A Very Torres Christmas
"I found the Christmas tree ornaments!" Mitchie called out as she walked from the basement into the family room, where her parents were hanging up Christmas decorations. Jason, Nate, and Shane, a.k.a., Connect 3, were there, as were Ella and Caitlyn. Mitchie's best friend, Sierra, and her parents, had gone out of town on a ski trip.
"MITCHIE!" Jason turned around as he heard Mitchie call out. "You're here! GROUP HUG!"
"Jason, no!" Mitchie panicked as Jason ran up and knocked the box of Christmas tree ornaments out of her hands. They tumbled to the floor and Mitchie looked sadly as they shattered everywhere.
"Dude, look what you did," Nate grumbled as he pushed Jason out of the way.
"I'm sorry," Jason mumbled, looking genuinely apologetic.
"The least you could do is clean it up. Mitchie, where's the broom?" Nate asked.
"It's in the storage closet," Mitchie pointed, as Nate made Jason get it. "Thanks, Nate."
"Anytime," Nate said, blushing a little. Caitlyn noticed Nate's expression, and spoke up.
"Nate, can I talk to you for a minute?" Caitlyn asked.
"Yeah," Nate said, wondering what Caitlyn wanted to talk to him about.
As soon as Nate and Caitlyn were alone, Caitlyn cut to the chase.
"Have you told her?" Caitlyn demanded.
"Told who what?" Nate said.
"Mitchie, who else?" Caitlyn.
"What are you talking about?" Nate said.
"You know exactly what. Have you told Mitchie you like her?" Caitlyn pressed.
"Shh!" Nate tried to keep Caitlyn quiet, but couldn't. "Keep it down, will you?"
"No, not until you tell her," Caitlyn stood firm.
"I will…I just…haven't found the right time yet," Nate said, avoiding Caitlyn's gaze.
"Well, you'd better, or Mitchie will think you're not interested," Caitlyn said.
"I am…I just don't know if she is," Nate worried.
"Trust me, Mitchie's so interested," Caitlyn smiled reassuringly at Nate. "Why don't you go talk to her now?"
"I can't do that!" Nate gulped, his face draining of all color. "It's not like I can just walk right up to her and say, "Hey, Mitchie, wanna go out with me? She'd just say it'd be weird, 'cuz we're friends, and I'd be crushed."
"She wouldn't do that, and you know it," Caitlyn argued. "She likes you, you like her, everyone knows it, and everyone knows it's meant to be. Now go ask her out already!"
"But Caitlyn…" Nate complained as Caitlyn dragged him back to the rest of the group.
In the storage closet with Jason…
"Nate, help! I can't find the broom anywhere," Jason yelled, thinking Nate was right behind him. trying to search for the broom in an otherwise completely packed storage closet. "Nate? Where are you?"
Meanwhile…
"Um, Mitchie, hi," Nate mumbled, looking everywhere but at Mitchie. Caitlyn shook her head as she left Nate and Mitchie alone to talk.
"Hey, Nate. Is everything OK?" Mitchie smiled, wondering what Nate wanted to talk to her about.
"Uh, yeah, everything's great." Nate tried to smile, but he couldn't. His brain had turned to mush just as soon as he saw Mitchie smile.
"Is there something you wanted?" Mitchie wondered.
"Um…" Nate tried to think of the best way to tell her, but he couldn't. "Caitlyn!" Nate hissed.
"You want Caitlyn?" Mitchie's smile disappeared instantly.
"No, I mean…"
Nate tried to remember what he wanted to say, and how he wanted to
say it. "
I think Caitlyn can tell you better than I can."
"OK," Mitchie said, a little doubtful. "Caitlyn, do you have a second?"
"Sure, what's up?" Caitlyn said, smiling as she came over. "Are you two together yet?"
"What?" Mitchie exclaimed as Nate coughed a few times.
"She means…" Nate tried to buy more time as Caitlyn realized he hadn't told her. Just then, an idea popped into his head. "Are we together on Jason's surprise party?"
"Jason's surprise party? But I thought it was his birthday months ago…" Mitchie looked confused. "Wasn't it?"
"How should I know?" Caitlyn looked blankly at Mitchie as her mind raced to come up with something. "Maybe it's his half-birthday. And maybe we should bake something, just in case…I'll go see what I can cook up." Caitlyn ran off before Mitchie could ask her about it more.
Mitchie shook her head, knowing something was definitely up. Then she saw Ella, and decided to talk to her.
"Ella, do you know what's up with Nate and Caitlyn?" Mitchie asked, walking over to where Ella was. "And is it Jason's half-birthday?"
"I have no idea…What's a half-birthday?" Ella shook her head and shrugged before checking her appearance in the mirror once again.
Mitchie glanced over at Nate and Caitlyn, who were having a heated discussion. She saw Nate looking extremely upset about something, while Caitlyn was shaking her head and getting upset herself. Just then, Caitlyn caught Mitchie watching them, and came over.
"Mitchie, is there anything else we can help with?" Caitlyn said, as she saw Mitchie's parents. "Maybe we can take a break and go outside for a while. You know, clear our heads? Or something," Caitlyn directed that last part to Nate, who shook his head and looked a little pale.
"I don't know…Mom, Dad, is there anything else we can help with?" Mitchie wondered.
"No, I think we can take it from here. Why don't you all take a break and go have some fun?" Mrs. Torres said.
"See? I knew it! Now come on!" Caitlyn said, pulling Mitchie out with her. "Ella, get Jason, and come on out ASAP. Nate, get Shane. He should be in the bathroom, checking his hair or something. Let's go!"
5 minutes later…
"What are we doing out here?" Jason wondered, as he looked around him.
"Snowball fight!" Shane cried as he realized what Caitlyn was up to.
"That's right!" Caitlyn said, as she popped out from behind a tree and threw a snowball at Jason.
"AAAHHHHH!" Jason screamed as the snowball splattered all over him. "It's cold! Get it off, get it off!"
"Dude, it's just frozen water. It melts right off you, see?" Nate rolled his eyes as Jason saw the snowball disintegrate before his eyes.
"Cool!" Jason laughed. "That's awesome!"
"OK, now how do you want to do this? 2 groups of 2, and 1 group of 3, or…guys vs. girls?" Caitlyn's eyes sparkled as she mulled over the second choice.
"How about…every person for themselves?" Shane said, throwing a snowball at her.
"SHANE!" Caitlyn screamed as Shane's snowball hit her in the face. Shane laughed until he saw Caitlyn's smile turn into a glare.
"Uh-oh, you better run," Nate laughed, as Caitlyn muttered, "Oh, it's on…" Caitlyn grabbed some snow, made a snowball, and started chasing Shane with it. "SHANE, YOU ARE SO DEAD!!!!"
"Oh snap…" Shane's eyes widened as he saw Caitlyn's temper rising. "Not my hair, please…anything but my hair. AAAHHHH!!!!" Shane started running as Caitlyn chased him around. "HELP ME!!!! ANYONE???? HELP!!!! NATE!!!! MITCHIE!!!! JASON!!!! ELLA!!!! AAAHHHH!!!!"
Jason and Ella saw Caitlyn chasing Shane around with her snowball, and started laughing hysterically.
"OH MY GRAY!!!!" Ella managed to say, between fits of laughter. "Run, Shane, RUN!!!!"
"DO SOMETHING, FOR CRYIN' OUT…" Shane was about to say "Loud", but then he slipped on some ice and landed face first into a huge pile of snow.
Caitlyn stopped chasing him, and started laughing so hard at Shane she dropped her snowball.
"HEY! It's not THAT funny," Shane protested. Everyone was laughing at Shane now. "Guys…" Shane said, exasperated. But no one was paying any attention, they were laughing so hard. Shane smirked as he started making snowballs.
"Guys, look!" Ella pointed, as everyone stopped laughing.
"Oh no," Mitchie said, as Shane nodded and smiled.
"This one's for Caitlyn," Shane said, lifting a snowball in his right hand. "And this one's for you, Mitchie…"
"RUN!" Mitchie screamed, as everyone started running away from Shane.
Mitchie heard Caitlyn scream, and knew Shane had thrown one at her. A split second later, Mitchie felt one hit her back and slide off.
"Oh no, you didn't," Caitlyn said, as she came up to Mitchie and whispered in her ear.
"Ella, over here," Mitchie motioned, as Ella came over.
"Guys," Shane called Nate and Jason over.
"What are they talking about?" Jason looked confused.
"Dude, they're going to attack us," Nate said matter-of-factly.
"Exactly, so here's what we're gonna do," Shane said. He told them the plan, and Nate shook his head.
"That's never going to work," Nate said doubtfully.
"Why not?" Shane grumbled.
"Because, Jason can't be on his own. I have to be with him, or he'll get distracted like always. And then it'll be Caitlyn against you, Mitchie against me, and Ella wouldn't throw a snowball at Jason, let alone pick one up…she thinks it's too cold. So we'll lose," Nate explained.
"What, you think we can't take the girls on?" Shane started getting angry. "We're guys. Of course we can! Everyone knows 1 guy is equal to at least 3 girls. And we can take them easy."
"Guess again," Mitchie, Caitlyn, and Ella said right behind them, as the guys looked up.
"Dudes," Jason's eyes widened as they saw the girls with 2 snowballs each, and a mountain of freshly made snowballs behind them.
"How did you guys…?" Shane's eyes nearly popped out as the girls started throwing snowballs at all of them.
"Make snowballs now, talk later," Ella called out as she threw one at Jason.
"And that's how you use the element of surprise," Mitchie smirked as the guys screamed and ran. Jason tripped, which made Shane and Nate fall on top of him.
"Ooh, it's a Connect 3 sandwich!" Caitlyn said, pointing and laughing.
"You mean, an ice cream sandwich. You know, ice cream, because it's cold, and sandwich, because Shane's sandwiched. How does that go again?" Mitchie laughed.
"Ice cream sandwiches, good on cold winter days, get me an ice cream sandwich, and I'll go my own way!" Ella sang, changing the lyrics of Shane's original song to fit the weather. The girls burst into laughter, as Shane pulled himself out from the middle and sat in the snow.
"AAAHHHH!!!! MY HAIR!!!!" Shane screamed, as his hair had been caked with snow and was now drenched.
"Girls: 1, Guys: 0," Caitlyn smirked, as Shane glared at her. "Come on, Shane. I'll help you dry off," Caitlyn pulled Shane up. Caitlyn caught Shane smirking. "I don't mean like that, you perv…" Caitlyn said, as Shane's face fell. The two of them went inside.
"Jason, I'm cold," Ella shivered, as Jason got up and shook his hair out.
"Let's go inside then…we'll sit by the fire, and have some hot chocolate." Jason smiled, and Ella grinned.
"OK, but only if it has those mini marshmallows in it too," Ella and Jason held hands as they followed Shane and Caitlyn in.
Mitchie laughed as Nate pouted, still covered in snow. "Come on, get up, Nate," Mitchie laughed, holding out her hand.
"Fine," Nate grumbled as he reached out for Mitchie's hand. Mitchie felt her whole body tingle as Nate took her hand. For a split second, Mitchie thought that maybe it wasn't just her. Mitchie pushed the feeling away and thought nothing of it, then felt herself falling forward.
"NATE!" Mitchie screamed as Nate caught her, smiling.
"Mitchie: 1, Nate: 1," Nate answered simply as Mitchie felt her cheeks redden. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold, or from what had just happened.
Mitchie shivered, as Nate's eyes looked concerned. "Mitchie, are you OK?"
"Fine, just…a little cold, that's all," Mitchie said, noticing the distance between them.
"Do you want to go inside? Everyone else has," Nate said, a little uncomfortable.
"OK," Mitchie said, noticing the tingling feeling return as Nate took her hand and they got up from the snow.
They walked inside, only to be stopped at the doorway.
Mitchie and Nate looked at each other, then around at everyone until Jason pointed above them and laughed. There, hanging above them, was a bunch of mistletoe.
"Ooh, you guys have to kiss!" Jason and Ella said, as everyone around them smiled.
"Um…I don't think so," Mitchie blushed and looked away. "Mom, maybe I can…?"
"No, sweetie, Jason's right, you have to…" Mrs. Torres said. "You're under the mistletoe."
"No, she doesn't," Mr. Torres said. "Mitchie, honey, come on. There's something…"
"Now, Steve…" Mrs. Torres distracted him as the rest of their friends cheered them on.
"Mitchie, it's OK, we're just friends," Nate said, smiling politely at her. "It doesn't mean anything. It's all for fun."
"I don't know…" Mitchie said, still unsure.
"Mitchie," Nate's eyes were locked onto Mitchie's now, and as Nate came closer, Mitchie's mind was sent spiraling out of control. Part of her wanted to run, and part of her wanted to grab Nate and kiss him senseless.
"Mitchie, it's OK, it's just…me," Nate whispered as Mitchie's eyes widened.
"Nate…I…" Mitchie whispered, right before she was cut off by Nate's lips on hers. Shane, Caitlyn, Jason, and Ella cheered as Mitchie's and Nate's kiss instantly deepened.
Nate pulled Mitchie closer to him, as Mitchie grabbed on tighter to Nate. She was starting to feel a lot of emotions, but the biggest one was that Nate wasn't forcing the kiss, and neither was she.
All too soon, the kiss was over, and Mitchie could feel herself regaining her breath. She stole a glance at Nate, who'd been looking down, almost as if he were afraid to look at her.
"Nate…" Mitchie mumbled, as Nate took her hand and said, "We need to talk…"
Mitchie could barely remember them walking away from the others, into the living room, which was deserted.
"Mitchie, I…" Nate said, as Mitchie interrupted him.
"What was that?" Mitchie said, still stunned by their kiss.
Nate remained silent for a long time. Finally, he spoke. "I don't know. Maybe it doesn't mean anything. Maybe it does. What do you think?"
Mitchie felt Nate's eyes on her. "I don't know either. But I do know that I don't want things to be weird between us."
"But they are weird," Nate insisted. "What does this mean? Are we…together? Or are we just friends? Because we can't be both. Can we?"
"No, we can't," Mitchie said, realizing that what Nate had said was true. "Nate…I can't be friends with you. Not after what just happened. I can't just forget it ever happened, because it did. And I don't know what to do."
"Is that what you really want?" Nate said, as tears came to his eyes. "Mitchie, I'm sorry…I never wanted to lose our friendship. Especially not over a kiss."
"Yes, it is," Mitchie said firmly. "I can't be friends with you…especially not after…"
"After what?" Nate wondered.
"Do you remember when we held hands outside? Did you notice anything…different?" Mitchie prompted.
"Yeah, like I tingled all over," Nate said. "Wait, you felt it too?"
"Yeah," Mitchie said. "So it has to mean something, right?"
"I guess," Nate agreed. "But I don't want to jump to conclusions or anything. I mean, if you want, we can take things slow. If you want to. Do you?"
"I… don't know," Mitchie said, still trying to make sense of it all.
"Here, maybe this will help," Nate remarked, taking her hand in his. Mitchie gasped as she felt the same tingle she felt before.
"So…where do we go from here?" Mitchie wondered. "And what does this mean exactly?"
"I don't know," Nate said, releasing her hand. Both of them instantly felt the tingle disappear.
"Wait," Nate said, as he pulled Mitchie back towards the rest of the group.
"Nate, what are you doing?" Mitchie wondered, as they entered the family room, where everyone else was.
"You'll see," Nate said, finally stopping as they were under the mistletoe again.
"NATE! MITCHIE! GROUP…" Jason called out, as Nate cut him off.
"Hold on, Jase," Nate commanded, as he slid his arms around Mitchie and kissed her.
Both Nate and Mitchie felt that kissing each other felt just right.
After a little while, they broke apart.
"So…?" Nate asked, his eyes hopeful.
"That…was…perfect," Mitchie breathed. "What do you think?"
"I think it was pretty awesome," Nate said, amazed that it felt so right being with Mitchie. "Do you want to go out sometime, and see if anything happens? We can take it as slow as you want…if you want."
"Yeah, I'd love to take things slow," Mitchie grinned as Nate bent down and kissed her again.
"Oh my Gray!" Mitchie and Nate were pushed apart by a grinning Caitlyn and Shane. "You guys too?"
"Wait, what do you mean?" Mitchie looked lost. "What do you mean, 'You guys too'?"
"She means she and Shane are together," Nate said, getting a nod from Caitlyn and a smile from Shane, who was holding Caitlyn's hand.
"Really? Caitlyn, that's awesome! I'm so happy for you and Shane!" Mitchie hugged her friend, as they squealed in delight.
"GROUP HUG!" Jason and Ella yelled, running over.
"NO!" Nate yelled, holding up his hand just before Jason and Ella got to them. "I've got a much better idea."
"I know exactly what you mean," Caitlyn said, dragging Shane over to Nate and Mitchie. "Jason, Ella, GROUP KISS!"
"Wait, do you mean we have to kiss everyone else? EWW!!!! I don't want to kiss Shane and Nate. Or you or Mitchie…Not that I don't love you guys. I do, but you're just my friends. I love Ella. I really love Ella," Jason whined, as Nate and Mitchie started making out, and Caitlyn and Shane were too busy locking lips to listen.
"Jason, do you like my new lipgloss?" Ella asked, as Jason nodded eagerly.
"Why don't we try it out and see?" Jason smiled as he kissed Ella. Just then, the clock struck midnight.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!" Mrs. Torres yelled, breaking up all the couples.
"PRESENTS!!!!" Jason shouted, beside himself with excitement. "I hope I get all those birdhouses from you guys…"
"And lipgloss!" Ella added. "You can never have too much."
"Come on," Nate mumbled to Mitchie, taking her hand and leading her away from the group. They heard Caitlyn and Shane laughing in the background at something Jason and Ella said.
"I know I got you a present already, but I kinda wanted this to be special, so I thought I'd give it to you privately," Nate said.
"Aww, Nate, you didn't have to," Mitchie smiled. "But I don't mind that you did. What is it?"
"Close your eyes," Nate commanded, as Mitchie shut her eyes tightly and covered them with her hands. "And don't peek."
Nate slipped a box out of his pocket and took one of Mitchie's hands off her face. "Don't peek," Nate repeated, as he saw Mitchie trying to sneak a glance at it.
Nate opened the box and placed it in her hand. "OK, now…look."
"Nate, it's beautiful!" Mitchie gasped, as she saw what was inside. Nate had given her a sterling silver necklace, with a picture on it of the two of them, placed within a large heart-shaped pendant on it. "I love it!"
"Flip it over…" Nate suggested, as Mitchie did. There, on the back, were the words Dear Mitchie, You'll always be in my heart. I hope I'll always be in yours. Love, Nate.
"I know it's cheesy, but…" Nate said.
"No, it's perfect," Mitchie breathed. "I love it." Mitchie smiled as she pulled Nate down for another long, lingering kiss.
"I really like you, Mitchie," Nate said, gazing deep into Mitchie's eyes. "More than you'll ever know."
"I really like you too, Nate," Mitchie said softly, as they broke apart again. "And fyi, you'll always be in my heart too."
"Good, because I wasn't planning to let you get away," Nate smiled. "Merry Christmas, Mitchie."
"Merry Christmas, Nate," Mitchie echoed, as Nate kissed her again. Then they went back to their friends and family, their hands intertwined.