Chapter Five – Make Up

"So how is she?" Tony asked Nolan in worry as he stood over Deanna, Nolan looking at the thermometer.

"One hundred and three…" the man said sadly, "Poor kid. Getting this sick during the holidays."

"Meg, come out!" Lucy said only a few yards away "I PROMISE ya, things are gonna get better. You'll see!"

"How can things get any better after you told Don how I really feel?!" Meg shouted from inside the bedroom, pulling Deanna's covers over her.

"Urgh, she's not touching my blankets, is she?" coughed Deanna "D-Don't let her! I-I don't want her tear-juice all over my things!"

"Dee-Dee, hush."

"It was necessary!" the younger Nicelander pleaded "If YOU weren't gonna do it, then who was? Ya know that Don sometimes needs a few HINTS for things ta sink in."

"LUCILE!"

"Guys, will you be QUIET?!" Nolan said, finally having had enough of his neighbors' bickering "For goodness sake! Dee-Dee's SICK, Meg is still going through a break down apparently and Don's gone NUTS all thanks to this!"

"Hey, I was just tryin' ta fix things." Lucy said, her hands up in defense "Ya can't blame me that things took a turn as they did."

"Why can't I?"

"Um, maybe I should get some medicine…." Tony said, slowly walking out of the room but as things were, the entire situation was only heating up.

Some were arguing, some were crying, some were SICK.

It was just one massive ball of energy and no one knew when it was finally going to stop.

"They do say the holidays bring out….well, it brings out SOMETHING." Snowanna said as she and the other racers watched on in awe.

And everyone thought that Sugar Rush had the nosiest occupants of the arcade.

"Oooh, this is just terrible." Meeped Adorabeezle, hating to see how the group of tiny people were fighting with each other "D-Do you think there's any way we can stop them?"

"Stop 'em, HA!" laughed Snowanna "It's like a tiger cage in there! Make one attempt to go in an' prepare to get eaten alive!"

"Meg, come out please!"

"Lucy, leave her alone!"

"I was just tryin' ta help!"

"Dee-Dee, are you alright?"

"Ung, my HEAD…."

It seemed that things were only getting worse.

But in the midst of all the chaos, in the midst of all the drama there was one person who felt she had to SAY something.

"Think this is gonna cut into our music time, Bellina?" Snowanna asked her friend but not an answer came. Snowanna looked up, shocked to see Crumbellina entering the room "Crumbellina?"

The girl walked through the mess as if nothing around her meant anything.

There was no chaos, no noise, just peace.

At Deanna's door, Lucy was still trying her best to convince Meg to come out but like her previous tries, the woman wasn't budging.

"Really? Should we all set up wait here an'-!?"

"Miss Megan?"

The room fell silent, all eyes on the tiny racer at the door.

"Miss Megan, can you hear me?"

From inside the room, Meg hid behind the bed but she was a little confused as to the new voice that was calling her.

"E-Excuse me? Who is that?"

"It's Crumbellina. Crumbellina Di Carmelo." The girl said, her tone soft "One of the racers from Sugar Rush, if you may recall."

Meg peeked over the bed, sniffling "U-uh. P-pardon if I don't recognize you, dear."

"That is quite fine." Crumbellina said, bowing her head "It is not as if I stand out that much when I am with my friends. I prefer to keep to myself. But if I am not mistaken, there seems to be a bit of a crisis going on right now."

Meg whimpered and ducked behind the bed again "Crisis? It's more than that!"

"Can you please explain to me what has gotten you so upset?"

"It's…it's….."

Meg shut her eyes tight, a wash of embarrassment crashing over her once more.

"H-How can you understand?! Th-this is happening all because I've been too SCARED to tell the one person I care about how I really feel about him! A-and apparently, things are only WORSE now that LUCY has told him!"

"HEY!"

"Lucile, SHHH!"

Crumbellina moved closer to the door, placing her hand on the frame "How much do you care about this person?"

"H-How do I CARE?" Meg said meekly "I care about him more than ANYTHING! I mean-! It's just…."

Meg had to calm herself down for a moment, pushing back the block that had formed around her.

"I-I know it's silly but….the reason I care about Don so much is because of how much he's always been there for me."

Crumbellina smiled, glad to see she was able to get some headway from Meg all the while keeping her from erupting into tears once more. Meanwhile, the other Nicelanders could only stand back and watch in awe at what was happening before them. Even when they were together in a GROUP, they had not been able to get Meg to talk in such a way before them.

But one kid…..

"Sheesh, is that her power or somethin'?" asked Tony, looking down at Snowanna and Adorabeezle. The snow-cone racer could only smirk at the sight before her.

"Heh, you don't know Bellina. She has a few tricks up her sleeve."

"Sounds to me you want to thank this person, Captain Don I mean." Said Crumbellina "I think that's wonderful."

"That's just it though…." Said Meg sadly "Will he even care? Would he even understand?"

"What exactly do you mean?"

"What I mean is, in the thirty years we've been together, I've never really gotten any sort of courage to tell him anything."

Meg drew her knees to her face, sniffling back a few tears.

"I've always been like this. I've always felt scared."

"But you told me that Don makes you feel happy."

"H-He does!" the woman replied "But what if he tells me that he finds me annoying or that he-!"

"Miss Megan?"

Meg looked over towards the door, the sound of the child's voice surprising her a bit.

"Miss Megan, please hear me out. I am not suggesting that you throw yourself in a grand manner towards Don but I want to think about this. You say you're scared that he finds you annoying and that is what is keeping you so far from him. If that were the case, why has he always helped you, time and again, and made sure that you're happy?"

Meg fell silent, realizing that the girl was right.

Don always did come to Meg first in times of crisis. Even if there were times where he would do something silly or acted a little clueless to her reactions towards him, he was there.

Time and time again.

If he didn't like her, why? Why was he always there?

Meg felt her heart starting to flutter; Crumbellina was right.

But she still felt shy, so painfully shy to say anything to him.

"Think about it. What would be better? To tell Captain Don how you feel or remaining silent? To never express your true feelings to the person you care about?"

To NEVER say anything?

To always be in the shadows, in the corner, away from the others?

Meg had always been that one.

The one who tried to hide but in all those years, had it made her life any more enjoyable?

Where had it gotten her?

"I…."

"Miss Meg?"

Silence filled the entire apartment but after a few moments, the group could hear the tumbler turning in the door.

"Meg?"

The door opened slowly and a small, sad looking periwinkle woman walked out.

"S-sorry for all of this…."

The Nicelanders gave a collective sigh, happy to see Meg come out.

"Oh, thank the PROGRAMMERS!"

"If there is anyone to thank I'd say it's this kid." Smiled Tony as he gave Crumbellina a pat on the shoulder "Wow, think ya can help us with EVERY fight here?"

The caramel racer smiled "I just wanted to help, that's all."

"Is Deanna okay?" Meg asked softly "I didn't mean to seal myself in her room with her being sick and all…."

"She'll do better once we get some medicine in her." Nolan said.

"Ungh, Meg?"

The group looked over to see Deanna shuffling under the cover "M-Meg, your present."

"M-My present?"

"D-Don's present for you…." The woman moaned "H-He asked me to hide it for you. It's been in the cupboard for a WEEK."

Don was running as fast as a Nicelander could into the busy halls of Game Central Station, even when it was clear he was out of breath.

"GOT TO-! GET-! BETTER GIFT!" the man panted, falling on his hands and knees "URGH! Too exhausted talk straight words!"

And with that, the man fell over on the ground, people walking around him as if he were just another decoration around.

He twitched, he coughed, he looked up with blurry eyes towards the great tree that glowed heavenly in the middle of the vast area.

It looked so beautiful, so calming…..

Calm.

That was what he needed but sadly the man felt that CALM was far from his reaches after what he had been told. He managed to pick himself up and stand on his feet, leaning heavily on a nearby wall.

"Smooth, Donnie. SMOOTH." He mumbled to himself "What kind of gentleman would lead a woman on like that for YEARS?! No wonder people think you're a joke!"

"Donald?"

The man turned, hearing a familiar voice calling his name but as he turned he was surprised to see a small figure dressed as Santa meeting his eyes. He looked around, a little cautious and uncertain if the figure was actually addressing HIM.

"Ah, you're talking to me RIGHT?"

Making certain that a few younger characters had not seen him, the figure walked up to Don and pulled down his beard revealing none other than…

"ROY?!"

"Shhhh, shhh!" the grey Nicelander whispered, hoping that the kids hadn't seen him "Not so loud!"

"I guess THIS explains where you've been all week." Don said, scratching his head.

"Yeah, part-time gig I've been doing for a while." Roy said, quickly replacing his beard and waving to a few passing patrons.

So ROY had been masquerading as a Santa all these years?

ROY?

The worry-wart of the Nicelanders. The guy who would pitch a fit if ANYTHING was out of place.

ROY.

Boy, if the others only knew.

"Don't tell anyone…." Roy whispered, knowing such a promise would never be kept with DON "I don't want to spoil it for anyone."

"Er, sure….between cousins?" Don glanced around.

"Between cousins." Roy nodded "And if I may ask again, what are you doing out here?"

"Um, let's just say that there was a secret back home that even had ME thrown for a loop. Even more than this!"

"You mean Meg finally told you?"

"Wait, YOU knew?!"

"Don, EVERYONE knows that Meg had a crush on you!"

Don began knocking his head against a wall, overcome with humility and guilty over what had transpired back at the apartments.

"Mommy, is that man trying to attack the wall?"

"Just look away, Bibi."

"Urgh, Roy you have NO idea how STUPID I feel right now!" the sailor growled in frustration "I PRIDE myself on knowing everyone. I mean, we're FAMILY! We're FRIENDS! But of EVERYONE in the apartment I'm OBLIVIOUS to!"

Don fell silent, looking down at the ground.

"I have to get her something better…"

"Better than what?"

"Better than the stupid lil thing I bought for her." Don said "A-After all of this?! After how long she's been PINING for me?! I can't just hand her something stupid and go 'Oh by the way, THIS is how I feel about you Megan! Hope it makes up for the THIRTY YEARS I've ignored you!"

"Don."

"Are there aren't good places still open?!" the man paced "What does she even like! I mean, I KNOW what she likes! Any good neighbor like ME would know what she likes! Jewelry?! A new dress?! A MAGICAL CROWN?! GAH!"

"Geezum CROW, Donnie! You're worse than ME!" Roy said as he took Don by his shoulder, shaking him slightly "Look, you know how Meg is. She'll love ANYTHING you give her."

"But Roy!"

Roy gave Don another shake "Don, seriously. Look at yourself. I've NEVER seen you this worked up since…since, well I don't think I need to TELL you the last time I saw you panicked."

"Take your pick. We've had PLENTY of disasters."

"Don, it's getting late." Roy said "Unless you want to stay here and help me hand out candy canes to these kid, I'm going to give you THIS bit of advice."

Don wasn't so sure how to feel at the moment. Most of the time, HE was the one who gave ROY advice, not the other way around!

"Just give her your gift and tell her the truth…." Roy said, his voice sincere "I think that is MORE than enough to show her how you really feel."

The sailor felt a bit of the guilt coming off his shoulders as Roy spoke to him, though he was still uncertain how things would turn out in the end.

Either way, he had to go back to Niceland and most of all he had to talk to Meg. Don let out a sigh running his hands through his hair.

"Okay, okay. You win, Roy. But if-!"

Don stopped.

Something was off.

His hat.

Where was his hat.

"Donald?"

"I came here with a hat, didn't I? DIDN'T I?!"

"Actually, when you fell out on the floor you didn't have it so-!"

"FOR CRYING OUT-!"

The day was only getting better, wasn't it?

Don gave Roy a wave as he bolted off, hopping back onto the trolley and hoping that not only would Meg want to speak to him again but someone knew where his cap was.

"Tis the FREAKIN' season."

Don arrived back at the apartments but in his haste, he failed to realize that another event was taking place before him. Jogging up the path, the man was much too busy retracing his steps to pay attention.

"So, I ran out but before then I came from the stairs and-!"

"GET HIM!"

Things were getting MUCH better.

Don looked up, he stood still, he held his breath.

All he saw was color. So many wild colors.

And then WHITE.

STARK, BLINDING, WHITE.

It seemed that the warriors outside found Don to be the PERFECT person to launch their next attack on and only an inch away from the door, Don found himself RIDDLED with snowballs. They came from EVERY direction; up, down, left, right!

He had not a chance to move as he was pelted from every angle.

"I wonder if those guys will ever stop out there…." Said Calhoun as she watched the battle from the warmth and comfort of the kitchen "It's like those guys have NEVER seen snow before!"

Mary sipped her cup of coco, shaking her head "You know how kids can be. Let them have fun!"