So here is a little Christmas one shot, hope you like it :D
10 days to Christmas.
It's that time of the year again; Christmas. All around me people are smiling, laughing and chatting about their plans for Christmas. Most of them talk about how the house is going to be filled with kids, and how lovely it's going to be. I try my hardest to smile and nod along, but inside I am asleep. To be honest I don't give a damn about Christmas; I don't give a damn about trees, presents or light decorations. So to me Christmas is like any other time of the year, but they always ask me about my plans anyway. Even though they know it's going to be the same boring answer.
"What about you, Four? What are you going to do for Christmas?" Nita, our very flirty secretary asks with a wide smile.
"I am just going to be here, working on some reports" I say, hoping they will just move to the next.
"On Christmas Eve?" She asks shocked.
"Yeah, he always do that. That's his way of celebrating" Zeke, my partner says.
"Don't you have some family you can be with?" She pushes. She is really getting on my nerves, why can't she just drop it.
"Not anyone I see" I say, and turn my attention back to the computer screen. Blocking out their conversation.
"You know, I always tell you, that you can come and celebrate with me and Shauna. I promise that it will be turned down a bit, and you won't get uncomfortable" He says, leaning against my desk. I look up at him quickly, and then back to the screen.
"It's really nice of you, but I already took a double shift. So I will spend my Christmas here, like you said; just like I always do" I say, trying to sound like I am happy for the offer.
"We're not even going to be at home, we're going to that bar; The Pit. Some of Shauna's friends are coming as well. Would be nice with some guy company" I frown, Jesus, me at a bar filled with people I don't know. That's just a terrible idea, I know that two things can happen; 1: I'm going to sit in a corner and sipping of a beer bottle. Or 2: I'm going to reject drunk desperate single girls all night. Since I don't really like either of the scenarios, I give my friend the best smile I can.
"Sorry, but I don't think Max would like me to back out of that shift now" I say.
"Okay then. One day, you are going to tell me why you hate Christmas so much" He says, and place a cup of coffee in front of me.
"Sure, one day" I say, already back to the work. The rest of the my shift goes by smoothly, and by the end of the day I've finished three cases. I shut down my computer, and start to put on my jacket.
"EATON!" Max's voice echoes through office. I stop in my motion with the jacket halfway on, and turn around facing him.
"Yes, Sir?"
"I can see that you've put yourself on double shift on Christmas Eve, since you've been here every Christmas for the last what…. 5 years. I will not let you work this year" He says simply.
"But I want to work, I like it" I say, putting my jacket fully on.
"Not to debate, if I see your face here I will personally kick you out" With that he turn around and leaves, I clench my teeth and let out a frustrated frown.
"Sooo, bar with Shauna and me?" Zeke calls from his desk, his eyes full of hope. I have a feeling that he will not let this go.
"Sure, I will be there" I say, letting out a sigh of surrender. Zeke's face lights up like most of those trees people are having in their home these weeks.
"Nice man! You won't regret it. By the way, what do you want for Christmas?" He asks, and I look at him confused.
"I don't want anything"
"We are going to do this the right way, with presents. Even though we are at a bar" He says, with an amused expression. He finds this funny?
"Does that mean I need to find something for you and Shauna too?" I ask, almost with disgust in my voice. Just the thought about walking through the mall, gives me the creeps.
"Don't look so worried, 10 days to Christmas. I'm sure you can do it" He laughs to himself and walk out.
I doubt it.
8 days to Christmas.
Today I got off early, and finally pulled myself together. Today I was going to the mall. As I was walking through it, I think I saw about 5 different Santa's. All offering me different kind of Christmas cookies, and I said no to every single one of them. I had no idea what to buy for Zeke and Shauna, and it really stressed me out. Jesus, and people are going through this every year. I walk past a shop with all kind of things, maybe I can find something random in there. Then I will just cross my fingers, they don't buy me something fancy. The shop is totally chaotic, people are running around trying to find whatever they need. I start with Zeke first, he always complains about his coffee getting cold. Maybe I could give him some kind of thermo-cup. I walk aisle that looks like it contains kitchen stuff, and after some struggle I find what I am looking for. I look at my watch, Jesus! I've already spend three hours here. I must find something Shauna another day, or else I am going to be late for my boxing lection. I pay for the thing, and start to walk out of the shop. That's when I hear it, that little, yet cheerful voice.
"Would you like me to wrap that up for you?" It asks, I turn around and see a slim blond girl standing at a table. She is wearing skinny jeans and a tight t-shirt, and some kind of Christmas hat on her head. My mouth goes dry, and all I can do is nod and walk over to her. As a hand her the cup our fingers brush against each other, just lightly, but it sends sparks through my body. She smiles kindly at me, starting to wrap it up easily. I stare at her face the whole time, study all her features. She is pretty, that is for sure. I can remember when was the last time I noticed a girl, must have been in High School.
"It's a very handy present" She says, not looking up at me, but I can see the little smile on her lips.
"I know, good at keeping the coffee warm when the days get long" I say, not even thinking about how stupid I just sounded. She lets out a little laugh.
"It sure as hell is, I think that's the whole point of the thermo thing" She hands me the now beautiful wrapped up present, and then smiles kindly at me again. "Here you go, have a nice Christmas"
"Thank you…" I narrow my eyes, reading her nametag. "Tris" I return the smile, and walk out of the shop. Suddenly smiling kindly at the Santa's, and I even accept a cookie from one of them.
Boxing is different today, I don't punch as hard as I use to. Maybe it's because I keep picturing Tris' pretty blond face in front of me, making it really hard to punch angrily at a sandbag. I finish the section, whipping the sweat of my forehead, and taking a swing of water.
"Were you a little off today?" Amar asks, taking off his gloves.
"Yeah, I guess so. Just a little stressed out" I lie, packing my things up.
"I don't even want to bother asking you what you're doing for Christmas" He says with a little laugh.
"Actually, I am going to spend it with some friends this year" It feels weird to say, but try to make it sound as natural as possible. Amar's eyes widen, and he looks at me like I just told him that I shot JFK.
"Say what?! You're not working? That's really something new!" He says.
"Yeah yeah, new year new me" I say sarcastically.
"Then maybe you would like to sign up as Santa for our children Christmas party" He says with a smirk.
"No need to push it"
7 days to Christmas.
"Can't you give me some kind of hint? I seriously don't know what to buy, and I don't want to stand there looking like a fool" I say to Zeke, as we pull into the station. He just chuckles and shakes his head.
"That's the thing about Christmas, sometimes you are lucky to find the right thing and sometimes you're not. And then your wife will hate you for three months. Belive me" He says, giving me a knowing look that tells me he has fucked up more than once.
"That's really stupid" I say under my breath, and get out of the car.
"Just think. She is a woman for God sake"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I say, throwing my hands up in frustration.
"Buy her something for the kitchen, or something for the house. Just don't buy her close, that can cost you life" Oh so that's where he fucked up, giving her something too small or too big. The thought of her saying "Are you saying that I should lose weight?!" or "Do you think I am big enough to fit this?!" almost makes me laugh.
"What the hell is that on your face?" He asks.
"What?" What I say, starting to rub my face with my hand.
"Is that a smile? It looks so weird on you" He says in a mocking tone, pointing at my face.
"Oh shut up will you?" I say, batting his hand away.
"Coming with me and the boys tonight? Going out playing a little pool"
"Sorry, I can't. I have a present to buy, remember?"
Seems like there are even more people in here today, if that is even possible. What will people do if a fire starts, no way people can make it out of here. I shake of the thought, thinking to myself how weird I am for thinking like that. I walk to the same shop as the other day, thinking that they should have something for the house. I look through the stuff, scratching the back of my neck. I find a salad-bowl-set, which looks pretty decent. And women love salad, right? I take it and walk over to pay, to my pleasant surprise Tris is standing at the table again.
"You want that wrapped up?" She asks with same kind smile, clearly not recognizing me.
"Yes please" I say, and hand her the box. She looks me in the eyes, and then a grin spreads over her face.
"Oh it's you with the handy present" So she recognizes me, that's good. For some reason it makes me a little warm inside. "There is a cook book with this set, if you want it?"
"Uhm sure, where is it?"
"Come I will show you" She walks past me, and I follow her. Trying not to be a total creep and stare at her behind, but it's very hard for me. What the hell is happening? I usually don't have these thoughts about women. Suddenly I bump into her, she is bending down to grab the book. So I her from behind with my front, and almost knock her over. I blush as a grab onto her, so she doesn't fall down.
"I am so sorry! I was lost thought, and didn't realize that you had stopped. I am suck a clums" I babble out, scratching the back of my neck. She just laughs, and place her hands on top of mine.
"It's fine, nothing happend. Here is you book" She removes my hands from her arms, and starts to walk back. I watch her wrap it up, making sure only to look at her hands.
"Would you be pleased about this present? If I gave it to you?" I ask.
"Uhmm, well I don't exactly like to cook. So probably not, but maybe you're wife does?" She says, and I almost choke. Wife?
"I don't have a wife, this is for my friend's wife"
"Sorry, I just asumed you were merried, since you're, you know..." She says gesturing with her hand towards me. "very attractive" I hear her whisper. I blush, and so does she. Clearly it wasn't meant for my ears.
"But if she likes to cook and stuff, I'm sure that she will be very happy" She says and hands me the present.
"Thank you. Again. Tris" I say with a smile, and walk out of the shop.
She thinks I'm attractive? The prettiest woman I've ever seen, thinks I'm attractive.
Maybe Christmas isn't so bad after all.
4 days to Christmas.
I've been thinking about her more than I like to admit, I've been thinking about her so much that other people have noticed. The other day Zeke caught me daydreaming at work, he instantly knew it was about a girl. Even though I denied it. Now I've been circling around in the mall, thinking about an excuse to go in and buy some more stuff. Will she think that I'm some kind of stalker if I go in there, or will she not care at all. I pull myself together and enters the shop, I walk around pretending to look. There is an aisle filled with workout stuff, I pick a book and some weights. Just as the other time I pay, and then walk towards the wrap-up booth. Today there're two girls wrapping up, and of course it's the wrong one who is free.
"Hey there, can I wrap it up for you" She asks, sounding just as kind as Tris.. But it's not the same. I look at Tris, she is almost done. So I pretend to be thinking about it.
"Well..." I drag it out, looking over at Tris again and the second she is done I walk over. She looks at me surprised, but with a hint of a smile on her lips.
"You just can't seem to get enough huh?" She says and grabs my stuff. I can feel my face heat up; She knows that I'm here only to see her. She must notice my reaction.
"Of our stuff, I mean" She explains, laughing nervously. I let out a sigh, and chuckles lightly.
"Yeah, great stuff" I agree, nodding my head.
"So why did you walk over here to me?" She asks, not looking up from her hand work.
"You're just so beautiful" I blur out, not thinking about what I'm saying. She stops her work and looks up at me, shock and confussion written all over her face.
"What?" She breaths out, probably not believing her own ears. I don't either, how can I be so freaking embarrassing? Jesus Christ.
"I mean, you wrap it up very beautiful... No to say that you don't look... You know... But" I stutter like six year old, I don't remember that I've ever stuttered before.
"You don't have to seduce her to wrap up your presents, she's getting paid for it" A man behind me says. He looks at her like she's something to eat. "But she is really fine huh, wanna have some fun me huh?" I feel my anger boil inside of me, I look at Tris and she looks like she's getting sick.
"Get the hell out" I say in a calm voice, turning around to face him. He is around 40, and looks nothing like a pleasant guy.
"Who the hell are you to say that?" I grab my batch in my innerpocket, shoving it in his face.
"Chicago police, so I think you should take your stuff and wrap it up yourself. Going to leave now, or should I throw you out?" I ask harshly, he looks terrified and holds up his hands.
"I am going, don't worry" I turn back to Tris, who looks at me in awe.
"Thank you, I should have guessed you were in the police" I smile at her.
"No problem. Listen what time are you off?" I didn't even meant to ask that.
"When we close, why?"
"Well, you wrapped up all my Christmas presants. So maybe I could invite you to a cup of coffee, as a thank you"
"You heard the man; I am just doing my job" She says, blushing slightly. Is she blushing because of my offer?
"Oh I know, but you gave me some good advice too. So, I feel like I owe you"
"We are closing kind of late"
"I don't mind waiting, I will be right outside on that bench" I point out, and she lets out a little laugh.
"Sure you will" She says sarcastically. I nod once and start to walk out, not really sure if she turned my offer down or not.
"Hey, Officer" She says, and my heart rate speeds up.
"Yeah?" I ask happily, expecting her to say 'yes' to my offer.
"Remember your stuff" She says pointing to the bag I forgot.
"Thanks" I say, not hidding my disappointment very well. I grab the bag and walk out, sitting down on the bench. Maybe she doesn't care. but something inside of me wants to show her that I am willing to here for a long time.
Just for her.
I don't how long I've been sitting here, long enought to have watched at five families having major disagreements over the Christmas stuff they should buy. I am resting my elbows on my knees, head in my hands and my gaze locked to the floor. Suddenly a pair of Converse sneakers stops in front of me.
"I can't believe it, you are actually still sitting here" Tris' voice sounds surprised and amussed in the same time. I look up to see her pretty face shinning with something I can't quite but my finger on. I sit up straight and clear my throat.
"I said I would" I get up, and first now I notice that she is a food smaller than me. I start to imagine how perfectly she would fit in my arms; Head on my chest and my chin resting in her soft hair. She bring me back to reality, by grabbing on to my wrist.
"So, should we get that coffee?" She asks with a crooked smile, I smile back and gestures for her to lead the way. We walk in silence for some minutes, before we stop and walk into a little café. We walk up to order.
"I would like a tomato soup" She says, then turns around to me. "Hope you don't mind, but I haven't really eaten all day" Then I realize that I haven't eaten anything but a sandwich at work, and that I am actually really hungry.
"Not at all, make that two" I say, she reaching for her money but I beat her and hand over a 100 dollar bill. "I invited you here, only fair that I pay" For a moment she looks like she is going to argue, but then she decides not to. Because she just smiles and says thank you.
"So what are your plans for Christmas?" She asks as we are eating our soup.
"Nothing special, I don't really like Christmas"
"Really?" She says surprised. "How come" For some reason I feel like telling her everything, but I know that would be totally weird and she would run out of the door.
"Bad childhood memories" I simply say.
"I see, that's why you pick such weird presents" She says with an amused tone.
"Oh is that so?"
"Yeah, but I think it's cute" She says, and return to her food. I blush, probably the same color as the soup. She thinks I'm cute.
"I don't think you've told me your name" She suddenly says.
"It's.." I think for a moment.
"Is it a hard one?" She chuckles. Oh what the hell.
"Tobias" I say, thinking that I would like her to say my real name.
"Tobias" She repeats, and sure enough it's like sweet music in my ears. I want to record it, and play it over and over again. "Thank you for the help with the creepy guy, Tobias"
"Anytime" I reach for my card in my pocket "Here is my number, so you can call me directly if anything happens" I say, shoving it over to her side of the table.
"So what are your plans for Christmas?" I think this is the first time I've ever asked anyone this, because usually I don't really care. Before she can answer, herphone start to ring. She looks at the display, and then up at me.
"Sorry I need to take this" She leaves the table, and walk over to a corner where I can't hear her. She returns some moments later.
"Sorry, but I need to go. Thank you for the soup, but you still owe me a cup of coffee. Maybe we can catch up after Christmas. Any way bye" She waves at me, and then walks out of the café. I smile widely to myself, she wants to see me again. I can feel my heart flutter, but then I look down at the table seeing my card is there. Which means that she doesn't have my number and I don't have her's, making it a little hard to 'catch up'.
What did I do wrong?
2 days to Christmas.
I couldn't stop thinking about her, thinking about what I did wrong. Was I too pushy with asking her for coffee? Or with protecting her at the shop. Was I just too much. People noticed my sudden mood change.
"Did something happen with that girl?" Zeke asks, snapping his fingers in front of me.
"What makes you think that?"
"You're not smiling, and you're back to being the grumpy guy" He says with shrug.
"There's no girl"
"Dude, you've been starring out of that window for 10 minutes and I've heard you sigh the name "Tris" three times. So tell, me what happened?" I blush and look away for a moment, before I look back at him.
"I think I fucked up, what can I do to fix it?"
"Well, flowers work and jewelry. Women love jewelry" He assures me.
So after I got off that day, I went down at bought a pretty silver bracelet. The woman in the shop assured me, that it would fit perfectly to a type as Tris. Right now the bracelet feel heavy in my pocket, as I again cirkle around the shop. Once I pull myself together, I walk directly towards the wrap-up booth. Only to find two new girls there, no sight of Tris.
"Is Tris at work today?" I ask one of the girls.
"You know Tris? Well, she got off early today. She was going to California to celebrate Christmas" She says, I can feel the disappointment running through my veins.
"Oh okay, can you do me a favor and wrap this up for me?" I give her the bracelet, but she doesn't take it.
"If you didn't buy it here, I can't help you. Have a nice Christmas" I frown and walk out of the shop.
Nice Christmas my ass.
On the way home I buy some wrap up paper, and sit down to wrap it up. After half an hour of trying, I finally get an result that acceptable. There is only one word for that wrapping: Fucking awful. This Christmas is exacatly like I remember them from my childhood. Filled with disappointment.
I'm so sick of this.
1 day to Christmas.
"I don't care, Four! You are coming!" Zeke yells into the phone.
"I don't really feel like coming" I reply.
"The best way to get over girl trouble is to have some fun"
"I will be perfectly fine here" I say, looking around in the empty appartment. Suddenly feeling a little lonely.
"I don't care! I am not letting you sit there alone!"
"Fine then, I am coming"
I hang up and return to what I've been doing all day.
Thinking about her.
Christmas.
I am dressed casually, not to fancy but not to laid back either. I have the presents in a plastic bag, and the bracelet in my innerpocket. In case Shauna doesn't like the salad set. The bar is pretty crowded, looks like many people chose to spend the night here. it takes me a minute to find Zeke and Shauna, but when I do Zeke flashes me a big grin.
"There you are! Thought you would bail, I was ready to go get you" He says, giving me a guy hug.
"Yeah yeah" I hand over the presents.
"Thank you very much, Four" Shauna says. "Let's go to the table, we ordered some beers. The other guys should be here soon" We walk over to the table, and watch them open up their presents. Judging by their expressions they seem to like it.
"Thank you man, here's yours" He hands me a flat box. I un-wrap it, and find a wine-red tie.
"I thought, since you're always wearing the same tie, you could need a new one" Zeke explains, and I admit that I feel a little spark of happiness or Christmas spirit inside. But it's gone, as soon as my mind goes to Tris in California.
"Thank you" I murmur, and drain my beer. I feel like I need another one. "I will go and put the stuff in the bar, you guys want anything?" They shake their heads, and I start to push my way through the crowd. Handing the man our stuff, and ordering a new beer. I take it and step outside for a moment. Get yourself together man! You didn't even know her, you will be fine. You were before. I tell myself, but a voice in the back of my mind yells at me:
"Is fine enough now that you've tried to feel different"
I walk back inside, and see that more people have joined our table.
"Where did you go, thought you ran off" Zeke says. "Meet my brother Uriah, Shauna's sister Lynn, her friend Christina and her boyfriend Will" He gestures to the people, and smile and shake hands with all of them. Zeke keeps filling me with beer, which makes it a little easier to keep a conversation with him. I realize that I don't know my partner at all.
"My friend says she blew up her Christmas plans, is it okay if she joins us?" Christina says, and we all agree. Oh God, I don't hope it's a drunk desperat single woman. I excuse myself and walk to bath room, when I get up I realize that I'm pretty buzzed. I need to hold back a little. I stumble out to the bathroom, and throw some cold water in my face. Studying myself in the mirror. I look younger somehow, it's easy to tell that I've loosen up a bit tonight. And I must admit that it feels nice. I give myself a rescuing smile, before I leave the bathroom to return to the table. I stop in my steps and my breath hitches when I see the blond girl sitting at our table, I almost doens't recognize her, but I am sure. It's Tris.
"Four, this is..." Shauna starts
"Tris" I finish for her.
"Hi" She smiles at me, and I smile back sliding into the seat next to her. I don't care to answer when they ask where we know eachother from.
"Want a drink?" I ask her, leaning close to her slightly.
"Yes please" She says and smiles at me, I grab her hand and drag her to the bar.
"Order anything you want" I say, expecting her to order something fancy, but she just orders a beer and I copy her order.
"I thought you were going to California" I say.
"I was, but..." She stops and gives me a funny look. "How do you know that?"
"Umm, I asked where you were... In the shop" I say scratching the back of my neck.
"You asked for me?" She says with a big smile. I can't tell if she is pleased or amussed.
"Yes" I admit. We get our beer, but stay at the bar. I suddenly remember the present in my innerpocket, I reach for it and hand it to her.
"What is this now? Besides wrapped up really terrible" She says with a nervous chuckle.
"You weren't there, so I had to do it myself" I say with a shy smile. "Open it" She hesitates for a moment, before removing the paper and opening the box. She slaps a hand over her mouth.
"Tobias" She breaths. "You bought this for me?" She asks and i nod. "But why?"
"I thought I fucked up, since you just left my card at the table" I explain looking down at the bar slidely embarrassed.
"When I realized that I left you're card, I went back to catch you. But you already left. You didn't really have to buy a bracelet, I can't accept this" She says, trying to hand it back to me.
"You don't like it?"
"I do, it's really pretty"
"Then keep it, I bought it for you" I say, pushing it back to her. "Thanks" she whispers, and puts the box in her pocket.
"I can't believe you asked for me in the shop" She says and shakes her head.
"I know, I am too much. Just tell me" I say, and shake me head in shame.
"No, it was really sweet, Tobias. Hell I thought about going to the police station to find you" She says, placing a hand on of mine.
"Really?" I ask, looking down at her small hand on mine.
"Yes" She admits. We fall into a nice silence, just taking sips of our beers and smiling.
"Hey you too!" Someone yells and we turn around, looking at Zeke wearing a big grin on his face. "Don't you realize what you've been sitting under?" He asks and points in the ceiling. We both look up and see a mistletoe. How freaking cliché, I am about to turn my face back to Tris and just laugh. But I find her face already close to mine, her eyes sparkle like starts and they are starring right into mine. My heart is beating faster than ever, and before I know it she presses her lips against mine. It's a sweet, innocent kiss and yet it's full of passion and definitely the best kiss I've ever had. She pulls away before I can kiss back.
"Thank you for the bracelet, Tobias. Merry Christmas" With that she pecks me on the cheek and walks back to the others, leaving me with a big grin on my face. I carefully touch the place where she kissed me, and I can still fill the ghost of her lips.
"Merry Christmas, huh?" The bartender says with a wink, I smile at him and then look down at Tris. I catch her gaze and my smile gross even bigger.
"Yeah, Merry Christmas"
And for the first time in my life;
I mean it.
Thanks for reading, Merry Christmas! Be brave and have a great time :D