𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒 𝐄𝐕𝐄 | 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 |

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

" ...but what you need to realize is, I don't care how much you push me away, how many times you try to ignore me, I'm gonna keep trying. I'm not giving up. That's how it's always gonna be until you're mine."

It was now around 2:30 or 2:45 in the morning and I couldn't seem to sleep. Landon's words rang in my head all night and no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried to go to sleep, I just couldn't seem to get his voice out my head.

I had waited my whole life to hear him say what he said to me, but after what happened two years ago, I didn't even know if I wanted to jump right back in to what he and I had. Sure, everything that happened occurred two years ago, and he and I are two different people than we were back then, but still...I wasn't sure.

Giving up on the idea of sleep, I tossed my blanket to the side and walked out of the room. Everyone was sleep, and the only sound was the sound of the faint wind rustling the trees outside—or so I thought.

As I continued walking towards the top of the stairs, I paused seeing that the living room was dimly lit and there was the faint sound of light guitar plucking, which could only mean one thing—Landon was awake, too.

He wasn't just playing any song. He was playing the song that I loved, the song that he claimed to hate so much and complained about every single time that I played it—Christmas Eve. As in Justin Bieber's song Christmas Eve that I've been obsessed with since I first heard it.

Quietly, I walked down the hardwood steps, careful to not make any noise and by the time I reached the bottom of the steps, I could see him clearly. He was leaning back casually against the couch and lightly plucking at the strings of his guitar as he hummed the melody to himself.

It was cute to see. I never noticed just how cute he looks when he's focused. His bros scrunched together and his bottom lip was slightly poked out as he tried to figure out how to perfectly slur the note correctly.

"I know you're standing there, Cait," Landon says without even having to look up at me. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."

I frowned and let out a deep sigh, moving around the railing and taking my foot off the last step. "So, I guess we're back to Asshole Landon, huh?"

Landon scoffed and shook his head, "No. But apparently, we're back to Stand-offish Caitlyn, huh? You tell me that you care about me, and that you were scared shitless of me dying but the minute that I tell you that I want you and that you're all I want, you push me away, again. How in the world am I suppose to approach you or how else am I supposed to act, Caitlyn? You tell me."

I froze. I didn't know what else to say to that, because I did tell him that. I did tell him to leave me alone. How else was he supposed to act around me?

"I didn't..." I shook my head, running my hands up and down my arms as I took a step closer to him. "I didn't mean it like that..."

Landon set his guitar down and gave me a blank stare. "Well, what did you mean, Caitlyn? Because for years, we've been playing this back and forth game and I don't think that I can take it anymore. So, what did you mean?"

"I...I just don't want to get hurt again," I said. "Is that such a bad thing?"

"No, it's not," He says. "But, you could at least communicate that to me! I'm not trying to hurt you, I don't want to hurt you. And I didn't try or want to hurt you back then, either! People make mistakes, we're human. I'm just asking for a chance to redeem myself. You of all people should know what that feels like."

Once again, I froze, because I did know what that felt like. I also knew that some things just couldn't be faked or avoided anymore—and by "some things" I mean Landon and I.

"I know.." I mumbled.

Landon stood up and walked over to me, standing so close to me that my back was up against the wall, "So what do you want?"

Him being this close has me flustered. I was never used to this, I never would be, because that's just how strong the energy is between he and I.

The way he was looking at me was waking up feelings that I hadn't felt in a long time. I wanted to give in and act on every single emotion that I was feeling, but I knew that the one I wanted to act on the most would only make me regret it, especially since things between he and I weren't official. They weren't even close to being serious.

Can't give up the cooch for a nigga that isn't mine...

"I don't know..." I lied.

Landon shook his head and lightly grabbed my neck, tilting it up so I was looking directly into his eyes. "Stop lying," he says softly, but firmly. "What is it that you want, Caitlyn?"

So many things were swirling through my head, and just as fast as they started, the stopped and flew right out the window the moment Landon's hand wrapped around my neck. All I knew was that he could see right through me, and once again, he was asking me what it was that I wanted. As much as I was scared of giving him the real answer, I knew that there was no other way around this.

I just had to...

"You..." I said quietly.

Landon smirked, moving closer to me so our bodies were pressed together. "Say it again.."

The blood rushed to my cheeks as a smile formed on my face. I reached up, grabbing his collar, so that I was pulling him down to my level. "I. Want. You."

"About time you admitted it," He grins. "I finally got my Christmas wish."

I glanced up and smirked at the sight of the mistletoe above us and looked back at him. "Look."

Landon looked up and grinned like a little kid. "A blessing..." he says before pressing his lips against mine.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER FIVE