12: Christmas Special

As the holidays were coming up, Chandler and Kathy did a lot of things to keep me cheerful.

Chandler brought me a tree and helped me put on the ornaments.

Kathy gave me a gingerbread house that we both decorated.

And both of them gave me a firepit for the roof which I have used.

I didn't think much of it. Thinking that they were just enjoying the Holiday Spirit.

But it all changed when they both came into my house, with dinner and dessert.

It was pleasant before Kathy cleared her throat, "Um, Jolene?"

"Yeah?" I asked after swallowing my potato wedge.

"We need to tell you something," Chandler says as he looks at Kathy who nodded solemnly.

"...Yeah?"

"We are not going to be here for Christmas," Kathy frowns softly.

"Or New Year's," Chandler winces.

They looked worried and ready to bolt out of their seats.

"I see," I said sadly. "I understand. You guys have families back in the US that you want to visit."

"We both requested that you could accompany one of us during our trip," Kathy says, still frowning.

"We didn't want you to feel lonely this time of year. I would have loved to present you to my parents and my sisters and the rest of my family," Chandler says softly. "I would have shown you the best places to eat in New York."

"I would have shown you the museums and other historical places in DC," Kathy adds as she and Chandler both hold my hands.

"We really wanted for you to come."

"But Walker said that it would be best that you stayed here in Paris. For your safety."

Some tears were starting to fall, and both of my 'caretakers' got out of their seats and hugged me.

"You guys have fun. I will be okay. I have friends that will not make me feel lonely," I say with a watery smile.

They cried too, not that Kathy will admit.

So they gave me presents that I could put under my tree.

We were able to play Jenga before they had to leave.

"Don't hesitate to call us," Kathy says as she hugs me.

"And call us for anything," Chandler continues as he hugs as soon Kathy lets go.

"I will," I smiled.

They left and I did feel a little hollow, but then I remember what I told them.

I have friends here. Sure, they might not invite me for their Christmas, but I will be with them.

And that's better than what I have done in the last two years.

"What's your favorite gemstone?" Adrien asks as he is helping make cookies.

"Why?" I ask as Plagg chooses a star shape cookie cutter.

"... Christmas is coming up," Adrien says softly. "And I would like to give you a gift."

I smiled softly, "I like jade and spinel, if that helps." I lick my lips, "And my ears are pierced so I can wear earrings."

Adrien smiles as he nods.

"What is your favorite book of all time? Or song?" I asked him.

He told me that the Little Prince is close to his heart because his mother would read it to him the most often. And that he likes all of Jagged Stone's songs.

"And I love Camembert!" Plagg exclaims as he floats between us.

Adrien and I chuckled.

At least there is one being that will be very easy to shop for.

"Jolene," Nathalie calls at me as I make it out of the locker room. "Do you have any plans for Christmas Eve?"

"Not really," I replied automatically. Then I composed myself at my mistake, "I- um, my aunt and uncle are going to be very busy and not going to spend Christmas at home. They were invited to a grown up party/meeting that is mandatory for the US Embassy employees."

Please buy the obvious lie.

Nathalie's cool eyes stared at me before nodding, "I see, then I was hoping that you would accept this invitation." Then she gave me a fancy green envelope so I took it and opened it.

It was a very formal way of asking me to stay at the Agreste Mansion for Christmas.

I smiled at her, "I would be glad to join you all. I'll tell Adrien-"

"This is a surprise for Adrien," She interrupts as she puts a hand on my shoulder. "As this will be his first Christmas without his mother. We were hoping that with your presence you would be able to keep Adrien in a good mood.

"Mr. Agreste has high expectations of you as our guest of honor," She finalizes.

Oh my god. I can surprise Adrien! Just like he did for me! But this time, I hope I don't make it too obvious.

"Okay, I'll keep it a secret," I agreed.

Nathalie gave the faintest of smiles, "Good. We will keep in touch about the subject." Then she handed me her phone and I got the memo to type in my number, just I handed her my phone.

"This will be a formal occasion, so formal attire would be greatly appreciated."

And to think I just need to shop for gifts…

"I have the money, so please buy me alcoholic bottles?" I asked Kathy and Chandler as we were eating.

Kathy was smiling wryly, while Chandler wasn't hiding his laughter.

"On a different occasion, I would say no, but this is a gift for a legally aged consumer," Kathy says. "So we will."

I sighed in relief, "Thank goodness you accepted. I have no idea what else would be an appropriate gift for adults that I hardly know."

"No worry, kiddo," Chandler clears his throat. "Luck's on your side, because I am a connoisseur of reasonably priced wine, champagne, tequila, vodka and whiskey." Then he whispered to me, "Kathy on the other hand has a horrible pallet."

Kathy smacks Chandler with her napkin, making the man to dramatically wince in pain.

I laughed at their antics as we finished dinner.

And when they left, I cleaned up and went to my room to finish making Adrien's present.

I hope he likes it.

Dress shopping this time is a lot more stressful than when I had to find a dress when I presented myself as Sea Queen for the Short Film Festival.

But thankfully I came across the girls.

"Dress shopping for Christmas?" Alya asks knowingly.

I nodded, "It's somewhere fancy and I need to get something classy and cheap."

"We can help, won't we?" Marinette asks Juleka and Rose.

They nodded and so the five of us started looking.

We all agreed that I should wear something purple to combine with the green wig I am planning to wear that day.

It took almost an hour of searching, but Marinette finally found it. Of course she would, she is the best fashionista ever.

It was an empire waist layered plum colored dress that touched the ground. It came with a cape sleeve that went just above my elbows and dark purple velvet sash that went around the empire line.

I tried it on and the girls all made suggestions on what to do with my hair and Juleka offered to do a test makeup on me after shopping.

"You girls are the best," I smiled at them. "Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

After buying the complimentary shoes, Juleka and Rose led me to Juleka's place.

Marinette and Alya still had Christmas shopping to do. Though this time Marinette looked a bit fired up after I told her an idea for giving Adrien a gift.

Though I felt bad for giving her more incentive for going after Adrien. I'm cheering for Marinette to go after Adrien, when I know Adrien had eyes only for the mysterious Ladybug.

"This is where I live," Juleka announces as she waves her hand in front of a ship.

"Cool," I say in awe as my eyes travel at the magnificent ship. It must be awesome living in the sea, or in this case, the river.

Juleka helped me get on the ship as Rose quickly made her way to the deck.

When I finally made it, I came to sight with a boy around my age with black teal hair holding an acoustic guitar.

"Your electric guitar is still in the shop?" Juleka comments. "I thought it was ready today."

"In a few more hours," The boy informs, "So who's your friend."

"This is Jolene!" Rose introduces as she bounces between us, "And this is Luka! Juleka's older twin brother!"

There was a strong wave of sadness when Rose said 'twin'. But I stayed strong and didn't let them see the hurt in my eyes. I waved and gave a small smile, "Nice meeting you."

Luka narrowed his eyes at me. Did he see something in my eyes? But then he smiles, "Interesting. Your hands are telling me that you know how to play."

Juleka and Rose look at me with a glint in their eyes.

"Oh, please play Jolene," Rose squeals as he hugs my arm. "I bet you're good."

"Yeah, Luka has this sixth sense about this type of stuff," Juleka smiles.

Awww, Juleka is smiling. How can I say no?

"Oh, alright," I give in as I make my way towards Luka and sit next to him on the bench. "May I?"

He smiled easily and handed me the guitar. It didn't look very used, but well taken care of. The polish says it.

"So you play the electric guitar?" I ask as a starter.

He nods as he hands me his pick, "Are you an acoustic type?"

"It has a special place in my heart," I replied wryly. Then I position my fingers and finally start playing.

Luka, Juleka and Rose smiled as I played.

"That's Hotel California from the Eagles," Luka answers softly.

I smiled as I continued and then I stopped and continued on a different song.

"That's the beginning of Bohemian Rhapsody!" Rose answers quickly.

Then I switched songs again.

"Sweet Child O'Mine. Guns N' Roses," Juleka supplied softly. The girls sat down in front of us and I continued playing the whole song.

My eyes were closed as I moved my fingers automatically. I played this millions of times. Basically second nature.

Dad played this for us when we were children. Instead of stories, he would play and sing us to sleep. This song was our most requested.

This is why I couldn't part with his guitar. It reminded me of my childhood with unconditional love.

When I finished, I looked at the guitar in my hand. My hands ghosted along the strings and gently cradled the guitar close to me. Then I shook my head and looked at my audience sheepishly, "Sorry. I love music."

"I understand," Luka smiles. I give his guitar and pick back.

"Thank you for letting me borrow it," I stood up.

"Anytime. You're a really good player."

"Come on, Jolene! We have to start your makeup!" Rose exclaims as she pulls my hand and leads me inside the cabin.

I waved at Luka before letting myself be dragged into Jukela's room.

Tomorrow is the big night.

I hid all the presents and now I'm just waiting for Felino in the kitchen. Most of the time I would wait for him on the roof, but I'm still working on the food.

"Knock knock," I heard Adrien say from the kitchen entrance. Plagg flew towards me and I gave him a greeting stretch under his chin.

I smiled, "Glad you could come."

Adrien grins and comes over to see the food that was set on the counter.

"An early Christmas dinner," He sniffs over the cauliflower tater tots that I'm trying not to burn. "Smells good!" Plagg exclaims.

"Anything that I can help?"

"Set the table?" I offered.

"On it, little lady," He winks. Plagg sets up the napkins and the silverware since it was easier for him, while Adrien did everything else.

"I did the horchata that you both are so fond of in the fridge," I comment as I turn off the stove and put on my mitts.

Adrien immediately went to work while I pulled out the lasagna and the garlic bread.

I placed it on the already set table and went to grab the side dish.

"I hope you both brought your appetites," I tease as I went to grab the spatula. "I made bomboloni stuffed with raspberry jam."

"Those are the Italian doughnuts, right?" Adrien asks.

I nod, "Yep. And it took me a few tries to get it right." Oh the disaster the kitchen was last night. It's been a couple of years since I last made them. But I'm glad I found my grandmother's recipe book that I copied down when I would visit her. "And they might be a little cold when we get to them. I didn't want to make you guys wait."

"It's fine, Jolene. I bet it will still be delicious," Plagg says as he sits down on the Barbie chair with its accompanying table that is the perfect size for Plagg. I had to buy a toy spoon, fork, knife and plate so that he could use them. I actually brought a Batman shot glass for him too. Plagg hasn't complained so I'm glad he likes them.

We served the food and drinks and we dug in.

"Compliments to the chef," Plagg mumbles as he looks at me, "This lasagna has an exquisite amount of cheese."

"Thank you, I was thinking about you as I made it," I chuckled. Plugged flushed as I served him more on his petite peony patterned plate.

"So… Jolene," Adrien says, getting my attention, "Are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

My hands started to sweat a little and my right foot was tapping silently on the floor. "Well, I was invited to go somewhere for the night," I say simply, "But I'm sure I should be here later in the night."

"Oh?" Adrien's and Plagg's eyes widened. "Where are you going?"

"The… Embassy. I'm accompanying Aunt Kathy and Uncle Chandler." Please, buy the lie! "They don't want to leave me alone this time of year."

"Oh," Adrien sighs, "Well, I'm glad you are celebrating with your family."

I frown softly as I grab his hand from the seat next to me. Not that there is much space anywhere. It is a small round table. "Hey, your dad loves you. He's probably just emotionally constipated and has a difficult time communicating and reminding you that."

Adrien gives me a soft smile, "You always know what to say to cheer me up."

"Not always, but I do try my best," I smiled wryly.

When dinner and dessert were done, Adrien helped me clean up while Plagg took on his very deserved cat-nap.

My background music was turned a little higher, but still soft enough to not disturb the sleeper.

"You're a good dancer," Adrien comments, making me stop hip locking.

I blushed, "Shakira songs make me do that a lot."

Adrien chuckles, "Who can blame you?" And to back up his comment, he did his best to shake his hips, but rather…

"That was a sad attempt," I winced as I faux covered my eyes.

Adrien pouts making me giggle, "But lucky for you, I have time in my schedule today and I could give you some tips on how to properly shake those hips."

"Deal."

Adrien is capable of many things as I have come to learn. And I'm a little envious that he was a fast learner. It was funny to see him struggle in the beginning before he actually became good at it.

Now that I finished giving him dance lessons, we are sitting on the couch watching Jim Carrey's the Grinch in English. No matter what dubbed language it is, it still can't beat Jim's voice.

It was getting really late. The credits were already done rolling and the screen was blank.

I looked at Adrien as I moved my head away from his shoulder, "I think you should head back to your house. You're falling asleep."

Adrien didn't say anything. He simply held me tighter and snuggled deeper in the pillows and the blankets, "I don't want to go."

I smiled sadly, knowing the feeling. "Morning will be a new day and we will see each other then."

Adrien sighs before lazily standing up.

"Okay, I'll see you later then." He then nudges awake a disoriented Plagg and transforms into Cat Noir.

We go to my room and open the window.

I shivered as the cold seeps in.

Cat gave me one last hug right after I gave him the Sign of the Cross.

"Sweet dreams, Jolene."

"Sweet dreams," I smile fondly as I try to control my shivering.

Soon he jumped out and I closed the window. I look at my closet and see that it hasn't been disturbed. A good sign.

I can't wait to show both of them my presents.

Things started out wonderful.

I woke up to Carol of the Bells ringing through my room, getting me immediately to the spirit.

Made myself a hearty breakfast of homemade fluffy waffles, bacon and coffee. Cleaned up my whole apartment. Tidy up the roof and tried to shovel away the snow. Ate lunch with the dinner leftovers. And finally took a shower.

When I came out, I was in my underwear and my bathrobe. I already brushed my hair and dried it as best as I could with my towel.

It was probably the mixture of the physical work, the hot relaxing shower and the Christmas songs that lulled me to take an unexpected nap.

A nap that took almost three hours.

When I woke up, I had a small panic attack. And that took awhile for me to calm down.

Once I got over my anxiety, I went to get ready.

I grabbed my wig cap and made sure that it was properly on. Then I proceeded to do my makeup. It was a simple thing. The only thing was putting on eyeliner with the 'wing' effect, mascara, and natural color eye shadow.

After that I put on my dress and finally my wig.

Thank goodness I thought ahead and already prepared the hair style so I didn't have to do it today. It was a waterfall braid and I took my time to make my wig hair stylishly curly.

When I was done, I went to my closet and pulled out a picnic basket that had the gifts.

Three of them were a bottle of champagne, red wine and white wine in separate gift bags. I had a tupperware that had Camembert for Plagg. And finally Adrien's gift was wrapped in green paper and a red ribbon.

I hope he likes it. I really put a lot of thought into it.

With the basket ready, I put on my simple nude color wedges, my cross shoulder bag and my long coat.

Now it was time to make my way towards Adrien's house.

I should have asked for a ride.

Getting there took longer than anticipated since it was dark, not helping my nerves, but I didn't go in full panic mode because of the lovely Christmas lights giving me a sense of security. Plus the snow made it difficult to walk. There were close calls of face planting on the cold unforgiving concrete covered snow.

But I finally made it.

I pressed the buzzer and soon a camera shot out and saw me. "Jolene, I thought you would be here earlier," Nathalie's unimpressed voice sounded through the intercom.

"Sorry, I thought it would be rude to ask for a ride, so I walked all the way," I answered sheepishly.

"...You walked from your apartment to here?"

I nodded, "Yes. Sorry for taking so long. Should have figured I would have taken a long time getting here."

"That's not- never mind. Come in," She says and soon the gate opens.

Quickly I made my way inside the definitely warmer house. I sighed in relief at the change of temperature.

"I can take your coat," Nathalie offers as she meets me.

"Thank you," I say as I carefully maneuver my arms. It would be a shame to break the gifts after all my effort.

When Nathalie had my coat I gave her a smile, "Merry Christmas. Here's a little something. My aunt and uncle give thanks for inviting me here." Then I give her the red wine.

She looked slightly surprised as she held the gift, "Thank you, Jolene. Tell them thanks on my part." Then she gave me her brief smile, "Merry Christmas Jolene."

The sounds of footsteps alerted us of someone coming and I saw Gabriel Agreste.

"So you are Jolene Baudelaire."

I nod, "I am. Merry Christmas, sir. My aunt and uncle have something for you too."

Then I walked over towards him at the end of the stairs and handed him the white wine.

He mechanically grabs it, and nods his head in acknowledgment.

"Merry Christmas. Give them my thanks as well."

I smiled and I looked around for my friend. "Um, where's Adrien? And Giles? I want to give them their gift too."

Gabriel then turned his back, "He's in his room. Why don't we both go?"

I nod and I follow right behind.

Oh, he's going to be so surprised!

On the way towards Adrien's room, I gave Giles his gift and it was such a heartwarming feeling when I saw him smiling.

He's secretly a giant teddy bear.

Gabriel had his own gift in his arm as he knocked on the door. "Adrien," He called out as he opened the door.

I couldn't help the smile as I followed behind him, but it soon was wiped away.

"Adrien? Adrien!" Gabriel ran towards the opened window.

Oh no.

Hearing the commotion, Giles and Nathalie came running in.

"Go and find him immediately! Immediately!" Gabriel shouts.

I left the basket in the room as I went to run after them.

"Jolene where are you going?" Gabriel calls out as I was already halfway down the stairs.

"Help searching, maybe he's in my house," I answered.

Gabriel nods, "Have Giles take you and check there first."

I nod and quickly catch up towards him and tell Giles about my suggestion.

As we drove, my stomach was turning to knots.

And I felt physically queasy as I made it to my apartment alone.

The frost outside of the window was recently shaken away, and there's footprints on the ledge.

I ran to the roof and saw more footprints, and saw that they disappeared again at the edge.

"Felino," I whispered worriedly.

I should have gone to your house sooner.

Even as I told Giles the depressing news, I felt a small amount of relief. Adrien has Plagg to protect him. I just hope they will be back soon, or we find them. Whichever comes first.

I just want them back safely.

When Giles and I returned back to the mansion, we were both downtrodden. It was heartbreaking to see Gabriel so worried and a bit of a nervous wreck.

He was pacing the floor the whole time. His and Adrien's phone close to him.

"Where's the kitchen, Nathalie?" I asked her as she just told Gabriel that no one has seen Adrien. "I would like to make some tea to help calm down my nerves."

"Follow me," She says as she leads me away.

We were quiet and in the silence, I could just feel Nathalie was worried too, even if she has an amazing poker face.

"Adrien will be fine," I try to say softly. "He's really smart and brave. I'm sure he'll be back."

Nathalie didn't say anything until we finally reached the kitchen.

"I really hope so," Nathalie says softly. "Mr. Agreste already lost his beloved wife. I don't know how he will react if something were to happen to his only child."

I stayed quiet. I know how it feels to lose someone important, but I am a bit furious that Gabriel is so distant with his own son. Doesn't he see that they need each other more than ever?

I don't know much of Mrs. Agreste, but I'm sure she wouldn't want them to suffer with her absence. That much I can tell with how loving she looks in the family portrait.

"Adrien will be fine. I know he will," I replied softly. It was more to reassure myself, but Nathalie gave a small smile before leaving me alone.

I looked around for tea, but there wasn't any that I wanted.

But then I saw fresh peppermint leaves in the fridge.

Peppermint tea it is.

I knocked on the door and I heard Gabriel give the go ahead.

"Any news?" He asked immediately and I shook my head sadly.

"I know you're stressed, but it won't help any of us to search for Adrien any better," I start as I set the tray down on his desk. "Peppermint tea helps with the stress and anxiety."

Gabriel didn't say anything as I served him in a cup and offered it to him.

He silently took it and inhaled the steam, "I didn't know I had this tea in stock."

"You don't," I answered as I served my own cup. "I made it with the fresh leaves you had in your fridge. I hope you don't mind."

"It's fine," He says as he takes a careful sip.

I did as well, but I kept the cup close to my mouth just so I could inhale the calming scent.

My mom and grandma would make this or rose tea in my bad days. It helped me calm down countless times.

When spring comes, I'm going to add those plants to the garden. I have a feeling that they will come in handy in the future.

My tea was half finished when I heard the doorbell.

Gabriel went to action and I saw Adrien. He was covered in a blanket accompanied by… Santa Claus.

I put my cup down and I immediately went running toward the front gate. Ignoring whatever Gabriel was saying.

When I reached the gate, Adrien's eyes widened, "Jolene?"

"Adrien!" I yelled relieved as I tried to open the gate, but to no avail. "Thank goodness you're alright. I was so worried." My hands continued to push against the gates, but nothing was done.

"See boy, this young lady was worried about you," Santa says getting my attention.

I smiled at the old man, "Santa, thank you so much for bringing him back."

"Jolene, this man only wants money!" I heard Gabriel's voice through the intercom as the camera looked at me.

"No, you're wrong, Father!" Adrien exclaims as he gets in front of Santa.

"He's not," Ladybug suddenly exclaims as she lands right behind Santa. "Your father's got the right idea." Then she starts swinging her yo-yo in a circle as she looks at Santa with not so good intentions. "He's a supervillain under Hawk Moth's control!"

"What?!" Adrien and I exclaim at the same time.

"You're all totally crazy!" Santa runs away, but is stopped by Ladybug's yo-yo.

"No, Ladybug, stop! That man hasn't been akumatized." Adrien tries to defend.

"Yeah, he's not evil," I continued, hoping that this misunderstanding is solved.

"I know when I'm looking at an Akuma victim, trust me," She says confidently as she looks back at us.

"No, you don't," I stomp my foot down as I narrow my eyes at her. "Can't you not feel it?" I stress. "Akumatized people have this strange aura, Santa doesn't have that."

Ladybug looked a bit surprised, her features softening, but then Santa commanded his 'reindeer' to run. His sleigh quickly left us behind.

"You're safe now. Go on home," She commands as she uses her yo-yo to catch up on Santa.

"Plagg-" Adrien shouted as he ran after her.

But then he stopped when Natalie shouted after him. The gates finally opened and I didn't waste time to grab Adrien's hand.

Adrien looked at me with a sad smile before he pulled me inside.

"Where are you going, Adrien?" Nathalie calls out as we are halfway up the stairs.

"To my room," He frowns as he looks at them. "My father isn't celebrating Christmas."

"Of course he is," Nathalie replies softly, "He came to see you, but you'd gone out. I'll tell him that you're waiting for him." She then taps Giles' shoulder and he immediately puts a hand on Adrien's shoulder. "Just making sure you'll stay in your room."

"Yeah, okay," Adrien sighs out defeated as we let Giles escort us back to his room.

It was a silent trip and it was an awkward silence, for me anyways.

The moment we entered the room, I awkwardly said, "Surprise?"

Adrien looked at me a little confused before he smiled wryly, "So you weren't going to the Embassy?"

I shook my head sheepishly, "I wanted to surprise you, but well, I came here a little too late."

Adrien frowns and then he pulls me into a hug, "I'm sorry. I would have stayed if I knew you were coming."

I hugged him back, "I really wanted to surprise you. Just like what you did for my birthday party."

Adrien pulled back, "Hey, you coming here already makes Christmas a million times better." Then he grinned sheepishly, "Merry Christmas, Jolene."

I blinked several times and I looked at the clock on the wall and it was past midnight.

"Merry Christmas, Adrien," I smiled back fondly, but then I pouted and playfully hit his shoulder, "And don't you dare do something like this again. If you do, bring your phone with you."

Adrien laughed nervously, "Okay, okay, sorry. It won't happen again."

But that was all it took for me to forgive him, "I forgive you. Oh! I have a present for you."

I scurried towards where I left my basket. Then I took out the wrapped gift and walked towards Adrien, my stomach being filled with anxiety.

I silently gave him the gift and he carefully took it.

"Thank you," He smiles. Then he unwraps it with much care, showing a brown leather bound book that had his name stamped in gold paper. He looked at me and I silently communicated for him to open it.

He opened up the first page to show a table of contents.

It shows that this book has five stories inside.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

The Great Race: The Origin of the Chinese Zodiac by Chinese Folklore.

The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Anderson.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister.

He was silent for too long for my liking so I decided to explain. "You did mention that The Little Prince has a special place in your heart so obviously it was first place.

"And I know that you are learning Chinese so I thought the second story would be nice to be included.

"And the other three… those stories have a special place in my heart," I trail off as Adrien flips through the colorful pages. "I illustrated all of the pictures and I translated them in French. Though for the Tin Soldier I based it off more on the Disney Fantasia 2000 version because it had a better happy ending, and the music is really beautifully well synchronized with the animation…

"Do you like it?" I finished, my hands wringing as I looked nervously at Adrien.

He simply looked up at me with the biggest smile, "I love it."

I let out a sigh of huge relief.

"Jolene, this really is beautiful," He comments as he stops at a page where it shows the Dragon talking to the Jade Emperor. "I really do love it. Thank you."

"I also have a present," Adrien says, but before he could give it to me something went through the window like a ghost.

I jumped and yelped as I looked at the levitating intruder.

It was…

"Santa Claus!" Adrien exclaims.

And unfortunately this time, he was akumatized. The green skin and the scary reindeer was a big give away.

"Not exactly!" Evil Santa then sings about he's a rebel with a cause and that he was going to give everyone a horrible Christmas.

Giles had run in to be in front of Adrien as he put his arm in front of him in a protective gesture.

Adrien had pulled me in that time and all I could think was: Oh my god. He's Krampus! Santa's evil twin! The anti-Santa!

Krampus then pulls out a red wrapped gift box and throws it in front of Giles. It explodes in putrid green smoke. From the smoke dozens of tarantulas were walking towards frantic Giles. Some of them are already on his pants.

I shivered involuntarily.

I'm not a huge fan of spiders.

And I don't blame Giles for running away as the spiders seem to follow only him.

"I'll do you no harm, Adrien," Krampus states as he looks at him. "Or your good friend," He continues as he looks at me. "You both were kind to me. You, young lady, defended me and gave me a heartwarming smile that represents the true Christmas Spirit. I can tell that you have been a good girl all year.

"And Adrien, I'm in your debt. You gave me a present and that I won't forget! In fact, I will avenge you! I'll avenge us two!" He exclaims as he then turns his sleigh around and leaves, ghosting right through the window.

"No! Wait!" Adrien called out in vain.

"This will be the Christmas of Revenge!" Evil Santa yells out loud enough to be heard.

Adrien looked back at me, "Can you cover for me?"

"Of course," I smiled wryly, "Save Christmas you two." I added as I saw Plagg flying out of Adrien's white shirt.

"Don't you worry your pretty head. You bet we are," Plagg says. Then he blushes, "By the way we are under mistletoe. I heard that you humans have a special tradition for it."

"Oh, we do," I smile wryly as I look up to see the mentioned mistletoe.

"No time," Adrien interrupts. "Plagg, claws out!"

I looked away for a few seconds and I saw Cat Noir ready for action.

Before he jumped, I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"We were under it," I explained.

Cat smiled fondly and he kissed my cheek back, "True. Now, stay here."

"And you take care," I retort as I give him the Sign of the Cross. When I was done he quickly leaps out.

I hugged myself and let out a long exhale. This Christmas is definitely one of a kind.

When Cat came back, I hugged him tightly.

He's safe.

When I let go of him, I saw Plagg and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"There it is," I smiled, making the Kwami blush. "And here's your present," I added as I gave him the Camembert that I had hidden in my basket.

"Yay!" He yells as he grabs it as he starts eating on top of Adrien's desk.

Adrien then ran up towards his bed and I waited for him by the couch.

"Here's my gift for you," He says as he sat us down.

It was a small black box about the size of my hand with a red shiny bow.

I opened it and I smiled fondly.

It was a jade bracelet bangle. On the outside it was carved with images of flowers and vines. I grabbed it and the inner part had 'Jolene Baudelaire' carved in beautiful calligraphy.

I put it on and it was a perfect fit.

"I love it. Thank you," I hug him again.

Adrien wrapped his arms around me and that is how Nathalie caught us.

She cleared her throat, making me jump and push away from my friend.

"Your father is waiting for you in his office," She informs. "You can accompany me, Jolene."

I waved at Adrien and mentally wished him good luck.

I waited in front of the stairs and pace around, waiting for the verdict.

If I ever did that to my parents-

I should stop thinking about that. It will only get me depressed.

I was so into my thoughts that I didn't even notice that Nathalie had left and had come back with Adrien and Gabriel.

Just as the adults were going to the dining room, the doorbell rings.

Natalie went to open it, revealing our classmates and their parents.

"I informed everyone that Adrien was home safe and sound. They were all very worried about their friend," Natalie explains to her boss.

"Oh, please, Father. It's Christmas!" Adrien looks at Gabriel pleadingly. And I was too, not going to lie. It would be wonderful to share the rest of whatever is left of Christmas.

"Of course. Come on in," Gabriel nods, allowing Nathalie to invite all of them in.

Nino immediately hugs Adrien, "Brother!" And then he turns to me and gives a bear hug too, "Sister!"

I grinned as I hugged him back.

When we pulled apart, soon the rest of our classmates surrounded Adrien and I as we led them to the dining room.

The majority of the people had brought some pot luck to contribute to the feast as we all took places at the long table.

I sat between Nino and Adrien. And if that wasn't wonderful already, we all somehow were already singing Christmas songs.

"Merry Christmas to all~!"

"Merry Christmas, Mom," Adrien whispered.

I gave him a gentle tap on his hand, and he repeated the sentiment.

Feliz Navidad, Mama, Papa, Hermana…

When I got back to my building, Adrien thankfully accompanied me back all the way back to my apartment.

When we were at my door, I wanted to let him in, but Giles is waiting for him outside in the car. It wouldn't be fair to the man.

"For New Year's Eve… would you like to spend it here with me? Just us?" I asked softly.

I'll be alone for this holiday if I don't get graciously invited.

Adrien smiled and all of a sudden, I just noticed just how extraordinarily gorgeous his green eyes are. Has his hair always been so tantalizing soft and golden?

Why am I thinking of him like that?

It's probably the way the light is angled on him. It makes Adrien look more ethereal. Yeah, that's probably it.

But I already knew that Adrien looks like that. I've been to a photo shoot where Vincent made Adrien look angelically handsome. But why am I feeling a different type of butterflies that are battering against my stomach? These are not the nervous butterflies. These are worse. It's making me a little weak knee.

"I would like that. I'll ask my father," He says getting my mind back on track. "And by the way," He continues as his eyes roamed up and down my body, "You look really good. I forgot to tell you that."

I chuckled, but it sounded a little forced even to me, "Ha, yeah. I should have just stuck with something more simple. I felt overdressed."

And I did.

Everyone else got to wear comfortable clothes and sneakers. I'm a little salty about it. Freaking Natalie didn't bother to dress up either. She still wore her regular work suit.

"You look beautiful," He says, making those butterflies metamorphosed to bees. Is it getting a little hot in here? "For New Year's, we can be as casual as we want."

I nod in agreement, "Bring in stretchy pants and an empty stomach. You can help me cook our dinner."

"It's a date then," He chuckles and soon he leaves. But then he looked back on last time, "Good night, Jolene. Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams, Adrien," I smile fondly before I finally close the door and press my back against it.

After a few moments of thinking over what has happened, I felt a chill running down my spine.

I'm starting to have a crush on my best friend.

Omake 5

Plagg POV

When Adrien and I came over for lunch at Jolene's place, there was a large box in the middle for the coffee table.

"Merry Christmas," Jolene says from the kitchen.

She wiped her hands on top of her magenta cobbler apron.

She smiled, like she always does when we come over. I mean, who can blame her, I'm here.

"Is that for me?" I ask excitedly.

"Plagg, it could be for someone else," Adrien had to spoil my excitement.

Well, I already got my present, but another one wouldn't hurt.

"Actually," Jolene grins as she puts her hands on the box, "It is for Plagg."

"What? Really?!" I flew towards the box. "Can we open it?"

Jolene nods and from under the box there was a little house that was missing a wall.

"It's a doll house," Jolene starts as she tucks a strand of her silver hair behind her ear. "That way you can have things that are to your size.

Then she points to the kitchen, "So we have a table and several chairs so that when we eat, I can just take those things and put it on top of my table.

"There is also a living room with not just the sofa but a workable reclining chair. And I recharged my old iPod so you can use it as a TV. That way you can see Netflix, UTube or even hear music on it. If you want."

Then her hand pointed to the second floor of the house.

"And we have a bathroom with a tub so if you ever want to have a bath just let me know and I could put in hot or warm water and add bubbles for a bubble bath.

"This would be the bedroom. It has a hopefully comfortable bed so you can take your catnaps there.

"And this is the storage room where it has more small blankets, pillows, other smaller sized things…" She laughed a little nervously as her violet eyes looked at me. "Do you like it?"

"I… love it!" I yelled as I circled around the house, exploring the rooms and wow! The bed is comfy! And the chair does recline!

"Thank you, Jolene!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as my arms hugged her very soft face.

I felt her giggling as her hand cover over my body and one of her fingers started to rub right behind my ear. Just the way I like it.

And much to my embarrassment I purred really loudly.

Jolene and Adrien both laughed at me and I feel my cheeks heating up.

"I'm glad you like it," Jolene says softly. "I was worried that you weren't going to."

"I will like anything you give me," I answered honestly. Because I know she gives it with a good heart and good intentions. I can feel it from her.

Then Jolene kissed the top of my head and I could feel myself blushing again.

This human girl is so cute. I'm glad she can see me.

And I'm glad she is part of our lives.

AN: Thank you The New Shinka, BlackatCrazy, valeryfer, Spuffadiddles and PrincessSparkles95 for following/favorited this story. You guy are amazing. And a special shout out to The New Shinka for leaving the review. I really appreciated it.

But really thank you all for reading this far and I hope you enjoy the next original chapters that I will be posting in the next update before I continue with what happens in the series.

Is anyone interested in the order of the episodes that I think fits best? I reviewed the series list of episodes and I have switched it up and skipped a few that I didn't think would involve Jolene and it would have stayed the same.

If someone says so, I'll post them in the next chapter.