Me: Hey everybody! Merry Christmas!

Danny: YEAH!

Me: I've had this fic planned out and written since October, and I'm going to post another chapter each for 12 days.

Danny: Get it? 12 days of Christmas? Twelve chapters?

Me: I think they understand, Daniel darling.

Danny: oh… OK…

Me: Before we start, I just wanted to mention Paulina's character. In this fic I have made her less shallow than usual, otherwise it would be so boring to write. I hope I have still made it somewhat realistic… *drifts off into thought*

Danny: *coughs*

Me: …So sorry if she is OOC or if Danny is when he talks to her.

Danny: Anyway guys, enjoy!

Christmas Present, Chapter 1

"Bye Star!" I called out, waving at her through the car window as we drove away from her house. She smiled back, then shivered from the cold December air and hurried inside, her hands full of bags.

We had been shopping for Christmas presents earlier and I had gone to her house after, as Dad hadn't yet come home from work and therefore couldn't take me home. Mum was away on a business trip in a foreign country somewhere.

"Did you have a nice day, sweetie?" my father asked from the front seat.

"Yep!" I said happily, "I bought loads of stuff!"

I heard Dad groan inwardly. "How much did you spend this time?"

"Only a few hundred dollars," I replied, sinking back into my seat. I knew very well that Dad hated it when I spent loads of his money, but sometimes I just couldn't help myself. It was the same for Star, although her parent weren't as frugal as mine.

"Well," he sighed, "that is an improvement from last time."

I smiled slightly, glad that he wasn't too mad. Dad was hard to read sometimes, even more when I couldn't see his face. His eyes were fixed firmly on the dark road in front of us, the headlights as bright as they could be.

It was actually quite late in the evening, about ten o'clock. Snow was setting on the ground a little bit earlier than usual this year, so it was a good thing I had bought gloves. Taking them out of one of my many bags, I slipped them on and rubbed my numb hands together, greeting the warmth.

I heard Dad turn the radio on a low volume. A song began to play that I didn't recognise, so I soon got tired of it and pulled out my iPod, switching it on and putting the headphones in my ears. Dumpty Humpty came on and I quietly hummed the melody, nodding to the beat.

Yawning, I turned my head to look out the window. It was a clear night despite the snow on the ground, and I could make out the bright stars in the sky. The night and the chilly air always seemed special around Christmas time and I sighed happily, half awake. It wasn't long before I began to shut my eyes, and drift off into that strange reality just before sleep that mixed your dreams with real life and you didn't know what was real and what wasn't.

I woke up, startled when I heard a door slam shut. Groggily, I lifted my head, brushed the loose strands of hair out of my face and looked around, wondering why Dad had stopped the car. The engine was switched off and the radio was no longer playing any music.

Then I spotted Dad. He was outside in the middle of the icy road, and I took my headphones out as I saw we were in a massive traffic jam. Curious, I buttoned up my pink coat and opened the car door, stepping out into the night.

"What's happening?" I asked as I walked up to him, my boots making crunching noises as I stepped in the thin layer of snow that had settled.

Dad shook his head and folded his arms dismissively. "I have no idea," he answered honestly, "I heard some sort of explosion earlier, and people keep saying it's a ghost attack. I can't see anything from way back here though."

"Ghosts?" I wondered, half to myself, "like Inviso-bill?"

"I suppose so," I heard Dad mumble.

An image of the white-haired boy appeared in my mind. He had saved me before, once when loads of ghosts were attacking. He was cute for a ghost and I smiled slightly, wondering if it was him fighting in the distance.

Suddenly I heard a loud crash and the sky flashed neon green, temporarily blinding me and causing me to close my eyes and cover my ears. I let out a small whimper and felt Dad's arms around me, making me feel like I was five again.

"It's just ghosts," I heard him say softly, "there's no need to be scared of them, Paulina."

I had always been a daddy's girl. Mum was the money-maker in the family, with her clothing line and modelling agency. I hardly ever saw her, and when she was at home I never really felt a connection with her, like a girl should with their mother. I would always stay by Dad's side instead, letting him read me stories and watch me paint messy pictures with my fingers. But Mum was to blame for my obsession with fashion. Throughout my life she had been constantly fitting me with clothes of her own design, asking me if I liked them and such. I always agreed with a smile.

Dad let go of me and I stood up again, looking out and straining my neck to see the fight. Despite my best efforts, I could see nothing.

"I don't know why you would want to see," Dad said after a while, "ghosts are dangerous. You wouldn't want to mess with them, Paulina."

"OK, Daddy," I said quietly.

But was Inviso-bill really dangerous? All he ever seemed to do was help people. I leaned against the car. Ever since a few months ago new reports on ghosts had become more and more frequent. They seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"Look out!" I heard someone scream.

Puzzled, I turned in the direction of the voice and all I could see was something hurtling through the air towards me, travelling so fast the shape was a complete blur.

Screaming myself, I jumped out of the way, slipping on the icy road as I landed. I felt my knee hit the floor and pain jolted through my body, causing me to cry out.

"Paulina!" my Dad shouted from somewhere in the distance.

"Dad…" I groaned, sitting up slowly and wincing.

"Are you OK?" I heard a voice ask, but it wasn't Dad.

Turning round, I saw a figure walking in my direction.

"Inviso-bill!" I breathed. I tried to stand up, but for some reason my legs wouldn't listen to me and they stayed where they were, refusing to move until the pain subsided.

"Don't move," he said hurriedly, noticing my attempt at standing up, "I can see blood coming through your jeans, Paulina."

Paulina. He knew my name.

"Really?" I looked down at my leg. A large red patch was spreading around my knee and I shouted in shock, then blushed when Inviso-bill crouched down to take a look.

He rolled up my jeans to just above the knee and I flinched from the cold. His hand was even colder though.

"It looks bad," he admitted.

"Oh no…" I groaned, refusing to look at the wound.

"You must have landed quite hard," the boy observed.

"yeah," I nodded.

There was a slightly awkward silence for a moment.

"Put pressure on it," Inviso-bill instructed, "it will stop the blood and the wound will heal quicker."

"Alright," I put my hands on my knee and pressed hard, then winced and stopped. "It hurts," I complained.

"Do you want it to get better or not?" his tone became slightly more severe.

"Uh… yeah," I said quickly, not looking at him in the eye. This was a chance to spend time with Inviso-bill and I was making a complete fool of myself.

I groaned inwardly and pressed my hands against my knee again, trying not to show to him that I was in pain.

After a while I felt the bleeding slow down and I took my hand away. My palm was caked in blood and my eyes widened when I saw it.

Inviso-bill must have noticed it too, because he sat down beside me and said, "It looks worse than what it is."

Suddenly I heard a loud, angry cry coming from not too far away. Inviso-bill looked up within seconds and got onto his feet.

"I have to go," he said after a short pause, "your dad's over there, behind that car." Inviso-bill pointed to our right. "He'll hear you if you call out for him again."

I nodded and watched, slightly sad, as Inviso-bill launched himself off into the sky, flying in the direction of his enemy.

Danny: Well that's it for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!
Me: And Merry Christmas everybody!

Danny: There's another important notice about Hayden's other fics on her profile, which all you guys should read.

Me: Until tomorrow everyone!

Danny: See ya!