Disclaimer: These beautiful creatures belong to Stephenie Meyer.

"And sit together, now and forever
for it is plain, as anyone can see,
We're simply meant to be,"
-Jack and Sally's Song, The Nightmare Before Christmas

December 1

EPOV

Being friends with Bella Swan was like Chinese water torture. I could see her, and smell her. She was always right there, constantly making me adore her, but I couldn't touch. I couldn't feel. I wasn't allowed to tell her how much I wanted her. It wasn't just sexual attraction, though I had plenty of moments when I felt if I couldn't be inside of her soon, I would surely go insane. No, mostly I wanted to pull her into my arms and tell her how I was in complete awe of her.

Instead of being able to figure out her mind even as I began to learn her body, I was stuck just watching and learning. It was purgatory. Not hell because I could still laugh with her and talk to her, but far too painful to be heaven since I could not allow myself to love her.

I had spent that first weekend wallowing at my parent's house. Alice didn't come home that night, though she had sent me a text that simply read - oh. my. fucking. god. I supposed that meant that things with Jasper were going well. I had let myself into the house I grew up in with my key and was asleep in my old bed when my mother found me the next morning. Being around Esme and Carlisle, I couldn't imagine anyone not wanting what they had. They were affectionate and teasing, even through so many years of marriage. They had seen their share of heartbreak, not the least of which was caring for two traumatized children, but they had always supported each other - been each others anchors and support.

I understood Bella's mindset, I really did. She wasn't rejecting me. She was rejecting a chance at that life because she knew it wasn't necessary. She could live a long and fulfilling life without a romantic relationship. Romantic relationships took time, effort and often came with a great deal of drama for not enough pay-off. It was like anything else in life - you might feel you would be happy in a career as an actor but decide to go into teaching instead when you considered the starving artist period and the potential you would end up with paparazzi invading your every private moment. My logical, philosophical mind understood it, but my heart was having a hard time coming around. Especially when everything she said and did fascinated me, intrigued me, and made me feel so lucky that I knew. I imagined the hundreds of people who passed by her everyday and never knew, never understood how amazing she truly was.

As she had promised, Bella e-mailed me a link to a Google document that contained her unfinished manuscript. It had been in my inbox since early Saturday morning, so I started reading it right away when I got home on Sunday evening. Her writing was incredible. It was witty and deep, with a true sense of character that I found lacking in even some of the best works of fiction. As brilliant as the writing was, nothing is without room for improvement. I could see where she had gotten sidetracked or, as she put it, lost her muse.

We started to hang out frequently after work, discussing her writing or enjoying Disneyland, though we stayed away from the Matterhorn I noticed. I still hadn't resigned myself to the fact that we were only destined to be friends so my heart still ached for her, but our friendship was easy. It was good.

It was Tuesday, the first of December, when it started happening.

I went to Bella's office like I usually did, despite the fact that she had no mail. I paused in the doorway, taken aback when I found Bella glaring at something on her desk. If looks could kill, the thing would be a pile of ash a thousand times over. I followed her eyes to what sat on her desk.

It was a stuffed polar bear. A very little, stuffed polar bear. Its arms held a gift card of some sort. I had to laugh.

"Let me guess, you have something against bears? Is this a Stephen Colbert thing?" I teased her.

Her head snapped up and the tension left her face. She smiled at me. I reflexively pushed back the warm, tingly feelings her smile and her obvious happiness at seeing me brought. "'Are you aware that bears are Godless killing machines?'" she quipped back, putting on a serious face.

"I hate to break it to you Bella, but Jack Skellington was already dead. That's why he's a skeleton," I smirked at her and she smiled again. "Where did you get this offensive creature?"

She sighed and sat back in her chair. "I don't know! That's part of the problem. This was on my desk when I got here this morning."

She turned the gift to face me. The bear was a cute little thing and it held a Starbucks gift card. "Secret admirer Santa, huh?" I said, ignoring the absurd jealousy and possessiveness that welled in me. "Well, at least it brought the gift of Starcrack."

She stared back at the bear disinterestedly. "You know, I've never been in Starbucks."

"How do you manage that?" I was a little doubtful. How was that even possible? "I mean, I know you don't drink coffee, but..."

"I don't even like the smell of coffee....why would I go in a coffee shop? Let alone a coffee shop that feels the need to put three shops within two city blocks of each other. That's more than a little ridiculous." She crossed her arms, looking aloof.

Of course. Bella seemed to be against most socially accepted norms - her love of Disneyland being an exception it appeared. I rolled my eyes. I reached out and grabbed the card from the bear's grubby little paws. "My, my. Come along Princess Jasmine. It'll be your first trip to the marketplace. We must introduce you to the fattening bliss that is Starbucks Blended Crème Frappuccinos."

December 4th

It was Friday. Bella was coming over the next for Rockband with the whole gang. Even Emmett's Rosalie would be in attendance. I should have been happy. Instead, I was brooding.

That's how Alice found me Friday night as she got ready for yet another date with Jasper. I was at the kitchen table with my head resting on my arms, staring out into space. I heard the click, click of her heels in the hallway, but I couldn't bring myself to care, even knowing she would give me shit for my current state of wallowing.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, what the fuck?" she said.

I groaned, rethinking the not caring at the grating sound of her scolding voice. "Jasper is waiting for you, Alice. Have a nice night."

Usually, any mention of Jasper's name put a dreamy, faraway look on Alice's face and she either started gushing about him or wandered away on a cloud. I had used it to diffuse several arguments over what she thought I should be doing to change Bella's mind.

This time, it wasn't working. "He's picking me up so you have until he gets here to tell me what's wrong with you," she said, sitting across from me at the table. "And don't give me this don't want to talk about it crap. If you didn't want to talk about it, you wouldn't be going all sad-sack on the kitchen table. You'd be in your bed with the covers over your head watching the Hallmark channel with that pint of Ben and Jerry's that's in the freezer."

I glared at her. "It's ridiculous." Of course, I buckled. I told her about the little gifts that had been arriving on Bella's desk. Starbucks and a stuffed bear on Tuesday, a pair of brightly colored candy canes on Wednesday. Yesterday there had been a break but today Bella's secret admirer had pulled out the big guns. I had come by Bella's office to find her staring at a bouquet of various red flowers. "I mean, Bella is not the type of girl who would like something as ...cliché as flowers," I groused to Alice.

"So why don't you give her things that would be more suitable? Woo the girl, Edward. Every girl loves to be wooed." She spoke with her usual air of innocence though she knew damn well what my answer was going to be. We'd had this discussion frequently since that weekend.

"She doesn't want to be wooed, Alice. I'm going to respect her wishes," I said tiredly. She glared at me, but I stopped her before she could start. "Come on Alice, cut it out. You know she has a right to what she wants in life, even if you don't agree with it."

Alice took a deep breath. Her eyes didn't leave me, but they became softer, more serious and sympathetic. "Edward, I love you. You know I love you, but you just can't let her slip through your fingers. You haven't worked for anything your entire life. I'm not blaming you, because you've really never had anything to work for, and obviously I know that your life has been harder than it needed to be as it is. But you want this. I can see it in your eyes how much you want this. Work for it."

"Alice-," I started.

"No. You two deserve every shot. Not just for you, Twin. Although, I have to tell you, seeing you with some sort of passion in your eyes - something that makes you come alive - it's been great. I don't want to see that light she brings you die. But it's also good for her."

"What are you talking about?"

She pursed her lips and looked at me contemplatively, debating whether or not to tell me the next bit. "She's writing again. Jasper told me. You know that manuscript she showed you? It's been dormant for 3 years, and she's writing again. You made that happen, Edward."

I was silent as I considered this. Of course, it made me deliriously happy that she was writing again. She was talented and I believed she could do what she wanted to do, ultimately. I also knew what Alice was saying. Like Carlisle and Esme had benefited each others lives, I could be there for Bella. I wanted to be there. I wanted the ups and the downs. I wanted to be her constant.

A car pulled up outside and honked. Alice looked over her shoulder and then back at me. She reached out and clasped my hand comfortingly. "She just...needs to see that two people working together through life can be good. A relationship doesn't have to be a weight, or a hindrance. Ideally, it can be a buoy."

Then she was gone and I was brooding again. By the end of the night I had convinced myself I was right not to pursue Bella, but then Rockband night came and went. Bella and I fell asleep on the couch in a state of drunkenness. Waking up to her head on my shoulder, my plan to not pursue her went straight out the window.

At the very least, she deserved better than mundane flowers. Right?

December 7

BPOV

Another day at work and another day I was daydreaming about Edward.

It was easier, now that we knew how we felt about each other. And it was harder.

It was easier because I no longer felt so absurd for not being able to let go of an attraction that had been, I thought, one sided. It was better for my self esteem anyway. It was so much worse because every single time I wanted to kiss him or touch him, I could. He would let me. It wouldn't be awkward.

It had happened a million times that weekend, when I went to his house to play Rockband. The whole thing had started when it came up in conversation that Edward and Alice had never played Rockband. Emmett had insisted they be exposed to it and had all but invited us all over to their apartment.

Edward had been an utter disaster on both guitar and drums. Watching his absolutely befuddled expression as he tried to press buttons and strum in time with what was on the screen was just priceless. I had giggled and stopped myself multiple times from pulling his face to mine to kiss his cheek out of simple adoration. He was stubborn, but after he failed the band out of three different venues and Emmett threatened to kick his ass, Edward had finally thrown in the towel.

"I can play a real guitar just fine," he had muttered, looking cross.

Then Alice had relinquished the microphone and Edward had started singing. "You Oughta Know" in his textured, bluesy tenor was enthralling to say the least. My jaw dropped and I missed several chords of my base playing before I could jump back in again. I nearly threw down the guitar and jumped him when he sang "Everlong". The booze as flowing and, one by one, the others dropped out, but Edward and I kept on going. He liked singing with me and I liked playing with him.

Exhausted, we had eventually collapsed on the couch, half slumped against each other. We continued to giggle as we played with our characters - Edward pimping out Alice's avatar in Goth clothing and me opting for a rock get up. We must have drifted off because I woke up at some point during the night. The TV screen was glowing blue, tossing an unnatural pallor over Edward's sleeping face. I was curled against him. One of his arms was around me while the other rested over my hand. Half asleep and more than a little drunk, I'd kissed his lips as if we were already lovers; as if it was the most natural thing in the world for me to do. It wasn't a deep kiss, it was a familiar kiss. I remembered doing it, and I remembered going back to sleep, more content than I had felt in a long time.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. "Flower delivery," came a cheerful voice. Jessica.

I groaned. "Not," I looked up as I spoke and my mouth dropped open, "again," I finished in a squeak.

Rather than the bouquet of flowers I had been expecting, like the ones I had received last week, these flowers were made of fruit. Pineapple daisies, red strawberry roses and baby's breath made of grapes with the occasional melon slice thrown in to look like random leafs. "Edible Arrangements!" Jessica said, setting the huge bouquet down on my desk. "I've always wanted one of these. Someone must like you."

"You don't know who these are from?" I asked, still staring at the arrangement with wide eyes.

Jessica shook her head. "Delivery guy said it was from Secret Santa."

Hmm, the same moniker that the Starbucks card had been signed from. I handed Jessica a pineapple daisy and she took off. I took one of the grape skewers and began to chew, contemplating who these gifts could possibly be from. Perhaps my phantom pranker? The pranks had all but stopped at some point in November. Occasionally, I still came into my office to find something out of place or rearranged.

I was still deep in contemplation, staring at the edible flowers, when I heard his all too familiar voice. "That's some lunch you brought there," he chuckled.

"Har," I responded, rolling my eyes at him fondly.

"From your Secret Admirer Santa, I suppose?" Edward guessed.

"So it would seem," I replied easily, squashing a wistful thought that perhaps he was my secret admirer. It wasn't a secret if it was already told. "They're more useful flowers though, don't you think? At least I won't go hungry today."

"A rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet," he answered with mock solemnity.

I scoffed and tried to not be turned on by the thought of Edward uttering some of Shakespeare's sexier lines.

"I thought all girls liked guys who went around reciting Shakespeare," he teased. Despite the fact that we were trying the whole just friend's thing, we still flirted. It had always been in our dynamic and it was just the way we worked.

"Context is everything, Cullen," I admonished. "Besides, you're not reciting anything. It was one line. I'm not impressed. Now do you want one of these or not?"

He rolled his eyes, muttering something about me being difficult. "I'll take a strawberry."

"There are strawberries on the roses and the daisies. Which do you want?" He pointed to the rose and I handed it to him. "You could have just said the rose."

"A rose, by any other name, would taste as sweet," he said, biting into the strawberry. He winked at me, and then waggled his eyebrows comically at his bad joke. Before I could stutter a response - what with the witty comeback and the way his lips wrapped around that strawberry - he had turned around and left.

Edward Cullen needed his own word of the day calendar. Today, his word would have been beguiling. I was definitely beguiled.

December 9

EPOV

"I've had enough of your passive aggressive bullshit, Edward," Alice said out of the blue one evening.

I had been lying on the couch, napping, with my arm over my eyes. I raised my arm to stare at my sister. She was standing across the room with her hands on her hips and her lips pursed. "I'm sorry, I missed the part where I knew what you were talking about," I mumbled, confused.

"I assume the journal is for Bella?" Alice asked, gesturing behind her. There was a journal on the staircase so I wouldn't forget it - not that that was likely. I was always thinking of Bella as it was.

Instead of answering, I pulled my arm over my head again. That was enough of a yes for Alice. "What's the significance?"

"He got her a CD of Christmas loves songs," I said disdainfully. "Even if she hadn't told me, I would have known enough about Bella to know that she was a fan of the classics. The only halfway decent carol on there was "It's Cold Outside" and even that is only halfway decent if it's being sung by Zooey Deschanel, which, by the way, it wasn't."

Alice fetched the journal from the staircase and turned it over in her hands. It was from a Paper Blanks journal series called Embellished Manuscripts that took some of the works of great artists, in their own handwriting in the author's cases, and put them on the cover of beautifully embossed journal. "She likes classics. That explains the book you chose. Jane Eyre?"

I smiled in spite of myself. "I get the feeling she's a fan of the sisters Bronte."

"And she's a writer. Hence the journal," Alice mused. "This is a very well thought out gift, Edward. It's...poignant."

"That's the idea, isn't it?" I said, confused as to what she had been irritated about.

"This is instant aphrodisiac stuff, Twin," she said in a voice that indicated I should be getting it by now.

I paused, reviewing her words in my head. "That's the idea, isn't it?"

"Hey, knucklehead. You're in competition here, remember? What if your gifts get her to fall in love with the wrong person?"

That made me shoot straight up on the couch. "You think someone would do that? Take credit for my gifts? That's...not...nice."

Alice rolled her eyes at me. I considered, not for the first time, who my competition could be. If it was Tyler Crowley, he would definitely not be above claiming he'd sent my gifts. "What do I do?" I asked Alice, a little out of my depth.

"You could tell her," Alice suggested mildly.

"No, that doesn't sound right."

She rolled her eyes again. "And they tell me you're a genius... Find out who it is."

She made it sound so easy.

December 11th
BPOV

I was confused.

A beer bottle plopped down on the table in front of my face making me jump.

"Hey, Wendy. You're off in never, never land. What's up?" Emmett asked.

I was in his apartment, having been invited over for Star Trek viewage. Chris Pine was hot. Unfortunately, he could not hold my interest tonight. I looked over at the TV and noticed that it was paused mid-Kirk-gets-his-ass-handed-to-him beat down #42. I glanced up at Emmett and sighed. Then I proceeded to tell him and Rosalie the story of the bizarre parade of gifts I'd been receiving.

"It's just the weirdest thing. I mean, at first, I thought that it was ... cheesy. Flattering, but cheesy. The gift card...then the flowers. But then the Edible Arrangement was great. Creative and tasty. Then I get this severely crappy CD of even crappier Christmas music. Christmas love songs. I didn't even know there were enough Christmas love songs to fill a CD. There should not be."

"Right," Emmett interrupted. "Because Jesus is the reason for the season. Ya heard?"

I glared at him and he put his hands up in surrender. When I was sure he was going to shut up, I continued. "Then I get this...truly phenomenal gift yesterday. A journal. Like - a journal that was made with me in mind, you would swear. And then today... chocolates. I am...confused."

Rosalie and Emmett were staring at me. I rubbed my forehead self-consciously, wondering if I had grown a third eye or something.

"So, someone is pursuing you...someone who has semi-reasonably good taste? And ... what are you confused about?" Rosalie asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "It's just inconsistent, that's all."

"Well, do you know who they're from?" Rosalie persisted.

"No," I mumbled. I knew who I half-hoped, half-feared they were from. "Anyway, it doesn't matter much. If he-,"

"Or she," Emmett interrupted. I glared at him again. "What? It's possible. That chick Leah who works in the office next to yours has the biggest crush on you. It's obvious."

"Emmett, Leah can't stand me," I said, somewhat incredulous.

"Come on Belle. She's just acting out because she can't have you," he waggled his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Anyway - it doesn't matter much. If he shows himself, I'll deal with it then. If not... it's harmless enough. I mean, I'm not big on gifts as it is."

"By deal with it...you mean let the guy down gently, right?" Rosalie said with that hint of condescension I loved so much in her voice. I had to struggle not to narrow my eyes at her. If she was going to start in on one of her ridiculous holding out for Emmett paranoid prodding sessions....

"It's not like there's anyone at the office that would be a great option, Rose," I said as smoothly as I was able. "There's no one I'm even remotely interested in."

Now it was Emmett's turn to sound condescending. "Oh, really? No one? Not even just a little bit?"

I crossed my arms and refused to look at him.

To my surprise, he sighed. "Bella, can I ask you a question?"

I had a feeling I wasn't going to like where this was going. "I've never been able to stop you before," I mumbled.

Emmett looked like he was struggling. Usually he didn't think about his words before they left his mouth. The fact that he was trying to be tactful was telling to say the least. "Your whole 'better off alone' thing? I get it. I really do. And there's nothing wrong with being alone. But wasn't the point of this thing to escape being miserable?

"Among other things," I admitted.

"Cinderbella, you do realize you're miserable now, right?" he asked.

I looked away again, concentrating on the screen; trying to remember how weird it was that Chris Pine looked so good when he was being choked to death by Sylar-Spock. I was in serious denial about the whole brooding thing I had been doing for almost a month now. Suffice to say that being friends with Edward Cullen was ... difficult. I had hoped I was keeping it from my best friends but apparently this was not the case.

Emmett sighed again as I studiously ignored him.

"Again, I get what you're trying to do. God knows I wasted a good amount of my life crying 'Jane get me off this crazy thing called love!' You know that. But also, look at what love brought me." I looked over to find he was not looking at me at all, but staring into Rosalie's eyes. "Even in the practical sense - I wouldn't have been able to handle working full time and going to school if it weren't for Rose. That part of my life would have been put off even more. She helped me because she loves me - and I'm a better man for her loving me."

"Emmett," I started, but he turned to me, cutting me off.

"Seriously, Bella. You're more than strong enough to do it all on your own. I don't doubt that. But think about what that means, in the long run, without someone to share it with."

"He's right, Bella," Rosalie chimed in. For once she looked completely sincere as she looked at me. "When Emmett graduated last year, it was such an accomplishment for him. And, more than that, it was an accomplishment for us. It was amazingly gratifying for the both of us. Not that it means nothing to accomplish something on your own, but when you're part of a pair - it's just another layer. It's...good."

Bella grumbled in frustration. "Alright. You guys are acting like I'm giving up my soul mate by not caring who these gifts are from. I mean, come on. Just because someone sends me a cheesy box of chocolates doesn't mean they're going to be by my side through my life."

"Just be open to it. That's all. If something comes along that could be right - you're a smart girl Bella. You have a good sense of character. You don't have to make the mistakes that you've seen your friends or your parents make." Emmett reached over and mussed my hair. "For what it's worth Belle - that Cullen kid is completely smitten with you, you know."

I tried to imagine that it was Edward sending the gifts and my heart seemed to get larger in my chest. But I just couldn't imagine him sending the Christmas CD. Unless it was a joke.

I needed to not over-think these things. Edward said he would respect my wishes and I wanted him to respect my wishes.

Right?

December 14th

Curiosity was getting the better of me.

I'd come into work that morning to find a pink bakery box on my desk. The pink label said it was from Canter's, a very famous Jewish Deli, Bakery and Restaurant on Fairfax in Los Angeles. I'd opened the box to find n entire pound of the most delicious cookies I'd ever tasted. They were called Florentines, and they completely made up for the box of chocolates.

I would be lying if I didn't admit that my heart gave a remorseful pang when I realized that it really couldn't be Edward who was leaving the gifts. He had been with Alice and Jasper yesterday and with me on Saturday. He had definitely not been near Los Angeles.

Alice and Jasper could have retrieved them. They were in Los Angeles on Saturday. my over-active imagination supplied helpfully. I pushed the thought away. The plot was getting just a little too intricate. Occam's Razor. The easiest explanation was, most likely, the right one.

"Well, I'll give him this much," Edward said as he popped the cookie I proffered into his mouth. "He has great taste in cookies. No one has so much as hinted that they could be the culprit?"

I shook my head. I'd had conversations with both Mike Newton and Tyler Crowley since the gifts had begun arriving. Mike had been mildly nervous and a little on the dork side, but that was Mike. Tyler had been a pompous ass who was full of himself...but that was Tyler.

My brain tried to talk my overactive imagination out of it, but I couldn't help but prod Jasper about my sneaking suspicions when he came over later that night.

"So, what did you guys do for dinner on Saturday?"

"I took Alice to see Thai Elvis. Man that guy rocks," Jasper chuckled to himself. There was a Thai restaurant in Los Angeles where the food was fantastic but the best part was that there was a Thai Elvis impersonator who performed there.

It was not near Canter's.

"Mmm." I mumbled and changed the subject before he could ask why I was asking. "How are things with you and Alice?"

Jasper didn't answer right away, and when he did he had this weird, far-away look in his eye. "She's... I don't know. I'm just crazy about her. I'm going to marry her."

I gaped at him. "Are you being serious right now, Mushu? Marriage? That makes no sense. You've known her for a month!"

"You're right, it doesn't make sense. But nothing has ever felt more right." He sounded so sure.

I was baffled. Jasper was generally so ambivalent when it came to the dating scene...when had he turned into a romantic? "But how do you know? That it will continue to be right, I mean."

"Well, I don't, Hellz Bellz. But I'll be damned if I'm going to say no to something just because it doesn't add up. I mean, I never was any good at math, anyway." He gave a weird, giddy kind of laugh.

"It just...doesn't make sense," I repeated, still a little stunned.

"Bella - if you think about it too hard, nothing makes sense," Jasper said, leaning back and putting his hands over his head thoughtfully. "I mean - what do you want to do with your life? You want to write about people who don't exist, put them through trials and tribulations that you yourself probably haven't experienced firsthand, and you expect people to pay you to do this."

I opened my mouth to argue but I couldn't. It did sound ridiculous when he put it like that.

December 16th
EPOV

We were walking back to the office from lunch, the conversation between us easy, as usual. I could talk to Bella for hours about everything.

"I'm mad at Alice, by the way," Bella said suddenly.

"Why is that?"

"Jasper brought her over to Emmett's last week and she started talking about how you took her to the company Christmas party last year. She made the mistake of mentioning the spread of food they lay out. Now he says I have to go, so he can go." Bella sighed with mock heaviness.

I whistled thinking of the damage Emmett could cause to the buffet, not to mention the chocolate fondue bar.

We had reached tour floor by then and as we walked through the front doors of the office, we were greeted by an odd sight.

Jessica and Mike were at the front desk grinning like idiots and cooing over something small and brown…with a wagging tail. And a big, red bow around its neck.

"Who's this?" Bella asked, walking right up to the dog and rubbing its head with two fingers. The dog looked up at her with big eyes.

"Actually," Jessica said, and immediately I picked up that tone she got when she was trying to get information out of someone, "he's yours, so I don't know his name."

Both Bella and my head shot up in surprise. "What?!" we said at the same time.

Jessica looked at me with some surprise. I could tell she had thought I was behind this latest gift. Mike was narrowing his eyes slightly at me. I covered up my outburst by averting my eyes and clearing my throat self consciously.

"What do you mean he's mine? I don't have a dog!" Bella's voice was doing this kind of cracking thing that was concerning.

Looking back at Bella, Jessica picked up a gift tag that was attached to the ribbon. It had Bella's name on it clearly. Bella took the tag carefully, as if it might burn her, and flipped it over. I could see writing on the back. As she read it, Bella began to blush. I felt the now irritatingly familiar burn of jealousy and possessiveness was over me.

"So," Jessica tried again, "You have a secret admirer huh?"

Bella looked up, looking a little overwhelmed. "Yea, I guess so. This is just…I mean, I have a little apartment."

"Well, this little guy is a Dachshund. They're good apartment dogs. Very loyal too," Jessica said, stroking the dog's head fondly.

"Well, I mean he's awesome. But my apartment doesn't allow pets."

I saw Mike frown and at that moment I figured it out. Of course, it was obvious. Mike had to be Bella's admirer. It made sense. He had been drooling over her since day one.

"What are you going to do with him then?" Jessica asked, looking genuinely concerned. It was easy to see she was a dog lover.

"How about this," I jumped in, pushing my revelation aside before I could snap at Newton and his poor taste in gifts. "My apartment allows pets, and I have a bigger yard. What if I adopt him and then you can visit him whenever you want?"

The dog barked a little yip that wouldn't disturb any neighbors. Bella laughed. "I guess it's settled then," she grinned, obviously happy with the compromise. Newton looked less than pleased. I tried not to look smug.

Bella accompanied me to the pet store to pick up the supplies we needed. "What are you going to call him?" I asked her.

She gave me a look. "He's living in your home. You should name him."

"Hmmm. How about Zero?" I asked coyly.

"Zero is not a wiener dog!" Bella protested.

"Bella, Zero is a sheet. He could have been a wiener dog in real life," I argued.

She reached into the cart to pet the dog. He nipped at her fingers playfully. "Okay, Zero it is."

Later that night, Zero was resting on my lap as I pondered Mike Newton as competition. I was fairly sure that Bella wasn't interested in him and would ultimately give him the brush off. But would he try to take credit for the gifts I had given her? I knew she liked them. I had seen her trace her fingers over the cover of the journal reverently.

I debated again Alice's advice to tell her it was me. I sighed, reaching into my pocket for the box I had been carrying around all day. I took out the contents, holding it in one hand. "What do you think, Zero?" I asked him. "If I leave this, she'll know it was me. Probably."

She would know because it was something she had admired in the Haunted Mansion shop at Disneyland that day we'd been there with Jessica and Emmett. There was a single display case in that shop that held more expensive and eclectic items. She had pointed to it, remarking how pretty it was.

"This would definitely be considered crossing a line she specifically asked me not to cross," I told Zero. He looked sympathetic. Then he started gnawing on the box. I knocked his snout away gently and sighed. "Beautiful, irrational woman."

I ran a hand through my hair, just as undecided about what I was going to do as ever.

December 18th

BPOV

"Beast, I'm not going."

I was arguing with Emmett about attending the work Christmas party that started in a few hours. I had been resigned to going for the sake of Emmett's non-particular palate, but after receiving a Christmas card from my secret Santa admirer, I was dreading it.

"Oh yes, Princess, yes you are going."

I felt like I was in some weird Christmas story. Except that I was going to fuck up the Lifetime movie ending for the underdog character in the story. I groaned and pulled one of Rosalie's designer pillows over my face. "I'm not going. I'm going to ruin someone's Christmas."

"You are going," Emmett insisted again. "All that's going to happen if you don't go is that you're going to push this confrontation off until Monday. Then you're going to make Monday, which - by the way - sucks enough as it is, even worse for the poor sap. If you don't go tonight, then you're going to deprive me of a chocolate fondue fountain on top of your sins as a destroyer of Christmas spirit."

I started to hit him over the head with the pillow. "Not helping, Emmett, g'dammit. You and your logic. Why do you hate me?"

"Stop it. You're messing up my mane." Emmett laughed and grabbed the pillow from me.

"You're too big to be Young Simba. You'd be Pumba if you were anyone. Except Pumba probably smells better," I groused at him.

"Well, you're not tough enough to be Nala if you're not tough enough to break some poor idiot's heart at the company Christmas party." I grimaced at him. "Alice dropped by with a new dress she says is perfect. Go put it on."

I grumbled but did as I was told. I got ready and before I knew it, we were outside of the hall where the party was being held. Rosalie looked amazing, as per usual. I secretly hoped that walking in with her and Emmett, I would pale in comparison and whoever my Secret Santa was would lose interest. Then again, that was unlikely as she had Emmett on her arm. Guys could be practical about the whole thing when Emmett was around. They thought that he could turn them into a pretzel so Rosalie was pretty well off limits. No one had so much as eye-fucked her in Emmett's presence; they were so intimidated by him.

"So, how does this go down?" Emmett asked, though his eye was already on the buffet.

"Bella?" came a nervous voice. We all three turned around to see Mike Newton looking fairly decent except for the fact he was wearing reindeer antlers.

With flashing lights wrapped around them. Oye.

"Guess that answers that question," I heard Rosalie mutter as she led Emmett away.

"Uh, hi," I said, because this wasn't awkward at all.

And I wasn't the least bit disappointed that it wasn't Edward after all.

Keep telling yourself that, Swan.

Anyway. So we were kind of doing this staring thing with the opening the mouth, figuring out that you don't know what to say and then closing it again. We must have looked like fish.

Finally he gave a laugh. "Man, this is much easier when you're anonymous."

I gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry; I'm not really any good at this. I'm...so flattered."

He tilted his head, making the reindeer antlers look even more ridiculous as they twinkled at me. "I sense a but in here," he said, already looking a little sad.

Fuck me with the wounded puppy dog look. Jesus Christ. I felt like the Grinch, but what was I supposed to do? I mean, life ambitions of spinsterhood aside, I had no click with Mike. At. All. "Why me, Mike? Honestly, I just don't get it."

Mike gaped a bit. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that. Uh...You're really... very pretty," he said sheepishly. "Um...look, how about a dance? Just one dance?" He gave me an honest smile. "Maybe I'll dazzle you with my dance moves," he teased.

I had to smile. He was taking it like a champ and I respected that. "Alright...but I have to warn you, I might kill your toes."

"Hey, my toes can handle it." He extended a hand to me and we walked out onto the floor where a few other couples were already dancing.

"I'm really sorry I can't return the gesture," I said honestly. Mike seemed like a nice enough guy after all. "I just don't think you really know me well enough to like me like that."

He gave a small shrug and a smile. "I kind of figured that out when I saw you with the other gifts. You seemed to enjoy them so much more."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What other gifts?"

He tilted his head again as we danced. "The ... other ones. The ones that had you smiling so much. Especially that journal. Man, when I saw that I knew I had to do something big to try to top that. I don't know why I thought a dog would be a good idea though. I'm sorry about that."

I stopped dancing to gape at him. "Wait...go back to the part where not all of the gifts were from you."

"You didn't know? I mean, I was a little pissed off when whoever it was started using my idea...and then I really couldn't stop." He shrugged, a little sheepish again. "I'm competitive. And a little stubborn when it comes to girls."

I had to laugh. "You know, it might have worked on a girl a little less...neurotic than I am," I said, as we started dancing again.

We danced in a pleasant enough silence for a minute before he spoke again. "You know, Bella... whoever gave you those other gifts. You should find out who it is. You said I don't know you, and that's true, I have to admit. But if whoever knows you well enough to know what could make you smile like that.... Well, let's just say I would have liked to have been the one to earn a smile that big. From anyone, really."

We fell back into silence and I was deep in thought. Someone who knew me well enough to know that a journal, not just any journal but that particular one, would please me.

Really, there was only one person who it could be then.

And in that moment, acknowledging what I must have known all along, I saw everything I hadn't let myself think about. I saw how much Edward's conversations and notes on my book had sparked the creative flow in me again, and how, after talking with him the first time, I had started to see what I had felt was "wrong" with my story. I had sensed, for long months, that there was something missing, but Edward had found it after that first reading.

I saw in-depth writing discussions with him, not just as friends and co-workers over coffee, but as lovers and partners. I wanted laptops in bed while we lounged in reading glasses and robes.

I saw how easily we bantered back and forth at work or when we were hanging out with the rest of the gang. I wanted that playful banter while we tugged at clothes and kicked off shoes.

I saw how much fun trips to Disneyland had been while we were just friends. I wanted to hold his hand and take cheesy pictures in front of the castle...and kiss him during the fireworks...and whisper naughty jokes to him about all the places I could go down on him in the Magic Kingdom.

I wanted to help him as he had helped me. He had told me once he didn't know what to do with his life. I wanted to help him figure that out. I wanted to help him achieve his goals, and be there when he succeeded, because I knew he would.

I wanted everything that I hadn't let myself want.

I threw my arms around Mike's neck, suddenly intensely grateful. If he hadn't started this little game, I might never have come to this realization.

"What-wh," Mike sputtered, terribly surprised by my sudden behavior. His hands fluttered awkwardly at my back, trying to figure out what to do.

"I'm sorry. I just... I needed to thank you. I've just figured out I've had my head up my ass and that's why my life stinks right now," I babbled.

"Um, you're welcome. I think?" Mike was obviously confused. I laughed and backed away from him.

Over his shoulder I saw Jessica, wearing a green Santa hat with elf ears, looking alone and a little forlorn...and she happened to be standing under the mistletoe. This was cheese waiting to happen. "Have you ever thought about Jessica, Mike?" I nodded and he turned to look in the direction I was looking. "She seemed to like Zero quite a bit."

"Huh," he said, obviously having not thought about it before. "Who's Zero?" he asked absently.

I nearly balked. Really? Who hadn't seen the Nightmare Before Christmas?

Typically, I would have schooled his ass good and proper but I was post-epiphany and fairly desperate to find out if Edward was here yet.

"Zero is what we named the dog you gave me," I said to him, suddenly in a hurry.

"We?" Mike asked, still looking at Jessica thoughtfully.

I just smiled and pecked him quickly on the cheek. "Thanks again, Mike. For everything."

I turned around and started scanning the crowded room for Edward. I found him almost instantly. He was across the room, looking delicious as ever even from behind. Maybe especially from behind. Though, his ass was definitely not his best feature.

God, it felt so good to be able to admit that without having to beat the thought back.

Through all that ogling, it took me a minute to realize that he seemed to be arguing with Alice. He seemed a little upset, even. Alice had her hand on his arm and appeared to be tugging him backward. His body was angled toward the door.

Then I realized what he must have seen, and how it might have looked out of context while I was out on the floor with Mike... especially if he knew that it was Mike who had been sending me gifts...too.

Oh, crap.

EPOV

That rat bastard.

I walked in the door only to find Mike and Bella already out on the dance floor. She was smiling. I kept on watching them, a mixture of panic, anger and jealousy churning in me. What if I was too late? What if he did take credit for my gifts? What if Bella, for whatever reason, decided to give up her non-dating policy for Newton and not me?

That last fear seemed to be reality when I saw her throw her arms around his neck. I turned away, unable to watch anymore without going insane. I couldn't fathom being able to watch them together for the rest of the evening, let alone the rest of my working career. I was already thinking about how I would need to get a new job, immediately, when I found Alice in the crowd. She and Jasper had found a table big enough for our entire group. Fuck if i was going to sit there with Bella and Mike.

I felt a little sick. I felt like I was halfway between being physically ill and running out on that floor to tear her out of his arms. I knew I had no right to be angry at Mike - not when I had edged in on a game he'd started, but I couldn't help it. One way or another, this was going to end badly if I stayed.

I needed to get out. Unfortunately, Alice was being stubborn. When I'd told her I was leaving, she had grabbed my arm.

"Alice, I just want to get out of here. I'm sure they won't mind if you want to stay and enjoy the party. Jasper can drive you home." I tugged my hand, trying to get out of my sister's grasp.

She only held on tighter. "Just wait," she commanded. She let go of my hand but gave me a look that promised retribution if I tried to take off.

I growled in frustration, running my hand through my hair. "What am I waiting for?!"

"Edward?"

I froze, my body tensing automatically. There was something new in her voice. She sounded…smaller; uncertain. My eyes flew to Alice who was looking at me with a smug smirk. I turned around slowly.

Of course, it was Bella. Bella in a gorgeous blue dress that set off her skin perfectly and long, flowing hair. Her face mirrored the uncertainty in her voice and she was looking at me with the strangest expression. It was torn between hope, longing and … well, uncertainty.

I looked back out on the floor, trying to figure out where Mike went. I found him under the mistletoe. He and Jessica were staring at each other with gooey eyes.

I was confused.

Bella let out a bit of a frustrated sigh and grabbed my hand. She started towing me out of the room. I followed her obediently, beginning to let hope seep into the emotions that were wrecking havoc on my insides. She led us down a hallway and found a darkened room, away from all the party-goers.

We stared at each other, her biting her lip and looking at me as if she was expecting me to speak first. I didn't know what to say. Finally, she broke the silence."I need to know...were you trying to help him or were you trying to one-up him?"

My self defense mechanisms were faster than my brain. "Help who with what?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly, an uncertain look flitting across her featured before she squashed it. "Please don't play this game, Edward. It has to be you. I'm just trying to figure out why you didn't tell me."

I let out a slow breath, reprocessing her words for clarity. Then everything just tumbled out of me like water over Niagara Falls - nothing could stop it. "Help him? I was definitely not trying to help him. I don't know what I was trying to do, honestly. I just...needed to do something. I understand your viewpoint. I really do, but... I want this more than anything I've ever wanted before. I can't tell you how terrifying that is for me in the first place. Then to have it, to have you right in front of me. To know that you feel this too, that I'm not crazy... it's maddening. It's maddening to try to be your friend when I want it all - God help me, I even want THIS if it means I have you in my life at all. It's so difficult for me not to express physically what I think and feel. I knew you never would have let me give you gifts...so I suppose I saw the loophole."

She was staring at me. I honestly couldn't tell what type of a stare it was. I started to panic, realizing I could lose everything. Even her friendship. "Look, Bella. I know what you told me, and I'm sorry. I should respect your wishes. I want to respect your wishes. I just... I can learn to be friends with-"

Suddenly her hand was over my mouth, pinching my lips shut between gentle fingers. "Shut up."

She was smiling ever so slightly, and the feeling of her soft skin on my lips was electric and soothing all at once. The hope inside of me started to get bigger.

"Which ones were you?" she asked, releasing her hold on my mouth but not stepping out of my personal bubble.

"The edible arrangement was the first gift I got."

"Why?"

"Because...you would think flowers were unnecessary. You like to share what you have. You'd prefer flowers you could share with other people." My mouth quirked involuntarily. I adored this woman well beyond reason.

She blinked several times, and I hoped she was putting together the pieces. I know you. I thought at her.

"You were the journal." It was not a question.

"Yes," I confirmed anyway.

Her eyes were soft as she looked at me then. "The journal - it's the most beautiful gift I think I've ever received Edward." Her voice was heavy with emotion. A good emotion from the look on her face.

"I had to do something to counteract that awful CD," I teased her lightly.

She laughed. "It was bad. Really bad." She pursed her lips, and I could see she was counting back the gifts in her head. "Then you were the Florentines, right?"

"Chocolates are...boring. The Florentines... they're an experience. They're decadent. Anything in that bakery is a work of art in and of itself, I thought you could appreciate that," I smiled at her again.

"You got Alice and Jasper to get them for you didn't you?" she asked, beginning to smile back at me.

I nodded. "They knew about everything. You know, everything Alice knows, Jasper knows, but I think he kept it from Emmett."

She stepped forward again and we were almost touching. That distracting and titillating aura that crackled between us was nearly tangible. "You're missing a gift... what counteracts Zero?"

At that my breath caught. Shit. She'd just tossed the ball in my court.

BPOV

His eyes suddenly seemed to shrink, tightening and looking slightly worried. I started to tell him it was okay if he didn't have anything, I was only teasing, but then I realized his hand had slipped into the pocket of his jacket. He really did have something. Whatever it was made him nervous. And that made me nervous.

"I uh-," he began, and then laughed a little. "I wanted to give this to you before, but I thought you'd know it was me. And, I did have every intention of respecting your wishes, but it was hard." He swallowed hard, furrowing his oddly not unattractive furry eyebrows. It occurred to me that even his eyebrows gave me warm, fuzzy feelings. Ack, when did I get so gross? "This doesn't have to mean anything you don't want it to, Bella. I want you to have it no matter what."

He reached forward and grabbed my hand, sending a jolt of tingling energy straight up my arm and down my spine. He put something cool in my hand and closed my fingers around it without looking away from me. For a moment, I was too lost in his eyes to look down at what was in my hand. Finally, curiosity got the better of my giddy emotions.

It was a necklace. It was silver, and it was familiar. I finally recognized it as the necklace I stared at almost every time I was at Disneyland. The chain was simple, but it led down to a disc covered by a small bulb of glass. Painted onto the disc, in delicate miniature, was the silhouette of Jack and Sally on their hill in Halloweentown, from the end of the movie as they clasp hands.

I ran my hand over the glass, understanding all the layers of meaning in this simple gift. That he knew how much anything Nightmare related meant to me. That he had listened, even to the smallest detail; enough to know how much I had admired this piece.

And, not the least by any means, that this could be us. This could mean us.

I felt ridiculous moisture in my eyes. Surely, I wasn't the emotional sap who would cry at such a moment. "Wouldn't that make me Jack?" I asked, my voice cracking, seeming to keep with this whole ridiculous, emotional theme. "Distracted by what I think I want when Sally was there right in front of me all along?"

His smile quirked again. I thought about seeing his smile every day, and I was smiling too. "I didn't make you a Sandy Claws suit, Jack," he murmured, taking the necklace from my open palm.

"That's okay Sally... I like it here in Halloweentown after all."

He unclasped the necklace and held it open, but stayed back. "You have to want this, Bella. If you don't want this you're going to doom it before it starts."

I took a deep breath. Suddenly, I had no words. I knew what I wanted, but I couldn't make myself say the words I wanted to say.

So I borrowed some from Jack Skellington - my namesake.

"My dearest friend, if you don't mind, I'd like to join you by your side." When I spoke, my voice was clear - if a little fast.

A slow, gorgeous smile spread across Edward's face. He stepped forward with the necklace and I lifted my hair. As he attached it around my neck, he finished the song. "Where we could gaze into the stars, and sit together now and forever. For it is plain as anyone could see. We're simply meant to be."

A/N: ::facepalm:: Did I just go for the cheesiest ending of all time? Ah, whatever. I don't regret it. Onwards!