Wind whistled through the cold December night. The darkened streets were barely illuminated by strings of green and red lights on the neighboring houses. Snow fluttered down with a whimsical grace, dancing across the sky like tiny little fairies.
I pulled my jacket tighter across my body. The cold air tickled my face and hands and sent a frigid jolt through my spine. I kept walking, making my way through the brisk, freezing air.
I admired the lavish decorations on the typically barren, plain houses. About three-quarters of the houses on the drive were completely covered in wreaths, red and green lights, and tall evergreens shown through dimly lit windows. Every piece of decor gave me a sense of joy. I always felt that that was what Christmastime was all about - the joy of the holiday.
A tiny, stone house at the end of the street was where I was headed. Shannon had invited Tom, Rhydian, me, and our families to a Christmas celebratory dinner. My parents had prior engagements, leaving me to meander to Shannon's house alone. I would never have admitted it to my parents, but I was glad they weren't coming to the dinner. I knew that if they attended, I'd never be left alone for any reason whatsoever.
After what seemed like forever, walking through the desolate road, I finally arrived at Shannon's doorstep. The wooden, red door was embellished with a green wreath with tiny red bows woven throughout. I pressed the doorbell, letting off a light melody that sounded like "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
The door opened with a flourish, revealing the bright, smiling face that was Shannon. She was dressed head to toe in greens, whites, and reds. She wore red and white striped leggings with mistletoe emblems sewn on. A Santa Claus cap was fixated atop her head. I choked back a chuckle.
"Wow, Shan, you really went all out," I managed to say, stifling back a laugh. Shannon smiled, her head held a little higher than it was a few seconds ago, if that was even possible. She was visibly proud of her attire and party in its entirety.
"Why, thank you, Maddy," she joked. We linked arms as she guided me to the elegantly set dining room.
The mahogany table was covered in a white tablecloth, and 8 silver place settings were lavishly laid out. I took my seat next to Shannon as everyone filed in around the table. I scanned the room for Rhydian, but he hadn't arrived yet. I kept glancing at the empty table setting to my right, waiting for Rhydian.
The doorbell sounded 5 minutes into the meal, sending a tingle down my spine. Shannon promptly leaped out of her seat to answer the door.
When Shannon came back with Rhydian, I had the immediate impulse to stand. The other guests eyed me with confusion. I sat back down, my cheeks hot from embarrassment. I silently slurped my soup as Rhydian sat down next to me, making my pulse race even faster than it already was.
The meal was raucous and full of babel, but neither Rhydian nor I hardly talked. Our hands sat firmly placed to our sides below the table or gripped around a metal fork. On a few occasions, Rhydian's hand accidentally brushed against mine. It lingered there for a few seconds before he pulled it away. He showed no sign of noticing he was doing it, but it was often enough that I grew suspicious it was on purpose.
As the meal came to a close, Mrs. Kelly ushered us into the fireplace room for presents and desserts. I sat on a small two person couch with Rhydian by my side. The party grew loud and exhausting, and I kept zoning out, unknowingly letting my head fall onto his shoulder on a few occasions. He never seemed to mind, or at least, he never said anything.
Mrs. Kelly clapped her hands. "OK! Let's get started on the presents!" she said enthusiastically. She brought out beautifully wrapped presents from beneath the tree and handed one to each of us.
I was given a small square box with a tag that read "TO: Maddy FROM: Shannon." I carefully pried open the wrappings, revealing a small grey box. I lifted the lid and held the gift to myself, for fear of others seeing. It was a silver charm bracelet with a camera charm, a heart charm, and a wolf charm. I pressed the bracelet between my palm and my chest, as if I was trying to press the meaning into my heart. Not everyone in the room would understand the symbolic significance of the gift. Shannon was so thoughtful: the camera was for our love of photography, the heart was for our love of our friendship and each other, and the wolf of course was for my personal secret that no one besides Shannon and Tom knew - Rhydian and I were both Wolfbloods, half wolf, half human.
"Shannon, thanks, it's beautiful," I said. I smiled politely at her and sat back to watch everyone else unwrap their gifts.
The Kelly family gifted Tom with an autographed jersey for one of his football player idols. He was so elated; a wide grin spread across his entire face. Shannon handed Rhydian a present, which turned out to be a set of artist's pencils. Rhydian was quiet in receiving his gift, but I could see the elation in his thin expression.
We sat around the fire, though Rhydian and I were hesitant. We stayed together on the couch in the corner of the room, away from the flames, whilst everyone else was huddled a few feet away. I couldn't help but nuzzle up on him. He threw an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to comfort me, make me warm.
The two of us sat together drinking nog and eating tree-shaped cookies. We were silent most of the time, chiming in with the laughter when Mr. Kelly would tell jokes. Other than that, we were mostly quiet.
At 8:00, the crowd started to dissipate. The Kellys went to chat with Tom's parents in another room. Shannon and Tom cleared the dishes and talked alone in the kitchen, leaving Rhydian and me together in the living room.
"Want to go outside?" Rhydian suggested. I hadn't expected us to talk so it took a moment to register what he said.
I made a face. "It's freezing outside. Let's stay in here together and hang out," I suggested.
Rhydian rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I want to get out of the same room as a fire. Let's go into their basement. It's not like we'll be missed."
I doubted that, but I followed him anyway. Rhydian did something I hadn't expected: he took my by the hand and guided me down the rickety staircase leading into the cellar.
The Kellys' cellar wasn't what I had expected: instead of cobwebs and old furniture, the room was neat and orderly, with white wallpaper and soft maroon carpeting. An enormous television sat fixated on the wall and three leather couches lined the perimeter. Rhydian sat down on one of the couches, and I followed.
"Hey," Rhydian said, gazing into my eyes, his mouth curling into a smile.
"What?"
"Merry Christmas," he said sweetly. I smiled and cuddled my head onto his shoulder once again.
I struck him an accusatory glare.
"What?" he asked.
I laughed. "So what was your real reason for this?"
"For what?"
"For coming down here, for getting away from everyone when no one else was looking?"
Rhydian raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"Mhmm."
"Grow up, Maddy," he said harshly, but a twinge of laughter was hidden behind his voice.
"Fine," I said abruptly. "Turn on the TV. Maybe the Christmas parade is still airing."
Rhydian reached for the remote and turned on the television. We flipped through channels for all of 1 minute but evidently were bored by everything listed.
"Look," Rhydian said, breaking our silence. He pointed upwards toward the ceiling.
A muffled gasp escaped my lips. Directly above our heads was a small, shining mistletoe. Three green leaves surrounding a red fruit were dangling overhead, mocking me.
Kiss! KISS! They seemed to say.
Rhydian grimaced, then smiled. He leaned in close to me, his hot breath hitting my neck. His dazzling green eyes gazed brilliantly into mine. He was a true thing of beauty, it was unnatural. With one hand on my back and one on my cheek, he pulled me close to him. With closed eyes, his pressed his soft lips gently against mine in a deep, passionate kiss.
My hands ran along the front of his chest, gently feeling his tight abs. Rhydian flopped backwards on the couch, still kissing me. I landed on top of him. The two of us continued kissing until we heard footsteps coming from above.
Instantly, I pulled away from Rhydian. We sat upright, side-by-side, awaiting the arrival of whomever was coming to find us.
"Maddy? Rhydian?" I heard Shannon's concerned voice call. "Are you two down here?"
"Uh, yeah, Shan, right here," I replied.
Shannon's feet clunked down the stairs and she appeared in front of us, a stern expression painted on her face.
"Where have you been? You're missing all the - ohhh…" Shannon's frown turned into a smirk. She looked upwards towards the ceiling, then changed her gaze to us.
I hesitated. "What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to sound genuinely confused.
"So, you two weren't down here making out?"
Rhydian and I glanced at each other, then turned at Shannon. Almost as if on cue, the two of us started laughing simultaneously.
"Please, Shannon, that's ridiculous."
Shannon wasn't convinced. "Oh, really, the two of you are sitting almost on top of each other, your faces are both extremely red, you're both horrible liars, and let's not disregard the fact that your sitting underneath a mistletoe."
I attempted to play it off as if I hadn't noticed the mistletoe. "What? Oh!" I immediately scooted away from Rhydian, laughing and gasping for air at the same time.
Rhydian buzzed his lips. "Well, I think I'm just going to go upstairs and grab… something." He bolted out of the room and dashed up the stairs.
Shannon's eyes followed him, then looked at me. "You know you can tell me anything, Maddy," Shannon said.
"I know…"
"So, did you guys kiss?"
"No, I-''
Shannon glared at me.
"Fine, we kissed, alright?"
Shannon squealed with delight. "Oh my God, I knew it! This is so exciting!" She began to ramble to herself before I interrupted her.
"Shan! Please don't tell anyone. Especially Tom."
"My lips are sealed."