Okiedokie, just a bit of holiday merriment and fluff for you all this week, I hope you enjoy, and I'll see you at the end - J.

[Proofreading this in a tiny window of time the on Friday this week because I'm ridiculously busy between now and Tuesday, so I apologise if there are more errors than usual, I will do my best to come back and check it over again after I've finished running around like a headless chicken, your patience is appreciated.]


Chapter 13: Christmas

Soph was quite happily asleep until she felt someone shaking her shoulder. Justifiably, she gave an annoyed groan and rolled onto her front, burying her face into the pillow, refusing to be woken before she was ready.

Apparently, the bed's other occupant had other ideas. A distant chuckle reached her ears and half a second later, a hard shove from behind had her flipping through the air, landing square on her back with a grunt and a yelp. Now very much awake, her wide eyes found the laughing Head Girl leaning over the edge of the bed to look down at her.
"Merry Christmas." She managed to stop laughing long enough for to grin Soph scowled as she hauled herself to her feet.
"Yeah, yeah." She grumbled as she brushed herself off and glanced at the time.
"You woke me up at six in the morning?!" She turned back to the older girl in outrage and Jones' grin subsided to a smug smirk.
"Of course." She rose onto her knees and Soph growled, folding her arms tight across her chest as she contemplated the best way to explain how ridiculous that was. However, she never got a chance, as she was seized by the front of her shirt and yanked forward into a long, lingering kiss. Annoyed or not, the tension in her shoulders melted like butter on a hot pan and she leaned into the embrace, letting Jones lead her back onto the bed until they lay flush together. By the time they broke apart, she'd pretty much forgotten that she was irritated.

"Merry Christmas." Jones smiled as she spoke gently, bringing a hand up to push Soph's hair from her eyes. With a heavy sigh, Soph leaned in, taking another kiss before resting their foreheads together.
"Merry Christmas." She muttered back, a little sulky, bringing a quiet chuckle from the older girl's lips.
"We've got to get downstairs, or they'll start without us." Kelly grinned and pushed her shoulder, urging Soph to get up. Reluctantly, Sophie obeyed, offering a hand to help her up, which was cheerfully accepted.
"I hate this holiday." She grumbled half-heartedly and Kelly laughed, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"You'll love it." She relinquished Soph's hand, moving to the closet and pulling out her dressing gown and a hoodie. At Soph's confused expression she tossed her the hoodie, and began pulling on the dressing gown.
"Pyjamas are a requirement, you need to get a dressing gown." She grinned as she loosely secured the tie about her waist and Soph chuckled as she looked down at the hoodie in her hands. It was thick and warm, and defiantly Kelly's (Soph didn't own any). She pulled it on with a smirk, zipping it half up and jamming her hands into the pockets. It was a little big, but comfortable.
"I think I just got one." She winked and Jones laughed as she led the way to the door.
"Come on, thief, let's go do Christmas." She held out her hand and Soph shook her head, but smiled as she took it.
"If we must."

Back in the room with the tree, everyone had already gathered; fluffy slippers and dressing gowns left right and centre. She took a moment to absorb the warm and anticipation-heavy atmosphere as everyone was clearly waiting to dive into the pile of brightly coloured packages beneath their behemoth of a tree.
"I had a little trouble waking her up." Everyone chuckled and Soph was pulled back into the room, giving a pointed yawn.
"I'm not a morning person." She flashed a joking scowl as she followed Kelly to drop down on the sofa.
"Well, now you're both here we can get started. Come on girlies, let's have at it." Camilla seemed in a very good mood as she stood up and everyone rushed forward to the piles. Soph assumed they'd been sorted according to who they were for and so went in search of her own, Locating it close by the fire, on the opposite end of the room to Kelly.

Her stack was fairly small, four parcels and a card, but honestly she was amazed to have anything at all, so she was far from complaining. The card was from her mother, nothing ground breaking, just a short 'from Mum' at the bottom. She wasn't entirely sure why the woman had bothered, but in all fairness, it was probably her secretary that had sent it. The postal box under it had been from her Dad. It was nothing interesting; the usual few bottles of bourbon, though this time she found a small roll of notes in the corner of the box. It seemed he'd heard of her breaking away from her mother and wished to express his approval. He never sent a card, so she was left to interoperate as she saw fit.

Beyond those were the colourfully wrapped, interesting ones. A pair of blood red, gorgeous, doc martins from Annabelle, followed quickly by a silver gun shaped lighter from her aunt; clearly the woman had recalled the six or seven times Soph had attempted to steal hers. She exchanged grins with her relatives across the room as they opened the gifts she'd got them, but nothing could delay her from turning to the last gift in her pile, a tiny box that fit in her palm, silver wrapping paper, and somehow flawlessly wrapped despite its size. (Her own gifts had looked like a four year old had been left in a room with paper and tape without supervision.) A neat tag with a snowflake pattern sat on top, the familiar hand of Kelly wishing her a Merry Christmas. She swallowed hard and unwrapped it, unsure why she was so nervous.

It was an earring, simple, silver, but amazingly detailed. The shape was a snake eating its own tail; an ouroboros. It was one of her favourite symbols, much better than a figure of eight to symbolise infinity. Kelly had known, and remembered… She smiled in spite of herself and reached up to her ear. She only had one piercing, a small loop worn in her left ear. The ring she currently wore was an old rope pattern worn almost smooth by time, her dad had bought it for her a long time ago but she had no complaints about taking it out to replace it with this new one. Something from Jones to keep with her… She supposed she and the other girl had ended up with roughly the same idea… She turned toward Kelly across the room and held back a grin as she saw the black leather peeking out from under her dressing gown collar. She'd liked the choker… Warmth spread through her chest and a tension she didn't realise she was carrying eased from her shoulders.

She'd chosen well.

With gift paper littering the room, and everyone looking really rather pleased with themselves, it was safe to say everyone had gotten when they wanted for Christmas, so as they were all led down to the dining hall for breakfast, the mood was cheery.

Apparently, the cook (a mysterious figure no-one had ever seen) didn't even get Christmas off, as they were greeted with the small of pancakes. Opposed to the usual buffet style, the plates were already set out on one table, various toppings lining the middle to be used at will. In confusion, she looked to Kelly, who smirked, leaning down to explain quietly.
"A few years ago there was an argument over who got the last one and all the chairs got smashed. We had to eat Christmas dinner sitting on the floor." She chuckled and Soph joined her. Pre-distributed portions or the lives of innocent chairs, it was not a tough decision. They took seats next to each other on Camilla's right, Soph immediately claimed a bottle of maple syrup, quite prepared to defend it to the death, while Jones took possession of a sugar bowl and the lemon juice. Classic, not bad. They shared a grin as she caught the other woman also inspecting her choice, neither of them were subtle.

Everyone chatted about what they'd been sent while they ate, apparently Carnaby was trying to bribe Annabelle home and had sent a motorbike, conveniently forgetting that Annabelle couldn't drive one. Soph promptly offered to buy it from her and Annabelle agreed; they'd discuss prices later. Sneaking out on the twins bike had reminded her how much she loved riding; she'd trashed her own not long after she passed her test (and several others that weren't hers), something she proceeded to explain to Kelly when she looked at her questioningly. Of course, the other girl had a car, and so they spent the rest of the meal playfully bickering over which was better.

Once they'd all finished eating they stayed talking for a while before leaving to get dressed, grabbing their gifts from by the tree on their way to the dorm rooms. Everything seemed as though there was a premade routine to it, Soph asked Kelly if this was the case while they got dressed, she simply smiled.
"Pretty much, it's Miss Fritton's attempt at making a family Christmas. After lunch later she'll break out the old board games and we'll watch a movie or something." She chuckled quietly at Soph's dumbfounded expression.
"Is that really what everyone else does at Christmas?" She frowned slightly, dropping down onto the bed, watching Kelly as she sat before the mirror.
"Pretty much, what do you usually do?" She turned back to face her as she finished fixing her hair. Soph shrugged, considering the question a moment.
"Nothing special, I get very drunk and do something fun to annoy anyone still in the building. It's always a bit of a blur..." She frowned at nothing in particular, trying to remember one particular event, but without her diaries, there was nothing solid. Jones appeared back in her peripheral as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"What about before? You were at Cheltenham for a few years, and I imagine you were at home before that." She chuckled and Soph tipped her head as she turned to face her.
"I used to stay at Cheltenham, the others did some stuff, but I kept to the dorms… Even before the er… incident, I wasn't exactly popular." She smirked a little bitterly at the memories of her time there, back when even Annabelle had more friends than she did.

"And before that… I don't really know. My mother's a busy woman, she was usually out." She shrugged and refocused her gaze on Kelly, who looked... sad? She frowned slightly at that.
"What?" She tipped her head in confusion but Jones leaned forward, halting any further words by claiming her lips. Sophie was far from complaining, but this was… different. It was gentle, which wasn't entirely new but there was a sad edge to it, the hand on her face was firm, insistent, a stark contrast to the kiss. She couldn't take it, she pulled back, her stomach twisting uncomfortably as she made her escape, rolling to her feet clear off of the bed. She considered leaving the room entirely, but honestly, she had no idea how far she'd keep going if she did that.
"Soph…" Back on the bed, Kelly was still sat, watching her, she could feel it. She winced at the sorrow in her tone.
"I'm fine." She scrubbed her hands through her hair, trying to shove away the thoughts rattling through her brain.

She didn't need to be pitied, she didn't need anyone's sadness… And she certainly didn't deserve Kelly's.

"No, you're not." The sound of quiet footsteps came up behind her and she fought against her urge to run. Arms wrapped around her waist, and she clenched her fists tight, trying to force herself to relax in the other girl's embrace. It was proving difficult. The arms around her were tight but not constricting, she knew she could step out and the older girl would let her go. That thought made her hold still, made her lean back against Jones. Lips pressed to the side of her neck, gentle, intended for comfort.
"I don't know what to say to make any of it okay." Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, Soph felt a wave of shame at the thought Jones felt she was, in any way, inadequate. She took a deep unsteady breath and turned, taking the woman's hands from her waist and lifting her head to meet her gaze.
"It's already okay. I've made my peace with it." She set her jaw as Kelly's soft expression only grew more sad.
"You shouldn't have had to." She entwined their fingers and Soph sighed.
"The past doesn't change, no matter how much we want it to." She winced internally at how true those words were. There were a million things… more than that, that she wished she could change about her past, but if she had to pick one… She shook her head, she couldn't focus on that now.
"I don't need your sympathy, or want your pity-" She was cut off as Jones opened her mouth to protest, but a stern look made her close it again.
"I just want you." Blood rushed into her face as she brought a hand up to Jones' cheek.
"All this… family stuff that comes with you will grow on me, I'm sure." She chuckled, suppressing a victory dance as Kelly smiled. She leaned in again, and Soph met her this time, wrapping an arm about her waist to pull her closer.
"All this family stuff, would have found you, with or without me." Eventually the taller girl pulled back, a gentle smile on her lips.
"Your aunt, Annabelle, they wouldn't have let you duck out." She grinned and Soph chuckled, the woman had no idea how right she was. When she looked back up, she found a playful look in Kelly's eyes, an all too familiar one.
"For the record…" She leaned down, long fingers entangling in Soph's hair, tightening dangerously.
"I want you too." Lips brushed Soph's ear, the whisper ghosting over her neck. She delighted in her own shiver, the tension trailing slowly from her shoulders as they drifted into familiar territory.
"How long do we have before the next scheduled activity?" She spoke to the room, Jones' lips already trailing down her neck. Honestly, she was rapidly on her way to not caring about the answer, her grip on Kelly's waist tightening as she pulled the head girl impossibly closer.
"Hours." The word was a purr against her skin, punctuated with teeth. Soph bit her lip.
"Best Christmas gift, ever." She grinned and felt, more than heard, the other woman's dark chuckle.

Somehow, they made it down for lunch in time, taking their seats to the right of Camilla, where, quite frankly, Soph was ready to grab everything in sight. Christmas dinner was pretty much the only thing she'd liked about the holiday when she used to spend it alone, and it was also the only thing that could be relied upon to still be excellent with people around… Provided she didn't need to go to war over the pigs in blankets.

As she was about to ask why everyone was waiting, the door at the end of the room swung open and a familiar face swaggered in.
"Sorry I'm late girls, had a bit of car trouble." Flash offered a sheepish smile as he reached the table and Camilla waved a dismissive hand with a chuckle.
"You made it, is all that matters." She gestured for him to sit and he dropped down beside Polly.
"Happy Xmas, everyone." He grinned and they all returned the greeting before turning to the table.
"Right, now our full party is here, everyone grab a cracker!" Camilla gestured to the Christmas crackers laid across each plate, scooping up her own and giving it an enthusiastic wave. Soph watched in slight confusion as everyone seemed to form some kind of cracker-pulling chain, but quickly established the idea and mimicked the action, taking hold of Kelly's while offering her own to Polly.
"On the count of three, then?" The Headmistress was practically giddy as she counted them down. The end result was as expected, several loud pops, a few small toys flying through the air, landing in drinks and under the table, and a few people who'd lost both crackers. It took a few minutes for everything to get straightened out, Soph ending up with an orange hat falling down into her face and ruining her painstakingly tousled hair, a set of tiny screwdrivers that would bend the minute anyone tried to use them and a joke that she never wanted to think about again. It was, however, completely worth it as a red-hatted Kelly caught sight of her scowl and leaned in to press a kiss to the side of her head, which, in turn, caused Flash to choke on his drink.

The table turned to watch him struggle with more than a little amusement, when his airway finally cleared, he took another drink to ease his coughing.
"You two are… er…" He shifted around uncomfortably and honestly, Soph wasn't sure she'd ever felt so smug… and that was saying something.
"Are what, Flash?" She leaned forward to face him, tipping her head in false confusion. Kelly batted her leg under the table.
"Yes, we are." She cast her a halfhearted scowl before turning to smile cheerfully at the man, who cleared his throat, clearly masking his disappointment with a cheery grin. For half a second, Soph almost felt bad.
"Well er… Congratulations, you've both done well for yourselves there, eh?" He held up his glass and Soph and Kelly shared a grin as they table mimicked his action.
"Too right." Soph winked at the older girl, who shook her head in mock exasperation, a telling smile belying her amusement as Soph sneakily took her hand under the table, squeezing her fingers gently and unable to repress the smile that formed as the Head girl squeezed back.

An electronic click snapped them out of the moment and Soph spun to find Annabelle pointing her phone at the pair of them, a mischievous grin on her face.
"Hey!" She yelped in shock at her cousin's underhanded action, making a grab for the device. The table burst into laughter as the girl immediately jammed her phone into her pocket to keep it safe and Soph was left pouting… Halfhearted though it may have been.

With traditions out of the way, they set to eating, Soph quite happy to pile up a mountain and then defy the laws of physics and human biology by managing to fit it all into her stomach; leaving the others to talk as she focused, single-minded, on her food. Kelly was still shaking her head in disbelief when Camilla vanished, only to reappear moments later with a large Christmas pudding, adorned with a sprig of holly and everything.
"Okay then girlies-" Soph paused to wonder if Flash was included in that title, but all in all, he probably was.
"-are we ready?" She rubbed her hands together excitedly and Flash moved quickly across the room.
"I got the lights." He proceeded to shut them all off, leaving the room in almost total darkness.
"Sophie, do you have your lighter on you?" Camilla turned to her, a silhouette in the dark room, and Soph, frowning in confusion, nodded once.
"Er, yeah." She pulled the very lighter Camilla had bought her from her pocket and gave it a small wave.
"If you would care to do the honours then, girly." The woman gestured to the pudding and briefly, Soph was even more confused… Then she smelt it. Brandy? The pudding was soaked in… Oh. She had a vague recollection of seeing such things done in films, so, following that, she carefully positioned her new lighter by the pudding and pulled the trigger. The tiny flame caught the alcoholic liquid immediately, prompting Soph to pull her hand back as a blue flame enveloped the dessert.

In the dim light, she could see everyone staring at the spectacle, seemingly enamoured with the flickering light. Soph tipped her head and watched as it waved and danced… She supposed it was rather beautiful, and it certainly wasn't often you got to set your pudding on fire before you ate it…

Arms appeared about her waist and she laid a hand over the older girl's as she leaned back into her embrace, smiling to herself as she felt lips press to her shoulder. Christmas was weird… but nice.

When all the alcohol had burned away, the pudding went out, prompting Flash to hurry over to turn the lights back on and Camilla to start serving bowls of the dessert around the table. Soph was surprised by how small a portion everyone was getting until she tried it and discovered exactly how rich it was; too much of it would probably kill a person.

Copious amounts of trifle, pie and alcohol later, they all crowded back into the tree room; cushions, blankets and mugs of hot chocolate evenly dispersed throughout the group as they took their seats. Soph and Kelly took up the smaller sofa, Flash and Camilla, rather pointedly, sitting at opposite ends of the larger one, while everyone else scattered around them. Some cheesy Christmas flick or other was put on the big screen above the fire, but with the dark, cosy atmosphere, and Jones curled comfortably behind her, Soph was out like a light by opening credits.

She woke slowly, the film was over and the DVD navigation screen was idly playing music to itself, but no-one had noticed as they were all asleep; and had been for some time, going on the state of the fire. She could only see by the light of the screen, but light snoring came from Taylor and Andrea on the floor, Annabelle was nestled in a blanket cocoon in her armchair. On their sofa, Flash was curled up like an overgrown kitten and Camilla looked oddly peaceful. Even Polly, with her back against Annabelle's chair, looked content in her sleep… Honestly, this might be the first time Soph had seen her asleep, the head geek seemed to always be awake. She rolled over to face Kelly and found her too, out like a light.

She couldn't really help the gentle smile that found her face, settling back down facing the older girl. Everyone here was warm and comfortable… Who was she to argue with that?

Maybe Christmas wasn't so bad…


Well, they've been very cute for a couple of chapters now, obviously the next 18 chapters will continue this trend... And pigs may fly. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you again next week - J