Chapter 9: The Legend of the Mistletoe

Steph's POV

Angel gave me a present when we were little kids. She gave me a wristband that said friendship on it. She had one too, we both promised we would wear it every single day. Ever since, Abby came along, she stopped wearing it for some apparent reason. Here I am now, just woke up from my sleep and staring at it. This wristband hand bring me so many memories. I sighed as I got ready for school and put on my wristband. I headed out the door and went over to Angel's house. I rang the doorbell, hoping Angel would answer it. My wish was granted, the door open and Angel was there smiling at me.

"Good morning Steph, you're here early." she said. She looked happier than yesterday, but she was still not wearing her wristband. She got dressed and came downstairs as she called out to her mom that she will be walking to school. She dressed warmly and the main color was bright green. She had a cute green snow cap with a bunny and a heart on it. She had a black scarf, and a green snow coat. She also wore black jeans and black boots.

"You look nice today Angel" I said as I smiled at her. I realized I haven't said that to her ever since 9th grade. Such friend I am, I thought as I mentally rolled my eyes. She was looking at me with her mouth open, and her cheeks turned pink which made her even cuter. She quickly looked away, trying to hide her blush. It's been a long time we had this moment.

"We should stop this, are else we're going to be late for school." She quickly said as she started walking. I bet she was only using that excuse to prevent her from blushing even more. When we got there, Tori and Jeff greeted us.

"Hey Steph! Heads up!" Jeff said as he threw a snowball that traveled quickly. Luckily, I dodged it, but the bad news is, it hit Angel.

"Hey!" She cried as she looked at me with anger. "I thought you were supposed to protect me."

"I'm sorry, I'll buy you lunch today, I promise." I pleaded, hoping she won't slap me. She seemed convinced.

"Okay, okay, but I need to give you something." Angel said as she began to touch the snow from the ground.

"Sure. What is it?" I ask. Next thing you know, a snowball came straight to my face. I wiped the snowball from my face, and all of us started cracking up. I cracked up a little bit too, just then, Abby came.

"Hey guys, I hope I'm not late." Abby said but then the bell rang and everyone went to their first class. Class went well, but school again, sucked. When lunch came, we're at library again. Abby again, got really close to me. I could feel Angel getting quiet, I really wanted to talk to her, but it might make things awkward. Then Angel spoke up.

"My mom wanted to invite all you guys to a Christmas party. Interested in coming?" Angel asked.

"Of course, Jeff and I will come." Tori said as she elbowed Jeff. He didn't say anything except nodding at Angel.

"I will come too." Abby replied happily. When Abby spoke up, Angel lost her pride for a second and then looked at her with a fake smile. That fake smile literally broke my heart, I don't know why, it just broke. As class began again, I couldn't concentrate on the lectures, I was flashing back when Angel gave Abby a fake smile. Could it be possible that Angel hates her? Nah, there's no way. I couldn't wait till class ended, I was literally staring at the clock and waiting for the bell to ring. Then, 30 min later, the bell finally rang. Angel and I walked home as usual, and she told me that the party starts at 7 pm, so I have a lot of time.

4 hours later…

Eventually, I was the first one to be there. Even Angel laughed about it.

"You are certainly early, as usual." Angel said as she giggled.

"Of course, sometimes, I get really excited to see you." I said as her cheeks start to turn pink. She quickly looked away.

"Um, so come in." she said nervously. So I went in, and noticed a Christmas tree in a corner. I realized there was a present under the tree, so I decided to put the presents under the tree too. I went over to the kitchen with Angel, and she sat there alone, staring blankly. I touched Angel's shoulder to see if she was alright, and then she jumped little.

"Are you alright?" I asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said as the doorbell rang. "I got it." She stood up and went to open the door. Then, a minute later, Tori, Jeff, and Abby came in the kitchen.

"Hi Steph." Abby said in a smile as she began to sit next to me.

"Do you guys want to eat something?" Angel asked.

"Nah, let's play something first." Tori exclaimed, but I noticed she was smiling suspiciously at Angel and me.

"Okay then, what should we play?" Angel asked.

"Want to go outside?" I suggested as everyone nodded. Then, we all rushed outside on the snow. The snow was certainly cold, but all of us are wearing warm clothes so it shouldn't be a problem. Then a snowball flew past me and went straight towards Tori.

"Hey!" Tori yelled as she began to make a snowball.

"Sorry, I was aiming at Steph" he said as he began to back away. A snowball flew past me again, and went straight towards Jeff, but luckily, he dodged it perfectly.

"Hah, that was more of a pass than a throw." Jeff taunted as Tori began to chase him. I watched the two go until a snowball hit me on the side. I could hear Angel giggling. Then, we started a snowball war. We didn't care if it looked awkward or that people were staring at us. What matters, is that we all had fun. After we were done playing, we decided to head inside. We had dinner for a while. Most of us were laughing and talking while eating dinner. I felt like they were my family. Then we open the presents. I got one from Angel, it was a book I always wanted to read. She also gave me a black hoodie with a Nike swoosh in the middle of it. I absolutely love it. I also got one from Abby, eventually, it was a new basketball, but at least it's the thought that counts. I had a present from everybody. I gave Angel a mini fluffy teddy bear, which she was hugging it for 10 minutes. I gave Tori a pack of new hair ribbons, and gave Jeff a video game, NBA2k14. I absolutely love that game, but sadly I had to give it up to him, since he loved basketball like me and plus, it's Christmas. I gave Abby new boots, which she can't wait to try on. Tori got her present from Jeff, and Jeff got his from hers but I couldn't tell what they got because they were hiding it. We then went to the living room to hang out for a while, until Tori called us.

"Hey Angel, Steph! Look up!" Tori said as she smiled wickedly. We both look up to see a mistletoe on the ceiling.

Angel's POV

What is a mistletoe doing up there? Then I saw Steph look at me with widen eyes, and I was confused why he looked at me like that.

"What?" I asked

"You don't know the legend of the mistletoe?" Tori asked me as if she wanted to laugh at me. "Basically when two people of a different gender who stands under a mistletoe have to kiss." Tori grin widen. What?! Did Tori set this up?! I look at Steph who was still shocked.

"Come on! You two have to kiss now!" Tori yelled as she was eager to see us kiss. Then Abby started to open her mouth.

"Do they have to kiss?" Abby asked quietly. Tori nodded.

"Yes, once they are under a mistletoe, they can't get out of it until they kiss." Tori said. Then Steph rubbed the back of his head.

"Can I just kiss her on the cheeks or something?" Steph asked. Thank God he asked that, because kissing right in front of my friends is embarrassing. But then Tori thought about Steph's request. Please say yes. Then Jeff grabbed Tori's shoulder.

"Well, the legend never said anything about how they should kiss, so I guess that's fine." Jeff said in a frown. Tori thought about it even more, and then finally she came up with an answer

"Alright, alright, but it won't be good as kissing on the lips." Tori said disappointed. So Steph turned to me and he leaned in close to my cheeks. My face was starting to heat up, wow Angel, calm down it's just a kiss on the cheeks. Then, someone pushed me from behind and then I toppled over Steph. Next thing you know, we were both on the floor, but I was on top of him. But that wasen't the only thing that was awkward, I felt someone's lip touching mine. I immediately open my eyes to see Steph's lip and mine touched. I stared at Steph in shocked as my face heated up so much. I quickly got up and helped Steph up, then came cheering from everyone. I. can't. Believe. That. Happened. He kissed me, but it was too fast for a kiss. I guess that was a kiss Steph wanted to give me back at the beach. Steph climbed up to get the mistletoe down, and he smiled at me. I blushed and looked away.

"Look, I'm sorry for toppling over you and accidentally kissed you. Someone pushed me from behind and-"

"It's alright." Steph interrupted as he brushed the top of my head. "I just wished we were like that a bit longer." He looked down sadly. Did he really mean it, or was he joking? I guess Tori was right, I really do have a rush on him. Steph, because of you, and because we kissed, you have changed my life. Thank You, Steph.