Calloway walked into the home, looking around at all the small porcupines that surrounded him on every side.
He smiled nervously, pulling up his jacket a little so it wouldn't get snagged on one of their sharp spikes.
His eyes traveled everywhere as he tried to find Ash, and finally, he laid his sight on her, the young girl porcupine away in the kitchen already helping with the food being cooked.
"Ash...?" He whispered to her, not wanting to raise his voice and when she, at last, heard his small grunt, she turned to look in his direction, a big gleam on her mouth.
"Clay," She replied back to him, all giddy now in herself, and hurried over to his side, "Come and introduce yourself to everyone."
"Everyone..?" He asked, bewildered at her request and Ash gave a simple nod of her head as she repeated.
"Everyone."
"Huh," He said, giving the weakest of laughs, and turned around, seeing that all Ash's porcupine family was surrounding him, gushing with excitement. Calloway gave a deep nervous gulp, before looking back at them all and saying with the smallest wave of his huge paw, "Hey?"
"You're Clay Calloway..." Ash's grandmother said feebly with a trembling finger as she pointed in his direction, almost jabbing Clay in the chest as she continued, "I remember you back in my day."
"I'm not that old, am I?" He remarked back, and the old feeble porcupine added with the biggest of a shaky grin.
"I remember your songs, your wife... is she doing well?"
That was like a stab to the heart. Clay honestly didn't know how to reply to this as he finally shut his eyes tight, swallowing again and replying.
"She's six feet under."
"Under what?"
"Granny!" Ash yelled suddenly at her old enabled elder, "She died!"
"Oh?" Her granny replied, and looked back at Calloway, adding on quickly, "So has Alfred, my late husband."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Clay said back softly in condolence.
"Don't be, I'm single now," The old porcupine went on and Clay nearly blushed at the huge embarrassing scene that was happening right before his and everyone else's eyes, "So if you want some compan-"
"MUM!" Ash suddenly screeched and her mother came in quickly, dashing her eyes at the elder and running over to the granny, grabbing her arm and guiding her out.
"Aren't I allowed to flirt and get some sugar?!" Ash's granny yelled as she left the room.
"Not in front of everyone." Ash's mother replied.
"Ageist you all are!" Her granny yelled as she left the room and repeated as she was led to a seat away in the kitchen, "AGEIST!"
"Should I go?" Calloway asked nervously and Ash quickly shook her head, smiling awkwardly as she replied.
"No, no.. honestly, she's like this every Christmas."
"EVERY. CHRISTMAS." Ash's brother said again, and handed Clay a beer, probably to help the old lion drown his sorrows, "I'm Kaleb, Ash's older brother."
"Nice to meet you."
"Sorry to hear about your old woman by the way." Kaleb added as he dunked his own beer can down and gave a small burp before he looked back up at Calloway, "But I bet you're one for the ladies."
"Er..."
"Kaleb!" Ash barked at him and Kaleb quickly straightened up, as Ash added, "Don't make me drag you out too!"
"Sorry..." He said back quickly to the tall lion and drank another sip of his beer, "Alcohol makes loose tongues."
"It's... okay," Calloway finally said back, giving a half-amused smile to all the different types of characters around him. Ash definitely had an interesting family.
Ash's whole life was just so interesting... fascinating.
Soon Calloway was introduced to the rest of the family and quickly learned of each individual's personality fast.
The was Ash's younger sister, Emily. Her two cousins, George and Brian. Ash's aunts and uncles and last of all, her father and mother named Joe and Mary formally.
As he sat at the table, he could feel the joy and life in the house, and how so very different it was to his own, and how he spent Christmas every year.
Food was soon put before him, along with some wine, and he sipped it sparingly, eating the meal and only remaining silent as he listened to the family chat away.
"So Jessica is finally finishing college this year-"
"Oh! Past the cranberry sauce! PWEEEASE!?"
"Ash's show has been going wonderful, every night sold out, yeah, Ash?"
"Um..." The teenage porcupine replied, getting the slightest of blushes on her cheeks and nodding her head weakly, "Yeah..."
"I remember when I was young," Granny said, interjecting into the conversation, "I had the men at my heels," The old porcupine then glanced Calloway's way as she added on quickly, "The same with you, Clay?"
"Calloway." Ash corrected her quickly and her elderly granny only waved her off, saying.
"Let the adults talk, Ash."
"But I'm an adult-"
"Yes, yes, whatever girl," Her granny replied and Ash gripped her fists tightly, holding them on the table to stop herself from going off anymore at her old grandma.
Calloway could see the annoyed expression on Ash's face and finally butted in as he said, "Ash is probably wiser than what you'll ever be. And she is technically an adult now."
The whole table went quiet for a moment when the big lion had stated his argument before someone leaned back over to get a fizzy drink to down, and that action caused the table to erupt again with chatter and motion.
Ash's granny only glared over at Calloway, her yellow old teeth grinding together hard and Calloway could sense this.
He looked back over to Ash who gave him a thankful smile for having her back, and he nodded back in return, getting up and just going outside on the porch to get some fresh air.
He gave a deep sigh out, resting his heavy arms at the fence, wiping off the snow that had gathered on it, before looking out to the dark starry night.
And seeing the moon, oh, seeing it just shine its cold white light down on him, on the world.
"You like her, don't you?"
Calloway quickly froze up when he heard that old voice at his side. It definitely wasn't his conscious, it sounded too crackly to be so.
No. At his side was Granny.
"Like who-?" He asked back weakly, feeling the slightest of guilty sweat forming on his forehead.
"Who? WHO?" Granny replied back in a snap, jabbing him at his gut cos' she couldn't reach his chest, "My granddaughter, ASH!"
"Well, she is my friend."
"HA HA!" The elderly porcupine laughed and shook her head vigorously, "She only brought you here cos she felt sorry for you."
"Excuse me?" Calloway spat out, shocked to hear these words, "I know Ash, inside out. She's a good friend, maybe even my best friend."
"YOU, my friend." Granny went on harshly and got her cane now, reaching it up and jabbing Calloway hard at his chest, "Are a cradle-snatcher, you are."
He felt like he suddenly went cold at those harsh scary words.
He... he couldn't be that... he wasn't like that.
But he knew... his feelings for Ash ran deeper than just friendship.
He was terrible for feeling this way towards the very young porcupine... but he couldn't stop his heart with logic.
Was he truly a creepy old man to Ash...? Wanting something she'd never give back?
"Go home." Granny suddenly said, and put her cane's edge to his cheek, directing his sight to the snowy road and adding on harshly, "And let the wee girl be."
But... but...
He didn't want to be alone anymore...
But the old granny was right.
"What will I tell her?" Calloway asked the old porcupine quickly, "What can I say?"
"That you DON'T belong here." Ash's granny told him with such harshness... Clay Calloway nearly felt saddened tears come to his eyes.
But his self-esteem was so low to even fight back against that claim.
He whispered in pain.
"I'll just go."
He got his mobile out of his pocket and rang for a cab. He didn't think he'd get any at this time of night... but he was wrong.
In a few minutes, a taxi pulled up.
Ash had noticed at last that Calloway wasn't anywhere to be seen and she quickly asked around for him.
No one knew where he was and when Ash saw her granny come back in with a wicked smile on her face, Ash knew instantly that she had done something sinister.
"Where is Clay?" She asked. SHE DEMANDED.
"Off back to his mansion of a place, I suppose." Was all her granny answered back to her.
"You..." Ash said to her furiously as she shoved by her and out to the cold snowy suburb, "You wicked old lady!"
"Don't be a gold digger, Ash!" Her granny only yelled back at her with a sardonic grin, "Don't be one of those!"
Ash grew more and more into a rage as she saw Calloway just opening the door of the cab.
"CLAY!" She yelled for him and he only gazed back at her, "PLEASE. DON'T. GO!"
"This isn't my family, Ash." Clay said back quietly, his voice so weak and his throat so cold from the snow, "And I don't belong here."
"But you do!" Ash begged him, and finally let the words slip, "YOU belong with ME!"
He froze up even more once those words were said, looking at her quietly... and seeing what he could not deny.
Barely an adult... so foolish to the ways of the world... a child compared to him.
"No... I don't..." He said back to her, lying to himself as well, "I hope you have a Merry Christmas..."
As he began to get into the cab, the lights of the car flickered on and he looked ahead of him to see the driver was a mole.
"Where to?"
He told him the location and the mole said with a disbelieving reply, "That far huh? That'd cost nearly a grand!"
"I'll give you two if we leave now."
"Okay! Let's go!"
The car began to pull away from the curb when suddenly something hard hit the window, and the mole gasped as before them, on the other side of the glass front window... was Ash.
"Ash...?" Calloway whispered in disbelief.
"...Ow." was all Ash replied with.
Ow.