A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.

grapejuice101: Thanks :D I try to sprinkle in references to other Dr. Seuss works (at least the ones I know) And they'll show up here...

Guest: Thanks :D He WAS able to go, he's just not able to participate in as much as others, since he's in a wheelchair.

Sun Goddess Amaterasu: I'm sorry you feel that way. But maybe I'll surprise you; maybe she WON'T end up with him in the end, you never know. But I took what you said into account, and am trying to make Winnie more flawed (especially with what happens in the end of this chapter) But please tell me something: how were you able to comment on/review the same chapter twice? Is this a new feature on the 'site or what? Tell me your secrets!

Emily: I'll admit, you're right XD Wasn't really a secret, seeing as the only pictures I have of Winnie is her in her elf costume XD

TheBeldam27: I added something like that ;)

"He made it!" Cindy Lou exclaimed happily.

Winnie looked down, eyes widening and cheeks reddening when she saw what, or who, was on her: Grinch was laying on top of her, face buried into her chest. "Get off of me!" she yelled, pushing him back and scuttling backwards. "It's about time you got—what are you wearing?"

As he stood up, she looked him up and down: he was wearing light-orange-brown lederhosen, white socks, and black shoes. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing; he looked ridiculous.

"Have you seen a Who with a long trumpet in just his underwear?" he asked.

"In just his—" she blinked in realization as she stood up as well. "You know what, never mind. I don't wanna know," she shook her head.

Shrugging, Grinch glanced over his shoulder and grinned at Martha, who was both blushing and glancing jealously at Winnie, "Hello, Martha." He turned to face the Who crowd, and they all gasped in shock and fright.

May-Who stepped around the podium, frowning, but froze when Grinch looked his way. He took a step up the stairs, and then hurried up them. The crowd gasped and exclaimed again, and May-Who backed away as though Grinch had a weapon. The whole time, Winnie rolled her eyes and shook her head at her best friend's antics and the crowd's reaction.

Grinch slowly turned his head and stared out at the crowd, scowling. The crowd watched him with wide eyes; even Winnie was holding her breath, waiting for him to say something.

"... Boo."

Everyone either screamed or squealed in fright. Winnie could have sworn she heard one or two Whos faint.

"Hmm, hot crowd, hot crowd," he remarked, grinning. "I believe I'm here to," he paused to lick his teeth, "accept an 'award' of some kind. And, the child," he gestured to Cindy Lou, "mentioned a check."

"No, I didn't."

"No, she didn't."

Glaring at Winnie, he huffed, "All right, then give me the award. Come on, while I'm young!"

May-Who picked up one of the microphones and said, "Don't you worry, Mr. Holiday Cheer-Meister, you'll get your award! But first, a little family reunion." A fanfare began playing with each sentence he said, "They nursed you. They clothed you."

Out of the corner of her eye, Winnie saw two familiar women shuffling through the crowd. This should be interesting.

"Here they are, your old biddies!"

Biddies? They're not biddies, they're his mothers! She heard Grinch grumble something under his breath as Rose and Clarnella cooed about missing him. It was then she noticed Rose holding something in her hands. She snickered when she realized what it was.

The elderly Whos' friends came forward as well, and Grinch disappeared, with angry yells, in a small sea of giggling elderly women. When they parted, there stood Grinch, now wearing a white sweater with red and white-striped sleeves, a green tree in the middle that said "I heart X-mas", complete with a big red heart, and the whole thing was covered in jingle bells.

Grinch looked down at himself and shrieked. Winnie had to clap her hands over her mouth to muffle her laughter. He glared daggers at her, looking mortified and betrayed, but she simply shrugged.

"Put 'im in the Chair of Cheer!" an elderly Who exclaimed.

The crowd yelled in agreement, and several Whos came through the crowd, carrying the Chair of Cheer on their shoulders. It was a small red chair with a small Christmas tree, with bells, jutting out the back, and was mounted on two long white poles.

"Chair of Cheer?" Grinch asked in confusion. "What's the Chair of Cheer?" He turned to Cindy Lou with a glare and snapped, "You didn't tell me about the Chair of Cheer!"

"Please, Mr. Grinch?" she pleaded, clasping her hands in front of her, "please?"

He stood up straight, only to see the Whos coming for him fast. "No, no, no! I can't do it!" he protested. "Honestly, I'm not ready! It's too much, too soon!"

But they didn't listen. They set the chair down, pushed him onto it, and lifted him up again. "It's that time of year," May-Who declared, "The Cheer-Meister's ride in the Chair of Cheer!"

Even though the crowd was cheering, Grinch was less than pleased. "Put me down! I mean it! I've got a lawyer; there'll be hell to pay! Winnie, where are you?!"

"Sorry, Mr. G," she shrugged with a cheesy grin. "I was a repair-girl, not a lawyer."

"I don't care what you were, get me out of here!"

"Nope, sorry," she shook her head. "You agreed to this, so you'll have to go through it." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw May-Who staring after Grinch with what looked like a jealous glint in his eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows suspiciously. What was her childhood bully up to? She would have to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't humiliate her best friend.

"First, you'll put your taste-buds to the test, as you judge the Who Pudding Cook-Off!" the mayor announced.

Behind him, Whobris repeated what he had said, making it seem like there was an echo. Winnie smirked when May-Who turned to glare at him.

"Little Winnie!" Rose and Clarnella suddenly exclaimed, running up and hugging her tightly.

She grunted at the squeezing hug, but returned it regardless. "Evening, ladies. So lovely to see you."

"Oh, you haven't changed a bit!" Clarnella declared, cupping her face and kissing her cheeks.

"Not a bit," her sister agreed. "You look as beautiful as ever!"

"Thank you, ladies," she nodded. "Are you two enjoying yourselves?"

"Oh, yes! When we heard our little Grinch had been nominated for Cheer-Meister, we set to work making him that sweater!" Rose smiled, dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief. "I'm so glad it fits him."

"We missed him so much," Clarnella sighed. "It's the best Christmas present we've ever gotten."

"I'm glad," Winnie smiled. "Even if he seems a bit... rough around the edges, I think deep down, he missed you too."

"You think so?"

"I lived with him for the past few years, so I'd like to think I know him at least a little bit."

"Oh, it looks like the Christmas Conga is starting!" Rose exclaimed.

"Will you be joining us, Winnie, dear?" Clarnella asked.

"Um, I don't think—"

"Oh, don't be such a party-pooper," Rose chuckled, patting her arm. "Come join the fun! You haven't been down in such a long time."

That's not a hundred percent true. "Well, if you two insist," she smiled, shrugging. I guess if Grinch has to suffer, I should as well. I helped push him into this mess, after all.

As they headed for the conga line, she noticed Grinch, who was standing at the head of the line, somehow unaware, looked a little pale, and the front of his sweater was messy. She grimaced, remembering that the pudding cook-off lasted a while, and wasn't all sugary and spicy, and everything nicey. She hoped he wouldn't get sick before the night was over.

She managed to squeeze herself into line behind Lou before it started. In front of her, she could hear Grinch trying to make up an excuse to leave. She whispered in Lou's ear, "If he asks, I'm not here."

He gave her a thumbs up with a chuckle. "Trying to get him into the spirit of things?"

"I guess you can say that," she shrugged. She giggled when she saw he was actually starting to enjoy himself, and march along with exaggerated motions. "Something's working."

Afterwards, May-Who announced, "Fruitcake, tra-la-la!"

This time, Winnie snuck a piece for herself. Contrary to the rest of her classmates in school, she actually liked fruitcake. Unfortunately, when she took a bite of it, it was too sour for her liking, and she spat it back out. Glancing around to see if no one was looking, she tiptoed hurriedly to the garbage chute and tossed the piece in.

Then, it was the Fudge Judge. Again, Winnie snuck a piece, but the piece of fudge was not only so hard that she had to gnaw a piece off, but it had nuts in it. "Yeuch, I hate nuts," she grumbled under her breath, throwing it away as well.

Soon, it was the Nog Off. This was the one Winnie dreaded the most. The participants always chugged the eggnog until they were close to bursting. And even though Grinch could eat almost anything, his stomach could only hold so much. Something had to give, and she was afraid of what it would be.

Regardless, she managed to grab a glass of the drink. She didn't know why, seeing as the other two treats weren't to her liking. Maybe third time was the charm; maybe she hoped to lighten the load, even a little bit, for her best friend.

Shrugging, she took a sip, only to purse her lips and scrunch her nose. Too spicy, and she could swear she tasted something else as well. "I can have that, if you want," Cindy Lou offered, seeing Winnie's disgusted face.

"No, I don't think this is the best for kids," she shook her head, handing the drink to the little girl's mother, who took it eagerly. When she turned back around, and followed Cindy Lou into the crowd, her eyes widened at what she saw: Grinch was laying on his back, and there was a tube running down his mouth from the large barrel of eggnog. She could see the light-yellow liquid pumping through the tube into his mouth, and his stomach was actually starting to balloon under his sweater.

Winnie covered Cindy Lou's eyes with one hand, and her own with the other. She groaned under her breath when she heard Grinch retch. But when she peeked through her fingers, he kept going. And he was announced as the winner, beating out the previous one. She moved her hands from her and Cindy Lou's faces, and saw Grinch sit back up in his chair, now looking very sick. "He doesn't look so good," the little Who remarked quietly, holding the older Who's hand.

"No, he doesn't," she shook her head, nibbling her bottom lip worriedly. "Something's gonna give."

And she was right. Grinch leapt out of the chair and ran through the crowd. Winnie recognized the route he was taking, and sighed, "I told you."

After a few minutes, he came staggering back, looking a little shaky on his feet, but less full. "Feeling better?" she asked with a small, apprehensive smile.

"Actually, all things considering... I am!" he exclaimed, grinning widely.

Later, it was announced that the sack race would begin. Of course, Grinch had to participate, since he was the Cheer-Meister. What Winnie found most amusing was that he was competing with a bunch of kids, including Cindy Lou.

"Is that Winnie?!"

"It is!"

"It's her!"

She turned around, eyes lighting up when she saw three familiar Whos. "Rudy! Helga, Jamie!" she exclaimed happily.

Rudy was wearing a green and red dress with transparent ruffles on the sleeves, and a transparent cape attached under the bodice and trailed down to the floor. Helga was dressed in a green long-sleeved dress with a billowing skirt, and a dark-green sash tied around her waist in a bow. Jamie had a similar dress to Rudy, except hers was red, and instead of a long skirt and cape, she had a shorter dark-green ruffled skirt, and wore light-green stockings, and red heels.

"I haven't seen you guys in so long!" Winnie smiled, walking to her friends.

"Yeah, we haven't," Jamie frowned, crossing her arms.

Winnie paused, her smile faltering. "Erm, well, I'm sorry I had to leave on such short notice. Aaron had—"

"We know why you left, Winnie," Helga said, furrowing her eyebrows. "We got your letters."

"What we don't know is why you didn't try to contact us," Rudy added, adjusting her glasses.

"... Well, I-I didn't have the material for letters, and I don't know if—"

"Save your excuses," Helga snapped. "We just spoke with your grandfather, and he said you had a phone. So, why didn't you use that?"

"Maybe she thinks her first best friend's more important," Jamie scoffed.

"What?! No!" Winnie exclaimed, now feeling very small. "You guys are important too—"

"Then why didn't you try to at least call us?" Rudy asked. Unlike the others, she didn't look angry; just confused and sad.

"I-I didn't know how you would handle it," Winnie confessed, playing with one of her ringlets of hair. "And I didn't know if you'd talk to me even."

"So you didn't even bother to try?" Helga frowned. "You were able to contact us, and you never tried?! Some friend you are."

"All right, I screwed up! I admit it, I was in the wrong! I'm a horrible friend, I'm sorry!"

"You got one thing right, you are a horrible friend," Jamie mumbled under her breath.

Winnie could feel her heart breaking, and tears begin to sting her eyes. "Guys, I really am sorry," she whispered. "What would it take to show you? You're my best friends."

"Well, apparently, your real best friend's more important," Helga remarked, nodding towards the sack race, where Grinch had just won. As the crowd cheered for him, she said, "C'mon, let's go."

Her sister and Rudy followed after her. "Guys, wait!" Winnie exclaimed.

"Merry Christmas, Whit," Jamie snorted over her shoulder. "I guess you'd gotten what you wanted."

"She hates Christmas, remember?" Helga said. Rudy simply glanced back at Winnie sadly.

Winnie felt her legs shaking under her as she tried not to collapse. She stepped back and sat heavily on the stairs of a fountain, and covered her face with her hands. "What have I done?" she sniffed.

"Winnie, dear? Is everything okay?"

She looked up, only to see Luka wheeling up to her, looking concerned. "... No, not really," she shook her head. "I've just lost my friends, and by my own hand."

Sighing softly, he nodded, "Yeah, I saw, and kinda heard. Just thought I'd come over to see if you were all right."

"They're right, I am a horrible friend."

"I wouldn't say so—"

"I am! They were right, I never even tried to contact them! And all because I was afraid about what they would say or think." She wiped her tears away and asked, "How were you not disappointed in me?"

"I'll admit, I was," he sighed, laying a hand on her shoulder. "But as my father used to say, what's past is past; what counts is making up for it now and for the future. You can't change what happened yesterday, but you can make tomorrow better today."

"How? They hate me."

"Make more of an effort to show you're truly sorry. Now that everyone knows where you and Grinch live, you'll make more of an effort to come down, right?"

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, promising herself to not use her cloak after tonight. He was right, since the 'ville knew that she and Grinch were up in Mt. Crumpit, there was no need to hide herself.

"I'm not saying they'll forgive you right away, or even later. Just show you're sorry, and willing to change and grow, and they might come around."

Sniffling, Winnie stood up and hugged Lukas. "Thank you, Grandpa," she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too," he smiled, patting her back.

A/N How're you doin', guys? :D

I found it pretty funny how Whoville thought of Grinch as a monster... then again, considering what he had done the last time they saw him, and how he looks (that outfit IS pretty ridiculous, after all) I guess they kinda have a right to. Funny how after being shoved into a classic ugly Christmas sweater, they liked him.

I decided to have Winnie interacting with other Whos, including Grinch's mothers. I also thought it'd be funny if she tried some of the stuff he was (the fruitcake, fudge, and 'nog) and it they weren't to her liking. Plus, we got to learn a bit about her tastes as well. BTW, why is it popular to not like fruitcake? I've never had it, so I'm confused.

The Nog Off was from a deleted scene (I had to find deleted scenes on YouTube, and in some of them, I can barely hear what's being said; so I either have to come up with something, or just not describe the dialogue) And I figured after having so much rich food, he wouldn't feel very good (thank you, TheBeldam27 for the suggestion)

Originally, Winnie would have a nice reunion with her friends. But in writing this chapter, and after receiving a certain review (or two XD) I realized Winnie's friends wouldn't welcome her with open arms; they would be confused and angry at her, and rightfully so. I'll admit, I kinda forgot about Winnie's friends, and never considered her trying to contact them. There are many a times when I'm writing, I forget certain things. That's actually why I should consider writing notes when coming up with story plots, even ones that follow the movie XD

But anyway, Winnie WILL try to repair her friendship with the girls (she's gonna be occupied within the next several hours ;)) That doesn't mean everything will be hunky dory though. She might lose one or two friends, you never know. She really DID mess up badly.

I was going to add another scene, but decided it was getting too long, and I could add it in the next chapter.