The cafe was decorated with lights and fake snowflakes around and there was a Christmas tree as well covered in reindeer antler headbands and Santa hats. The five friends were having a little pre-holiday party and playing the classic game of White Elephant gift giving. Max had gotten a generic gift which consisted of Yankee candles and socks. She figured no one would find them too bad. The brunette was sipping hot chocolate and conversing with Kate, who wore one of the reindeer headbands. Warren and Justin were having a thumb wrestle with Justin obviously having the upper hand. They were just waiting for Chloe, who said she was going to be running a little late.
"Kate, don't worry about it, I'm sure it'll work itself out. Besides, he's a great guy," Max comforted the blonde.
"I . . . I know. I just worry about him sometimes," Kate pressed the mug to her lips.
"Michael wouldn't want you to. He'll be home, I promise," the photographer reassured her.
"Yeah. I hope. . . ."
Kate had met her boyfriend Michael back in freshman year, and they had been dating for about three years. The only problem was Michael wanted to be a soldier, and now he was 20 years old and off to military school. Kate always said it didn't bother her, but everyone could tell she was always nervous talking about it. Max had done her best to be supportive, especially in their junior year when Michael announced he was leaving. Kate had cried so much that night, and Max felt so bad for her considering it was kind of obvious he was so dedicated to it because he was in JROTC all his high school career. But the two kept in contact, so Kate had that much going for her in the relationship.
Suddenly the door burst open with Chloe coming in, bag in hand and snow covering her. "Happy White Elephant, nerds!" she cheered, taking her frozen coat off and having just a white sweater underneath. Max thought it was a bit tight around her, but it didn't bother the brunette considering it framed Chloe's body so she could see a bit of a toned stomach. She caught herself staring and immediately looked away. The last thing she wanted was to be noticed staring at another girl's abs.
"Chloe, it looks like the abominable snowman just sneezed on you," Warren teased at how much snow the blue-haired girl took up.
"Go out there and he'll be sure to vomit on you," the lumberjack retorted.
"Alright, let's get this White Elephant party started!" Justin announced, getting a bowl with slips of paper. "Everyone pick a number and don't show it to anyone."
The five all grabbed one and studied it carefully. Max got four, which didn't seem like the best number in this case. Chloe got two, to which she did an inner victory pump. Kate got three, which was neither bad or good. Warren got one, which he tried to contain his grin. And Justin sadly got five.
"Let's get this game started," Justin cheered.
First up was Warren, who excitedly thought out which present he was going to take. He finally decided on a medium sized box from Kate and opened it. It was a DIY science kit for kids. "Woah, now I can mix chemicals without having to worry about explosions!" he said happily.
Chloe was next, rubbing her hands together eagerly. She eyed the presents, examining every single detail about them. She took Max's gift to which the brunette hid her smug grin. The blue-haired girl tore open the box only to be dumbfounded by the socks and candles. "Well, I mean, I could always use a pair of socks with all mine having at least one hole in them. As for the candles," she took a whiff of the orange one, "Woah! Damn that is a strong-ass candle!" Chloe made a face. All the others laughed, and Max was seemingly pleased with herself.
Kate stepped up to the gifts and scratched her chin. She was stuck between three, and had trouble deciding which one to go with. She decided to go with a smaller present compared to the first two, so she picked up the smallest one there was. Kate looked at the box with confusion, seemingly genuinely befuddled at what the gift could possibly be. All the others did too, raising eyebrows and pursing their lips. Chloe, on the other hand, just had a stupid grin on her face. It was obviously her present, considering the look, but what was inside couldn't possibly be good. Kate started to unwrap it, revealing a shoebox. Now she was really inquizitive. Did someone get a pair of shoes? Or was it just hiding something? Kate started to lift the box, peeking into it. Once she got a glimpse her eyes bulged out of her head and she slammed the box immediately, her face turning bright red. "Kate, what is it?" Max asked a little worried for the blonde.
"I . . . I can't say!" she said embarrassedly.
"Here, let's see." Max took the box from her and opened it, and just like Kate, instantly closing it. "Oh . . . my God," she breathed, her face also blushing furiously.
"Dude, what's in it?" Justin asked, grabbing it from the brunette and whipped it open. "Bro, what the hell?"
Warren looked at it, his hand swooping to his face to cover his eyes. "Jesus! Is that a . . . ?
Chloe burst out laughing, slapping her knee in restraint. "You . . . You shoulda seen the look on your faces!" she said between laughs.
"Chloe, what the fuck? This is truly inappropriate!" Max scolded the blue-haired girl.
"Oh, lighten up, Max! It was just a gag gift. I have the real one in my bag," Chloe reassured.
"You better, 'cause I have no idea who would want a dildo for Christmas," Justin gagged while holding the box. He wanted to look away but his eyes were glued in shock.
"A realistic-looking one at that. . . ." Warren added in disgust, peeking through his hand.
Chloe snickered and walked over to where her bag was, getting out another box. Kate was still a tomato by the time she was handed the other present. "No games, Chloe?" she asked.
"No games. And if I trick you again you can tear me a new one," the lumberjack vowed.
Kate carefully opened the supposed real box. When it was also in a shoebox, Max furrowed her eyebrows in suspicion. If Kate didn't get there first, she was personally going to kick Chloe in the ass for pranking them. The Christian girl gingerly opened the box, and relaxed as she saw what it was. "Oh, it's pretty."
In it was a snowglobe with a little doe inside. It was most certainly nicer than the previous one, but it felt worn out.
"Yeah. Joyce got it for me when I was little, and I took that guy everywhere. I liked to shake things when I was nervous or antsy, it's part of my anxiety. Really helped me through some hard times. Now whenever you feel that way you have something to shake," Chloe explained, smiling.
"Aw, Chloe, I can't take it from you if it means something special to you," Kate said.
"Nah, it's cool, really. I'm not that into shaking considering I take medication for it now. Plus it's a nice decoration," Chloe reassured.
"I'll cherish it with all my heart," Kate smiled.
Max thought it was kind of odd that Chloe was giving away one of her most precious items, and she never told her about any anxiety disorder. Then again, Max never asked, thinking it was just a part of the blue-haired girl's personality. Even as they've been hanging out for a whole week, Max still didn't know a lot about Chloe. She wasn't as nosy with her as everyone else, and there were minimal things Chloe discussed about her personal or family life. Obviously there were some things Chloe didn't like to talk about, or refused to talk about.
Max chose pretty quickly which gift. She opened it to a big bag of marijuana. "What the?"
"Oh, sorry, Max. I'm tryin' to stop smoking so I decided to wrap up my stash," Justin explained. "I was kinda hopin' Chloe would get it."
Max looked at the weed in disgust. She had never done drugs in her life, and she wasn't planning today.
Justin finally got his gift which was a variety of soaps. He was kind of confused, but took the gift with consideration.
"Cool. Now, Warren, would you like to trade with anyone?" Justin asked.
"Nope. I am super happy with my science kit," Warren hugged it like it was his child.
"Chloe?"
"Uh, I think I'll take that weed off Max's hands. I'm pretty sure she's uncomfortable with having it," Chloe swapped her gift with Max, who internally groaned at getting her own present, but was happy to be rid of the weed.
"Kate?"
"Well, even though Chloe offered it to me with all her heart, I do feel weird being the one carrying it around. I'd like to switch with Max on the candles and socks."
The girls traded and Max held the snow doe in her hands, looking at the blurred glass and worn animal inside. She glanced at the blue-haired girl, who just smiled at her. She had a feeling Chloe liked it that she had it. They cleaned up the wrapping paper and straightened out the chairs. The blue-haired girl was about to leave till Justin grabbed her shoulder. "Hey, Price, wanna go to the skating rink? It's gonna be dope."
"I don't know, man, it's already like, 11:30. I gotta get home," Chloe resented.
"C'mon! It'll only be for an hour. Plus you got some sick ice skating skills," Justin begged.
Chloe looked at the other three who were smiling and nodding their heads. Chloe really wanted to go home, but she couldn't resist the eager grin on Max's face. She sighed, ran a hand through her ponytail, and looked Justin in the eye. "Sure."
"Fuck yeah! Lumberjack's goin' with us!" Justin cheered.
They all let out whoops and hollers. The five of them all climbed into Justin's car, and he blasted the radio. They all sang along, more so screaming the lyrics to the song. Chloe joined in, but in the back of her mind she knew this was a bad idea.
