Noelle's eyes fluttered open. She could hear the sound of her own breathing, and she realized that it was very quiet. The ceiling light was on, casting a yellow glow across the room. Noelle turned her head to look at Kris beside her; he looked peaceful as ever, his chest rising and falling with each breath.

"Kris?" Noelle asked softly. He didn't respond right away. "Hey," Noelle said again, louder this time. Still no response. "Kris? Are you okay?"

There was still no answer from him, so Noelle tried shaking his shoulder gently. His body remained motionless. Noelle sighed, realizing that he must be asleep. Maybe he had fallen asleep while they were talking about their feelings for one another. It wasn't uncommon for Kris to fall asleep during conversations.

Noelle sat up slowly, feeling a bit more alert now. She looked around the room curiously, wondering where everything was. Her gaze landed on a small box sitting next to the window, which was covered by a thick blanket of snow outside. A small red bow was tied around the top of it. Curious, Noelle reached out and picked up the box, turning it over in her hands. There was something written on the front of the box: 'To my dearest friend.'

She opened the lid of the box and found a large piece of paper inside, folded into thirds. On the first page was a poem, written in elegant cursive handwriting.

Dear Noelle,

I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas Eve! You've been such an amazing friend to me, and I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for always being there whenever I need someone to talk to or when I'm upset. Thank you for making sure I eat even though I don't want to. And most importantly, thank you for helping me get through all those hard times.

You are truly one of the best people I have ever met, and I am so thankful to have you in my life.

I love you, Noelle.

Love,

Your Secret Santa (:

Noelle smiled, reading the words over and over again. This was the second year Kris had done this for her, but this time he'd gone above and beyond. He'd gotten her a present too! Noelle couldn't help herself; she began to tear up. She quickly wiped them away before anyone could notice, stuffing the note back into the box and tucking it under the blankets.

Noelle got out of bed, walking over to Kris' side of the room. She leaned down, kissing his cheek lightly.

"Merry Christmas, Kris."

He stirred slightly, opening his eyes. They were bloodshot and tired looking.

"Good morning," Kris mumbled.

"Merry Christmas!" Noelle exclaimed, giving him a big hug. Kris returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Merry Christmas," he repeated.

They stayed like that for a few moments, just holding each other tightly. Then, Noelle pulled away, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

"What's wrong?" Kris asked, concerned.

Noelle shook her head. "Nothing. Just...happy," she replied.

Kris nodded, smiling at her. "Me too."

Noelle giggled. "Come on. Let's go downstairs and see what Santa brought us!"

The two of them walked down the stairs together, stopping to admire the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. It was decorated with lights and ornaments, and Noelle noticed a new ornament hanging from its branches. It was a silver bell, with a gold ribbon wrapped around it.

"This is really pretty," Noelle said, reaching out to touch it.

"Yeah, I made it myself," Kris said proudly.

Noelle looked closer, noticing that the bell was engraved with 'To My Secret Santa,' along with the date.

"That's so sweet of you," Noelle said, hugging him.

"It's not a big deal," Kris shrugged.

"Well, it is to me. Thank you."

They stood there for a moment longer, staring at the bell. Finally, Noelle broke the silence.

"So, uh, how did you make this?"

"Oh, well..." Kris trailed off, looking embarrassed. "I was bored, so I started playing around with some stuff. I used a hammer and nails, then added some glitter to the edges. It took a lot of work, but I think it turned out pretty good!"

Noelle laughed. "You're so crafty."

"Thanks," Kris said bashfully.

They continued to stand there, admiring the bell. Noelle felt a warm sensation in her heart, thinking about the fact that Kris had spent hours creating something for her. She knew he'd worked hard on it, and she appreciated his efforts.

"Let's hang it on the tree," Noelle suggested.

Kris nodded, grabbing the bell and handing it to her. Noelle carefully hung the ornament on the tree, placing it between two of the larger branches. The bell looked beautiful against the white tree, sparkling in the soft light.

Noelle looked over at Kris, who was standing beside her. He was grinning happily, watching her hang the bell. Noelle smiled back at him, feeling a little giddy.

"Thank you, Kris," she whispered.

Kris blushed. "Um...you're welcome."

Noelle chuckled. "Okay, let's go check out the presents!"

The two of them walked over to the Christmas tree, Noelle picking up a present from underneath it. She opened the box, revealing a long scarf and matching gloves, wrapped in blue and green gift paper.

"Wow! Thank you, Kris!" she exclaimed.

She put on her new scarf, wrapping it around her neck several times before tying the end behind her. She admired her handiwork in the mirror, pleased with what she saw.

"You look cute," Kris said, coming up behind her and rubbing her shoulders.

Noelle giggled. "Thanks!"

He leaned down to kiss her, and Noelle happily closed her eyes, savoring the sweet taste of his lips. When they parted, she looked up at him and smiled.

"You look happy too," she commented.

"I am," Kris replied.

"I can tell."

Noelle giggled playfully. Her heart skipped a beat at Kris' admission. She stared into his eyes, taking in every detail about them: how dark they were, how bright and shiny they seemed, and how they sparkled with happiness and love. It was so strange; it almost felt as if her whole world stopped for a moment, allowing her to soak in Kris' appearance to the fullest.

He was gazing back at her, his expression soft and loving. His mouth opened to speak, but before he could get a word out, Noelle interrupted him.

"Kris?" she asked quietly. "Why do you love me so much? Why is it so important to you that I'm yours?"

Her voice sounded timid and unsure to her own ears. She didn't realize until that moment that she was completely serious.

Kris paused, staring deep into Noelle's eyes for several moments. Eventually, he spoke. "Because you're beautiful," he said simply.

Noelle didn't know what to say. She had never expected anyone to say something like that about her. It was a foreign concept to her; she'd grown up hearing people call her 'fat,' 'ugly,' and 'disgusting.' So it wasn't surprising to her that Kris' comment came as such a shock to her.

Noelle couldn't stop herself from giggling slightly. "That's kind of weird."

Kris smiled fondly at her, pulling her closer. "Yes it is." He brushed her hair away from her face tenderly. "But I guess I can forgive you for it."

Noelle smiled. "Can we open more presents now?"

Kris smiled back at her, nodding once. He turned towards the Christmas tree again and began opening up his gifts. Noelle followed behind him, curious as to what he had gotten for her. She watched him carefully unwrap one after another, trying not to spoil any surprises before she got to see them in person. After he finished unwrapping his final present, Noelle reached out to take it from him gently.

The present was a blue shirt; it was long-sleeved, with white stripes running across the sleeves. The front of the shirt was plain except for three words printed on the chest: 'My Dearest Friend.' Noelle giggled; it was so silly yet sweet at the same time. But then she looked down at the collar of the shirt and gasped; a small silver bell hung from it.

Noelle reached out to pick up the bell, examining it closely. Its silver finish shimmered softly in the light, catching Noelle's eye instantly. It reminded her of Kris' words earlier. The bell itself was engraved with a simple message: To My Secret Santa. She looked up at Kris again; he was smiling at her, his expression tender and gentle.

"Thank you, Kris," she said quietly.

Kris smiled at her again, then kissed her forehead. "You're welcome."

Noelle hugged him tightly, feeling safe and warm in his arms. She felt loved and accepted here, and she was glad that he understood and accepted her for who she was.

Kris' phone started ringing loudly, startling them both out of their reverie. It rang a few more times before Kris grabbed it from his pocket and answered it without checking to see who was calling first. Noelle frowned at him suspiciously, wondering why he had ignored her when she tried to talk to him earlier. Was he ignoring her on purpose?

"Yeah," he muttered into the receiver. "We'll be right there."

Noelle rolled her eyes. "Kris..."

His voice became quiet for a moment, then louder and harsher when he spoke again. "We're going to your sister's house for Christmas!" Kris shouted angrily.

Noelle flinched. She hated how rude Kris had been on the phone. If someone had done that to her, she would have felt hurt by how he spoke to her. But instead, Noelle only felt angry and frustrated. How could Kris treat her like this? She deserved better than this!

After a moment, Kris hung up the phone without saying anything else. He looked at her with a blank stare, seeming confused as to why Noelle was still upset about what had happened. He walked over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking down into her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

Noelle smiled sadly at him, looking down at the floor for a moment. Finally, she looked up at him again. "I'm fine."

"Really?" he asked hesitantly.

Noelle nodded silently.

"What's wrong?" he insisted, looking concerned.

Noelle sighed. "You were being mean to me."

"I wasn't—" Kris started, but Noelle interrupted him.

"Yes you were! You were yelling at me for no reason!"

Kris looked away guiltily. "I was just stressed out," he lied, trying to excuse himself.

Tears began forming in Noelle's eyes, and Kris immediately regretted his decision to lie to her. He reached out and placed a comforting hand on top of hers.

"Noelle, please don't cry," he pleaded quietly, trying to make her feel better.

But Noelle shook her head. "It's my fault anyway! I'm being so stupid! Don't worry about me!" she cried. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now, stinging her skin harshly.

Kris wiped away her tears gently with his thumbs, kissing her forehead tenderly. "Shhh..." he whispered soothingly, wrapping an arm around her waist protectively and leaning in close to whisper in her ear. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to yell at you like that."

Noelle sniffed loudly. She wiped away the last of her tears with a tissue and stood up straight again, wiping her nose with her sleeve. She looked up at Kris with a weak smile, unable to hide her sadness from him anymore.

"I'm going home," she mumbled quietly. "I need some space."

Kris nodded slowly at her words, reaching out to grab her wrist gently with his fingers. "Wait!" he said quickly. "Don't leave yet! Please..."

Noelle sighed. She didn't want to stay here with Kris now either. He was acting so weird today, and she felt awful for making him feel bad like that. She hated how selfish she was being!

She gave Kris' hand a gentle squeeze, then turned around and started walking towards the door. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards him quickly; she fell into his arms as he scooped her up. She smiled weakly at him as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"You okay now?" he asked gently.

Noelle nodded, hugging Kris tightly. They held each other for several minutes longer before Kris finally set her down, holding onto her shoulders gently.

"You know, I love you," he admitted softly into her ear, kissing her shoulder tenderly.

Noelle giggled a bit and nodded. "I know."

"Good." Kris smiled happily at her. "Now let's go get you a present!"

Noelle laughed softly in response, leaning into him and nuzzling her cheek against his chest. She could already tell that she loved this new tradition; spending Christmas together with Kris had made her happier than ever. Even if he was being mean at times, she could still forgive him for it easily; after all, she knew that he only meant well for her.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this story! I wanted to give some backstory to Noelle's relationship with Kris. Hopefully you liked reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks so much for reading!