"Addie, can you come downstairs and help me for a second?" I hear my mom scream from downstairs. Sighing, I close my book, making sure to mark my page. This house is always chaotic. I can never find a time to settle down and finish my book.
"Coming, mom." I called. Even though my mom annoys me sometimes, I still make sure to help her whenever she needs my help. As a single parent of 5 kids, her job is hard. My mom is a role model, because of how strong and brave she is. As the oldest child, I usually have to help her around the house so she can care for the younger ones. Some people think I help out because I'm obligated, but I really just do it because I love my family, and I love my mom.
Running down the stairs, I step on a toy car my little 4 year old brother, Jackson left on one of the steps. Crying out in pain, I tumble down the rest of the stairs, falling flat on my face. I groan, feeling the bruises already forming.
I get up quickly, just to see my two other brothers, 12 year old Logan and 10 year old Owen, laughing at me. I glare at them, and quickly walk to the kitchen where my mom is cooking while trying to keep Jackson away from the dangerous items.
"Hey mom, I'm here. What do you need help on?" I asked her. She turns around, flustered and tired. I could see the crease lines on her face from stress and fatigue.
"Hey honey, can you watch Jackson for me while I finish cooking lunch? He's playing with his toys, but it's dangerous in the kitchen." My mom asked. I nodded, and picked up Jackson, who was still playing with his truck.
"Come on, buddy. Let's go play in the living room." I told him.
"Thanks, Addie! Lunch will be ready in 10 minutes" I hear my mom call after me.
I stay with Jackson as he makes truck noises while playing. After a few minutes, I get bored. Just as I'm about to close my eyes for a short nap, the doorbell rings. I look over at Jackson, who has moved on to build with bricks, and walk over to open the door. Standing before me is a tall guy, who looks around 17, which is my age. His blue eyes are the first things I see. They were a beautiful blue, like the sea, and I was stunned for a second. He was wearing a large winter coat to protect himself from the winter snow that was coming down heavily.
"Take a picture, it will last longer." He smirked, looking down at me. I was fairly tall, at 5 feet 8, but the guy was taller. I snap out of my trance, and realize that I've been staring for too long.
I glare at him, before asking what he wants.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I ask bluntly. All of a sudden, a short and chubby old lady jumps out from behind him. I gasp in surprise, not knowing that she was there.
"Now, that's not way to speak to my grandson, is it Addie?" Lucy says, with her hands on her hips. Lucy is our next door neighbor, who's lived in the house longer than us. She is a nice grandma, and sometimes I would treat her as my own grandma. We were that close.
"Uh... I-I'm sorry, Lucy. I didn't know he was your grandson. Here, come in." I open the door wider, and let them in. I mentally yell at myself. How could I have been so stupid to be rude to Lucy's grandson? I always respected Lucy. I look up to see the tall guy smirk at me. I just glare at him again. Meanwhile, Lucy has made herself comfortable and is already playing with Jackson.
"Addie, who is at the door?" My mom called from the kitchen.
"It's Lucy, and her grandson." I call back. I hear the stove hood turn off, and my mom walks into the living room.
"Lucy! How have you been?" My mom exclaims, giving her a hug.
"I've been doing well. This is my grandson, Jake. He's moving in with me to finish high school here and I decided to bring him over to meet you guys and bring some of my cookies." Lucy replies. Then my mom and Lucy just sit on a couch and start talking.
Jake, the tall guy, walks to me and hands me the tin of cookies. I accept it, saying thanks before putting it in the kitchen. I turn around to go back, but I stumble into something hard. I look up, and Jake is there, smirking down at me again. Turns out I hit his chest. I grumble under my breath and step to the side of him to walk back to the living room. Little Jackson is still playing with his bricks, but Logan and Owen are nowhere to be found. My 15 year old sister, Mary, is probably in her room. She never comes out of there. Something about her boyfriend breaking up with her or stuff. Our house is always chaotic with Logan and Owen messing around. Mary used to come out of her room and talk with us, but now she just turned into a moody teenage girl. I see that Mom has finished cooking lunch, so I just put all the dishes on the dining table before running upstairs to get my unfinished book.
I curl up on my beanbag in the living room, block out the chatter, and immerse myself into the book. Seconds later, I feel tapping on my shoulder, so I look up. And the stupid annoying Jake is there, grinning down at me.
"What do you want?" I growl. He just interrupted my reading.
"Now, that's no way to treat your new next door neighbor, is it?" He taunts me, trying to get me even angrier.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I open my mouth to talk back to him, but I get cut off.
"Addie, Lucy is wondering if you could show Jake around these couple days before Christmas so he can get to know this town better?" My mom asks me. I turn to face her, mouth still open. I look at Lucy, who has this look. She's silently saying, you better say yes, seeing how you treated my grandson earlier at the door. I close my mouth, defeated.
"I would love to, but Mom needs my help around the house with Jackson running around all the time, and some chores I need to complete." I say to both of them, but directing it at Lucy.
"Oh, that's nothing. I can handle it myself, Addie, don't worry. You never go outside and have fun. I want you to take this time to get to know Jake." My mom smiles at me. I put on a smile, but inside, I'm glaring daggers at her.
"If you say so." I tell her. Lucy claps her hands excitedly.
"Well then it's settled! Tomorrow the snow is supposed to clear out, so you guys can go explore!" Lucy exclaims. I mentally groan.
"Awesome! Would you guys like to stay for lunch? I've cooked a lot, today." My mom asks, kindly. I look up, horrified. Jake staying longer? Please no. He gets on my nerves.
Lucy and Jake exchange a look, and I'm silently praying that they say no to my mom's offer. But of course, they choose to stay.
"Honey, can you call Logan, Owen, and Mary to come eat? I'll get Jackson settled." Mom asks me. I nod, glad to get away from Jake.
I run upstairs, knocking on their doors in the hallway, and screaming "LUNCH!" I hear laughing behind me, and I see that Jake has followed me. I sigh, going back to knocking on their doors. Logan and Owen come out of their rooms, and race down to the dining room. Mary takes longer. I hear her inside, but she says she doesn't want to eat lunch. I open her door, and walk in. She's sitting on her bed, crying.
"Mary, what's wrong?" I asked her. She just bursts out crying again. I wrap her in my arms, giving her a big hug. She may not admit or act like it, but I can tell that she loves me as much as I love her. We are the sisters of this family, so we have a special bond. And I helped her a lot.
"Addie, he-he broke up with me, when he p-promised he w-wouldn't." She stutters, a result of her crying.
I hug her tighter, trying to calm her down.
"Mary, it's okay. If he broke up with you, then he's not worth it. You deserve someone better for you, because you're a strong and beautiful 15 year old girl. Don't waste time crying over someone who isn't worth your time. I know that you will find someone that will care for you. Someone who will love you with all their heart. Someone who will treat you like the only girl in the world." I console her. Slowly, her crying stops, and I tell her to clean up and come down for lunch. I close the door behind me as I walk out, giving her some space.
Jerk Jake is still there.
"Who knew you had a heart?" He asks me, with his signature smirk on his face.
"Shut up. I'm a nice and caring person. Just not to you. You're a jerk." I tell him.
"Shut up. You're a jerk. Blah, blah blah." He mimics me, using a voice way higher than mine. He's grinning at how mad I am. I feel my hand turn into a fist, and before I can stop myself, I punch his arm. However, he saw it coming, and flexed, which resulted in me hurting my hand. Ouch.
I retract my hand, cradling it close to me. I look at Jerkface and see him trying not to laugh. I glare at him, and run back downstairs to the dining table.
The rest of the dinner goes smoothly. Jerkface Jake doesn't bother me anymore, because I make sure to sit in a chair furthest from his. When we finish, Lucy and Jake prepare to leave.
"Thank you guys so much for lunch!" Lucy exclaims. My mom tells her it was no problem.
"I'll see you tomorrow." I feel someone whisper in my ear, his breath tickling my ear. I shiver involuntarily. I turn my head to see Jake dangerously close to my face. My breathing starts to speed up, and I stare into his blue eyes. I quickly snap out of it and step away from him. He grins, knowing the effect he has on me. Ugh. Not fair.
They leave, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I turn to Mom, who is watching me carefully, as if she realizes something. I look at her questioningly, asking her what she's thinking about. She shakes her head, and walks to the kitchen to clean up. Logan had gone to the basement to play video games when he finished, and Owen was in his room. Mary stayed behind, claiming that she wanted to spend more time with family. She probably wanted to look at Jake, seeing how handsome he is. Wait, what? I did not just say that. Shaking my head of those thoughts, I help my mom clean up the table, and wash the dishes. Mary also decides to help, which I'm really happy to see. After I leave for college, it will be her job to help out around the house. And she knows that, too.
I spend the rest of the day in my room, reading and drinking hot chocolate. I let myself enter the world in the book, dreading tomorrow, when I would have to see Jake again.
The next morning, I wake up to loud laughter in the living room. I grumble and get out of bed. I walk downstairs, and guess who I see? That's right. Jerkface Jake. So now I'm tired, and I have to see him. Ugh.
Everyone in the living room stops laughing and looks at me. Mom's face is priceless when she sees me. Logan and Owen are gaping at me, and Mary, the beauty queen is screaming at the horror of my face. Jake is just trying hard not to laugh. I, of course, am unaware at the fact that I have messy bed hair, and I didn't brush my teeth or wash my face. Until Mary runs to me and drags me up the stairs before I can embarrass myself further.
When I realize this, I quickly grab a brush and yank it through my hair, trying to make it less of a bird's nest and more of a hairstyle. I then brush my teeth, wash my face, and walk out of the bathroom to see Mary texting furiously with an outfit next to her. She looks up momentarily, and beckons me to put on the outfit.
"Ew, Mary, I am NOT wearing that outfit." I tell her. It's something that is Mary's style, not mine. There is a super short skirt that looks like it wouldn't cover anything and a super tight crop top. I would never wear something like that. I decide to wear a simple white t-shirt I find lying around in my closet, jeans, and my leather jacket. Mary grimaces at my choice of clothing, but she understands we have different styles.
Both of us walk down together, this time with me looking more presentable. Mom had cooked breakfast for everyone, even Jerkface. A mountain of blueberry pancakes are at the center of the table, and I look at them greedily.
"Finally! What took you guys so long? Never mind that, it's time to eat." Mom said. We all walk to the dining table. I see Jerkface staring at me as we walk over, but I ignore him because those delicious blueberry pancakes are waiting for me.
After breakfast, when I'm cleaning up the plates, Mom says the dreaded words.
"Addie, leave the dishes. I'll do it. Plus, you need to show Jake around the town!" She said, and smiled. I mentally groaned again.
"Sure, Mom." I put on a smile and gestured for Jake to follow me.
I'm debating whether or not to take my motorcycle when Jake decides to scare me from behind. I jump up and almost scream, and whirl around to whack him across the chest. He just stands there, laughing like a crazy person.
I decide to take the car because my motorcycle is my baby, and I wouldn't let him on it. Jumping into the car, I wait for him to get in so I can back out. I decide to bring him to wherever he wants to go, or maybe just go to the diner to get food.
"So where are we going?" Jake asks me once he gets in. I'm concentrating on backing out, so I take a few minutes before I reply.
"Where do you want to go?" I ask him.
"Let's go somewhere quiet so we get to know each other better." He suggests. I shrug, but decide to head towards the closest park.
The drive to the park is not awkward, but it's weird. I felt like Jake kept wanting to ask me questions, but then stopping himself. Finally, he speaks.
"I saw your motorcycle in the garage. Do you like motorcycles?" He asks. I glance over at him, wondering why such a stupid question would come out of his mouth. He seems to realize that, too, as he turns a faint shade of pink and tries to correct himself.
"U-uhh, of course you like motorcycles if you have one. Sorry about that, it was a stupid question." He says sheepishly. I just laugh, not caring that he made a fool of himself.
"To answer your question, yes I do like motorcycles. Do you?" I asked him back. He nods, but still afraid to talk.
"You can talk, you know. I don't bite." I said. He clears his throat.
"Yeah. I just want to apologize for being annoying yesterday and teasing you and stuff... and yeah..." He trails off awkwardly, and I almost burst out laughing.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" I ask him, curious as to how he could change so quickly.
"Dunno. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. I usually put up this "player" facade when I meet someone for the first time. That's when I decide if I can trust them or not. I don't usually smirk, just so you know." He said.
"Huh." That's all I say, and the rest of the ride is silent until we get there.
"Let's play 20 questions." Jake - not Jerkface anymore? - says while we walked to a bench. I nod, allowing him to go first.
"Tell me about your family." He says.
"Well, I'm the oldest child. There's my mom, who is a single mom, which is why I help her so much. After me is Mary, who is 15, Logan who is 12, Owen who is 10, and little Jackson who is 4." I answer.
"What about yo-" Jake is about to ask a question, which I know is probably about my dad, so I cut him off.
"It's my turn. Why did you move here to live with your grandma?" I ask him. He seems to tense up, and I am afraid that I hit a sore spot, but he still answers.
"Let's just say that my home is not a suitable place for me to continue living in. My turn. You don't have to answer this question if you don't want to. But I just want to know what about your dad?" He asks me. This time, it is my turn to tense up. The tears try to fall, but I suck in a breath and force them away. I guess Jake can sense my distress, because he tells me I don't need to answer the question. But for some kind of reason, I trust him. Jake and his blue eyes. I feel him take my hand to comfort me before I start speaking.
"My dad, he died in a car accident 3 years ago, when Jackson was 1. H-his death hit us hard, because he was always the one supporting us, and keeping us happy. He was a great dad, and always made sure to spare time to play with all of us. Jackson doesn't remember him that well, because he was only 1, but me being the oldest, I remember him the most. And it hurts sometimes. Little things just remind me of him, and I feel this pain in my chest." I look up at Jake with tears in my eyes. I see his blue eyes watch me carefully. I could see the care and the sadness in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Addie. I didn't know. I shouldn't have asked." He mutters.
"Let's go the diner, yeah? You have to try their delicious milkshakes." I put on a smile, wiping the tears from my eyes. Jake nods and follows me to the car. Even though I just met Jake yesterday, he gives me comfort and I feel that I can trust him, which is really different. I never open up to someone that quickly. And when he took my hand during 20 questions, I felt cared for and protected. He gives me a weird feeling that makes me feel warm and cozy inside.
We sit at a small red booth in the traditional diner with checkered wallpaper. Due to limited supplies, you can only order one milkshake, so Jake and I are sharing one. It is my favorite, Cookies and Cream, and I make sure that Jake tries it, because they are exceptional.
We keep talking for a long time, until the day is dark. I don't even know how we talk for that long. But somehow, we do. And I really enjoyed it. Jake was a really nice and caring guy, and I really enjoyed spending time with him.
Over the next few days, I begin to get out of the house more, going outside to hang out with Jake. We go to the small town movie center, we build snowmen, we make snow angels, and we even go ice skating. I loved every minute I spent with him. He is growing on me, and I accept him. I guess you could say that we are friends now.
I'm washing the dishes when my phone rings.
"Hello?" I ask. Oh shoot. I forgot to check the Caller ID. Well, too late now.
"Hey, Addie, it's me, Jake." He says. He sounded very nervous for some reason.
"Hey! What's up?" I ask him.
"Um, well I went exploring myself yesterday and I found this really cool place. Do you wanna, um, maybe go there tomorrow... as a date?" He stutters out. I feel my heart start beating really fast, and my cheeks heat up, making me flustered for a few minutes.
"Uh... y-yeah, sure, that would be great." I swallow, trying to get rid of my dry throat.
"Really? Cool!" I could hear the excitement in his voice, while I am still in shock.
"I'll see you tomorrow, then?" I ask.
"Yep, see you!" He says. I quickly hang up and let out a breath I don't even realize I am holding. Jeez, I am nervous. Is it possible that I have started developing feelings for Jake? No... that's weird. Wait... what time do I meet him tomorrow? I pick up my phone to call him back, but get a text that gives me my answer. He would pick me up bright and early tomorrow, at 8 am.
The next morning, I wake up at 6:30, eager to start the day. I am excited to see Jake again, and see this mysterious place he was talking about. At 7:45, I am already done with everything, so I head outside to my porch to wait for him, even though it is freezing outside. I have a cup of hot chocolate in my hand as I sit down to read and wait for him. I wait until 8 am, but he is still not here. Maybe he's just running a little bit late, I think. Then at 9 am, I decide that he probably forgot or stood me up. So I gather my things and drag my frozen body back inside. I didn't know why, but I felt sick inside. I felt betrayed and hurt. I guess I do have feelings for Jake.
I avoid Jake's calls and texts the next couple of days. When he rang the doorbell, I told my mom to tell him I wasn't home. I avoided him like he was the plague.
On my fifth day of avoiding him, my mom came into my room.
"Honey, you need to get out of the house. You've been cooped up in here for too long. I heard that girl down the street, Emma, is having a Christmas party and she's inviting everyone in the neighborhood. You should go." She tells me. I just sigh, curling back up with my hot chocolate and book.
"Come on, go take a shower and I'll pick out your outfit and do your make up and hair. All you have to do is take a shower then sit." My mom orders me.
I sigh, then drag my tired body to the shower. When I finish, I put on the Christmas-y outfit my mom has for me. Then I sit down and just let her do whatever.
When she finishes, I am dragged to the car, where she personally drives me to Emma's house. I don't even know Emma. She's some popular girl at my school that everyone apparently adored. I guess it wouldn't hurt to let loose for a while without thinking about Jake.
Walking into the party, I see a bunch of gross teenagers doing who knows what everywhere. I grimace at the sight, and walk somewhere more quiet, the far back corner. I stand there and just watch everyone; drunk, clueless, yet having a good time. I sigh again, when I feel someone come up next to me. I turn and see Jake. My face becomes angry. How dare he come back after he ditched me that day. I'm about to walk away, when he takes my hand.
"Wait, Addie, let me explain." Jake pleads. I twist my hand out of his grasp and plunge myself into the sea of moving bodies so he can't find me. Yet, somehow he does.
"Addie, please, I need to explain. Just come with me." His voice sounds so desperate, that I give in.
We walk to a small office room that is empty, closing the door and blocking out the booming sound outside.
"Okay. I'm giving you this chance. Explain." I demand, arms crossed in front of my chest.
"Addie, I really did mean to bring you to the place that day, but my Grandma had to go the hospital that day, so I wasn't able to come. And in the chaos of everything, I had left my phone at home, so I couldn't call you, and I was really worried about Grandma, so I forgot about our whole date, which made me feel really bad afterwards, but then you wouldn't pick up your phone or answer the door, so I knew that you were mad, but I didn't know how to contact you. I was so relieved when I saw you in the corner there, because I wanted to tell you everything." Jake rambles out. I'm shocked that I jumped to conclusions so fast and accused and got mad at him for something so small compared to his Grandma's health.
"Oh my god, Jake, I'm so sorry. I didn't know your Grandma went to the hospital. Is she okay now? I just thought you stood me up or something and I just felt... betrayed." I say, dropping my head down.
"Addie, I would never stand you up. My grandma's okay now, but I want you to be okay." He walks over and tilts my head up to look at him. His thumb finger brushes across my cheek, leaving a trail of tingles. We stare at each other for what seems like hours, his blue eyes dancing with emotions, and me just mesmerized by them. Then slowly, he begins to drift closer to me, and I can feel myself leaning in.
Then suddenly, we're kissing. It's an amazing and indescribable feeling, with shocks and tingles running through my body. Our lips are synchronized, moving together filled with so much emotion and passion.
We break apart, both smiling at each other, before Jake looks up.
"Look, Addie, we're under the mistletoe." He grins, causing me to break into a huge grin.
THE END
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This is my holiday romance one - shot! I'm so excited! I got inspiration from "under the mistletoe." Comment + Vote! Thanks :D