23 December

Ainsley threw open the door to Dan's room and bounded in, taking a flying leap. She landed on top of the grey and white checked coverlet, the mattress bouncing wildly, but the boy did not wake. She began to jump, the mattress moving like a wave underneath her feet. Suddenly, a pair of arms locked around her waist, pulling her down to the bed. She screamed, not expecting Dan's surprise attack, or even hearing him wake. Dan had managed to quickly duck back under the covers again, but she could tell he was awake-his breathing was too calm, too exaggerated, for him to be actually asleep. No, he was definitely faking it.

Ainsley moved so that she was sitting on Dan's back. Gently, she began to rub his bare shoulders and neck. He led a stress-filled life, so Ainsley wasn't surprised when she found a huge knot in the muscle at the base of his neck between his spine and shoulder blade. He groaned softly as she pushed on his muscle.

"Too much?" she questioned, going back to gently massaging his shoulders. He mumbled something unintelligible, but Ainsley thought she heard 'no' in his string of speech. "You sure?" Dan waved a hand, motioning her to continue.

Her fingers moved back to the patch of muscle between Dan's spine and shoulder where he held his stress. Recalling what one of her university mates told her about massages, Ainsley tapped out a slow, flowing rhythm into Dan's back that slowly progressed in speed. Dan began to mumble along to the rhythm of her tapping.

"I'm sorry, you're speaking into a pillow," she told him, continuing to massage his back.

He turned his head so that his face was no longer buried in his pillow. "You're playing MCR. I'm singing." He paused, waiting for the third movement of the song before continuing to sing. "Do or die, you'll never make me, because the world will never take my heart. Go and try, you'll never break me. We want it all, we wanna play this part. I won't explain or say I'm sorry; I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar. Give a cheer for all the broken, and listen here, because it's who we are. I'm just a man, I'm not a hero. Just a boy, who had to sing this song. I'm just a man, I'm not a hero. I don't-"

"What are you doing?" Phil's voice in the door caused both Dan and Ainsley to jump. She scrambled off the bed and Dan groaned, groping for a Totoro plushie leaning against his side table.

"Jesus Christ, Phil!" Dan yelled, throwing Totoro at his innocent friend. He leaned up, holding his duvet to his chest.

"Ainsley woke me up a half hour ago!" Phil protested. "I'm just confused."

Ainsley beamed, having forgotten why she had woken Dan up in the first place. Now that it was back in her mind, however, she grabbed Dan's hands enthusiastically, pulling him sharply out of bed. He rolled his chocolate eyes and reached for the black shirt draped on the back of his desk chair.

"Why are we up at…" He glanced at the clock. "Nine thirty? Jesus Christ!"

"Get ready. Meet me in the kitchen in an hour," said Ainsley mysteriously, pushing past Phil and exiting Dan's room into the hallway.

"Why?" Phil poked his head into the hallway, but the mahogany-haired girl was nowhere to be seen.

Ainsley was standing beside the breakfast bar when Dan and Phil walked into the kitchen at ten thirty. Both wore their signature black skinny jeans. Both wore hoodies, Phil's being a festive Christmas zip-up and Dan's simply plain maroon.

"What Christmas eve-eve festivities require waking up at nine thirty in the morning?"

"And what smells of cinnamon?" Phil added, his nose in the air, attempting to find the source of the cinnamon smell.

Ainsley cleared her throat. "Table for Lester and Howell? Right this way." Confused, Dan and Phil followed Ainsley through their house into the lounge, where a square table had been set for three people. She motioned for them to sit. "The chef has prepared a lovely brunch for you this morning, that is to say, a festive French cinnamon bread with a cinnamon pecan syrup, Delia Smith's famous pancakes, and a cup of our house blend black tea. Enjoy." Ainsley smiled before exiting back into the kitchen.

"What's she on about?" whispered Phil.

"She's got something planned." The conversation died as Ainsley reentered, carrying a tea pot and two plates on a tray.

"Milk or sugar?" she questioned, pouring the black tea into the three cups. Both men shook their heads. "Then enjoy. Festive French cinnamon bread." She placed the large plate of green and red slices of toast onto the table between them, along with a decanter of syrup. "Cinnamon pecan syrup. And pancakes, courtesy of Delia Smith." Ainsley smiled again, placing the plate of thin pancakes. "The third member of your table will join you shortly."

"Ainsley's acting strangely," noted Phil after she had left the room.

"She's planning something," Dan repeated.

"Yeah, but what?"

"Knowing her, something over the top and extravagant that she spent too much money on."

"But she got us that stuff in America. What else could she possibly do?"

Dan shrugged just as Ainsley walked back into the lounge. "Good morning, Peasants," she greeted sarcastically, taking the third chair at the table. "Enjoying brunch? Or… Lunfast? No. Brunch."

"Did you make this?" Phil questioned, motioning to the half-eaten slice of green toast on his plate. Ainsley nodded.

"It's bloody fantastic!" Dan enthusiastically said, taking a drink of his tea.

"Well, boys." Ainsley's expression was suddenly somber and she got right to business. "I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you here today."

"Actually, yes," answered Phil innocently.

"Well, it has come to my attention that we've never had a proper Christmas." Before Dan could protest, she continued. "Yeah, we've had Christmas, but never a real, proper Christmas. And being in America made me realize just how awesome Christmas is over there." She grinned widely. "So, today, for your festive pleasures…"

"Ooh." Dan grinned cheekily.

"We're going to be watching two of my favorite Christmas movies of all time: It's a Wonderful Life and Home Alone 2." Phil and Dan looked pleased. "I've gotten some fantastic Christmas snacks and festive foods. And then, after the movies, we're going on a Christmas adventure."

"To where? It's like negative fifteen out there!" Dan glanced out the window in alarm.

"Hyde Park."

"We're going to Winter Wonderland?" Phil seemed awestruck.

The corner of Ainsley's mouth twitched up in a crooked smile. "Yes. Yes we are."

Hey, guys, so... second chapter? I'm not sure if any of you actually wanted this, because no reviews or anything, but I figured I'd post it, since I had it finished. Don't forget to review if you liked it; it would mean a lot and it would definitely make it easier to write knowing someone was reading this.