The younger girl had quickly turned away shyly. Her eyes sparkling with nervous energy and happiness. She watched as Strike booked it for the ball and smiled, not because of Strike but because of Ribs. Who seemed to be able to make her smile no matter what.

Ribs thought he saw something in Amika's eyes that he saw in his own. He wasn't sure, but was willing to take a risk. With swift and nervous movements, Ribs found Amikas hand and softly held it. The normally confident man looked over at her, trying to see if she was okay with it.

The touch of another startled Amika at first; since the last person who she had really touched had been Zane as he had been scared of Strike. Physical contact was weird to Amika, in her life of fighting and danger, touches were normally a bad thing. But this touch instead brought shivers racing up her spine and she could hear her heartbeat speeding up in her chest. It was awfully close to the feeling she got when she was in a fight but, this touch was more pleasant. Ami found the whole handholding comforting. So when she turned towards Ribs, although she was blushing violently (which she absolutely never does) she was also smiling.

Ribs also was red in the face while he smiled brightly. He almost didn't want to speak, in fear of ruining the moment. So, he gave her hand a slow and gentle squeeze, trying to convey what his heart was feeling.

Despite how cold it was, Amika felt warm and fuzzy. In fact, she felt so extremely happy, she didn't know how to describe it. Although Amika had been terrified of getting feelings for anyone, right now it really didn't seem that bad at all. Ribs made her happy with him simply being in the vicinity. He was kind and a little quiet but in a good way, and he also listened to Ami with his full attention and allowed her to be curious. Most importantly, he seemed to understand Ami even while everyone else couldn't.

Ribs slowly, with regret, released Amika's hand as he stood. "I don't have snow pants. The back of my jeans were getting wet, and these are my only pants..." he apologized. Unsure of whether Amika was getting up or not, shuffled the snow under his sneakers.

Ribs statement made Amika realize that she too was sitting in snow and that the back part of her legs had gone numb from the cold. Despite all that, Ami was still blushing gently as she stood up. Her hands brushing snow off her pants as she tried to get her cheeks to return to their normal color. "Yea, I kinda just realized that too." She grinned slightly though she seemed a little unhappy having to let go of Ribs' hand so early. But progress was progress and she was happy all the same.

"Do you maybe want to go for a walk? To warm up?" Strike was once again back, dropping the ball at Amikas feet.

Amika smiled and patted Strike's head as Ribs spoke. Her head turning slightly to face Ribs before she straightened up. Although it already had been multiple minutes, she was still lightly pink, whether it was from the cold or the hand holding she didn't know. "Could we really?" She seemed excited about that, her smile wide.

"I don't see why not!" Jonas exclaimed. For in this moment, he was Jonas, and not the criminal Ribs. Amika brought out the best in him, which meant he was starting to see how much of a good person he could be.