So this is going to be about five or six chapters, just a short little holiday thing I felt like writing. I'll probably update every day until Christmas, since I have nothing to do, and I hope you enjoy! I won't leave any other author's notes on the story except for maybe the end, but please, if you like it leave a favorite or a review!

Chapter 1

December 10

Tris got out of her car, locked it, and held her coat tight around herself. The cold air would be described as suffocating by some, but to Tris it was the best time of the year. She loved the way her breath fogged in the mornings and how the car could be warm and cozy with Christmas tunes on even though it was below freezing outside. Today was one of those days, and she adjusted her festive scarf around her neck before crunching across the gravel pathway.

Her roommate Christina had given Tris the task of buying the Christmas tree – a real one, Tris had insisted – and Tris was more than happy to pick up one on her way home from school. She had been driving past a family-owned tree farm every day, and she could finally stop in.

The sun was just starting to sink below the mountain line when Tris reached the rows of neat trees, but the aisles were well lit up by white lights lining each side. A few people were idly browsing the trees, and Tris moved forward and began to do the same. Thankfully there was still a good selection, because she was coming a little later than she would have liked.

A few short minutes into looking, she found the perfect tree. Not too tall and not too big – her apartment was not very spacious – but full and perfect at the same time. She put a tag on it and went up to get a salesperson. Tris went inside the quaint building, inhaling deeply and smiling at the scent of cider and pine.

A lone man stood behind the counter, fixing the lights strung around the cash register. Tris stepped up to him and cleared her throat politely. The man immediately looked up, and for a moment Tris was lost in his dark blue eyes. She managed to open her mouth and stutter, "I found a tree."

The man set down the lights and gave her a fake smile, "Okay, lead me to it." He stood up straight and walked around the counter, and he towered over Tris.

Tris lead him out of the heat and into the cold evening, walking quickly to her tree. The man examined it before nodding, and he began to position himself to pick it up and bring it to her car.

"Don't you need help with that?" Tris asked, perplexed. She could clearly see that he was fit, as the muscles in his arms bulged under his shirt as he worked, but the tree seemed a bit too much for only one person to handle.

He shook his head and adjusted his gloved hands around the trunk, "I've got it. Your car's ready, right?"

Tris nodded, thankful that she had remembered to set up the straps beforehand, "Yeah, I'm all set."

With that, he silently picked up the tree and began to walk into the parking lot. He hoisted it over his shoulder and hovered it a little bit, so not to damage the needles or branches.

Tris hurried behind him in astonishment, but kept her mouth shut so she wouldn't embarrass herself any further. As if blatantly checking him out twice wasn't bad enough.

"It's the red one," she pointed to her old beat up car as she walked behind him.

"Alright," the man grunted a bit as he lifted the tree onto her roof. He managed to set it down without a scratch, and he expertly tied it up and secured it. "You're all set. If you'll come inside with me, I'll ring you up," he said, all of it sounding strangely like a script to Tris.

She followed him inside again, and waited patiently as he calculated the price. Once it was tabulated she was pleased as it was a fair amount, and she paid him plus a little tip for his help. "Thank you again," she paused, craning to see if he had a name tag.

He interrupted her before she could ask, "It's Four."

"Your name?"

"Yeah. It's a nickname," the man - Four – elaborated. The way he said it was final so Tris decided not to press him, besides he didn't seem like a very open and welcoming guy.

She was about to head out when she decided that she'd like something from the little bakery. "Actually, can I have a hot cider?"

Four put on a fake smile again, "Of course. A medium or small?"

"Medium," Tris took out four dollars and handed it to him.

He put the money in the register and began to pour her drink. As it heated up he rubbed his jaw, where there was a faint shadow of stubble as Tris had noticed earlier.

Thankfully she snapped out of it and took her gaze off of him as he turned to give her the drink. "Thank you again, Four."

"Just doing my job. Thank you for coming, I hope to see you again soon," he said stiffly. Tris waved and wrapped her hands around the warm cup, bringing it up to her mouth and taking a sip as she walked to her car. She reached up on her tippy toes and double checked that the tree was secure. Once she was assured that it wouldn't fall off on the drive, she got in her car and started back to her apartment.

Tris sang along softly to some of the holiday songs on the radio as she drank the warm cider at every stop light. It filled her belly with a gentle radiating heat, and it put a smile on her face and a glow in her cheeks.

She got to her apartment shortly, and texted Chris to let her know that she was here. There was no way she could get this tree in herself. They were lucky that they were on the first floor and not the second, because that would have been even harder. Tris had also checked with the owner of the building if they were allowed to have a real tree, and the nice woman told her it was okay.

Christina came bounding out of the door a few seconds later, wrapped head to toe in fleece clothing. Tris gulped the remainders of her cider and exited the car, getting on the other side to help Christina get it down.

"I hope you picked a good one," Chris said while untying the tree.

"You have so little faith! I would pick out the tree every year with my family; I know what to look for," Tris retaliated with a smile. "This one's perfect."

They untied the last rope and Chris reached up and started to bring the tree down. Tris tried to help but the hard truth was that she was too short, so she just put her hands on the trunk pretending to bear some of the weight.

The two girls managed to get it down without bumping it too much, and they each took hold of a section of trunk and walked it inside. Chris pried the door open with her foot and Tris peeled back the branches as they walked slowly inside. Christina lead them over to where she had set up the base in the living room, and filled it up with water already. Tris moved her hands down and Chris moved hers up as they repositioned the tree vertically. It lowered into the base well, and though it was a snug fit it stood upright perfectly.

The girls stood up and brushed off their hands, and Christina admired the tree. "I'm glad I trusted you, it is perfect. Oh! I got out the skirt," she bent down and pulled out a striped skirt that looked like a candy cane. "I bought this and some lights and ornaments, so we can decorate it properly!"

"Let me just take off my coat and then we'll get going," Tris walked over to the coat rack and hung hers up, taking off her boots as well. She set her purse on the floor and walked back into the small living room, which was filled up with the presence of the tree.

Chris plugged in the lights and it was a miracle that they all worked, but they did. Tris put on some holiday music and the girls decorated the tree together. Tris wanted to make it extra special, since it was her first real Christmas since moving out of her parents' home two years ago. The college dorms didn't allow trees – fake or real – so this year when she and Christina purchased this apartment, Tris was determined to make the most of Christmas.

Back at the Christmas shop, Four was sitting behind the counter as bored as ever. That blond had been the last customer to purchase a tree that night; everyone else came in to the shop to complain about lack of tree selection and how their lights don't work. Basically, a usual day at work.

For some reason, as he idly played with a piece of mistletoe in his hands, Four couldn't get the girl's image out of his head. She was tiny, with shiny hair and pretty eyes, but she was definitely not his type. Her first offense: the sparkly red and green scarf she had tied around her neck. Four couldn't remember the last time he'd had a nice Christmas, and he concluded that it was most likely while he was eight or nine. Anytime before his mother had died.

He squeezed his eyes shut and blocked all thoughts of that time out of his head. That technique was one he had perfected as a child, and it was very useful even in adulthood.

Four's mind was blank for only a few seconds until the girl's image popped back up. He never asked her name, because he had no reason to, but now he was left wondering who she was. She looked to be a few years younger than him, probably in her later years of college. Four had graduated last year, and was currently out of an actual job. His job at the tree lot was a seasonal thing, and in other times of the year he worked at various computer and tech places, doing odd jobs as a salesperson or repairman.

His goal was to be a coder of some sort at the least, but hopefully eventually a software programmer. For now, he was okay with working in the tree shop because it was a steady income, for at least a month or two. The only good thing about Christmas season to Four was the extra job opportunities that opened up. He had been working on tree lots since he was fourteen back in his hometown, and he didn't completely hate it.

Nobody else came into the shop, and when nine o'clock rolled around Four dutifully closed the shop, locking the register and turning off all Christmas lights. His pickup truck was the only car still in the parking lot, and Four hopped in and started to drive home. He normally liked to listen to the radio, but around Christmastime all his favorite stations went to holiday stuff, and that was his least favorite kind of music.

So he drove home in silence, trying not to get annoyed at the number of nativity scenes he passed on the way.