Boyxboy Holiday Specials

Christmas- Social Menace

                I checked the time and grabbed my jacket, pulling it on and zipping it up. I looked outside at the snow falling down. The roads would be slick, but as long as I drove slowly, I'd be fine.

                My parents wanted me home for the holidays, but the weather was too bad for me to safely drive back. So instead, I was here with Uncle Brian over the Christmas break.

                He hadn't been expecting to have me, so he'd picked up a shift on both Christmas Eve and Christmas. I couldn't blame him; who'd want to sit around with their nephew on Christmas when they weren't close with them?

                I texted Tyson and left the house, brushing my car off and getting in. It was cold out, but I had a beanie and gloves on to stay warm.

                Today was Christmas Eve, and Tyson had invited all of us over. Tomorrow, I'd spend Christmas with just Tyson and his family. I was grateful they'd invited me so I didn't have to sit home alone. My parents had mailed me all my presents, so I'd open those in the morning and then kill time until I had to go to Tyson's.

                I drove slowly, any black ice hidden by the fresh coat of snow the roads had gotten since they were last plowed. Sure, snow made things look pretty, but god did I hate driving in it.

                It took me a lot longer than I thought to get to Tyson's, between the bad weather and the slow drivers on the road. But I got there, hurrying up to the door and ringing the doorbell.

                Tyson pulled the door open, and I didn't miss the way his shoulders slumped a little in relief. "Thought you died on the road. Guess you just drive like a grandma."

                "I drive like a middle aged person," I said, stepping into the house and stomping the snow off my boots. "The people in front of me drove like grandmas."

                Tyson took my coat and hung it up. He led me into the kitchen, where it was nice and warm, the smell of food making my stomach growl.

                "Oh, Nolan!" Mrs. Strazio said, smiling. "Tyson was worried when you were late. I tried to him the weather would slow you down a lot."

                "I wasn't worried. Annoyance and worry are different things," Tyson said. "Is the food almost ready?"

                "If your dad ever brings me up the sauce. I swear, he's the blind one in this family," she said, shaking her head. "Take the cookies you made for now. And for the love of my sanity, ask Vinny what the hell he's doing in the basement for so long."

                Tyson grabbed a plate of cookies and held it out to me. I took one, grateful to have something to eat. We headed for the living room, Tyson stopping by the basement.

                "Dad!" he called. "Mom's impatient. Hurry it up."

                "Mom's also messy," Mr. Strazio called back. "I can't find that jar of sauce she wants."

                "Not my problem. I'm just the messenger," Tyson said, leading me into the living room.

                "Outcast, you made it!" Talon said. "We all thought you died."

                "Alive and well," I said, sitting on the couch. Tyson put the cookies on the coffee table and sat down next to me.

                I forced a smile as I looked out at the others. Holidays had been hard ever since Dylan died. We used to do a gift exchange every year on the 23rd, and it still felt empty without him.