It was tradition that, on Christmas Eve, Sam and Twister would go to the Rockets' house for dinner. Afterwards, the friends would exchange gifts, sing Christmas carols, and eat cookies. It was also tradition that Ray tried to get them to eat peppermint ice cream. No one but him, Sam, and Twister ever touched the stuff.

"Do I have to wear this stupid thing?" Otto griped.

It was a green elf hat with a jingle bell on the tip. Ray gave him a look as if to say: "Val and Reggie aren't complaining." This wasn't quite true. Deep inside, the girls were humiliated, but they went along with Ray to be nice.

Sam was the first guest to arrive. He deposited his packages on the surfboard coffee table and said hello to everyone. Otto wasn't surprised to see Sam wearing a pair of fake reindeer antlers on his head.
The doorbell rang again. It was Twister. Tonight, he was wearing his usual green cargo shorts and a white T-shirt under a red tank top. He'd switched his backwards baseball cap for a Santa hat. Several pieces of Scotch tape were stuck to his face. Evidently, he'd run into some trouble while trying to wrap gifts.

"You kids look so festive!" exclaimed Ray. He ran out of the room to get his camera. "Everybody say cheese."

Once the photo was taken, Ray brought out the refreshments, which included homemade milkshakes.

"Wow! Coffee! My favorite!" Val cheered.

Reggie groaned quietly. It had been painful enough the first time she'd witnessed her cousin after too much caffeine. She hadn't wanted to repeat the experience so soon.

"Hey, let's open our presents." said Otto. (Getting presents had always been his favorite part of Christmas). He'd torn open all his presents before the others had a chance to unwrap their first.

Reggie slowly pulled the ribbon off Sam's present. It looked like a jewelry box. She opened it. Inside was a silver chain; its charm was a beautiful glittering snowflake. There was also a note in the box: "You're allowed to a have a feminine side, Rocket Girl. Merry Christmas. Sammy."

How sweet of him, Reggie thought, smiling.

"'Really Ripped Abs?'" Otto said loudly as he saw Twister's present. "Bust! Oh man."

Val narrowed her eyes; Otto backed off. He knew that look meant he was in danger of incurring her wrath. There was no fury like Lightning Girl, except perhaps an angry Rocket Girl.
Val resumed opening the present Twister had given her. It was a set of Chipmunk dolls and the Chipmunks Christmas CD. In a small box was a bottle of her favorite perfume, Hawaiian Ginger. She gave him her warmest smile, then ran for the stereo. A minute later, she was blasting the Chipmunks through the whole house. To make her laugh, Twister tried to imitate the Chipmunks' voices, though his own voice cracked on every other note.

When the CD ended, Val still wanted to serenade them. She sang "Feliz Navidad" in perfect Spanish, actually a duet with Twister. She got the rest of the gang to join the singing of "Jingle Bells," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." There was time for one more song before the guests left. Val decided to make it "O Holy Night."

"...Fall on your knees
Oh, hear the angel voices
Oh, night divine..."

To heck with the angels, Twister found himself thinking. Your singing is good enough for me, my fair Valencia.

A/N: Isn't that cute? I should have the next chapter ready in a couple days. Please review; I love seeing my readers' opinions. Have a merry Christmas, everyone!