𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐒 | 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐒

𝟎𝟎𝟏-𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞

     SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD ZIGGY STRONG sits in her room, counting down the days her brothers would come home. She had five brothers, which was now down to four. Christmas wouldn't be the same without Ivan, but she can't change anything. At least she has a few friends to keep her company during the holidays: Teddy Pierce, Calum Grey and Thomas Laden, her best friends since forever. Although she had met Teddy in sixth grade and the rest in fifth, they were as tight as ever; especially now. But there is one person who can make Ziggy's heart race and make her laugh at the same time. Her boyfriend, Cody Gonzalez: boyfriend of now one year. She can't wait to see him; he clears her mind. And so does her mom, Nicole Strong who is just about to call her downstairs. 
     "Ziggy! Cody's here!" the girl hops from her bed, grabbing all she needs. She dashes down the stairs, quickly grabbing Cody into a bear hug. "If you are more than one minute late by 5:00, you are grounded till your birthday. And be good!" Cody nods repeatedly, motioning more and more towards his car.
     "Love you mom!" Ziggy yells before shutting the door.

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     The two hop in the car; Ziggy in the passangers seat and Cody in the drivers seat. She always found him so mature that he could drive. Maybe she finds him a little too mature for his age. "Is your mom gonna be at the hospital tonight?" Cody asks in serious tone. Ziggy hadn't thought about that. Her mom being at the hospital with Teddy's mom while her brothers come for Christmas day? Her dad away god knows where? Spending her favorite night of the year, Christmas Eve, alone? Her thoughts overwhelm her.
     "I, uh, don't know."
"I'm going away with my parents to Ohio to visit family tonight. That's why I came." He rubs his hand on her thigh. Ziggy grins, glad Cody was thinking about her. "I'll drop you off at 4:30 and I'll see you after winter break." he explained. It's gonna be a challenge for Ziggy not to see her boyfriend for all of winter break but she can manage. She looks down at his new hoodie. She hadn't seen it before; she does have all his sweaters and hoodies after all.
    Cody parks his car in the deli parking lot as he pulls out his wallet. His brick red wallet is filled with money as it flows through his hands like water. "You know my order, I'll wait out here." The girl's heart melts, falling in love with him all over again. Ziggy walks over to the deli, trying not to skip and sing in the streets. She never felt the way she does right now. It's her favorite time of the year and she wouldn't be alone for it. After around ten minutes of watching the deli employees make sandwiches, she went outside happily: until she sees another girl in Cody's arms.
     The girl wrapped her skinny arms against his body like he was a present, planting a long, passionate kiss on him. Ziggy clutches her sandwiches, storming up to them without a thought in her mind. "What the hell is this?" Ziggy yells. The two immidetley seperated, staring at the angry girl.
"Who are you?" The taller, skinnier girl asked.
"Im his girlfriend, Ziggy Strong?¨ The other girl scoffs, letting go of Cody's hand.
"No, Im his girlfriend, Kylie Narcisi? Im from Westford. I dont know who are. Cody, who is this?" He struggles for words. Ziggy grips the sandwich, swinging it at him across his face. Cody groaned, holding his now red face. Kylie's eyes start watering. Ziggy turned to her. Kylie held her breath.
"Don't cry! Stop crying." She stopped. "Hit him." The blonde's eyes widened. She looks to Cody who is sprawled over his car holding his glowing red face. "How long have you guys been together?"
Kylie sniffles. "Six months." she answers morosely. Ziggy breathes deeply in and out. Kylie's mind is pondering. She had no idea about Ziggy; she starts to cry even more.
"Hit him." Kylie starts walking towards him. Her anger grew each step she took closer towards him. Six months for nothing? One year for nothing? He is a cheater and nothing else. He deserves to be hit. Kylie slaps the boy; and slaps him hard. With that, Kylie gives Ziggy a long hug and leaves in a hurry. Now it's just the two of them; now once submerged with that wonderful feeling is gone. All she can see is his guilty face kissing that girl. "Get up!" Ziggy screams. The boy scrambles up, breathless. He knows he's caught. "Now here outta here! Go!" Cody runs off, forgetting to take his car with him. Some Christmas Eve.

_____

Teddy Bear😍

Hey, me and gang still on for 3:00?

Yeah. Bringing sandwiches! Meet me by the deli parking lot with the guys

_____

     Ziggy smiles at her phone. The guys would not like to hear this news, but her mother would kill him first before any of the boys could. Ziggy didn't know what to do with herself, she impulsively went to her camera roll, deleting every photo and every text: everything. Ziggy looks up at the cold blue sky, holding her tears back. The boys then emerge from the gate, yelling and laughing like they usually do. "Where our sandwiches at?" Thomas yells. Laughing until he can't breathe. Ziggy flinched at the sound of his voice, quickly tossing the sandwich to them.
     "Here, split em." Ziggy says. Teddy stares at her, confused on why her voice sounds raspy and why her head is tilted towards the sky. Teddy takes a bite of his sandwich, walking towards the brunette.
     "Ziggy, what are you doing?"
     "Making sure I dont ruin my mascara." Ziggy chuckles, her eyes watering even more. Teddy furrowed his eyebrows in realization.
     "Who did this to you?" A tear streamed down Ziggy's face before taking a deep inhale. The boys crowd around her, making sure she was okay.
     "Cody. He, um...cheated on me." Teddy springs into action, his face already getting hot. No one is going to hurt his best friend. Calum whips himself around, grabbing Teddy and Thomas.
"Woah! Woah! Woah! Calm down!"
     Teddy turns around walking back up to her. "He hurt you I—we have to hurt him!" Teddy shouts, completely enraged.
"No! No...I have a better option." The three boys stare, utterly confused. Ziggy walks away from the car she was leaning on. She stands next to Teddy, revealing Cody's car. "Ta-da!" Teddy turns to Ziggy, smiling brightly.
"Cmon! Cmon!" Thomas whisper yells as Calum and Teddy do their thing. The door rattles as it opens without a hitch. The boys high fived, hopping in the car, whooping and yelling. Calum and Thomas in the back and Teddy and Ziggy in the front.
"Oh, Zig, just wait till Cody sees this!" Calum yells.
"He won't!" Thomas wheezes. The engine sputters, making the four kids cheer. Teddy turns to Ziggy, her smile warming his cold heart. He melted away just looking at her tears dry up and her smile widening.
"Not bad, Teddy." Ziggy smiled, placing her hand on his thigh, shaking it a little. He looks down quickly to see her warm hands on his body. Her ring glistened like her eyes on a snowy December night. Teddy pulled out; the three teens cheer once more. Ziggy laughs, blasting the Christmas music on the radio. Ziggy blocks all of Cody's socials and numbers so he couldn't contact her. The four hit the skatepark, teaching Ziggy how to skate. It made the two troubled teen's day; like they've been waiting their whole lives to be with each other. They cant stand being apart for too long. Calum and Thomas skated around while the two made their way home; they actually have a curfew.
     "Thanks, Teddy. You made my day." He smiles bashfully, shrugging his shoulders.
"No biggie, Ziggy."
"Um, yeah it's a big biggie! You literally stole my ex-boyfriend's car. You're officially my favorite." At that point, Teddy's heart is spinning in circles.
"On that note, wanna hang out later tonight? My mom will probably be hanging out with Kate or working or something."
"Awe, lil Pierce! Haven't seen her in forever." Teddy rolls his eyes at the thought of her.
"Oh um, how about we just hang out at the skatepark? If we're lucky we could get something to eat." Teddy waits in anticipation. Ziggy ponders. She comes up with a plan in her head to make sure her mom wouldn't catch her.
"Um, alright? Eight?" Teddy smiles harder. Was it a Christmas miracle or beginners luck? Either way, he's going on a date with Ziggy Strong on Christmas Eve at eight!