What else was there for a child to enjoy about the Christmas season beyond cookies, candy canes, and countless presents stuffed underneath the tree?

One little girl in Great Lakes City had a few answers.

Besides those timeless pleasures, one of Adelaide Chang's prime objectives was gratitude. Her big sister's attempt at peppermint bao buns started off the late December day with a bang, the cool, minty, pork-based flavored bonanza a treat that had no right to work as well as it did.

Leave it to Sid and her crazy genius brain to make the impossible possible. It was one of the many reasons that Adelaide was more than happy to craft a Christmas gift for her. What better way to show her big sister just how much she meant to her than with a token of love straight from the heart—a homemade bracelet made out of the best glitter and beads she could offer?

It had taken her most of the afternoon holed up in her room before she finally put it together, and that was all she could do at that point. Gift wrapping was impossible for her to handle by herself, and so she knew to ask Mom or Dad for help with it later. But for now…

Adelaide's mind rested on the other objective of the day: festive mischief.

And of course, Carl Casagrande just had to be the target of her attention for that. The boy, for all of his braggadocio, was very predictable in ways that belied his cool guy act. All it took to make her best friend crumble was just a hint of mushiness in the air.

She didn't hug him often, mostly because he'd make a big show of disgust at the affection and as amusing as it was to see him go overboard with faux revulsion to mask his genuine flustered response, she didn't want to push her luck and get him too annoyed at her.

But Christmas time was practically begging for her to give 'ol Carl a little scare and the best part? She was protected under the binding legality of tradition as long as she held up her secret weapon above their heads.

It was treasured away in the protective cove of her skirt pocket; a humble little sprig of mistletoe with a cute red bow tied around the stem. With that, Carl couldn't be too cross with her when she would catch him by surprise with a peck on the cheek. It made her giggle madly just thinking about how red in the face he'd get from that.

But that was for later. For now, a spot of tea after a round of calisthenics for ballet training sounded like a good time-waster before she'd spring her trap on Carl later in the evening.

Now then, where were her pointe shoes?

Alexis Flores was, once again, smack dab in the middle of a musical crossroads.

The apartment foyer was usually empty around eight at night, and for whatever reason, it was one of his best thinking spots for tough dilemmas.

But the burden of the choice he had to make laid heavier on his body than the trusty tuba he was wielding. In a few days, he would be performing music for the party his mother would be throwing on Christmas Eve, and he still didn't know which Christmas classic song he'd play for the guests.

Crosby's "White Christmas" couldn't be beat in most cases, but Alexis felt that "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" was more up his alley. Oh, but "Run Rudolph Run" was a real crowd pleaser, as well as "Deck the Halls". And how could he forget "The First Noel", a sentimental favorite that swelled the heart with joy with just the first few notes? And that didn't even mention-

"Hey! Stop!" called a voice sounding far too much like Adelaide Chang to be a sudden, loud intrusive thought. "Come back here with that!"

The ruckus was followed by what Alexis could surmise was...a monkey chattering wildly?

He looked to his left and sure enough, his observations lined up with the reality that was barreling his way and fast. There was Adelaide in hot pursuit of a monkey that was carrying something rather...colorful and shiny in one of its hands as he easily swayed out of the girl's grasp every time she tried to nab it.

"Cut it out, Nico!" Adelaide shouted. "I need that back right now!"

The impending danger of a head-on collision supercharged Alexis' nerves in a flash of fire burning through his muscles. His breathing grew heavy and his joints tightened reflexively as he tensed up in preparation for what was heading straight towards him. But the surge of lightning fast pangs of anxiety surprisingly shot Alexis through a mental list of what he should do to both avoid danger and assist Adelaide as it was clear that the thieving simian was driving his friend to her wits' end.

And just before the monkey could speed past him, Alexis' body practically moved on its own as the boy heaved his tuba off his of his shoulder, flipped it over, and crashed it down on the ground—his reflexes and quick thinking had accomplished what he wanted and now the cheeky crook was trapped underneath the dome of his tuba, its screeches echoing against the brass innards of his makeshift snare.

And just like that, the auto-pilot mode petered out and Alexis gained his senses just as a panting Adelaide crawled to a light jog before she came to a full stop in front of him. Her sweaty, tired face was full of gratitude, despite her winded state.

"Haa...haa...t-thanks..." she panted. "Been...haaa...c-chasing him...all...haa...over the p-place..."

And by all over the place, she really meant it. She really should've known better than to leave a shiny, colorful object like her bracelet gift for Sid out in the open in her bedroom for Nico, the most mischievous monkey in the tri-state area, to find and snag.

Although giving chase to him was the number one thing that would guarantee that Nico would take that as an invitation to be as irritating as possible and essentially play "monkey in the middle" with the human as the monkey, a panicked Adelaide hadn't thought things through and had spent close to twenty minutes running after Nico throughout the apartment, her only hopes being that she could catch Nico and do so without Sid knowing about her present.

She failed in the first goal, but she was more than happy to have Nico's capture happen, whether he was caught by her hands or someone else's han-er, tuba.

Alexis offered her a warm smile. "Glad I could help."

He turned to his trusty instrument, which shuddered lightly at Nico's attempts at a jailbreak. "So, should we let him out n-"

"NO!"

Her outburst made Alexis flinch and Adelaide chuckled sheepishly.

"I-I mean...not yet. Give him a minute or two to tire himself out. Then I can get him and my sister's present."

Alexis' face lit up in understanding. "Oh, no wonder you really tried to get him."

"Yeah. And I wouldn't have gotten him without you. I mean it, Alexis. Thank you so much. You're a lifesaver."

Adelaide couldn't help but grin at Alexis's bashful response, a light blush and him rubbing the back of his head. "A-a lifesaver? Gosh, really?"

She nodded. "Yes, Alexis. Really."

She beamed at him brightly. Something about the situation, about Alexis' reaction to her compliment, inspired her to make a quick contrast between what Alexis was doing now and what Carl would've done if he were in Alexis' shoes. She liked Carl, but she didn't think that his inflated ego over a heroic deed would befit the gravity of what Alexis had just done.

This humility...it was a breath of fresh air.

Then again, this was who Alexis was: an agreeable, kind, well-mannered friend who wore his heart on his sleeve and only wanted the world around him to be at peace.

What better spirit to have during the holidays than that?

...

In fact, Adelaide thought as a sly grin crossed her face, what better target of her festive mischief than the person who had just been so good to her?

Carl...could wait. Maybe some other time. But Adelaide had a feeling that Alexis would be much more receptive to her ploy anyway and that definitely fit the mood of the moment better than Carl loudly rebuffing her.

"Oh, Alexis?" Adelaide sang sweetly as her hand shuffled in her pocket and lightly gripped the stem of mistletoe.

His face full of a large smile, Alexis replied, "Yes?"

Before he could receive a direct answer, Adelaide approached him, stepping closer and closer until the tips of their shoes bumped into each other. Alexis was clearly stymied by the sudden close proximity and Adelaide took advantage of his small dose of shock and swiftly pulled the sprig out of her pocket. She dangled it above their heads as she grabbed his shoulder with her other hand and stepped on her tiptoes.

"Merry Christmas."

Carl Casagrande knew Alexis well enough to know where to find him after going to his place and having Mrs. Flores inform him that his fellow school bandmate was not at home.

Guess it was the foyer for him, then.

It was too late to have the snowball fight of the century happen now, but Carl knew that on one day of winter break, he just had to take on Becky and Ricky. He would've gone to Adelaide first for recruitment, but something told Carl that Alexis' surprising core strength would be a big asset in the long run.

How? Eh, he wasn't quite sure yet, but abs were cool and cool was just enough for him right now.

He was close to arriving to his destination after a few minutes of casual stairwell strolling that led him down to the first floor. Then it was a straight path down the east hallway, a turn at the corner and...

...

Carl froze.

There was Alexis, alright, and right next to him was...Adelaide—both several feet away from him.

And she was...kissing Alexis, smack dab on the cheek as she held a mistletoe in the air. She was clearly at peace with herself while Alexis, his face churned in a lovesick smile, was visibly enjoying himself immensely and blushing up a storm.

The first second of the sight was a kick in Carl's gut with a steel-toed boot and his chest tightened in a paralyzing sensation of pain that quickly spread through his body like a rampant virus. His legs shook, and queasiness stirred in his belly as a lump in his throat threatened to choke him. His eyes stung with glistening, unshed tears before he knew what was happening or why, but all he knew was that he wanted this to stop.

Now...please.

As if fate was taunting his meager, mental pleas for mercy, he was slapped across the face with another wounding visual: Adelaide withdrew from one angle of Alexis' face, only for her lips to meet another corner of it. The sound of the noisy smack the kiss made was a meaty haymaker to his gut, and Carl could feel himself recoil at the noise ringing in his ears.

But it didn't stop there.

What seemed like an eternity of maddening torture was what Adelaide did next; prolonging his suffering by branding Alexis' face with more kisses. The sight of her mouth continuously peppering the skin of his face with a flurry of slow, smooth brushes of her lips gnawed at Carl's innards like a ferocious, hungry wolf.

'No...'

Her mouth pressed into his forehead, and Alexis' dazed sigh kicked Carl across the chin.

'N-no more...'

The kiss across the nose made Carl drop to his knees.

'Stooooop!'

Adelaide's smooch against his chin almost forced a strangled cry to rip straight out of Carl's lungs as the air was squeezed out of his chest—as if it was crushed by an anaconda's vice grip.

'Q-quit it...'

And quit it, the girl did not.

He watched helplessly, through the blurry filter of tears accumulating in front of his eyes, as Adelaide marked even more kisses onto Alexis' face, each one seemingly better than the last. It was as if she knew he was there and was putting on this show just to spite him.

In his mind's eye, Adelaide had one eye open, staring him down. She held him in her contemptuous gaze as she left her marks on Alexis, her lips smirking when they weren't kissing.

And the boy of her affection, twitching and sighing in bliss, only dragged him lower and lower into the murky abyss of his misery, where every creature of unimaginable horror took turns nibbling at him until his aching soul was all that was left before getting hacked to pieces.

Why? Why couldn't that be him instead?

Carl didn't know, and he knew even less about where this want came from. It just demanded his respect in the worst way, commanding him to stay rooted in place and watch as the smooth contact of lips to cheek, nose, chin, and forehead didn't involve him.

And to wrestle with the fact that not only did Adelaide want this, she enjoyed it. She relished this. This was something that Carl never thought Adelaide would ever want to do with him, let alone anyone else. If she never went this far whenever they played house, then how was it fair for this to be reality?

And during the Christmas season, too...

But just as he felt that he couldn't endure another second, reprieve finally arrived. Adelaide laid one last smooch in, the noisiest, fattest one yet as she put her all into it—it was as if her mouth was a suction against Alexis' cheek and her pushing in and out wasn't enough to break contact.

Finally, the worst twenty seconds of Carl's life was over as Adelaide pulled away, clearly satisfied with herself.

But the pain was still present.

His ears still rang from the noises her kisses made, buzzing around in his head like a swarm of locusts, and the suffocating weight against his chest almost made it a labor to breathe.

His heart was an aching, festering mass and each pump of blood it made carried the bitter, black ooze of hurt into every nook and cranny of his insides.

His limbs were still shaky, but he was finally able to stand on his feet. He did so while Adelaide spoke to the stunned but contented Alexis.

"Sorry," she apologized with a giggle. "That was only supposed to be one, but I got carried away. Then again, I guess you deserved it for being such a good friend."

That...that did it.

If everything that Carl had witnessed from afar wasn't strong enough to send him scurrying away with tears flooding down his cheeks, what Adelaide said did.

He ran off, not a care in the world on who saw him like this. The journey to his room was a blur, his memory only faintly recalling bumping into someone in the hallway as he fled the scene.

And before he knew it, Carl was entombed in darkness, his unlit room and warm bed not giving him the slightest bit of comfort. How could it when he knew that he wasn't a good enough friend to receive the same attention from Adelaide that Alexis just got?

The same attention that he never knew he wanted until he saw it bestowed onto someone else.

...

Christmas was a season of both giving and longing for more and Carl knew what he wanted from both ends: to give anything between heaven and Earth that would make the worst pain in his life subside and to long for the unforgiving, bitter, icy cold winter snow to swallow him whole.