This will be my little Christmas-y fic for the month! It's a short, two chapter thing, it's already done but I'll space it out a bit more, and will probably upload the second chapter later this week. I've been really interested in writing Max/Dana because I find the idea behind the pairing just really interesting in general? I'll probably do more with them in the future. Hope you all like it! I had a lot of fun writing this.

It was mid-morning, December 1st. The girls of Blackwell Academy had all gathered in the hall of the dorm building that Sunday morning, to prepare for the first of their many holiday activities. After October, after what had happened with Kate, all of the girls had made an unspoken pact to be kinder, get closer, and appreciate each other more. And it had all been working out incredibly well. In a few weeks, Victoria, Taylor, and Courtney had all been treating Kate, Max, Alyssa, everyone kinder than they ever had before. Everyone was nicer.

It wasn't all perfect— there was still the occasional fight, someone taking too long in the shower, small things like that. But it relieved Max that things were going well— she wasn't ever really sure it would end up like this.

So there they were, all ten of them, standing around each other: Max, Kate, Victoria, Alyssa, Stella, Courtney, Dana, Juliet, Taylor, and Brooke. Victoria was holding a small bowl filled with folded up pieces of paper.

The girls had all decided on doing a little gift exchange. They figured it would all be a great way to bond with each other and show how much they all cared. Plus with finals around the corner, working on getting someone a gift would be all nice and fun and a good way to relax amidst the stress of studying.

That's how Max saw it, at least.

"Ok everyone, you pick a piece of paper from the bowl, and as long as it's not yourself, you keep it, and that's the person you get a gift for," Victoria explained.

"And you have to make sure it's heartfelt and meaningful. Don't just find something expensive and get the person that," Alyssa said. There was a nod and murmur of agreement from the group. With any luck, Max would get Kate. She knew everything that Kate loved, so figuring out a heartfelt, meaningful gift would be easy.

But of course, there was one other person Max was hoping she would get— crossing her fingers for, even.

And that was one Dana Ward, head cheerleader at Blackwell Academy. She was cool and beautiful. She could be a model if she wanted to.

She was the girl that Max had been awkwardly crushing on like mad ever since she saw her at cheer practice for the first time. She had been coming back to her dorm after an afternoon of taking some nature pictures. She saw the brunette leading the team on a new routine for a big game at the end of the week, and she was so amazing. Gorgeous, athletic, and kind.

Gorgeous and athletic were two things Max definitely wasn't.

When Max came out to Kate a few weeks later, she told her that she was crushing on Dana— hard. Kate had been so supportive, even if she did admit that it seemed obvious to her.

But as much as Kate assured her things would work out— that Dana would definitely react well if Max had ever told her how she felt— Max knew that wouldn't be the case.

Not only was she leagues cooler than Max, she was dating Trevor. It made the whole thing impossible. How could she tell her crush how she felt when she was dating someone? Let alone if she even was bisexual?

Nope, no way. She was going to have to stay quiet on this, even if it did suck.

And it did suck.

"Max? Max!" came the voice of Juliet, Dana's best friend as Max was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts, the bowl being handed to her by Taylor.

"Sorry…" she mumbled, now bright red, as she took the bowl and started to shuffle her hand through it.

"Good job, Max… even after everything you've done you still space out like an idiot…"

After a few more moments, she finally pulled a piece of paper out and then handed the bowl to Kate.

"Please get Kate, please get Kate…" she prayed to herself as she unfolded the paper, seeing the name on it.

Of course.

Dana.

It figured that Max would get the one person she wanted as much as she didn't.

Great.

What would she even get her? What would Dana want most? What did she not have already?

She had a few weeks to figure it all out, but she knew this wasn't going to be easy.

Max's eyes lazily followed as the bowl passed from Kate to the last few girls, and then back to Victoria.

"Ok then, everyone has their secret Santa! When you have your gift ready you can place it under the tree when we set that up, or keep it to hold on to until we exchange gifts," Courtney said, hands clasped together, smile on her face.

"Yeah, just remember, we're exchanging gifts after the last finals, on the twentieth! So be here in the evening!" Taylor added.

"We'll be doing the tree decorating this Friday, so if you want to participate, make sure you're there for that! Finals are coming up and everything is due, so if you really can't make it, don't worry, but if you can, it'll just be a few hours. We'll have Christmas music and tea and cocoa for everyone!" Kate said excitedly. Her energy couldn't help but make Max smile, even when she was stressed out.

The crowd of girls started to disperse, all off to go about their Sunday plans, while Max quickly grabbed Kate's arm.

"Kate, you're not busy, are you?" she asked, starting to drag Kate to her room. Kate's eyes widened at the sudden surprise.

"What? Oh— no! Max— is everything ok?" she asked, concerned at the sudden panic her friend was showing.

Max led Kate into her room and then followed behind, shutting the door. As Kate sat on Max's bed, Max just about collapsed on the floor, arms spread out, staring at the ceiling, letting out a sigh.

"Max… what's wrong?"

"I got Dana."

Kate's look of worry turned to a wide smile.

"That's so great Max! What are you going to do for her?"

"That's the problem, Kate! I don't know yet! I was hoping I'd get you because I know what I'd get you in an instant… but I'm at a loss for her," she said, another sigh escaping her lips.

"Aww, Max. If you need help, I'll be here to help you figure it out. We'll make sure you get Dana the best Christmas gift she could ever want," Kate assured her.

"Thanks, Kate. You have no clue how much I appreciate it," Max said to her friend, looking over at her. She was real glad she came out to Kate about this, else she would be stuck at square one the next two weeks.

"…So who did you get?"

Max felt bad asking, but she always was curious.

"I got Alyssa. I'm not entirely sure what I'll get her yet, but I have a few ideas," Kate said, small smile on her face, pleased with everything. She got one of her friends in the gift exchange, and Max got her crush. It was a win-win in her mind.

"I wish I had ideas in mind…" Max groaned.

"Come on Max, don't worry. We'll think of something soon," she said, hoping to cheer the brunette up.

"You and me are still going to exchange gifts, right?" Kate asked, tilting her head curiously at her best friend.

Max now pushed herself up, sitting cross-legged, smiling at Kate.

"Of course! I… already kind of ordered something for you and it'll be here soon," Max admitted, a bit red. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, she had been searching for gifts for Chloe and Kate, and while she hadn't found something for Chloe yet, she found something for Kate right away and ordered it as soon as she could— a little tea set. Nice and brand new and the style was so Kate.

"Oh, gosh Max. I'll get you something soon so we can exchange before the break."

"Don't worry if you can't, Kate. I just really wanted to get you something nice. You're one of my best friends, you deserve a great Christmas gift."

"You too, Max. You've done so much for me, and even discounting that, you're one of the best people I've ever known. I promise I'll get you something great," Kate told her. Max got up and headed over to the bed, sitting next to the blonde and pulling her into a hug. Kate hugged back.

After a few moments in silence, the two finally pulled away.

"Now, we have a mission to start. We need to figure out the greatest possible gift Max Caulfield can get for Dana," Kate smiled.

Max smiled back.

Maybe they'd be able to figure out something worthwhile after all?

The two sat for a while, tossing ideas back and forth aimlessly, though nothing seemed to stick with Max. A CD of her favorite songs, a grouping of movies she loved so she could watch while studying, a new outfit that she heard her talk about with Juliet and Trevor…

But none of them sounded great. They were just average ideas— something you'd do for a friend when you had the time or the money, nothing that special.

"Max, you're so stupid, you can't even think of anything!" she groaned out angrily, now lying on her bed an hour and a half later. Kate was sitting next to her, and put a reassuring hand on Max's shoulder, patting it gently.

"Don't beat yourself up, Max. We only just found out who we're going to be giving gifts to. I don't think anyone has figured out what they're getting yet."

Max sighed, which left Kate frowning.

"I know Kate, just—" she started, pushing herself up and folding her legs, looking at her best friend who was looking intently and curiously at Max.

"I really like her. You know that. I want her… I want her to open her gift and think about how it's the greatest gift she could have ever gotten this year— or ever!" Max told her, exasperated. Kate nodded.

"I get that, Max. Just… please don't beat yourself up?" Kate asked, and Max nodded.

"Ok… ok…" she said.

It was a few more moments, before Max stood up, eyes wide.

"Kate I think I just thought of the best idea ever," Max told her, now smiling widely, turning to look at Kate.

"What is it?"

"Ok, so, what if I took a bunch of pictures of her at cheer practice and at games when she's doing all great and at all sorts of events and I put them all together in like, a scrapbook? So she can see all her best moments— and— and I can decorate it, and—"

"Max, that's such a wonderful idea. She'll just love it— and it'll be easy to do because that's just what you do," Kate said excitedly.

"I… well, I already have taken a few pictures of her and the squad during practice, so at least I have a bit of a head start," she said, still smiling.

It was the perfect idea. Dana was sure to love it.

…At least, Max hoped so

"You know, this means you'll have to get some school spirit now and go to the games, right Max?" Kate giggled, and Max turned red.

"Yeah… and now it's cold, this is gonna suck," she sighed.

"Don't worry Max, I'm sure how much you like her and seeing her cheer will help make it easier," Kate teased.

"Thanks Kate," Max said, wrapping her arms around her friend. Kate hugged back.

"Anytime, Max. You know I'm always here for you," Kate assured her, the two letting go.

"I think I'll get going now, I still need to start working on a paper for Friday. Make sure you don't daydream about Dana too much, Max," Kate teased as she started to head to the door. Max sighed quietly, closing her eyes.

"Yeah, homework…" she sighed. How could she even focus on homework when she had a gift to work on for her crush!?

"I'll see you later Max. Let me know if you need any help," Kate said as she opened the door and waved goodbye. Max waved back.

"Thanks Kate, let me know if you need anything either!" she said as Kate closed the door behind her, as Max turned over to look at the mess of Polaroids she had scattered on her couch.

"Ok, Max. You have a few weeks to make the greatest scrapbook for Dana," she said, taking a deep breath.

She could do it.