~TWEWY is a property of Square Enix. I don't anything but a copy of this game.~

He was laying with his back to the ground and his face to the sky. His breath came out in soft white clouds that floated away as he watched them.

He should go home. Make dinner. Do something that will make him feel less like a lonely loser with nothing to do except lay down in the middle of a park on Christmas night. Even though he was.

It wasn't his fault that Shiki was visiting relatives in Enoshima or that Beat and Rhyme were away on a "bonding vacation" with their parents. And there was no way he was going to go to Eri's Christmas party. Even if he didn't hate everyone anymore, there was still a limit to how much mindless stupidity he could take.

When he finally got up and started walking toward the Scramble, he was graced with the scene of another traffic accident. So many had been occurring lately, probably because everyone was rushing to see their family and friends. Neku frowned as he was reminded of his last "friend," though their relationship was still very much up for debate. With one last glance at the scene, he sighed and continued to walk home.

Apparently, not even death took a holiday.

When he finally arrived at his flat, he didn't bother turning on the lights and instead walked straight to his room, falling face-first on his mattress. With a groan, he threw his pillow against the wall and proceeded to glare at it when it failed to smash a hole into said wall. The pillow slouched innocently on the floor.

Neku rolled over onto his side and stared out his window, only able to see the slightest glimmer of the city's lights and festivities. He wasn't angry at his friends- it wasn't like they were obligated to spend time with him- but he didn't like this loneliness that surrounded him now. It reminded him too much of the past. Of the time before the Game.

Back then, he had been surrounded by silence and he thought that was the for the best. After all, he didn't need anyone, right?

But now, he understood the difference between empty and full silence. Now, if there was one thing he was sure of, it was how hard it was to turn back to the void when he had been spending the last year surrounded by music and friends. 'More like impossible,' he thought glumly.

Neku woke up to buzzing. He sleepily swatted for his alarm only to realize as his mind cleared that it was coming from his phone.

"Mmm... Who is it?" He muttered, the last remnants of sleep still clinging to his mind.

"Good morning, Neku! Did you have a good Christmas?" His phone chirped. It took him a few moments, but his mind finally whirled to life as he recognized the voice. "Shiki?"

"Who else would it be?" She laughed slightly, the sound warming and reassuring Neku. "Are you okay? Eri told me she never saw you at the party."

"No, I'm fine," he smiled softly. "I just didn't feel like partying yesterday."

"Oh, I see." He could hear the nod in her words. "So... did you like your presents?"

He blinked quizzically at her question, not quite understanding. He had gotten a gift card and some clothes from his parents and relatives so it wasn't all that bad. 'But why does she sound so expectant?'

"Um, I guess?"

"Oh." With that one single word, the conversation plunged into silence. With a foreign sense of rising panic, he recognized the cold silence.

'Wrong answer, Neku.'

"Hold on," he told her as he scrambled to his feet and nearly tripped in running to the living room. In the early morning light, he saw a large, perfectly wrapped present addressed to him with a card on the coffee table. It was most likely from Shiki he realized with a stab of guilt.

"Shiki... Is this from you? You didn't have to..." He asked, all too aware that he didn't give her a present.

"You found it?" Her voice brightening instantly. "I know I didn't have to. I wanted to. It wasn't just me either, everyone pitched in."

"Everyone..." He murmured, picking up the card next to the present. To our dearest Neku... it read in clear elegant ink. Probably Joshua's handiwork. "But I didn't even give you guys anything."

"That doesn't matter, Neku. Christmas is the giving season and you're our friend. Is it so wrong that we want to give you a gift?" Shiki chided him gently.

He shook his head, momentarily forgetting that she was not physically in the room with him. "No... Thank you. All of you."

"... Are you crying, Neku?"

"W-wha- no! I'm not!"

She laughed, the sound coming across the line like the ringing of a bell. Pure and sweet.

"Merry Christmas, Neku."

Merry (late) Christmas! :D

Sorry about not updating in so long (and so late!) but I've been busy with school. Also been on an anime watching spree, so I haven't been able to write that much. Fear not though! I always come back eventually.

There's a title drop for anyone who reads JoshNeku fics, a personal favorite of mine. First one to find it and get it right will get a virtual cookie :3