When Love Arrives (H.S.)

Chapter 5

One thing that never changes: December 26th is a sad, sad day.

It always has been. As a kid, it meant the end of all the Christmas hype. No more presents, no more waiting for Santa. Just a bunch of decorations on a rotting tree that looked really out of place now. As I got older, I started to just feel guilty the day after Christmas, remembering how worried my grandfather is about me and how I wished I could be closer to him. To my whole family, really. Days like this remind me of how abnormal and out of place I feel, in the wake of my always uncomfortable Christmases.

Uncharacteristically, I had hope that this year would be... Different. Something about the last few weeks had made me feel optimistic in the strangest way. It must have been moving out on my own, and all that.

I got up and quickly put on a sweatshirt and jeans, a bit excited because Erica and I always exchange gifts on the 26th to make it a little less depressing. I had gotten her a new beanie and a book about the Steelers. I was hoping that the topic would inspire her to read more. It probably wouldn't. The beanie was cute, though, and she had said she wanted a blue one.

I grabbed my phone off the nightstand, turning it on for the first time today. Notifications start to flood in from twitter and what not, letting me know what all my favorite artists and celebrities are doing. I was surprised when I got a text from a number I didn't recognize, because... Nobody texts me. Well, except Erica and Zayn and, when she's mad, my mother.

Sure enough, I had a message from an unknown number. It said, "I hope you had a nice holiday, Merry Melissa. I did. Happy Christmas, again. x H"

"H?" I said to my self, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion. Another text came through. "Dinner tonight? My treat. Just us. No Gramps."

I smiled to myself, realizing that it was Harry who texted me. Of course it was. I texted back, "Who is this? How did you get this number? Who's Melissa?" just to mess with him. That was funny, right? That was flirty? We were flirting, right?

Unsure, as always, I quickly texted again, "You're funny. Yes! Pizza, please."

* * * *

When I came out of my bedroom, only because I could smell bacon sizzling in the kitchen, I was surprised and mildly annoyed to find Niall sitting on our living room couch watching T.V.

He turned to look at me as I approached him, arms crossed. "Merry Christmas, Melissa."

"Hey," I said, trying to sound indifferent. All was forgiven from the week before, of course, but I just had to try and torture him a little. Erica was telling me how guilty he felt. "What are you doing here? Weren't you with your family for Christmas?"

"Uh, yeah... But they came to here. I just dropped them off at the airport this morning."

"Oh," I said, trying to sound unhappy to see him. I was, of course, a bit annoyed he was crashing mine and Erica's December 26th festivities, but I knew Erica probably wanted him there so I could live with it.

Erica walked in with three plates of pancakes and bacon for brunch. "He asked to come, Mel. I didn't invite him. He has gifts for both of us," she said, reading my mind. How does she do that?

"A gift... For me?" I asked, pretending to suddenly sound excited even though I hated gifts.

"Of course," Niall said. "Gotta take care of both my girls," he winked, making Erica and I laugh.

I excitedly sat down on the couch next to him. "Gimme, gimme, gimme!" I said, excitedly, my mood suddenly seeming very different. I'm not exactly the best gift receiver, but Niall did owe me one, in my opinion.