Smoke and Mirrors

Christmas Special

(This will have alternating POVS)

Maya

Just read the entire thing. Please.

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, Hal stumbled into the living room towards the coffee maker. Instead of bumping into the counter like he usually did, he bumped into something tall, green, and pointy. A tree. "What the..."

Stephanie and Shawn had been busy last night. Extremely busy. The living room was now a winter wonderland, a towering tree dominating the center of the living room, almost as tall as the towering ceilings of the townhouse, and there were garlands strewn (but tastefully strewn) everywhere. The light gray walls only added to the cheerfulness and brightness.

The tree itself was magnificent, with red and gold bulbs arranged in a neat pattern on the tree, lights coiled around it. Maya saw they arranged the presents – stacked high and spilling onto the dark hardwood floors – nicely underneath. She smiled; her job was to buy (with help from others picking things out, of course) and wrap presents. She had done a good job, if she did say so herself.

The kids had known what Christmas was. They hadn't really understood the religion part, as their teachers were never instructed to mention religion to them, and so religion was a foreign concept to them. ("What's the point of religion? Can't people just accept we're here and get over it?")

But they liked the general idea of Christmas, a time for family to get together, exchange gifts, and generally have a good time. So naturally, they wanted to participate. Maya was the in-between, as everyone gave her their gifts to wrap for some reason. She had been branded as the best gift wrapper. To be honest, she didn't mind, even though her hands hurt at the end of the day.

Stephanie and Shawn were passed out on the sectional together, Shawn smushed against Stephanie and Stephanie against him. Maya took a picture for blackmail. You never knew when you would need blackmail.

She went over to the coffee maker. It was dormant, meaning Hal wasn't up yet and hadn't turned it on. She was slightly worried by Hal's love of coffee, though a lot of teenagers were the same, so she didn't really give it much thought. Sometimes she forgot that the kids were, well, kids, and not adults.

Down the kids' hallway, she saw a light out of the corner of her eye turn on. The light came from under Bay's door. Bay was usually up early, and she usually went to bed early. Hal was a night owl, in sharp contrast.

Bay opened her door, and padded down the hall. She was in one of Hal's t-shirts (?) and a pair of sleeping shorts.

Her eyes widened when she saw the tree and decorations. "This is fancy," she said with a small smile.

"Indeed it is." She glanced at Bay's pajamas. "What's up with the shirt?"

Bay blushed. "All my pajama shirts are in the laundry. Hal gave me one of his to borrow." She tugged at the ACDC shirt. "I feel like I'm wearing a dress."

Maya smirked. "It's nice on you. I'm sure Hal thinks the same."

Bay turned her head. "Shut up."

She raised her eyes when she saw Shawn and Stephanie. "Should I...?"

"Nah. They're cute together."

"Well, aren't you a matchmaker today?" Bay said.

Maya shrugged. "What can I say? I'm in the holiday mood."

Bay shook her head, smiling. "I'm waking up Hal."

"Don't get murdered!" Ben yelled from his room.

"Apparently Ben's up," Bay said. "You can deal with him."

"Gee, thanks." Ben wasn't really something to deal with, though. Ben was a ray of sunshine in the dark world, everyone liked him. Including Maya.

He walked into the living room in sweat pants and a blue t-shirt with a fraying hem. "Good morning," he said, staring up at the tree. "Who did this?"

"Stephanie and Shawn. By the way, don't wake them up. I'm seeing when they'll wake up and how they'll react. Not to mention the fact I've got blackmail now."

He nodded appreciatively. "I respect that. Hey, do you know when Cat's coming over?"

Maya smiled. Maybe Bay was right about her playing matchmaker. "Cat came over last night. You fell asleep on the couch again. She said you were too cute to wake up. I think she's in the spare bedroom."

The tips of his ears flushed red, like they always did when Cat came up in conversation. "She said that? About me?"

"Yes. It's not surprising. It's clear you both like each other."

"I-I'm just gonna...go..." Ben stammered, heading towards the sectional. He sat on the chaise opposite of the one Stephanie and Shawn were on and stared at the ceiling. Maya rolled her eyes, in an affectionate way. Ben was smart, but not when it came to girls.

"Cat's coming," Maya said, smirking. "Prepare yourself."

"Shut up."

Cat was wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts and her hair was a bird's nest, but Ben looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Times like this Maya was convinced she really was playing matchmaker.

"Hey Benji," she said, sitting next to that.

"I hate that."

"I think you mispronounced love," she said, smiling.

Lilith came into the room, and rolled her eyes. "Some people are trying to have a decent morning without PDA, you know," she said, glaring at Ben and Cat.

"You're just jealous," Cat said.

Lilith stiffened. "Am not."

Maya knew Lilith was jealous. Lilith had admitted her crush on Ben to Maya late on Movie Night (traditionally Saturdays) when everyone else except for them was either asleep or in their rooms. Maya had sworn to keep it a secret, and had observed Lilith over the next few days. It made sense.

Lilith sat at the breakfast bar with Maya. If she had to be honest, Lilith was her favorite of the kids. Lilith often felt like the fifth wheel – literally – as Bay had Hal and Cat had Ben. The others were nice to her, sure, but Maya and Lilith could tell that they were a little off put by Lilith and her powers. Lilith just desperately wanted to fit in, but she didn't know how. Maya could relate.

And so Maya had become Lilith's friend, and vice versa. Maya knew that she was more accepted than Lilith was, but she never said that. She only thought it. She only thought many things.

Lilith was good company, though. She had a deadpan sense of humor, often making blunt comments that made Maya laugh. She was sarcastic, and liked to mock others. Sometimes she could get cruel, and that was where Maya nudged her.

Most importantly, Lilith knew when to be quiet. She didn't say much, and that was probably Maya's favorite thing about her. Lilith said that was her favorite thing about Maya. Maya agreed.

Lilith was tense, glancing at Cat and Ben out of the corner of her eye. Maya felt a pang of sympathy for her.

Her mind wandered to Test Subject Three. She knew she shouldn't go there, but she did anyway. It still made her breathing shallow and her eyes water, but she did anyway. She imagined if Lilith would feel different if he had lived. If he had turned out...normal.

She blinked, once, twice, three times. It was Christmas. Better to focus on other things. "Want to make cinnamon buns?" she asked Lilith.

"Why don't you just ask Cat and Ben? Baking is very romantic," she said in disgust.

Maya sighed. "Best to get your mind off it."

Lilith reluctantly slid off her stool. "You're right."

"You can get the package out. I'm going to the bathroom." Lilith nodded. What Maya said wasn't exactly a lie, so to say, more of just half the truth.

She went down the second hallway, on the left side of the living room, which was the adult's hallway. She went into Stephanie's room, where she knew a box of Christmas things were.

She rifled through it until she came to a plant. A very specific sprig of plant, complete with three pointy leaves and two berries. She smiled, and tucked it inside the pocket of her own sweatpants.

Then she actually did go to the bathroom. She came back to the living room, where Stephanie and Shawn had woken up and were making the cinnamon buns while Lilith watched, smirking, as Stephanie chased Shawn around with a pan, and Cat and Ben were reading a picture book, Rudolph, judging by the reindeer on the cover.

She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Cat, though. The way she looked, acted – it all seemed so...shady. Her father had once told her that sometimes you had instinctive responses to people, and most of the time those instincts were right. She didn't want to be right, for once.

Chimes sounded in the room, a ringtone. Cat's phone was ringing. Her face fell as she answered. "Okay. I'm on my way now." She looked at Ben. "Gotta go. My parents want me back for Christmas at their house."

Ben looked down. "Of course. Right. Have a good Christmas," he said tightly.

She smiled. "You too." She grabbed a backpack, and went out.

Ben set the book on the coffee table, staring up at the ceiling again. Maya glanced at Lilith, who looked giddy. She quickly wiped her smile off her face, though. "My mom and her boyfriend are going to his Christmas party. I'm probably going to have to go, too," he said, sighing.

Ben stayed at the townhouse most of the time. Maya knew that tensions were high at his apartment. He didn't like his mother's boyfriend, who spent most days and nights there, even though they'd only been together for a month. Between work and her new boyfriend, his mother didn't pay attention to him most of the time. So he wasn't exactly missed when he spent most of the week in the townhouse.

But according to him, his mother had been making an effort to reach out to him lately. So he was able to spend less and less time with Maya and the others, and his mother's boyfriend invited him, as well as his mother, to his Christmas party. Ben did not want to go, but he had no choice, he felt like he should support his mother.

Maya wondered how he could stay so...bright all the time.

"Well, I guess we should get presents started, then," Lilith said.

…

Bay

…

She loved the shirt.

She wouldn't admit it, but she loved the shirt. It smelled like him – an odd combination of rain and vanilla. She loved the smell. The shirt.

She loved him.

She wasn't sure they were dating yet. She wouldn't even call what they were dating. It was beyond that. They had been through too much together to just be simply "dating". They were something, though. She knew that.

Bay didn't bother knocking. Hal never knocked (making for some...moments), so she never did, either. (Which made more moments.) Hal was asleep, his dark hair sticking up more than usual and drooling. She smiled.

Now. How to wake him up. Hal was notorious for staying up way too late and sleeping in way too late, and would practically murder anyone who woke him up what he deemed too early. Except for Bay. He wouldn't dare do anything to Bay, and she used that to her advantage, much to his annoyance.

She jumped on the bed, landing on her side next to him. He grunted in response, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at the wall. It came nowhere near her. "What?" he mumbled.

She wrapped her arms around him as best as she could. "Get up. It's Christmas."

"Sleep."

Bay kissed him on the cheek. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

He groaned, rolling around to face her. "At least you're not the worst thing to wake up to," he said, smirking.

"Of course I'm not. Now get up, the others are pretty pissed."

Hal pulled the comforter over his head.

"Do I have to drag you out?"

"Mmph."

"English, please."

He threw the blankets off. "No."

Bay smirked. "That's what I thought." She pushed him gently. Or she tried to. Hal fell off the bed.

"Ouch."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. Sorry not sorry.

She swung her legs over the bed. "Better get up."

Hal said something muffled by the floor in response. She shook her head, smiling, and took his hand, dragging him across the hardwood floor.

"HEY!" he protested, picking himself up. "God. You didn't have to do that."

She smiled coyly. "Get a shirt on."

"You know you like-"

"Lilith and Ben are in the room. They definitely don't need to see you shirtless."

"True, true. You know..." Hal smirked. "I could always just take the one you borrowed."

Bay was about to say that was fine before she realized the shirt in question was the one she was wearing. Blushing furiously, she said, "Shut up."

Hal tugged on a Aerosmith t-shirt, nudging her playfully. "You do realize we're dating, right?"

"Well, I don't really see it as dating, so to say..." She paused. "It's more than that."

Hal shrugged. "Whatever you want."

Yawning, he walked out, Bay following him.

…

Lilith

…

She was so glad when the she-demon left.

Lilith realized that she herself could be called a she-demon, but honestly, Cat was more of one than she was. Something about Cat unnerved her, and it wasn't just the fact that Ben liked her.

Ben was an angel to her. His looks, his personality, everything about him was simply perfect. Then there was her. Ugly and ostracized.

Well, not exactly ostracized. The others were nice to her, but she got the feeling they were a little bit scared of her. And she was scared of herself, too. She didn't blame them, but that didn't mean she liked it.

She watched Stephanie and Shawn making (trying to make) the cinnamon buns for breakfast, which somehow ended up Stephanie hitting Shawn with a cookie sheet.

Ben was now on his phone. Lilith worked up the nerve to sit next to him.

He's nice. He won't freak out. I hope. Maybe. Okay, I don't know. But just do it.

Taking a deep breath, she sat down about a foot away from him. Close enough to be near him, but not invading his personal space. She could see that Ben was texting someone.

"Who're you texting?" she asked.

"Cat."

Ugh. Figures. "What's your deal with her? Are you dating?"

"It's not your life. Leave me alone."

Blinking, she stood up. That was uncharacteristically Ben. Did he just not like her that much?

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and told herself to stop being a baby. It was just a person. Who happened to say something that she didn't take as nice. She was being a child.

Stephanie dropped the cookie sheet, as Shawn audibly sighed in relief. "Guys – Francesca just asked if she could bring her family over here because there was some sort of falling out between her parents? I think they're close to divorce...she wants to bring her mom's side over. Which includes her, her boyfriend, her mom, her sister, brother, brother-in-law, her grandmother, and her niece and nephew. They're fourteen and thirteen. Think we can do it?"

Lilith glanced at Ben, who was shaking his head no. Anything to tick him off. "Of course!" she said. "It's Christmas. Do something charitable."

Stephanie hesitated when she saw Ben, but nodded yes. "You're right, Lilith. It's Christmas."

Lilith grinned when she saw Ben's head fall back onto the couch. She decided she was going to try to hate Ben now. Drown the feelings of affection with anger.

…

Ben

…

His phone buzzed. He flipped it over, and it was Cat. Smiling, he looked at what she sent.

His smile turned into a frown when he saw what it was. It was a picture of her – she had changed into a red tank top that accentuated her prettiness, and leggings that showed off her flawless legs. Her hair was in a braid, and somehow she managed to look more stunning than usual.

But what really caught his attention was the boy next to her.

He had dark brown hair styled into a quiff and plastic, thick-framed black glasses and picturesque blue eyes. He was wearing a green t-shirt and red skinny jeans, holding a red Starbucks cup. Basically better looking than Ben would ever be.

Me and bae at Starbucks! Wish you were here! was her text. Another one popped up. The boy had his arm around Cat, and Cat was leaning into him. Spencer is so cute, aren't you jealous? He frowned. That wasn't like Cat, but she was right. He WAS jealous. Incredibly jealous. OMG SO SORRY. That was meant for Beck!

Well, that explained it. He knew the texts would come up as read, but he didn't care. He didn't respond, instead staring at the boy – Spencer – and Cat. Ugh.

Someone sat next to him. It was Lilith. Lilith was okay. Kind of dark, to be honest, but she wasn't that bad. "Who're you texting?" she asked.

"Cat." And apparently her boyfriend.

"What's your deal with her? Are you dating?" God, he wished. But nope, Spencer the boyfriend took his place. And Maya said she liked him.

"It's not your life. Leave me alone." He wished he could take the words back as soon as he said them, but he couldn't, obviously. In his defense, though, she was being kind of rude by outright asking that. In his opinion. Did she just want to rub it in his face?

She left, and he considered apologizing. He didn't. Screw her. Screw Cat and her stupid boyfriend Spencer. Screw everything.

"Guys-" Stephanie said, "Francesca just asked if she could bring her family over here because there was some sort of falling out between her parents? I think they're close to divorce...she wants to bring her mom's side over. Which includes her, her boyfriend, her mom, her sister, brother, brother-in-law, her grandmother, and her niece and nephew. They're fourteen and thirteen. Think we can do it?"

Ben did not want to be around people. With his luck, Spencer would turn out to be Francesca's nephew. He shook his head no.

"Of course!" Lilith said. He squeezed his eyes shut. He really didn't want to be rude to Lilith, given that he already had, but honestly he was wishing for her to just go away right now. "It's Christmas. Do something charitable."

Stephanie looked at him, then Lilith. "You're right, Lilith. It's Christmas."

Ben cried internally. He was mourning the fact that his longtime crush did in fact not like him back. Which was serious and painful. He didn't want more people. He wanted Cat. And now he would never get Cat.

Hal stumbled into the room. "What the..." he said, eyeing the lights, the tree, everything. He sank down on the couch. "Hey Benji," he said. Apparently everyone called him Benji now. "Where's Cat?"

"At Starbucks with her boyfriend," he replied, making no attempt to hide the bitterness he knew was in his voice.

Hal winced. "Ouch. That's gotta hurt."

Ben glared at him. "It does."

Hal raised his hands in surrender. "Geez, okay. But there are other people out there, you know?"

Ben shrugged halfheartedly.

Bay came in a few moments after Hal, and they all decided to open presents then. Ben got an Imagine Dragons t-shirt from Hal, a framed picture of all of them – Hal, Bay, Lilith, Maya, Stephanie, and Shawn – from Stephanie, a set of throwing knives from Shawn (because THAT was a normal present), comic books from Bay and Maya (Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy), and a stuffed Tribble from Lilith. When he opened it, he looked at her incredulously. "You watch Star Trek?"

"A little bit," she said, her face flushing. "The Trouble With Tribbles is my favorite episode."

"Favorite movie?" he asked.

"The Wrath of Khan."

He nodded. "I respect that."

She smiled. Maybe Lilith wasn't that bad after all.

After presents, they all sort of dissipated to do whatever it was the others did in their spare time.

He changed, as did everyone else, and passed the time reading comic books on the sectional, from his stash in his room and from presents. He remembered when Cat had come with him one time to the comic book store. She had been freaked out by the stereotypically nerdy owners. He had overlooked it at the time. Now he was wondering if Cat was really as good as she seemed.

They were different, sure, but they got along. But would he be better off with someone more similar? Or at least someone who liked comic books as much as him?

He was jolted out of his thoughts when the doorbell rang.

Lilith opened it, and was immediately consumed by the Agnola family. Well, half of it.

Francesca beamed at them, hugging everyone in the room individually, including Ben. She smelled like flowers.

"I'm so, so sorry for doing this so suddenly, but once Dad started throwing things..." Francesca trailed off.

Her grandmother was in a wheelchair, and was being wheeled by Francesca's sister, Ben assumed. Her brother-in-law followed, then the niece and nephew. Francesca's boyfriend came in after them.

Francesca's niece was...well, she was cute. Her strawberry blonde hair was braided, and she had thin black plastic framed glasses on. She was wearing a tight white Hollister shirt and equally tight leggings.

Francesca's nephew had hair like Spencer's, much to Ben's disgust. He had amber eyes, though, and was wearing a black vintage ACDC shirt Hal would be proud of, and khakis.

"This is Amanda," she said, introducing her sister, "James," – her brother-in-law – "Holly," the girl, "Liam," her boyfriend, "and Isaac," the boy.

It then preceded somewhat awkwardly from there, the Agnolas had already exchanged presents, they just needed a place to eat Christmas dinner and get away from the violent part of Francesca's family.

Ben noticed Holly eyeing the stack of comics. It wouldn't hurt to just go up and talk to her like a normal person, right? Right? "Do you like comics?" Smooth. Real smooth.

She blinked. "Um. Yeah. I'm into the ones that are less mainstream, like New Warriors and Peter Quill's singular series, but I love some good old fashioned Avengers and Guardians."

"Be careful with her," Isaac said from behind me. "She'll go full out nerd."

Holly's face flushed. "Shut. Up."

"No can do. Not shutting up is one of my very attractive qualities," he said, walking away.

"That's what all my friends say," Ben said to her.

"Yeah. My friends too. And my little brother. And anyone in my family. I mean, I guess I kind of am a nerd, though, socially awkward, I read fanfiction, and I get called a hipster. Not to mention I go to the local comic book store," she said, her face still red.

"Seriously? I took my friend there once and she was just freaked out by all the geeks," Ben said, laughing a little.

"Well, I am one of those geeks."

"Me too," Ben said. He noticed his smile was back.

…

Lilith

…

Ben was having a conversation with Francesca's niece. Holly. She didn't like her already. Lilth was just as much of a geek as Ben was. More than Holly. She had to admit, Francesca's nephew, Isaac, was cute. And he made fun of his sister. She liked him.

She was sitting on the breakfast bar stool watching everyone talk and laugh and generally have a good time. Usually Maya would be next to her, but even Maya was out there talking with Stephanie, Shawn, and Francesca.

She saw someone sit next to her. Isaac. "What're you doing here?" she asked. It might have been rude, but she wasn't in the mood to talk.

"I'm sitting here. Is it illegal or something?"

Lilith shrugged. "Your sister gets along well with Ben."

Isaac nodded. "They look like they're married already."

Holly and Ben were poring over an old comic book, having a heated debate on whether Aquaman was an actual superhero or not.

"He's just some dude with the power to talk to underwater animals! That's not being a superhero! Since when has he ever saved anyone?" Ben argued.

"He saves underwater animals! He helps the environment!" Holly shot back.

Lilith and Isaac watched them. "Siblings suck," he said.

"I don't have any siblings."

Isaac blinked. "You mean he's not your brother?"

Lilith snorted. "Hardly. For the longest time I had a crush on him."

"Do you still now?"

Lilith thought. "Well, not really. It's pretty clear he's not interested. I guess I'll just have to get over him."

Her eyes met Isaac's startling amber ones. She liked them. They were pretty.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"What kind of question is that?"

"A reasonable one."

"You never ask girls their age."

"Why?"

Lilith paused. "I don't know, I guess it's just kind of insulting? Like you could say, wow, I thought you were fifty even though you're actually forty! Stuff like that."

"That's stupid. It's an honest question."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm thirteen."

"How old is he?" he asked, nodding at Ben.

"Fourteen."

"Well, there's part of your problem. Age differences are hard."

"It's only one year!"

"Some people see that as a problem. Maybe he does."

Lilith shrugged again. "Maybe. But people are kind of freaked out by me. I think that's my main problem."

"Why are they freaked out by you?"

"I guess I can come off as rude. Cold. Harsh. Which I sometimes am, I guess, but I'm not evil. And there's this." She slid her hand through the chair.

Isaac's eyes widened. "What the-"

She held a finger to her lips. "Shh. And there's more where that came from."

"Do people know...?"

"Yeah. Maya, Stephanie, Shawn, Hal, Bay, and Ben. I can also disappear at will, which is kind of freaky. Actually, everything about me is kind of freaky."

"I can't blame them. It's kinda disconcerting."

"It is. But I didn't ask for them."

Isaac shrugged. "You don't seem like a bad person to me. If they don't like you, it's their problem, not yours. Not everyone is going to love you, and you just have to live with that."

"I know. And I get that. But it's just, like, it wouldn't hurt to have one person like me, to not be freaked out by me for once, and just laugh at everyone else with me. That would be nice." Lilith wasn't sure what possessed her to tell all of her thoughts to Isaac, but she did anyway.

"I can do that." He smiled at her, his pretty amber eyes shining. Lilith smiled back.

…

Maya

…

Bay and Hal. Stephanie and Shawn. (They couldn't deny the fact that they were practically dating by now.) Ben and Holly. Lilith and Isaac. Francesca and Liam. Francesca's sister and brother-in-law. Francesca's mother and her grandmother. It made the matchmaker in Maya happy to see that everyone in the room had someone.

Well, except for her. But she was willing to overlook that tiny fact and be happy for the others.

Francesca looked at her phone, and frowned. "Amanda? Shouldn't Teddy be here by now?"

"Who's Teddy?" Maya asked, sipping her latte that Ben and Holly had gotten when they went to Starbucks to get food and drinks.

"My brother. He said he was coming, but he got stuck in traffic. But even New York City traffic doesn't take this long."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Maya went to open it. The man standing in front of her had dark hair, a smile like Ben's, and was wearing a tan overcoat and a charcoal shirt underneath, and skinny jeans. He looked about twenty one, and was handsome, if Maya was being honest.

"Hey, Maya?" She turned to the voice. It was Isaac. "Look what's above your head."

She did, and she saw just what she feared. Mistletoe. "Where'd you-"

"Lilith went through your pockets."

She glared at Lilith, who just smiled knowingly at her.

Teddy grinned at her. "If I have to kiss a pretty girl than this won't be the worst Christmas I've ever had."

Maya blushed, and they kissed, as the room cheered.

Outside snow fell and lights glittered.

*wipes tear from eye* That was beautiful. And took me forever to write.

Cast list:

Holly: I based her off of me, but if you want a face claim, then Clare Foley -ish.

Isaac: David Mazouz with amber eyes.

Francesca: Peyton List

Teddy: Dylan O'Brian

Happy Holidays!

Favorite part/person/line?