"Stacy."
Stacy looked up from the box of Christmas ornaments, surprised to find Candace standing in the middle of her living room. "Candace? How did you-"
"Your mom let me in." Candace looked worried, her eyes glancing everywhere except at Stacy. "Um, could you maybe come with me real quick?"
Stacy blinked, surprised and wondering what her best friend had in plan. Then again anything was better than untangling the bundle of red and green lights that would have to go up all over the front of the house. "Sure." She got up and followed Candace to the front of the house, jumping slightly when her friends hand grabbed her own. Instead of being cold from the outside air, Candace's hand was surprisingly warm and comforting.
Once they reached the front door Candace stopped, biting her lower lip in worry. Stacy gave her red headed friends hand a squeeze of encouragement, causing Candace to smile.
"Stacy. Um..."
"Candace," Stacy took Candace's other free hand in her own, holding both with care. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."
Candace smiled, a small blush coming over her cheeks. Taking her hands out of Stacy's, Candace reached into her jacket and retrieved a folded up piece of paper. It looked oddly familiar to Stacy, though the Asian girl couldn't place where she'd seen it before. Unfolding the parchment, Candace cleared her throat before reading. "Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas this year is for my best friend to notice me, in the same way I notice her," Stacy widened her eyes, her face becoming redder then a tomato. "I know it's a lot to ask for, and I may not have been entirely good this year, but this is something I've been wanting for a long time. If you could get me this one thing I promise I won't ask for anything else. Sincerely yours," Candace looked up from the letter, staring straight into Stacy's eyes. "Stacy Hirano."
There was a silence between them, and a slight bit of dread coming from Stacy's side, though throughout the entire reading of the letter neither Stacy or Candace had moved from their spot. After a moment Stacy's mouth suddenly felt dry, and all she could do was ask the obvious. "How did you get that?"
Candace sighed, putting the letter back into her jacket. "Remember when you asked me to help you clean your room, cause your mom said if it wasn't clean by the time she got back from the beauty salon you'd be grounded for a week?" Stacy nodded, realization slowly coming forth. "I found it while I was cleaning out from behind your desk."
Stacy brought her hands up and rubbed her face in embarrassment. "I wrote that back in middle school. Thought it got thrown away in the trash or something."
"Heh, yeah not so much." Another silence between the two, the beat of Stacy's heart was all the Asian girl could hear. "Stacy, I gotta' ask. Do you still feel...you know, that way?"
Stacy gulped, fear of what her best friend might think if she answered honestly. Then she looked into Candace's eyes, saw the care and love that they had, and decided the hell with it. "Yeah, probably always will."
The smile that appeared on Candace's face washed away all dread that Stacy had, and the hug that followed just sealed the fact in Stacy's mind that Candace would always be her friend, no matter the circumstance. One they pulled away Candace looked up, the smile appearing again on her face. Puzzled, Stacy looked up as well and nearly fainted. They were both standing underneath the mistletoe.
"So, aren't ya' gonna' kiss me?" Candace was grinning, blush covering both her cheeks.
"Are you sure?"
"Well, it is tradition." The grin turned sly. "And I'd be lying if I said I didn't want it."
And that boys and girls, is how Stacy and Candace found themselves kissing underneath the mistletoe that one Christmas morning.
"By the way Candace, where's Perry?"
