December 21, 2029

It was the last day of school before the Winter break and all of the students at Sioux Falls High were ablaze with joy that they were out of school. The commencement of break was always a big after school event including an auction and food for the families and students of the Sioux Falls High.

Greer and Cole walked arm and arm looking around at all of the strange items that were being auctioned off.

"Ooh, how about an antique butter churner for Christmas this year?" Cole asked, jokingly.

"Yes! It'll go perfectly with my loom," Greer said back, playing along. Her eyes widened as she picked up another item. "Oh! I know what I'm getting you for Christmas this year." She grabbed the toboggan hat and pulled it over Cole's head and a little over his face. He laughed, pulling it off of his head.

"What? For when I decide to go skiing or decide to become a cat burglar?" He asked.

"Cat burglar, obviously," Greer replied.

"So… speaking of Christmas, what do you want?" Cole asked bluntly.

Greer shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't really ever had a real Christmas so... whenever people ask me that, I feel like a fish out of water."

"More reason to answer it. This year you, if you leave it up to me, you're definitely getting an authentic Christmas," Cole replied.

"You could pay my rent. Kidding! Do not pay my rent. Besides, after working at that diner place we always go to for the past month along with some of the money my mom gave me, I've actually made enough to pay off my rent for a while," Greer said.

"I still can't believe you're going to have your own apartment," Cole said.

"Hey, you can't complain. A whole place to ourselves," she said back, the last part in a sing-song voice.

He smiled, "I really can't complain about that."

"But you can help me move into my apartment. I know it really won't be a lot of stuff, but you know… furniture, painting, all that jazz. The offices open back up the day after Christmas so I thought maybe we could do it sometime then," Greer said.

"Yeah, alright," Cole agreed. "I'll get John and Renee to pitch in too. I'm sure they'd be happy to."

"Alright, since you're probably way better at this than I am, what do you want for Christmas?" Greer asked, changing the subject.

"Oh no. You didn't answer my question so I won't answer yours. It's only fair," Cole said.

"Oh come on! There's gotta be something," Greer begged.

Cole shrugged, "Nope. There's really nothing I want for Christmas. Trust me. My parents have enough of a hard time trying to figure out what to get me."

"Cole," Greer groaned. "You're making it hard to be a good girlfriend here."

"Look, don't worry about it. The only I think I want for Christmas this year is snow and I'm pretty sure none of us have control over the weather. Is that cheesy – to want a white Christmas?" Cole asked, laughing a bit.

Greer laughed, "Yeah, but it's cute." She leaned over, giving him a small peck on the cheek before the continued walking. Out of the corner of Greer's eye, she saw Renee and John walking together. They had just come out of the school and they were heading their way.

"Hey, guys," Renee greeted, as they met up with Cole and Greer.

"Hey," Cole said.

"So do people actually still churn their own butter?" John asked, glancing over at the antique butter churner.

"Not really. That's why it says antique, silly," Renee said, nudging John playfully. He nudged her back and then both shared a laugh. Those two were so couple-y and in sync it wasn't even funny. Greer shot John a look.

"What?" John asked.

"Nothing," Greer said. When she knew Cole wasn't looking, she shot John another look that said 'I need to talk to Renee', nodding over towards Renee. John mouthed back and 'Oh'.

"Dude! Old GI Joe action figures. Cole, come with me," John said, grabbing his cousin's arm and practically dragging him away.

"Real subtle," Renee chuckled as they were gone.

"I'm having a hard time trying to find something to get Cole for Christmas," Greer explained.

Renee sighed, "Yeah, that's a tough one. Cole doesn't really like things. His parents have a hard enough time trying to figure out what to get him!"

"Yeah, he said that," Greer sighed. "I just want to get him something thoughtful, you know? All he said when I asked was that he wanted snow and it's not like I can give him snow or anything."

Renee looked back at Greer with an evil smile on her face, "You sure about that?"

"What do you have up your sleeve?" Greer asked.

"Just an idea. My parents have this annual Christmas Eve party, so why don't you come over then? It's always just a bunch of my parents' friends and then the family so I really won't need to be there," Renee started. Just then, the boys headed towards them and she knew she had to change the subject. "Oh, and bring a pair of scissors."

December 24, 2029

The sounds of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" played as Greer came into the house. She looked around. It was a stunning house, really. She shrugged off her leather jacket.

"Hi, you must be Greer," she heard a voice say. A beautiful, blonde, middle aged woman came towards her. "I can take your coat if you'd like me to. Renee said you'd be coming."

"Yeah, hi. I think we've met a couple of times at the football games," Greer started.

"Yeah, I'm Molly, Renee's mom," Molly replied.

"Nice to meet you," Greer smiled politely.

"Renee is up in her room right now. It looks like the North Pole exploded in there so I apologize in advance," Molly started.

"Oh, it's not a problem at all," Greer replied.

"Alright, it's up the stairs on your right," Molly instructed. She gave Molly her coat before hurrying up the stairs towards Renee's room. She pushed the door open as she saw Renee and a blonde girl that looked a lot like her sitting on the bed.

"Good, you're here! We've just gotten started," Renee said, happily. "Come in. Drop your stuff. Anywhere on the floor is fine. As you can see, my room looks like Santa Claus the tornado hit it, but I've been wrapping stuff all day and just started working on the snowflakes."

"Wow, you've really outdone yourself, Renee," Greer started.

She shrugged, "Cole's a good friend of mine and I actually like you, comparatively to his last girlfriend."

"Oh yeah?" Greer asked, cautiously sitting down on the bed.

"Yep, but that's a different story for another time. Oh, by the way, Greer, this is Iz, my sister," Renee introduced.

"Nice to meet you. I think what you're doing for Cole is really sweet, by the way," Iz said.

"It was really all your sister's idea, but thanks," Greer said back.

"Oh, please. Here, have some paper," Renee said, handing Greer a giant stack of white paper. "Cut away!"

"Sounds good," Greer chuckled. "Hey, how do we know Cole won't burst in any moment?"

"We don't, but at the moment, he's actually not here right now. He and Haley disappeared. They had to run an errand or something so we're safe for now," Renee replied, diligently working at the paper snowflakes she was making. Greer began to make hers too and put them in the cardboard box on the floor as soon as she finished one.

"You know, I really can't thank you enough. Setting up a winter wonderland for him in my empty apartment? That's kind of genius," Greer started.

"Don't worry about it," Renee shrugged. "Hey, do you want to put on some music?"

"Other than this Christmas music? Yes, please. I don't know. There's something about Christmas music… it's nice for a while and then it just gets redundant," Greer said.

"Agreed," Renee added. She got up and woke up her laptop before starting something else.

"You like The Cure?" Greer asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Renee replied, detecting Greer's surprise. "I may look like a cheerleader, but I am far from one."

Greer chuckled, "I think we're going to get along great."

"Good, because I have a feeling you'll be sticking around for a while," Renee replied. "And it's actually kind of nice to have another girl in this group of people that's around my age. I mean, don't get me wrong. I love Victoria and Haley… and you too, Iz, but you all are always together and I'm always left with John, Cole, and Jude."

"Doesn't sound like such bad company," Greer remarked.

"It's not. It's just nice to have an addition," Renee answered.

"You know, I've never really had friends that were girls. I mean, I haven't really even had real friends ever so this whole thing is… new to me," Greer admitted.

Renee shot her a small, friendly smile, "Yes, the Winchester/Walsh clan can be quite overwhelming sometimes. We apologize in advance."

Greer laughed, "You know, I think I'm really going to like it here."

"Hey, what's-, woah why does it look like the abominable snowman threw up on your room?" John asked, coming into Renee's bedroom. Greer, Iz, and Renee all looked up from their snowflakes to see John.

"It's Cole's Christmas present," Renee answered.

"Snow?" John asked.

"Yeah," Greer replied.

"Huh, cool. He loves snow," John remarked.

"Uh huh. Actually, we could use an extra pair of hands. What're you doing right now?" Renee asked.

"Wh-, oh no," John shook his head.

"Please?" Renee begged.

John just stood there, pausing before finally sighing, "Yeah, okay fine. But you owe me."

"I know," Renee said back.

"Santa Baby" played from the stereo as John and Renee took a break from snowflake cutting and went downstairs to get something to drink.

"So I have a little early Christmas present for you," Renee started.

"Oh?" John asked, a smirk began to form on his face. He leaned in to kiss her but she placed a hand on his chest, pushing him a way.

"Not now," Renee groaned. "So my parents and Iz are all going away for New Year's. Iz's class is taking a field trip to New York and Dad signed up to chaperone. Mom's got work stuff to tend to so I volunteered to stay back, watch the house. I told them it'd be good practice for when I got away to college next year and they uh, agreed."

"What're you saying?" John asked.

"I'm saying that you and I will have the house to ourselves," Renee said, before biting her lip. She could barely believe what she was saying, but they had waited long enough. Neither of them were new to this, so she figured why not? She was done taking things slowly.

"Are you sure?" John asked.

"I'm positive. I thought you come over New Year's eve and I'd cook you dinner… then you could stay over?" Renee suggested.

"O-okay," John stammered.

"Okay," Renee smiled, before pressing a small kiss to his lips. "We should go back upstairs and help out with the fake snow. Come on." She offered her hand out to John and he took it, following her back upstairs.

"Okay, stop. We're going to have to put this tree down or my hands may start bleeding," Haley said.

"Okay. Thanks so much, by the way, for helping out. I don't think I could've brought in the tree and decorated it all by myself," Cole said.

"No problem. It's good to see you this happy with someone," Haley answered back. There was a beep and Cole pulled something out of his pocket. "What?"

"It's from Greer. It says that she wants me to meet her back at the apartment in two hours," Cole said.

"Is that bad?" Haley asked.

"Yeah. I don't want her seeing the tree yet but it sounds like she wants to give me my gift at the apartment too," Cole said.

"Hm… how about this? How about we throw a sheet of the tree and you can plug all the lights in when you're there with her that way she'll be surprised even if she's been there already," Haley suggested.

Cole nodded, "That'll do. Alright, all we have to do is make our way to the elevator and down the hall to the actual apartment, and we'll be good. You ready?"

"Yeah," Haley answered. On three, Cole and Haley picked the Christmas tree up and began to scoot towards the elevator that was getting closer and closer. "By the way, I think what you're doing for Greer is really sweet – getting her a Christmas tree like this. It I knew it involved robbery, I'm not quite sure I would've volunteered to be a part of it."

"What? It was in the discard yard at the tree place," Cole said. "They were going to throw it out anyways! Now, it's going to good use. Besides, it's not like people are going to want a tree after Christmas, the place was closed when we got there, and I left a donation!"

Haley laughed, "Alright, so partial robbery." They reached the elevator and once they were in it, dropped the tree. "Oh thank God."

"It's only on the third floor, kiddo. Sorry, but this tree will be right back up in a couple of minutes," Cole said, breathing harder than normal. Carrying the big tree was quite a workout. The elevator dinged and the doors opened and they were back to carrying the tree down the hall. Cole pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.

"How do you have a key already?" Haley asked.

"I talked to the landlord and told her that I was planning a surprise. I'm surprised she didn't freak out and think I was an axe murderer," Cole replied simply.

Haley laughed, "You might want to warn her about that landlord then." Then hauled the tree into the apartment and stood it up in the living room.

"You ready?" Cole asked.

"Yep," Haley replied. They had brought the box of tree decorations up before and it was waiting outside the apartment door. "I'll go get that box." Haley disappeared and then returned quickly with the box of decorations.

"Let's get to work then," Cole replied, a warm feeling filling him. He couldn't wait to see Greer's face when she saw the tree. When Greer said she hadn't ever had a real Christmas, he knew this was exactly what he was going to give her for Christmas.

"Out in the harbor. The ships come in, it's Christmastime. The kids all holler carols 'cross the water, stars that shine. All that I want, all that I want..."

Greer opened the door to her apartment and stepped in. She gasped as she saw the giant figure covered in a sheet that stood to the side of her living room. She had a very strong feeling from the scent of evergreen and the green sticking out, what that was, but she had to ignore it for now and work on her gift for Cole. She began to set it all up. She honestly couldn't be any more thankful than she already was for Renee. She really liked Renee and could see herself becoming friends with her.

For once in your life, you have a place you belong, she thought to herself. This is so surreal. You've got actual friends, an apartment to yourself, your mother back in your life, and a gorgeous boyfriend.

She set up the fake snow, tastefully around the room and began to tape snowflakes to the wall. On the wall right behind her, she set up the projector and her laptop to the screensaver that Iz had created. It was an image of mountains and evergreen trees covered with snow. The snow was blowing around and it was a picturesque image of a winter wonderland. She then set a mattress topper on the floor and made it up like a bed, putting a sheet on it, throwing a sheet over that, and then a fluffy comforter. Greer remained in her dress that she had worn to the Christmas party.

She waited twenty minutes more before it was time. Right on time, there was knock at her apartment door and she sauntered over it. Since when do I saunter? She asked herself. Instead, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and answered the door.

"Hey," she smiled, seeing Cole.

"Wow, you look… wow," Cole said back.

"Thanks. Okay, close your eyes," Greer said.

"What?" Cole asked.

"Just do it!" she snapped, in an impatiently cute way.

Cole chuckled, "Yeah, okay. Just make sure I don't bump into anything okay?"

"Okay," Greer giggled. She led him into the middle of the living room. "Tada! You can open your eyes now."

"Wh-, how did you do all of this?" Cole asked, speechless.

"I had a little help from my elves," Greer replied.

"This is… incredible. Thank you," Cole said, still in awe. He just looked around, marveling at the decorated room.

"Merry Christmas," Greer grinned.

"You too… wow. Okay, sorry. I need to stop because I haven't even given you your Christmas present yet," Cole said, trying to pull it together.

"Let me guess? A Christmas tree," Greer asked, playfully.

"You didn't look, did you?" He asked, panicky.

Greer giggled, "Nope, but I figured once it smelled like Christmas in my apartment."

"Alright, alright, you caught me. But pretend to act surprised when I show it to you, okay?" Cole asked, going over to the tree and beginning to take the sheet off. "Ready?"

"As always," Greer replied. Cole unmasked the tree, revealing it to be fully decorated. He bent down to plug in the lights to the outlet and the whole tree lit up.

"What do you think?" Cole asked, a huge smile on his face.

Greer shook her head in awe, "It's beautiful, Cole." She could feel tears in her eyes and hated that. Since when do I cry?To avoid her tears, she said something instead. "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. It's… it's wow."

"How about you come join me?" Greer asked, walking over towards the bed she had made up on the floor and sitting down.

"Okay," Cole agreed, sitting down next to her.

"Thank you, Cole. You've… it's not even Christmas and you've given me a real Christmas already," she smiled. "I'm always going to remember this."

"Me too," Cole said.

She bit her lip, "You're amazing, you know that?"

"I-," Cole started.

"Uh uh. Just take the compliment for once, okay?" Greer asked, cutting him off.

He chuckled, "Yeah, okay. But so are you."

"Oh shut up," she said with a laugh, rolling her eyes playfully.

"You have turned my world upside down, Greer Lawson. You know that?" Cole asked, playfully.

"Mhm. For the better, I hope," Greer said back.

"Definitely for the better," Cole replied as they shared a laugh. Greer leaned in a little as Cole met her halfway, pressing a kiss to her lips. Greer kissed him back, deepening the kiss. Cole kissed her back, returning as much passion to match hers as the kiss began to really heat up. Greer pulled away for a second, to breathe.

"Look, I don't really know how this whole taking it slow things works…" she trailed off.

"Oh," Cole said back.

"So if this is too fast," she started.

"Oh, no," Cole started.

"It's just… it feels like we should've been doing this a long time ago, you know?"Greer asked back.

"Yeah," Cole replied, trying to regain his normal breathing patterns. He leaned in again to initiate the kiss and this time, she crashed her lips against his in a deep kiss. He pulled her close to him, her body pressing against his as clothing began to be removed. Greer gently pushed Cole down onto the floor as the kiss heated up even more.

The next morning, Cole and Greer lay wrapped up in the sheets of the floor bed.

"Why are we up at six in the morning?" Greer groaned.

"Must be used to it since we just got out of school," Cole replied.

"Mmm. Good morning," she said, smiling at him.

"Morning to you too," Cole replied, kissing her once.

"Now, the arts and crafts were really impressive but I'm still trying to figure out how you managed the real snow," Cole said, glancing out the window to see it snowing.

"I have connections," Greer replied.

Cole sighed, "As much as I hate for this to end, I should probably get back before anyone notices I'm gone."

"Yeah. I'll see you at the dinner tonight, though?" she said, almost as if it were a question.

"Yeah," Cole said back, smiling.

"And when the cold wind's blowing, snow drifts through the pine trees. In houses lights are glowing, likewise in your eyes that find me here with all that I want. Out in the harbor the ships come in, it's Christmastime. It's Christmastime. It's Christmastime..."

Author's Note: Christmas in the summer? I know, I know, but I'm kind of IN LOVE with this chapter. Can't wait to write the next one. YES. More Christmas. No joke…