This is a collection of one-shots, kind of counting down to Christmas. I know, I'm a little late, but, whatever. No, they're not in any logical order, they're just random, and somewhat Christmas related.

So, I hope you enjoy them.

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25 Days

Memory

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It had been snowing the first time I saw her.

The funny thing was, I wasn't even in Malibu. Well, of course I wasn't in Malibu, 'cause it just doesn't snow there.

I think I was about eight years old. I was with my family – we were visiting some relatives that lived in New York, for Christmas.

We went out for dinner downtown a few days before Christmas… around the twentieth.

And I just remember… that was the first time I laid eyes on her.

"C'mon Oliver. Out and about," my dad said, and jumped out from the van and stepped onto the pure white snow. We had to park pretty far from the actual restaurant we were supposed to be eating at, and the snow had been coming down in light flurries.

Looking around, I'd been fascinated by the mere feel, and touch of the snow. It was beautiful, and I wished that we could have had white Christmases in Malibu.

My brother, Andrew, stepped out of the car behind me, and ushered me forward.

"Start walkin', squirt. We wanna get ahead of mom and dad… it's not cool getting caught with them in a place like New York City," he rambled on. He was sixteen, so he'd been all about being independent. He'd also been all about using me as a chick magnet.

So, we walked along the street, our parents trailing after, when I saw this very pretty, brunette girl, about my age, on the other side of the street.

Unlike the other boys in my school at the time, I'd never thought that girls were gross or anything.

And, always being Oliver Smokin' Oken, my first instinct had been to walk across the street and introduce myself to her.

"Hey, hey, where're you going, bro? Stay right at my side where all the girls can see you," he said, checking out a woman as she walked down the street, right past us with a small smile at my brother.

I rolled my eyes.

"I wanna say hi to that girl," I said, pointing at the girl across the street.

She must've noticed.

In fact, I'm sure she noticed.

She'd looked back at me, in her big, stuffy, purple snow jacket, her bright blue eyes visible from where I stood. She had a matching purple hat on, so I remember how her long, brown hair puffed out from under it. Looking at me strangely, she blinked curiously. Just looking at her, I remembered thinking that she'd been the prettiest thing on the street. The bright lights and the snow's presence did not compare, but only enhanced her beauty. She had this… incredible smile, though her teeth were kinda big and a little out of place. Her cheeks had been so rosy, and only made her prettier, and all I could do was gawk, and put my arm down slowly as my brother smiled.

"Quit drooling, Olive," he said, messing up my hair in a fond way.

"Hey!" I suddenly heard from across the street. A blonde boy who looked no older than eleven began to run to that really pretty girl.

He was talking while he ran to her, and she stood stationary. It took me a while to register that she'd been staring back, just as frozen as me.

"Don't run off like that, a'right? Mom and dad are looking for us," the blonde boy said, grabbing her gloved hand.

"But, Jackson – that boy," I heard her say. She had a strange southern accent, though it wasn't too strong.

"Come on. Tell me about it later. Gotta get back to Aunt Ida's," he said, and with that, she was dragged away and out of my life.

"Let's go Olive," he said, pushing me along. "Mom and dad are catching up."

I spent the whole day think about her. But… when I thought on it more, she'd been just another girl, passing through my life.

Well, it had been three years, and it was that time again, cutting close to Christmas. My family had decided to stay home this year, with the warm weather, and I'd already forgotten all about that girl on the street.

I had been eating ice cream on the way to my hangout spot on the beach during the beginning of Christmas vacation.

"Damn… this is good," I remembered muttering as I ate. The ice cream began to drip down the cone, so I stared down at it while I ate it up.

In one second, the ice cream was out of my hands, on some girl's shirt.

"Agh!" I heard her groan, and I looked up.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," I said, finding it best not to touch her, since the ice cream was now on her chest.

"It's… okay…" she said, while she wiped it off.

"Merry Christmas…" I laughed a little, and she did too.

She finally looked up, and I had to step back once because I was stunned.

"I'm Oliver. Oliver Oken. Sorry about that," I said, as I stared at her.

Bright blue eyes, long brown hair, straighter teeth, and rosy cheeks.

She looked familiar.

"I'm Miley – Miley Stewart," she said with a bright smile. The accent was familiar too.

"Nice to… meet you," I smiled, and shook her sticky, ice cream coated hand.

She giggled.

"Nice to meet you too," she said.

"Uh – have we met – before?" I asked, convinced that I'd met her before.

"… Uh… no. I don't think so," she said, looking at me with this curious face that I'd somehow remembered from years ago.

"Right. Sorry," I said, with an apologetic smile. "You just looked like some girl I saw before, I guess."

"Yeah… you look familiar too," she said, and I smiled, and it was at that moment that I remembered, and that I knew that she was that little girl on the street that I couldn't stop staring at from three years ago.

Looking at her face, I think she remembered too.