A New Kind of Christmas
Christmas eve. It had been a relatively quiet holiday so far. It hadn't snowed too much yet, and all the children were wishing for a white Christmas. The crisp winter air smelled distinctly of evergreens as she walked down the busy street towards her destination. The sidewalks and roads were packed with last minute shoppers running to or from the mall, trying to find that perfect gift for that special someone, or rushing home to wrap it. She walked slowly through the mass of people making her best effort to stay calm despite the number of pedestrians that bumped into her and pushed her to move faster. She fought the gigantic urge to scream at them all to watch where THEY were going. The girl kept quiet, still rather depressed that she couldn't spend this Christmas with her family. Her parents were forced to go on a business trip for the weekend, and her other siblings had decided to stay with friends. At her age her parents didn't think it wise to stay home alone, especially around this festive holiday, so after calling all of her friends she was forced to settle for staying with him. Of all the people it had to be him. He was the person she wanted to see the most, yet, he was also the person she wanted to see the least.
"Why couldn't the Kamiya's stay in town for this lousy holiday?" she muttered as she walked passed their building.
She pushed her way through the dense crowds. The wind had begun to pick up and the clouds were thick and dark, which was quite unusual at this time. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck as the bitter wind nipped at her skin and blew her lavender hair in all directions. "Maybe we will get some dumb snow for Christmas." She thought as she sighed out loud and kept walking.
"Ugh, how far does he live? It didn't seem this far in the summer." She complained as the sky finally broke open releasing the cold white snow down to the earth below. "Great! It has to start now!" she shouted to herself. The chilling white fluff fell rapidly coating the ground almost immediately.
Finally, she had arrived at his building and walked up to his apartment. By now there was at least three inches of the stuff blanketing the city. She knocked on the door of the Izumi residence and waited expecting the boy's mother or father, but to her surprise, or delight, it was him. "Oh Yolei, you made it okay." He said sweetly, inviting her in and taking her bags. "Uhh, yeah. It's really coming down out there." She said commenting about the snow. "Yeah, I see." He giggled as he flicked some of the snowflakes out of her hair. This caused her to blush slightly, he never does things like that. "So, where are your parents?" Yolei asked. "Oh, I meant to tell you. It looks as though you're not the only one who'll be celebrating Christmas alone this year." He sighed as he glanced out the window. "What do you mean?" she asked giving him a curious look as she sat down at the kitchen table. "Well, my parents went to go visit my grandparents up north and apparently it started to snow very badly and it's probably certain that they'll be stuck up there for the weekend." He frowned. "Oh, that's too bad. I know just how ya feel." She smiled. "Thanks Yolei. So, do you feel like decorating the place a bit more? You know, to keep our minds off of all the snow." Izzy smiled holding up a large box overflowing with decorations. "Sure, I could use a distraction." She smiled and got up to go help him.
It was a slow process since minor decorative disagreements caused them to move the same ornament to different positions over and over.
"I can't believe we spent half an hour trying to get that one wreath up." Izzy said as he plopped down on the couch. "Yeah, but it looks good where it is now doesn't it." She smiled. "Of course, I just can't believe it took us that long." He smirked. "So, why do you have so many extra decorations?" Yolei questioned. "Well" he began as he got up to walk to the refrigerator. "My mom tends to go a bit… overboard with the festive season and all, want something to eat?" he asked in the middle of his sentence. "Yeah thanks, umm, go on." She said getting up to go to the counter. "Well, she loves to decorate, and when we have Christmas parties she insists on making the place look like the north pole." He smiled. "But we're doing that now and there's no party." She said. "Well, not exactly a big party, just a party of two." He smiled as he placed two glasses on the counter and began to cook. "You can cook?" she asked almost surprised. "Yeah. Matt's not the only one who can cook you know." He replied. "And Matt's not the only one who looks cute in an apron you know." She teased and laughed as Izzy turned a bright shade of red. "Uhh, thanks." He stuttered.
Soon he brought her their early dinner. "Thanks, it looks great." She said as they sat down. "Lets hope it tastes great." Izzy said as he turned on the tv to see the weather news. :::::this is a weather watch warning. To all the following areas……………….:: the man didn't get a chance to finish as the tv screen turned into a replica of the window out looking the snow falling furiously. "Ohh, I just love the snowy screen show." Yolei joked as Izzy turned it off. "Well, I guess it's safe to assume that we're in one of the following areas." He said referring to the previous warning. "I guess we could keep decorating, we have a few more lights to put up." She said, and as if on cue, the electricity cut out. "Scrap that idea." Izzy smiled. "I'm gonna go look for some candles." He added as he left the room. She sat in the living room and stared at the tall Christmas tree near the windows. It was rather tall, but it fit well in the decor. Izzy returned with yet another box and then the endless task of lighting candles began.
"I found this battery for the star on the tree, at least it'll be the only star shining tonight." He said as he reached for the top of the tree and easily pulled the star off. He had grown quite a bit taller and was nearly taller than Tai by now. His height was no longer the issue to be made fun of. He replaced the bright star back on the top of the tree, and the two resumed their decorating.
"So, you have many presents?" he asked her. "Yeah, I opened them yesterday." She answered wrapping some garland around a railing. "That's great. I usually open mine tonight, but I'll wait this year." He smiled at her. "You know what Izzy." He made an "I'm listening" noise. "I thought that this Christmas would be boring, but now, I'm starting to think differently." She smiled. "I'm glad. I wouldn't want you to be sad on Christmas eve." He said.
'Would it be crazy to tell him now? or is the snow getting to me?' she thought as she watched him shifting a decoration back and forth along the wall. For the longest time, since she first met the handsome young man, she had developed a crush on him. Though she could never admit to it, she even pretended to like dozens of other guys just to hide her love for Koushiro Izumi, but now she felt that it was time he knew, just so she could feel better herself.
"How does it look here?" he asked. "Oh, it looks great." She replied dreamily as he smiled and turned to fixate the bow. 'I wonder what she thinks of me? I mean, I know I like her, but… no, she'd never like a guy like me.' he thought sadly as he concentrated on his decorating. Little to his knowledge, he didn't appear to be a "computer nerd" anymore. He had changed quite a lot, and though he thought of himself as the same old short, nerd he always was, others didn't think of him like that. He was one of the most sought after boys at school. Though he was oblivious to all the girls except her.
They had finally finished most of their decorating and were now about to settle down for some hot chocolate that they made earlier. Then she remembered. Yolei got up and glanced at the clock as she found her bag. "Okay here it is." She thought pulling out the small box. Izzy noticed that she had left the room and he strode over to the tree and dug under a pile of presents to find the small box tied with a red bow. "Here it is." He said as he looked at the clock. "Hmmm, eleven. I guess it's close enough." He sighed as he picked up the last decoration in the box and without noticing what it was hung it above the doorway, which by now, was the last empty space in the room.
"Here Izzy. It's kind of a thank you for letting me stay here, merry Christmas present." She said handing him the box. "Yolei. You shouldn't have. Oh, here. This is for you, kind of just a Christmas present." He smiled pulling the box from behind his back. "Izzy. If you said I shouldn't have then why did you?" she asked. "Because I like to be polite and give a sweet girl a Christmas present." He replied sheepishly. "Now I really can't wait for tomorrow." She smiled. "Neither can I." He smiled back as the two placed their presents under the tree and sat in the dim candle lit room for a few minutes to drink the remains of their hot chocolate. "This is really nice of you, to go out of your way to make this Christmas special." She said to him gratefully. "Hey, I do anything to make you happy." He said standing up and taking their empty cups. "Well, I think I'll go and get ready for bed now. I like to get to bed early, or the big guy wont come." He laughed as he placed the mugs in the sink and started for his room. "Oh." He said stopping. "I should probably show you your room huh?" he snickered as Yolei suddenly remembered that she was staying over. "Oh yeah. I'd probably like to know." She answered getting up to follow him through the doorway, when she stopped realizing where he was standing. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Oh, nothing much." She replied walking towards him. suddenly he too realized where he was standing and just what that last ornament was. "You're, uhh, standing under the mistletoe." She giggled. "Why, yes I am." He smiled. "Well, I guess you know the rules." She smiled shyly. "I'm familiar with them." He said blushing.
He looked up at the mistletoe once again. He could almost curse the green foliage for putting him in this embarrassing situation, but decided he should be singing it's praises for giving him such a chance to tell her his true feelings. She stood close to him and they looked deeply into eachother's eyes. "Yolei. I love you." he breathed. She was surprised to hear it. She never thought it was possible, yet there he was under the mistletoe, a perfect opportunity for her and he just said to her the three words she wanted to hear most. "I love you too Izzy." She smiled. He simply smiled back and whispered. "Merry Christmas." As he slowly brought his lips to hers and kissed her. It was true bliss to them. They broke apart and just smiled.
"Goodnight Izzy." She smiled dazedly walking into her room. "Goodnight." He dreamily called after her and went off to his own room. Christmas is a time for miracles and wishes, and as the clock stuck twelve in the Izumi household, the two smiling souls just realized that their biggest Christmas wish had just come true. It was definitely a new kind of Christmas for both of them.
Christmas eve. It had been a relatively quiet holiday so far. It hadn't snowed too much yet, and all the children were wishing for a white Christmas. The crisp winter air smelled distinctly of evergreens as she walked down the busy street towards her destination. The sidewalks and roads were packed with last minute shoppers running to or from the mall, trying to find that perfect gift for that special someone, or rushing home to wrap it. She walked slowly through the mass of people making her best effort to stay calm despite the number of pedestrians that bumped into her and pushed her to move faster. She fought the gigantic urge to scream at them all to watch where THEY were going. The girl kept quiet, still rather depressed that she couldn't spend this Christmas with her family. Her parents were forced to go on a business trip for the weekend, and her other siblings had decided to stay with friends. At her age her parents didn't think it wise to stay home alone, especially around this festive holiday, so after calling all of her friends she was forced to settle for staying with him. Of all the people it had to be him. He was the person she wanted to see the most, yet, he was also the person she wanted to see the least.
"Why couldn't the Kamiya's stay in town for this lousy holiday?" she muttered as she walked passed their building.
She pushed her way through the dense crowds. The wind had begun to pick up and the clouds were thick and dark, which was quite unusual at this time. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck as the bitter wind nipped at her skin and blew her lavender hair in all directions. "Maybe we will get some dumb snow for Christmas." She thought as she sighed out loud and kept walking.
"Ugh, how far does he live? It didn't seem this far in the summer." She complained as the sky finally broke open releasing the cold white snow down to the earth below. "Great! It has to start now!" she shouted to herself. The chilling white fluff fell rapidly coating the ground almost immediately.
Finally, she had arrived at his building and walked up to his apartment. By now there was at least three inches of the stuff blanketing the city. She knocked on the door of the Izumi residence and waited expecting the boy's mother or father, but to her surprise, or delight, it was him. "Oh Yolei, you made it okay." He said sweetly, inviting her in and taking her bags. "Uhh, yeah. It's really coming down out there." She said commenting about the snow. "Yeah, I see." He giggled as he flicked some of the snowflakes out of her hair. This caused her to blush slightly, he never does things like that. "So, where are your parents?" Yolei asked. "Oh, I meant to tell you. It looks as though you're not the only one who'll be celebrating Christmas alone this year." He sighed as he glanced out the window. "What do you mean?" she asked giving him a curious look as she sat down at the kitchen table. "Well, my parents went to go visit my grandparents up north and apparently it started to snow very badly and it's probably certain that they'll be stuck up there for the weekend." He frowned. "Oh, that's too bad. I know just how ya feel." She smiled. "Thanks Yolei. So, do you feel like decorating the place a bit more? You know, to keep our minds off of all the snow." Izzy smiled holding up a large box overflowing with decorations. "Sure, I could use a distraction." She smiled and got up to go help him.
It was a slow process since minor decorative disagreements caused them to move the same ornament to different positions over and over.
"I can't believe we spent half an hour trying to get that one wreath up." Izzy said as he plopped down on the couch. "Yeah, but it looks good where it is now doesn't it." She smiled. "Of course, I just can't believe it took us that long." He smirked. "So, why do you have so many extra decorations?" Yolei questioned. "Well" he began as he got up to walk to the refrigerator. "My mom tends to go a bit… overboard with the festive season and all, want something to eat?" he asked in the middle of his sentence. "Yeah thanks, umm, go on." She said getting up to go to the counter. "Well, she loves to decorate, and when we have Christmas parties she insists on making the place look like the north pole." He smiled. "But we're doing that now and there's no party." She said. "Well, not exactly a big party, just a party of two." He smiled as he placed two glasses on the counter and began to cook. "You can cook?" she asked almost surprised. "Yeah. Matt's not the only one who can cook you know." He replied. "And Matt's not the only one who looks cute in an apron you know." She teased and laughed as Izzy turned a bright shade of red. "Uhh, thanks." He stuttered.
Soon he brought her their early dinner. "Thanks, it looks great." She said as they sat down. "Lets hope it tastes great." Izzy said as he turned on the tv to see the weather news. :::::this is a weather watch warning. To all the following areas……………….:: the man didn't get a chance to finish as the tv screen turned into a replica of the window out looking the snow falling furiously. "Ohh, I just love the snowy screen show." Yolei joked as Izzy turned it off. "Well, I guess it's safe to assume that we're in one of the following areas." He said referring to the previous warning. "I guess we could keep decorating, we have a few more lights to put up." She said, and as if on cue, the electricity cut out. "Scrap that idea." Izzy smiled. "I'm gonna go look for some candles." He added as he left the room. She sat in the living room and stared at the tall Christmas tree near the windows. It was rather tall, but it fit well in the decor. Izzy returned with yet another box and then the endless task of lighting candles began.
"I found this battery for the star on the tree, at least it'll be the only star shining tonight." He said as he reached for the top of the tree and easily pulled the star off. He had grown quite a bit taller and was nearly taller than Tai by now. His height was no longer the issue to be made fun of. He replaced the bright star back on the top of the tree, and the two resumed their decorating.
"So, you have many presents?" he asked her. "Yeah, I opened them yesterday." She answered wrapping some garland around a railing. "That's great. I usually open mine tonight, but I'll wait this year." He smiled at her. "You know what Izzy." He made an "I'm listening" noise. "I thought that this Christmas would be boring, but now, I'm starting to think differently." She smiled. "I'm glad. I wouldn't want you to be sad on Christmas eve." He said.
'Would it be crazy to tell him now? or is the snow getting to me?' she thought as she watched him shifting a decoration back and forth along the wall. For the longest time, since she first met the handsome young man, she had developed a crush on him. Though she could never admit to it, she even pretended to like dozens of other guys just to hide her love for Koushiro Izumi, but now she felt that it was time he knew, just so she could feel better herself.
"How does it look here?" he asked. "Oh, it looks great." She replied dreamily as he smiled and turned to fixate the bow. 'I wonder what she thinks of me? I mean, I know I like her, but… no, she'd never like a guy like me.' he thought sadly as he concentrated on his decorating. Little to his knowledge, he didn't appear to be a "computer nerd" anymore. He had changed quite a lot, and though he thought of himself as the same old short, nerd he always was, others didn't think of him like that. He was one of the most sought after boys at school. Though he was oblivious to all the girls except her.
They had finally finished most of their decorating and were now about to settle down for some hot chocolate that they made earlier. Then she remembered. Yolei got up and glanced at the clock as she found her bag. "Okay here it is." She thought pulling out the small box. Izzy noticed that she had left the room and he strode over to the tree and dug under a pile of presents to find the small box tied with a red bow. "Here it is." He said as he looked at the clock. "Hmmm, eleven. I guess it's close enough." He sighed as he picked up the last decoration in the box and without noticing what it was hung it above the doorway, which by now, was the last empty space in the room.
"Here Izzy. It's kind of a thank you for letting me stay here, merry Christmas present." She said handing him the box. "Yolei. You shouldn't have. Oh, here. This is for you, kind of just a Christmas present." He smiled pulling the box from behind his back. "Izzy. If you said I shouldn't have then why did you?" she asked. "Because I like to be polite and give a sweet girl a Christmas present." He replied sheepishly. "Now I really can't wait for tomorrow." She smiled. "Neither can I." He smiled back as the two placed their presents under the tree and sat in the dim candle lit room for a few minutes to drink the remains of their hot chocolate. "This is really nice of you, to go out of your way to make this Christmas special." She said to him gratefully. "Hey, I do anything to make you happy." He said standing up and taking their empty cups. "Well, I think I'll go and get ready for bed now. I like to get to bed early, or the big guy wont come." He laughed as he placed the mugs in the sink and started for his room. "Oh." He said stopping. "I should probably show you your room huh?" he snickered as Yolei suddenly remembered that she was staying over. "Oh yeah. I'd probably like to know." She answered getting up to follow him through the doorway, when she stopped realizing where he was standing. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Oh, nothing much." She replied walking towards him. suddenly he too realized where he was standing and just what that last ornament was. "You're, uhh, standing under the mistletoe." She giggled. "Why, yes I am." He smiled. "Well, I guess you know the rules." She smiled shyly. "I'm familiar with them." He said blushing.
He looked up at the mistletoe once again. He could almost curse the green foliage for putting him in this embarrassing situation, but decided he should be singing it's praises for giving him such a chance to tell her his true feelings. She stood close to him and they looked deeply into eachother's eyes. "Yolei. I love you." he breathed. She was surprised to hear it. She never thought it was possible, yet there he was under the mistletoe, a perfect opportunity for her and he just said to her the three words she wanted to hear most. "I love you too Izzy." She smiled. He simply smiled back and whispered. "Merry Christmas." As he slowly brought his lips to hers and kissed her. It was true bliss to them. They broke apart and just smiled.
"Goodnight Izzy." She smiled dazedly walking into her room. "Goodnight." He dreamily called after her and went off to his own room. Christmas is a time for miracles and wishes, and as the clock stuck twelve in the Izumi household, the two smiling souls just realized that their biggest Christmas wish had just come true. It was definitely a new kind of Christmas for both of them.