A/N: Fanfictioners, I wish you a very merry Christmas! Especially to my helpful, wonderful friend LaneyRockGodess.
Been working on this one-shot forever! Also known as a week.
Story over uses the words: Christmas, present, gift, and wrapping paper. Because, really, what other words can you use in place of these? Don't answer that.
Christmases were usually for family only. Corey had Trina for family. It was understandable that he did not enjoy most Christmases or holiday dinners. In fact, the only food he got was from a cheap restaurant or sometimes, when Laney noticed, a half-decent meal.
As this special day rolled around again, Corey found himself in front of the TV, eating a chicken sandwich. It was close enough to turkey. Chicken and turkey were both edible fowls. Well, if it was chicken that he was eating and not some other product.
But this Christmas was going to be extra special. He had a gut feeling, and his gut feeling was never wrong.
'Unless it's indigestion,' Corey thought, staring intently at his sandwich.
The knock on his front door took Corey by surprise. He nearly dropped his meal on the floor, not that it would matter. It would probably make it taste better.
"Hey, merry Christmas," Laney greeted around the three gifts she was carrying when he opened the door. Corey stood uncomprehending for a moment, wondering why anyone liked Christmas. Then he remembered (most) people had better families and he had his friends. Thinking a bit, he decided that his friends were the family part of his Christmases.
"Merry Christmas, Lanes," Corey replied with a bright smile. His gut feeling went haywire as she grinned back. Definitely indigestion.
Laney held out a square box wrapped in what had to be the most untraditional wrapping paper ever. It was blue with guitars, flames, guitars set aflame, and anything similar to that, including a hand drawn Grojband symbol right on top.
Corey took it and weighed it in his hands as he tried to figure out what it was. He gave up quickly, ushering his friend out of the cold.
"Aw, thanks, Laney! Come on in. I've got your present around here somewhere." She stepped inside, taking off her coat and gloves.
After setting his gift on the counter, Corey bolted upstairs in search of Laney's present. He reached his room, threw open the door, and sprinted to his bed. The box lay untouched under the bed. The only problem was Corey forgot to wrap it.
"Uh, Lanes, hold on a second. I might've forgotten to wrap your gift," Corey called downstairs, frantically looking for wrapping paper. He knew it was here somewhere. Somewhere in the pigsty he called a room that is.
"Why didn't I clean my room last weekend?" the boy groaned to himself.
Back downstairs, Laney was sitting on the couch, lazily watching whatever movie was on already. She smiled to herself when she realized Corey had been watching a sappy holiday movie.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Lanes, get that for me, would you?" Corey yelled, briefly stopping his wrapping. He glanced down at his messy work and winced. Oh well, it was the thought that counted.
Laney pulled the door open. Kon greeted her with an excited hug and a, "Corey! Wait, you're not Corey."
Kin rolled his eyes playfully. "Well duh, Kon, she's Laney." His brother stuck out his tongue.
She laughed, motioning for them to come in. "He's upstairs, wrapping my present."
The twins set their presents down next to Laney's. She noticed they had two presents, each wrapped in a different color. With a questioning look from her, Kin pointed to the nametags.
"Kon had a suspicious you'd be here so we brought yours. Good thing we did, I guess," the shorter twin explained. Laney just nodded as she heard Corey hurrying down the stairs.
Corey was carefully balancing three gifts in his arms, practically skipping towards them, and whistling, all at once. The band was impressed he could multitask so well.
The band leader grinned as he handed Kin, Kon, and Laney their gifts respectively. Kin's present was poorly wrapped in green paper. Kon had a yellow, duck wrapped box. Laney was given a horribly messy wrapped red…thing. She wasn't sure it was a shape.
"Okay, who's going to open first?" Corey said, clapping his hands to get their attention. The band mates glanced at each other in silent conversation.
"You are," Kin answered as the rest nodded. The guitarist barely contained a elated, girly squeal as he pounced on the first box. It just so happed to be Kon and Kin's contribution to him.
Throwing the bland, silver wrapping paper aside, Corey saw the present and grinned. He held up a video game entitled, "The Remaining of Us" with pictures of zombies on the cover. The twins bowed their head in acknowledgement when Corey thanked them.
Kin opened the box from Corey next, revealing a new chemistry set. Kon unwrapped the one from Laney, and showed off a pair of engraved drumsticks. Laney chose the one given to her by Kin and Kon, plucking a notebook out of the package.
She flipped through the blank pages with a thoughtful frown.
"This notebook doesn't have anything to do with Trina's diary getting blow to bits and not having any lyrics, does it? Cause I'm not giving you lyrics from my diary." The twins flushed uncomfortably.
"Uh, n-no, why would you think that? That's definitely not what we were trying to do!" Kin stuttered. His brother looked suddenly confused.
" But I thought that was…" Kon trailed at the glares from two of his friends. Laney snapped the book shut, setting it down beside her and leaning back.
"Oh, good, because if it was, I was going to tackle you guys," she said causally. Both boys edged away from her.
Corey chuckled as he watched his friends. No, they were more to him, he realized. They were his family.
The bandleader purposely shook his present from Laney a little too much, causing whatever was inside to make a loud noise. It had the desired effect and everyone looked up at him, startled. He faked a embarrassed smile.
"Next gift is from Lanes," Corey announced, bouncing a look around the trio. They all smiled at him, the girl just slightly more than anyone else.
Slowly, as if unwrapping it might cause it to explode, Corey opened his gift. Laney bit her lip as an indescribable look passed over his face. A smile spreading across his lips, he stared at the box before launching himself towards Laney in a bear hug. She tumbled backwards.
"Wow, what the heck did Laney give him?" Kin whispered in amusement. He leaned towards the gift.
"What is it?" said Kon when his brother's facial expression changed from amused to thoroughly surprised.
"It's just a note." The twins glanced back at Laney and Corey, the latter still squeezing the former and profusely thanking her. They stared at the note.
"Maybe there's something under it," Kin suggested, trying to think logically. He moved the letter and spotted a little tin.
"Oh, shiny…" Kon muttered, reaching past his twin to snatch up the container. Inside the tin was four slips of paper and a key. They exchanged confused looks.
"I don't get it. I can make a time machine, create a love potion, split an atom, and a billion other super smart things, but I have no idea why Corey is so happy!" Kin grumbled loudly.
Laney reluctantly pushed Corey of her and brushed her self off, her face resembling a cherry red color. Kin and Kon winced as they were swept into a lung crushing hug from their band leader.
"Guys, I can't believe we're going to play at New York on New Year's!"
"We're going to do what?" both twins exclaimed, shoving off Corey.
"That was my gift to him. I got us a gig, plane tickets, and a room in New York on New Year's Eve," Laney explained. Jaws dropped, the brothers started sputtering then fainted. Corey stared at them blankly.
"So…wanna open my present to you?" He said snapping back into his usual peppy self. And maybe a little more giddy than normal because, if you've forgotten, they were going to play at Times Square. On New Year's Eve.
"Sure," the red head answered, completely ignoring the unconscious bodies of their friends. A little nap never hurt anyone. Unless you were Kenny Chesney. (See what I did there?)
Flinging aside the very wrinkled paper, she took in the now open box. She gave Corey a amazed look. Corey grinned back.
"A ring?" Laney inquired, holding up a little, gold trimmed ring shaped like a gingerbread ma- uh, woman. Two emerald stones were set in place of the eyes. It even had her name engraved in on the back.
"Yea, you know, friendship rings and all that," Corey mumbled blushing. He held up his right hand for her to see. A duplicate ring, except with sapphire eyes and somehow recognizably a boy, rested on his ring finger. Laney marveled at how much trouble he'd gone through to get the rings personalized and everything, all for her.
"Thanks, Core," Laney muttered in his ear as she hugged him.
"Anytime, Lanes," Corey whispered back.
And for a moment, he was glad that he went through the chaos of personalizing that friendship ring, even if he was still picking candy cane out of his hair.