Song: Bloodstream by Ed Sheeran

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I don't care how old you are, but you love waking up on Christmas morning. You feel like a little kid again, just waiting for your parents to wake up so you could open presents. I'll probably feel like that even when I'm eighty years old. I'm just a huge fan of Christmas, I guess.

Just as I walked out of my bathroom after washing my face and brushing my teeth, my mom was waiting for me. She had a huge smile on her face and it made me smile too. "Merry Christmas, honey." She walked up to me and gave me a quick hug.

"You too, Mom." I hugged her back for a moment.

When we pulled apart, she still had a smile on her face. "Look out your window."

"Uh, why?" I asked.

"Just do it, Lucy." She started to push me to the other side of my room where my window overlooked the backyard.

"What could possibly be in the backyard?" I questioned, but still padded across my floor to the window.

As I pulled back my curtain, I was greeted with the sight of white.

Snow.

It was a thick blanket on the ground of our backyard. And I scanned the area surrounding us, only to notice it was only in our backyard. It was beautiful, but I was too confused to even process everything. "Um, how exactly did this happen? Did you and dad do this?"

Mom shook her head. "It was a good idea though. Go outside."

I didn't bother changing out of my pajama shorts and tank top before running downstairs. The excitement was overwhelming. My bare feet met the pavement of our sidewalk and then into the grass where I started to run towards our backyard. A sudden chill seeped into my spine, but I was too excited to notice it. I stood at the edge of the snow, in the small line of grass, and searched for the only person that would've done this.

Benji appeared on the other side of the yard, slipping from behind a tree he was hiding behind. He smiled at me and my heart fluttered in my chest. "How—I don't—I can't believe you did this."

"It's not exactly picture perfect," He said and walked up to me slowly. "But I had to. Just to see that smile on your face."

He didn't even make it to me before I ran and jumped in his arms, wrapping my legs around his hips. "It's perfect." I gripped his face and kissed him. "I still can't believe you did this."

His arm went around my waist to hold me steady. "It was worth it. Seeing your reaction was definitely worth it."

I smiled and kissed him again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"You're welcome." He pressed another long kiss to my lips.

I dropped back down to my feet. "This is probably the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. And the fact that it was your idea makes it even more special. How'd you do it?"

"My dad rented a couple of snow machines for the resort, some sort of kids party I think." He waved a hand to dismiss it. "He can't return them until after New Year's so I borrowed them. It took awhile to get this much, but like I said, for you it's worth it."

I didn't want to cry, but it was hard. "How long have you been here?"

"Four hours give or take. But your mom was really nice. She brought me coffee and even made me breakfast."

"You're joking, right?"

He shook his head. "Your mom's actually pretty great."

I had to be dreaming. "Pinch me."

Benji laughed. "What?"

I held my arm out to him. "Pinch me. I have to know this is real."

Instead, he cupped my face and kissed me softly. "Real enough now?"

With my eyes still shut, I shook my head. "Nope, still think I'm dreaming."

Benji kissed me again, but gently bit down on my lower lip. "What about now?" His whisper touched my lips.

When I opened my eyes, I was met with Benji's gaze. "This is real," I blurted. "All of this is actually happening."

"Is that hard to believe?" He asked.

"Sort of," I answered. "It just feels like it's all too good to be true. Like I'm going to wake up any moment and you won't be here." I didn't mean to say that, but my brain is finicky and has no control.

"I'm here," He said and secured an arm around my waist to pull me closer. "And so are you. This is the best form of any reality. You're definitely not dreaming, even though I've asked myself that a couple of times too."

I lifted a hand to his cheek, pressing my fingertips lightly against his skin. "You're here," I said softly.

Benji grasped my hand that rested on his cheek and pressed his lips against my palm. "I'm here." He left a small kiss and then wrapped his fingers around my own. "Go get dressed and come back outside." His lips curved into a smile.

I nodded. "I'll be back."

My mom was waiting by the front door when I came inside, that giant smile still crossing her lips. "What'd you think?" She asked.

"It's amazing," I answered. "He told me you kept him company. Thank you."

"I told you I was going to try and this is trying."

"Trying and succeeding." I laughed lightly. "Benji...he means a lot to me and so do you. Seeing this happen is probably the greatest present you could've given me. So again, thank you."

She gently touched my arm. "I want you to be happy, Lucy."

"I'm happy, Mom. I'd love to continue this, but I have to go get dressed. Benji is waiting."

"Of course. I'll make you breakfast when you come in."

I hugged her quickly before running upstairs to my room. Rummaging through my closet I found a pair of black jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. After I got dressed, I walked into my bathroom to put my hair up and then proceeded to find my boots that also happened to be in my closet. I laced them up nice and tight and rose off my bed.

Benji was waiting outside the door for me when I opened it. "I have something for you in my truck," He said and took my hand.

I let him lead me to his truck that's now parked in our driveway and we stopped on the driver's side. He opened the door and retrieved something from the passenger seat and he handed it to me. "So your hands don't get cold." He smiled.

It was a pair of fluffy white gloves. I let out a small laugh and looked up at him. "I love them, thank you."

He took one of the gloves and slipped it on one of my hands. "I'll show you how to make the perfect snowball."

"Just so I can throw it at you?"

"I give you one free pass to throw it at me, but stay clear of my face. I need that to stay pretty." He slipped the other glove on my hand and I flexed my fingers.

"I don't need you to go easy on me. I can hold my own."

Benji raised a brow and took my gloved hand into his. "Then show me what you got."

We walked around the house to the backyard again and the first thing I did was step in the snow. The slight crunch under my boots was oddly satisfying. Benji stood beside me and leaned down to grab a handful of snow. He cupped it in his hands a few times to form a snowball.

He started to hand it to me and when I reached for it, he pulled back. "Give me at least five seconds before you take aim."

I nodded and he handed it to me.

He walked backwards and I counted to five.

As soon as I hit five, I threw the snowball, aiming for anything but his face. What I didn't expect was it to hit him in the groin. My hands flew to my mouth and he only bent slightly, putting a hand over the spot I hit and giving me a thumbs up.

"I'm sorry!" I called out.

"I'm good!" He replied and straightened a bit. "That definitely didn't feel good. I guess I should've told you to aim for my face instead."

I cupped my mouth again to keep from laughing.

Benji bent down and started to collect more snow. "You're going to be paying for that by the way."

I mocked his actions and gathered a handful of snow. But before I could form the ball, I felt the pressure of Benji's snowball hit my shoulder. I couldn't hold in my laughter anymore and I stood up straight, narrowing in on Benji. But I didn't throw it yet. Instead, I stalked closer to him. He was backing away and then tripped, falling back on his butt. He didn't get up in time and I threw the ball. It landed on his shoulder, breaking apart at the contact.

Benji chuckled and leaned forward to collect snow while on his knees.

"Look, we're the same height now," I joked and bent down to make another snowball.

He laughed again and threw the ball in his hand.

I dodged it quickly with a slight lean to my body.

Then Benji stood again with more snow and I took off running. There weren't too many places to hide but behind one tree. Benji was behind me, I could hear his booted steps and crunching of snow. I rounded the tree and raced back to the center of the thick cold, white blanket and tried to make a snowball. Benji's made contact just before I could stand.

I tried to scramble to my feet to ready my blow, but I made the mistake Benji did and fell flat on my butt. My chest heaved with gasped breaths and I fell on my back. And then Benji's face appeared above me. "How's your butt?" He asked with a teasing grin.

"Cold." I breathed a laugh, but didn't move.

Benji dropped down beside me and rested on his back. "It's like laying on a bed of ice cubes."

"And I still can't find the will to move."

Benji took my gloved hand beside him and removed it. His fingers slipped through mine and he squeezed my fingers. "It never feels like Christmas in Florida, but today is does. Who knew snow could do that."

"True," I murmured and turned my head to face him. "So far today has been really special."

He turned his head too, a small smile on his lips. "Good. That's what I was going for. But if I recall, you said you'd cry if you woke up to snow on Christmas morning. Where are my tears?"

"I can fake cry for you." I grinned.

"No, I don't want to see you cry." He laughed. "Your smile is better."

I closed the space between us and met his lips with my own. "Let's go inside for a bit."

Benji kissed me once more and stood up. He lifted me up and handed me my glove back. I took the other one off to go with it. "Can you brush the snow off my back?" I asked, turning my back to him.

His hands moved over my back swiftly, knocking off any snow that was stuck to my shirt. I could still feel a slight chill from it and I shivered. He trailed down my back, stopping at my butt. But he was taking his sweet time brushing the snow from my ass. "My dad could be watching," I warned jokingly.

I heard him laugh. "Maybe I'm just admiring the view."

"You can admire it when my parent's aren't potentially watching."

Benji laughed again and stepped around to stand in front of me. "Fine." He sighed dramatically.

I playfully pushed him and started my journey back around the house. We walked inside, but before we walked any further, we removed our shoes. My mom would kill us both if we tracked anything on her clean floors. Benji stayed close behind as we ventured into the kitchen. Mom and Dad both were sitting at the kitchen table, my dad was on his computer and my mom held a book. "Where's Jason?" I asked first.

They both looked up, but Dad answered, "Emily's."

I shrugged and walked over to him. "Merry Christmas, Dad." Then I kissed his cheek.

He smiled at me. "Merry Christmas."

Benji appeared beside me and Dad's focus moved to him. "Merry Christmas, Sir." He offered my dad his hand.

Dad shook Benji's hand and smiled. "You too, Benji. Are you staying for dinner?"

Benji glanced at me and back to my parent's. "Um, sure. I have to leave for a few hours, but I can definitely try to come back."

"That would be great," Dad said. "There's plenty of room."

"Thank you for inviting me." Benji smiled.

My mom smiled too.

It was like stepping in another dimension. "We're going to hang out in my room before he leaves," I told them and then directly at my mom, "The door will be open, don't worry."

I dragged Benji away before he could be dragged into an awkward conversation. If you talk to my dad long enough, it will be. My dad is the one that likes to bring out old pictures and break out into embarrassing childhood stories.

We ran upstairs and into the comfort of my room.

"I was holding my own," Benji said and settled his hands on his hips.

I nodded and dropped down on the edge of my bed. "Yes, you were. But if we were there five minutes longer, my dad would've brought out the baby pictures."

"Oh, come on, Lucy. Now I'm missing out."

"Come here." I inclined my arm and gripped his shirt to pull him closer.

"So needy," He exaggerated and came forward.

With another small tug on his shirt, I brought him down to my lips. He braced his hands beside me and broke apart from me. He sucked in a breath and bumped his nose against mine. "This isn't a good idea," He whispered.

My lips tilted. "Why? The door's opened."

"Exactly." He kissed me again. "They could easily walk by."

"They won't," I assured and let my hand drift to the nape of his neck. With the curl of my fingers, Benji's hair was contained in my fist. I kissed his bottom lip and dragged my lips across his jaw.

Benji sighed and shifted his head to meet my lips again. "I have to go to parent's," He said against my lips and then kissed me again. "But I'll be back before you guys have dinner."

I let my eyes open and I met his. "I understand."

It's Sammy's birthday and also the two-year mark of his passing. I didn't want to bring it up because I knew it would upset Benji. "I'm okay," He said softly.

"I know," I replied. "You know I worry."

He smiled. "I know and that's why I told you I'm okay. You don't have to worry, Lucy, I'm fine. Being with you this morning has made it easier."

I released one of my hands from his hair and trailed the tips over the line of his jaw, swiftly moving to touch his lips. "I love your smile."

He kissed my fingertips and then his smile broadened. "It's kind of hard not to smile around you."

I blushed and let out a shy laugh. "This is why you're my favorite."

"I better be." He kissed me once more and slowly removed himself.

I sat up with a sigh and looked up at him. "I can't thank you enough for what you did for me today."

"You're welcome." He nudged the underside of my chin with his pointer and grinned. "I'll be back later."

* * *

My mom stayed in a good mood all day.

After Benji left, we opened presents and then she made breakfast. I sat by my bedroom window afterwards, just watching the snow on the ground. It was slowly dwindling, but it was still beautiful.

Through the day, my mom wasn't lingering like she usually did. She left me alone to do whatever I wanted around the house. Usually, during break, she'd find some kind of homework for me to do. But instead, I got to read whatever I wanted and stay in bed all day. She did check on me a few times to make sure everything was going all right.

Despite my situation with Zoe, I'm happy and I didn't feel guilty about it. It literally felt like a weight off my chest. Everything somehow started to work in my favor. After things are patched up with my mom, I'm going to work on my relationship with Zoe. It's important that we make amends too.

Around time for dinner, I finally left my room to find my mom in the kitchen. She was cooking and whatever it was, it smelled amazing. "Is Stacy coming?" I asked.

"Yeah, she should be here soon. I guess Jason's staying at Emily's again." She shrugged. "I don't understand why they don't just move in together already."

I snorted. "That's a good question. They really should."

She shrugged a shoulder again and went back to cooking.

"Do you need any help?" I offered.

"Uh, yeah," She said and stepped away from the stove. "You can set the table. Dinner should be done about twenty minutes."

I did as she said and grabbed plates for the table. Once I finished setting the table, I went back to the kitchen and lingered close to her, trying to keep up conversation. "Can I ask about Zoe?"

"Of course," She said. "We went back the next day and she wasn't really in the mood to see any of us. That's about it, Lucy."

"She didn't say anything about me?"

"No," She replied sadly. "I'm sorry, I really am, Lucy."

I nodded. "I know."

The doorbell rang and I said I'd get it. Dad was sitting in the living room with the news on and a book in his hands. He didn't even flinch. Walking towards the door, I felt my heart pick up a little. Even though I just saw Benji a few hours ago, I still get the same feeling in my chest like the moment I saw him on stage. So when I opened the door, seeing Benji made my heart stutter. "I almost thought you weren't coming back," I teased and let him in.

"I'm only here for the food." He grinned.

"And for a moment I thought you actually liked me." I slid my arms around his waist and hugged myself to his torso.

Benji kept his grin as he cupped my face and kissed me quickly. "Does that answer your question?"

"No, I need more convincing."

But before he could kiss me again, I heard my mom clear her throat behind me. Well...

"Dinner's ready," she said.

Benji turned around to face her and he smiled. We followed her into the dining room and sat down. Dad sat at the head of the table and mom was next to him. I sat on my dad's other side and Benji sat beside me. Stacy was supposed to be here, but I guess she changed her mind.

As we started eating, I slipped a hand on Benji's leg. More to comfort myself than anything, because I was still nervous.

"How'd you two meet anyway?" My dad asked.

Mom knew, but I'm guessing she never told him. Just like Dad never told Mom about meeting Benji at the bakery that day. "Um, it's a funny story actually." I laughed nervously and glanced at Benji.

Benji's hand found mine and he wrapped his fingers around my own.

"It was my birthday," I said. "He's in one of the bands that played at Bombshell's."

"That place I picked you up from?"

"Uh, yeah. That would be the place."

"That was a night." He sighed. "So you're in a band, Benji?"

"Yes, sir," Benji answered politely.

Dad smiled. "What kind of music do you play?"

"Punk is the best way I can describe it." Benji laughed.

I watched my dad nod. "Interesting."

My dad went on to ask more about Benji's band and his music. I was grateful because music is Benji's element. I'm sure he could easily talk about music for hours. "There's actually a song I just finished today," Benji said and glanced at me.

"You finished it?" I asked with a smile.

"I did." He looked at me again and back to my parents. "Would it be possible if Lucy could come to my apartment so I could show it to her?"

My mom looked terrified. "Um, I don't think that's a good idea."

"We wouldn't be alone," Benji clarified quickly. "My parents will be there and my three other band mates who live there. I'll bring her home."

My cheeks were burning. I'm surprised Benji was bold enough to even ask my mom that question.

Dad placed a hand over hers. "I don't see a problem with that, Benji." Then Dad looked to Mom. "Do you, honey?"

Mom looked at Dad and then to me and Benji. "I guess that's okay."

"Have her home by eleven," Dad said.

My mom looked like she was about to burst, but she nodded and smiled. It was a forced smile, but this is her trying.

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I love writing this book so much hahaha. I already have the next chapter written (I wrote it awhile ago to be honest, before these last two chapters lol) And I love it so much. And I'm getting so excited for Tyler's story too. I have the synopsis and the cover already. :) (If you're interested in reading the synopsis, send me a message!)

PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT AND I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER!!! <3