A/N: Hey, guys! Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! I'm pretty sure I managed to review reply all of you that have accounts, but I wanted to take a second and thank all of the anonymous reviewers. :) Especially to Tommysgrl4evr because that was a crazy long-awesome review that she left and I would feel bad going without showing that I'm thankful for that. So THANK YOUUUU!

Disclaimer: I own Shay, Ty, and Lizzy. And my plot. And my words. Song will be credited at the end of the chapter so as to not spoil things. ;)

Note2: I'm listening to "Change" by The Turning. CHECK THEM OUT. They're an awesome band, and the guys in there are the most awesome, hilarious, great guys ever. (They were at my church camp, and split up into our teams...got to hang out with them all week. They were the coolest guys ever. Especially Jeremy. Go Green Team! Woot!)

Chapter Ten
"In Which the Gift Keeps Giving"

Oh, Christmas, how I love you so.

Well, right now it is quite early in the morning on Christmas day. I'm lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and smiling. Christmas was my favorite holiday ever. It always seemed to bring people together in the strangest ways.

Tommy, Kwest, and Ty had come over last night just in time for dinner—home-cooked! …Well, fine, home-cooked in a factory, but still, I put it in the microwave! That counts for something, right? They had just crashed over here, with Tommy on the couch, Kwest in the recliner, and Ty in the bunk above Shay's. The six of us were definitely off to a good start for Christmas.

Now I just couldn't wait for them all to wake up.

Give me anxiety.

Flash.

My eighteenth Christmas was cold. That's a big part of what I remember. I had no family to go home to, as I'd been kicked out. I barely had food, even with working nearly fifty hours per week to try and support myself.

It was mostly cold, though. Snow was falling outside, which meant rain was falling into my one-room apartment. Through tiny holes in the ceiling, water drizzled down, just barely missing my pre-calc notes. (That would have been a tragedy—I had been studying all break for the exams coming up. If I failed, I was screwed. Majorly.)

Give me poor.

Flash.

Give me desperate.

Flash.

Give me lonely.

Flash.

The heater was dead again. My oh-so-nice landlord, Liam, had told me in his stuffy accent that this is the reason blankets were invented, Miss Harrison. All that did was remind me just how much I hated him. What a jerk. I mean, c'mon, it's Christmas.

Shivering under my blankets, I didn't think that I could ever have a chance at a god Christmas this year.

"Hey, girl, you up?" Tommy's voice called softly through our door.

I jumped up, escaping Death By Tangled Blankets by mere seconds, and padded to the door. "Depends," I said with the side of my face pressed against the white wood. "Are you going to wake the whole house up?"

He was smirking. I knew he was, even though I couldn't see him. "…Maybe."

As I opened the door, I was smirking as well. "Then yes, Quincy, I'm up."

"Good." He kissed me softly, the smirk still playing on his lips. "So, what's the easiest way to wake them all up?"

A devilish smile worked its way across my face. "C'mon, let's start with Lizzy."

Lizzy's room, if I have not gone into this before, is just like Lizzy herself—a place of so many bright colors that your first thought is, "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore…"

Lizzy herself was sprawled across her bed, tangled in her bright pink sheets. She had one of those little eyes masks on. It was electric blue and read, "Beauty Sleeping" in little pink rhinestones.

The best way to wake Lizzy was to simply yank the blankets and send her sprawling. (Slightly mean, but very effective.)

"Your turn to watch," I whispered to Tommy, who waggled his eyebrows suggestively. I hit him playfully. "Perv."

"Go ahead, Miss Harrison," he laughed. "Work your bad girl magic."

I grabbed the edge of Lizzy's comforter and gave it a yank. Lizzy tumbled down with the blanket. She let out a pathetic whimper and moaned, "Juuuude!"

She sat up, pushing up her sleeping mask with the base of her palm, and looked at me sleepily. Her pink tank top was exposed from the blankets now. It said Hot Stuff.

Give me ironic.

Flash.

"Merry Christmas, Lizzy," I said innocently. She yawned widely in response. I caught sight of her alarm clock—it was only like six-thirty. Oops. No wonder she's tired.

She held out her hands and looked at me blankly. I stepped forward, grabbed her hands, and pulled her to her feet. She promptly fell over, having gotten tripped by the blankets, and we both fell backwards. Tommy caught the both of us.

"My knight in shining armor!" I laughed as the three of us righted ourselves.

"Is Shayla up yet?" Lizzy asked, not quite as sleepy now.

"Nope." I smiled. "We're saving him for last."

The intercom by my door buzzed, showing that someone downstairs wanted in. I trudged over to the crappy intercom, dragging my blankets behind me. I pressed down the talk button and glumly said, "Hello?"

"Jude! It's Wally and Kyle! Buzz us in!" It was Wally's voice that cut through the static.

I smiled, deeply touched by the fact that they'd left their families on Christmas to come here. "I'll do that," I said into the intercom. I then hit the button that would open the gate downstairs.

Two minutes later, there was a knock on my door.

Soon, Kwest and Ty had been awakened by our lovely Christmas cheer. The five of us were now gathered around Shay's bed, staring at the sleeping boy.

"So, he's a heavy sleeper, huh?" Kwest's words came out as more of a statement than a question.

"Yep," Lizzy answered.

"He's the only one that can ever wake him up," I inserted.

"Sit on him," Tommy suggested.

Cue scoffs from Lizzy and I. "That would just cut off his air supply," I informed Tommy.

"We've tried," Lizzy added.

"Yank him off the bed," Kwest offered.

"We've tried," I said.

"Didn't work," Lizzy finished.

Tommy and Kwest fell silent and thought for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, Tommy looked to Kwest and said, "You grab his legs, I've got his shoulders."

"What!" Ty protested to them, stopping when Tommy and Kwest picked up the still sleeping Shay and began walking toward the door.

"Guys…" I trailed off, following. "Don't you dare…"

Somehow Kwest managed to open the front door, letting in a burst of cold air. Snow covered the ground with at least seven inches of cold.

"Tom!" Ty growled. "Kwest! Don't—"

The two older guys threw Shay into a snowdrift. Lizzy burst out laughing. Ty stumbled—barefoot—through the snow to get over to Shay. I whapped Tommy upside the head. "That was mean!"

Shay was now sitting upright in the snow, shivering in his thin t-shirt. White clumps of snow were sprinkled throughout his black hair. His face was already tinted with pink from the frigid air. Ty tripped, and tumbled to a halt beside him.

Shay looked at him blankly for a few seconds. Ty looked back, just as expressionless. Ty suddenly flung himself at Shay, and both of them disappeared into the snow drifts again.

"Keep it G!" Lizzy called, giggling.

Give me cute.

Flash.

"Come on, let's go do presents," Ty finally said, popping back up. He seemed rather excited. I wanted to know what he was planning.

"Y-yeah!" Shay burst, stuttering from the low temperature he'd (literally) been thrown into. Ty pulled Shay to his feet, and we all went back inside.

Shay shook the snow from his hair, intentionally getting Tommy and Kwest wet, and then went back to our room to get changed. Ty followed, as his clothes were in there, too.

Tommy realized that I was shivering and grabbed his jacket form the couch. He hung it over my shoulders. It was heavy and warm. It smelled like him. Just for the record, Tommy was obsessive about his jacket. Ty and Kwest did not go anywhere near it, because they knew how much Tommy loved it…and how much he would hurt them if something happened to it. So, uh, yeah, this was a big deal in many ways.

"Merry Christmas," he said, nuzzling my neck.

"Merry Christmas," I replied, smiling.

I opened the door to see Wally and Kyle standing there with big smiles on their faces. I flung myself at them, happy to see anyone that actually cared about me.

"Good to see you, too, Blondie," Kyle laughed.

"I can't believe you guys came."

"Like we were going to let you spend Christmas alone," Wally scoffed. "C'mon, let's go—we're gonna have fun."

Without asking for details, I grinned and grabbed my shoes.

Give me adventure.

Flash.

Ten minutes later, we were all sitting cross-legged around our little Christmas tree, the fire crackling happily in the fireplace. (We'd never been able to figure out the fireplace—thank God for Tommy!)

Shay and Ty were both dried off now, though it was easy to see that their hair was still damp. Both were sneezing every few minutes. They were gonna be sick for a while.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" Lizzy asked, clapping her hands. "No! Wait, I want to!"

A ripple of laughter went through the room—that was so typical Lizzy. She grabbed a brightly colored gift bag from beneath the tree and held it out to me with a grin. I took it from her and immediately looked for the card. "Merry Christmas, Juderific!" I read aloud. "Now you don't have a 'no make-up' excuse. Bring on the make-overs, chicky!"

This brought a fresh round of laughs. I opened the bag and pulled out a small case that contained brightly colored eye shadows and eyeliners. Also in the gift bag was a dark blue camera bag—something I'd been in desperate need of since my original bag had torn. "Aww, Liz!" I burst. "Thank you!"

"Ha, I thought you'd like it," she giggled. Her expression turned serious. "But I mean it about the make-over, Jude Harrison!"

"I know, I know…"

Give me fear for the retinas' of the world's population.

Flash.

"SHAYLA! Your turn!" She thrust a bag at Shay, who began to reach for it and then sneezed so hard that he fell over backwards. I smacked Tommy on the arm. "You made him sick," I scolded. "Want some tissues, Shay?"

He shook his head, sitting back up and taking his gift from Lizzy. He, like I had, reached for the card first. He read it to himself, mouthing the words. A blush accompanied a smile on his face. "Liz-eh," he laughed, shaking his head at her. "You have a sick mind, girlie."

Lizzy beamed like this was something to take pride in.

Shay pulled out a journal, black bound with a silver title of "Journal". (Highly original, yes?) He met eyes with Lizzy again and blushed deeper, now as red as a tomato. He then shot me a look that read, "I'll tell you later." I nodded, and he pulled another book out of the bag—a brand new copy of Invisible Monsters.

(Shay's copy was so dog-eared and read that it was hard to tell what book it was—he read it at least once a week.)

Shay thanked Lizzy with a hug, his blush finally fading. He offered to go next.

I never knew that the mall was open on Christmas. I think that may actually be more than a tad sacrilegious, but whatever.

Here I was with Wally and Kyle, wrecking havoc minor enough to keep the few security guard's attention elsewhere.

"Hey…" Wally said slowly as we walked near the center of the mall. "You know what we should do?"

"What?" I giggled.

Give me cheer.

Flash.

"Go get our pictures taken with Santa." A grin was spreading across his face.

"You mean the guy over there that's probably an ex-con that couldn't get a job at the circus?" I teased.

Wally looked at me with wide eyes. "Do not defile the sacred image of Santa!"

Sometimes I really wondered what this kid was smoking and why he hadn't offered me some. "Okay, okay, let's go get a picture with Santa…"

Shay got Lizzy the special-edition DVD set for the first season of Alias, her favorite show. (Until it got axed back in '06, of course.) There had been much squealing and hugging after this.

Now, I was opening the card Shay had gotten me. "Jude-girl," it read. "You're the best friend I've ever had, and I love you to death for it. Here's to us having the best Christmas ever. I hope you like this. Love, Shay."

"Five bucks says they bought each other the same thing," Ty bargained teasingly. Everyone agreed to this but Shay and I.

"Please, we are way more creative than that," Shay argued back.

I handed him his gift. "Both of us at the same time, mmkay? Let's prove 'em wrong."

He nodded, grinning. We both looked into our bags, and then burst out laughing.

In my bag was the Chevelle CD Vena Sera, and the same pair of jeans I'd bought for Shay, but in a darker wash.

"See?" Ty burst. "They're mind twins!"

"Eh, mind twins are awesome," I laughed. "Don't hate."

"Psh," was his answer.

"Thanks," Shay and I said to each other in unison. Ty laughed again. Shay pulled an envelope from beneath the tree and handed it to him.

Ty opened it, looked inside, and then burst into a huge, excited grin. "Holy sht, you are amazing, Shay!" He proudly held up two tickets for the next After-Dark Horror Fest. (Shay had seen them at the Hot Topic at the mall and knew that they would be great for horror-freak Ty.) He hugged Shay, still beaming, and thanked him.

"Okay, okay, I want to go next," Ty said after a moment. Lizzy handed him the little box that read, "To Shay, From Ty".

Inside the box was a small silver band on a chain. Ty began to explain. "I know that we haven't known each other too long, but I really love you, Shay. And this…it's a promise that I'll always be here, and that someday maybe we could be…even more than we are now."

To say that Shay tackled him would be a bit of an understatement.

Give me real.

Flash.

"Aren't you kids a little old for this?" the bored-looking woman in an elf-suit asked us.

Wally turned his Innocent, Really! eyes on her and said, "Old for what?"

"Ma'am, my cousin's a little bit on the retarded side," I said after covering Wally's ears with my hands. "The doctor says it's best to just let him believe what he wants."

The woman looked from me to Wally's wide eyes, and then waved us into the miniature Santa's Village. I sat down on the Poser-Santa's lap, as had already been agreed.

"Little girl, what would you like for Christmas?" the Poser asked.

"For you to get your hand off my (arse), please and thank you," I said, smiling toward the camera. Kyle stifled his laugh.

"Smile," the elf-woman said in the same dead tone.

Flash.

Kwest, Ty, and Tommy exchanged gifts among themselves and before long, only Tommy and I were left.

"You first," he insisted. "Mine's going to take a while."

Shay and Lizzy giggle/snorted at this. Pervs.

"Okay," I said, pulling my small gift bag from beneath the tree and handing it to him. He read the card and then pulled out the first part of my gift to him—a pack of guitar strings. Mostly because, well, that's what he's always coming into Morgan's to buy. (Excuses, excuses…)

Tommy smirked. "You are one-of-a-kind, Harrison." He then pulled out the other half of his gift—a talking picture frame with a picture of the two of us in it. He hit the play button and a slightly staticky version of my voice filled the room. "Hey Tommy. It's Jude. I just wanted to say I love you! Merry Christmas!"

Tommy leaned over and kissed me. "One-of-a-kind," he repeated. "All right…my turn." He looked to Shay, who stood up and grabbed his acoustic guitar from its stand on the other side of the room. He handed it to Tommy, who thanked him. "This is for you, girl," Tommy told me.

A song? Oh, my God, he is too amazing.

He started to play, and after a few bars, began softly singing. "When I see you smile, tears roll down my face. I can't replace… And now that I'm stronger, I've figured out how this world turns cold and breaks through my soul, and I know I'll find deep inside me, I can be the one… I will never let you fall. I'll stand up with you forever. I'll be there for you through it all. Even if saving you sends me to heaven. It's okay, it's okay…"

My vision was blurring with tears.

Give me beautiful.

Flash.

"Seasons are changing and waves are crashing, and stars are falling all for us. Days grow longer and nights grow shorter. I can show you I'll be the one…"

As he went into the chorus again, tears were falling. This—this was the best gift I'd ever been given.

"Cuz you're my, you're my, my true love, my whole heart. Please don't throw that away! Cuz I'm here for you. Please don't walk away. Please tell me you'll stay, stay. Use me as you will, pull my strings just for a thrill! And I know I'll be okay, though my skies are turning grey, grey! I will never let you fall! I'll stand up with you forever! I'll be there for you through it all! Even if saving you sends me to heaven…"

His voice trailed off as the last chord rang out. The second he moved the guitar, I fell into his arms. He rubbed a hand up and down my back as I squeezed him tighter than ever, my tears wetting his shirt.

Give me love.

Flash.

Give me adoration.

Flash.

Give me everything I've ever wanted and more.

Flash.

A/N: The song is "Your Guardian Angel" by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. And, for the record, if some guy performed that just for me, I would be bawling. So, anyway, hope y'all liked this! Please review, whether you liked it or not. Like I said last chapter, I really would like to see what I'm doing well and not so well. I love honest people? Haha, so, yeah. Until next time...