Rose somehow managed to survive Christmas Day but only because she kept thinking about the brief but amazing kiss she had shared with Alec the night before. So that was what it was like, she wondered. That was what all the fuss was about, Sandra hadn't warned her how it would feel when she'd said it was only a matter of time before they kissed.
The day school had broken up for the holidays, they'd been talking in the girls room and Sandra had told her she'd noticed the two of them. Rose had thought she must be the only one apart from John who had, no-one else had tormented them over it so far. She thought they'd either been very lucky or everyone had got used to them.
Her mother and Bob seemed to suffer from the night before and were falling asleep on the sofa so Rose wondered if she dared to slip out but Alec would be at his aunt's and they may not appreciate her gate-crashing, even though she was welcome there so she went to her room instead, thinking more about what had happened last night.
Alec was getting teased by both his cousins, John having more sympathy because he spent more time with Rose and Alec and when everyone had eaten, John followed Alec out into the hallway.
"Take no notice of your other cousin, Alec," John told him, ruffling his hair as Alec sat where Rose had been last night. "It was going to happen, I thought I'd maybe just help you along?"
"I knew you had placed it there," Alec tried to smile. "There's no going back now, is there?"
"That's up to Rose but considering you walked her home and she kissed your cheek again, she's not mad at you."
"I thought she might have been but she leaned forward first. She said it was nice."
"Well, you're home and dried then Alec. It can only get better but take your time, don't rush things."
"I don't think Rose wants to rush things. We did talk about it before but we just left it. Rose thinks maybe it's best we wait a bit longer, well I think she does."
"Alec, I meant take your time, don't leave it altogether. I know you two are inseparable but if you don't let your feelings be known, Rose will think that you're backing off."
"She will? So how do I let her know I'm not?" Alec wanted to know.
"Just carry on with what you're doing, you'll both know," John advised him, with a grin on his face.
"You mean Rose will?" Alec grinned back.
"It's not all one-sided is it, on her side?" John suddenly realized.
"What? No, it's not, is that what you think?" Alec suddenly stood up.
"I had to ask," John replied. "I wanted to make sure it wasn't all Rose but I can see it's not. Just go along with what she wants, she'll show you and when you're ready, you won't need the mistletoe. I'm still leaving it up though."
The next morning, Rose was up early. All she could think about was seeing Alec later when he called for her. Her mother noticed as they got breakfast ready.
"Rose, I'm sorry you couldn't get out yesterday."
"It's okay Mum, leave it. Thanks for not telling on me the other night."
"Did you have a good time?"
"Yeah, I met some more of Alec's family. He has two more cousins though one's only back for the holidays and the other one lives in Glasgow. Mum, why did Bob insist I stayed for the party?"
"Leave it sweetheart. Bob's never had a real family before, that's all. He just wanted to show off to his friends, that's all. Don't worry too much Rose, he's only looking out for us."
"Then why do ya let him have the last say in everything?" Rose wanted to know.
"We live with him Rose. He got us out of the estate, you got into a better school, I could never have done that on my own. We have a better life here Rose, it's much nicer up here, for both of us. You have better friends as well, don't you?" her mother asked.
"What was wrong with my other friends?" Rose objected.
"Really? They distracted you Rose, you hung around with them when ya were supposed to be in class and don't think I never knew. No, we're certainly better off up here and at least ya have a father-figure now, someone to put you right."
Rose was about to disagree when Bob started calling for her mother. It reminded her they were here for all the wrong reasons and her mother couldn't see it. What reason did Bob want a family, with a teenager and not someone younger? She guessed she would never know.
Now she was counting the hours until Alec called for her but would he be mad she had made the first move the other night?
"Can I use the phone Mum?" she called after her mother.
"Don't be on long sweetheart."
Rose dialled Alec's number, hoping he'd answer but it was his dad.
"Hello Rose, do you want Alec?" she was asked. "I'll just get him."
His dad knew he'd been on edge all morning, after confessing what had happened the other night. He knew though it was down to them what they did about it, no amount of telling them to stay away from each other would do any good, since they were in the same class and Rose was like part of the family.
Alec was called to the phone, not that he wasn't already standing in the doorway, hoping it was Rose but not that she was telling him she couldn't go out later.
"Rose, is everything okay?" he greeted her, his dad going off and smiling to himself.
He knew Alec cared a lot about her and he'd seen it more-so lately.
"Yeah, it's fine. I wanted to sneak out early, are you going out yet?"
"No, I can come round now or meet you outside? Did you have a good day yesterday?"
"Not really, it would have been better if I'd have been back home or with your family. Bob was a bit of a misery," she replied, hoping he didn't hear or she'd be grounded until next Christmas.
Alec let out a nervous laugh. "I can come round, maybe in an hour?' he asked, since it was just after eleven.
Rose sounded disappointed when she replied with, "Oh, well maybe I can last that long?"
"Or were you hoping to come round now?" he asked, seeing where his dad was.
It was different when his dad was out, they came and went as they wanted during the holidays but despite him saying Rose was always welcome, he thought maybe his dad wanted them to have some time on their own.
"It doesn't matter Alec, I can wait," Rose replied, not wanting to cause any problems.
"Just hold on," Alec told her, putting the receiver down on the stand.
"I heard what you told Rose," his dad said as Alec got to the doorway. "Go get her or meet her, it's okay."
"She said she'd wait," Alec offered.
"I know how miserable she is at home, it can't be easy for her but Alec, we really need to talk about things, if Rose is going to be your girlfriend."
"Thanks Dad, I need to talk about it with Rose though, we never decided anything," Alec replied.
"I think you already have," his dad disagreed. "I'm not objecting Alec but you have to think about it very carefully. Go on, don't keep her waiting on the phone."
"Thanks Dad."
Alec went back to the phone, where Rose was waiting on the other end. Was she asking too much of him, spending time with his dad when she was unhappy?
"Rose, it's okay, I'm coming round for you. Will you be able to get out though?" Alec asked her worriedly that he'd get there and Bob wouldn't even let him talk to her on the intercom, let alone let him in the building.
"Yeah, just come round Alec, please?"
"Just wait, I won't be long."
Rose put the phone down and went into the living room.
"Everything okay Rose?" her mother asked, trying not to ask how the phone call had gone.
"Yeah. I've already prepared your lunch Mum, you only have to reheat it."
"Not joining us?" Bob suddenly asked, coming out from behind a newspaper he was trying to catch up on.
"Rose is going out, remember?" Jackie reminded him.
Rose thought he must still be recovering from the other night and the booze he'd had with his dinner yesterday.
"So what time are you going out then?" Bob wanted to know, since Rose had never mentioned a time, thankfully.
She might actually get way with this, since she knew how long it took Alec to walk round.
"Alec will be here soon," Rose replied, hoping she didn't sound too keen.
"A bit early?" Bob questioned her.
"I have presents to take round," Rose replied, glad she'd not sneaked them out the other night.
"Well be back before ten, understand?" Bob reminded her. "I still see no reason why you can't stay at home."
Rose thought he had to be joking. Why would she want to spend the day watching boring old films on the TV when she could be with friends?
What her mother had said to her, about them being a family, this was nothing like being a family, not from what she'd seen of Alec's. It worried her now what her mother was getting at, that Bob wanted to show his mates he had a family. Did they have families of their own? If not, maybe she had a right to be worried? She had to talk to Alec and John about this, the way her mother had thought it was normal.
Maybe in a strange way her mother did think it was what it was like to be a family? They'd had all that time being on their own before Bob had come along and then her mother had seen the chance of getting out and living a better life and had grabbed it while she could.
Well, she might have taken her feelings into consideration instead of springing it on her during the school holidays. Her thoughts were interrupted by the door buzzer and she was up like a shot, beating Bob to it.
"Is that you Alec?"
Alec wondered who else she was expecting, since he'd told her he was setting off.
"Yes Rose, are you coming down?" he replied, since the last few times he'd not gone up.
"I'll just get my things, won't be long."
With that, she was out and into her bedroom, the carrier bag of presents already on the bed. She'd saved all her bus fare and some of her allowance but she'd not got anything for Alec's other cousin, since she'd not known he was going to be there. She hoped she'd be forgiven.
Alec was waiting downstairs, trying to keep warm when he saw her coming out of the lift.
"Let me take that for you?" he offered, going for the large Christmas carrier bag.
"Yeah, thanks but no trying to get to yours," she teased him.
They walked arm in arm to his house, she knew there were still a few hours before they went to his aunt's house though and wondered what they were planning on doing. When they got there, she knew she needn't have worried as Alec went to get her present he'd bought her.
"I think I'll take it to your aunt's and open it," Rose insisted as he put it in front of her on the kitchen table.
"Then I'll save yours," he replied, leaving it in the carrier bag and then putting Rose's on top. "You got back in okay the other night then?"
"Yeah, it was easy, told ya I could do it," she smiled, Alec noticing she had her tongue stuck out of the side of her mouth.
Since when had she been doing that, he wondered and trying not to make it seem like he was looking. Maybe that was what she intended though? As if the arm and hand holding, the kisses on the cheek and now possibly repeats of the kiss from under the mistletoe without it being there weren't enough? What could she possibly come up with next? Was there anything else she'd just started and he'd not taken any notice of?
He snapped out of his thoughts.
"If anyone could, it would have been you. John admitted he put the mistletoe up by the way."
"Yeah, as if we didn't know that?" Rose had to laugh.
"You sounded upset earlier Rose, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she replied. Alec wasn't satisfied and she could tell. "Ya mean apart from having such a boring day yesterday? Geez, I don't why he made me stay in, watching boring films, them both having a hangover from the night before and falling asleep halfway through a programme. I just left them to it."
"Poor you," Alec replied, feeling sorry for her. "You should have maybe sneaked out again?"
"I thought about it, trust me. I hardly saw them Alec, why did he make me stay in? If I hadn't thought about him catching me, I would have tried it but I wasn't sure that I should intrude at your aunt's, it being Christmas Day."
"What? How can you think you would have been intruding?" Alec raised his voice.
His dad heard and put down the new book he'd got from John and went to join them.
"Is everything okay with you two?" they were asked as Rose looked up from where she rested her head on her hands, thinking Alec was mad at her, probably for encouraging him to kiss her the other night.
"No Dad, nothing's wrong, is there Rose?" Alec asked her. "Rose thought she wouldn't have been welcome had she sneaked out and gone to aunt Mary's yesterday."
"Rose, how would you not have been welcome?" his dad asked her. "You spent the day on your own?"
"I may just have well have done for all the attention I got. There's Bob saying we're a family and he was getting over the night before. I wish I had gone out now, even if I got caught, I'm getting past worrying about what he'll say if he catches me."
Alec and his dad looked at each other, his dad nodding to Alec as Rose put her head down again. Alec pulled his chair over and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Please look up Rose," he asked her. "It's not so bad, really. You're here now and we'll make sure you're not late back tonight, won't we Dad?"
"Yes, of course we will. Rose, is there something you want to talk about?"
Rose shook her head without looking up but didn't try to move Alec's hand from her shoulder.
"Come on Rose, you can tell us," Alec tried to encourage her.
"There's nothing you can do about it Alec. We're here to stay, mum said so. She can't see anything wrong with Bob wanting us to be a family."
Alec's dad sat down opposite. He could see Alec's concern for his friend, who seemed like she'd suddenly become his girlfriend.
"You have to talk about it Rose, if it worries you," he told her. "It does help when you have someone to listen to you."
"You can't help me Mr Hardy, my mum won't leave him, no matter what. She said we could have never have a life like we have if we'd stayed in London. She doesn't get that I don't want a life like we have, she has no idea. She thinks I'm in a better school but she doesn't know I'm struggling to keep up."
"You do okay Rose, me and John help you," Alec told her, wishing he could hug her but maybe not in front of his dad.
"I screwed it up at my old one 'cos I wanted to act around and get all my friends into trouble for following me. The last few years, I hardly learned anything. I just bluff in class Alec, John already knows that."
"Has he said so?" Alec's dad asked her.
Rose shook her head.
"They'll help you Rose, we all will, won't we Alec?"
"I already told you that Rose, that's why you got the books, remember? Remember we talked about going to college together?"
"I won't get into college Alec."
"Of course you will Rose. Why won't you?" Alec wanted to know. "You're trying to catch up and you will, no matter what it takes."
"Alec's right Rose, you can't give up," his dad agreed. "You have an advantage Rose, John's on your side, remember?"
Rose managed to nod. "I feel like it's cheating."
"No, it's not cheating," Alec disagreed. "How can it be? Let us help you Rose, we're all here for you."
His dad got up, thinking they wanted to be on their own. It was now after one and they'd be walking around to Alec's aunt's soon.
"Want a hug?" Alec offered, trying to cheer her up.
Rose looked up. "I thought you'd be mad at me? I made the first move the other night."
"You just beat me to it," Alec smiled. "I knew it was there. Cheer up Rose, please?"
She knew he really cared about her.
"Sorry, it's just it gets me so mad, it's all so false and my mum can't see it. Alec, I don't think my mum knows what being a family is, there was only the two of us, she thinks it's Bob's version. Why does he want to show me off to his friends Alec?"
Alec had no idea but he was certainly going to find out, if Rose was upset about it.
"Come on Rose, go freshen up in the bathroom before we leave?" he suggested, seeing a tear in the corner of her eye.
"Have you put mistletoe out there?" Rose tried to joke.
Alec put his hands up in defense. "Me? No, that was entirely John's idea, he admitted it. He said it was bound to happen sooner or later and he was giving us a nudge. We didn't talk about it much, do you want to?"
"You mean about repeating it?"
"Well, yes, that was one of the things. I told you, I wasn't mad with you Rose. Maybe I'll get chance to prove it to you later?"
"Maybe?" Rose mused, drying her eye.
Alec leaned over and kissed her cheek, figuring she needed it and thought to himself maybe he should start doing that more often instead of leaving it up to her.
Rose leaned over and tried to put her arms around his neck, Alec moving to let her.
"Thanks Alec."
"That's what friends are for Rose," he reminded her as it turned into an awkward hug. "We should get ready to leave."
Despite being upset earlier, Rose soon forgot about it as she swapped presents near the tree, which was already lit up, reminding her of when there was just her and her mother until all their friends and family came around in the afternoon. She wished it was still like that but she would never have met Alec if she'd not come here and he was the best thing about it.
Even going out to the bathroom and expecting Alec to follow her, which unknown to her he was planning on saving it for later before they left, she felt better and even the thought of going home didn't seem that bad, well not for the time being anyway. She'd got some nice presents and Alec had surprised her but not half as much as she'd surprised him with her present to him.
"It's great Rose, thanks," he'd told her after they'd eaten.
"I hoped you'd like it, I was a bit stuck what to get. You really like it?" she asked as he looked at the case the pens and pencils were in alongside a small writing pad.
"I'll use the pad to write you a special story."
"Thanks. I really like the present you got me, no-one's bought me anything like that before, maybe because they thought I was too young before to want anything smelly. Did anyone help ya choose it?"
"Ah, I may have asked one of the store assistants," he smiled.
"You chose it yourself though?"
"Yes, I chose it myself. Rose, about earlier. I want to help you catch up with your work, it makes no difference you took no notice before, you're trying to make up for it, that's what really counts."
"You think so? I hope the teachers think that."
"Rose, they will have seen your school records you know?" he reminded her. "They can't be that bad or you would never have been accepted."
"I told you, I only just got in Alec. You re so much more clever than I am."
"Don't ever say that Rose, that's not true. Don't put yourself down, not ever. During the holidays, you and I have a lot of work to do."
"Don't give up your time for me Alec."
"Well tough Rose, John may not be allowed to help you much out of school but I can and that's exactly what we are going to do until we go back in the new year. Besides, it's too cold to go anywhere, except to the library to get more books," he smiled.
"Don't ya hate going to the library?" she wondered. "Doesn't it remind you of being friends with Jamie?"
"Who?" Alec grinned, wondering why they'd been left alone in the kitchen again, which they seemed to make a habit of. "Jamie made his choice Rose, he doesn't speak for me. Besides, that was where I first saw you, remember? I was hoping when I first saw you that you were new to the area and you'd be going to the same school."
"You should have been hoping I wasn't," she replied.
"That's not true Rose, don't say that. It gave me an excuse to help you on your first day, remember?"
"Yeah. So ya wouldn't have helped me if you'd not seen me in the library?" she teased him.
"That's not fair Rose. I would have still helped you, you were lost and no-one else was taking any notice."
"Like they take no notice of us?" Rose asked him. "Maybe we should shake them up a bit?"
"Rose, what do you mean by that?" he asked worriedly in case she was planning on going around kissing him all the time.
This time, it was Rose who got up and moved her chair nearer to him.
"Do we need the mistletoe, Alec?" she whispered in his ear.
She looked at him, leaving him to decide. Maybe if she took the lead in everything, he'd change his mind about her and she couldn't bear to lose him, he was all she had.
"No, I don't think so, do you?" he asked, turning to her.
Just as they were about to have their second kiss, John was wondering what they were up to. It had become normal for the two of them to disappear when Rose came around but since they'd kissed under the mistletoe, would they sneak the other way and take advantage of it? He opened the kitchen door, quietly and saw them, smiling to himself. His plan had worked and though they both thought they were too young, they'd already figured it out.
