Cherry walked out of her school and took the bus home, she felt very thrilled, for today was the last day of school. For the year anyway, it was now Winter Break and she was anxious to get home. She was wondering what would happen this year as she waited to get home.
Christmas Break was the time of year where she actually didn't think about school or the troubles of it because she was too busy happily celebrating with her family, actually feeling peaceful for a change. Katie sat, having came to visit, sat under the tree. She put a red bow in her hair, smirking. This was a surprise for Cherry.
Cherry stood up briefly once the bus came to her stop and she left. Since there was snow and ice around, the driver dropped her off right in front of her house and she stepped out, walking to the front door. She hummed to herself as she turned off her music player and headphones, wrapping them up and coming through the front door, anxious to get her Christmas vacation started. Katie sat under the tree, smirking. She waited to be noticed.
Cherry walked in, wiping her wet shoes and taking them off by the door and saw the house as it was nearly decorated, but still needed some finishing touches. She went to put her backpack on the living room couch and noticed something different about the tree. Katie grinned. She waved at Cherry.
Cherry blinked in surprise. "KAT!" she happily hugged the girl, smiling with a sniffle. "What're you doing here?" she asked, very curious.
Katie giggled. "I'm here for Christmas, silly." she smiled.
Cherry giggled too. "This is a nice surprise... Can't believe Mom didn't tell me."
Michelle walked down the hall with a smile to greet her daughter home. "Well, Katie thought it'd be a nice early Christmas surprise for you."
Katie nodded. She readjusted the bow. "I'm your gift this year." she grinned.
"Oh..." Cherry giggled. "And about a week early."
Michelle put a hand on her mouth, chuckling, she thought the bow was an interesting idea. "Merry Christmas, luv!"
"I'll never play with you for five minutes and then lock you in the closet." Cherry joked, playing with the fact of little kids with presents they begged for on Christmas, but once they got them, rarely played with them after.
Katie looked at her height, then at the nearest cupboard. "Eh, I might fit." she shrugged, smirking.
This of course made Michelle laugh out loud.
Cherry smiled, she saw another present, it was green and rather large with red ribbons. "Who did this one?"
"Not me." Michelle shook her head. It didn't look familiar, after all, she never put out presents until Christmas Eve unless they were presents from friends/neighbors.
Katie looked curious and poked it carefully. Cherry picked it up and shook it slightly, wanting to open it.
"Ah, ah, ah, not now!" Michelle warned her.
"Sorry, Mom..." Cherry smiled sheepishly, she then looked to the end of it and saw a sticker with fancy French cursive, she was trying to make out who it was from, but she thought of only one person who could have handwriting as fancy and ancient as that. "Forte..." she then mumbled.
Katie looked over. "Maestro?" She asks. She knew about the former organ player.
"Seems like even he wants you to have a Merry Christmas," Michelle smiled as she went back down the hall. "I gotta finish up my work and I'll prepare us a little dinner."
Cherry looked curious, then looked to Katie as she placed the present back down under her family's tree. "But he hates Christmas!"
"Well, he might have thought of being nice for Christmas for you." Katie smiled.
"You think we should visit him anyway?" Cherry asked her.
"Yeah, we should." Katie says.
"Mom, we're going to the church!" Cherry called.
"Okay!" Michelle called distantly from her office to finish her work for the year.
Cherry took Katie to the door and they walked out together, being very careful as the snow was slowly coming in for December and winter for the next three months.
Katie huffed at the snow. "It gets too slippery." she huffs.
"Just wait til after January..." Cherry lightly chuckled as they carefully walked across the snow to get to the church's door. She grabbed a hold of it and it creaked open as they opened it to hear the depressing music playing, it sounded more depressing than usual, even on what was supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.
"I love his music." Katie says. She didn't hold romantic feelings for the man, but she loved his music.
"It is interesting..." Cherry agreed with her.
Forte kept playing on his keyboard and stopped, taking a small stretch as he finished the song. He didn't even look behind him. "What brings you here?" he asked the girls.
"How do you do that?" Cherry mumbled.
"I know everything." Forte chuckled, he spun himself to face the girls.
"You heard us talking." Katie playfully translated.
"Yes..." Forte patted Katie on the head, now the bow stuck to his hand. "Oh... Your decoration seems to pop off..."
Cherry gently took it from him. "Whatcha doin'~?"
"Doing my job..." he replied innocently enough.
Katie pouted as the bow came off.
"What can I do for you girls?" Forte asked as he decided to get himself a drink.
Cherry watched him go. "We wanted to know what you were doing for Christmas..." she explained, then suddenly flinched as she heard one of the glasses break.
Forte blinked, hearing about that holiday was the last thing he wanted to hear. "Cerise, you know I'm not fond of that holiday..."
Katie kept quiet and looked aside. She decided not to butt in.
"Why?" Cherry frowned.
Forte suddenly got in her face, shocking her. "You know why..."
Katie frowned and carefully pushed them apart. "Calm down please." she says, firmly.
Forte looked to her, he took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "I'm sorry, Katie..." he gently told the younger one.
"It's been a long time ago, they probably forgot all about it..." Cherry said to him.
"They wouldn't want to see me if I apologized..." Forte folded his arms, angry.
Cherry looked to him. "You haven't told them? Even before you found me...?"
"I couldn't say sorry to them... They aren't as understanding as you are..."
"Actually, I'm sure they'd accept you apology, maybe a while in Adam's case, but in the end they would." Katie says, calmly.
"I couldn't go back there..." Forte was very hesitant.
"It doesn't hurt to try..." Cherry clung to his arm, looking up at him, she was taller now, but he still towered over her. "Is there anyway you can go back to that time?"
"There is..." Forte admitted, he reached into his coat pocket and took out a golden watch that looked like an ordinary pocket watch.
Katie looked at it. "Bernard's watch." she couldn't help, but say.
Cherry glanced to her while Forte looked right at her.
"Bernard?" they both asked her.
"Oh... It was a kid's show... This kid had a watch that he could travel through time with, and he could stop time too." Katie explains.
"Ooh." Cherry smiled, a little intrigued.
"I can't say who I got this from... But this was how I was able to come here..." Forte explained.
Cherry glanced at him. "You said you spent 300 years trying to find me by foot!"
"Well, sometimes I needed help with some disasters that came in the way... I can also go back to the 1700s... But I won't..." Forte said, closing up the watch with his delicate hands. "It's too painful..."
Katie put a friendly hand on his shoulder. "What if we came with you? I may be delicate looking, but as a friend, I would match Adam's anger for you." she says.
Forte blinked a little. "Oh, I couldn't make you do that..."
"Sil vous plait...?" Cherry asked, remembering her forced French lessons.
Forte sighed a little, this felt very hard for him, but he agreed. "Very well then... But don't blame me when we're left for the wolves..."
Katie smiled a little. "Merci, Maestro... But if anyone tries that, whoever it is, and me will have a tete-et-tete" she promises.
Forte smiled to her. "Alright... Let's get you all going then... Stand close to me."
Cherry stood to his side as close as she could get. Katie stood close to him, but not too close. After all, it was only polite.
"Say goodbye to all of this." Forte said as he set the coordinates.
"Goodbye all of this!" Cherry recited.
Forte glanced down at her, then shrugged it off as he was ready to hit the button to take them way back in time. Katie smirked at Cherry's reply. Forte pushed the button and in a blast of white light, they were out of the church, exiting the 21st century.