Summary: Lorie hates snow. My contribution to Christmas cheer.

"What is it?"

Jaden Yuki paused in his current pastime of making snow angels to stare at his friend in total confusion. Lorie was standing in the exact same position she had been in when he and Jesse had taken it upon themselves to lure the most reclusive member of the F&F girls outside, in the open doorway. Her blue eyes stared around at the scene with a sort of curiousity that Jesse seemed to find funny for some reason. The blunette started laughing in reply to her question, while Jaden grinned at the stunned girl.

"It's snow, Lor," Jesse informed her. "Don't they have snow in Cally-fornya?"

Lorie fixed him with an "are you an idiot?" stare. "Jesse. I live in the desert."

"Deserts don't get snow?" Jaden asked curiously. Lorie sweatdropped, but stepped cautiously out of the doorway, closing it behind her.

"Ah, no."

"So, you've NEVER seen snow before?" Jesse reiterated incredulously, as she walked slowly towards him and the snowman he was currently attempting to build.

"Never."

"Not even on tv?"

Lorie shot him another look. "That's different, idiot. I've never actually SEEN it myself. It looks...different...in reality."

Jaden's grin turned decidedly evil. "So, then, you've never FELT snow before either?" Jesse threw a matching grin at the brunette, catching on quickly to what he was getting at.

"No..." Lorie glanced quickly between the two of them, and began to inch back slightly. "Why...?"

"Oh," Jaden stood, scooping a handful of snow and hiding it behind his back. "No reason."

"Yeah," Jesse agreed, subtly shifting closer to the girl. "No reason."

Jim sat up quickly as he felt, more than heard, the front door bang open and the squelch-stomp of someone tromping into the living room. His eye widened as Lorie stormed in, soaking wet and shivering, pulling off various articles of snow-covered clothing as she went. She bypassed him to her bedroom, and came back past him with dry clothes, headed for the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, and still pissed as hell, she rentered the room, walked over to the coach and flopped down beside him with an angry glare.

It took all of Jim's will power not to laugh as he watched the girl's antics. He waited until he got into the kitchen for that. When he came back bearing a mug of hot chocolate, the blonde seemed to have calmed down a bit. She took the cup silently, sipping it without even a wince at the hot liquid.

"So...they got you too, eh?" Jim guessed, remembering HIS first winter with Jaden and Jesse.

Lorie nodded.

"Whatja think?"

"It's cold and it's wet. The two things I hate most in the world."

"Y'like the desert?"

"Yep."

"Well, y'know, sheila, Australia's a whole CONTINENT of desert," Jim informed her in a suggestive way.

Lorie grinned.