Hello everyone. I give to you my Christmas one-shot. Imagine my surprise when I thought this was only going to be a couple thousand words and it end up being 7 thousand words. Instead of working on my multi-chapter stories this has been my focus when I have been given the chance to actually write this past week. I'm sorry about any and all of the mistakes you may come across. I do hope you all enjoy this one.
Happy Holidays everyone!
She had grown up loving the city of New York, it was her home. And when her number-one college accepted her, she was ecstatic about it. She applied to a great deal of other colleges in the states as back ups. She had been so close to finalizing to go to the school of her dreams when her world had down around her. It was by far a conversation not meant to be heard by her ears, she wasn't at fault as she was in her room when she heard the yelling from downstairs pick up. Her father had made a surprise return home, not saying how long he was staying for. She had been happy with what little time she did have with him. Feeling the tension grow thicker between her parents she headed upstairs, their voices following closely behind her.
That was how she learned that Ethan Hart was not her father, and a Harley Wilkes was. She didn't get to hear the part where he lived or what he did. She decided right then and there that she didn't want to be close enough to her mom, that she could and would just drop in on her at a moments notice, so she was headed to Alabama for school.
She had settled in easily, made friends easy enough. Spent more time studying than partying. She wasn't there to party; she was there to learn and start on her path to become a doctor. It was easy enough to enjoy the little personal life she created for herself, when her best friend pulled her away from her studies.
"What has you so down today?" Looking up from her coffee, she looked up at her best friend. "It's the last day of classes, Doc, cheer up," he smirked, settling into the chair across from her.
"It's not that," she sighed. "I'm still on the outs with my mom. She's not even going to be home for the holidays and there is no snow here," she whined, getting the man before her to chuckle.
"Doc, welcome to Alabama," he told her smugly. She tossed a glare at him. "Look," he said, licking his lips, his voice growing softer. "You can always come home with me."
"I don't want your stupid pity, Wade," she half growled out.
"Good thing I wasn't giving it," he quipped back. "It is more for me than you. My brother is coming home, and I haven't seen him since he bolted two years ago, my dad gets really depressed this time of the year because that's when I lost my mom," he sighed. "I figure that if I can have a friendly face at the dinner table than it won't be so bad," he shrugged.
"Talk about twisting someone's arm to get what you want," she teased lightly. "I can't promise I will enjoy myself, because your stupid state doesn't get snow," she teased, sticking her tongue out.
"If it is such a stupid state as you say, why are you still here?" He smirked back. She sent him a small glare looking down at her coffee which she was sure was ice cold by now and not worth drinking.
"How can I leave my best friend?" She asked softly, her cheeks feeling warmer than the coffee before her.
"You need new friends if I am the best you have made while here," he teased. "But let the cards show that you are my best friend too," he told her softly. She shared the smile with him.
"I should get to class," she piped up a few minutes later.
"Right," he nodded. "Same here," he retorted getting up.
Zoe rolled her eyes, following Wade out of the little cafe they were at. "You don't have class for another hour," she said, fixing her bag on her shoulder.
"Don't matter," he smirked, bumping into her. He would use any excuse to spend more time with her and walk her to class like the gentleman his mom would want him to be. "I will be by your dorm tomorrow morning at some point to head out," he informed her when they got to the building that Zoe's science class was in.
They didn't have any classes together. They did, however, live in the same dorm building, a floor apart and opposite sides at that. They were bound to bump into each other sooner rather than later, but they had ended up in the same group of friends by chance and after a month of being at each other's throats over the stupidest things, they called a truce and not so shockingly learned that they made better friends than enemies.
"If you are not there by noon, I will be pounding on your door," she stated, entering the building, his laughter following behind her until the heavy door shut behind her.
By noon, her bags were packed and by her door, ready to go. Wade, however, was not there like he had said he would be. Her roommate had already left the day before. Leaving her bags where they sat she headed out the door to get Wade up. Except he was standing on the other side of her door when she yanked the door open, holding two coffees in a tray and a white bakery bag.
"Oh," she squeaked out. Wade chuckled, handing her a cup filled with a white chocolate peppermint cappuccino. "Thanks," she told him, taking the offered cup.
He gave her a toothy grin, invading her personal space to grab her luggage. "Think you got enough?" He teased, waiting in the hall for her to join him. She wanted to be prepared.
"Never," she stated, acting offended. He scoffed, earning himself a shove into the elevator. A retort on the tip of his tongue, instead he bit his tongue and held the retort at bay, leading her out to his car.
"Thank you for doing this for me," he told her a few minutes into the car ride.
"Is your family really going to be that bad?" She questioned instead.
"Maybe worse, definitely not better," he told her glancing at her. "Why are you at such odds with your mom? You never told me the reason, and I am not pushing you into telling me now, so please don't get mad at me for asking; I just feel like a really bad best friend if I don't know what's going on with my best friend," he quickly got out. Zoe held her giggles in.
"I am not mad, more like touched," she told him. "She kept something pretty big from me my whole life; I still wouldn't know if my parents hadn't fought about it while I was in my room," she told him with a sigh. "The man who had been my father for 18 years of my life, is my step father, and she passed him off as my father. I know nothing about my real father. I got so mad at her that instead of going to my number-one school, I came here to get away from her," she explained pausing to catch her breath. "I resent her for keeping something so big from me. It has been months, and I don't know how to fix it." She paused, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. "Wade, I don't even know if I want to fix it," she sighed, turning her head to look at the side of his face. "I was ready to go home and pretend to get along for the holidays for the sake of it, but she's off in Italy trying to make amends with my dad." She didn't think she could just give up on calling Ethan her dad. He was there for her since she was a baby in every way a father is there for their daughter. You can't stop being a father, whether blood is involved or not.
"Then don't fix it, not until you are certain on what it is you want. It is awful she kept that from you. Not that I am taking her side in this debate, though I feel like maybe she had a reason to do what she did."
"She wanted what was best. Though I think what was best for everyone was if she would've been honest to start with. It is not wrong of me to want to know who my biological father is," she responded.
"Do you know anything about the guy?" He asked, looking at her pulling up to a stop sign. "Of course it's not wrong of you."
"Just a name," she shrugged, not giving the name up. It was silly, but she wanted to keep the name to herself; she felt that if she said it out loud, then she would never find him, not that she was looking for him; she was a bit busy with school. "I've got a question for you," she said, chewing her lip, her attention moving from Wade to the scenery out the window, passing them by.
"Go ahead and ask, you don't have to go all shy on me," he chuckled, slowing down to turn right.
"Your guitar, the one you got into a fight over, what's the story behind it and why don't you play it anymore?" She asked. Many nights when they should be studying, he would lazily play a song either from the radio or one he made up on the spot, while she studied, and she liked it, but the last few weeks his guitar had been missing.
"I was 4 and I wanted a guitar, not one of those made for kids either, because I would grow out of it, and they would have to buy me another one. I wanted the best one there was," he smiled faintly at the memory of years past. "My birthday passed and no guitar; Christmas came months later, and I still had no guitar; I let my hopes go and gave it up, if asking and begging for over a year did me no good, I knew enough that it wasn't going to happen," he sighed, making a left. "One day when I came home from spending the day with my brother at the park, it was in the middle of my room. My mom got it for me," he smiled.
"Don't tell me that you were such a saint that you deserved it," she teased. That didn't get a chuckle from him.
"Not quite. I was a menace, that never changed," he smirked. "She was teaching me the virtue of patience, not that it worked in the slightest."
"Really? I would have never known," she mocked gasped.
"You are one to talk, Doc," he tossed at her, letting a hint of hurt seep through his words. She rolled her eyes.
"Now tell me what am I to expect when we roll into Bluebell?" She asked, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
Wade's response was a sigh. He wasn't quite sure of that himself. As long as his dad refused to give the bottle up and with Jesse there to judge, it was going to be a Christmas he wouldn't ever forget, even if he wanted to do just that. "I wish I knew, Zoe. I am like you this year; I am stuck going into this blind as well. It is hard to say what will transpire. Be prepared for the worst, expect nothing more than that," he offered her as the best explanation he had within himself.
She refrained from making a comment. Other than doing this favor for him, seeing the depression in his eyes, she had no real reason to come with him, and at the moment she was starting to regret that she broke down so easily to come with him. If she wanted to spend the holidays in more than a hostile environment, she did have her own family for that. Even with Wade telling her to expect the worst, she was hoping for it to be better than that, for him. She would make sure he had some happy memories this year.
She got settled into the quaint little bed and breakfast room, Wade making a joke about staying with her if things at home went sour. She didn't get a chance to make a comment about that, before Wade pulled her outside, to introduce her to a few of his closest friends, and show her around.
She was sitting at a table at the Rammer Jammer having a good laugh with Wade and a few of his friends. She had learned that George was going to school to become a lawyer, and he wanted to move to New York and be the best lawyer out there, and Zoe found herself in a deep conversation about the city that was her home, giving George all kinds of tips about the city, places he should stay away from and places that were a must see when he did make his way there.
Neither one noticed the annoyed or jealous looks at the table from Wade or Lemon. Zoe had found out rather quickly that she didn't have much in common with Lemon, and it was hard to keep the peace between them when she would shoot Zoe a nasty look, brush her off like she was nothing or when Lemon was being flat out rude to her. It was Wade's presence keeping her in line when it came to Lemon.
Feeling Wade tense up next to her, she turned all of her attention onto Wade, easily slipping her hand into his under the table, assuring him that she was there. She followed his line of sight and saw a guy a few years older enter the bar, one guess told her enough that the stranger to her was, in fact, Jesse.
"Jesse," Wade greeted through clenched teeth.
"Jesse, hey man," George greeted, getting up. "We will catch you later, Wade. It was nice meeting you, Zoe," he flashed her a smile, taking Lemon's hand and leaving.
"Wade," Jesse greeted tersely. "You his girlfriend? I've never seen you around here," he commented, looking at Zoe.
"Hard to see anyone when you ain't ever here," Wade replied hotly. "Who she is doesn't really concern you, Jesse. Now what is it, you want?" He asked, his hand growing tighter on Zoe's.
"Can't we make amends for the holidays?" Jesse asked with a sigh.
"Can we?" Wade asked, wanting nothing more than to rush out of the building and be far away from his brother and the situation.
"I don't want to fight with you; we have enough to deal with as it is," Jesse sighed, running a hand over the short length of his brown hair. "It would be nice to have a united front while in front of dad."
"Now that depends on if you are going to give the drunk something he could use not only to harm himself but the rest of the members of this town," he growled.
"I didn't know it was that bad," Jesse sighed. "The last he told me, he was sober," he explained. It was the truth. The last time he spoke to his dad, Earl had given all alcohol up; it just didn't last.
"Dad being sober never lasts. That's somethin' you would know, if you ever came around," Wade retorted, his short nails starting to dig into Zoe's hand.
"I'm here now and that counts for something, damnit," he cursed beneath his breath, his hands balling into fists.
"Does it?" Wade questioned, pulling his hand from Zoe's, stalking outside. Zoe made to follow, Jesse's pleading gaze making her stop.
"I haven't known him long, but I do know that he will come around, it will take him time, and you need to show him that you want to be in his life, Jesse. If you can't do that, then I highly suggest you leave him be until you can be a better brother. More importantly until you can be a better you. He needs you; he is scared that you are going to ditch him when a better offer comes around," she told him. "And I find it sad that you guys are at such odds. You only have one brother; it would be a shame to waste any more time being at odds with each other. I always thought that your sibling should always be your best friend, maybe I was wrong about that," she told him, making a move to leave the table.
"You're not," he told her, making her stop in her tracks. "He is lucky that he has you in his life. He needs someone looking out for him," he offered.
Zoe nodded, waiting a moment longer to see if he was going to say more. When it was clear that he had nothing else to say she headed outside, trying to figure out where she could start looking for him at. She didn't know the place like he did.
"I thought you would be hiding somewhere," she commented, seeing Wade leaning against the side of the building.
"I thought about it, headed to do just that when I realized you would be worried and wouldn't know where to find me at. That alone made me come back and wait. He didn't say anything to offend you did he?" Zoe shook her head.
"No, but I did tell him a few things. I can't let him hurt you," she offered meekly. Wade smiled, pulling her in for a hug.
"Why don't we head back to your room and watch a movie or two." She quickly nodded, knowing he wasn't up to more family time. And she would let him set the pace today. They did have plenty of time to deal with his father in the following days.
She woke up a few hours later, feeling a pressure on her chest. Groggily opening her eyes, the dim light from the TV casted a glow around the now darkened room. She didn't remember falling asleep, nor Wade using her as a pillow and both things clearly happened. Without thinking she ran a hand through his soft hair, lightly scratching his scalp getting a low moan to escape his lips. She blushed, refusing to stop now.
"Why didn't you tell your brother that we are only friends?" She asked softly, knowing that he was awake, purely refusing to move from his spot, not that she minded one bit.
"No ones business but ours," he replied, sleepily. "Now please go back to sleep," he yawned.
Sleep wasn't so easy to come by when you slept through a good chunk of the afternoon. A glance at the clock told her it was while into the middle of the night. How could she drift back to sleep when her best friend, whom she had the tiniest crush on was using her as a pillow, his arm tossed over her waist holding her in place? She didn't want to have hope that he felt anything more than friendship towards her, because she didn't want to be crushed once feelings came out to play.
"Zoe, I can hear you thinking," he sighed, moving away from her. "Care to share?" He asked, blinking up at her.
"Nothing I can't figure out later," she told him with a tentative smile, reaching for the remote to switch the TV off.
"Be lucky I am too tired to press the matter with you tonight," he mumbled against a yawn. Zoe giggled, rolling her eyes and telling him night, switching her thoughts off the best she could to fall asleep.
When morning came, she woke to find her head resting against his chest, his fingers playing in her hair and her hand clenching the fabric of his shirt against his chest. She moved her hand not knowing if he was awake or not.
"Ya know; ya wouldn't let me up, and I really need to take a leak," he told her.
"Sorry," she sheepishly told him, moving away from him. He chuckled, making a dash to the bathroom.
With him gone, she sat up in the bed, running her fingers through her hair to work out a few snarls, not wake enough to get out of bed to grab her brush.
"You're telling me that we're not getting breakfast from the bar?" She questioned with mock surprise, when they finally made their way from the room.
"Tease all you want, Doc. We can always go back to the bar if you would like," he said, raising an eyebrow as a challenge, opening the door of the Butter Stick for her. "If grits is what you want."
"Why do I have the sudden feeling that I will be getting my fill of that place before this little trip is over with?" She asked, looking over the pastries. "You will not make me eat grits ever again!" She threatened. The first time she tried them, she really wanted to show him that she could be a bit Southern; it did not turn out pretty, and he relentlessly teased her about it.
"You will," he smirked, a chuckle coming out at her face of disgust with grits. "If you're lucky I'll treat you to the one formal restaurant in this town," he smiled at her, going to the counter to order their breakfast for them.
"You don't have a choice in the matter now," she smirked, popping a piece of the butter pastry in her mouth. "I am here as a favor to you, the most you can do is taking me to a nice dinner, especially if Christmas dinner is horrible as you say, I mean I am part Jewish after all," she stated.
"I do believe it is the least I can do for you," he smirked. "Now who is twisting whose arm?" He chuckled lightly. "Mazel Tov," he replied, lifting his cup of coffee. Laughing he moved to the side when a piece of pastry flew at him.
"It is not often that I hear things before seeing them," Dash stated, breaking up the mini food fight.
"Doc, meet Bluebell's very own blogger, Dash," he introduced. "Dash meet the lovely, Zoe."
"Hi, Wade has made me read all the blogs you have written. I've rather enjoyed them," she said, earning a chuckle from her friend and a slight blush on the older man's face.
"Hello, Zoe, it is nice to meet you, and I do hope that you are now hooked on the blogs, there will be plenty to come," he laughed, leaving the two of them alone.
"You do know that you will now have to read them 'cause you will be a topic he writes about," Wade said, holding his laughter at bay.
"No," she groaned with a pout. "Don't let him," she pleaded sticking her bottom lip out further to make him cave.
"Sorry, Zo, I can't stop him. He will only write good things, maybe if you're lucky the whole article will be about you sweeping me right off my feet and trapping me into a relationship," he teased.
"You wish," she remarked, not wanting to think or dwell on the possibilities that might never happen.
"Come on, let me show you the practice," he said. "I'm sure that's the one place you want to see in this town, and we didn't make it there yesterday," he told her, nearly dragging her out the door.
"Actually, it's not," she told him, pulling on his arm to slow him down. "I want to know where a young Wade hung out when the world around him was too much for him," she said.
"Now that I can do," he smirked, going to cross the street.
"A pond!" She exclaimed, laughter bubbling out.
"Hey now don't mock it," he offended hurt, toeing his shoes off, rolling his pant legs up. "It may be a little chilly, but the good thing about this state you think is so stupid; the water isn't frozen over," he told her, sitting on the ground, slipping his toes into the water. "Care to join?"
"I think I will pass," she told him sitting further back. "Why this place?" She asked looking around, catching sight of two buildings that looked as if they were ready to crumble at any given time.
"Peaceful," was the only response he gave her. There was nothing special about the place. It was a habit of his to come here when he had nowhere else to be. He spent time out on the lake more times than none, but there was just a little something special about the pond. Like that if he got caught in the rain and wasn't in the mood to return home he had shelter unlike, he did elsewhere, unless he wanted to be surrounded by people and being alone meant being alone and not have a town of people on top of you.
She said nothing leaning against Wade, closing her eyes listening to the birds singing a song of their own, just for them, the gentle breeze blew around them, the sun kissing her skin with the warmth it held. She felt at peace, things clicking into place for her.
Christmas day was soon upon them; she did have a good feel for the town and saw the appeal of the little wacky town. And if she did have the sudden urge to be a GP, the practice was the place to be for that, but she had her own dreams to achieve. And it wasn't like she had been greeted warmly at the practice, or being offered a job. There was only one doctor in and after meeting Dr. Brick Breeland, she understood where Lemon got her rough exterior at. She was waiting to meet Dr. Harley Wilkes; she had some questions for him. She did all the research she could do on him, and it didn't answer any of her curious questions on just who he was.
Other than the good Doctor Wilkes, the only town member she had yet to meet officially was Earl. Considering that Wade kept her away from him the previous days and the fact that Earl rarely left home, it was easy to see why she had yet to meet the man that had a hand in creating her best friend.
"I wouldn't have brought you home with me, if for a second, I thought you would judge me and never speak to me again after meeting my father," he nervously started to say, the walls of her room, where Wade had stayed both nights, keeping their conversation from any single person from the town.
"So your family isn't perfect; mine is far from perfect. We can't control our parents' actions or make them do something that is better for them as they are the parents. I know you as a person, Wade, and I will not; I cannot judge you for anyone else's actions, especially your Fathers," she assured him. It would have been the easy route to be mad at him for thinking so little of her, but she could see the nerves were heavy in his eyes, wrote in every wrinkle that formed across his face, just thinking about what the day has in store for him.
"I wonder more times than not how I got so lucky in having you as a friend," he smiled, a hint of a blush dusting his cheeks.
"We all need that one friend who brings light into our lives," she replied back with a half shrug of her shoulders. Wade rolled his eyes a comment on the tip of his tongue. "The light in our lives needs a darkness to feed off of," she smarted off, earning a soft chuckle in response, giving him just enough to settle his curiosity about what he was if she was the light in his life.
"Dork," he laughed, ushering her out of the room.
A comforting silence feel over them as they made their way to Wade's childhood home. Walking up to the front door Zoe could feel the tension rolling off of Wade, she easily slipped her hand in his without a second thought, wanting to put him at ease. To assure him that she wasn't going anywhere. That no matter what happened on the other side of the door she wouldn't look at him differently, she wouldn't treat him differently.
She smiled at Earl, her smile slipping a little seeing Jesse sitting on the couch. Her mouth watered at the aromas of the ham, stuffing, potatoes, and even the baked beans mixing together in the air. She did notice that there was no alcohol present, none that she could see anyway.
"I did a lot of thinking about what you said, and you are right," Jesse told her while Wade was getting them something to drink and checking to see if his dad needed any help in the kitchen. "I knew that I hurt him, I was too much of a coward to acknowledge it. I am going to do better when it comes to him, and I will fight to have the bond of brotherhood back with him. It won't be the same, but it will be close, hopefully better," he supplied.
"I'm glad that you have come to your sense's about your relationship with your brother, Jesse. Though I feel I should tell you that you are telling the wrong person to make amends with him," she replied, hoping that Jesse was honest and really meant what he told her. Wade had been through enough, he didn't need his brother making an attempt to be back in his life only for it to never happen.
"I figured I would run it past you, since you are a very protective friend...girlfriend?" He questioned, still not sure what she really was to him, since neither one stated what they were.
"You ran what past her?" Wade questioned, walking into the living room, handing Zoe a cup of punch.
"Can we talk outside?" Jesse asked, pushing himself up off the couch.
"I think you should at least hear him out," Zoe suggested, watching Wade's face harden. He wanted to say something, snap at them all, it was, however, Zoe that stopped him, caressing his arm closest to her. "You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do, however, I think that no matter how much you want to deny it; you want to work things out with Jesse, and this is the starting point in getting to that point. Hear your brother out," she urged softly.
"Okay, just know that if it ends horribly, you Zoe Hart owe me big time when we get back to school," he smirked, motioning for his brother to lead the way.
"I have a feeling one of us will owe the other, by the time we get back to school," she stated, a challenge in her eyes.
"Dork," he laughed, following his brother out the door.
"You're good for him," Earl commented, leaning against the doorway between the kitchen and living room. "It's what he needs."
"Thanks," she smiled. "I feel like we found each other when we needed it the most," she commented with a shrug. "He's a good guy, under that exterior of hurt masked with charm and flirt," she smiled thinking back to when she first met him.
"Lord knows I haven't made it better for him. It is a Christmas miracle you have created for an old guy such as myself, bringing a sense to my sons."
"Not so much a miracle as saying what needed to be said, the rest is up to them. I barely did anything."
"Modest are we?" He chuckled. "Mind helping me in the kitchen? I can tell you embarrassing stories of that boyfriend of yours," he smirked, not waiting for Zoe to explain that she wasn't dating Wade.
"I should inform you that I am horrible in the kitchen, and that I am…"
"Nonsense," Earl cut her off with a wave of his hand, getting her to check on the few pots that filled the stove top.
Things outside were a bit more awkward, filled with the noises of nature, the brother's in a standoff, neither one saying a word. Wade wasn't going to say a word until Jesse does. Jesse was finding it hard to say what he needed to say.
"If you're not going to talk, I'm going back inside, Jesse," Wade sighed, turning to leave his brother alone. They couldn't solve anything if Jesse was going to keep to himself.
"I want to say sorry," Jesse spoke up. "It won't fix things between us; I don't think anything I can say to you will fix what's broken. Apologizing is only the first step. I can stand here and make promise after promise that things will change between us. We both know that in order to prove myself, I need to step up and show you that I will not let our bond deteriorate any further. I've missed my brother, and it took your girlfriend to really open my eyes when she stood up for you not wanting to see you hurt by your family any worse than you already were that I could own up to my mistakes when it comes to this family," he got out, leaning against the railing on the porch, looking over his younger brother's unreadable face.
"You're right," he agreed, moving to stand next to his brother, looking at the house instead of the front yard. "Words mean shit at this point. You can say whatever you want till your heart is content, we both know it would mean nothing, not until you can prove that those words have a significant meaning behind them," he said, taking a deep breath, hoping that he wasn't going to regret the next words to come out of his mouth. "I do miss my brother, and I want you to be in my life, Jesse. I'm willing to give this a chance."
"You gonna tell me about Zoe?" Jesse asked, nudging his brother with a playful smirk on his face.
"What's there to tell?" Wade shot back, heading into the house. Making no move to correct his brother about Zoe being his girlfriend. Like he said before it wasn't anyone's business if they were dating or not, they could assume things all they wanted.
Their laughter was echoed by the laughter coming from the kitchen. They shared looks heading to the kitchen to see what was going on. The sight that greeted them was Earl and Zoe laughing as they set the table.
"What's going on?" Wade questioned, moving further into the room. The second Zoe looked at him; she doubled over in laughter, confusing him more. "What?" He questioned rather impatiently, shooting his dad a look to see the amusement on his face. He groaned. "What story did you embellish?"
"Oh no, you don't get to know, not until I feel it's time to embarrass you in front of all our friends," she told him a twinkle in her eyes.
"Of course, can't dash that on you," he retorted dryly. "See why no one tells you things?" He questioned. She rolled her eyes, hitting him with the corner of a towel. "I see how it is," he said a wicked gleam in his eyes. She tried to move back, before she could get too far away he pulled her flush against his body, his fingers darting over her rib cage, laughter filling the room.
"We would like to eat and not get sick watching the two of you ready to eat the other one's face off," Jesse teased, moving the last of the food to the table.
Wade and Zoe moved away from each other, wearing blushes that matched, grabbing their drinks and joining the other two at the table.
After Christmas dinner and more pie than Zoe or Wade could eat, they took off, promises of dinner the following night made.
"That was almost perfect," he commented, tossing an arm around her shoulders as they walked. He was pleasantly shocked to see his dad sober and not reaching for a bottle of alcohol the whole time they were there. He did, however, know that it wasn't going to last.
"Was that not what you were expecting?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, moving closer to him.
"Really?" He questioned with a shake of his head. "Family aside, I was thinking it could've used something a little white," he teased, keeping the atmosphere light between them.
"Snow would have been the perfect cherry on top for today, but your state doesn't like to snow," she pouted.
"We do get a dusting of it; it just brings bad luck for us, so we're not really keen on the idea of snow," he explained. She eyed him carefully, doubtful of that fact. "I have a surprise for you," he said, not waiting for a comment about anything he told her.
"It would be a waste to ask, wouldn't it?" She questioned, letting him lead her. His laugh answer enough.
A smile graced her lips seeing the pond he brought her to, transformed into a little winter wonderland. Fake snow covered the ground, Christmas lights strung up on trees that had a light dusting of snow covering them.
"I couldn't make the pond freeze," he told her nervously.
She shook her head, not caring about a frozen pond. "It's beautiful and the best Christmas present I have ever been given," she replied, hugging him tight. He held a finger up, breaking the hug. "What?" She questioned, eyeing him suspiciously. He smirked, pressing a button on a remote making it snow around them.
She laughed, spinning in the falling snow, pulling Wade to dance with her under the stars and snow, the fake snow sticking to them.
"Thank you," she told him, stopping the dance they were doing, her hands ever so slowly moving from his shoulders to rest against his chest. Dancing under the snow wasn't the only dancing around she wanted to put a stop to when it came to Wade.
Wade shook his head, moving his hands from her waist to cup her face in his hands, pulling her closer, his lips fitting perfectly against hers. Her lips soft and silky against his capped ones.
"With you, giving me snow, makes me wish that I had your present with me," she told him softly, her finger drawing a random path over his bare chest. After her fill of the fake snow, they walked back to her room hand in hand, in a bubble of bliss. Upon entering her room, they got ready for bed, snuggling under the blankets with stolen kiss every few moments among the talk of them moving their friendship along to an actual relationship. Neither one wanting to go back to being friends after admitting their feelings for each other in such a way.
"Being here with you is all the present I need Zoe," he told her.
"That is either the sweetest thing I have ever heard, or it is the most corniest thing," she replied with a smirk, glancing up at him. He shrugged.
"Take it anyway you want, Doc," he replied. "Now what did you get me?" He smirked at her, a pleading to his eyes.
"Nope, not going to tell you," she stated. Wade saw that it was a challenge and started tickling her. She wiggled trying to break free, but to no avail. Giving up was her only option when he took it upon himself to sit on top of her, pinning her hands above her head with one hand, as his free hand continued its mministrations "I took your guitar and got it restrung for you," she told him in defeat, catching her breath.
He said nothing but seeing the watery glaze in his eyes, the smile refusing to leave his face, she could see how happy that made him. Still not saying anything he wielded his lips against hers, pouring every ounce of gratitude he felt into the kiss, his heart pouring over in the process.
"That's where it went to huh?" He joked. After three of the strings broke on him, he placed it out of sight, until he could afford to fix it. He didn't even realize that it was gone and that made him feel bad, though with his best friend/girlfriend fixing it for him, it was a blessing he didn't spot it gone.
It was too soon to love her and vice versa; it wasn't, however, hard to know that they could easily finish falling in love. It was a matter of time and not much time that would be needed either. It was a day they would never forget, a Christmas that remain with them throughout time. It was, in fact, a very merry Christmas.