AN: Hello and welcome to the 12 Days of Gruggmas, where everyday for the next twelve days (give or take) you'll be getting a holiday story featuring the characters from my fanfiction Gustavo Roque's Untitled Girl Group (or GRUGG for short).

As mentioned in the summary, each chapter is a stand alone one shot, and will take place in a separate AU, so GRUGG is not required reading before reading any of these chapters!

For this chapter specifically:

~Pretend to be my boyfriend for my family Christmas party~

Minnesota. The boys' senior year of high school. They were never discovered by Gustavo Roque, and they're still just four best friends who love to play hockey.

Kendall Knight has a twin sister, Delia.

Carlos Garcia has a twin sister, Callie.

Logan Mitchell has a sister, Auden, who is ten months younger than he is, but in the same grade.

Brooke Wallace is the best friend of Callie Garcia, and is very good friends with Kendall Knight and Auden Mitchell. She's been dating Carlos Garcia since sixth grade.

He wasn't even sure what possessed him to agree to this in the first place. He reasoned it was probably pity. After all, wasn't that why Logan had dated her in ninth grade? And he felt bad for thinking it. He shouldn't pity her. No one should. She was smarter and more capable of handling things on her own than almost anyone else that he knew, save for maybe her brother. But then, that had sort of been the whole problem, hadn't it?

"Every single year it's the same thing," she'd explained "No matter how hard I work my ass off all year, it's always 'look at how handsome that Kendall is' and 'oh it must be so hard balancing school and work and hockey' and 'some lucky girl is going to snatch you right up'. And now that one has, I'm going to be the only one at my own mother's Christmas party alone and it's going to be a million times worse!"

He'd been terribly confused about it at the time. "I don't see what Auden and Kendall have to do with everyone shatting about how great Kendall is, and I really don't see how this involves that favor I owe you."

"I'm always stuck in Kendall's shadow. Everyone only sees me as Kendall's little sister, even though I'm…"

"…fourteen minutes older than he is." James had finished automatically. He'd heard it non stop from both of the Knight twins ever since he'd befriended Kendall in kindergarten. Neither could ever seem to let it rest.

With a nod, Delia finally concluded "And it's worst at the Christmas party. And I already know that his having a girlfriend is something else everyone will hold over my head. I just thought that having me maybe having a 'boyfriend' would help alleviate some of the tension. And you do still owe me."

As he shuffled towards the Knight's residence – snow sticking to his new dress shoes - he took one last deep breath. There was no going back after this.

He knocked on the door, and was greeted by Kendall and Delia's mother. She was a really nice lady and he smiled and nodded as he came in, despite the uneasiness in his stomach. His eyes scanned the living room for his friends, catching Logan and Carlos' sister, Callie, holding hands on the couch, while Carlos was helping his girlfriend, Brooke, grab some baked goods out of the kitchen and Kendall trying to get Logan's sister, Auden, under the mistletoe with him.

Logan and Callie had seen him first, Callie offering a small sup nod as Logan smiled and waved him over. He'd smiled back, hoping that maybe he could spend the whole night with his friend and that the disaster that was sure to come could be completely avoided. He hadn't even seen Delia yet, after all. Maybe she didn't need his assistance anymore.

Brooke offered him a cookie, and he'd taken a bite of the ginger bread man's arm when he finally did locate his 'date', and his hopes of having a good time at the annual Knight Christmas party were immediately dashed. She was always trying too hard, and it was undoubtedly showing again tonight. The heels on her feet were too high for her to walk in. It appeared as though Callie had noticed this, too, as she immediately offered her seat to the redhead. "I'm fine." She lied through a sickeningly sweet smile in her teeth "After all, you're the guest in my house, and what kind of host would I be if…"

"Delia," Callie repeated, more forceful this time "This isn't about your hosting merits. It's about you not breaking an ankle."

"Seriously," Logan then suggested "You're in your own house. Why not just go put on some flats or something?"

"I like these shoes," she'd tried to argue, "and I'm an adult who-"

"You're seventeen and going to hurt yourself." Logan interrupted.

There was a flash of…something…in Delia's eyes as she processed Logan's words. James couldn't really tell what it was, since he was used to her eyes appearing cold and dead almost all of the time. Once again, it looked as though Callie had also noticed, as the brunette's expression softened as she attempted to drop the subject, instead offering Delia one of Brooke's cookies.

Meanwhile, in the corner of the selfsame living room, Kendall finally had Auden Mitchell right where he wanted her. She was backed into the literal corner of the room, his arm outstretched to dangle a piece of mistletoe over her head "I won." He smiled smugly, "Kisses please!"

He was only seconds away from getting what he'd been working so hard for all afternoon when an aunt noticed him in the corner and made her way over, proclamations of "Oh Kendall, look how handsome you grew up to be!" ringing in his ears as long fingernails pinched at his cheeks.

"Aunt Martha," he forced out a convincing fake laugh, before doing his best to divert her attention "Have you seen Delia or Katie yet? I know they've both just been dying to catch up with you…" Directing her to where Delia was standing – it was easier to locate his sister while she was in those heels – he'd turned back to Auden and asked "Now where were we? I believe I was about to earn my winnings."

Auden let out a smug smirk, as she opened her palm to reveal that she'd taken the mistletoe out of his hand. "Nice try. But you haven't won anything yet."

Aunt Martha, meanwhile, had headed over to where the rest of teens were mingling, smiling as she recognized her niece. "Delia, sweetheart," she cooed, reaching over to hug the redhead, who was still fairly unsteady in her shoes. Logan, Callie, James and Brooke shared a look of panic as she wobbled in the hug, but following Martha's release she was surprisingly still standing. "Look how tall you've gotten!"

"That's probably the shoes!" Carlos had thought he was being helpful, but the stares he received from his friends made him think that maybe it wasn't such a helpful thing to say after all.

Martha had glanced down, and was honestly shocked to see the six inch heel her niece was wearing. "Oh dear. I suppose Kendall got all the height now, didn't he?"

Delia put on the same fake smile she did anytime this was mentioned as she replied "Yes, I suppose he must have."

"And just who is that girl with the hair he's been hanging around with?"

Logan immediately knew she was referring to Auden, after all, ever since she first dyed her hair purple in seventh grade, he'd heard his sister referred to as 'the girl with the hair' at least once a day. "That would be my sister, Auden," he supplied "She's Kendall's girlfriend."

"Girlfriend!" Martha had gasped "My, you are just growing up so quickly! It was just a matter of time before someone snatched our little Kendall up!"

Delia had merely smiled and nodded, but she felt herself jump a little at the sudden sensation of James' arm wrapping around her waist. Now standing up next to Delia, he immediately opened his mouth "Well, Kendall's not the only one getting snatched up around here…"

"Oh!" Martha's eyebrows rose considerably as she questioned "And who is this? I don't believe we've been introduced."

Delia had opened her mouth to respond, but her 'date' beat her to it. The arm not around the redhead's waist outstretched, he gave one of his most charming smiles as he introduced "James. James Diamond. Delia's boyfriend. Pleasure to meet you."

Carlos had let out a snicker, and both his sister and his girlfriend nudged him with their elbow.

"Well, I can see why you're always in those heels now!" Martha joked, laughing uproariously, oblivious to the awkward smiles and nods that the teens were giving her in response. "He's quite the tall drink of water!" she then leaned down – not as discreetly as she would have liked, to whisper to Delia "and you know, height typically comes with other benefits…"

Delia smiled and nodded, letting out a very awkward sounding giggle, as Aunt Martha caught sight of Katie, wandering off to visit her youngest niece. James turned to Delia, informing her "She's right, you know."

If Delia's eyes went any wider they may have popped out of her head. "Was that detail really necessary? Did you have to share that?"

With a smirk he offered "Well, you are my 'girlfriend', aren't you? Hypothetically I'm already sharing it with you…"

Delia's hands flew up over ears as she shut her eyes tight, screaming "Shut! Up!"

"Awww look at you two," Brooke cooed "Bickering like an old married couple already."

Logan narrowed his eyes at the blonde on Carlos' lap as he retorted "That's interesting coming from one half of the couple who've been in a relationship built entirely on puppy love since middle school."

Brooke shook her head, gesturing towards the 'couple' in question as she argued "If James and Delia were going to be a cute puppy love couple they would've gotten together before senior year!"

In a hushed tone, James asked "We're not actually dating. Everyone remembers that, right?"

"Well yeah, for now," Callie replied, rolling her eyes. "But it's only a matter of time."

With a nod, Brooke pointed out "You are the only two left in our immediate friend group that haven't paired off yet."

"That doesn't mean anything!" James cried "When I dated Callie in ninth grade and Logan dated Delia it didn't push Auden right into Kendall's arms!"

It was a bad a choice of words, as Auden dragged Kendall's body behind her as she tried to move out of the tickle-hug he'd locked her in, as he cried "I! WILL! GET! MY! KISSES!"

Delia had opened her mouth to add her two cents, but was cut off by Aunt Martha dragging her grandparents over, tipsily babbling about how they needed to see the man Delia had gotten her tiny little hands on. Delia barely had time to look down to said tiny hands with a pout before her grandfather had come over, placing a hand on James' shoulder and start yammering on about what a strapping young lad he was. Her grandmother chimed in about what a looker he was, and Delia merely smiled and nodded as James received the praise and admiration from her family she'd so desperately wanted herself.

James, meanwhile, loved the attention. For a moment or two, he'd even considered actually dating Delia if it meant he'd be getting these kinds of compliments any time there was a family get together. And if they got married, it would sort of make Kendall his brother, which was an added bonus. As the party went on, however, he started to feel less and less enthused about the constant barrage of compliments. Particularly, he disliked how every time a new relative came over to tell him how handsome he was, Delia's face went from fake-happy to expressionless as she focused her eyes on the floor. At first he thought maybe she was finally starting to reconsider the shoes. That wasn't it.

A few hours later and James' mom had called, asking for him to come home. It wasn't a school night, but everyone knew how Mrs. Diamond could be, and the last thing anyone wanted was to keep her waiting. Both wanting to keep the charade going, and wanting to be viewed as a good hostess, Delia escorted her date back outside. When she was sure no one could hear them – the front door of the Knight residence shutting firmly behind them as they stood in the cold and dark of the early December night – she verbally relieved him of his boyfriend duties. "Your favor has been turned in. Thank you."

James' eyebrows furrowed a bit in confusion "But it didn't fix your problem."

"I know." She replied, her voice uncharacteristically quiet "But that's not your doing. You held up your end of the deal. And it was very impressive. There were some moments where you almost fooled me."

He left out a soft chuckle, and he was about to smirk and say something smarmy, but there was something stopping him from doing so. A nagging thought in the back of his head, perhaps, was the best way to describe it. The poor girl had suffered enough tonight, hadn't she? "I'm sorry that I took the attention away from you." He found himself blurting out. Sometimes he thought before he spoke. This wasn't one of those times, as he kept talking without his common sense's consent "I'm an only child so like, I don't get it. I can't relate to what you go through. But being ignored sucks. And you're a totally smart and kind of pretty girl and I don't understand why anyone would want to ignore you in the first place."

And for the first time in hours, the Delia Knight he knew came bubbling to the surface again as she questioned "Kind of pretty? I'm gorgeous, thank you very much."

A playful smile graced his lips as he jokingly rolled his eyes, countering "Come on babe, you're standing next to me. You're gonna look less pretty in comparison."

"You wish you were as pretty I am." She replied automatically. Her mouth had parted for a lengthier retort, but she was unable to do so, as James had firmly sealed her mouth shut by pressing his on top of it. He was still hunched over, but kissing her in those heels was a lot easier than it would've been otherwise. She was still a tiny a little creature.

Breaking the kiss, James smiled triumphantly at the totally shocked expression on the redhead's face "If I had figured out that it was that easy to get you to shut up before I would've started telling everyone to kiss you years ago!" She stood blinking at him, still too shocked and confused to do anything in response, as he waved and smiled cheekily. "Goodnight Delia!" he cried over his shoulder "Thanks again for the invite!"

As he took off back down the sidewalk, he noted that he could still taste the faint flavor of peppermint on his lips. Smiling, he licked at them, a faint blush on his cheeks as he relished in the sample.

He'd later learn that it wasn't an exclusive holiday happening, she tasted like peppermint almost every day of the year. But that discovery was still a few months away.