-First off I own NOTHING, and don't claim to- Constantine and Hellblazer belong to their prospective companies. I make NO money off this once so ever. I'm just writing this story for fun and nothing else.

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I wrote this story to help shed light on Chas and Ariela's friendship BEFORE Constantine came into the picture (aka before Chas knew him-though he may make a cameo. ;) )

Here with us (A Constantine Christmas story)

Chapter one: Hope in a Holiday shopping trip

Chas listened as familiar verses poured from a neighboring car's stereo. They were familiar because it was Christmastime again in LA. He was

stopped at a red light on his way to pick up his new friend Ariela for an outing of shopping. She would be bringing a friend along as usual. Her

voice sounded so excited on the phone, and the thought of it made his lips creep up in a smile. It was far from a white Christmas, but more of a

green-brown one with the palm trees moving slightly in the breeze. LA did cool down a bit in December, but snow was something he had never

seen except in the odd Christmas card his family received, and on TV. The thought of his family made him frown slightly, as the light turned

green, and he again proceed down the road to Ariela family's apartment. Even though Ariela kept assuring Chas that her family was not as

perfect as he perceived them, he was sure that it was better that his own family. Sure, they were happy enough, but finical troubles stressed

them more than Ariela's. Lately he sensed something was going on. The thought made his skin grow cold, so he pushed the thought away

again. Ariela's father was a physician at Ravenscar, so they were set for life. Oddly enough though, they lived in an apartment just far enough

away from downtown LA to be seen as a good neighborhood. Not that her family lived in a bubble, one would never know Ariela's family was as

well off as they were unless you knew how much her father made. They never lived beyond their means, and were generous. Ariela could be

decked out in jewelry and the finest clothes, but she often scoffed at the idea of paying too much for anything. That's why Chas was on her way

to her home, to drive to a closeout store to buy gifts for friends and family. As for the friend that would be coming along, it was Neela, Ariela's

sassy Indian friend, who lived a few blocks down.

He knew when he had arrived at her apartment, due to the twinkling lights hanging on Ariela's bedroom window, along with something he was

sure Ariela had stenciled on the glass. It was then he saw Ariela's hand reach to open the window, and signal that they were coming down.

Ariela called this strange ability to know when someone she was waiting for her "sporadic gift", as she would have a feeling and not know what

it meant until something happened, and sometimes she wouldn't have a feeling at all. It wasn't long before an already laughing Ariela and Neela

emerged from the front door.

"Helloo, Chas, my dear." Neela said as she reached the car. Chas nodded.

" 'Sup, Neela?"

"Nothing much, just chatting with the Lovely Airy, and being crazy excited about our outing." Neela replied as she opened the car door, and

slid into the back seat. Chas laughed.

"Why? It's not like we're going to Rodeo Drive?" He looked up and saw Ariela giving him the "look", the one usually followed by a question. Her

gaze would turn serious and piercing, and her mouth would turn into a slight frown.

"Is anything wrong Chas?" she asked as she quietly shut the car door behind her. He shook his head, and touched his lips absentmindedly. His

gaze wandered away, as he turned back around. The silence was deafening for those few seconds that followed. He could hear the rustle of

fabric, and the metal clink of seat belts, and what he thought was a whisper. Chas adjusted the rear-view mirror, in a sly effort to see what was

going on without looking behind him. When he did he spotted Ariela looking straight into it. He jumped slightly. He saw her frown and sigh.

"I said I was fine, Ariela." Chas said, trying to mask his frustration.

"No, Chas, actually you said nothing was wrong." Ariela corrected, but as soon as she did she bit her lip. She had a bad habit of correcting

people sometimes, and she knew Chas hated it. Neela watched looking from Ariela to Chas, surprised by the awkwardness.

"Maybe he doesn't like Christmas shopping." Neela thought aloud. That broke the tension and Chas laughed to himself, soon being joined by

Ariela. Neela, confused, kept offering possibilities until Ariela stopped her two suggestions in.

"Can we just go now?" Ariela was able to squeak out before laughing again.

"Thanks, girls." Chas said smiling, as he revved the engine and pulled away from the sidewalk. As they moved away the curb, Chas turned the

radio dial. The first thing they heard was;

"It's the most wonderful time of the year,

With much jingle-belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer"

Like the straw that broke the camel's back, everyone including Neela broke out in outrageous laughter. Tears of laughter sprung to Chas's eyes

as he glanced in the rear-view mirror to see Neela, and Ariela bent over grasping the seats in front of them. He smiled, and managed to control

himself, and not so subtly wipe away the tears from his face. He really didn't know why he was so tense. Sure, he wasn't a millionaire and only

had a measly fifty bucks to spend, that was scrounged up from doing odd jobs around his neighborhood. He did everything, from carrying

groceries up flights of stairs for an elderly neighbor, to doing chores for his folks. His friends sometimes teased him about it, claiming it softened

him, but that's why he loved being around Ariela. She didn't find it strange, and encouraged him to continue. Chas was also sure that the odd

mysterious ten dollar bills that would magically appear in his bedroom had something to do with her.

The sound of Neela and Ariela vocalizing in the back made snapped him back into reality. Neela was singing in her usual way, not caring about

what she sounded like, and he knew no matter how hard Ariela tried she would soon abandon her careful notes for more expressive one;

complete with hand motions.

The ride to their destination was an amusing one, singing along to songs on the radio, and laughing until their sides hurt, while the LA sun beat

down on them. Some people had Christmas with mittens and hats, and snow, while they had sun, traffic and sunglasses.

It took a while to find a parking spot in the lot, and Ariela wondered how crowed it would be inside. Not that she disliked crowds, but

she did dislike rude Christmas shoppers, who would quicker push you out of their way, than ask you politely. Chas finally found a spot, and they

all exited the car. The sun wasn't quite as hot as usual, but still made Ariela fan herself, and made her grateful that she had applied sunscreen

before they left. While she did have Israeli blood in her veins, she had a tendency to freckle and tan at the same time. It was a fact that often

amused Chas, along with other facial qualities that made him tease her and call her a "Martian." It was true that she looked a bit strange if she

hadn't gotten enough sleep, and dark circles formed underneath her eyes.

It also didn't help that as soon as they entered the store, an arrangement of novelty headbands caught Chas's attention. She watched as he

chuckled and picked one up. Without a word he strode over to Ariela, and placed one that made her of course, like a Martian. He then made the

antennae swing back and forth.

"Ha, ha, Chas. You just won't let go of the Martian thing will you?" Ariela said taking the headband off her head and back onto the display. Chas

looked at her a bit shocked.

"Well…you know, I thought you, you know, liked being called that." Chas said averting his gaze the way he always did when he wanted to avoid

conflict. His gaze instead lingered on the arrangement of watches on display a few steps away. Ariela sighed and placed her hand where he

could see it, on top of his.

"It's alright Chas. You know I can get moody sometimes." Ariela said, her look not masking her embarrassment. Chas went to say something but

his mouth went dry when he realized her hand on his. As if on cue Ariela noticed and slowly took it away. Perhaps too slowly. He watched as

she bit her lip and went on to examine the watches on display. There were a few that caught her eye, and she wondered something.

"Chas?"

"Yeah, Air? What's up?" he said peering over to her side of the display.

"Does your mom have a watch?"

"Yeah, of course she has a watch."

"No, no, I mean a nice one, like for parties, and events where she needs to dress up." Ariela said, picking up a watch from the display with red, white, and green

gems surrounding the face.

"Uh, I don't think so, I've never seen her wear one."

"Well why don't you get her one like this?" Ariela said placing the watch in his hand.

Ariela watched to see him automatically go to look at the price tag, and Ariela pulled the watch away from him.

"Oh, no, you don't." she said. "Just look at it, and tell me if she would like it." Chas shook his head, and reached for the watch again.

"No, no, no, no, no Ariela." Chas said as his eyebrows furrowed the way they did when he was offended. Ariela sighed, and handed the watch

to Chas. Her gaze then lifted up to Chas's face, who was examining the watch's price tag.

"It's marked down from fifty dollars, and it's now twenty." Ariela said her gaze not wavering. Chas let out a breath of regret, and looked back up

at Ariela, while rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "You don't have to say anything Chas." Chas tried to reply, but stopped before a

sound could leave his mouth. He just smiled, and contemplated buying the watch. It was beautiful, and he knew Ariela had good taste. Besides

it wouldn't send him back much, and he knew his mom would like it. She may fuss about him spending his "hard-earned money", as she called it.

Not that she was in any way ungrateful, it's just that she wanted the best for him, and for him to have his money for himself. She knew how

high the cost of living in the city was, and didn't want him burdened. Though the reason he worked odd jobs was so he could help his folks and

have a little extra something for Christmas. When he was a child his mom often went without to provide him and his father with gifts. His dad

wasn't a bum, but he didn't make much money as a security guard for the movie studio he worked for, or so he said. He guessed he was just

saying that so that he could save up money for his college.

So they proceeded throughout the store, with Neela and Ariela examining everything from jewelry, to knickknacks, to clothing. Christmas carols

droned from the store's speakers, and Neela and Ariela's voices singing, or humming along as they browsed. At the end of the day they had

gathered and purchase various items, and Chas was secretly grateful he had come with them. At the end of the trip he had purchased his

mother the same watch Ariela had picked out. He couldn't help but feel uneasy for some reason, but he tried his best to shake it off as he

dropped the girls off at Ariela's apartment.

"Thanks so much Chas," Ariela said as she leaned up against the passenger front door. He nodded and touched his lips in reply. Ariela tilted her

head, sending her blond hair cascading across the front of her. He wondered if she knew the power she sometimes had over him. "Well…I hope

you had fun."

"Yep." he said smiling, but hoping she couldn't tell he was tense about his family. He didn't quite know why, but a cold chill was creeping up the

back of his neck.

"Ready for some male-bonding now, with all our girlie activities all day?" Ariela asked.

"No, actually, I'd rather just, you know, go home." Chas said, his expression turning serious. "I got to wrap these gifts before my mom gets

home and starts snooping." Ariela flashed him a smile then, but he couldn't say it was a happy one. She silently nodded, and said goodbye.

As Chas drove away he could feel something was up, not with Ariela, but it made him worry about his mom and dad. He knew the holidays were

always stressful, as they wanted to make things special for him. He secretly thanked God he was an only child, and soon would become too old

to fuss over Christmas, as far as gifts went. It wasn't about that anyway. He was raised Catholic and he knew the Nativity story, and perhaps

that was why he liked being around Ariela and her friends. Material things wasn't their main focus, and he loved the way their eyes lit up when

they would hear a Christmas carol. It was a look of hope, and that's what he felt he needed now.

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Ohhh, what's coming around the bend this holiday for Chas? Oh, and background about Neela, she's an British Indian girl, just think Jesse from "Bend it like Beckham" and you have Neela, or her looks. Sorry I didn't get this up BEFORE the holidays, but I was out of town, visiting, and dealing with other things. Please R&R. I will have the next chapter up soon.