"That's not fair!" a little girl said as she went running past Dave. "Give it back already!" She chased after a boy about her size as he teasingly held a toy just out of her reach.
'I'm glad I only have one…' Dave thought to himself as he found the door. He knocked gingerly on the door and waited.
"Go away Hal," came the voice inside.
"It's not Hal." Dave said back. He heard a slight shuffle from inside and waited for the door to open. As the door opened he saw a younger woman with dark brown hair and a tank top. She glared at him.
"You!" she said as she tried to slam the door. Dave allowed his foot to stop the motion and pushed the door open. "You've done enough!" she backed away, unsure of what to do. "What do you want from me?"
"I want Hal's stuff," he said as he looked around. "That's all, then I'll be fine with leaving you here to sulk."
"So," she scoffed, "he went running back to you?" She grabbed a large box which contained a couple books and outfits among other things. "I hope it's big enough for you to hide in." she said sarcastically. Dave shook his head.
"What about his computer?" he said as he found a laptop sitting on a table.
"He sold it," she said with her arms crossed. "All his files are on his jump drive." Dave looked at her slightly puzzled. Hal wouldn't sell his computer unless he really had to.
"Where's his jump drive?" he said as he looked around the desk. Vanessa picked up a strange lighter looking object and connected it to what looked like a neck strap. "What is that?" Dave said as she handed it to him.
"It's a jump drive you idiot," she said with a hint of anger. "Hal was right, you don't know anything about technology." Dave started to walk out.
"If that's all," he said with his eyes closed, "then I'm leaving." Vanessa put her finger over her mouth and thought for a second.
"Should I tell you," she wondered, "or not?" A sly grin formed across her face as Dave looked at her again.
"I don't think I want to hear anything you have to say," he spurted out, he could feel her heated glare on him.
"Do you even know who I am?" she yelled as she grabbed at something on the desk.
"You're trash compared to-"
"Lady," Dave said as he grabbed her hand and put the item back on the desk. "You're not worth the fifteen cents in your pocket." Her eyes widened.
"How did you know…" She shook her head as he let go of her hand and walked towards the door.
"I've been hearing them jingle," he said, "it's too small to be a quarter and it's too big to be a dime." Dave left the room and snickered, he didn't hear a damned thing.
Hal walked out of the grocers' mart feeling somewhat proud of his findings on such short notice. Though he knew Dave favored goose for Christmas, he also knew it wouldn't matter if he replaced it with ham. It was a meal they both enjoyed, and to be frank, Hal hated goose.
Hal finally found his way back into the house as the taxi driver helped him put his things into the house.
"This should cover the bill," he said as he handed the driver his money. He slowly walked inside of the house and began to put the groceries in their proper places. Christmas wouldn't be for another couple of days so he put the ham in the freezer accompanied by frozen cherries, the cranberry sauce was put in the cupboard consisting mainly of cup a noodle, along with pie making equipment and a few other Christmas necessities.
As he finished with his work, a lack of sound caught his attention. Dave hadn't come into the room or anything since he'd gotten home. Without thought, he began to look through the house for his friend.
"Dave?" he called as he checked out the downstairs bedroom. There was nothing in there aside from a couple of boxes that contained an old life, one that had been forgotten however not disposed of. "Dave, are you here?" he began trudging up the stairs and into what used to be his old bedroom. "Dave?" he said with a slight knock as the door gently opened.
It was practically his old room, lacking in only a computer. He looked down, 'of course,' he thought. Vanessa made him sell it for rent money after making him quit his job. That woman was such a maniac. Hal sat down on the floor up against a box as he tried to think things through, nothing seemed different, but nothing was the same. He was still in love, and he was still out of luck. There was no possible way that anything good would happen from him living with Dave, but going back to Vanessa, or living elsewhere would only leave him depressed again.
He sighed as he leaned up a little harder against the box, hearing a muffed grunt as he did so. Someone, must likely Dave, was in the box. Hal lightly picked up the box to find Dave fast asleep.
"C'mon Dave," Hal whispered as he tried to help him up, "let's get you to the bed." Dave made a strange sound as Hal tried to maneuver his neck under Dave's arm to try and lift him up, before Hal knew it, he was on the ground as well. "Just my luck..." he whispered, "alright lazy, get up." Dave sighed as he pulled Hal closer to him, but didn't wake from his sleep. 'What am I? A teddy bear?' Hal thought as he escaped the grip and began to shake his sleeping friend. "Plan on sleeping all day?" he said as he saw Dave's eyes flick open.
"When'd you get home?" he said as he stretched a bit. "Do you like your room?" he let his arm present what he'd already seen.
"Just got back," he said grabbing Dave's arm to help him up. "It's almost perfect." Dave laughed a bit.
"Hard to please," he said as he accepted the help up, "you haven't changed a bit." Hal smiled as he found his way over to the bed. "I got you something a while ago, I hope you can still use it." He quickly walked into the closed and grabbed a somewhat flat rectangular box. "It's been a couple years," he added, "but I'm sure you can get it back up to date." Hal shyly grabbed the gift from Dave and opened it up slowly, inevitably revealing a laptop. "I turned it on earlier," he said as he handed Hal his jump drive, "didn't think you'd mind if I put all your stuff from here on it."
"Wow," Hal said, truly touched by the sentiment. "You touched a computer?" he added with a bit of humor.
"It's the model you were whining about wanting," Dave replied with a grin, "Mei Ling told me you were interested in it so I picked it up for you as a Christmas present." Hal shook his head as he opened it up and turned it on.
"I don't know what to say, thanks Dave," his eyes were starting to tear up as he familiarized his fingers with the keys. He hadn't touched a computer in a good two years.
"So, were you able to find anything good?" Dave said, changing the subject.
"I'm gonna make ham, cranberry sauce and cherry pie," Hal replied as he opened a couple folders and switched away their order to his liking. "I was also thinking about making deviled eggs."
"So I guess goose is out," Dave said in a disappointed tone, making Hal laugh.
"I wish I liked goose like you," he said between laughs. "I'll make it for you soon though."