A.N: Yes I know, it's weird that I'm uploading a Christmas chapter now, but oh well. It just worked out that way. This chapter is a bit of fluff, and it may not survive a rewrite if I do one, but it seemed odd to leave their party out. As, always let me know what you think.
Ian didn't tease them about the fact that they were play fighting in the lunch line, in fact he barely acknowledged it. If they noticed, neither of them had any reaction at all, thankful for the fact that he hadn't made the moment awkward.
"Does either of you know what the hell crawled up Juss' ass?"
Cherish glanced up at Seven from where her head was tucked under his arm; but Ian missed the look they exchanged. Pulling out of Seven's grasp, she pushed him away halfheartedly. She was worried about Juss now.
If Ian was noticing it, then she knew she wasn't just imagining his behaviour. She was sure he'd been missing more than normal and was generally much quieter than she was accustomed to him being. Seven had noticed it too; but he'd been the one to intercept Allie's message asking if Cherish had checked on him.
Yes, he was much quieter than normal. But when he did talk, he joked around and talked about Allie as if they were still together. If that was the word to use for whatever they were. Maybe he didn't want them all to know that he'd been cheated on, again if that were the right word. But Cherish was sure he'd noticed Seven's careful observation of himself. Maybe he didn't want them to know he was broken up over it. Maybe he was trying to be strong.
"Why? What'd he do?" Seven asked.
Ian shrugged, "I don't know, he's just being weird. I was talking to him and he went all broody and took off."
"Well," Cherish said with a light smile, "Seven's acting normal, so someone has to take over being broody."
"So funny!" Seven rolled his eyes as he paid for his lunch.
Ian chuckled, "But seriously..."
"E, if it's something, he'll tell you eventually," Cherish reasoned. "Juss doesn't really seem to be the spilling feelings kind of guy, is he?"
"No," Ian muttered. "But something's bothering him, I know it."
"What's bothering who?" Juss asked when they turned the corner.
Seven languidly flopped down beside Juss, who was on his phone, "Ian thinks you haven't been eating breakfast; really, Juss it's an essential part of your diet as a growing boy!"
Juss rolled his eyes as he chuckled and went back to his conversation, "Apparently Ian thinks I'm cranky, which means I'm not eating enough."
"Or he's not getting any, step it up, Allie!" Ian joked.
Cherish frowned when she heard Allie's laughter, and it could only be Allie's laughter blaring out of Juss' phone. Wasn't Allie supposed to be avoiding him? Seven glanced at Cherish quizzically. So clearly, Juss was in denial. As she frowned at her plate of fries, Juss caught her eye and smiled; okay, he was really in denial.
Did he not remember that she already knew they were no longer a thing? She took a deep breath to calm herself down. She'd been in denial not so long ago herself, she could let him deal with this on his own. If he started acting any stranger though, she might have to corner him and slap him till he was normal again.
-.-
Ari had enlisted Delia's help in decorating the house for Christmas the night before their party. It had become something of a tradition, because their father had only enough time to spare to Christmas decorating as it took him to get a tree and put it up. For the past few years it had been done by Ari's other friends, but this year, since Cherish was there, and for old time's sake, Ari had called Delia. After decorating, the three girls had some form of a slumber party which resulted in them going to school barely awake.
The day was strange, all eight classes shortened to a half hour and crammed into one day, most of them being only a formality. Cherish practically sleepwalked through most of the day, being shuffled from one class to the next by Harper, Ian and Seven. She didn't feel even the slightest bit bad about it. At the end of the short day, Cherish and Delia had decided that the extra time was to be spent napping before everyone showed up.
"Girl's wake up, it's 6."
If Shannon McKinley had any idea that letting the girls sleep in the extra hour would cause an armageddon, he might never have done it. But as it was, even Delia was acting as if he'd betrayed her by giving her only one hour to get ready. He'd never seen the girls get up faster.
Then again, maybe he remembered something about Delia and a boyfriend... that might explain why both of his daughters were treating him to glares of the deathly kind in the minutes after he woke them. He shook his head, muttering something about teens as he retreated to his den.
The hour seemed to go by in a blink, and Ari popped her head into the den in no time. "Dad! What are you still doing here? It's already past 7, people are going to be here soon! Oh and I need a ride to Darla's place."
With a sigh, he closed up the work he'd been doing and followed her. Ari looked at him pointedly as they reached the front door only to see Cherish letting some of the boys in. Grabbing his jacket out of the hall closet, Shannon greeted Cherish's friends. The one who'd been missing for some time was standing in the doorway; he'd been right, his daughter had befriended the boy even though she'd adamantly proclaimed to loathe him.
"Hey Mr. McKinley, you don't have to leave because of us." He couldn't recall ever seeing the boy smile so genuinely, or being even remotely nice.
"Yeah, Mister Mac, you should join us!" another of the boys clambered into the house behind Seven and grinned at him.
Shannon shook his head, pointed at his daughters, and shrugged, "I'm being kicked out."
"Rish, your own Dad? How could you?"
"I didn't," Cherish laughed. "Ari did."
"Don't worry, Mr. McKinley, I'll keep an eye on these monkeys for you. There will be no shenanigans under my watch."
"Whatever, Sev!" Cherish shoved him into the living room and pecked her father's cheek as he left the house. "Bye Dad."
It wasn't much of a party really, for all they'd been planning. Delia's eagerness to pass out gifts was so overwhelming, they did that first. Of course, with Delia, it wasn't as easy as simply handing them out. No, one must don the hat first, have their picture taken for posterity and only then must one hand out gifts.
So, with the Santa hat that Delia handed her firmly on her head, Cherish began tossing her gifts around the room. Everyone laughed when Delia tore open the wrapping, flushed and held up the "Fox" t-shirt Cherish had bought for her.
"Sorry, Deals, I saw it and I just had to."
"Thanks, Rish."
Harper wrestled his gift out of the ball of tape she'd tossed him, complaining that her wrapping was worse than a high security prison. "Pants without holes!" Cherish told him when he finally managed to break through all the tape.
"Thanks, man!"
Seven nudged Cherish in the side, raising an eyebrow in question at the gift she'd handed him. She nudged him back, "Just open it."
He was surprised that she'd bothered. It wasn't a gift as simple as buying a t-shirt or a new pair of jeans, it was a customized shirt. Three customized shirts to be exact, all black retro work shirts with large prints on the back. The print was the same on each shirt, a drawing that he knew Cherish had done of three skeletons with instruments that was presumably meant to be him and the guys.
On the left sleeve of each shirt, there was loopy writing embroidered; The Mastermind, The Heart, The Muscle. With a laugh, Seven tossed the shirt that said The Heart to Ian and The Muscle to Juss; on his own shirt, there was a giant 7 printed behind The Mastermind.
"I hope you guys like them," Cherish said with a soft smile that was almost unsure and unlike her.
"They're great, thanks."
Cherish nodded at Seven's words but it was Ian's reaction, pulling the shirt on right away and excitedly squealing how awesome it was, that was the reassurance she'd been looking for. With a satisfied grin she accepted the hug Ian gave her and handed the Santa hat to him, "Your turn!"
He frowned at it, "I'm not wearing that."
"Too bad, your girlfriend says no one can hand out gifts without wearing the hat. It's tradition."
Begrudgingly, Ian pulled the hat down onto his head and picked up the bag he'd bought in with him.
"Say Cheese, E!" Delia chirped from behind her camera.
Pulling a face at her, Ian handed out his gifts much more carefully than Cherish had done with hers. Cherish was first, a pair of fuzzy bunny bedroom slippers and black and white checkered pajamas. "So you don't have to sleep in your jeans anymore," Ian declared with a cheeky grin.
No one else but Seven seemed to understand what he meant and why it made Cherish blush. To take the heat off her he opened his gift and thanked Ian for the much needed guitar strings and picks that were in the bag alongside the silver pick shaped dog tags. Juss' gift was along the same lines; a new pair of drumsticks and the leather motorcycle gloves he'd wanted for when he was drumming.
Delia's received an engraved leather ID tag, strung onto a bracelet that Ian had made, spending days with Liz learning how to braid hemp. "I didn't buy it, so you can't be mad at me," he grinned as Delia glared at him.
"You made this?"
"Yup."
Delia looked to Seven for confirmation, squealing and squeezing a hug around Ian when Seven nodded.
"It wasn't a big deal."
Ian tried to shrug it off, but Seven's laughter contradicted him, "It took him forever!"
"No it didn't," he bit back, turning red, but to get back at Seven he dumped the hat on his head.
Seven took the hat off, ready to toss it aside but a stern look from Delia made him put it back on, "Fine, fine."
He hadn't bothered wrapping the gifts, but had stuck a little tag and Christmas bow on each of them, and taking a page out of Cherish's book he tossed them around the room carelessly. He tossed Delia a new set of skateboard wheels which she excitedly thanked him for. Harper caught a new toque to add to his collection of hats and Juss and Ian were both thrown shoe boxes.
"You guys need new shoes," Seven said offhandedly, uncomfortable with being thanked for thoughtfulness. He picked up his last gift, "Here."
Cherish examined the sketchbook he held out to her with uncertainty. It was a gorgeous black embossed leather bound book. She took it from him with a grin and a quiet thank you; everyone was watching them and it was just a little annoying. Rolling his eyes, Seven passed the hat off on a very unwilling Harper.
Grumbling, Harper dumped his bag of gifts out on the coffee table, "There." He placed one more gift under the tree which they all smilingly assumed was for Ari. "Whatever," he sniped and smashed the hat onto Juss' head in retaliation to the persistent teasing.
Juss stood and struk a pose for Delia, knowing she'd want a picture. He yanked gifts out of his backpack and handed his mostly unwrapped gifts around the room.
"Newspaper, Juss, why not just wrap them toilet paper?" Delia joked as she accepted her gift.
"Then again, at least yours look better than Rish's!"
Cherish snorted a laugh, "Gee thanks, Deals!"
"It's true!"
Delia tore open the newspaper to reveal a Sweet Pear scented bath set; Cherish's was Wild Cherry.
"Thanks, Juss!" they said in unison.
"No problem." Juss grinned and tossed giftcards to Harper, Ian and Seven.
Delia beamed when the hat was placed on her head and scooped a bunch of boxes from under the tree. She had one left over when she was done and she frowned at it in confusion. As they all opened the boxes- custom made bobble heads of each other the- Delia did a recount.
"Wait. Juss, where's Allie? Isn't she coming?"
"Nope."
"You said she'd be here. Or did you just forget to ask her?" Delia giggled; it was the most likely scenario given that it was Juss. It was what Cherish would have thought too had she not known the real reason. But she kept her head down and admired the bobble-head Cherish in her lap.
"Yeah, well, that was before..."
"Oh," Delia was a little offput by Juss' tone. "Can you give this to her for me when you see her?"
"Nope."
"Oh-kay... Wait, before what?" Delia asked, the only one who hadn't fully caught the implication of what he'd said.
"Before she told me about her boyfriend," Juss sighed.
"What?!" Cherish knew from the multiple yells that Allie would not be welcome around the others for a while.
* Title song by The Brian Setzer Orchestra