Micah's POV
I get lonely sometimes. So, and don't tell Atari this, but when she leaves to visit her family over Christmas, I spend time with Soup. We actually get along really well, she even sniffs me and lets me pet her when I get home from work or Phil's house. And don't tell anyone else this, but I really like Soup. Okay, sure, I forget to feed her sometimes, but I do kind of like her.
And don't tell Atari, but I play video games with her. She's really bad and practically lets me win always getting 12th place. Soup could probably beat me if she just pressed the buttons.
I like how soft she is, and she keeps me warm at night because Atari isn't here for her to sleep by. I do miss Atari. She always goes home over Christmas, and I go home over the Fourth of July to visit my parents. But this year, I'm happy to live so close to Phil. He's fun to spend time with and I feel loved when I'm around him. I do appreciate being over here, right in the perfect place. My life is content.
Yesterday, I got to meet PJ. He's nice too, and he approved of my art work, one of the coolest things ever. I remember watching him as we made our animations for art class, inspiring me to make more flash animation, though I was crap at it. He and Phil reassured me that I have a future in art, an opinion that I value.
Atari's POV
Over the past few days, I've been spending a lot of time with family, but even more time eating. When I'm in a bad mood, I've realized that I eat very slowly, but at home, I was eating whatever the fuck I felt like eating. I hadn't had the energy to really go find my high school friends, but I did kind of get in touch with them. They had disappeared, only coming out on facebook, making me unaware of their growth, jobs, opinions, and other social conventions.
It was weird to see how much they have changed. Anna put her hair into dreads and started wearing more earthy tones and colours, Austin started dating Anna, finally admitting his feelings, Chance got a tattoo, and Oliver grew out his hair. The only downside to moving all the way to England, was that I couldn't see them very frequently. They all had their lives together over in Iowa and I was away from that. I don't know what I would do without Micah.
But we got to see the Hobbit together on the day before Christmas Eve, making me a happy duck.
The thing that set me back a bit was Felix's girlfriend. Usually, I am the last one to meet his girlfriends, though you could count them all on one hand. So when an unfamiliar girl turned up at our house, kissed my grandma on her cheek, and asked casually where Felix was, I felt beyond awkward.
"Hello," I said, my voice questioning and yet like 'do I know you?' tone underneath it.
"Hi. I'm Heather, Felix's girlfriend. Are you Atari? Your brother told me about you," the teenage girl told me, wide eyed and quiet. She had brown eyes set against native skin, turquoise hair hiding the majority of her face that fell down to her chest.
"Yep, that's me." She smiled wide.
"Is London actually as cool as all of the television shows make it seem?"
"Well, I really like it, but honestly, over here they make it sound like such a bizarre place, when it's fairly normal."
"You sound so British!"
"Thanks, I guess. You sound so American." She laughed, and Felix came over, taking her hand in his. He smelt of men, making me want to lecture him and tell him to wear less, but I won't be that annoying sister who embarrasses him in front of his girlfriend. The way that they looked at each other and the way that she blushed when she was near him made them fucking adorable.
"Goddamn it," my grandma yelled from the family room. "Katrina, did you forget to record my Jersey Shore yesterday?" I laughed as my mom tiptoed out of the room, escaping the elderly wrath. She whispered to us, demanding that we have fun, or else.
"So I'm assuming you had the misfortune to meet my sister," Felix said.
"Hey, I wouldn't be talking. I hear that you gush about me all the time." I was smiling, taking in the way that he was dressed. A red shirt and black skinny jeans was decent enough. No coat, though. He shall be looking forward to a sisterly lecture.
"Only about how you're the worst." Felix grinned. Heather hit him on the arm, about to defend me.
"It doesn't appear that way. Is someone a wee bit jealous of his sister?"
"Never. You're nothing to be jealous of."
"Wanna go?!"
"Come at me, bro!" We laughed at each other, knowing that we wouldn't, never have, and never will. But he did settle with screwing up my hair.
I adjusted my hair to fall back into it's average shape, making sure that my outfit looked okay.I glanced over to see Heather anxiously adjusting her shirt, putting her leather jacket on, giving a quick glance of her slashed wrist.
Heather was taller than me by a good 4 centimeters, yet perfect height for my brother. Everyone made me feel short, especially my dad and brother. I got the short, womanly figure genes from my mum who inherited them from her mum, making us all very short, indeed.
"Give me the keys, we have to pick up Anna, Austin, and Oliver." I grabbed the keys from my brother's hand. "Hey, kid. Put a coat on or I'm only taking your girlfriend, who's smart enough to have one. It's about zero degrees outside and I won't have you in just a t-shirt."
"Whatever you say, mom." He did as I told.
Outside, it was sunny, yet the ground was covered in a thick layer of snow. My eyes hurt from the blinding reflection.
"Look, my phone says it's thirty degrees out, not zero. You need to calm down." We got to the car, me hiding my embarrassment. I'm used to Celsius.
"That... was so... Amaaaaazinnngg," I said, wide eyed as we exited the theater.
"Worth the price of admission, right?" Austin asked, holding Anna's hand, a large grin on his face.
"I can never see another normal movie again."
"The Hobbit was shot with more frames..." yada yada, facts poured out of Chance's mouth more times than I could count, but today, they were directed to his boyfriend, Derek, who was enthralled. Chance is such a dweeb, but I adore him. In the event that there were too many people for my brother's car, he and Derek took his.
"The Hobbit was spectacular the third time, especially in 3D."
"Yeah, it was wimpy in 2D."
"Mmmm. Did you see Bilbo? Oh and Kili. The ring. Oh my god. When someone proposes to me, I want a ring just like that one." Anna wouldn't stop gushing about the Lord of the Rings. I mean, I'm a super dork about them, but not nearly as close as she is. She dressed up as Gandalf for the midnight premier of the Hobbit. She had the biggest obsession over Frodo in high school to a point where you could go into her room and all over the walls, she had pictures of the Lord of the Rings. Everywhere.
"My girlfriend would have loved this," Oliver chimed in. This is what I hate about the holidays; couples. Nonstop couples everywhere you look.
"So how's Micah?" Austin asked.
"Have you guys admitted your sexual love for each other over in London?" Oliver asked, winking.
I looked ahead, Heather and Felix were walking hand in hand, close to the car. Austin was with Anna, an arm slung around her waist. Chance kissed Derek on the cheek before getting into their car. Oliver was texting Skylar, his girlfriend, and I was here. Single.
"Oliver, for the last time, I'm straight, and so is Micah. Be nice, she's dating our friend Phil."
"Wait, you know a Phil that lives in London?"
"Yes, why?"
"What's his last name?"
"Lester, why?"
"Does he have black hair?"
"Yes, now for the last time, why?"
"He's YouTube famous. Holy shit. I always knew Micah would date the most perfect boy ever, no offense Austin, but I never thought it would be Phil. He's fantastic." Anna was in a bit of a shock as we got to the car.
"Yeah, I know. He lives right above us with Dan Howell," I said once we were all in he car.
"You're friends with Dan?!"
"Well-"
"Oh my lord, would you two be cute together. Don't you agree, babe? Remember when I showed you those British YouTubers? She knows them!"
"Oh, that's pretty cool." Austin was not very enthusiastic, though he was paying attention, unlike Heather and Felix who were lost in their own little world.
"Are you dating?"
The world went in sort of slow motion as I drove them out of the parking lot, the two couples in the back, Oliver in the passenger seat. I wished we were dating.
"No, we aren't."
"Well, you should be."
"I know."
"Your brother is really fantastic. I appreciate him so much," Heather said as Felix was fixing dinner with my mom.
"How so?"
She took a deep breath. "He helped me through really tough times. I don't think that I'd be here without him," she said, rubbing the deep gashes on her arm.
"I have taught him well. I don't think he'd be the same person that he is today without me here to tell him how to treat people." I placed my hand on her wrist. Her deep brown eyes were beautiful. They said thank you in a million ways that couldn't be expressed vocally.
"My parents never really got along, and your family was always there when the house wasn't safe," she said. "I just wanted to make sure that it was okay if I slept in your room while you were gone. Felix said you wouldn't mind, but I wanted to make sure."
I laughed. "Of course it's okay. You're more than welcome here. If you need to borrow a set of clothes, just take some of my old ones, they're actually pretty comfortable. And if you want to sleep in the same room as Felix, go ahead." She giggled and blushed.
"For some reason, I feel like I can trust you."
"That's a good thing, sweetheart. You can stay in this house even if you and Felix break up."
"Okay, one, two, three," I said to Micah over the laptop camera. We both opened up the gifts we got from each other, wrapped in messy paper, each other ripping them to shreds. This left two boxes. Micah called dibs on going first.
"Oh my god! This is perfect, Atari! Holy crap! And it's made out of organic fabric and hemp oh they're beautiful and they'll keep me warm. The girls at work are all going to be jealous! You're the best." She hugged the laptop, an excited look in her eyes, her smile making them crinkle on the sides.
"That's not all." She looked deeper into the box, finding a Toms box. Inside were dark green botas with folded over hightops exposing fake fur.
"Those are so cute! Oh my god and they match the sweater!"
"My turn!" I exclaimed, ecstatic to be able to open this. She's rubbed it in my face for about a month now, making me anxious. I opened the large box to find... packing peanuts. "Oh, Micah, just what I wanted!"
"The presents is inside those, ya twat," she said. I scooted the pieces of foam away to find a folded up paper lantern set of 6 with galaxies on them.
"That is so cool. Holy crap. These are going up in my room. They'll look so good!"
"There's moreeeeeee," she sang. 2 throw pillows were underneath that, being able to add to the growing collection.
"Oh my god."
"Those are kind of for me too. You've been saying that we need new pillows for our couch," she said.
"My gift seems like crap compared to this."
"Oh shut up, you know how much I need sweaters that I can wear to work. Plus you pay the majority of the bills."
"You know they aren't that much. Plus I've paid off the last of my college loans two months ago. Two girls don't eat that much, and we never use much electricity, or cable. We don't need auto insurance, just a bit of house for the flat and some for life."
"Well, I meant to say thank you."
"You're welcome."
"I love you."
"I love you too. Have a merry Christmas, bitch."
"You too."
The rest of my Christmas was relatively uneventful, in the best of ways. My grandma made enough food to feed a small country, my mum stayed out of the kitchen, my dad relaxed, and Felix was a dork. I ate so much food. My god, I will never have to eat again. There were dumplings, turkey, ham, mince pies, apple pie, four salads, seven layer dessert, gravy, and much, much, much more.
We opened presents right next to the fireplace, making me feel like I was ten years old, and the biggest worry was if my art project dried or not. Link laid down by my thigh as I sat cross legged on the floor, he was gnashing on bone. My grandma was dressed in a sweater that she crocheted, my dad was laughing and chucking wrapping paper at his children, my mum was smiling and drinking eggnog, and my brother was joking around with me.
Now, I'm the type of person that doesn't like wrapping paper. I hate it. It adds suspense to the situation, and when you open up the box, you finally get to the gift. And no matter what the fuck it is, you have to like it. It could be a decapitated doll and you would have to act like it was the greatest thing ever. It is the worst thing in the world, especially if you already know what it is. God, I hate that. I'm all for surprises, but only the good kind. But I despise when I get a present and I already knew what it was.
That's what happened when I opened up my WiiU. I acted like I was the happiest person in the world, like I had everything that I wanted, and I definitely did. But the fact that my brother spoiled it for me made my reaction almost fake, though it was absolutely sincere.
Underneath the tree, it was flooded with boxes and bows. I'm not too surprised. They are all avid shoppers, getting the best deals on the best items, and they all save the gifts that I would get year-round for one day. I get nothing from them besides occasional Skype meetings during the rest of the year. They have saved up everything that they thought I would like for today. The pressure was on.
But the presents that I got didn't matter. I would have been content with just spending time with them.
After the festivities were done, we all went to our own corners to a) sleep b) play with our new toys or c) go online. I chose c. I knew that Dan and Phil had a radio show on BBC Radio 1, so I streamed it live. I missed Phil. That's why I was on there. It's not like I missed Dan or anything. It's not like the best present I could have gotten was a hug from Dan, it's not like I wanted him near me, no, not at all.
Is it that obvious? My heart tugged in two directions, one happy because those two boys always made me happy, and one sad because I missed him. God did I miss him. And the way that I'm ignoring him isn't helping any either. I felt like Helga from Hey! Arnold.
The Skype messenger said that he was on. There was a green light next to his name. Atari, all you have to do it click it. It's really not that hard. You waited an entire hour for right now, just press the call button. No, he won't judge you. He won't. He will be happy to talk to you. Maybe you can say hi to Phil. It would be good.
I moved my hand to click his name. I pressed the keypad. "Hi" I typed. And I waited. One minuet. Two minuets. Three. And I clicked the little "x" in the corner and shut off my laptop, having all of the disappointment that I could take for one day.
Micah's POV
I was just wandering around the apartment, opening the shipped packages from my parents, grandparents, and cousins. There were only a few, but they were pretty nice. My mum sent me 200 dollars that I would have to turn into pounds, my dad sent me the coolest stuff in the world. He's always been my favourite out of my entire family.
Phil. Phil and I were going to celebrate a mini-Christmas at his place with a plethora of left over food from both houses. We were hoping that Dan would join us to help finish all the food, and it was the same day that Atari was getting back, so she should be joining us too. She's been gone for five days and I really miss having a roommate, though I like having my own place even more. I can blast my music as loud as I want, go to bed without having some video game in the background, stay out longer, drink, and watch whatever television programs I want. Plus I actually fed Soup this time, unlike the last few times when we had to have someone else come in and feed her for me...
I petted the kitty once more before I got dressed. My hair was normal, but every time that I looked in the mirror to see it's natural ways of flowing to the left of my head, I always criticized it. Today I pinned it back, letting the longer pieces fall down my shoulder, only reaching my collarbone. The strawberry blonde locks made me happy. I've always liked the colour of my hair. The pink in the ends was fading, making me think of a different colour to dye it. Maybe purple.
I grabbed my phone along with a ton of food and left to go to Phil's. I had some General Tso's, veggie fried rice, an egg roll, a couple slices of pizza, some cold soup, a makeshift salad, and some ravioli along with some cocktail supplies.
"Here, let me help you with those. I don't know if I trust you with whiskey," Phil said as he answered the door, taking some of the food.
In the background I could see Dan going through the kitchen, heating up things and adjusting spoons in the various containers. "God, I should have answered her, Phil. Why didn't you force me to answer her?"
"What's he on about?" I asked as we carried things to their table.
"Oh, Atari said hi and he didn't answer." We set the plethora of food next to their wimpy pile of only mac and cheese. At the look that I was giving him, he replied, "Oh, we eat a lot."
I sighed. "That wasn't the look that I was giving you, Phil."
"Oh, it was the day before yesterday and Atari messaged him on Skype and he didn't do anything even though I told him he should respond."
"Be nice, Phil. Oh God, and she's coming over today. I hope she's not mad at me. I talked to Carrie when we were shooting her mince pie video and she said that I should have responded too. Ugh this sucks. Fuck my life." Dan was over in the kitchen, freaking out about all of this stuff.
"Here, you need a drink," I said, moving all the gin to the table.
"Okay, make me something, I give up. Women win. I will literally let my life be run by the female gender because I'm so done with all this. Guys don't understand anything, we are terrible. I wish she would talk to me."
"Relax, I know Atari and she will talk to you. Don't tell her that I told you, but she misses you. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it's true. Now here, drink this." I handed him the drink and he took a small sip, and I don't blame him. Who would want to be wasted when the girl they like is over?
My phone buzzed in my pocket. The message said that Atari was on the train, getting weird looks from strangers because of the two bags that she has to carry. No trouble at the security though, so that's positive.
Not twenty minuets later, she was in their apartment, claiming that she was starving, sending looks at Dan.
"When did you get that dress?" I asked as we sat down with plates full of food.
"My grandma got it for me, isn't it cute?" It had a tan cat's face over her chest, the cinched at the waist with a bow tie in the middle and flowed out to her knees.
"It's puuuurrrrrrfect," I said and giggled. "I love your grandma."
"What's she like?" Phil asked.
"She's short. Okay, have you seen Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends?"
"Yeah, I think so. Oh! Is she like Madame Foster? She was the cutest old lady ever."
"Yep, and she swears constantly." I added.
Throughout the rest of dinner, Dan and Atari were pretty silent, giving each other glances and then looking away. I knew that she cared about him, but was way too stubborn to do anything about it before he did. As soon as she was done eating, she left us, claiming she had to do major unpacking, which I believe. I'm pretty sure she just wanted to leave to escape the awkward vibes that were bouncing off of her and Dan.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Dan exhaled deeply. "I should have talked to her! God shit damnit fuck hell..." He muttered profanities to himself until he shut the door to his room.
"Well, that was... interesting." We chuckled to each other.
"But seriously, I can't believe that you didn't finish this Chinese. This is amazing. Like woah."
"Well, I'm sorry that I was full."
"Hey, I found you the most perfect thing in the world, so you should open it right now." He went to go get the little box on the counter. I handed him his, a medium sized bag.
"I hope it's decent." I really did. "Open yours first." He did as I told, taking out the tissue paper, then his eyes got wide, his face like a 4 year old.
"This is better than decent! Oh my god! This is so cool!" He lifted the hoodie out of it's bag. It was orange with ears and a bit of fake fur around the hood, just like a lion. He come over to me and hugged me close. I hugged him back. He smelt good, the perfect amount of cologne. He was so cute.
"Here, this is for you," He said, handing me the wrapped box with one hand and fixing his hair with the other. I took off the paper, revealing a blue box. Inside that thin blue box was a bracelet. It said "to infinity and beyond". I was speechless. "It means that I'll be here, even if its just as a friend or a memory, or whatever you want me to be, to infinity and beyond. Plus I know how much you love Toy Story."
In response, I took the two steps closer and kissed him. He tugged at my lip and I let him. When we came up for air, I said, "It's perfect. Thank you."
Yep cheesy, right? Yeah, it is. Would it be terrible if there were one and a half plot points? I don't want to stop writing and I hate sequels with a passion.
Review Question: What is the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?
My Answer: Okay, so once I was walking with my friend Jackie and my new phone was really smart and decided to call 911. For a good half hour. Yeah. ANd then, being the smart 11 year old that I was, told them that it was an accidental call and that the don't need to worry. The decided to send a policeman over anyways. So then we had to walk two miles back home and explain to my parents what happened.
Oh, and another time, I was in sixth grade and I liked this really popular guy, so I decided to give him a Valentine. Sweet, yes? No. He threw it away. Oh god, I'm cringing right now. Because the worst part was that our school had banned giving out valentine's, so I got a lecture from a popular girl about how I wasn't supposed to do that and blah blah blah.
There's also the times where my friend Jake (yes, he's still my friend. I don't know why) threw bingo chips, erasers, cheezits, pencils, whatever he could find, down my shirt in middle school. That was awkward going through the day with godknowswhat down your bra. Yeah. That happened.
Grandpa Update: He's alive. Has appointments for the 7th, more chemo on the 8th. Let's wish him luck, yes? PS: the songs "Cancer" by My Chemical Romance and "Samson" by Regina Spektor make me cry harder than a baby. So go listen to them.
GIVE ME IDEAS OF EMBARRASSING STORIES PEOPLE. I NEED THEM FOR DAN. FOR DAN.
DO IT. FOR THE CHILDREN. THOSE POOR CHILDREN.
