Author's Note: Hey guys! A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. This is my first finished fic; it also works as a sneak peek of what I'm working on at the moment. I hope you enjoy it because I sure enjoyed writing it. It's a little rough, but I'm trying my best! Haha. I own Rienne, Ariadne, and Enya, but Santana, unfortunately, is Glee's baby and not mine. I'll stop crying eventually :)
11:30 PM
Shiloh Drive was looking festive and pretty this Christmas Eve. On any other day, not a single soul would be out of their beds. Tonight was different. Gleaming Christmas decorations twinkled into the night, and the soft light radiating from living rooms cast a warm glow over the streets. The largest house, however, was pitch dark. Anyone would think that its inhabitants had gone to visit family in Indiana, or escaped to a distant tropical paradise somewhere in the Far East. Naturally, they would fail to check the basement of the estate. Down the winding staircase, there was a cozy little room illuminated by a single red lamp. Upon the simple bed, an ostensibly enervated young girl lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling—well, staring, more specifically, at the New York City poster stuck to the ceiling. Her short, ash blonde hair was uncombed, and she wore only a plain white slip. On the table next to the bed sat a lifeless iPhone and an untouched cup of hot chocolate.
In a tiny one-bedroom house, a slightly different Christmas celebration went on. The whirring sound of a sewing machine filled the air, interrupted only by the chorus of two sweet voices. A gaunt, weary woman sat, pedaling the machine and guiding a filmy red fabric under the jittery needle. At her feet, a lovely, younger version of the woman was perched upon a cushion, sewing golden buttons onto a finished blazer. Both had identical olive skin, and their golden brown hair tied up topknots. They sang as they worked, the former taking the melody, and the latter taking the harmony of the song, "Do You Hear What I Hear." When the song finished, they stopped working and took a swig of their respective cups of eggnog.
"Ariadne, you've been spending the Christmases of the best years of your life in this dump, helping me work. And deliberately, most of the time! How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not requiring you to work, or even stay in tonight. This is my job, not yours. Seriously, it's making me feel guilty, all child labor laws aside." the woman smiled, shaking her head.
"Ma, relax. I don't think you understand. This is my idea of fun. And besides, everyone else is either abroad or with family tonight." Ariadne reassured, cutting the thread with her teeth.
"Ugh. Fine. I don't deserve you, you know that right?"
"Well hey, if you really want to make it up to me so badly, I'll gladly take a portion of the profits. Judging by the number of orders you have, we're hitting it big this year."
"Done. We split it 80/20. And I get 80 only because I have to make sure we don't live on a park bench."
"You're cool, you know THAT, right? I'll finally be able to buy some legit cashmere fabric!"
"I just had to get the weird daughter who chooses to make her own clothes instead of buying them when given the choice. This is bittersweet."
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I don't recall the last time you walked in here with a shopping bag from an actual clothes store. By the way, this is done." Ariadne said, laying the finished blazer aside.
"Nice job. You know, I remember when you were seven, you first tried doing buttons and it took you two years to learn how to place them in one line. And yet you could sew full outfits for your dolls in just one day."
The silver cellphone on the floor suddenly buzzed.
"Bah, buttons are a bitch anyway," she said absentmindedly, as she read the text she'd just received.
"Yes, pottymouth, I'll agree with you on that one."
"Ma, is it okay if I go see someone for a bit?" Ariadne asked, looking up from her phone.
"By all means….is this 'someone' a boy, though?" her mother inquired.
"Nope, just a girl from Cheerios."
"All right, but wear your good coat, be back before sunrise, and don't try to get on your bike if you get drunk. Just call me."
"Yeah, whatevz. I know. Merry Christmas, Ma." she said, giving her a hug and running straight out the door.
"I swear to god, Ariadne, DO NOT COME HOME PREGNANT." she yelled jokingly, going back to her work.
"YEAH, I'LL TELL HER TO USE A CONDOM AND ALL." Ariadne yelled back.
The Victorian-style house on the cul-de-sac positively screamed ostentatious, with its gaudy decorations and rampant use of the colors red and gold. A family party was ongoing; a crowd of well-dressed, black-haired folk were chatting amongst themselves, getting food from the buffet table, and surreptitiously comparing their relatives' kids, outfits, and cars to their own. Some stuffy piano music completed the atmosphere. Behind a pillar, a prim young girl was hunched over her Blackberry.
'What a depressing holiday. Drop by my house if you have time, will you? We have candycane cupcakes. xx' she'd typed. Just when she hit send, she heard her mother's assertive voice call her name from the dining room. She hurried into the room, to find her mother conversing with her abhorrent aunt from California.
"Ah, Enya. Sit here. Your aunt wants to talk to you." her mother commanded, giving her a look that said, "You'd better not screw this up."
"Enya, I haven't seen you in ages! Your cousin Kristen is right there playing the piano. I daresay she's gotten quite good, don't you think? She actually placed third in a national piano competition. We're so proud of her." she said haughtily, motioning towards the lanky girl in an expensive red suit.
"Yeah, she's amazing." Enya said softly, rolling her eyes a bit.
"Enya's part of the Cheerios, the best cheerleading team in all of Ohio. Not to mention she's taking 5 AP classes and getting nothing lower than a B in all of them." her mother said with a smug look.
"Darling, Ohio is a very small state," she coughed, taking a sip of champagne in between phrases. "Did you know Kristen got 2200 on the SATs?"
"Oh, the Cheerios have competed in nationals and placed many times. Their coach is no joke." she gulped some champagne down a little too quickly. "Enya got around 2300, didn't you?"
"I got 2000, Mom. I've only taken it once." she sighed.
"Oh yeah? Well you still have another chance to improve, anyway." her mother mumbled, gulping more champagne.
Awkward silence ensued. Enya reached for a piece of candy from the large bowl in the middle and popped it into her mouth.
"Careful, darling, those calorie bombs go straight to your middle and thighs. I'm sure you know that." her aunt drawled. "Will you excuse me for a minute, I need to tell Kristen that she's murdering this legato part."
When she was out of earshot, Enya's mother turned around to look at her. "You're going to start SAT review classes as soon as possible, young lady. Your scores are disappointing."
"But I got the second highest grade in my class! Most top-tier colleges would already accept me with my current score."
"What do I care. See your cousin? She doesn't get away with half the things that I let you get away with. Your aunt puts her nose to the grindstone, and she delivers. Maybe I should try that approach. And for the record, your aunt is right. You've gotten disgustingly fat this Christmas. Look at you, all fat and no muscle anymore."
"Okay then." Enya muttered.
"No, don't take this so lightly. You'd better start caring more. Look at you. Your stomach's bursting out of that dress and it looks awful. Your cheerleading is going to be affected, too. I'm putting you on a diet starting tomorrow."
"Whatever." she answered softly, her eyes downcast.
"Hey, you'd better watch it. Stop acting like a brat. Smile and stand up straight or else you're really gonna get it from me later." her mother warned.
Enya forced the corners of her mouth up and excused herself from the table. She made her way through the living room, where, as usual, her cousins ignored her. She stepped outside into the light snow unnoticed, and walked around to the side of the house.
11:40 PM
The sound of the basement door opening and a shout snapped the girl out of her thoughts. Someone was coming down the winding stairs. She looked around, perturbed and still in shock, searching for something that could be used as a weapon. In a futile attempt, she grabbed the red lamp from its outlet, figuring she could smash it on the assailant's head or something. The room became dark, save for the dim Christmas lights installed upon the walls. The intruder finally got to the bottom of the staircase, and she charged at him, screaming bloody murder. He ducked, just missing the flying lamp by inches.
"JESUS CHRIST, RIENNE, WHAT ARE YOU ON?" a female voice screamed.
"SANTANA?" Rienne yelled back, clutching her heart. "WHAT AM I ON? WHAT ARE YOU ON? YOU JUST SCARED THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF ME."
"No shit. I think you need drugs for that level of anxiety. Really, bitch, if I had been anyone else, you would've killed me."
"AND I FULLY INTEND TO. Is there a specific reason that you broke into my house?"
"I was just checking on you. The lights were all out in here and you said you'd be home this Christmas. I thought you might be lonely or something. Y'know, like me."
"Hold up a second. My heart's about to fall out of my mouth." Rienne breathed, falling back onto her bed. "You owe me for that lamp. My aunt's gonna kill me when she gets back."
"Yeesh, Merry Christmas to you too, Frosty the Snowbitch," Santana snapped. "I can go now if you like. I broke two hairpins just tryin'a get in here so I guess you owe me for those, too."
"Screw it, you can stay. Not sure what you'd want to do here anyway, but I can make you some hot chocolate or something."
"Thanks Louisa," she crooned, throwing her bag onto the floor and flopping down onto the bed next to Rienne. She chose to ignore the fact that Rienne had chucked a pillow at her for calling her Louisa again. "Hey, how the hell are you not freezing your ass off? You're wearing a handkerchief."
"Dunno, I don't really care, at this point. I don't get cold very much, anyway."
She accidentally moved her hand a little, her chilled skin brushing against Santana's for a split second.
"Don't lie to me, cariño." Santana said, standing up and rummaging through her bag. "Luckily, I bring essentials." She unearthed a festive red and green flannel blanket and threw it clumsily over the bewildered Rienne.
"I won't even ask. Anyway, thanks doll." she murmured. "Santana Claus, how 'bout it?"
"Lame, but catchy." she smirked. "Ooh, nice decor," she commented, resuming her post on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. "You miss NYC?"
"Yeah, deff. Christmas up there was sweet. My brother would take me and my sister ice skating at Rockefeller while my mom and dad went out for dinner. And we'd go on the best shopping sprees every single year. Each of us got to spend like, five thousand bucks apiece."
"Damn. No wonder you always clean up so nice. Hey, I'm a cold-blooded bitch, would you mind sharing that?" she motioned to the blanket.
"Aight, move up closer. I haven't felt this warm in awhile." she said, her eyes closed with satisfaction. The other girl squirmed in next to her.
"I've spent every single Christmas alone with my Abuela. But she couldn't stay up until midnight this year, so I let her go to bed and decided to bum around." Santana said wistfully.
"Your definition of bumming around is real fascinating."
"No kidding. Usually the best it gets is a one night stand with some anonymous guy. Hence the blanket, because almost all guys don't bother washing their bedding after their last girl."
"Ha, so why'd traditions change this year?" the blonde asked flippantly, one eye opening lazily.
Santana rolled over onto her side, facing Rienne with an impish grin. "They don't have to."
11:50 PM
Ariadne steered her bike through the rich neighborhood, straining her eyes to carefully pick out the clear bits of the road, which fortunately, was quite well-lit. Winter was the worst season EVER. She thankful that everyone was indoors; practically no one in this place found it socially acceptable to use a bike as a method of transportation. She pedaled all the way up to the very end of the street, where there was that familiar cul-de-sac. She dismounted, hid her bike behind a tree, and walked up cautiously towards the house. She was about to peek in through the window, but she heard sniffling from around the side of the house and went to investigate.
Moments later, she had a sobbing, spluttering Enya in her arms. They sat side by side on the ledge, Ariadne humming softly to the forlorn girl and stroking her shiny ebony hair. It was completely rare seeing Enya emotional like this. She was only wearing her red velvet party dress without a coat, and though Ariadne tried to warm her up, she couldn't stop shivering. For a few minutes, they asked no questions, nor said anything at all. Eventually, sobs turned into heavy breaths, and heavy breaths into melancholy silence.
"Is no one going to look for you here?" Ariadne asked finally, practically whispering. "It's almost Christmas."
"Nope. What purpose do I have? I can't compare to anyone, especially not Princess Kristen. To top it all off, I'm fat, I'm ugly, and I will NEVER be good enough for this screwed up family. Ten bucks that no one will wonder where I am for the rest of the evening," Enya brooded.
"You know what, I've been there. I know it's not going to help if I tell you that you're the most beautiful girl I know, even if I mean it with every fiber of my being, so let me just put it this way. What good are any of those things? Do you truly believe that being better at trivial things than other people is important? Would being fat, which you are seriously just not, make you any worse of a person? What exactly does ugly mean, anyway? What is the basis of ugly? And most importantly, do you really WANT to be good enough for your family? Do you really want to be like them, judgmental, arrogant, and overbearing?"
"Guess not." she answered.
"Good. Now, I don't expect you to get over this right away, and I'll let you scream about it all you want, but look, it's Christmas in five minutes. Are you going to let them ruin this gorgeous night for you or are you going to put this aside, get us some of those cupcakes and celebrate with me?" she prodded, wiping a stray tear from Enya's face with one finger.
The girl smiled at her, ran inside and emerged wearing a big fur coat, with two red and white cupcakes in hand. Ariadne grabbed one, and they both wolfed the confections down at lightning speed.
"One minute till Christmas," she beamed, watching Enya twirl haphazardly on the slippery ground out of habit, her dress billowing in the icy breeze.
Enya, too, watched her, the way she stood in her oversized boots, the way the Christmas lights hit her golden brown hair, the way she was looking back so intently, and the way she'd tilt her head back every now and then to catch a snowflake on her tongue. She drew up closer to her, until they were face-to-face. They directed their attention towards Ariadne's watch, eyes wide open and holding their breaths like they were about to ride on a roller coaster. Fifteen seconds….ten seconds….
12:00 AM
Rienne exhaled contentedly as she felt muscular arms encircle her bare torso under the blanket. Now, she was absolutely certain that she'd never felt this warm in weeks.
"San? What did we just do?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"You tell me," Santana mumbled sleepily. "If you ask me, I'd say we celebrated Christmas the right way."
"When I see you next time, what am I supposed to do?"
"Shhh," she soothed, caressing the blonde's thigh with one hand. "Look, it's Christmas."
Rienne glanced at the clock, and upon seeing that the hands were both pointing at 12, she decided to let this go, just once. Right now, she was here, Santana was here, it was Christmas, and at this very moment, she wasn't alone. And who knows? Maybe this was the start of something.
She nuzzled her head into Santana's neck, closing her eyes. "Merry Christmas, Santana Claus."
"Back at you, Frosty."
"Wait, wait, wait, what do we do when the countdown ends?" Enya asked frantically.
9…8….
"I don't know," Ariadne mumbled, looking straight into her black eyes.
7…6….5…4
"BUT I WANT TO MAKE THIS MEMOR—"
3….2…1…
"Merry Christmas, beautiful." Ariadne whispered when they finally broke apart, a devious grin on her face. From inside the house, they could hear Enya's family cheering and greeting each other, oblivious to what was going on outside.
The poor girl was so taken aback, she couldn't speak. Ariadne gave a single wink, turned on her heel, and ran for her bike. As she pedaled away, she imagined Enya's face and giggled to herself. Someone was definitely not going to be sleeping tonight.