The mall was teeming with people, most rushing about as fast as they could go under the weight of their holiday packages, some strolling along, unfazed even when the other shoppers ran into them. In the middle of the food court sat Ben, Kevin, Gwen, and Julie.
"This is so lame," Kevin said for what must have been the seventh time since they arrived. He laid his head down on his arms, relieved the girls had wanted to sit down to sip hot cocoa.
"C'mon, Kevin," Gwen said cheerfully, sliding a cup of cocoa his way. "It's Christmas time at the mall. It's kind of neat, isn't it?"
"Oh, yeah, I love hearing 'Jingle Bell Rock' three times every hour and being waved at by creepy mall Santas," Kevin said without even looking up.
"Somebody's a grinch," Ben said, shaking his head. "And after Gwen went through all that trouble to get you a nice present."
Kevin immediately sat up and stared at Gwen. "You got me something?"
"Well, yeah," she looked away and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "You're my friend, it's Christmas time, and I had some spare money lying around."
"Uh…I gotta go," Kevin said, jumping to his feet.
"I'll come with," Ben said, smiling.
"I'm just going to the bathroom," Kevin said through gritted teeth. "That's all, Tennyson. Don't need your help with that."
"But do you know what the bathroom likes?" Ben asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
"…okay, good point," Kevin turned to address the girls. "Tennyson and I are just uh…going to the bathroom. We'll be back soon."
"ooo-kaay," Gwen said slowly, exchanging a look with Julie. They waved to the boys as they took off in the opposite direction that the bathroom.
"So," Julie said, pouring the remainder of Ben's cocoa into her own cup, "What do you think he's going to get you?"
Ben grabbed Kevin's arm and pointed at the counter. "Aw, man, jewelry? I don't know anything about jewelry," Kevin groaned.
"Yeah, well, it's the only thing I'm sure Gwen will like that she's not getting already. And jewelry's actually a really hard thing to screw up on."
"…What did you get Julie?"
"Earrings. Why?"
"Just making sure that if I'm going down, you are too," Kevin said as he looked through the glass cases. "What do you get a girl like Gwen?"
"Well, that depends!" An annoyingly cheerful voice came from behind the counter. Kevin jumped and looked up to see a man dressed in all red with a santa hat on his head. "Is this Gwen a relative, friend, or a girlfriend?"
"Um…friend," Kevin said after a moment.
"…But you want more than that," The man said with a knowing smile.
"Hey, I never said that!"
"You didn't have to say it, it's written all over your face. Now…how about a nice heart shaped necklace?" The man reached into his glass case and pulled out a silver heart with fake diamond studs all around it.
"Umm….Ben, what do you think?" Kevin asked.
"Yeah, Gwen would like that," Ben nodded his approval.
"All right, I'll take –," before Kevin could even finish his sentence, the man behind the counter had the necklace in a box and wrapped, and he smiled as he put it in the bag. "Okay…umm…how much?"
"Forty dollars," The man said. Kevin fished out the money from his wallet and handed it over. "Thanks uh…."
"Oh, the name's Nick. Nick Claus,"
Kevin and Ben both exchanged glances, then turned back to the counter, but the man was gone. In his place was a very confused looking woman. "Dear, it looks like you already bought here," she said to Kevin, motioning towards his bag, "Unless you're returning it…"
"Oh, no…sorry…just…had a moment," Kevin said. Ben shrugged.
"That was weird. But c'mon, we've got to get back to the girls."
"No need for that," The voice behind them made both boys jump. They slowly turned around to face Julie, who looked incredibly apprehensive. "I can't find Gwen. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, she was gone….all that was left was this," she pulled out Gwen's plumber badge from her hoodie's pocket. "I've tried her cell phone, but it just goes straight to voice mail."
"Let's split up," Ben said, "Kevin, you go ask the security guards. I'm going to go call my aunt and uncle and see if she came home. Julie, double check all the girls' bathrooms."
Kevin was completely still for a moment, seemingly unresponsive.
"Look, Kevin, we'll find her, but it'll be a lot faster if we do it this way," Ben said gently. Kevin nodded, seeming to shake it off.
"All right. We'll find her….and if someone took her…I'll make them pay."
Author's Note: With the holidays so close, I couldn't resist the little Santa Claus part in there. Plus it beefed up the length by quite a bit. Next chapter will bring Paradox into the story.
