then drive the two of them, to drop her at the reunion, seeing as it wasn't too far from his cousins' place. That way, he could drive to his kin, and see them too. Then two days later he’d pick Lindsey up from the reunion, and drive her back a few days later, if she didn't want to stay the whole week, like her folks.

She'd nearly tackled him near the baggage claim, when she saw him run down the airport concourse. The pair had spent the evening laughing, eating, and reminiscing. Jackson had plenty of stories to tell her about his first semester at college, and Lindsey eagerly hung on his every word. When he’d finally gone down to the basement guest bedroom, it was well past midnight. She’d already fallen asleep while the two were watching an old favorite DVD title. He’s woke her up and directed her to go up and get some sleep. By the time they were up and about, the next day; they realized there was no way they were going to make it on time.

It was getting on for noon when the snow started to fall; lightly covering the driveway as Lindsey dragged her suitcase out to Jackson's car. She knew they were only going away for a week, but she wanted to be prepared, especially with the weather as it was, so she'd filled her bags with as many jumpers, woolly hats, and thick comfy socks as she could. A decision she was starting to regret as she struggled to heave the bulging suitcase into the trunk of her little car.

Finally cramming it into the space, she stepped back, taking a moment to breathe. All around her, the snow fell lazily through the air, getting heavier by the minute, and she wondered if it would ease off much, before the two of them left for her great aunt's. 'Oh well, at least it'll be a white Christmas...' she thought to herself, before turning back towards the open door of her house.

She loved almost everything about Christmas, but the annual family reunion certainly wasn't on the list. She could count on one hand, how many of her relatives she actually liked, and even then she had plenty of fingers spare. In fact, the only person she really cared about visiting, had just been her house guest. But that visit was nearly over. Only the car ride remained.

“Start the car, Jack.”

"Cool-cool, but hurry up, I don't like the look of this snow. We might end up stranded in a blizzard, if we're not careful; and you'll miss your fam." Jackson shot her a wink. "And I know how much you'd hate that."

Giggling at his sarcasm, Linsey ran back into her house. She'd left her rucksack just inside the door, and she quickly grabbed it before locking up and running back down to the car. The snowfall had gotten pretty heavy by now, and she saw Jackson chuck his stuff onto the back seat before getting into the driver's side door, and revving the engine. Burying her face in her scarf to keep warm, Lindsey threw her rucksack in the back as well, before climbing into the passenger side seat next to him. Clicking her seatbelt into place, she turned and gave him a nod, and off the two went.

Relaxing back into her seat, Lindsey watched the snowflakes fall as Jackson gently took the car out of the driveway and onto the almost pure white road. Rubbing her hands together in the frigid air, she reached out and cracked up the thermostat a little, before settling back again. It wasn't a particularly long drive, only a few hours, but she could already tell it was going to be a chilly one.

The snow wasn't too much of a problem while they drove through the city, salt trucks leaving the roads mostly clear. As they got out into the countryside, Jackson started to take it slower, carefully navigating the narrow lanes as the snow continued to fall. Once or twice they saw the skid marks of cars that hadn't been quite as cautious, and at one point a tow truck passed them, pulling the unfortunate survivor of a nasty off-road skid.

The first hour passed quickly. The thermostat did its job, and the car quickly armed up enough for Lindsey to drop her scarf and gloves. The two friends chattered away happily as the miles passed, and the music from the radio helped fill any lulls. However, as the sun began to set, the snowfall only got heavier and heavier. Lindsey could feel herself getting increasingly nervous, finding it harder and harder to see the passing countryside, and could only imagine how hard it must be for Jackson at the wheel.

"Damn it;” the young man muttered under his breath, craning forward to peer out between the falling snowflakes. Lindsey could feel the stress radiating off of him, and did her best to stay calm. The last thing she wanted to do is panic him any more than he already was.

Pretty soon though, they both realized they were going to have to stop. The snow was falling so heavily now that neither of them could see the road, let alone anything else. Lindsey felt her stomach drop as Jackson shook his head, pulling the car up onto the verge at the side of the road. "Sorry Linds, I can't keep going in this. If we're lucky it'll blow over soon, and we can get going again, but for the meantime, it's just not safe;” Lindsey looked up at him and saw the look of concern on his face. "You might wanna call your folks."

Lindsey gave him a worries nod. She could feel her stomach tying itself up in knots as she pulled out her cell phone. They were a long way from anywhere, out there, and if they got stuck overnight it was going to get very, very cold. Dialing her parents, she anxiously waited for them to pick up.

"Hey, Dad, it's me. Um, yeah, me and Jackson are on our way, but the snow is; it's coming down pretty hard, so we're just going to pull over for a bit. No need to worry about us, it's all good. We're just going to be a bit later than we thought, that's all. I'll call you when we start moving again. Yep, yep, we'll be safe, don't worry. I love you too. See you soon"

The young woman hung up, hoping she didn't sound too scared on the phone. "Ok, what do we do now?"