Written in the stars *COMPLETE*

Juliette

     Christmas was definitely my favorite holiday. With November over, it was officially the month of Christmas and Christmas preparation. Kennedy and Johnny would be home within a few weeks for winter break, and Bri and I had been preparing like crazy. Lily had started watching some cooking shows and forced Bri to join her a while ago and secretly she had become very invested in the delicate pastries and fluffy frostings that had appeared on the screen. Maybe it was her love of food or her need to be good at everything but Bri had started baking incessantly. Her specialty was cookies. Mostly because there were a lot of cookie recipes online, and they were easy to follow, but also because she had an unhealthy obsession with decorating. I had been hired as her part-time baking assistant because when I quit the coffee shop, Lily was hired in my place. I told her to apply the day I quit because I knew that then I could still get chai and support without having to see Xander.

     Speaking of Xander, I haven't talked to him since the night of Halloween. I thought about calling him frequently but Emily, Jessica, and Lily were all very strongly against that so I didn't. That didn't stop me from thinking about him though. I missed him. A lot. I missed our adventures and the way he said my name. I missed the feeling of his hand in mine and his goofy smile. I wished over and over that Halloween had never happened. I had spent many a night trying to understand why he and Chloe had kissed, but I could never come up with a justifiable reason. So, I did what Dad had told me to do when Spot died; I moved forward.

     I had never frosted so many fancy sugar cookies in my life. The high school student council was hosting a winter fair right before Christmas break and Bri had jumped at the chance to justify her excessive baking to my parents. We spent the days before the fair frosting and mixing until we could barely stand the smell of vanilla. When Kennedy and Johnny came home, Bri roped them into her cookie empire as well. My parents thought the whole thing was ridiculous but didn't complain because they got to eat all the cookies that didn't match up to Bri's standards.

      On the day of the fair, we all piled into Mom's car, each holding a large Tupperware or two full of cookies. We walked into the school cafeteria and started setting the cookies up for display and enjoyment. Unfortunately, we were not the only caterers of this event. Lily walked up to our table, wearing her work apron.

"Oh goodness. I have never seen so many cookies in my life. How long did that take?"

Bri puffed out her chest and winked at her. "Is my lady impressed with my cookie baking skills?"

She laughed, "Impressed isn't the word I would choose. I was thinking more along the lines of concerned... and possibly hungry. All we have at our booth is coffee."

She gestured to a booth across the cafeteria. A booth was set up by none other than Xander. I turned to Lily.

"Why didn't you tell me he was going to be here?"

"I'm sorry! I thought you knew!"

"Can you make sure I am as far as possible from him at all times?"

"I'll do my best. Anyway, I've got to get back to the booth. See ya later!"

     She grabbed a cookie off the table and raced away before Bri could stop her. She grumbled about messing up arrangements and moved to reorganize the tray to cover up the space where the cookie that Lily took used to be. Kennedy and Johnny left soon after the event started along with Mom to go home and clean up the mess we had made making cookies. And so it was Bri, Dad, and I sitting by the cookie table for the event. At some point, Dad disappeared to go play games because he was bored sitting by the table when Bri wouldn't let him eat any of the cookies. Brielle and I sat together, watching people circle the cafeteria and play various holiday-themed skill and luck games. The event was scheduled to be over at 9 and it was already 6:30 pm. We started playing cards at one point to pass the time and would occasionally refill the cookie trays with the extra Tupperware stored under the booth.

     Many of my friends stopped by to grab a cookie and I made small talk with a few people from my classes and even with some people I had never seen before. I hadn't encountered Xander once the whole night which I counted as a success and I was about to celebrate with a cookie when Chloe appeared in front of the booth. I heard Bri whisper some profanity under her breath.

"What do you want Chloe?"

"Jules. I need to talk to you."

"Don't take it personally, but I really don't want to talk to you."

"Please. Just one conversation then I swear I will leave you alone."

     I sighed. If I only had to suffer through one conversation with Chloe to never have to talk to her again then that honestly seemed like a fair enough trade. I got up from the table. "Where would you like to go?" I followed her out of the cafeteria and into the hallway. She stopped and leaned against a row of lockers.

"I kissed Xander. He didn't kiss me. He didn't initiate anything he was just being nice and a good friend but I was like, ya know, emotionally distraught and I was like "wow he's so nice" and Noah is so not nice and he was like you deserve someone better and I was like "you?" and he was like "what no" but then I kissed him anyway and I don't know why but I just did and I'm so sorry it was such a mistake."

     My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. I didn't quite know how to respond. Chloe was nervously twirling a small strand of hair.

"Please say something, Jules."

"Honestly, I really don't know what to say."

     Xander didn't kiss Chloe. She kissed him. He had told me that and I didn't listen. He hadn't done anything wrong. Oh no. I think I might have made a mistake.