A/N

Hey, everyone! I honestly am astounded by the people reading this story! Thank you all for supporting me (even if this story is part moviefic!)! I am SOOOOOO grateful!

I may post another chapter tonight...I'm not sure yet, cause I still have to finish a short story for my English class that's due tomorrow. But if I don't get around to it, it'll probably be on tomorrow.

Until then, enjoy!

P.S. I don't own the brand names Nick & Nora or Bearpaw. Idk what the NYC sweatshirt is...that one's kinda random...

CHAPTER TWO: AN UNEXPECTED VISIT

Well, if you know me well, you'll know I did nothing to help my dad and sister with their "Christmas problem". I just sat on the sidelines while they got crazier and crazier.

My mom frequently had talks with my dad after they had put me and Susan to bed. I'm not one to eavesdrop, but I could hear bits and phrases of their conversation, like "setting a bad example" and "putting our family in jeopardy" and "grow up". I was guessing this wasn't a good thing.

For some reason, I thought they were talking about Susan, because her name came up a lot in their conversations. I tried to convince Susan to pretend she didn't believe Dad, but she was too busy adding to her five-page-long Christmas list. It was then I realized that Susan wasn't the problem.

Dad was.

Dad was the one who was setting a bad example.

Dad was the one putting our family in jeopardy.

Dad was the one who had to grow up.

After that, I got very scared. What if Mom and Dad got a divorce because of all this Christmas stuff? If they did…I didn't even want to think what would happen after that.

I asked my mom about it, and she assured me nothing of the sort would happen. She said that she and Dad were "having a colorful disagreement at the moment". I could so tell she was treating me like Susan whenever she asked about that kind of stuff. I knew that if Dad didn't shape up soon, our family could potentially fall apart.

...

The days flew by, and finally it was Christmas Eve. We went to church like we always did, and then went back to our house to greet our relatives. As usual, our house was buzzing with people, and everyone was tripping over everyone else to get to the food. I, personally, hung out by the wall where no one, save my grandparents and a few cousins, could bother me.

Everyone finally went home, and the four of us remained once more.

We watched some TV specials (which I hated), sang some Christmas carols (which I hated), and put out the cookies and milk for Santa (which I hated). After what seemed like forever, Mom and Dad put me and Susan to bed. I fell asleep immediately.

...

For some reason, I awoke with a jolt some-odd hours later. I looked at the clock. 11:55. I sighed. Why couldn't time go faster? I wanted the night to end so I could get Christmas over with.

Suddenly, I heard a distant rumbling sound. At first, I thought it was someone's stomach or something, but then I realized that it was too strong to be that. It belonged to something big.

Something headed this way.

The ground began to shake, and everything in my room began vibrating. I was about to scream "Earthquake!" when I stopped for two reasons: 1) We live in Michigan; the only earthquakes there are so small, you wouldn't notice them, and 2) no one had come into my room to help me out or whatever.

I looked to the window. Through the curtains, a bright light shone in. A loud whistle sounded.

As the ground continued to shake, I grabbed my black NYC zip-up hoodie and put it over my pink Nick & Nora panda bear pajamas. I ran downstairs and put my brown Bearpaw suede boots on, shaking as I did so.

Then, not knowing what would be beyond the door, I took a deep breath and went outside.