A short Christmas story for the holidays! I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima! Not me!

Sleigh Bells

Chapter 1: Poinsettias

After a glance out the frost-laced window I left the warm building, tugging my scarf closer to my already rosy cheeks. I locked up the doors of my workplace, not like anyone would steal from it. Our coffee business was small. We only had a few customers, and they were regulars. The business was failing, and despite all of us knowing this we still struggled to keep it alive.

I stuffed my hands into the large pockets my winter coat offered, and trudged down the snow-packed sidewalk. Store windows blared with Christmas colors and decorations, and I scoffed at the rosy cheeks of a nutcracker in the window of another shop. Why did everyone think this holiday was the "greatest time of year?" All you did was waste money on pointless things, how was that "merry?" I tore my attention from the too-vibrant lights and starting again on my path back to my crowded apartment.

"Excuse me miss, would you be interested in purchasing a Christmas bouquet of exquisite poinsettias? One bouquet id only five dollars." A young girl approached me, a genuine smile painted nicely on her soft face. Her cheeks and nose were reddened cutely from the cold of December. They were nice flowers, and it would be rude to refuse her offer, but…they were Christmas flowers. I don't like Christmas. Just as I was about to kindly turn down the girl's generous offer, a loud voice broke the stillness of the evening.

"WENDY!" A voice shouted, and the man I assumed the vessel of the voice came at full speed towards the girl after turning a sharp corner. When he finally got to the girl, Wendy, he stood beside her, his dark eyes latching onto me.

"Hey! Would you like a-"
"I'm sorry, I'll have to turn down your offer, thank you very much, though," I confessed genuinely, and took a step to leave.

"H-Hey! Ah, wait!" The boy called, and I turned to face him. "Can I know your name?" He asked, and I had to mentally tell myself that my face was red from the cold.

"Lucy," I told him, and a grin spread across his strong features.

"Great! He chirped, and plucked a flower from a bouquet, and handed it to me. "A pretty flower for a pretty girl," He said with a smile, and now I knew I couldn't hide the blush. And now, I couldn't refuse the flower that reeked of "Christmas cheer." I daintily accepted the blossom, and offered a smile.

"Thank you," I said, my preferred time to leave overdue and I turned on my heel.

"Wait! Um, can I have your number?" He asked, a faint pink tinting his cheeks.

"Y-Yeah, um sure," I nearly squeaked. Why was he talking to me so much? Sure, he was cute. The sharp jawline, dark yet big eyes, flushed cheeks, and the white scarf wrapped around his neck were all examples. I scribbled the familiar number onto a ripped corner of paper and handed it to him, and he gave me just about the same thing, different digits scrawled on it.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow!" He called out to me and started walking down a different path from my own with the indigo-haired girl beside him, swinging the basket in her arm as she talked about something with him. I glanced back once more, catching the man's eyes with my own for a moment. Swiftly, I snapped my head back around, set on getting home before dark. My mind swam before I realized I didn't even know the rosy-haired boy's name. My feet stopped and before I knew what I was doing, I called out to him.

"Hey-!" I shouted, but my voice halted to a stop when I saw that he was gone already. My eyes dropped, and I turned back around, something that I seemed to be doing a lot as of today. For the last time that day, I turned around harshly and ventured to my home.

A sigh slipped from my lips as I swung the large door open to my apartment, and closed it behind me as I kicked off my boots. As soon as I slid a comfortable sweater on, a notification popped up on the screen of my phone.

351-777-9571

U free 2morrow?

Hope you liked the first chapter of Sleigh Bells! Please leave a lovely review, and don't forget to have a great day!