Okay so as insane as this all sounds… just go with it, okay?

Imagine if you will, that back in 2011, Carla had miraculously stayed with everyone's favourite bin man Trev.

(Trust me here.)

That of course means that Carla would never properly develop her rather big problem with alcohol, which means that she would never had got close to the one and only Peter Barlow, and that means that they never fell in love and that he never left Leanne for her.

(Again trust me on this.)

Imagine that there was no Frank Foster, no dramatic courtroom dramas, and no epic Carter love affair.

(I know it sounds crazy but let me finish.)

Now imagine that it got all the way to December 2015 for Carla and Trevor to come to a mutual end and for Peter to find out that Leanne was leaving him.

Imagine that other than a few conversations here and there, Carla and Peter had never got the chance to get close, to become proper friends and to realise that they are so perfect for each other that it actually hurts!

Got it?

Right… Let's begin shall we?

It's Christmas Eve and The Rover's Return pub is bustling with extremely cheery people.

Well actually that's a lie… not everyone in there was cheery, in fact there were two people in the pub who could almost be called downright miserable.

One of those people was Carla Connor.

She was armed with a large glass of wine and was stood at the bar with her best friend Michelle. She had recently broken up with her boyfriend Trevor and even though it was a mutual decision, Carla was still feeling slightly down in the dumps about it.

Being alone at Christmas was something that Carla hadn't quite anticipated and she was almost wishing that she had stuck it out with Trevor, until at least the New Year.

The other person who was in the pub and looking miserable went by the name of Peter Barlow.

He had recently found out that his wife Leanne had been cheating on him with her ex husband Nick and now they were together as a proper couple.

Peter was feeling more than a little bit sorry for him self and was only in the pub because his mate Steve had pressured him into it.

So there they were… Carla Connor and Peter Barlow, two sad souls sat in a pub packed of people who were full of Christmas cheer and hating it.

Little did they know that by the end of the night, they might be enjoying just a little bit of Christmas spirit after all.

"Oh come on Carla… Cheer up its Christmas." Michelle said, giving her best friend a nudge.

Carla sighed, rolled her eyes and took a sip of her wine because she was so fed up of people telling her that, telling her that she should be happy because it's Christmas.

So what?

Why should she be happy? Why should she cheer up? Christmas had always been a disappointment to Carla so why should this one be any different.

Even during the good times, Carla's December Twenty Fifths never lived up to her expectations.

"Big deal…" She said, "Y'know I'm not really a Christmas fan…" Carla spoke whilst watching David and Kylie Platt share a sweet kiss as they sat together in the corner. "All that Christmas does is remind me that once again I'm alone…" She sighed.

"You're not alone Carla… You've got me." Michelle scoffed putting her arm around Carla and squeezing her tight.

"Oh give over Chelle…" Carla cried, batting Michelle away from her and shaking her head. "You're not going to be able to keep me warm at night are ya?"

"That's true… although ya never know… Santa might bring you someone to keep you warm at night?" Michelle grinned, hoping that Carla would see the funny side of things but instead just shook her head and went back to her wine.

It was all right for Michelle, she was happily married and had been for quite a while now. She didn't understand what it was like to suddenly be alone again, to sit at home at night and wonder just when she will find someone who she could truly spend the rest of her life with.

Trevor was nice, Trevor was decent but he was never going to be the one and when Carla took another depressed sigh, Michelle nudged her again and said,

"I'm serious Carla… tonight might be ya night eh… there might be a Christmas miracle on the cards and you might actually crack a smile."

"Yeah right…" Carla said with another deep sigh, she sighed even heavier when Steve cranked up the music and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday was now blaring into the pub from the speakers. "Oh god… Can I please go home now?"

"Scrooge." Michelle teased as she poured a jolly customer who was wearing a Santa hat, a drink.

"Who's a Scrooge?" Peter Barlow suddenly asked, standing next to Carla with his eyebrow raised. He was sure that everyone in the pub was watching him and feeling sorry for him and had decided to get himself a rather dull glass of orange juice just so that he had something to do.

Now he and Carla weren't really mates, they talked to each other now and then, whenever they had the opportunity to but they hadn't spoken since Leanne had left him.

It was rather awkward because Carla was one of Leanne's best mates and he had assumed that she had taken her side because that's what best friends do.

"Carla." Michelle said, nodding towards her best friend in an amused fashion. "She hates Christmas." Peter looked at Carla sideways and grinned slightly… I say slightly because something that Peter Barlow hadn't done in a long time, was smile.

"Do ya really hate Christmas?" He asked, watching Carla closely.

"Well I wouldn't say hate…" She began, "All I'm saying is that if I could go to sleep wake up on January 1st... I would."

"Me too if I'm honest." Peter said, holding up his hand to Carla who raised hers and met his in a high five motion.

"Oh not you as well." Michelle said, shaking her head again "Maybe you two ought to spend some more time together then." She joked, rolling her eyes before going over and pouring another festive customer a drink.

Down the other end of the bar stood Peter's sister Tracy and Carla's brother Rob, they were leaning against each other and started kissing romantically as Last Christmas by Wham started playing on the jukebox.

The sight of Rob and Tracy's public display of affection, made Carla and Peter both wince simultaneously. They then caught each other's gaze and started laughing in unison because it really did seem that they were both as miserable as each other and you know the old saying… misery loves company.

The sight of Peter laughing made Carla smile broadly because guess what, laughing was also something that Peter hadn't done in a long time as well.

"You know I think stuff like that should be illegal." Peter said, nodding towards Rob and Tracy, who were still lip to lip.

"What? Kissing?" Carla said, sipping her wine with a smirk.

"No… People parading their happiness in the face of others." Peter explained.

"Oh I am so with you on that one." Carla said, "Unless it's me own happiness of course, which in that case I'm quite happy to flaunt it in everyone's face." She watched as Liz handed Peter an orange juice and as he paid for it, Carla couldn't help but stare.

She wasn't exactly sure what it was that had her staring, maybe it was the big brown eyes or the beard he had because he hadn't shaved in a while but Peter soon caught on to it and self consciously asked,

"Is there summat on me face or?"

"No…" Carla said sheepishly. She looked so embarrassed and so cute that Peter couldn't help but smile at her admiringly.

Not with the half smile he had given her before but with a proper one this time, one that showed his teeth and one that she couldn't help but grin back at because it was infectious.

Peter's smile was so wonderful that Carla was almost in awe of it.

Even after knowing him for so many years, she had never realised just how cheeky and charming his smile was… until just this second that was.

A few seconds went by and Carla knew she was staring again but for some reason her eyes wouldn't obey her head and they kept watching Peter as he sipped his orange juice.

"So…" he said, putting his glass down and clearing his throat, trying to stop him self from going too red from the thought of Carla's attention. He obviously wasn't over Leanne, no where near but Carla's attention was starting to make him feel slightly better about things. "I… heard ya broke up with Trevor."

"I sure did." Carla nodded, "I thought it were for the best…"

"You thought?" Peter said because now it sounded like Carla was almost regretting breaking up with her boyfriend.

"Yeah… things weren't really going anywhere between us… I guess we just thought that we should both get out of things before we got too bored or ended up cheating or summat." Carla said, picking up her wine again and simply not thinking about what she had just said. Peter nodded at her as he sipped his boring juice and then replied with,

"Hmmmm I wonder if that's what happened with Leanne… I wonder if she got bored." His tone of voice was rather casual even if the topic of conversation was extremely painful.

Carla stopped suddenly when she realised what she had said and then looked at Peter extremely apologetically. She moved up the bar slightly, so that her arm was just a fraction away from his and said,

"Peter… I'm sorry that were really insensitive of me weren't it?" Peter shook his head at her, knowing that she hadn't meant any harm by her comment at all.

"No… I got what you meant. I think it's good that you and Trevor were able to end things without hurting each other, I just wish Leanne had had the decency to do the same thing with me." Peter watched as Carla bit her lip and looked down at her wine glass, he mistook her sympathetic look as one of un-comfortableness and then said, "I'm sorry… I shouldn't be talking like this… I know Leanne's your mate…" He trailed off because he was suddenly aware of how close Carla was to him, her arm was pressed right up against his, he could smell her perfume and He found himself breathing in slightly so he could take it in that little bit more.

"Yeah…. she is but… Peter... what she did to you was so unfair… anyone could see how much you loved her." Carla said, looking up at him again and this time, when she looked at him, it was like it was the first time she had actually seen him properly.

Peter was watching her too. He was smiling softly and staring at Carla as if she was the only woman in the room.

They were both fixated on each other, if only for a moment, ignoring all of the Christmas hustle and bustle around the both of them as if they had suddenly just seen something in each other… something that they hadn't seen before and even though neither one of them knew just what it was that they were feeling, they both knew the other could feel it too.

"You ave really stunning eyes." Peter suddenly blurted out, his mouth moving of its own accord. Carla felt her cheeks go pink as he shook his head quickly and then said, "Sorry… I was just errr… thinking out loud then."

"No… it's fine." Carla said, feeling slightly overwhelmed by this sudden rush that she felt inside her. She didn't quite know what the feeling was but she knew that it was Peter who caused it.

It was the kind of feeling that could only be described as butterflies.

The way Peter looked at Carla, made her pulse suddenly race and this was a feeling that she hadn't felt in the longest time.

"Yours aren't so bad either." She replied not believing what she was actually doing here… was she really flirting with Peter Barlow?

No she couldn't be? He was her best mate's ex for god sake.

There was an awkward silence between them as Michelle suddenly returned in front of them and as she was Carla's best friend for many many years, she could tell that she had just stumbled in on a moment.

She had joked about Carla and Peter spending more time together but as a joke only and now it seemed as if they were actually taking her serious.

Carla saw the look on Michelle's face and didn't give her chance to say anything to embarrass her, she swallowed down the rest of her wine and said,

"Another glass of red when you're ready Chelle." Michelle did as she was told although she did it with an eyebrow raised all the same.

Peter finished his orange juice and when he was done, he dared himself to look at Carla again. She was thankfully staring down at her phone so she couldn't see him watching her. He looked down at her very expensive looking shoes and then up her seemingly perfect body. She was dressed in black jeans and a white shirt, which also looked very expensive too.

Everything about Carla seemed to scream class and elegance and Peter wondered just how she didn't have the attention of every man in the room.

He also wondered how Carla and Leanne had stayed friends for so long, they were two very different people looks and personality wise and when Carla looked up from her phone, he quickly diverted his gaze just in case she had happened to look at him.

"D'ya want another orange juice Peter?" Michelle asked, handing Carla another glass of wine. He shook his head and said,

"Nah… I should probably take me miserable self home really."

"Oh go on!" Carla said, a little too over enthusiastically for her liking at first but she still continued because she really thought that Peter could do with the company, "I need ya Peter, don't make me ave to sit ere and put up with all these cheerful people on me own… please."

There was something about Carla's tone of voice that made Peter agree to stay for another drink and that also made him follow her over to a table.

"So…" Carla said as they sat down, not at all knowing how to ask someone she barley knew such a personal question but going for it anyway, "How are you doing… y'know with everything?"

"Terrible." Peter said honestly. Carla nodded at him and wondered if maybe she had made a mistake asking him to join her for a drink. After all, they really didn't know each other all that well and things could get very awkward very quickly.

"How's Simon coping with it all?" Carla asked, licking her lips nervously and wondering if she should maybe just shut up about things and start talking about something else instead.

"Not well if I'm honest." Peter said sadly, "He adores Leanne…. she's totally blown his world apart." Carla bit her lip at the devastated look on Peter's face and felt totally useless as he tried not to let her see that a tear had run down his cheek.

"Peter….Y'know… if you don't want to talk about this with me… I get it… just tell me to shut me mouth." She said, as Peter raised his hand and wiped at his eye.

"No…" Peter said with a sniff. "Y'know the old saying… it's good to talk."

"Well as long as you're sure…" Carla said, lifting up her wine glass to her lips and taking a sip to get some courage, cursing herself for being so nosy and making Peter upset.

"I'm sure…" Peter nodded, smiling at Carla as best he could, given his current situation. "Just give me a minute eh… unless me sitting ere and crying is turning you on of course." He had only meant it as a joke but there was something in his eyes that made Carla grin at him suggestively and say,

"Oh yeah… totally, I mean y'know what they say about men who cry don't ya?"

"No…" Peter said shaking his head and waiting for an answer, Carla raised her eyebrows at him at first and then giggled sheepishly as Peter said, "Seriously… I don't."

"Me neither…" Carla shrugged as Peter started chuckling at her once again. They both stayed sat together at their own little table for quite some time and now, neither of them were quite so miserable anymore.

Peter talked some more to Carla about what he was going through and had actually managed to cheer rather a lot.

They were in the middle of talking about last Christmas, when Steve decided to wonder around the pub with some mistletoe, He made various people in the pub kiss, most of them couples but he stopped when he got to Michelle, who wasn't far from Carla and Peter.

Steve then held the mistletoe above his and Michelle's head and they kissed romantically underneath it, unaware to just who was watching them in mock horror.

"Urggh!" Carla recoiled, whilst Peter comically shielded his eyes.

"D'ya ave to?" he groaned as Steve and Michelle pulled away from each other.

"Oh be quiet Scrooge!" Michelle teased, poking her tongue out at Peter.

"Oi… I'll ave you know that I'm Scrooge thanks very much Chelle." Carla grinned, "Peter over ere can be The Grinch." Michelle and Steve both shook their heads at each other as Peter nodded at Carla, thoroughly enjoying this newfound friendship.

"Oh yeah, n since when were you two mates eh?" Steve asked with an eyebrow raised but slightly pleased that his friend had found a distraction from his heartache.

"We ave both found a common interest in hating Christmas." Carla said proudly.

"Christmas and cheesy, over the top displays of public affection." Peter then added. Steve grinned at them both and waved his bunch of mistletoe in their direction.

"Yeah well you two better watch it… before I come over there with this bad boy." He said mischievously.

Carla and Peter both took a deep breath as Steve let go of his wife but he didn't walk over to them, instead he hung the mistletoe up on the side of the bar and went back to serving people.

Michelle watched, as it looked seemingly obvious that Carla and Peter were slightly disappointed not to have had the mistletoe thrust upon them after all.

Peter was now staring down at his knees whilst Carla was fiddling with a bit of her long hair.

There was another silence between the two new friends but one that wasn't so awkward this time, one that was full of a few smiles and friendly glances before Carla eventually asked,

"So… what are your plans for tomorrow then?"

"Well me n Si are actually staying next door at me Dad's..." Peter said, finishing off his orange juice.

"Awww that'll be nice…" Carla started but Peter shook his head as if he was dreading it, "Or not...?"

"Well it's just… between Si and Amy I know that I'll be at the crack of dawn... but that's kids for ya." Peter nodded, "Me Dad will probably be in crazy cooking mode and Tracy will be no help what so ever… how about you?"

"Well… as I ave a kid free household… I'll probably be staying in me pit until around midday." Carla said but there was a hint of sadness to her voice, one that Peter had noticed instantly.

"Do you miss Trevor?" he asked wondering if the sadness in her voice was to do with that.

"No… not really, I mean I guess I just miss the idea of him." Carla began, "I mean It would be nice to ave someone to share the day with tomorrow y'know…"

"Yeah… I do know." Peter said softly, Carla took his tone to mean pity and shook her head suddenly at Peter.

"Don't worry tho, I'm not a complete loner, I've got a delightful Christmas Dinner with Roy to look forward to in the afternoon." Roy had recently found out about her breaking up with Trevor and had decided to invite her over to his place so that she didn't have to be alone.

"Wait what about Rob? Who's he spending Christmas with?" Peter asked with a frown.

"Your lot it seems." Carla said, nodding towards Tracy and Rob, whose kissing had taken a rather passionate turn.

"Oh… great." Peter sighed, dreading tomorrow even more now that he was going to be faced with a happy couple. "Dinner… with Roy sounds really nice though… what about your plans for... the evening?"

"Is... that your incredibly subtle way of asking me if I'm coming to Chelle n Steves big Christmas party?" Carla smirked, albeit a little shyly.

"It sure is." Peter grinned, wondering how on earth she could practically read his mind and hoping that the fact that he was starting to really like Carla wasn't also too obvious.

"Well I am although... If I'm honest I ave been trying to think of ways to get out of it." Carla said, looking at her empty wine glass but deciding to go for another because she was already feeling things she hadn't felt before and wine was only going to fuel those feelings even more.

"Oh yeah?" Peter asked curiously.

"Yeah I mean… as I said before… I really don't wanna spend the day alone… I'd still be quite happy to wake up in early 2016." Carla said with sigh.

"I get it." Peter nodded empathetically, "I really really get it."

"Look at us eh… we're like two miserable little peas in a pod." Carla said with a silent chuckle,

"I wouldn't say miserable… not anymore at least... just glum." Peter said, "I mean if anything I'm just fed up of people asking me if I'm okay, everyone is tip toeing around me like I'm made out of glass. Like if they say the wrong thing I'll break into pieces and if one more person tells me to cheer up because it's Christmas then I swear I will hit em."

"Uh God Peter Barlow you are honestly like my soul mate right now." Carla cried, shaking her head and leaning her elbow on the table with her chin rested in her hand. She had never spent so much time just her and Peter before in her life but she was definitely enjoying it and vice versa.

Before even of them knew it, it was almost eleven o'clock. They were deep in a conversation as the pub had started to clear out and when Sally Webster had come over and cleared her throat,

"Sorry to interrupt… Mrs Connor…" She began but she stopped talking when Peter and Carla both looked at her irritatedly.

"Yes Sally." Carla said, through gritted teeth as Peter picked up his third orange juice of the night and tried not to laugh at how Carla treated her employees.

"Well this is nothing to do with me of course but some of the other employees are wondering if you're still going to be buying us that round of drinks you mentioned at the factory earlier." Sally said, in her most innocent tone of voice, as if she wouldn't accept the free drink if it was given to her.

"Sure…" Carla nodded because she had promised her team a free drink and so far she hadn't actually delivered, "I'll be right over Sal." She said, slightly disheartened to stop talking to Peter because she was starting to have a hell of a lot of fun, probably too much fun, in fact. She looked at him as he quickly finished his orange juice and put his glass down on the table.

"I better be going anyway, I didn't actually realise the time." Peter said, looking down at his watch.

"Oh no ya don't." Steve said, shaking his head from the bar. "You promised you'd help me… y'know…" Steve looked at Michelle and then back at Peter. "With the thing… I need to wrap."

"Oh yeah…" Peter nodded remembering how he'd promised he'd help Steve finishing his wrapping.

"Right…" Carla smiled, getting up off her chair and looking down at Peter, who was sat biting down on his bottom lip and staring at her enticingly. She couldn't help but feel her cheeks go hot again as Peter looked at her in that way and was about to speak when she heard Beth Tinker call out,

"Oh come on Mrs C… we're all parched over ere." Carla sighed and spun on her heel before walking over to the bar where her employees were, leaving Peter aching for more of her time. She bought her entire team of staff a drink or two and was so preoccupied with her staff that she didn't see Peter again until she had emerged from the toilet, almost forty minutes later.

He was alone and stacking glasses as Santa Baby played quietly on the jukebox.

"Hey… where is everybody?" Carla asked, gazing around at the empty pub that she and Peter were now stood in.

"Gone home… it's gone half eleven." Peter said, taking the last dirty glass and putting it with the others.

"Oh… right." Carla nodded, walking into bar a little more so that she was closer to Peter. She didn't know why but she was finding herself slightly drawn to the man in front of her. She had never really paid Peter much attention before but now she was looking at him it was suddenly as if she had just realised how good looking he was. "So how comes you're still ere then?"

"I dunno… I said I'd help Steve out with something for Michelle." Peter said, also edging towards Carla absent-mindedly.

"Really? Cause it looks to me like you're helping tidy up." Carla smiled.

"Yeah… well maybe I don't wanna go home just yet." Peter said, also with a silly little grin on his face. "I mean me Dad will probably be asleep by now… Simon too. Tracy n Rob…" Peter paused and chuckled to himself as Carla gave him a sympathetic look. "Well they'll probably be doing god knows what… I think it's better that I stay ere for a bit longer."

"Yeah… maybe you should..." Carla nodded, "but at least your place has people, mine is totally empty… although Michelle reckons that I might get a nice man to unwrap in my stocking tomorrow."

"Does she now?" Peter smirked, moving closer to Carla so that their arms and torso's were almost touching.

"Yeah." Carla breathed, licking her lips and reading the cheeky expression on Peter's face.

"Well… you can unwrap me if ya want." he joked, although if he really thought about it, the idea of Carla taking off his clothes in such a situation made him feel very nervous and also excited.

"Cheeky..." Carla laughed quietly.

"Listen…" Peter then said, very seriously at that. "Thanks for tonight… It's really cheered me up… you… really cheered me up."

"Ahhh right back at ya Barlow." Carla smiled poking Peter playfully in the stomach and as she poked him, the both of them looked up.

The both of them saw what they were all of sudden standing underneath.

Mistletoe.

It hung just above their heads, in the same place Steve had left it.

"Y'know… suddenly… I don't think I hate Christmas so much…" Carla whispered, her forehead gently resting against Peter's as she spoke.

"Yeah, me neither." he said, their lips only moments apart from each other when they heard the sound of footsteps.

They sprung apart as Michelle entered the bar to collect the empty glasses. She took one look at a flustered Carla and Peter and asked,

"Erm… Am I interrupting something?"

"Course not." Carla said, shaking her head but not daring to look at Peter.

"You sure?" Michelle smirked.

"Yes… I were just erm about to come and find you n tell ya that I was going home." Carla lied as Michelle moved closer to her and Peter.

"Okay…" Michelle grinned, trying not to laugh as her best friend and her husband's best friend, tried to ignore their obvious chemistry.

"Okay…" Carla nodded awkwardly, sinking her teeth into her bottom as she tried to save face.

"Bye then." Michelle said, still with a wicked grin on her face, knowing exactly how uncomfortable her friend was and loving it.

"Bye Chelle." Carla said before finally letting her gaze divert back to Peter who was smiling at her irresistibly. She couldn't help but smile back at the man she had unintentionally spent the evening with.

"I guess I'll see ya tomorrow then Mr Grinch." She said,

"Yeah… you too Ebenezer." He winked before she sauntered towards the door.

As she walked, Carla knew that Peter was unashamedly watching her walk away.

Peter knew that Carla knew he was watching her and Michelle... well Michelle knew that Carla and Peter… would definitely be spending more time together soon.