50 Ways To Spend Your Christmas, Stuck With an Annoyingly Hot Emo Delinquent [27]

:3 Pretty banner by MONKEYLOVER987. Thanks so much, I love it :D

On the other side of the note, I hope I can transfer schools ♥

I don't even want to talk about today. All I want to do is sit in front of my PC, curled up with my hot chocolate writing this chapter. Oh and I've finally updated AQT's The Matchmaker's Puppy.

Ah, I miss writing a lot XD

P/S: Since many people asked where in SE Asia I am, it's Malaysia.

31) Wish parents a Merry Christmas.

"Mom, where's dad?" I asked suspiciously, folding my arms across my chest. "I thought he would be back by now."

That did it.

She fidgeted. "He's at work," she finally answered. "Can't he fly back out soon? It's Christmas for god's sake," I quipped, looking at my mom expectantly. She looked different, somehow. It got me questioning for the entire week.

"Mom?" I said impatiently. She shook her head and smiled at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, my mind drifted off for a moment there," she laughed. As expected from my mother, I thought warmly. "He'll be back sweetie," she continued, taking out a tray of marinated chicken.

"Your father's always back for Christmas. Can you help me with these?" she said, motioning to the herbs. I got up from my chair and walked over to the kitchen island which was placed in the middle of the entire room.

"Please make sure you won't come back awfully late tonight," she said. "I'm trying out a new recipe."

I smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry. I won't."

"Which reminds me, where's your dress?"

* * *

I sat in my room, the end of my pen tapping on my notepad filled with scribblings. I stared at my heels in a slight daze. I wanted to stay here longer but clearly that was impossible from the moment I announced I want to go to the boarding school.

I scribbled number 31 on my list. Just for the sake of it.

Getting up, I slipped on my heels as if expecting it to light up my mood. It - of course - didn't. Sighing, I took one final check of myself in the mirror and feeling a bit satisfied, I walked downstairs. Keira and her boyfriend was already waiting.

James was quite tall with a pair of hazel eyes behind those glasses he was wearing and toussled...red hair. I tried hard not to grin in front of the carrot-top couple. But even so, the both of them looked dashing.

"Ready?"

I grunted as a response whilst I put on my coat.

I still had no idea why I was tagging along.

Maybe without Nathan for the past few days, it's been...well, ridiculously boring. He always took me out to these different places that I normally wouldn't go. Heck, I didn't even know those place existed. He was my personal tour guide.

And I fired him, I realized, feeling upset all of a sudden.

The ride to the mall was longer than usual because the traffic was being a bitch as usual. But we made it in time to the ball, miraculously since the car was crawling at about 10mph. And when we got there, it was crowded.

People were in beautiful evening gowns and dresses, the guys were in tux--

Wait a minute...

Who was that?

I walked closer and faster to the buffet table, my heart beating faster gleefully. I heard shouts from Keira but I ignored it. I just need to see him. It's...

"KYLE!" I laughed. The blond turned around, his green eyes went wide after a few seconds of staring at me blankly. "Charlie?" he said and I playfully frowned as I hit his shoulder with my fist. He laughed and pulled me into his arms.

32) Meet old friends.

"Oh god am I glad to see you!" he said, ruffling my hair affectionately. I stopped him and said, "I won't let you do that. Do you have any idea why insufferable pain I had to go through to 'perfect' this style?"

"Insufferable pain?" he echoed and I nodded. "Come on," he scoffed teasingly, touching my curls that was pulled up into a high ponytail. Keira took out this diamond clips to hold it up. "Did the curling iron threaten to burn'chu?"

I glared at him. "No," I said. "The one holding it did."

My mind wandered back to the time when Keira roughly washed my hair, put lots of crappy-smelling stuff in it, nearly roasted my scalp with the hair-dryer, literally yanking my hair to brush it before curling it and everything.

He laughed, as if I was telling a joke.

"Are you still in that god forsaken high school?" I asked him. He shook his head triumphantly. "I transferred to Australia," he said. "I'm just here visiting some old friends."

I gaped at him. "That far?"

"Yeah, my dad got an offer he couldn't resist," he said, handing me over a plate. "And my mom found more oppurtunities and I can get out of that shitty school and my sister can flirt with the guys there. It's a win-win situation."

I laughed as I took the plate.

"I got dragged here by a few friends of mine," he said, shrugging. "But hey, free food."

Too much free food.

The buffet table was long with a huge chocolate fountain in the middle of it all. The ground floor was transformed completely. The trees were finally fully decorated, the giant snowflakes were hung on the ceiling. Fairy lights were set up around the premise and on the red stage was a band.

Along with 50 different types of instruments.

It was really an extravagant sight to see. Shoppers on the first floor and so on were peering down towards us, leaning against the glass fence dangerously and whispering to their friends, pointing at...something down here.

Suddenly, I felt self-conscious.

Now I knew what penguins in the zoo felt like.

I looked back towards Kyle, who was piling a mountain of sugary food on his plate as if he was stocking up for the army. "Kyle," I said warily.

33) Abuse the buffet table.

He grabbed a donut and dunk it in the chocolate fountain before eating it, smearing chocolate all over his face. It was revolting. I handed him over a napkin as he muttered a thanks as best as he could with his mouth full.

"You never change," I said, grinning.

"I could say the same too. I think you should worry about your low sugar levels rather than the high."

Again with the sugar levels. "Where do you go to school now anyway?" he asked. "Me? Oh I'm in London's boarding..."

I never felt so relieved in my life. And suddenly all of the emotions came rushing through me steadily. I didn't really knew what to feel then. I guess, I didn't remember much about that bit. But what I do remember was that I excused myself from Kyle, promising to talk again later.

The lights went dim. The emcee of the ball said something but I didn't really hear him.

I felt a flutter of nerves when he extended his arm towards me and I took it, feeling nervous and apprehensive. "Nate," I whispered as he smiled lovingly towards me. Until now, I didn't even realized how much I missed him.

How much I wanted to be in his comforting arms again.

These feelings were so overwhelming. But unlike the last time where it freaked the shit out of me, I welcomed it. "I'm so sorry," I blurted out. "I overreacted...I-I didn't...I can't even think clearly then. I didn't even think about your side of the story, Nate, I--"

"It's all in the past," he murmured, looking amused. "I don't like this."

"W-what?"

"This entire apologizing thing. It's not me," he said thoughtfully. "It's not really you either," he said, "Then what is...us?" I said. He shrugged, his arms curling around my waist. "You tell me."

For the past few weeks that made up this month, I didn't need to answer him. We both knew. God knew though, how we suddenly could become friends after I slammed the door in his face. And from there on...something clicked.

"I love you," I choked out before I could stop myself.

But in my train of thoughts, I knew this couldn't be a happily ever after. "I love you too," he said without hesitating.

That was it. That was the only thing to it.

I removed all rumors I read from the website. That was not something I would want to talk about at this moment.

Even though I couldn't get my happily ever after yet, I was going to make my last few days in NJ worth it.