Merry Christmas, Love Wattpad

To: @xSunlight

To: @xSunlight

From: @irwinds

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hi nia! we don't actually know each other at all, but i feel like by writing you / your desired character that i've known you for a while. this may not be the best, but i hope you still enjoy it! happy holidays. :)

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“What’s that again?”

Nia frowned, her eyes flicking back up to the ginger boy seated across from her. She shrank a little bit in her seat and pulled the notebook containing the doodle closer to her chest before replying. “It’s supposed to be a koala, Aaron, but clearly—“

Aaron’s eyes widened and he craned his neck to get one last glimpse at the drawing. A soft sigh of recognition escaped his thin lips as he tugged the drawing from his sister’s grip and squinted at it. Aaron didn’t resist when Nia snatched the notebook out of his hands and tucked it into the bag at her feet, for he’d already ascertained the identity of the doodle: it was, in fact, a koala, and his sister was, unsurprisingly, a half-decent artist. 

In fact, she was more than half decent, but Aaron wasn’t about to admit it. She’d already applied to Uni as an art major and gotten accepted by her top three ideals - now the only trouble was finding out which one she wanted to choose. Nia had a world-famous boy-band member as her biggest supporter, and a well-paying side job that wasn’t planning to drop her when she left for Uni the next year. On the other hand, at nineteen years old, Aaron was still struggling to figure out what he’d wanted to do with his life. He’d only received rejection letters in the mail, and his so-called best friend had already decided to dorm with his own “best friend” at their top college. And his boss had just dropped him in favor of “budget cuts.” Aaron would be lying if he said he didn’t envy his twin, but secretly - he’d never admit it - he was proud of her. During less than a year, she’d accomplished so much and made a name for herself. Despite all this occupational and collegiate security, though, he couldn’t help but want to protect her. And he was glad that she let him. 

“—clearly, I’m just not that great of an artist.”

Breathing heavily through her nose and trying to suppress all bad thoughts about Aaron that rose upon his lack of denial, Nia brushed the graphite from her hands and yawned. She rose to her feet, though the shift in position didn’t add much to her height; she still remained only a few inches over five feet and was dwarfed by her brother when he stood a few moments later. 

“You are great!” Aaron protested about about a minute too late, tagging after Nia as she brought her cup up to the coffee machine in the corner. She raised one eyebrow suspiciously, but couldn’t help the broad smile that spread across her face at her brother’s praise. No matter who it came from, it always felt good to approval. “If you weren’t great,” Aaron continued, “you wouldn’t have gotten into Birmingham, Chelsea, and Exeter. Bloody hell, Ni, you’re practically the next da Vinci!”

Snorting, Nia pumped creamer into her coffee and pivoted on her heel. Her burgundy skirt clung tight to her legs and rear and was in sharp contrast with her fair skin. The matching beanie contrasted a bit terribly with her curling red hair, but she didn’t particularly mind and instead adjusted the scarf around her neck as she resumed sitting. Aaron grabbed a few packages of sweetener and hurried after her, dropping into his seat and stirring his steaming drink. 

Nia was just standing up to refill her drink again when her phone buzzed. She set her coffee back upon the chipping varnish of the table and rooted through the bag slumped at her feet. A number of texts - still flooding in - from the same someone filled her home screen, and it was all Nia could do to keep from smiling. “It’s Harry,” she told Aaron, shouldering her bag and pulling her coat on. She wrapped one arm around her brother’s shoulders and squeezed him tightly. A moment later, she had disappeared into the midst of an icy blast of air and falling snow.