Author's Note: This is definitely the longest out of the ones I've posted so far, but I think it's worth the read! Enjoy!
4. 12 Days of Christmas
Summary: Darien is stuck in an alternate universe where the day keeps repeating itself on Christmas Eve… will he figure out how to stop it?
"It's the most wonderful time of the year…" the voice on the radio alarm clock sang. Darien slammed his hand on the alarm hard enough to smash it. At this point he didn't care anymore; it would probably be there when he woke up tomorrow blaring the same annoying song. For reasons he couldn't figure out, the day had been repeating itself for six days now.
The day started with his radio alarm clock playing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and he got dressed before making his way to the arcade. Andrew asked if he wanted a cup of coffee and shortly after Serena would come in and complain about how cold it was outside. They would have their usual name calling session before she ordered a hot chocolate and talked to Andrew about her Christmas plans. He would then go to the park and sit for a while watching a couple of kids having a snowball fight. Shortly after he heard Serena sing a Christmas song in his ear obnoxiously before he yelled at her and made her run away crying. All of a sudden he was back in his bed hearing the same song on his alarm clock.
He started his day again, but as time went on he noticed that everything was playing out exactly the same as the day before and thought he was experiencing a major case of déjà vu. After Serena ran away crying again, he found himself in the bed hearing the same dreaded song on his alarm clock. He tried staying in the arcade longer on the third day, but still ended up yelling at Serena like he did at the park and was back where he started. By this time he had figured out that he was stuck in come kind of weird time loop and that he needed to figure out how to escape the craziness.
On day four, he tried staying home all day long; after smashing his alarm clock he got dressed and turned on the TV, but every single channel was playing that dreaded song. He turned off the TV and played the radio instead, but every single radio station was playing that stupid song. He turned off the radio and resorted to reading, but there were carolers outside singing the song loudly so he went to the arcade. Unfortunately he snapped at Serena again because Andrew was whistling the song when he came in and she was humming it.
Today he decided that he was gonna try to be nice to Serena as he made his way to the arcade. He went inside and sat at the counter as usual. "Hey Dar," Andrew greeted. "Do you want your usual coffee?"
"Sure," he said. He heard the bell ring signaling a new customer and he knew right away that it was Serena coming in.
"It's SO cold outside!" she said as she took a seat at the counter next to Darien.
"It is winter, Serena," Darien said matter-of-factly.
She gave him a funny look. "Are you sick or something? You just called me Serena."
"That is your name, isn't it?"
Serena shook her head and smiled at Andrew when he came back with Darien's coffee. "Hi Andy," she said cheerfully. "Can I have some hot chocolate?"
"Sure thing, Sere," Andrew said. "Are you ready for Christmas yet?"
"Yes!" She said excitedly. "School is over, I bought all of my presents, and my mom even said I could help her with Christmas dinner!"
Darien bit back the comment he wanted to make about her eating all the food. "That sounds like fun," he said instead.
Serena whispered to Andrew, but still loud enough for Darien to hear. "There's something wrong with your friend." Andrew laughed.
"I can still hear you," Darien said. "Anyway I have to get going. Merry Christmas, guys."
"Merry Christmas," Andrew and Serena said together.
Darien left the arcade and made his way to the park. That wasn't so bad he thought to himself. The truth of the matter was that Darien was not too fond of this time of year. He lost his parents around this time when he was younger and it was just a hard time to get through. He sat on the bench thinking about these things as he watched the same kids he had been seeing for the last five days have a snowball fight. Soon enough he heard footsteps behind him and sighed. "Hi Serena," he said.
She came from behind and took a seat next to him. "How did you know I was there?"
"Lucky guess," he said.
"What is going on with you today? You're acting so weird."
Darien shrugged. "I wish I knew."
They sat there for a while and watched the children having their snowball fight. "We should join them," Serena said suddenly.
Darien looked at her as if she were crazy. "Seriously?"
"Why not?" Serena said excitedly. "You're watching them like a hawk and it could be fun!" Serena stood up and grabbed his hand. "Come on!"
Darien let himself get dragged by Serena as she led him towards the kids who were still heavily involved in their snowball fight. This is new he thought to himself. Before he knew it, he was on Serena's team trying to dodge snowballs that the two children were throwing at them left and right. "Can't you make snowballs faster, Meatball Head," Darien asked as he felt his competitive nature coming out.
Serena threw a snowball at one of the kids before ducking behind their makeshift fortress. "I'm trying my best," she said as she carefully made a new snowball.
Darien was in the middle of making another snowball, but was interrupted as a snowball hit him from behind. "Really?" he asked.
"We win!" one of the kids cheered before giving his friend a high five.
"10-5!" The other kid said.
"Good job," Serena said cheerfully. "That was so much fun… thank you!"
"We have to go. Bye!" The kids waved before running off.
Serena waved at them before turning towards Darien. She frowned when she saw him sitting in the snow with his arms folded. "It was just a game, Darien," she said as she sat next to him. "Don't be mad because we lost to a couple of kids."
"I'm not mad," Darien said angrily.
"Wow. I didn't realize you were such a sore loser."
"I'm not! And I don't need an immature brat like you calling me names!" He clasped his hands over his mouth realizing his mistake when he saw Serena's eyes fill with tears.
"You're one to talk," Serena said brokenly. She got up and ran away from him.
Darien blinked and he was back in the bed. "It's the most wonderful time…" He grabbed the alarm clock and threw it against the wall before it shattered into a bunch of pieces. "No more snowballs," he muttered to himself as he got ready for the same day.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
It was now day 12 and Darien had just about given up because was still stuck in the alternate universe. He was sitting in a corner booth in the arcade thinking about what had happened in the last few days. He tried just about everything! He tried sitting at different places in the arcade, avoiding Serena, ordering different items, avoiding the park, and even made snow angels with Serena, but nothing changed and he always ended up making Serena cry. He sighed as he took another sip of coffee. "Are you ok, Darien?" a voice asked across the table from him.
Darien looked up and found Serena sitting across from him with a cup of hot chocolate. "I'm fine," he said.
"You don't look fine."
"Why does it matter to you, Meatball Head?"
Serena shrugged. "It's almost Christmas and I wanted to spread some holiday cheer."
At this point Darien would usually snap at her, but he didn't feel like he had the energy this time. "Do you ever feel like the day is just repeating itself over and over again?"
"No," she said. "That's just silly. Everyday is a new experience and you have to take it as it comes."
"I guess," he muttered.
"What do you have planned for Christmas?" she asked trying to change the subject.
Darien scoffed. "Probably the exact same thing I did today."
"You can't do the exact same thing you do today. For one thing the arcade is gonna be closed."
"You never know."
"Aren't you gonna celebrate Christmas with your family? Or at least trade presents with someone?"
Darien looked at her sadly. "I don't have a family," he said.
Serena gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Darien."
"Don't be. You didn't know."
"What happened to them?"
He sighed. He figured it was safe to tell her since the day would end up repeating itself and she wouldn't remember anyway. "My parents died in a car accident when I was very young. I was in the car with them and miraculously survived. I had no siblings and I grew up in an orphanage until I was old enough to move out on my own since no one wanted to adopt me."
"Did you at least make friends there?"
Darien shook his head no. "Everyone was mean to me or didn't want anything to do with me because I liked to keep to myself. I grew up thinking there was something wrong with me."
Serena reached out and covered his hand that was resting on the table. He looked up and she was smiling at him. "You can be a jerk, but there's definitely something special about you."
"Thanks a lot, Meatball Head," he said sincerely. He laughed nervously. "I didn't mean to put a damper on your Christmas cheer. What do you have planned for tomorrow?" He listened intently ad she talked excitedly about all of her Christmas plans. Before he knew it, they had spent a good two hours simply talking to each other and getting to know one another better. They eventually left the arcade and went to the park together to admire the snow. Darien sensed a case of déjà vu coming on, but he decided to let himself have fun with his new friend as they participated in a snowball fight, built a snowman, and made snow angels. They went to his apartment for hot chocolate to warm up and ended up watching 3 Christmas movies together without arguing once. It was now night time and Darien was walking Serena home with her arm looped through his. They stopped in front of her house and faced each other. "Thank you for a wonderful day, Meatball Head," he said affectionately.
Serena smiled at him. "I like us being friends," she said. "It's nice."
"We have to hang out like this more often," Darien said. He frowned slightly remembering his problem being stuck in the alternate universe.
"What's wrong?"
"I want to keep spending time with you, Serena," he said. "It's just that I'm afraid certain circumstances will prevent us from doing that."
"You worry too much. I have your cell phone number and you have mine. Call or text me anytime you want to talk or hang out… even tomorrow."
Darien sighed. "Ok… Merry Christmas. I'm sorry I don't have a present for you."
"It's fine, Darien. I think our new friendship is a good enough present for me." She gave him a hug. "Merry Christmas, Darien. Thank you for walking me home."
Darien smiled at her when she let go. "You're welcome." She waved at him before walking up the pathway that led to her front door and went inside. He sighed and turned around to go home. It was weird not having the day end so abruptly, but then again he didn't give Serena a reason to run away from him crying today. Before he knew it he was home and he went straight to bed because he was so tired.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
"Good morning and Merry Christmas everyone!" a voice from the radio alarm said cheerfully. Darien smacked the alarm off and slowly opened his eyes. He shot up in bed when it dawned on him that the annoying song didn't play. He reached for his cell phone and turned it on… sure enough the date was December 25th, but what surprised him was that he had a new text message from Serena. Merry Christmas Darien! Mom and Dad said you can come over to spend Christmas with us if you wanted to. Let me know what you decide because I still want to see you sometime today. You're the one who said we should hang out together more often remember? ;-)
Darien smiled and replied that he would be there within an hour. He rubbed his eyes and tried to think about what had happened to him in the last 12 days. Maybe it really all had been an elaborate dream and the day he spent with Serena yesterday was actually real. It was the only day that it had become night time and it was the only day that Serena gave her number to him. He would definitely have to ask her what happened yesterday when he went to see her. Whatever the circumstances, he was glad Serena didn't hate him and he had her friendship. It was going to be a Merry Christmas after all.
