I'm so sorry guys! I apologize and feel awful I didn't update yesterday, but we woke up at 6 AM to open presents then I was lazy and just played with my new kindle and watched movies. So I'm sorry, but please accept this last chapter as an I'm sorry gift! Also, Travis told me to tell you guys he couldn't tell me what to write because he was so busy with the big news! (Read to find out!)
Okay, shout-outs. No one got the movies right, but thank you to LoveGreenEyes001 for being the only one to try! Also, thanks to JayJay-Lynn and LoveGreenEyes001 for reviewing…TWICE! You guys are amazing!
The answer to the question-
Chapter One- . The worst performance of his career, and she never doubted it for a second! From Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Ferris says this (in first person) after convincing his parents he's sick.
Chapter Two- "Knife!" Travis squealed as the celestial bronze poked into his skin In Tangled Mother Gothel holds a dagger under the drunken dwarf thug guy's chin and he says the same thing
Technically, I did reference Harry Potter, but it's not the movie I was meaning (my fault for not clearing that up! Sorry). Once again though, thanks to LoveGreenEyes001 for guessing!
Disclaimer- Really hoping for the rights to Percy Jackson for Christmas. Santa disappointed.
It was December 24, Christmas Eve, the most wonderful time of the year, call it what you want; all that really matters is that everyone is holly, jolly, and ready to open Christmas presents. Travis Stoll was neither holly, jolly, nor ready for presents (crazy, I know right?) because unfortunately, he hadn't even gotten them out yet.
He had been dashing around the apartment for the past two hours, making sure every paper snowflake was properly hung and each sprig of mistletoe angled to perfection until realizing the tree seemed to be missing that teeny tiny detail.
"Chick!" Connor coughed while spraying obnoxious amounts of Axe for his date with Miranda.
"One click, Connor! One Click!" Travis threatened through clenched teeth and an armful of presents.
"Whatever, Bro-Later!" he yelled as he marched out the door. Travis heard a shriek soon following Connor's exit as the wind messed up the hair Connor had spent the past hour gelling to get that perfect "playfully tousled" look. And he had the nerve to call Travis a chick.
I mean, even though the apartment was complete with fake snow, heart-shaped sugar cookies, and a legit Christmas tree (all courtesy of a certain Travis Stoll) at least Travis wasn't wearing green tights and little jingly pointed shoes…yet.
If Katie asked him to …well I think Connor would have to officially disown Travis as a brother and revoke his man card. Permanently.
Travis I'm sure would hate that, but he would honestly do anything for Katie, even lose his man card and all the privileges it gave him. In fact, he had recently drained his already miniscule college bank account down to $1.56 buying one more very important present for a very special daughter of Demeter.
In fact, he had just finished tucking that very present under his already shedding tree when the doorbell rang.
Travis jerked up, nearly tipping over the plate of cookies on the table beside him. He righted the cookies and rocketed towards the door, managing to jab the PLAY button on the CD player, beginning a chorus of "All I Want for Christmas is You".
He pulled open the door and froze. A flurry of snow whooshed into the apartment, but that had nothing to do with Travis' paralysis. As it happens, Katie Gardner had everything to do with it.
She was wearing one of those Aerohospital or whatever sweatsuits and only her sparkling green eyes were visible under the many scarves covering her face.
She stepped in, shivering, and pulled off her hat, letting her wavy chocolate brown hair cascade in gentle curls around her elbows.
"Katie!" Travis grinned, and finally being able to move, pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist and wishing he never had to let go. Katie tried to look up at him, but his arms had constricted her movement just a little bit. "Travis…can't…move!" her voice sounded muffled seeing as her mouth was smushed against his chest. (Which was very well-muscled, though she'd never tell him that because Travis' ego was doing just fine on its own.)
"Oh! Sorry, Kates." She smiled forgivingly at him then looked up and frowned at the fake mistletoe he had put above the doorway. A million possibilities shot through Travis' mind. Did she not want to kiss him? He thought that they had gotten past the whole "cooties" stage when they were 17!
"What is this fake crap doing up there?" she berated, pulling down the mistletoe. Her eyebrows furrowed together and after a couple moments a real branch of mistletoe bloomed above them. Travis gaped. She had no idea how much duct tape he had used trying to get that to stay up there!
"Well, sorry, Little Miss My Powers are better than everyone els-" his whining was cut off by Katie's lips pressing up against his and pushing any thought not along the lines of "Oh. Oh man. This. Is. Perfect." Out of his head.
She pulled away, laughing at this vacant expression.
"On second thought," Travis managed. "I think your powers are pretty good." Katie giggled (Travis had shocking effects on her, too) and then walked inside, shutting the door and began peeling off the layers of scarves and coats.
"Where's Connor?" she asked. Usually Connor was always at the apartment, playing World of Warcraft and complaining about the lack of available girls at college. All Travis had to say in reply to that was "They're all still getting over the fact that I'm taken."
"Oh. Umm… He's…um…" Travis struggled. He wanted Miranda mad at him almost as he wanted to be thrown in a deep fryer then fed to a hungry chimera. In other words, never. Ever.
"Chuck E Cheese's! That's where he is!" Travis shouted triumphantly.
"No really, Travis. Where is he?"
"I just told you!"
"That's what you always tell me when you're lying!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yuh-huh! Remember when we were eight and I caught you raiding the camp store?
Age 8-
(Travis and Katie with young cute little voices!)
"Hey, Kid! Where do you think you're going with those Oreos?"
"…Chuck E Cheese's?"
*Cue mini Katie rolling her eyes*
"and when we were 12…"
Age 12-
(Travis' voice is changing so his voice is going up and down in a very comical manner)
"STOLL! Where do you think you're going with Chiron's wheelchair?"
"…Chuck E Cheese's?"
*Cue adolescent Katie rolling her eyes*
"And last Thursday…"
Last Thursday-
"Travis. Where do you think you're going with my Ipod?"
"…Chuck E Cheese's?"
*Cue modern day rolling of eyes*
"Aw! Look at how far we've come since then! Kid to a last name basis all the way up to a first name basis! And did I ever tell you how very gifted you are at rolling your eyes, Katie Dear?"
"Whatever, Stoll," Katie said pointedly. "The point is you are avoiding the conversation. Could Connor perhaps be on… a date?"
"…Nope, most definitely at Chuck E Cheese's."
"With my sister…?"
"HOW DID YOU KNOW, KATIE! YOU'VE RUINED IT ALL! I'M NEVER GOING TO HAVE A FAMILY! KAT-"
"Hmmmm…Maybe I knew because, 1. You SUCK at lying, 2. I nearly suffocated on Axe walking in here and 3. Miranda told me."
Travis sighed in relief. "Seriously, you had no idea what she was going to do to me, Katie."
"She told me that, too."
"And we are moving on! Here you go!" He replied, placing the wrapped Nerf gun in her hands.
"But it's not Christmas yet, Travis!" He dismissed this with a wave of his hand.
"Details! Anyways, me and Connor-"
"Connor and I."
"Excuse me, Connor and I always nicked a few Christmas Eve to open before Christmas anyways."
"I should've known."
"Yes, you really should've. Now open your present!" Travis was giddy with excitement of what fun was soon to come. Katie ripped the paper off quickly and looked at the gun, a smile slowly growing on her face. The gun was already out of its package and there was a sticky note attached to the back.
This is your weapon! Use it wisely and get ready because my attack starts…NOW!
Katie jumped behind the kitchen table as a stream of bullets whizzed over the top of her head.
"You are SO on, Travis!" For the next hour Katie and Travis laid into each other with foam bullets. Laughter and over-exaggerated groans of pain split the air occasionally until Katie exploded from behind the couch and pumped foam into Travis' turned back.
"OH! You got me!" Travis cried dramatically. He fell onto the couch and proceeded to die a long, theatrical death. By the time he had gotten to the twitching Katie couldn't hold in her laughter.
"Do you need me to kiss it better?" she chuckled.
"Oh, most definitely, my fine lady! A kiss from a fair maiden may save me yet!" he moaned. Katie snuggled up to his chest and lifted her head to kiss him once, lightly, on the lips.
"Better?" she murmured.
"Much." He replied.
They stayed like, curled up together on the couch, watching Christmas movies until Katie fell asleep around 2:00. Travis was actually really proud. She stayed awake all through It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story, but then had to fall asleep half way through his favorite, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
He stayed still, not wanting to wake her and finished his movie. Stretching his hand he was just barely able to hit the mute button on the remote. Travis had convinced (bribed) Connor into returning to their mother's house after his date to give he and Katie some privacy. The silence filled the room, broken only by straggling carolers singing Away in a Manger. The harmony sounded hauntingly beautiful in the quiet.
Travis was transfixed. He kept twirling one lock of her hair around and around his finger. The last few notes of the carol faded away into the howling wind and all that was left was Katie's soft breathing, in and out. He thought that sound was more beautiful than any song on earth. Lying there, in that in-between stage of slumber and consciousness, he knew for sure he'd be content forever just being with Katie.
Around 8:00 Katie awoke to her very excited (19 year old I add) boyfriend jumping up and down like a kid screaming, "Wake up, Katie! Wake up! It's CHRISTMAS!" Travis couldn't wait to open their presents so instead of letting Katie sleep in (like a normal considerate boyfriend should do) he insisted on rousing her a whole half hour early.
"Katie. Wake. Up. It's Christmas!" To Travis those words were magical. In fact, those words are the words his mother used to get him up when he absolutely did not want to go to school. The tiny sentence and BAM! He was up and ready to begin the day. Katie on the other hand was a little less BAM! And a little more SNORE! Than Travis, but nothing (and I mean nothing) stopped Travis on Christmas Day.
By 8:15 he had Katie sitting up, bleary-eyed, but ready to open some presents nonetheless.
Since he was bouncing up and down with excitement she allowed him to open his present from her first.
"Katie! I always wanted this he shouted, holding every piece of merchandise Zonko's Joke Shop at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter owns. She grinned at his one-legged dance he was doing across the living room floor and knew she had succeeded.
"You next!" Travis insisted after calming down somewhat (he really couldn't get over the fact that he was now a proud owner of U-No-Poo! The Constipation Sensation that's gripping the nation! He couldn't wait to try it out on unsuspecting new campers that summer)
Contrary to what his reputation as a cocky player stated, Travis loved giving gifts almost as much as he liked getting them. There was still that tell-tale almost in the sentence though, mind you. After all, a fake reputation is all a man has. (Said by Travis' idol, Flynn Rider)
Katie sighed, smiling a bit at her boyfriend's childish antics. She tore wrapping paper and bows off of a tiny box that she opened to find a beautiful diamond necklace. It was vines of flowers linked together to make one long chain that encircled her neck.
She loved it, but really had no idea what she owned that would be fancy enough to wear it with. It would outshine any regular dress… and that's when Katie had an idea. A tiny little seed of hope that Travis would exceed all her expectations and truly take the big leap. That her prankster would get serious for long enough to take that final step. Her hopes were heightened when he pulled one last thing from behind the tree.
And they plummeted again when she saw that what she had hoped would be a tiny black box was only a flower pot filled with her favorite flower, a stargazer lily. The flower hadn't bloomed yet and she could tell it was thrown in quickly with a bit of soil put over it into the hand-painted pot. A big T+K was intertwined with a heart on the ceramic front. Katie thought it was beautiful, but couldn't help feeling a little twinge of disappointment at the gift.
"Why don't you make it bloom, Katie?" Travis asked hopefully.
She shook her head. "I don't think so. Why don't we just let it open naturally." she said, lifting it off the ground to place it on the table.
"No!" he almost shouted. She glanced at him in surprise and saw that he was on one knee. Then she pushed the thought out of her head. He probably didn't even realize it and she knew once her brain latched onto an idea it was hard to let it go. She couldn't hope for this now, not with Travis.
"Please, Katie. Make it bloom." He practically begged. She gave him a small smile then turned to look at the lily. Little by little the petals opened to show off the beautiful magenta spotted inside. It was truly the prettiest lily she had ever seen, and her happiness was marred only by that little seed of disappointment, seeping its roots deep into her heart. That is, until she caught sight of a tiny sparkle in the very center of the lily.
It couldn't be. No. It just couldn't. Travis would never. He couldn't. I mean, he couldn't do his own laundry without her! No way could he be proposing!
He cleared his throat nervously then peeked a quick glance at Katie's reaction. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she carefully picked up the ring. It was platinum and had leaves winding around the whole thing. On the top three diamonds, one bigger, sparkled in the sunlight streaming in through the window.
Looking at it Katie's hand went to her mouth and she was in real danger of crying now. She dropped the ring into Travis' hand and looked expectantly at him, begging him with her eyes to ask that question every girl dreams about all her life.
As Katie was fit to burst with happiness and hope, Travis was positively terrified. At this point tears meant tears to him, and tears were never a good thing. He didn't get the whole "happy crying" "sad crying" thing yet. All he knew was Katie was about to cry, and she never cried. Still, he began in a quaky voice, hoping and praying harder than he'd ever prayed to Aphrodite.
"Katie." He cleared his throat and started again. "Katie. I fell in love with you when I was seven years old. Which is saying something because most girls had cooties back then." He chuckled nervously. A giggle escaped her mouth and so he took that as a good sign to continue.
"I pranked you all throughout our teenage year because I didn't know how to get your attention. There was no way the amazingly perfect Katie Gardner would look at an idiot like me unless I truly did something to deserve her attention. So I pranked you. Mercilessly."
"And this past year has been…perfect. I dreamed about it for years and then when being with you finally happened it turned out to be way better than I could've ever imagined. Now I know we're only 19, but there's no changing how I feel. No matter how many times you roll your eyes at me."
She actually laughed this time and the tears overflowed down her cheeks. "So I guess what I'm saying, Katie, is will…Gods if only Connor could see me now… will you marry me?"
Years of hatred that turned out to be love were condensed into the hug Katie gave Travis then. Even more feeling was put in the one word that completed Travis' life.
"Yes! Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" she laughed as more tears raced down her cheeks. And then she kissed him. And every feeling of annoyance, love, frustration, longing, and desperate, raw hope was channeled in the power of her lips, moving against his. That kiss screamed "Yes!" to the entire world, and with every fiber of her being Katie Gardner screamed "Yes!" as loud as she could.
Travis decided he couldn't wait for their second Christmas together.
Well…. What do you think? It's my longest chapter by far, and it took the most effort, too. I stayed up until 1:00 finishing it in the hotel because we are going to visit my grandparents who have no Wifi and I wanted to get it up as soon after Christmas as possible. Once again I'm so sorry I didn't update yesterday (or two days ago now) and please forgive me! Please with a puppy dog face…how can you say no to that?
Anyways, just some clarifications- When Katie was thinking Travis couldn't propose it wasn't because she thought he didn't care enough, she just never imagined him actually getting serious and mature enough to go buy a ring and actually ask her, not just throw it out there casually. She just never expected it out of him at that time. I didn't want ya'll thinking she didn't believe he could do it or that he didn't care enough so I just thought I'd clear that up!
The ring and necklace will be on my profile so go check them out AFTER reviewing! I worked really hard on this and would appreciate some feedback!
Once again, thank you to my reviewers! I love you guys so much!
Merry late Christmas or Happy Holidays depending on what you celebrate! Enjoy the rest of your break!
Love, Gwen
