Hectic.

It was hardly an extravagant or grandiloquent piece of nomenclature to attribute to the past forty-eight or so hours, but it was apt, and Jubilee's ability to process anything even tangentially related to her scholastic enterprises had been long since left to the wayside. She felt the respite was earned, especially considering the prior day's events.

The journey had been an arduous but worthy, and, ultimately, necessary one. At last, she was a woman unbound by the strictures of her eighteen clown car pile-up on the interstate relationship with Noah. It wasn't often that one found themselves traversing the harshness of winter, plummeting into the ravine of frigid despair, and spending the night under a roof of the kindness of strangers, and it was even less often that a boyfriend of supposed boundless empathy gave less than an iota of a germ of an atom of a damn about her predicament. Reminiscing on the night's events, part of her would've liked to rub the fact that she was spending the night with an adorable Gracetown named Stewart in his smug face. Admittedly, he didn't spend every waking moment beefing up his college resume or sucking up to professors, but he made up for it by actually taking an investment in her well being. Him being rather good looking and incredibly endearing with a well-built frame to boot was also worth of note. The thought was enticing, but she didn't think of herself as a vindictive person and she was too busy enjoying the holidays with Stuart to care too much about Noah. Now was not the time to focus on vengeance. He would probably find out eventually, in any vase.

"As I've always said, Starbucks is far more profound than most rabid anti-corporatists give it credit for." Jubilee turned to look at Stewart's brilliant smile. She found herself returning to it far more than she originally anticipated, and not just to kiss it. The way his mouth would ever-so-slightly curl to the side when he was happy was just too precious.

"Come to Starbucks for a delicious iced mocha and a band-aid for a broken heart. Capitalism, ho." She fired back, partially into his jacket.

Indeed it was. Not only was it now the spot of Stuart's redemption rather than a permanent reminder of Chloe's rampage, but it was where she met some other wonderful Gracetown residents. Her former compartment-companion's tale of redemption with Addie was a Christmas miracle the truest sense of the word, second to her own, of course, and Tobin and Angie (or Duke. There was something about a convenience store and dukes and duchesses) were cuter than a gaggle of puppies frolicking around a meadow punctuated by a rainbow in the background. Even though she was ready to hurl herself into bed from spending the entire day wandering through the wild streets of Gracetown suction-cupped to Stuart's chest, her spirit had been rejuvenated in an unprecedented manner.

"Every year since I was six, I would get Starbucks gifts cards for the teachers I liked at the end of the year. It was basically my way of saying: hey, I respect you, but not enough to figure out what you're actually into."

"Of course you would," He was so sweet it was sickening. "Kiss ass."

"Shut that pretty little trap of yours, Dougal, or I'll do it for you." He proffered his extremely tempting offer as he unlocked the door to warmth and splendor. Her parents were more than happy to allow her to spend the next few days at Stuart's house. Surprisingly, their moms both got along extremely well once they got past the whole 'convict' thing. Then again, it was no more bizarre than "your daughter is dating and technically living with my son despite meeting him two days".

Once their cumbersome and extremely pesky clothes were disposed of, Jubilee located a note from Stuart's mother plastered on the exterior of the refrigerator.

dinner for u two in fridge. just heat up. both asleep. merry christmas.

The offer for food and winking smiley face at the bottom made her chuckle. Stuart had taken her to a rather lovely pizza place just a few hours before. With an embarrassed expression, he regretfully informed her that anything even resembling a semi-decent restaurant was off-limits due to reservations and the only tolerable place to eat in town was pizza. Though she didn't care in the slightest about how plebeian or patrician their meal was as long as it was spent with him, and informed him as such, his gentlemanly manner opened up a pathway for a platoon of butterflies to pour into her stomach.

"My fridge is indeed fascinating. I'll leave you to it." Stuart said as he made his way up the stairs.

She instantly sprung forth to intercept his departure before he could enter his room. "Where do you think you're going?"

He looked at her genuinely confused. "Going to sleep," His tone of voice framed it more so as a question than a definitive answer. "What else could I do at a time like this?"

Jubilee crossed her arms in indignation. "Well, I'll be joining you."

As if on cue, a wave of red materialized on his face. "Gah-I-uh...that's okay. You don't have to," He was so adorable sometimes that it was almost painful. "I don't want to force you into anythin-"

Before Stuart could bring forth yet another ridiculous objection, Jubilee lost any semblance of willpower to resist her baser urges and pounced on her target, slamming their lips together in the process. She felt Stuart grip the back of her head to pull her closer as she in turn attempted with a pitiful degree of success to secure a better position on his broad shoulders.

"Stuart and Jubilee sittin' in a tree," Their mutual moment of ecstasy was interrupted by Rachel sing-songing a lovely tune. "Kay-eye-ess-ess-eye-"

Stuart, smiling from ear-to-ear, interrupted her before she could conclude the final part. "You go to sleep right now, or I'm telling mom you were still up first thing tomorrow morning."

Completely undeterred, Stuart's younger sister made no effort to hide her exuberance at her discovery. "I knnnnew iit. Yooouuu like Joo-bah-leeeeee." The comment forced Jubilee to hide her flushed cheeks from Stuart, who was mercifully focused on Rachel.

"Now!" It almost came out as a laugh.

Having tormented the two enough, Rachel retired to her domicile, leaving the two hopelessly awkward buffons to nervously dance around each other.

Stuart rubbed the back of his neck. "Sooo…."

"Don't give me that. It's cuddle time." She gripped the stunned Stuart by the arm and hurled him on the bed. Once he had submitted to her will, she once again leaped on her prey and nuzzled her head into his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her body. He was warm. And he smelled like something wonderful. She wasn't sure what brand of cologne it was, but she didn't really give a damn; it was the smell of Stuart, and it made her stomach somersault pleasantly.

"Check out the BTUs comin' off of you." He sleepily mumbled into her ear.

"Night, Stuart. And...thanks again, I mean it." She concluded the thought with a light peck on his cheek before the two drifted off to sleep, ensconced in each others arms and the wonder of the holidays.