As far as Keith could tell, his relationship with James was going well. He found himself opening up more to James and he was thankful that James was patient with him and was patient with him about certain topics.
Keith's job was going steady working for Natasha and had become friends with Nadia, Ryan, Ina, and the other singers who worked at the bar. His morning sickness had thankfully stopped, it was not his favourite when he had to wake up in the early mornings to him needing to throw up. He did get nauseous when he was in the car but it wasn't as bad.
Krolia and Kolivan seemed to like James and were happy that Keith seemed to be slowly but surely moving on from Lance. James had come over for dinner a few times or to spend the night as long as Krolia and Kolivan were cool with it.
One morning, Keith had woken up earlier than he usually did. His first thought was more sickness but was thankful it wasn't. Keith turned as he heard snoring beside him in the bed, his eyes widened and his heart started racing.
Why was Lance here!?
And why was he in Keith's bed!?
However, as the figure turned, Keith was met with the sleeping face of James. He let out a sigh of relief and forced himself to slow his breathing so his heart would stop racing.
'You never leave me alone do you?' Keith asked himself as he got out of bed. 'I've moved on and yet you seem to taunt me, even now I'm thinking of you.'
Keith pulled on a hoodie and slowly headed out of his bedroom. He could hear snores down the hall where his mother and Kolivan were still sleeping. He headed downstairs to a room that Krolia had suggested they turn into a studio room for Keith. Keith loved to song write and when he was younger, Krolia had installed a studio room in their old house for him to be alone and be with his music.
Keith protested at first but lately he found himself using it more and more. His guitars and other instruments were in the room as well as a large desk for Keith to use, a black leather couch sat against one of the walls.
Keith liked it in here. For days like today where it was his day off, he found himself in this room more and more. It gave him something to do other than sit at home waiting for his pregnancy to be over. Writing songs usually helped him work out his thoughts, especially ones like how he was feeling now.
Keith picked up one of his guitars and started strumming it. He had to hold it at an awkward angle because of his growing stomach but he got there eventually.
James woke up and let out a soft yawn before sitting up and brushing his hair out of his eyes and turning expecting to see Keith lying there. However, he was surprised when he saw the raven wasn't there. Thinking he was in the kitchen, James climbed out of the bed and pulled on his t-shirt.
However, Keith wasn't there either.
James's ears picked up the soft sound of guitar strumming coming from downstairs. He smiled softly not knowing exactly where he was and headed down the stairs. He could hear Keith singing softly and softly entered the studio room, not wanting to interrupt Keith's creative block.
"Looking into your eyes
Looking into your eyes"
James felt his heart melt hearing Keith singing. He could never get enough of hearing his voice. However, that smile dropped hearing the next lyrics, it was then that James caught the picture of Lance sitting on the desktop.
He thought Keith had deleted all the old pictures of Lance?
How did he still have one?
"Oh, won't you walk through
And bust in the door and take me away"
James had been having suspicions lately that Keith still harboured feelings for Lance. Every time they would kiss, Keith would make a strange expression, every time they said "I love you" Keith would be lost in thought, little things like that.
Hearing Keith sing and seeing Keith sing to a picture of Lance just confirmed what he was thinking.
"Oh, no more mistakes
Cause in your eyes, I'd like to stay
Stay"
As Keith finished the song, he stood up and put the guitar down back on the stand beside the others. Keith turned to go upstairs and grab some water, only to pause when he saw James standing by the doorway.
"Hey," Keith said with a soft smile. "I didn't hear you come in."
"No, you wouldn't," James said with a shake of his head. "You were too busy singing a song to your ex-boyfriend who need I remind you broke up with you to go and marry his secret fiancée practically breaking your heart."
Keith flinched as he turned to the desktop to see the picture of Lance and let out a soft sigh as he turned back to James.
"It's not what you think I promise."
"Really? Cause to me it looks like you still have feelings for your ex, why else would you be singing a song to him, asking him to come take you away?" James asked with a glare.
"James-"
"I see the little things you do Keith," James said with a sigh. "You get a strange look on your face whenever we kiss, I say "I love you" and you get lost in thought."
"Have you ever considered that maybe I still get memories from when I was with Lance?" Keith asked, he could feel himself getting angry now. "I can't help it."
"You said you'd try to get over him, we made that promise together," James said which made Keith's shoulders slump. "I have yet to actually see you make that effort, it's like you're still waiting for him to come and ask you back."
Keith froze and his head fell, choosing to stare at his socked feet instead. It was then a realization hit James and he let out a scoff mixed with a laugh.
"Why didn't I see it? Of course, you are," James said with a shake of his head. "And I was stupid to let it go on this long, thinking you would actually put in the effort."
"James-"
"No," James said shaking his head. "I'm stopping this before I get dragged deeper into the sinking ship you're standing on. You can sink with the ship you're clinging onto, I'm not gonna sit on the lifeboat waiting for you to realize you can escape."
Keith could feel his heart breaking all over again.
'It's happening again' Keith thought as tears formed in his eyes. 'Someone else is leaving.'
Keith was brought out his racing thoughts when he heard James coming down the stairs, his bag in hand and another bag of his stuff that had started to form a collection in Keith's bedroom. James gave him one last look before he shook his head, almost as if he was debating his own thoughts.
"I'm sorry Keith," James said with a sigh. "I wish we could have made it work."
"We could have," Keith said with a soft glare. "But I'm not going to tie you down to my sinking ship, take your lifeboat and go."
Keith gave James a last glare, tears in his eyes, before he turned and started walking up the stairs, a heavy feeling in his heart.
"Keith!" James called out but Keith had already reached the top of the stairs and the last thing James heard was the sound of Keith's door closing. James honestly expected Keith to slam the door but Keith had softly closed the door, which made the silence in the house hurt even more.
James let out a sigh before slipping on his shoes and heading out of the house.
It had been raining the past few weeks, which was contradicting Keith's mood right now. A few days ago, Keith had been cleaning the house up and down. While his mother appreciated the help keeping the house tidy, she would often find Keith cleaning places he had already cleaned the day before.
She remembered this phase of pregnancy all too well, the "nesting" phase. Earlier that day, Krolia had also caught Keith going through websites and books about decorating nurseries and writing down ideas. Especially now that Keith would be moving into a house of his own. His mother and Kolivan had helped him find a decent sized house that would fit him and the twins and along with Shiro and Adam's help, they had enough for Keith to buy the house.
It was a two floor house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, one of those being in Keith's room. The house had a big backyard which Krolia knew the twins would love when they got older. What helped ease Krolia's stress was that the house was down the block from hers and Kolivan's. She trusted Keith but she wanted to be close just in case something went wrong.
"Keith," Krolia called out, catching the raven moving to grab the broom and dustpan again. "Why don't you take a break? You've been on your feet all day."
"I guess," Keith said with a sigh, collapsing on the couch with a sigh. "Did you have it this bad?"
"Not this bad," Krolia said with a smile, sitting on the couch beside Keith. Her smile grew seeing Keith flinch. "Kicking again?"
"Yeah," Keith said with a nod. "They're really active today."
"That's them letting you know they're there," Krolia said with a chuckle. "Shiro was very active when I was pregnant with him, you were my shy one, you rarely kicked me."
"Guess I've always been that way," Keith said with a chuckle.
"Have you thought about names yet?" Krolia asked.
"I haven't really thought about that yet," Keith said with a shake of his head. "It hadn't crossed my mind yet."
"Most people don't come up with names until they actually give birth," Krolia responded with a smile. "I didn't name Shiro until he was born. With you, your father and I knew right away what we wanted to name you."
"How did you know?" Keith asked turning to his mother. "How did you know what to name your children?"
"That's a good question," Krolia said with a slow nod. "To be honest, I'm not sure myself. I wanted to name you Yorak at first."
"Yorak?" Keith asked, his nose scrunching. "Like great grandfather Yorak?"
"Yeah," Krolia responded with a chuckle. "Your father convinced me to name you Keith instead. Which looking back on it was a smart decision."
The mother and son shared their laughter before Krolia turned to Keith with a smile.
"You'll know, it's natural."
"Merry Christmas!" Shiro and Adam announced as they entered the house, their arms filled with bags of presents. Krolia smiled and hugged her boys, Kolivan taking their bags from them and moving them to the living room.
"It's good to see you boys again," Krolia said as she pulled back from the hug. "Though, it's not quite Christmas yet."
"Close enough," Shiro said as he shrugged off his jacket.
"Where's Keith?" Adam asked as he handed his jacket to Shiro.
"He headed down early to help Natasha set up and do a soundcheck," Kolivan answered with a smile. Shiro turned as a knock at the door echoed throughout the house and opened it to reveal Allura and Shay.
"Hello everyone!" Allura said with a smile.
"Hey you two, come on in," Shiro said with a smile, Shiro closing the door as Allura and Shay stepped into the house.
"You must be Allura and Shay," Krolia said with a smile. "It's great to finally meet you both, Keith has told me so much about you two."
"Not too much I hope," Allura responded with a chuckle. "But it's wonderful to meet you Krolia, Keith has told us about you over the years."
"Sorry Hunk couldn't come, the triplets came down with a cold but he insisted I go to support Keith," Shay said with a small smile.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Kolivan said, offering the mother a smile. "It's never fun for children when they're sick."
"No," Shay said with a shake of her head. "They're more of a handful when they're sick than normal."
"Why don't I get some hot chocolate ready and bring it to the living room while we wait for your other two friends to show up?" Krolia suggested with a smile. "Shiro, can you take everyone to the living room?"
"Sure thing," Shiro said with a smile.
"We're ready," Ina said into the earpiece which was connected to the one Nat was wearing who was standing backstage with Keith, Viva, and the other two singers named Annika and Julian.
"Perfect," Nat said with a smile. She was wearing a black skirt, red tank top, black jacket, black tights, and black boots. Nat also wore her blonde hair in a ponytail, her signature gold hoop earrings and a black choker. On her head, she wore red flowers with green leaves.
Nat took the mic being held out to her and walked out onto the stage, the crowd cheering as the lights shined on Nat.
"Welcome everyone! How are you on this fine December evening?" Nat paused as the crowd cheered once more. "Excellent, it brings me such joy to be hosting this year's tree lighting for our small town. And you better believe I brought excellent performers for you this fine evening."
The crowd cheered once more and Nat smiled seeing how excited the crowd was.
"Our first performance is going to be sung by two of my newest editions to my bar," Nat said spotting Krolia in the crowd and gave her a wink. "Please welcome to the stage, Keith Kogane and Annika Adams singing Last Christmas."
Nat headed off the stage and Keith and Annika walked onto the stage as the crowd cheered. Keith could feel his nerves acting up, singing at the bar was different. Here the crowd was bigger. However, a smile from Annika and the gentle smile his mother gave him in the crowd helped him ground himself as the music started and he and Annika started singing, Julian and Viv singing backup from backstage.
(Note: Word = Keith and Annika, Word = Keith or Annika. Word = Viv and Julian.)
"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away(You gave it away)
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special(Special)"
"He sounds amazing," Shay said with a smile.
"You weren't kidding when you said he grew," Allura said turning to Shiro with a smile.
"Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance, but you still catch my eye
Tell me, baby, do you recognize me?
Well, it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me"
As Keith sang, his eyes wandered to his family and friends who smiled as they watched him perform.
""Merry Christmas" I wrapped it up and sent it
With a note saying, "I love you", I meant it
Now I know what a fool I've been
But if you kissed me now, I know you'd fool me again"
Annika was glad to be working on this song with Keith. She joined a little after Keith had joined and the two became fast friends. She had been cheated on by her ex-girlfriend and moved to Millcreek and began working at her mother's bakery. Keith had joked that it sounded like something out of a Hallmark movie and Annika laughed back and agreed.
"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away(You gave it away)
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special(Special)
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special (Special, oh)
Oh, oh, baby"
As Keith sang the next verse, his eyes caught someone he didn't expect to see.
James.
"A crowded room, friends with tired eyes
I'm hiding from you and your soul of ice
My God, I thought you were someone to rely on
Me? I guess I was a shoulder to cry on"
Annika must have noticed his uneasiness because she grabbed his hand and brought his thoughts back down. Keith turned to her with a grateful smile and returned his thoughts to the song as Annika sang next.
"A face of a lover with a fire in his heart
A man under cover but you tore me apart
Ooh-hoo
Now I've found a real love, you'll never fool me again"
Despite Keith distracting himself, he could feel James's eyes on him. However, the uneasiness quickly turned into annoyance. But Keith hid it behind a forced smile as he focused on the song instead. He was happy the crowd was enjoying the song as they clapped along.
"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away (You gave it away)
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special (Special)
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears (Ohh)
I'll give it to someone special (Special)"
As the song came to a close, Keith could feel memories of Lance popping into his head. He wasn't sure what triggered them, perhaps it was the song. However, he shook his head and forced himself to finish the song.
"A face on a lover with a fire in his heart (I gave you mine)
A man under cover but you tore him apart
Maybe next year we'll give it to someone
I'll give it to someone special
Special
So long..."
The song finished and the crowd cheered. Keith and Annika bowed, their hands still linked and turned as Nat came back on stage.
"Now you can see why I hired them," Nat said with a smile. "And it's not just because Annika is a great server and Keith can make great drinks."
The crowd laughed and Nat continued.
The night was spent with performances from all four members. Some were solos, others were duets, and there was an occasional group song.
It was nearing midnight and that was when Nat came on stage after Keith and Viv finished their song, Annika and Julian behind her.
"Alright folks, it's two minutes to midnight which means it's almost time to light the tree," Nat announced with a smile. "So who is ready for one last song as we start the countdown?"
The crowd cheered and a countdown appeared on the screen above the stage.
"Countdown starts now!" Nat called out and music started playing as the countdown started.
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly," Annika started to sing. "Tis the season to be jolly."
"Don we now our gay apparel," Viv continued. "Fa la la, la la la, la la la."
"Troll the ancient Yule tide carol," Keith sang.
"Fa la la la la, la la la la," Julian finished.
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly," Annika and Julian sang.
"Tis the season to be jolly," Keith and Viv sang.
"Don we now our gay apparel
Fa la la, la la la, la la la," Annika and Julian sang.
"Troll the ancient Yule tide carol
Fa la la la la, la la la la," Keith and Viv sang.
"See the blazing Yule before us," Annika sang.
"Fa la la la la, la la la la"
"Strike the harp and join the chorus," Viv sang.
"Fa la la la la, la la la la"
"Follow me in merry measure," Keith sang.
"Fa la la la la, la la la la"
"While I tell of Christmas treasure," Julian sang.
"(Deck the halls with boughs of holly) Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la"
As the time reached closer to midnight, the singers on stage headed off the stage and the crowd joined them in circling the tree in a half-moon shape. Families and friends gathered together, smiles on their faces and all waiting in anticipation for the tree to light up.
"(Tis the season to be jolly) Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la"
The crowd joined in the song as the countdown slowly reached its end.
"Don we now our gay apparel,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
Troll the ancient Yule tide carol,
Fa la la la la, (fa la la la la la la) la la la la.
Fa la la la la,
Fa la la la la,
(La la la la) la la la la"
As the song finished, the tree lit up and the crowd cheered. The lights from the tree lighting up the square and the shining star on the top of the tree seemed to merge with the stars in the December sky.
Song(s) Used:
Thinking of You
Sung by Katy Perry, 2008
Last Christmas
Sung by Wham! 1985
Deck the Halls
Cover Used from Barbie: A Perfect Christmas, 2011
Author's Note:
Yes! Another chapter is done!
I was having writer's block for my Creative Writing class so I decided to write the next chapter instead. Somehow it helped because I figure out what to write for my class.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
Until the next one,
~Alchemygirl8
