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  Brian's eyes went wide. "If you don't mind, I don't feel like I'm obligated to get him anything. Not after what he just did. Are you just going to forget that quickly?"

  "It's Christmas. He's made it clear that he doesn't want me around, and I think I'm finally ready to accept that. I've always trusted him before, why should I stop now? I don't need to know why."

  'If only you knew why he did it. I don't know who you would get angrier at, me, Brian, or Corey. Or all three of us, probably. We're all idiots.'

  "I'm starved, Brian. I'm just going to go to that kiosk to order Brian's gift, then we're going to eat. I'll meet up with you at the food court," she said, practically skipping to the Christmas songs playing on the speakers.

  On the way to the food court, Lee stopped, tugging on Brian's jacket. "Brian, dude, is that who I think it is?"

  Brian turned around just in time to see Brian and Corey run past them. Brian was laughing too hard to notice them, but Corey made momentary eye contact with Brian as he dashed past them. "Lee, don't tell Christine. We just have to hope that we don't bump into each other."

  "Whatever. I don't want any drama either. The less time we spend here, the more we can spend playing games. I'm pretty sure that chick's cracked anyway."

  --

  "Damn it! How are you supposed to wrap a teddy bear, anyway?"

  "Not like that," Corey teased, earning a glare from Brian. "I'm just kidding, it looks fine. It's not like you're going to be there for them to judge your craftsmanship anyway. If everything goes your way, you might never even get a 'thank you.'"

  "I know that, but I still want everything to be perfect," Brian said, pulling out the cards to start writing.

  Dear Mom and Dad,

  Or should I call you Susan and Richard Mannus from now on? First of all, and most importantly, I wanted to preface everything I'm about to say with an apology. I am so sorry that I ultimately failed you as your son. I have no one to blame but myself for my actions. I did them all willingly, knowing how much pain and grief they would cause. I'm sorry for being a disappointment. I hope you can remember me the way I used to be.

  Don't worry about me. I'm happy, and healthy. I'm starting fresh. I don't know if it will ever happen, but I hope that one day, I can come back to you as a better person. You don't deserve anything less.

  Goodbye, and Merry Christmas.

  Brian

  He paused, fighting back tears. It was too late for tears. He couldn't look to the past anymore. He looked up fondly at Corey, who had both hands on his shoulders, and smiled, picking up the second card.

  Dear Christine,

  I've never deserved you, or your friendship. And lately, I've done nothing to show that I appreciated it. You're an amazing friend. Give that to someone who deserves it. You've got a gift; you can change lives.

  I'm sorry for hurting you. I know you want a reason why I'm doing all of this. I don't have a good one. Forget about me. That's probably the best gift I could ever get you.

  You're a true friend. I'm sorry I couldn't be one back.

  Brian

  "Are you sure you can do this?"

  Brian nodded, picking up the cards and the wrapped gifts, silently walking to his car. "Wish me luck…"

  --

  He breathed easier, seeing that his parents' cars weren't in the driveway. 'I guess I have to take advantage of this. Better hurry.'

  He fumbled with his keychain, hoping that he could do this quickly enough to avoid anyone seeing that he was home. He looked around, dropping the gifts off in the corner of the foyer before heading to his room.

  As he began the process of pulling his favorite clothes out of his closet, he noticed a football sitting on the floor. 'That would make a great keepsake for my parents.'

  Having finished with his closet, he started pulling open his drawers with reckless abandon, making a pile of the rest of his favorite belongings. He ran to his garage, looking for some garbage bags to hold everything in. 'Yes! Wrapping paper, awesome.'

  Brian found some tape in his parents' office, and did his best wrapping up the football. He put a label on it, and wrote, "To my parents: You deserve the game ball from the championship game more than I do."

  Satisfied with his handiwork, he placed the last gift with the rest of them, and lugged out the garbage bags full of his belongings, praying that the neighbors wouldn't get suspicious. He found a sheet of paper, and scrawled "I'm sorry that I'm not going to be spending Christmas at home this year. I'm going on a skiing trip to the Alps with Corey for the break. I'll be fine." He put this note on top of his gifts, and he left.

  Locking the door, he nodded to himself, taking a last look at his house. This was probably the last time he would ever visit, at least for a while.

  --

  Brian parked outside of the Mannus residence, and Christine got out, walking slowly to the door. She hasn't seen Brian's car here for almost a month, and she was too afraid to visit after Brian had started snubbing her.

  'That was stupid,' she thought, 'I should have visited so much sooner. Maybe they know some of what's going on.'

  She rang the doorbell, waiting for a moment before Mrs. Mannus answered it. Christine's sweet smile caught her off guard. It reminded her too much of how things used to be.

  "Christine, Brian, Lee, what a surprise… and coincidence, I suppose. Please, come in, we haven't seen any of you here since, well, you know."

  "I'm sorry for not visiting sooner. What do you mean by coincidence, though?"

  "It seems that Brian stopped by earlier today before I got home. I checked his room; he took most of his stuff. And he left those behind," she said grimly, gesturing towards the small stack of presents, cards, and the note.

  "Took his stuff? Where? I haven't seen his car around here lately. And I haven't spoken with him since his temporary disappearance. Do you know what's going on?" She said, mentally ignoring her memories of their confrontation that day.

  "I don't know everything. He hasn't spoken with us, either. Apparently, he's taken permanent residence in the Towers mansion, with Corey. Some of those gifts are for you all. You can read the note, too."

  Christine read the note, and passed it to Brian. "It's strange that he's ditching Abigail for this trip too. Wait, no, it's not strange at all. Looks like you didn't win after all, slut."

  He pretended to be surprised, having already heard about the trip idea from Corey himself. Over the month, he's called Corey regularly, to gauge the situation. He grimaced, looking at the quieted Christine. 'I can't bring myself to tell her everything I know.'

  Christine was deep in thought, before snapping her fingers, a fire in her eyes. "Mrs. Mannus, I have the best idea ever. Your household is going to be one short this Christmas, it'll be pretty lonely. Would it be alright if we had a Christmas party here then? It's been a while since the O'Haras, Holdens, Johnsons and Mannuses have been under the same roof. It'll be a blast!"

  "Christine, thank you for caring, and that's a gracious offer, but I couldn't ask for you three to pull your families away from whatever plans they already had."

  "Oh, it's no trouble at all, right guys?" She said, giving the boys a glare that clearly meant that they had no choice in the matter.

  "Uh huh," they both replied obligatorily. There was no surefire way to tell how stable Christine was right now.

  "Well, if you're sure, that sounds absolutely wonderful! I really appreciate this, you three. It was going to be so quiet here without Brian for Christmas. I have to call Richard, he'll be thrilled."

  --

  The rest of the week preceding Christmas went by quickly for everyone. Christine, having nothing better to do, actually accompanied Brian to watch over Lee at a large scale Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament He didn't win it all, but much to Christine's amazement, he placed high enough to win five-hundred dollars.

  "Lee, that's awesome. Remind me to never let you borrow money from me again. I didn't know you could get this much money from playing game
s!"

  "Pah, I didn't win. If you were really my friends, you'd help me practice."

  "You don't really mean that. You just want an excuse to wipe our asses out again," Brian replied pointedly.

  They all laughed. Life was good. Christmas shopping for all of their families was done, and Brian and Christine both managed to get off work for the break. Nothing but hanging out with friends and holiday spirit.

  Christmas Eve came and went, each of them spending the day with their respective families. As did Christmas morning. But once the presents had been opened, Brian left his house, according to plan. He was to pick up Lee and meet Christine at the Mannus household to help with decorating and preparations. The rest of their families were coming later that evening.

  By the time they showed up, the smells of food were permeating throughout the house. Christine rushed from the kitchen to greet them, immediately pointing them towards a stack of decorations to adorn the house with. There were streamers, fake snow, and a healthy dose of outdoor decorations to boot.

  "Plenty to keep you two busy. I'm helping the Mannus' cook for four families. You don't have to rush, there's a good amount of time."

  "Are you serious? All of this for a Christmas party? What do you want us to do with it all?" Brian said, not quite expecting to have to work this hard during his break.

  Christine's eyes grew narrow, her voice turning dark. "I want this to be perfect for the Mannuses. They practically lost their son; the least we can do to help is to make it a grand night. Get creative; finally put that head to good use."

  Not having much choice in the matter, the pair acquiesced, slaving away with decorations for the hours prior to their families' arrival. It was hard to frown for long though with Christmas music playing the background and your best friends there for a good cause. Everything was finished with plenty of time for the both of the Mannuses and Christine to shower and change.

  The party was perfect. Being surrounded by friendly people seemed to do the trick to put smiles on Brian's parents' faces. Christine met Brian's older brother, Caleb, who was home from college, and Lee's younger sister, Lisa, a precocious child who was as passionate about education as Lee was about video games. The parents joked and talked for a while, leaving the younger ones to talk and entertain Lisa's spurts of random trivia.

  All of the parents were told ahead of time that Brian wasn't going to be there, because of a skiing trip. Christine made sure to drill into Brian and Lee's heads to make sure that their families not bring up Brian that night in conversation. The wounds were still fresh; she didn't want Mrs. Mannus to break down on her.

  "Susan," Deborah O'Hara, Christine's mother, said, "where did all of these lovely decorations come from all of a sudden?"

  "Brian and Lee were nice enough to put them all up this morning and afternoon. Christine helped with a lot of the cooking too."

  "The food is fantastic, compliments to the chefs," George Holden, Brian's father, said, rubbing his stomach appreciatively. "It's so nice to not have to cook the Christmas dinner this time around. It's been a long time since all of us have been in one place. Speaking of which, Brian, what ever happened to that Towers boy? Corey? He used to come around each Christmas. That boy certainly had a stomach on him!"

  It took a while for Brian's father to notice the inquisitive faces on the Mannus' faces, the prying glare Christine was sending Brian's way, and the pleading look from Brian to shut up. He got the message, immediately changing the topic back to the meal.

  "Excuse us," Christine said curtly, getting up from her spot at the dining table, pulling Brian with her. "You dirty liar. I won't talk about this long, since it's Christmas, but you'd better spill. I knew that you knew something."

  "What about it? Corey used to come by each Christmas, since his parents were never home, and we let him in. We used to hang out way back when. No big deal. No one deserves to spend Christmas alone, you said so yourself," Brian replied, trying his best to not sound cornered and defensive. He kept his word for so long; he could still do it now.

  Christine accepted his answer, but she knew that he wasn't telling her everything. People deserved the benefit of the doubt on Christmas day, though. "Tell that to Brian's parents then, later. I'm assuming that they'll want to grill you too."

  "How was I supposed to know that Corey was a soft spot too? You never told us to tell our families not to bring him up too."

  "I didn't think I had to. I've never heard you even mention him. Apparently there's a lot I don't know about you," she said, walking back to the dining room, a fake bright smile plastered to her features.

  Lisa was getting a little bit tired before long. Lee's parents asked if they had a spare bedroom for her to sleep in while the festivities died down. Trying not to show any pain, Susan started to lead them to Brian's room.

  "Mrs. Mannus," Lisa said. "Why are there still presents under your tree?"

  "Most of them are for Brian for when he gets back," she replied, holding back tears. "The rest are from Brian to us and his friends."

  "You should open them now! Mommy, Daddy, can I stay up to see?"

  The Johnsons looked carefully towards the Mannuses for approval. Susan nodded to them, and headed back downstairs to announce that they were going to open Brian's gifts.

  Christine and Brian's parents opened up their cards first. Susan cracked first, her posture slumping, tears flowing freely. Richard and Christine hugged her until she regained control of herself. The rest of the guests looked towards them concerned, not really knowing what was going on, but moved by the amount of emotion nevertheless.

  Christine managed to not react too openly to her own card. She bit her lip, putting it back in its envelope and tucking it safely into her purse. There was plenty of time for tears later. Brian came up to her, giving her a meaningful hug before picking up his and Lee's present.

  Lee instinctively knew that the gift was a video game, and snatched it from Brian's hands, ripping open the wrapping paper. "YES!!"

  Brian looked over, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Lee, you idiot, you already have Grand Theft Auto 4. Why are you so excited?"

  "He included the return receipt! Free game!"

  Christine hugged her teddy bear close to her heart, and the Mannuses put the ball in a safe place, until they could go to the store to buy something to display it properly.

  "The rest of them are for Brian," Susan said. His card both tore a piece of her from the inside, and renewed her hope. Never in her life has she felt like so much of a failure to her son, but at least he was okay. Her smile crept back at that thought. "No more frowns. Let's get this party started!"

  --

  The party continued until well past midnight, each family leaving, hugging the Mannuses goodbye. Brian, Christine, and Lee were the last ones to leave, helping them clean up.

  "Thanks so much for thinking of this, and for helping us set up," Richard Mannus said, shaking their hands. "It means so much to my wife and I that even if Brian isn't here himself, he's at least here in spirit, through his friends."

  "Please, it was nothing," Christine said. "It was fun. We'll stop by to keep you company again soon!"

  As Brian and Lee joined her from the kitchen, Lee started to snicker.

  "What's up with you?" Brian asked.

  "Look up," he replied, backing up from them. They followed his eyes, and Christine started laughing. There was a small bough of mistletoe hanging from the doorway, directly above Brian and Christine's heads.

  Before Brian could say anything, she pulled him in for a quick kiss on the lips, before walking away, laughing. "Merry Christmas."

  Lee started to snicker again from the blush that was forming on Brian's face.

  "Shut up!"

  --

  Across the world, Brian and Corey were having the times of their lives. Each day thus far was spent skiing, seeing the sights, and spending time with each other.

  It was Christmas Eve. Corey had the employees of the lodge prepare
them a candlelit dinner, the food and drink painstakingly selected himself. He put in an instrumental Christmas album; the quiet holiday music, dim lighting, and the smells of food perfecting the atmosphere he sought to create.

  "You work too hard," Brian commented, mouth agape from his preparations.

  "It's a labor of love," Corey teased, pulling Brian seat out for him before seating himself across the small, circular table.

  Everything was perfect, just the way that Corey liked it. He started laughing though, watching Brian carefully take a first bite, before diving into the meal. "We have all the time in the world you know. Your plate won't disappear."

  "I can't help it, so good!" He said quickly, between forkfuls. He savored the wine that Corey ordered specifically though, indulging in its expensive taste.

  Before long, they finished their meals, losing their clothes as they made their way to the Jacuzzi outside of the room, bristling momentarily at the intense cold before entering the already prepared water. They remained there for a while, still fuzzy from the romantic atmosphere in their room, kissing each other softly, the touches still playful.

  Their kiss broke, giving them a chance to take in the breathtaking view. Even at night, the silhouettes of the mountains were majestic, the clear sky with more stars than either of them had ever seen before.

  "It's like we're not even on Earth anymore," Brian said, seating Corey on his lap, placing a head over his shoulder, both still gazing at the sky.

  "It's beautiful. But I wouldn't be enjoying this at all if you weren't here. All the mountains could crumble to dust, and the stars fade away, and I would still think that we were in the most beautiful place in the world. We're here, alone, and nothing can change that."

  They left the Jacuzzi not too long after that, hurrying inside to dry off and get warm again. They didn't bother to put clothes back on. They just sat by the fireplace, side by side, embracing each other by the waist, heads leaning against each other's, listening to the music, basking in each other's company. As the last minutes of Christmas Eve dwindled by, no words were said. They didn't share memories from past Christmases. All that mattered was them, and now.