Monster High: Christmas Spirits

Monster High is copyright of Mattel

Since it's Christmas, I felt the need to spread a bit of holiday cheer, and write up a few romantic seasonal fics. I hope you enjoy.

Frankie and Andy

Andy stared down at the box on his lap, admiring the shiny wrapping and ribbons adorning it. Considering how carefully tied the bow holding it together was, it was easy to guess who had prepared this for him.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Frankie spoke anxiously. She stood before him, looking quite adorable in her stitch patterned jumper, clasping her hands together.

"I will, I will. I just want to savour the moment. This is the first Christmas present I've opened in decades, you know." He replied, giving a wistful glance out the window. If there had been one thing he'd missed during his exile on Skull Shores, it was celebrating Christmas. The Tikis hadn't been quite fond of the idea.
Seeing how Frankie was rocking on her heels, he decided to finally undo the bow and remove the rest of the wrapping with his claws.

"Oh. It's..." He frowned as he pulled out the small flat rectangular object in the box. "er... one of these. Awesome."

He noticed her disappointed expression, and sighed. "Okay, I have no idea what this is."

"It's a diePod." Frankie explained, leaning over to switch it on. "You can play music on it, and it has a camera so you can take and store pictures. Now you can put all your pictures in one place."

"Ahh... that's amazing." Andy pressed the diePod's screen, and was surprised to see a picture of himself pop up.

"I uploaded some songs and pictures on it for you already. I hope you don't mind." Frankie spoke bashfully.

Andy flicked through the screens, smiling as he recognized some of the artists he'd come to like, from Catty Noir to Van Goreisson. There were several pictures, mostly of him and Frankie, no doubt taken from her phone over the months he'd spent living in Salem. He always had fond memories of when those pictures were taken.

"This is wonderful.. thank you." He smiled gratefully.

Her response was a smile that lit up the room. "Oh I'm so glad! I was worried you wouldn't like it."

"No no, I love it." His smile faded a little. "I feel a little guilty though."

"Why?"

"Well, I have a gift to give you too..." He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "But it's kinda unusual, and its nowhere near as fancy as your gift."

"Oh Andy." Frankie sat next to him. "I'm sure whatever it is, I'll love it."

"Well, if you're sure.." He got to his feet and took her hand. "I needed to stash it somewhere particular, so I'll need to take you to it."

"Ooh, sounds mysterious." She grinned. "So where are we going?"

"Whooooaaaa!" Frankie cried out, gripping the fur on Andy's shoulder for dear life as her friend, now transformed into his gigantic alter ego, leapt up and grabbed onto the side of a mountain.
The former Beast of Skull Shores clambered up the sheer slope, covering a distance a regular climber would have taken ages to scale.

"Where are we going?" She called out. The Beast only responded with a curt nod and a smile, before continuing on his path up the mountain.

Finally they reached a large outcropping, with a thick thatch of trees nearby. Andy gently set Frankie down on the ground, before transforming back to his regular height.

Frankie frowned as she handed Andy the bag of clothes she'd been asked to carry. "You know, when you said we needed to go somewhere, this wasn't what I imagined."

"Sorry about that." Andy replied as he pulled on the clothes, a thick jumper and jeans. "But this needed to happen here... just give me a few more minutes."

He dashed into the trees, leaving Frankie to gaze at the night sky. She had to admit, this was a pretty nice spot. She had a wonderful view of the twinkling lights of Salem below, and the light from the full moon gave the falling snow a beautiful ethereal quality.

Eventually Andy returned, pushing a large block of ice forward. "I would have asked Abbey to keep this for me, but she's away with her family, so..."

"What do you need that for?"

He pulled out a small chisel and hammer from his pockets. "I want to create an ice sculpture for you."

"Really?" Frankie blinked. "You can do that?"

"Hey, I spent years carving all those stone statues back on the island. Ice shouldn't be too different."

"So what are you going to make?"

Andy looked a bit embarrassed. "Well.. I was hoping.. you?"

Frankie looked surprised. "Me?"

"Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, if you're not comfortable with it, I can do something else.."

"No no..." She held up her arms. "I don't mind. I'm kinda curious to know what I look like made of ice."

Andy looked relieved. "Okay then.. just sit over there." He pointed at a large rock.

Frankie walked over, brushed off the layer of snow on top and sat down.

"Do you want me in a particular pose?" She held up her arms in several different ways.

"Just sit like you normally would." Andy readied his tools. "Oh, and please sit still."

Frankie sat as primly as she could, resting her hands on her lap. Satisfied, Andy began chipping away at the block of ice.

Several long minutes passed as Andy did his work, chipping and carving away at the block of ice. He was mostly silent, but occasionally he would mutter a curse whenever he seemed to slip up.
Frankie couldn't quite see how the carving was taking shape, due to Andy carving on the side of the block away from her. But she could see Andy, and watch how his face was etched in concentration, and how he would look at her to get his bearings before returning to the carving. The deep, focused way he gazed over her figure, taking in every detail, made her blush slightly. It took all her willpower to not fidget in her seat.

A half-hour passed, and Frankie was about ready to whine about her legs getting stiff. Now thankfully, Andy put down his tools and declared "It's finished."

Frankie stood up, bolts sparking in anticipation. When Andy turned the ice block around to show her the carving, her breath was taken away.

"Oh my ghoul.." Before her was an almost perfect recreation of her figure from the shoulders up, made out of ice so finely chipped, that it almost appeared to be crystal. It was like looking into a mirror, he had even included her neckbolts and scar.

Andy gulped. "So... what do you think?"

"Oh Andy... its beautiful." She spoke softly. "I can't believe you made all this effort for me. You didn't have to."

"But I wanted to. I wanted to give you something unique." He took her hand in his. "One of a kind. Just like you."

She looked up at him, studying his eyes as he spoke. "For a long time, maybe too long, I saw you as just like that girl I met on the island. You were kind, you were funny, you were beautiful.. just like her. But when I came here, the more time I spent with you, I more I came to realize I was using you as a surrogate, and that wasn't right."

"Andy.." She gripped his hand tighter, stunned by the emotion in his voice.

"I don't love you because you remind me of her. I love you because you are the most incredible, fascinating, gorgeous woman I've ever met. You mean so much to me, and I don't want to spend another minute just treating you as some old memory to keep my powers under control. You deserve better than that, and I want to make you as happy as you've made me."

He took a deep breath as he watched for her reaction. When she didn't reply, he assumed the worst. "I'm sorry.. I shouldn't have said..."

The next thing he knew, Frankie had his arms around him, and was kissing him on the lips.

After what felt like forever, she pulled back, smiling at his amazed expression.

"No Andy... I'm glad you said it. It's what I've wanted to say to you for a while."

He gasped. "So.. so you really want to be with me?"

"Of course.." She hugged him tightly. "I love you too..."

They stood wrapped in each others arms, barely noticing the cold air around them, focusing only on each other.

Frankie smiled brightly as she looked up at him. "Thank you... this is the best Christmas gift I've ever been given."

Andy blinked. "Do you mean the statue, or what I said..."

"Both.." Frankie pulled out the diePod she had given Andy from her pocket. "I think this is a moment which needs to be immortalized, don't you?"

"I couldn't forget this moment if I tried." Andy replied, smiling. "But that statue isn't going to last forever, so..."

They took a pose on either side of the statue, and Frankie snapped a picture.

"So.." Andy looked down the slope of the mountain. "Do you want to head back? I can carry you and the statue down."

"Not just yet." Frankie sat down on the edge of the outcropping. "Let's enjoy the view for a little longer..."

Andy sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to keep her warm. Frankie sighed as she rested his head on his shoulder.

"It's a wonderful night." She murmured as she gazed at the twinkling lights of the town below.

"Yeah.." Andy replied softly. "I'd forgotten how wonderful this night could be."

Frankie smiled. "I wonder what everyone else is doing tonight..."

END