The Academy: Ensnared

21. New Beginnings

A/N//: Guys. Here it is. Another LEGENDARY author's note. So. Happy New Year. Yeah. Fun shit. Fuck 2020. Just wanted to let you guys know. I'm updating a lot lately, but that's 'cause I wanted to get all of this shit out by the holidays. And I start school again. (Yaaaaay college!) So, my updates will not be as frequent in the coming months. Probably back to once a month (hopefully). My co-writer/idea-man is really good about keeping me on track. Figured I'd let you know, though.

Also, this entire chapter is in Chris' perspective. Have fun reading!

Christopher

"How the fuck did you make this look so easy?" Chris grumbled as he twisted the wire in his hands with Jonah's needle-nosed pliers.

The blond tossed down his third attempt at Amelia's Christmas gift on Jonah's coffee table with the first two mangled heaps of wire. Fuck this. He already hated it. It would be so much easier to have Jonah make the damn thing, but knowing his loose lips, he'd let Amelia know in some way, shape, or form. He didn't want that. He wanted this gift to be fucking sentimental, so it was going to be fucking sentimental.

But his frustration was getting the better of him really fucking quick.

Jonah chuckled. "Mate, it's not that hard," he said.

The ginger that sat beside him on the floor. He set down his mug of Irish coffee only to pick up one of the twisted pieces of wire from the table. He took the pliers from the table, and with a few quick twists of his hand, had a perfectly shaped letter 'M' in between his thumb and forefinger.

"Just need a bit of practice," Jonah said with a shrug of his shoulders.

The sound of the oven rang from the kitchen, forcing his friend to get to his feet. Lunch was almost ready, and Chris was starving. Whatever Jonah had whipped together - probably a frozen pizza with his shit cooking skills - smelling amazing.

"Practice," the ginger said as he left the room.

"Fuck you," Chris shouted after him.

Still, he picked up the spool of wire again, getting himself another length ready. He really needed to get this done. Christmas was a week away, and he was not going to show up Christmas day without some sort of gift for Amelia. She told him she hated Christmas. She made that fact very blatantly known each time she heard a Christmas carol being sung or he kissed her beneath the mistletoe. But he wanted her to love it. It was his favorite holiday, and yeah, it was a little selfish of him to want her to love it, too, but... If he could get her to love it because of him, he figured his life might just be a little closer to being complete.

And he was running out of fucking time to get this done. Amelia only had two days left of classes before her winter break. He needed to get this necklace done before that. It had taken him long enough to come up with an idea. The execution was the problem. He wasn't crafty. He sang little songs. He played a bit of guitar. He could cook one helluva meal. But when it came to anything remotely artistic beyond that, he was fucked.

Just as he started twisting the wire into the letter 'M', a hand feminine fell on his.

It was her hand.

Janette. Her dark chocolate hand rested on top of his, her touch light and gentle. She was crouched beside him. His eyes traveled upward from her hand to her face. A brilliant smile lighting her dark features, one that was both amused and mischievous.

"It's really ugly you know," she said, her South African accent ringing through the air.

Chris' eyes grew wide, and he began to stammer a defense. Any defense for the very true words that she spoke. The wire was fucking ugly. He knew it, but he was trying.