A/N: OOOOOOOKEY DOKEY! Whoa…that was weird…ok! New story! AHHH! Ok, so I got bored and went on a three day writer's block/hiatus thing…And I was saved by my lovely muses DD and Discount Drugmart (Sorry...i'm using nicknames because people don't want real names to be used.). This came to me and they also helped me with other stories that seem to be my most popular…So, please enjoy my little Christmas tale! Very Natalie/Gabe centered (NOT SHIPPING! They just interact a lot!).

Disclaimer:

Me: *to the tune of 'We Wish you a Merry X-mas* I now own Next to Normal, I now own Next to Normal, I now own Next to Normal, and so do you.

DD: *singing*Hey, this song doesn't make sense. You don't own Next to Normal so shut your fat mouth.

Me: *singing*We don't own Next to Normal, we don't own Next to Normal, we don't own Next to Normal, well, there's always next year!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

The harsh, cold December wind blew against the old windows of the old Victorian house. Natalie sat alone, bored out of her mind, after putting the two little girls she was babysitting to sleep. And worst of all it was Christmas Eve, so they were wound up more than usual. A knock was heard at the door. She sighed as she went to answer it. The parents of the little girls stood in the doorway.

"Sorry we came home so late…" the father explained. "Traffic is insane on the interstate."

They walked in, completely ignorant to the terrible shape their babysitter was in, scratches and bite marks all over her, her hair pulled out of it's usual ponytail. Natalie grabbed her stuff and was about ready to leave. The mother, who was quite tipsy after being out all night partying, handed her a fifty dollar bill, which was way more than she usual made babysitting. "Go buy yourself something nice." she said, ushering Natalie out of their house.

Natalie stared down at the money. Go buy yourself something nice…she thought. I wish…

What the mother didn't know was that this money would be the only present she was receiving this year…or any year. Did her parents have any time to worry about her? No. And why would they always use the excuse that money was tight? Maybe that was because it was all used on her mother's useless medication and countless treatments that never worked…

After arriving back at her house, she was walking up the porch to unlock the door when she stumbled over what seemed to be a tiny box. She gently bent down and picked it up. The little tag on the box read,

Natalie,

Merry Christmas!

Don't open it 'til tomorrow.

Love Henry

She smiled and put the little box into the pocket of her thick winter coat. The door had swung open, only to reveal a massive party being thrown. Oh shit… she thought, almost considering turning around and running. She completely forgot that this was the year the family Christmas party was being held at their house. She darted in, hoping that no one would notice her.

People were everywhere. She had never seen the house so alive…well, in a good sense at least…random aunts and uncles were waving or pulling her into an embrace. She squirmed her way out and ran up to her room. Jumping all over her bed were a few of her younger cousins.

"Oh…hi, Natalie!" her little cousin squealed, running over to hug her.

"Ok, Lexi, that's enough…" Natalie replied angrily, pushing her cousin off of her.

"What's wrong?" Lexi asked, curious.

"I don't wanna talk about it…"

The little girl pouted and plopped herself down on the bed next to Natalie. She stared at her cousin's flushed face, the bruises covering her neck, her hair wilder than ever. "What's Santa gonna bring you?"

Natalie rolled her eyes at the comment. "Nothing."

"Why? Have you been bad?"

She tried not to let Lexi see the guilt and shame in her face. "Something like that…"

The rest of the little cousins had dragged her over to the little keyboard she kept in her room and told her to play them a Christmas song. She gave into their demands and began a rousing version of "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

They all exchanged looks of confusion. She went on, not aware that her cousins were wandering around her room now. She could hear a few murmurs then Lexi was tugging on the hem of her sweatshirt.

"Nat? What's this?" She held a bottle of pills in her hands. She was slightly confused as Natalie whipped them out of her hands and shouted, "Don't touch those! Get out of my room!"

Natalie pushed her cousins out of the room. Lexi tried to get more answers.

"But, Nat-!"

"I said GET OUT, YOU FUCKING LITTLE DEMONS!"

Little did she know that all commotion had stopped below. All eyes were on her. She could see a few aunts and uncles giving her a look of disappointment, shaking their heads at the disgrace. Little Lexi was in tears below. She ran back into her room and slammed the door shut.

No…she thought, falling face first onto her bed. No! I'm becoming my fucking mother! I'm not crazy…I'm not! This is exactly why I hate Christmas, I hate my family, I hate my life…God, I hate everything! She heard a small knock at her door.

"Nat? You ok?" It was her father's voice. "What happened?"

"I…I don't want to talk about it…can you just leave me alone?"

She could hear his footsteps trailing away. The little pill bottle in her hand looked enthralling now. She sighed, opening the bottle, and threw a few in her mouth, swallowing quickly.

She felt her head throbbing. Probably because of those fucking little assholes…Again, she stared at the little bottle. No, she told herself. It's not gonna help…it won't do…who am I kidding? Not even fooling herself, she swallowed pill after pill.

Her headache only got worse as clumsily fell upon her bed. Her vision was a little fuzzy…the room began to spin. She groaned as her head fell back on top of her single, off-white pillow. The rambling from downstairs became fainter…fainter…Her eyes slowly shut as she passed out.

Natalie awakened slowly, carefully. It was pitch black, except for the few beams of moonlight that poured into her window. Her headache was gone, she noticed immediately. Only, she didn't feel like herself. She seemed as light as a feather, like she could jump out the window and land softly land on the ground. Her hands felt slightly numb, she recalled, adjusting the now fluffy pillow behind her head.

I must be so stoned…she thought, closing her eyes once more. The wind rustled a little, the breeze dancing in through her window, which opened itself with a great force. Her eyes shot back open, looking around the room. Nothing.

She settled back down. The breeze came again, carrying a whisper. "Natalie…"

She jumped and sat back up in the bed. Still nothing could be seen in the darkness.

The whisper called again… "Natalie…"

Her heart pounded in her chest as a shadowing figure emerged in the dark. She was completely stiff as its dark eyes were set on her. It began to pick up a pace and was heading toward her…In self-defense, she took the pillow that sat behind her and threw it at the figure, completely horrified. The figure fell to the ground.

"Ow! God, why'd you do that?"

Her eyes grew wider as it got back up again. The figure stood in the light finally…It wasn't a demonic monster…it was a boy.

He gave her an angry glare as he stood up, brushing himself off. His sandy hair was pushed in every direction, his muscular body could be seen through the outline of his clothing. But what caught her attention were his eyes…his crystal blue eyes…

He began to walk towards her again. She stood up and grabbed a small bottle of pepper spray that her father gave her when she started going out with Henry. "Don't come any closer!" She warned, wielding her pathetic and useless weapon.

He chuckled and smirked at her. "What's the matter? Haven't you seen your own brother before?"

She dropped the pepper spray in disbelief. "What are you-? No! No! This is not happening…you're not…you're-!" She found herself staring into his eyes. His entrancing blue eyes gave her a feeling of warmth and comfort. "Gabe?"

"Hi, Natalie."

A/N: OOOOH! What shall happen next? lol...I've gotta finish the rest of this, so be patient! Anyone wanna give me an early Christmas present and review?