Disclaimer: Sometimes I forget, but, yep, I don't own anything.

A/N: If you haven't read my other stories, specifically Life, Love and Denim and We Fall Between, you might be a little lost. Well, all you really need to know is that Kaylie has another older brother, Alexander "AJ" Cruz Jr. And if you do read #LLF and #WeFaB, this is another alt universe where the girls are gymnasts, but AJ is apart of their world. Enjoy!

Summary: It might not have been the best Almost Christmas Moment, but Lauren loves that she can see the potential. Lauren/AJ (OC), mentions of early Kaylie/Carter

-BB-

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime

10

So, Lauren kind of has a thing with Kaylie's older brother. Not even Leo, the hot, smart one with an actual future, but the middle child, AJ, the black sheep with a future that leads straight to baby mammas and running from the police, but always designer outfits and a strangely alluring air of danger. AJ is a little older than she is and also completely off-limits, but that's half the fun.

"Why won't you let me drive your car?" Lauren questions. She's sitting in the front seat, trying to figure out how to turn up the heater because it's freezing. Their snow-covered surrounding is a testament to that alone.

"Pshh. Lo, you're trippin' on something hard if you think I'd ever let you get behind this wheel," he says as they continue to speed down an icy street. Everyone else would probably be freaking out at how fast he's driving, but not Lauren. Maybe she trusts him or something. "You don't even have your permit."

"I will. Soon," she insists. Lauren hates that, how people look at her like she's a kid, like she doesn't know anything. She's fifteen and gave up the chance at a normal life, dedicating herself to her craft. That isn't a decision children make so she shouldn't be treated like one.

"Well then, after you take the driving test three times and resort to paying off the DMV, daddy can buy you your own Barbie dream car to drive into the sunset," he teases. AJ always teases her like that and Lauren always rolls her eyes. As if he doesn't have a thing for blondes. She knows he does.

When they miss the exit he was supposed to take, back to the neighborhood they live on opposite ends of, Lauren sits up a little taller. "Where are we going?"

Without looking at her, he replies, "It's a surprise."

"For who?"

AJ laughs again, undoubtedly at her. "Yo, when you called me up for a ride home and I agreed, it didn't mean I was going to be your personal driver for the day," he says. "And, yeah, it isn't a surprise party type surprise. You'll see. Patience, boo."

Not knowing what to expect and having no power regardless, Lauren just sits back and stares ahead. She ignores the little flutter that she feels when he calls her boo.

"So," Lauren says, tapping her fingernails against her thighs. "What are you getting me for Christmas?"

"I don't celebrate Christmas."

Lauren deadpans. "Tell me you're kidding."

"Have you met my parents? In my honor, they started this new holiday, a nameless holiday in place of Christmas, where instead of celebrating the birth of Christ, they bribe their troubled son with extravagant items of worth. For instance, there's the car you're sitting in, this watch. The money went towards the clothes I'm wearing, for sure."

"Seems like they took a page out of my dad's parenting handbook," Lauren says sourly. "Still, even I get some enjoyment out of giving gifts to others."

"I tried to give Leo some of these great pot brownies last Christmas, but he's scary good at resisting peer pressure."

"Okay, sometimes you just take this wannabe bad boy thing way farther than you should."

"That's me," he says. "Take it or leave it."

So far, Lauren is yet to take it or leave it. Every time she thinks to take it, there's always something in the way. There's the obvious, that he's Kaylie's older brother and Kaylie's reaction to this would be more drama than Lauren wants to deal with. Then there's the fact that he's the type of guy who knows where to get pot brownies and finds joy in manipulates his parents into getting an increase in bought love.

The word "surprise" doesn't even begin to explain how Lauren feels when they park in front of an old seemingly abandoned building with boarded up graffiti-covered walls. Lauren doesn't even want to get out of the car, but AJ urges her to. It honestly looks like where creepers take roofied girls to date rape them and Lauren isn't afraid to point this out, but AJ just leans over to pull a key out of the glove compartment.

"What is this place and why do you have a key?"

"It used to be a little convenience store," AJ explains as he unlocks the giant lock on the door. Lauren wraps her arms around herself, nauseous because if the outside smells like piss then there's no telling what the inside is like. Still, AJ looks like a kid right outside of Disneyland.

When he gets the lock undone, AJ has to kick the door to get it open and once he does the inside is in just rough of shape. The floor is coated with a layer of dust and grime and the walls are a faded. There are empty iron racks, cardboard boxes and wooden crates that got left behind. Lauren grimaces, feels she should be wearing a face mask, but AJ just rushes in, not looking one bit disappointed.

"Aww, damn, it's just how I remembered," AJ says excitedly. "When we were kids, our grandparents would come to visit every winter and give us a couple dollars so Leo and I would ride our bikes down here to buy ice cream cones. Dad would always say serious gymnasts don't eat ice cream, but we'd always sneak Kaylie those strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. Ha, I doubt she'd eat 'em if they weren't pink," AJ reminisces. "This is what I got for Bribemas."

"I'm still confused," the blonde says. "What did you get exactly?"

"This," AJ says, motioning to the tragic ugliness around them. "All of this."

"A crack den?"

"I prefer fixer-upper," AJ says. "It's been on the market for a while now and I got my dad to buy it for me. Cool, right? I don't know what I want to do with it, but I drove past here one day, saw the sale sign and knew I had to have it. I don't know why and I know it's a mess, but, to me, there's something so great about that. The possibility and potential it has even if no one else sees it. All it needs is a little attention, a little love, a purpose and it could be something amazing."

"What did you have to promise your dad in exchange?"

"I gave him my word that I'd 'pull my act together' whatever that means," AJ says with a scoff. AJ has his act together, just not the one Alex wants for him. "Apparently, he's worried I don't have a future. But it's what I want so I'm willing to play by his rules."

"And this crack den is really worth the effort?"

"You've seen my OCD tendencies." Lauren knows them well. AJ has a bitch fit every time Kaylie has the girls over and they leave the kitchen a mess. Then he pulls on his gloves and cleans it himself. "See, once I start working on something, even if it's just in my head, I can't completely abandon it. The more time I put into something, the more it means to me. Even if other people can't see why I bother, I know what I'm working towards and that's good enough for me."

"I still don't see the point," Lauren says slowly. Especially with the way he's looking at her.

AJ chuckles coolly. "Damn, ma, you are one fine fixer-upper."

It clicks in her head and Lauren laughs. "You did not just do all this just so you could use that line on me."

"You know you enjoyed that," he says, even winks at her just for emphasis.

"I bet you bring all the girls here to show off your new investment."

"Naw, just you," he says sweetly. "C'mon. It's fucking cold. Kaylie has Carter over at the house unsupervised. Get this, she told me all she wants for Christmas is for me to be nice to Carter and I'm down, but that doesn't mean we can't crash and I'm pretty sure you can be a bitch enough for the both of us."

"Shut up."

"Whatever you like, Lo. Whatever you like."

AJ playfully pulls Lauren's fur-lined hood up over her blonde hair and she pushes it off and shoves him away. It might not have been the best Almost Christmas Moment, but Lauren loves that she can see the potential.

A/N: For all you waiting for a #WeFaB update, hope you enjoyed this and don't hate us for the hiatus! Merry Christmas! :)

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