A/N: Christmas Day! This is the last chapter! I know, I'm so sad! :-( I hope you have enjoyed it, as I have enjoyed writing it. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all! Thank you!
25th December
CHRISTMAS DAY
Blinking, Charlie sat up suddenly. "Merry Christmas!" Matteusz laughed at his boyfriend, who immediately leapt on him to give him a hug. "Merry Christmas Charlie." He whispered. "Get dressed, then we can go and wake Miss Quill up to open presents. Charlie beamed and rushed around the room, eagerly pulling on clothes. Matteusz laughed again, and started to dress. Charlie tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for his boyfriend, and when Matteusz was done, he ran to Miss Quills' room. Matteusz followed and knocked on the door quietly. "Yes, I am up. Come in." They entered slowly and found Quill on her bed dressed in black jeans and a fluffy red jumper. She looked over as they walked in and sighed. "Merry Christmas." she said, slightly begrudgingly, handing each of them a small package. "Breakfast." She explained. Charlie ripped his open and found a bar of Strawberry and Cream Cadbury's chocolate. "Thank you!" He told her sincerely. She nodded, and looked at Matteusz, who had opened his. She had got him Polish chocolate. His favourite brand no less. "Thank you." He whispered, voice thick. Quill gave a slight smile that both boys noticed but didn't comment on. "I remembered you saying something about it." She waved a hand dismissively and walked to the door. "Presents?" She asked. Charlie bolted down the stairs like an excited child, and Matteusz and Miss Quill smiled fondly after him. Quill quickly realised what she was doing though, and scowled. "Come on." She told Matteusz, following the Prince. When they got into the living room, Charlie smiled up at them from his amid the presents. "I need coffee." Quill told them, and walked into the kitchen. The door bell rang, and Matteusz went to answer.
April and her mum were on the doorstep, their arms filled with presents. "Merry Christmas!" They chorused. Matteusz smiled and ushered them into the living room. He was about to sit down when the door bell went again. "Matteusz!" Quill shouted from the kitchen. "Yes, I'm going." He shouted back. "Ma'am." He added under his breath. He opened the door and found Tanya, her brothers, her mum and Ram and his dad. "Come in." Matteusz invited, happy that they had all arrived at once. He went back to find Quill curled in her chair, April, Tanya and Ram's parents sat on the sofa, and Tanya's brothers standing behind it. Matteusz chuckled and went to join his friends where they all sat, cross legged on the floor. "Present time!" Tanya announced and they all cheered. Their parents laughed, even Miss Quill. Tanya's mum was handed presents first, from Tanya, Charlie, Ram, April and Charlie. An extra one was found for her from Miss Quill, and was passed over. Tanya's brothers gave her their presents, and looked on, smiling. Ram's dad and April's mum got the same, presents from each of the teenagers and one from Miss Quill. The teens watched as the adults opened their presents, and laughed when they saw what Miss Quill had gotten them. They each had a book, labelled "How to look after your troubled teen". They laughed and thanked her. Quill just smiled. Next, Tanya's brother's received presents from their mum, sister, Ram and April. They opened them one at a time, and thanked each individual person.
"Tanya, your turn now!" Ram told her. She laughed and opened his present first. It was a book on sports, with the football section circled. She laughed and hugged him. "Cheers Ram, just what I wanted!" He shrugged and gave her another present. This one was a box of her favourite chocolates. "Better." She allowed. Next was April's. Her friend had gotten her a recipe book. "Thanks April."
"Anytime." The other girl replied, smiling. Her present from her mum was a photo album. At the end, there was a photo of the five of them at the end of the dance that they'd had on the twenty-third. Matteusz and Charlie stood with their arms around each other and Tanya was pressed into Charlie's side, holding Ram's hand, with April on his other side. She smiled and thanked her mum warmly, opening the present from her brothers which turned out to be the game she'd been wanting for ages. Then she moved to her present from Matteusz and Charlie. She opened it, and her jaw dropped. Charlie had drawn a picture of her, to be accurate, several. He'd taken one piece of paper and drawn her in several positions. "Thank you!" She exclaimed, hugging her friend tightly. Something else fell out. It was a key ring, with the picture of them from their dance. On the back it said 'Friends forever'. "Thanks Matteusz!" She hugged the other boy who smiled. "Your welcome." She opened Miss Quill's gift, and found a pile of textbooks. They were all maths and physics based. "Thanks Miss." She quipped. Quill just smiled and sipped her coffee.
Ram was next. He got a new training kit from his dad, a homemade bracelet from April that he put on immediately, a collage of drawings of him from Charlie (This actually made him hug the other boy, who smiled and tentatively returned it), and a new pair of football boots from Matteusz. Miss Quill's present to him was an audio book about physics. He smiled at that and moved onto Tanya's present. He opened it to reveal a physics textbook and a photo of him and Tanya, framed. He smiled at her, and kept them close too him. April opened hers next. She got a necklace from her mum that used to be hers, a collage of drawings from Charlie, a bracelet from Ram that had her initials on, a book on the history of Poland from Matteusz, a pile of textbooks from Miss Quill, and a CD of relaxing songs from Tanya. She thanked everyone, impressed by her pile. Charlie was next, and the prince eagerly dug in. The first present he opened was from April. It was a CD with a blank case. "Look at the note." April told him, seeing his confusion. He did. It said 'A CD of my favourite folk songs, performed by me, given too a best friend xx'. "Thank you." Charlie told her. April smiled. Next was Ram's present. It was a football.
"So you can do something more practical with your time." Ram explained. Charlie nodded and opened Tanya's present. It was a small photo album of photo's of all the group. There was also a charm bracelet, which Charlie slipped on. Then it was Matteusz's present. He opened it and was taken away. It was a photograph of them that he knew was Matteusz's lock screen. On the back, written in slightly sloppy Rhodian was the phrase 'I wish to combine with you'. Charlie's eyes watered and he hugged his boyfriend tightly. "I love you." Matteusz smiled. "I love you too."
Matteusz turned to his pile and opened them. From April, he had the Chronicles of Narnia books, Ram had given him a cuddly giraffe with a note apologising for the insult, Tanya had given him a handwritten guide to the complicated physics' equations and maths ones. Charlie's present was an A5 sheet of paper, full of drawings of him. He also got a necklace with a small silver heart on it that he slipped on. Miss Quill threw a package at each of them then, and then sat down. " Merry Christmas." she told them. They opened them to find a small book each, blank for writing in. Matteusz had something extra, and he opened the small package. It was a key ring with the word 'warrior' inscribed on it in Polish. He smiled, then shoved her presents towards her. Her eyes widened and she looked at the presents in disbelief. Carefully, she unwrapped each one. The first was a pair of boxing gloves from Tanya. Ram had got her an 'easy to set up' goal for the garden, and April had given her a pair of new boots. She smiled, and nodded at each of them, coming to the last two presents. From Matteusz, she got four chocolate bars, all of them different flavours, and the first Hunger Games movie. The last one was from the Prince. Cautiously, she peeled the wrapping paper back. The first sheet was a drawing of a cat, and she smiled. The next piece of paper was a collage, not just of her, but scenes from Rhodia, the landscape. She sniffled, and looked Charlie in the eyes. He gave her a genuine smile and nodded to her. She returned both gestures.
After present opening, the adults (and Tanya's brothers) retreated to the kitchen to cook the food and chat. Even Miss Quill went. The teenagers curled up together, Charlie, Matteusz and Tanya cuddling on the sofa, and Ram and April leaning against their legs. The Snowman was put on, and the five friends sat silently, happy and content. "Merry Christmas." Tanya whispered. They all smiled.