A/N: This chapter is named after 'All About Us' by He is We.
Frankie paced about her cluttered room, stepping over various objects that were placed all around the floor. She hadn't bothered to move any of these items, considering they would end up in their original resting place on the ground again. She couldn't help but wander around the area whenever she was speaking on the phone with someone. Whether that was an old relative, a friend from school, or Campbell Saunders… She almost always got nervous while talking on the phone with anybody.
"What are you doing for Christmas?" She asked, tripping over a pair of jeans that were laid across the carpet, but she quickly caught herself before anything besides her feet could hit the ground. She barely had time to bring her full attention back to the boy on the other line before he responded.
"Staying at home-probably. It won't be anything too special, just family stuff, I guess." Cam paused, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth before daring to shift the same question back to her. "How about you?"
"Nothing." Frankie was quick to reply, already positive that her father had nothing planned for the two. Cam didn't know about his alcoholic behavior, and she didn't want him to figure it out anytime soon.. or ever.
"Really? Nothing?"
The girl nodded at first, but then realized that he couldn't see her. "Yeah." She spoke quietly.
Campbell felt bad. If she truly didn't have anybody to spend the holidays with, since he wasn't clued in on her current living situation, he wanted to be able to at least be some sort of company for her. "Why don't you come over tomorrow for Christmas Eve?" He suggested suddenly, biting at the inside of his cheek as he waited for Frankie's reaction. It was several seconds until Cam heard her voice.
"I wouldn't be interrupting or anything, right?"
All he could do was chuckle lowly, but then immediately felt bad for acting impolite towards Frankie's question. "No. You wouldn't. It's too quiet around the house anyways."
The familiar feeling of being in front of Campbell's house consumed Frankie. She remembered the last time she had been over here, and that night hadn't ended too well. It was colder than it had been a couple of weeks ago and she could currently feel the snowflakes falling right into her hair. Frankie shivered at the chilly weather, running her hand through it to try and straighten it up. By the time she reached the porch, though, her brunette locks were covered with snow all over again. At this point, she could only hope that this outcome would be better, considering it was Christmas Eve after all. The holiday season was supposed to filled with joy, happiness, warmth, and all that cliche stuff, right? She could barely recall last Christmas. Everything had been way different back then and it felt like as if it had taken place years ago. All of these thoughts were making the young girl feel hopeless about tonight, so she quickly knocked on the door before she could change her mind and head back home.
When the barrier between her and the house was broken, Cam was in front of Frankie, wearing the same apron he had been a little over a week ago. He was about to speak, but was speechless when he saw her appearance. The white snow in her hair went perfectly with her dark brown curls and it seemed as if her chocolate eyes were glowing. Her entire face was red, and then suddenly he realized that she must be cold. The boy moved aside, granting her a small smile as she took a few steps inside. He cleared his throat, hoping his voice wouldn't crack even after doing this. "Um, hey. You look nice." Cam complimented her, shuffling his feet together nervously.
Frankie immediately blushed, not being able to stop the redness from forming on her face. "Thanks. Cute apron." She responded. "I don't think I ever said anything about it last time." The brunette giggled, grinning at the older boy as his own face became the same light color.
"Right, uh, I'm making dinner.." He trailed off uncomfortably, which made Frankie snicker once again. "Aaron and Eloise are out in the living room doing...stuff? I don't know. I haven't been paying attention." He chuckled softly out of anxiety. "Anyway, you can go hang out with them or something, since the kitchen's totally boring and whatever."
"Yeah! I love kids. I'll see you in a bit." Frankie turned on her heel to walk towards the living room, but then stopped herself to tease Cam before they parted.
"You make a sexy chef, by the way." She didn't receive any kind of acknowledgment.
"Campbell sings older songs in a really bad Mickey Mouse voice when he thinks he's alone." exclaimed the youngest out of his two siblings. Frankie sat on the floor in between the children as the TV was only used as a background noise.
"He can't dance. He always tries, but falls on his face instead!" Eloise informed Frankie, scooting closer to the older girl. All she could do was laugh at the embarrassing facts Cam's siblings kept notifying her of.
"He can't drink anything with ice in it. How weird is that?" Aaron said, not being able to help but laugh.
"I can't do that either!" Eloise rolled her eyes, shaking her head at her youngest brother. "But he hates the sound of chewing. He always has to hum while eating. He thinks we can't hear it, but we can." She added, continuing to tell Frankie all of Cam's strange quirks.
"Oh! And he also hates the sound of when you bang two pots together." Aaron faced Frankie completely. "That's the best way to wake him up, and if you want to get him mad." The small boy then thought of something else to mention. "And he hates ducks!" This caused Eloise to lean over and smack Aaron's arm-hard. She glared at him, which shut both of them up immediately, and left Frankie extremely confused as to what had been so terrible about that statement.
Dinner was awfully quiet, but Frankie was able to detect the soft humming that came from Cam's throat as he chewed his own food. She tried not to point this out, but couldn't help but smile to herself every time she heard it.
After everybody had finished eating, they were all back out in the living room. Eloise and Aaron were playfully taunting Cam as Frankie observed how he acted with his siblings. It was practically like he was their father; he was constantly careful as to what he said to the two and was constantly listening to whatever they had to say. Even if those comments were making fun of him, Campbell still happened to observe every single word that left their lips. She admired how good he was with those kids, because it seemed as if neither of his parents were around to raise the two of them.
Frankie caught a glance of a radio that was placed on the bookshelf across the room, and she abruptly remembered that Eloise said Cam couldn't dance. She quickly stood up, hurrying over to the device, and turning it on to the local radio station. Because of the current holiday, all they were playing was Christmas music. She was able to catch Cam's muddled facial expression and all she did was smile at him. She started to move her hips, dancing her way over to him, and pulling the boy off of the couch cushion he had resided on. "We're dancing, whether you like it or not!"
Her interjection clearly made the boy tense up, and she was aware as to why. "C'mon, you won't fall." She reassured and then winked at him, continuing to pull him around the living room. Her feet slid across the carpet as she did so, doing her best to make Cam dance with her.
Eventually, he ended up giving in, and easing up slightly. He held onto Frankie tightly so he wouldn't lose his balance as she forced the two of them to sway back and forth. When the song switched to a faster beat, she began to tug Cam around even faster, not caring if they looked like idiots. She could indistinctly hear the giggles of Aaron and Eloise around them, which caused her to laugh as well. "All I want for Christmas is youuu!" She sang loudly, allowing every possible syllable to linger as she attempted to copy Mariah Carey's voice. The melody began to fade out, and one of the radio DJs started to go on about some lousy advertisement. Neither of them had realized they were nearing one of the mistletoes that had been hung up in the house; they were only centimeters away from the plant.
Cam was the first one to look up and he quickly stepped in the opposite direction, smirking slyly at Frankie. After she had noticed why he'd moved back, he leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. In the background, Cam could hear his brother making gagging sounds. When he looked over at his sister, he noticed the smile on her face, and she shot him a thumbs up. He rolled his eyes playfully before grabbing ahold of Frankie, beginning to twirl and frolic with her about the room again as another song rang throughout the house. Soon enough, Aaron and Eloise joined in. Eloise had forced Frankie away from Cam, wanting to dance with the older girl instead. Campbell stood back, not being able to help but laugh at the sight. He was glad that his siblings were getting along with Frankie; it was the only thing he had wanted to come out of tonight.
Somehow, they all ended up on the couch, and everyone sprawled across Campbell because of the lack of room. The music was still faintly playing in the background, but everybody appeared exhausted. Cam felt somebody's knee digging into his thigh, but he was too tired to push the limb away and decided it'd be best to suffer through the minor discomfort. After a few moments, he glanced around, noticing that the source of pain was coming from Aaron. He smirked slightly to himself, rummaging around in his back pocket to pull out his phone. "Aaron, if you don't get your knee off of me, I'm going to call Santa and tell him to give your presents to some other kid." Cam threatened, unlocking his phone and pretending to dial a number. Immediately, the young boy hopped off of the couch, pulling Eloise with him just in case Cam told Santa on the both of them due to her being on top of him as well. Eloise was old enough to know that the guy was only a myth, but she continued to play around for Aaron's sake. (Actually, it was more like Cam begged her to keep up the act, since he wanted his brother to stay as young as possible). This left Frankie and Campbell on the same cushion with their legs brushing against one another.
Cam did his best not to blush, but failed in the end, and Frankie couldn't help but grin at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, before realizing that his siblings were still in the room with them. She turned her head to glance over at them, smiling at the two before returning her attention back to the older boy. "Isn't it past their bedtime?" She asked, gesturing towards Aaron and Eloise.
Cam, who still had his phone in his palm, quickly checked the time. He looked up, smirking at his brother and sister. "If you guys don't get to bed soon, Santa won't come." This statement earned a roll of the eyes from Eloise, but he chose to ignore it. Aaron rushed off to his room as fast as possible and Eloise slowly trudged behind him.
Frankie moved off of Cam, allowing him to follow his siblings back to their bedrooms. He stopped in Aaron's first and Frankie lingered in the doorway, continuing to watch how he handled the kids. First, he moved the blanket over his brother's body, reminding the other how much he meant to him. He told him that he loved him a couple times, and it seemed as if he was really trying to get his point across. Frankie couldn't help but smile at that. He was persistent on making sure Aaron knew that he cared. He then exited the boy's room, moving to Eloise's.
"How long are you keeping up this ridiculous Santa act?" She question, clearly irritated with the fact that she still had to pretend to believe in the magical being.
"I think this year will be the last, okay? Now go to sleep." Cam paused, grinning from ear to ear. "Love you." He said, a playful tone present in his voice.
Before her elder brother could leave the room, Eloise motioned for him to lean in. He put his ear closer to her lips, allowing her to whisper to him.
"I like your girlfriend."
All Campbell did was chuckle before leaving her room as well, grasping onto Frankie's arm, and tugging her into his own room.
Once in his room, he started to go through the closet, pulling out various gifts that had already been wrapped. "You're going to be Mrs. Clause tonight!" He announced gleefully, placing a few of the boxes in Frankie's arms.
She raised her eyebrows at the presents before giggling. "Does that mean we're married?"
Cam's face automatically went red and he kept his eyes glued to the closet. "For now, I guess." He responded in a soft tone and then began dragging out even more presents for his siblings. "They don't get much." He switched the topic completely, which Frankie hadn't minded. "My mom hasn't really been a mother lately. I buy them these things and try so hard because I don't want them to miss out on their childhood too." Campbell added, the mood suddenly darkening. Changing the subject again wasn't difficult, though, because he swiftly ran out of the room and then downstairs. The girl followed, not being able to walk as fast as him. When they were in the living room once more, he placed the boxes in his clutch underneath the overly small Christmas tree, which wasn't decorated due to their lack of income. He took the ones from Frankie, moving them next to the other gifts. Cam started to arrange the presents, attempting to make it look as neat as possible. He enjoyed keeping things organized, and never noticed when he was doing it half the time. If he didn't keep the house in order, who would?
Frankie stood back, laughing under her breath as he continued to move the gifts around. "Campbell, I think it's okay." She reassured him, taking a few steps towards the boy. "Let's go back to your room. C'mon, they won't care how the presents look while they're ripping them open." She added. Cam knew she had a point, so he found himself nodding, and deciding to follow Frankie back to his room.
When they entered his room, her lips connected against his almost instantly. He didn't want to complain or question her motives, so he returned the actions, yanking her even farther into his room. He stopped the kiss for a second, shutting the door behind them prior to sustaining it. Cam hadn't made any other sudden movements, but before he knew it, Frankie had forced him onto his bed and his shirt was being torn off.
Frankie watched as Cam's chest continuously rose and then fell back into the same place again. She hadn't anticipated her first time sober, and with a completely different boy, to be that breathtaking. He looked so peaceful as he laid there in silence. She moved around on the mattress, grabbing her shirt and underwear before putting them back on. Once she was settled onto the bed again, she pulled the blanket on top of them, and then rolled over to face the older teen. "Wow, that was weird." She stated suddenly, causing Cam's attention to direct towards her immediately, a shock look on his face.
"What'd you mean? Did I do something wrong?" He asked, obviously paranoid over Frankie's short comment.
"No, it actually felt nice. That's weird for me." She grinned, leaning over to place a sweet kiss on Cam's cheek. Before he could response, she wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his bare torso. His own arm moved around her petite body, holding her close.
"Should we get you home?" He questioned out of practically nowhere, thinking of her dad.
Frankie's head shot up, and she quickly shook it. "Noooo." She whined, pausing for a moment. "I want to stay the night with you." She shifted her position so she could get a better look at Campbell. She stuck out her lower lip, trying to give the boy her best puppy dog eyes as well. "Please?" She pleaded, hovering over him to place a chaste kiss against his lips. Not being able to respond vocally, Cam automatically returned the action until Frankie forced herself to pull back. She smirked at the older teen, hoping he'd agree to her suggestion now.
"Fine, you can stay." Those words caused a joyful smile to come across her mouth. "Only if you go to sleep, 'cause I'm tired." Cam reasoned.
Frankie nodded her head frantically before returning to the way she had been previously laying. She then closed her eyes, fully aware of the fact that she was going to sleep well tonight.