Baby, It's Christmas
-Charlie Fellows-
Everybody celebrates Christmas differently. It's the same with grieving--to each their own. Christmas is a time of happiness, a time for unity, and, on a rare occasion, a time for pain. I doubt that I'll be one of the those people who'll drown themselves in pity, though; no matter what the circumstance. It's Christmas, you're not meant to be sad.
Cindy runs past, dragging poor Elouise along by the wrist. The Waltons always come over on Christmas Eve, it's tradition. Unfortunately, another thing that we do is wear matching sweaters that our mothers knitted. This year, Mom has gone all out. My parents, Cindy, and I are wearing reindeer ones. But, get this, Mom put hair on them--our hair! It's messed up! Mine looks like Bambi, but with yellow eyes and disheveled brown hair. Then, there's Cindy's. It's a more feminine version of my Bambi. It's got a bouncy, blonde ponytail, gray eyes, and long, dark eyelashes. Seeing them makes me physically cringe, but it's for Mom's sake; and I love her enough to wear this ugly article of clothing.
Meanwhile, the Waltons are wearing less crazy Christmas sweaters. They have the same snowman on the centre of their knits. Of course, the thing that makes it butt ugly is the fact that the background consists of neon stripes. It's also oversized. Mr and Mrs Walton don't seem to mind and just leave them. Elouise decides to pair them with leggings. It pretty much counts as a dress anyway. Penny, like the little rebel she is, cuts hers up. It's a midrif now. I stare at her firm stomach appreciatively.
"Charlie, stop ogling Penny," someone suddenly said, startling me.
"I was not," I replied, eyebrows furrowed.
"Bet you want her under the mistletoe with you," she teased, smirking at me, and I watched as her big, blue eyes lit up with mischief.
I cleared my throat. "Actually, you already are," I said, and it was my turn to smirk.
Eli visibly stiffened and her gaze lifted up to the ceiling to check. When she saw nothing there, she let out a quiet sigh. "I'm so gonna get you for that."
"Geez, you make it seem like it's the most repulsive thing."
"What?" she asked, raising a brow at me. "Kissing you?"
I nodded with a chuckle. "As if you don't want a piece of this!" I winked and she rolled her eyes at me. She always did that; I couldn't come up with a time where she didn't roll her eyes at me.
Who knows, maybe it'll turn into a disorder?
But then, what if she died from it?
...Well, that escalated quickly.
"You've gotta admit, it's sort of really disgusting. You're like my brother!"
"Indirect incest," I mumbled, shrugging.
"It's...yuck," Eli stated as she scrunched up her nose.
"Let's do it," I joked, slowly raising my hands to grab her shoulders.
"You're such a pig!" Eli exclaimed, followed by a big step back.
Seeing her distasteful expression made me laugh a little.
"Charls, stop bugging me and just go follow Penny around. Isn't that what you do every year?"
"Well, well, well. Someone's brought a bag of comebacks," I noted, ignoring her. "Do tell me more about how you found your wit this lovely evening."
She slapped my sweater-clad arm, but I brushed it off. "Why do you always have to be a douche? It's Christmas, for crying out loud!"
"So? It's not like we actually talk to each other."
That shut her up.
~ ~ ~
Our parents called us in for dinner half an hour later. I strategically sat away from Elouise. She acted a bit too weird sometimes, especially with her internal arguments. She was too self-absorbed, that sometimes it got creepy. Unfortunately, by sitting away from her, I ended up near the adults. Too close, if you asked me. Of course, they scrutinised me. It wasn't that it surprised me--it was bound to happen--I just didn't know how to react to what they were saying. I hated being in their line of scrutiny. It meant that I had to charm my way out of their questions. More often than not, charm required effort; I was too out of it to put in some effort. Not only that, but both our parents and theirs made it seem like let's-embarrass-Charlie time. Who in their right mind wanted that to be done to them?
The Waltons fired question after question, too eager for their own good. But, I guess I knew where they were coming from. Mr Walton had told me that he has wanted a son all his life. Just to be funny, the universe gave him two daughters--it was cruel that way too. As I evasively answered their queries, my eyes wandered around the big table. On one end, my parents sat, filled with laughter. Cindy occupied the other end, sending secretive glances towards her best friend. My eyes lingered on Penny the most. She looked beautiful--blonde hair, ebony lenses, everything. I mean, I felt kind of sad, since she looked absolutely miserable. Her gaze bored into the plate of pasta in front of her. Much to my dismay, I averted my eyes after a few more seconds. Getting caught wasn't an option this time around.
"Cinderella, I hear you're still excelling with your studies," Mr Walton said with genuine interest.
I caught Cindy's face falling for a whole second, before she smiled. She hated her name. Don't ask. For the longest time, I thought she secretly loved that she was named after a Disney princess. She didn't, she never will.
"I'm thriving, in a sense," she replied smoothly, shooting him a prideful smile. "Besides, it's not just me. Charlie's doing exceptionally well in the sciences that he's doing."
I nodded, smiling. "I suppose." Yeah, I know--lame.
The table talk went on for a bit. I glanced at Eli a few times, but she was avoiding my eyes. Maybe she couldn't handle the truth; that we really don't talk all the time. Or maybe I was too harsh? Did I hypothetically slap her in the face? I perished the thought. I didn't want to feel guilty on Christmas Eve.
After dinner we all gathered in the living room and watched Christmas movies that ran every night. Tonight, it was--surprise, surprise--How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Our parents sat on the couches, while we vegged out on the bean bags. Halfway through the movie, Eli got up to get more food. Within thirty seconds, I felt inclined to follow her and apologize. The movie was sort of guilt-tripping me and I thought about what I said. Maybe I was being a dick, when I probably shouldn't have. I stood up before I could talk myself out of it.
I found Elouise staring at the microwave in concentration. She seemed so focused on the popcorn that it was comical. I had to laugh. And, because she was too absorbed, she visibly jumped. I laughed again, more restrained this time. When she turned her head, she scowled at me. I saw no reason as to why she wouldn't.
"What? Are you trying to kill me while I fetch my food?" she said. I wasn't sure whether there was sarcasm or not.
"I just wanted to check if you're okay," I sighed. "I said some things an--"
"Whatever," she cut me off. "It's over."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, it's done, don't worry about it."
I narrowed my eyes. "You're taking this awfully calm..."
"Am I normally not calm?"
"No," I answered.
"How would you know? You don't actually know me."
I scratched the back of my neck, looking at my feet as the microwave dinged. "Okay, I see your point."
"And...I'm done here."
With that, she scuttled away with her bowl of freshly popped popcorn.
~
As the night continued, I was confused--more like, I confused myself even more. I watched Eli more closely. It scared me too, because Cindy saw me; said she knew what I was doing. I asked her what but she didn't say. Truth was, I didn't know what I was doing either. I was just fixated on her--her dark curls, those big eyes, that smile. I couldn't believe that she was Penny's twin; they looked nothing alike.
At one point, Eli caught me looking, but this time it was at her, not her sister.
The thing with Elouise is that I can hold her gaze; we can stare each other down, no problem. With Penelope, it's different--she makes me look away, and I don't know why. I think that's why I'm enthralled. She's intimidating, and I hardly get intimidated.
But, it didn't make sense--I was still looking at Eli.
When they were leaving at around one in the morning, we all said our goodbyes and packed up. As Eli passed me by, I grabbed her elbow. She nearly fell over. I forgot that she was clumsy.
"Merry Christmas," I told her, smiling.
She gave me a weird look. "I almost face-planted, and that's all you say?" she said in disbelief.
I nodded, grinning.
"Well, Merry Christmas to you too, Charlie." When I didn't let go, she added, "You can let go of my arm now."
"You're not mad?"
"No."
"Okay," I said, but I didn't believe her. So, I just released her arm.
But, of course, this is Eli. She's weird and quirky and she surprises me. Very quickly, her demeanor changes from calm to nervous. In turn, she makes me nervous too. Stepping closer, she stands on the tips of her toes. She gently kisses my cheek and I almost think it didn't happen. It's so fast, like a nanosecond. When she's backed away, I stand there, dumbfounded. Eli hides her blush and is quick to head to their car. And she says to me three parting words:
"I'm not mad."
* * *
Belated Merry Christmas, Advanced Happy New Year! :)
BTDubs, this was set during Christmas in their sophomore year. So yeah, just to clear up any confusion. c:
I thought I'd put it in Charlie's POV since the #TeamCharlie crew are more present. (Get it? Present and Christmas? No? Okay...)
Hope you guys got what you all wanted!! :D
This Christmas Special is dedicated to all of you for sticking with this story! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all so much--platonically! xoxo
Multimedia Weekly:
- photo of Charlie
- Santa Baby by Michael Bublé (I love his Christmas album!)
If you liked this chapter, please VOTE, COMMENT, and/or SHARE! It really helps me keep motivated! (:
If you'd like to read another story of mine, please make sure to check out Midnight Blues. Laura and Cole would definitely appreciate it! ;)
UPDATE: Chapter 42 should be up after New Year's Day. MBFB has around 60 to 65 or so chapters altogether, so yeah, we're getting closer to the end. Not sure how to feel about that.
Well, that's all for now, folks. Toodles!
J~