Author's Note: So, on the first chapter, I realized I wrote myself into a corner involving everyone's ages by saying Chad was eleven. With the ages that I have him, and everyone else at, for the rest of the story, him being eleven doesn't work. To remedy that I went back and lowered Chad's age, and adjusted Gerry's age just slightly. I already updated the prologue to reflect that, and can now safely say that the story works better now. Other than that,

Please enjoy...

Chapter 1

Chad was finishing up getting dressed after his shower now that the tourney game was over. It was a special holiday match between Auradon Prep and Neverland's Lost Boys. As such, most of the parents of the team were in town. He knew some would be flying or driving out tonight if they were close enough. Others, like his family, would make the trip in the morning. Unlike most of the other members of the team, he knew this game might go longer than normal since the Lost Boys had one of the better records this season. As such, most of the other guys on the team now had to rush back to their dorm to change. Chad had just brought his clothes with him. He buttoned up his shirt but decided to forgo the tie. He put on his coat and, despite knowing his mother would hate seeing it, put his beanie on. He slammed his locker shut just as the tourney team's equipment manager walked in. He was a small, lanky looking kid of fourteen. His brown hair was shaggy and a little too long, falling down over his black, chunky square-rimmed glasses. It looked like he was trying to carry the entire team's sticks in his hands all at once. He nearly succeeded, until it came time to open the door to where they were held. That was when he fumbled and dropped them everywhere.

"Really, Pat?" Chad derided.

"It's the last thing I need to put away before I can get dressed for the team's Christmas party," Patrick said as he scrambled to frantically pick up the strewn about equipment. Chad scoffed at the younger classmate's statement. "You're going?"

"Just for the food…maybe a cheerleader," he replied snidely as he walked off. Too bad they'll be out of their uniforms, he thought with a regretful smile.

A few minutes later, Chad was walking into the dining hall where the Christmas party was being held by the tourney team and the cheerleaders. He huffed at the sight of all the red and green decorations. The fake miniature Christmas trees that hung on the pillars and the effigies of snowmen and snowflakes that were hanging along the walls all felt like they were an assault on his eyes.

"Spare me," he muttered as he casually walked over to the food table. He grabbed a plate and hoped he didn't lose whatever he chose from listening to the Christmas music blasting from the speakers. After grabbing himself a mixture of food, he made his way over to an empty table. As he sat down, he gritted his teeth at the sight of the plastic Santa Claus centerpiece on the table. He looked around before reaching over and knocking it down.

"Happy Christmas, Chaddy," came a voice from behind him. With all the derision he was feeling he almost rolled his eyes, but simply put a forced smile on his face as the person came around to sit in the chair next to him.

"Harriet," he said as he came face to face with Captain Hook's daughter. He was surprised to see her slightly dressed up. She was dressed in a long red wool coat that looked like her normal pirate's coat but was cut short in the front to stop at her waist and look like a blazer, but flowed out in the back to her ankles. She was wearing a white V-neck sweater under the coat along with a loose black leather miniskirt and black leggings and pair of ankle boots. "You clean up nice," he complimented, a small genuine smile cracking his otherwise moody face.

"Would've thought you could've come up with something better than that," she rebuked him.

"Normally I could, but I'm not gonna lie, part of me doesn't really want to be here."

"Not a fan of Christmas parties?"

"I'm fine with parties, it's the other half," he clarified.

"Christmas?" she asked, slightly caught off guard. "You're not a fan of Christmas?"

"You are?"

"It's a day where people give you stuff for free, hell yes I'm a fan. This might come as a surprise, but even on an island full of villains, there are a few of us who celebrate Christmas. I just figured that here in Auradon, well…everyone loved it."

"Yeah, well, I'm the only one who sees it for what it is – a giant waste of time," he said in disdain.

"Christmas? A waste of time?"

"Don't tell me you have plans?" Chad wondered.

Harriet nodded. "Christmas Eve with Janey, Mal, and their parents. Then Christmas day at the palace with Belle and King Beasty." Chad looked at her like she was lying. "What? I want to spend some time with Janey. But Belle says she'd like me to be at the palace what with her letting me live there as well. Besides, with Mal and Ben probably spending the day together, they'll need the company."

"There you are, Sweetie," the two teens heard from out of nowhere before Chad could respond. They turned and saw Chad's parents walking toward the table. "I thought you were going to call me to let us know you'd gotten here?" Cinderella asked. Harriet began to stand when Cinderella motioned for her to stay seated, not wanting to make the situation feel too formal.

"I got distracted," he answered flatly.

"I'm not surprised," said his father as he pulled out a chair for his wife.

Chad smiled forcefully. His parents knew his weakness for a pretty face, and the blonde in front of him definitely fit that criteria, even if for once his behavior was motivated by something else.

"It's Harriet, correct?" Cinderella asked as she took her seat.

"Yes ma'am," Harriet answered with a small nod. Cinderella took a long look at the young woman and could definitely see why Chad had been mentioning her every now and then. She then turned to glance at her son who was picking at his plate. "Jane, has mentioned you a few times," she said, choosing to spare Chad a moment's awkwardness since she wasn't sure that the pretty girl knew he talked about her. "But she never mentioned how beautiful you are."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Harriet said to the compliment. She felt her cheeks become warm, but knew she wasn't blushing.

"And I love that jacket," Cinderella added.

"Thank you again. It was early Christmas present from Jane. She said she wanted to make sure I had something nice to wear for tonight's party."

Chad scoffed involuntarily.

"Chad," his father rebuked him.

"I didn't mean it that way," Chad defended himself.

"We know how you meant it, it's still rude," Cinderella told him.

"Chad, I'm surprised you're here," said another girl that approached the table. "Hi, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Charming."

"Janey," Harriet said happily as she stood up to hug her. "You're late."

"Sorry, Dad made me and Mal help Mom find the ornaments for the tree so we could decorate it later," Jane explained.

"You mean to tell me that Dagon – Diablo himself – likes Christmas?" Chad asked, totally stunned at what he'd just heard

Jane nodded. "Chopped the tree for the house, himself. And don't even get me started on the look on his face when Mom started baking cookies."

"How is your father?" Charming asked.

"Good, still acclimating to the what's basically a time jump for him," Jane answered him as she sat down. "Says it's nice though that Christmas doesn't change that much."

"See, Chad? If the Jane and Mal's Daddy can have the Christmas Spirit, so can you," Harriet said to him. She then turned toward Jane. "Chaddy here doesn't seem to –"

"I know," Jane cut her off. Harriet took note of the empathetic, almost sad, expression on her friend's face. Jane pushed some hair behind her hair before leaning in toward the prince. "It's not healthy to be this angry, Chad."

Chad gave a small nod, maybe it was in acknowledgement, or maybe it was in preparation, but it was not expected what came next. He leaned in toward Jane, both hands lying flat across the table to steady himself. "You and Mal have been getting close, right?" Jane nodded. "It's nice having a sister isn't it?" Jane nodded again, feeling a little sick at the thought of where Chad might take this. "Imagine waking up this morning with her –," he began saying callously.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Jane demanded of him, her eyes glazed over from watering. She knew how much he hated this time of year, but even he usually held back for her, so this was uncharted territory for the young half-fairy.

"Chad!" came his mother's voice in shocked anger.

"What am I missing?" Harriet asked, feeling both nervous, and suddenly like smacking the royal for making her friend nearly cry.

"So you pick up your cheerleader, yet?" came a squeaky, breaking voice. Oh, come on, more people, Chad thought as he instantly recognized the voice as Patrick's. "Or did you – Harriet!" the young boy suddenly cried out and froze as he spied the school's mascot out of her armor.

"Hi, Patty," Harriet waved and smiled her bright smile that had already made her a favorite amongst the boys at Auradon Prep.

"Uh…um…you look pretty," he stammered, then widened his eyes as he realized what he said. "I didn't mean to say that. Not that you don't look pretty. You do. But I meant…help," he said, turning toward Chad.

Cinderella and King Charming both smiled, Charming letting out a small laugh at the young teen's reaction to a girl it was obvious he had a crush on. Chad just rolled his eyes and practically growled before letting out a deep breath.

"You do look pretty Harriet. I like your hair, the slight curls suit you, and your make-up brings out your eyes." Chad then turned toward Patrick. "See, not that hard." He then turned back toward Harriet. "You can kick my ass after the party," he added before getting up and walking over behind Jane. He leaned down, one hand on her shoulder and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry."

He didn't say any more. He didn't even touch the rest of his food, just left it on the table. He just grabbed his jacket and walked off, back to his dorm.

"Chad," he heard his mother calling after him.

"I'll see you tomorrow when we need to leave," he called back without looking.

"Chad, this is not how you act at Christmas," his father tried.

"Humbug," he shouted.

"Does someone want to tell me what the bloody hell just happened?" Harriet requested.

"Chad hates Christmas. And he can't stand the constant reminder of it from the decorations, and the songs, and people saying Merry Christmas," Jane answered her.

"Why does he hate Christmas?" Harriet asked.

"My brother," Patrick answered.

Harriet looked toward Chad's parents. They nodded. She then looked back at Patrick, waiting for more.

"We were really young," Jane began. "Chad was nine, so Patrick and I were about seven then. Gerry – Gerald – was Patrick's older brother. He was how much older than you?"

"Nine," Patrick answered Jane.

"So, he was older than Chad?" Harriet asked.

Jane nodded. "Sixteen. I remember going over there to visit and play. Gerry used to pretty much watch over the three of us. Chad especially. He was like the big brother Chad never had. Kind of how he is with me most of the time."

"So what happened?"

"It was about a week before Christmas, and Gerry got sick," Patrick started. "Everyone thought it was just the flu or something. He got antibiotics and other medicine, but…," Patrick trailed off, not able to finish.

"It was Christmas Eve and Gerry had gone to take a nap, and he…he never woke up," Jane informed, her voice choking at the end.

"Oh God. What was it?"

"We weren't told," Jane said with a sad look toward Chad's parents. "Chad took it harder than any of us. Ran away when they told him. He refused to go to the funeral. He's still angry about it, even now."

"I'll forgive the anger, he has a right to it, but are you going to let him get away with what he did right now?" Harriet questioned both Jane and Cinderella.

"I feel bad saying something. I mean, he's hurting," Jane told her.

"Hurting's fine, but Janey, what he just did, that was just mean. And to you of all people."

"We'll talk to him tomorrow about it. Get him to apologize," Cinderella spoke for her husband and herself.

"Have you guys tried to get him to…I don't know, talk about it?

"Us, his parents, Patrick's parents," Jane said. "Sometimes I think that he'd rather be angry."

Chad was practically stomping his way back to his dorm. The small bit of snowfall that had fallen the past few days coated the grounds, though the groundskeepers had done a good job of clearing the sidewalks and walkways, so he didn't have to worry about trudging through the snow in the fading light of the evening. He saw a few of the younger classmen, two guys and two girls, taking advantage of the fresh fall and building a snowman. They didn't see him coming and were unprepared for him reaching over and knocking the top ball of snow completely off.

"Hey," one of the girls shouted after him.

Chad paid her no attention. He just kept walking until he reached his dorm hall. He reached the door and was fishing out his keys since the hall itself was locked already. He was fitting the key into the lock when he looked into the glass of the small square window on the door. He gasped and almost jumped back when the face staring back at him wasn't his own.

"Gerry?" he whispered as he finally made out the image. Before he could blink, the face faded, and the reflection was his own once again.

Chad shook off the momentary shock and entered the dorm. He made his way over to his room, thankful that his roommate had left for home early. He threw his backpack down next to his desk, turned on the lamp that was on it for a little bit of light, and started to change out of his clothes and into some more comfortable sweats and a T-shirt. He had just settled onto his bed when he heard his tablet chirp from his desk. He recognized the sound as a request for a video chat. He rolled off his bed and sat at the desk, knowing who it was and that if he didn't answer, she'd keep trying all night.

"Hi, Mom," he greeted as the sight of his mother came on his screen. He could tell from the background that she had stepped away from the party to call him.

"Chad," Cinderella said sweetly, though the usual smile from seeing her son was absent.

"Fairy Godmother arrived a few minutes after you left," she told him. Great, just what I need, he thought.

"How mad is she at what I said to Jane?"

"She isn't." Chad looked at her surprised. "Not through any effort of mine. Jane saw her coming and asked us not to tell her. It took a little begging to make Harriet agree, but you got lucky that girl was willing to protect you."

Chad smiled – almost smugly. "Well, she's always been a good little sister."

He saw his mother inhale deeply, probably to keep from yelling. Yup, she's mad, he thought. His father was usually the one to raise his voice when he screwed up like this. His mother, ever the lady, always held back. But when he saw moments like this, he knew that, at least in her opinion, that he'd gone too far.

"Speaking of little sisters, we'll be by a little early to talk to you about your behavior tonight."

"Early?" Chad whined.

"No sense making Dizzy wait to get picked up just because we need to once again remind you about how you're supposed to conduct yourself."

"Does she have to come home with us?"

"Yes, she's family, Chad."

Chad rolled his eyes.

"Their family," he remarked.

"And this is a chance to repair all that," Cinderella countered. "Besides, even if you don't return the emotion, that little girl adores you."

"Don't remind me."

At that comment, Cinderella had had enough. She was not one to get openly angry at her son. That was more his father. But she'd finally heard all that she could take.

"We'll talk about that tomorrow as well." Chad rolled his eye again. "And you will stop rolling your eyes at me, do you understand young man?" Chad remained silent. "I want an answer."

"Yeah," he mumbled. His mother raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes ma'am."

"I get that you don't like this time of year. But you will not ruin that little girl's first Christmas with us. I don't care how you do it, but you make an effort to at least be pleasant when she's around." Chad nodded. "We'll see you tomorrow. The screen went black and Chad put the tablet back down.

He was about to get up when he heard what could only be described as a death moan. He looked around and shook off the noise when he realized he was alone. He was about to get up again when the moan happened again, louder this time. Suddenly there was a rapping at his window that caused him to nearly jump from the chair. Out of nowhere, the wind had picked up and was slamming the branches of a tree against his window.

"Chaaaaaaad!"

He turned toward the closed door just as figure stopped through it. It was large – taller than himself. It was somewhere between pale and a muted gray. He could see almost completely through it, but still had enough clarity to it to make out what looked like a suit with a sash across the chest on a lean looking body. The figure had strong looking features; a sharp looking chin, pronounced cheek bones, an almost regal looking nose, and short, classically parted hair.

"Gerry?" Chad whispered, not believing what he was seeing.

"Hello, Chad," Gerry said, a slight echo making his voice sound ever the more haunting.

Chad slowly rose from the chair and approached the ghostly figure. He cautiously extended his hand. It trembled as it neared the image of his old friend. His fingers passed through Gerry's chest when they should've stopped. Gerry let out a ghastly yell that made Chad jump back into his chair, himself knowing that if the chair hadn't actually been there, he'd have fallen to the floor.

"Convinced?"

"That I'm going insane…yeah," Chad nodded.

"Why do you doubt what you're seeing with your own eyes."

"Because people are practicing magic again. Or…or maybe it was the food from the party. The turkey could've been undercooked. Or maybe stuffing didn't agree with me," he tried to convince himself. He pointed an accusing finger at the spirit in front of him. "There's more gravy than grave in you…Gerry."

He watched as Gerry closed his eyes and suddenly, all the lights in the room turned on. Then off. And then began flickering until finally they returned to their previous off state.

"Okay…so you're not make believe. But if you are real, why are you here?"

"For you."

"Me?" Chad asked, not believing the ghost. Gerry opened his mouth to speak but Chad interrupted. "Not that I want to stop you, but it's kind of freaking me out you just standing there. Can you – ghosts – sit down?"

"We can," Gerry confirmed.

Chad motioned with his head toward his bed. Gerry took the invitation and at down. "So why are you here for me?"

"To save you," Gerry answered.

"Save me? From what?"

"Yourself." Chad looked at Gerry like he was insane. "Chad, buddy, you are doing some serious damage to your soul."

"My soul? That's what you're here about? What would better save my soul is a good night's sleep."

"Mortals, especially teenagers, always thinking in the here and now," Gerry seethed. "It's always me, me, me. And you, you've become so infatuated with you, yourself, and, well…you, that you don't see what you're doing to the people around you. To the relationships you have with them. The damage you're doing to them. And most importantly, the weight it's putting on your soul."

"I don't feel any heavier," Chad remarked as he motioned around himself.

"The chains you're creating for yourself, they're the ones you'll wear after you've passed on. When the body is in the ground and it's time to answer for your deeds. And believe me, after seven years, you've got quite the chain. And if you don't make some improvements, it'll get bigger, link by link, yard by yard."

"Let's say I believe you. Why warn me now?"

"Because it's Christmas Eve. It's a time when miracles can happen."

"Miracles? Miracles are fairy tales. The only thing that happens on Christmas Eve is some people never wake up on Christmas morning," Chad replied angrily.

"And that's why whomever – whatever – decided that you were deserving of a second chance sent me. Because all your anger, all your negativity was born that day, seven years ago. I get that it hurt when I died, but Chad, after all this time you need to let yourself grieve. Or even with this chance, you can't move on and save yourself."

"Do I even get a choice in this?" Chad asked solemnly. Gerry shook his head. "So, how's it gonna happen?"

"You'll be visited by three spirits."

"Three?" Chad gasped.

"Yes, three. The first will be here at midnight. The second, at one," Gerry began to inform him.

"Can't they all just come at once? Get it over with?"

"And the third? The third will come at an hour of his choosing. And just to warn you, I've heard that that the spirits like to take on familiar faces. They think it makes things run smoother, so don't be too alarmed if you see someone or something you recognize."

"And what happens if this doesn't work?" Chad inquired.

Gerry rose from the bed and started walking toward the door. "Link by link. Yard by yard." He then pointed toward Chad's window. "Forced into a personal hell of walking the Earth, dragging the weight of your anger and sins, and seeing the happiness, the joy, the anger, the sadness, and the pain of human-kind and not being able to take part in it, or do anything about. I'm praying for you on this one Chad. If for not for yourself, at least make an effort for me."

With no more words of warning, Gerry began walking out as he came in. Chad was left sitting in his desk chair, eyes watering and a single tear running down his cheek.