C H A P T E R E L E V E N |:| N O V E M B E R N I G H T
a month after and a year before
November 9, 2005
"Did you bring all the snacks?"
"Check."
"Pillows?"
"Done."
"Blankets?"
"Yes."
"Television?"
"Finished."
"Cleaned your room?"
"Yes, mom."
"Good. We can start." I give Christian a wicked smile as I prance around his room, leaving my sleepover bag at the floor near his bed and make my way quickly inside the camp.
Christian's figure is a bit bigger than mine so he was having a bit trouble going inside the blanket fort and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
"So, Captain Christian, what is our mission today?" My co-captain mode turns on as soon as we get into our position. Everything around us are pillows, snacks, blankets, everything in between.
"I don't know. You're my personal assistant, you should know about it." Christian's mode is already bossy and I can't help but punch his arms.
"It's co-captain not personal assistant. Get that into your thick head!" By this time, Christian is rubbing his left arm which is now red and murmuring 'ow'.
"Okay, big boy, now, let's get this thing started." I turn on the television and quickly turn it into Nickelodeon.
"Swiper no swiping! Swiper no swiping! Oh man. Dora the explor--!"
"Not that girly show again." Christian's voice fills the tiny spaced camp and I look at him pointedly.
"We missed the opening song! Ugh, this is so aggravating. We should start our camping way earlier because six o'clock is late." I grab the nearest plastic bag of food and open it.
"Hey! That's my favorite! Don't start eating it yet," Christian whines, and I look at him as I eat his favorite food. He is wearing a sleeveless t-shirt so when he tries to grab the Cheetos I am eating; I slap him hard on his shoulders.
"Well, I got it first. And, it was my birthday yesterday." I munch off the food and look straightly in the television as I watch with amusement on Dora travelling on a new adventure with a monkey and a talking bag and a talking map.
"It was?"
"Yes, dummy."
"Belated happy birthday, Mase," Christian says with a voice so genuine that I have to take my eyes off the television and look at the blue-eyed boy sitting beside me me. The lights around the room illuminates inside the camp and Christian looks anything but ugly right now, especially when he is looking at me in the eyes.
It was a very long silence between us but it was filled with Boots' voice.
I prevent myself from saying a mean comeback because his eyes are just so blue. "Thank you."
"Now share with me some of my Cheetos." I roll my eyes but give him some after I grab a whole lot of them and put them in my hand.
∞ 📺 ∞
"Yesterday was your birthday?" Miss Yanny looks like she just won the lottery.
"Uhm.. ah... well, y-yes," I look down at the floor, not liking too much attention from the adults because they tend to be confusing and demanding sometimes.
"It was my birthday, too!" I have never seen Christian's face as embarrassed as now. Miss Yanny tells me to wait at the dining table and she leaves.
I couldn't even continue eating the spaghetti that Christian's mother prepared for us because I was too shocked at Miss Yanny's disappearance.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that yesterday was also my mom's birthday?" he asks. Spaghetti sauce was all over Christian's face and I had to stop myself from laughing because I know angry Christian is not good.
"Yes," I say and feign being angry at him. I frown my eyebrows as I really try to ignore the spaghetti sauce on his face. Christian is now cleaning his mouth with the napkin and he gives a very loud sigh.
"Massie! Massie! Massie!" Miss Yanny quickly flies down the staircase, holding something that is hidden from me.
"Yes, that's my name!" I say happily. I smile widely at the very happy person who is now sitting beside me.
"Mom, tell me that's not a--- "
"So, I just came back from Scotland last week and I want you to have this! Happy birthday to us!" Miss Yanny hands me a very expensive looking cookies and I couldn't help but smile.
"W-wow. Thank you very much," I whisper. I look with awe at my birthday present. Then, I look at Christian and give a loud squeal which means that we now have a new food selection added to our fort later.
Christian rolls his eyes and continues eating his spaghetti sloppily. He tells me to eat quickly so we can go back upstairs and finish the movie.
After a very short ten minutes of eating, I thank Miss Yanny once again and race Christian upstairs.
"I won," Christian says victoriously. He grins at me as he starts chanting Indian noises towards his room.
I shake my head and ignore my heart beating rapidly.
Thud thud. Thud thud.
Yeah, you already did.
Three months ago.
∞ 🍝 ∞
"One more month!" I sigh as the credits rolls at the end of the movie.
"And it's Christmas!" Christian says sarcastically. I give him a weird look and he looks at me with the same one.
"Why do you seem not so happy about Christmas?" I ask, remembering the time I asked Christian to play with me at the kiddies' room last year, but he kept rejecting me.
Trampoline? Not my type. See-saw? Too much energy needed. Pony? Too girly. Cards? Pass. Television? I don't like the show. Piano? Not interested. Dolls? Yuck.
He shrugs, looking at me. The same look he gave me when I asked him what he wanted to play that time.
"Well then, as your co-captain, I'm going to give you a reason to be happy on Christmas Day." I move closer to him, ignoring the tingling sensation on our feet touching.
Considering his silence as acceptance of permission for me to speak, I continue, "It's going to be almost a year since we met! Isn't awesome? A-and and! Oh Oh! I thought of something really cool! Are you ready for this? Christian! Christian!" My mind is now running crazy because I can't believe that I thought of this idea.
"Well, go on. It's not like I have a choice, Mase," Christian says and smiles lazily at me.
I give him a dagger look but quickly vanishes as I remember what I was trying to say.
"Okay, this might sound a bit cheesy but it's a really nice idea so don't put down my hopes," I ramble, ignoring that a new movie was now playing on the TV. "Since it's going to be our first friendship anniversary next month, we should have an official name for it because FA, which stands for friendship anniversary, by the way, sounds weird. So, I suggest that we should greet each other 'Merry Christmase' every December 25th!"
I probably look like a hyper dog right now, but I couldn't care less because for the first time, I made Christian laugh so hard that he is wiping tears on his eyes and rolling on the floor.
"Okay, okay. No need to lower my self-esteem," I say as I give him a solemn look, but inside, I'm bursting with joy.
"No, no. It's good, really. Really! Stop punching my arms! Okay, okay. You're a very good name-maker," he says. I smile contentedly at the boy in front of me whose smile is very contagious.
"Well, thank you, Captain Christian. You're a very good listener." If I am being completely honest, Christian is a good listener.
Christian sits more properly now, facing me with a very serious face, and says, "Well, that's because you're a very good story teller."
"Of course, I have been doing it for ten whole years."
"Okay, stop now before your ego gets way too big to fit inside the camp."
"Christian!" I slap his right arm, to match the redness of his other arm.
"Ow!"
∞
A U T H O R ' S N O T E :
This chapter is dedicated to FearlesslyMe because her story, Little Lies, is definitely a must-read! It's just one chapter, so if you have any spare time to read something short, this is what you need.
Okay, I'm getting a bit of emotional, but have no fear because I'm not going to rant. The next chapter will be the end, the last, the first time they ever met. So, thank you for everyone who stuck with me until this chapter, I really appreciate each and every one of you.
So, feel free to share the love by voting or commenting down below your lovely thoughts. <3
Questions of the Chapter: (feel free to answer one or all of them)
1. I find this chapter cute, I don't know about you. But I want to hear your thoughts about this chapter!
2. What's the your best Christmas gift? Because I know that Massie's answer would be her best friend, Christian. *winks*
3. What's your favorite childhood show? Mine was Dora, Totally Spies, High 5, and so many more...
4. What do you think of Massie in this chapter? How about Christian? Or Christian's mom, Yanny?
:)
Thank you so much crazywithoutlove for this cover <3