"Christmas break has arrived and we're stuck here," Elliot sighed. "I wish Uncle Jon didn't live so close to the school."

"Well, I choose to stay here because of my friends and how idyllic this school is in the wintertime. If the option is presented, then I shall take it. And, of course, Mr. Greggs is always quite busy and I would hate to disturb him," Rosa replied.

"And by your friends, I'm sure you mean the Lanka twins."

"Well, yes...indeed," Rosa admitted. "They are indeed my friends, and as Mr. Criss is their guardian they cannot leave. It is somewhat of a blessing that they are allowed to stay over Christmas break, I believe."

"Such a blessing that my uncle decided that he was going to have to invite them to his Christmas Eve dinner party."

"Oh?"

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you," Elliot sighed. "Uncle Jon is inviting you and Mr. Criss and the Lankas over for Christmas Eve dinner. I don't know why he's so obsessed with the idea, but he's insisted..."

Rosa blinked several times as she processed this news.

"But why would he have any desire to invite me? Mr. Criss I can gather, and then the Lankas out of courtesy-"

"Rosa, he still thinks we're dating."

"Oh, yes. Of course," Rosa said. "Well, I suppose...I suppose I will be delighted to come."

"You sound thrilled," Elliot sighed. "Are you sure we're going to be able to pretend we're dating? It would probably just be easier to just let people know, even if people aren't happy about it-"

"No, no," Rosa immediately replied. "Trust me. We shall make it past the holiday season acting as if we are still dating, and then we can let people know. No one will accuse of spoiling the season after the season has ceased, yes?"

"I guess not. But why are people so invested in our relationship to begin with?" Elliot asked. "Like, what does anyone hope to gain about knowing about us?"

"Cloisterham royalty, remember? We petitioned to change the mascot of Cloisterham from ings to the gender neutral royalty, and then we were voted to be cutest couple and therefore official Cloisterham royalty...and from that point onwards everyone has been fascinated by the two of us."

"And I guess they're going to be fascinated by us until after winter break."

"Well, they will desire to know how we broke up...but never mind that. It doesn't feel as if Christmas should be coming upon us so soon," Rosa sighed. "It...it doesn't feel quite right."

"Whatever you say, Rosa," Elliot said, releasing a similar sigh in response. In that moment, they felt as if they were meant to carry on the conversation. Instead, however, it died where it stood.

- - - - -

Covered in a chilling mist, Christmas Eve slowly crept upon Cloisterham Academy and the surrounding areas. Along with it came something rather unusual - in the afternoon, nearly black clouds appeared in the sky and the air began to quiver with the promise of a downpour.

However, the heavens didn't choose to let the rain fall down until Rosa and Elliot decided they could make the rather short walk from Cloisterham to Jon Jasper's house.

"Oh, god," Rosa exclaimed. "There is not the faintest possibility to avoid a raging storm tonight. You'd think that perhaps the universe would make the wiser decision not to cause a storm on Christmas Eve, but I suppose the universe doesn't have much sense to begin with."

"You have that much right. It feels awful out here without a coat," Elliot said, letting out a sigh and crossing their arms across their chest. Even in their few minutes out they had already gotten themselves drenched and there was no point in returning for an umbrella or trying to run through the rain to avoid any more rain saturating them. Instead, the two took a leisurely walk even with thunder crackling overhead.

For the most part, conversation did not pop up amongst them. Aside from the storm, they didn't see anything to talk about. Well, at least, Elliot couldn't think of anything in particular to talk about.

"Remember, Elly-"

"I know," they interrupted. "I know I'm not supposed to talk to anyone about our break up."

"It shall wait until the holiday season has passed by and the glow of Christmas lights burning within everyone's gaze ends up fading out. It is not as if much has changed, really - we are just no longer together in such a relationship."

"Don't you think someone will be able to tell?"

"No," Rosa said. "I know that very little has been altered between us, and therefore no one would pick up what we are doing. I hope it will not be too much of a shock when we do reveal it, however..."

"I really do think that my uncle will be disappointed when he findss that it's all over," Elliot sighed. "He'll think that it means we hate each other or something, and then you won't be around any more. He likes you a lot, you know."

"Oh, I'm aware," Rosa said. "But if you were to explain to him the manner in which we...well, now is not the time to begin contemplating what you shall say to your uncle! He shall not know for many more days. It does not concern him."

"Well, I am his nibling. And you are his student. I mean, it doesn't concern him personally, but it also doesn't include pretty much anyone else. You're still worried about them. I bet you're worried about the Lankas."

"I see no reason to worry about how Helena or Neville will react to our announcement," Rosa replied. "I am sure they will be supportive and will see where it comes from. It is the rest of the school I worry about."

"But you're still thinking about them. Rosa, why did you think it's a good idea to have those two come along?"

"They have become friends of mine in a rapid manner. Besides, your uncle wished to have more people along and it was only natural to invite Mr. Criss. As Mr. Criss is in charge of Neville and Helena, one may understand why they would come along. There's nothing for them to spoil even if they were to spoil something."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Rosa."

"Then perhaps we should not carry on this element of conversation any further," Rosa snapped.

Maybe if she was anywhere but in a freezing downpour she would've been better able to control her emotions. However, for the moment she would be boiling over on the inside while her outsides threatened to turn to ice. Nevertheless, she remained silent until they arrived at Mr. Jasper's front door.

One wouldn't expect a sulking and soaking wet girl to look charming, but somehow Rosa managed to look so. At least, that's how she appeared within Neville's eyes as he opened the door to let her in - but he typically found himself entranced by Rosa regardless of how she looked or acted, whether that was a good thing or not.

"Rosa," he said, greeting and ushering her into the house. "You must be freezing to death. You should probably take off your wet jacket and scarf and such so you don't end up with hypothermia..."

"I suppose I shall," Rosa sighed, removing her drenched coat. "Elly decided that we didn't need umbrellas nor would they need a coat before we left due to the relatively miniscule distance between Cloisterham and this house, and now look where we are."

"Ah, it's great to finally be indoors with heat and without rain," Elliot explained, pushing past Rosa at the door to enter their uncle's house. "I swear, I don't know how we even survived just walking that far."

"Perhaps we should not walk home, then," Rosa said.

"I'm sure my uncle can give us a ride."

"Oh, no!" Rosa cried out. Upon realizing how strange this outburst seemed, she decided that she would have to find a way to justify her words.

"Oh, no - I would hate to cause Mr. Jasper such extra work in this weather when he is already at his house. We can fetch a ride with Mr. Criss and the Lankas."

"Oh, yes, spend more time with all of them," Elliot said, either forgetting that they were standing right before one of the Lankas or perhaps not caring that their words were heard.

"Elly," Rosa said, a slight flush appearing across her cheeks as she wished she could apologize for Elliot's behavior. "Neville, would you mind helping us to get back to Cloisterham upon completing our dinner here? I mean, I suppose you will have to ask Mr. Criss, but..."

"I'll ask him as soon as I can," Neville agreed. "I would hate to see you freeze in the rain."

"Thank you."

"Of course, Rosa," Neville said, his voice coming out softly whether he realized it or not.

"Now!" Elliot exclaimed, doing their best to break through the moment. "We have to actually head into the house! Hopefully Uncle Jon's got the fireplace on so we can dry off together, Rosa. You know, prevent us from getting hypothermia."

"Yes, Neville was just saying so," Rosa said. "I suppose we can head on, yes..."

As she followed Elliot further into the house, Neville stuck behind for a brief moment, still holding Rosa's water-saturated coat within his arms.

"Thank you," she mouthed over to him, though she'd said it several times before. At least for the moment, he was the only one around deserving of a sincere thank you.

- - - - -

Rosa's eyes kept flitting towards the window as rain continued to pound against every surface it could find. She tried to distance herself from whatever conversation was going on just to stare out the window, a blank expression across her face. The only sign of emotion upon her face was the slight drop at the edges of her lips and the concern glimmering within her irises.

She couldn't focus on dinner. She'd barely pecked at any of her food, which was something no one wanted to comment on but just about everyone at the table noticed.

"Rosa," Neville murmured, reaching her arm in hopes he could bring her back to the dinner table. "Is something wrong?"

"I...I suppose not," Rosa replied, blinking several times as she turned back to face him. "I suppose...I suppose there is nothing wrong. I do apologize if I have worried you meaninglessly. I...I find it rather strange to think that such a vicious storm has appeared on  Christmas Eve of all nights. It...it brings a sting into the air, I feel..."

"I don't like the idea of the storm either," Neville said, unsure of how he was meant to reply to the rest of her words.

"It's not the simple idea of the storm, it's just...oh, I do not know how it can be explained, articulated...never mind it," Rosa said, unable to resist glancing back out the window once again.

"Rosa, why do you keep looking out the window like you're waiting for someone out there? You aren't, are you?" Elliot asked. "It's not like you've invited Tartar to this Christmas dinner without telling us, have you?"

A flush, rosy as her name, appeared across Rosa's cheeks.

"No, of course not. I would not dare invite anyone, even Tartar, without speaking of it beforehand. I simply feel an urge to look out the window. You would agree that this storm is...well, it is rather odd, is it not?"

"It is," Elliot said. "But that doesn't mean you should spend your whole time here just looking out the window."

"I apologize," Rosa said. "I just...never mind."

The tragedy of this particular dinner table was that every conversation was strained for one reason or another. Perhaps it was because many of the people were not compatible with one another. Perhaps it was because those who could speak to one another felt as if they could not speak freely.

What this meant was that after Rosa found herself becoming silent, everyone else fell silent as well. No one even dared to eat, should the forks clank or the sound of chewing end up causing somewhat of an uproar about the room. It wasn't until Elliot suddenly spoke up that everyone felt they could even breathe.

"Uncle Jon. I want to talk to you for a minute. In private. Just for a minute."

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you in private," Elliot replied. Unable to find any way to fight against this, Jon stood up from his chair to go off with his nibling, unsure of what he would end up speaking about. Every set of eyes followed them off. That is, all eyes except Rosa's, who instead turned to stare out the window once again.

"Are you sure there's nothing bothering you, Rosa?" Helena asked, as soon as uncle and nibling were gone.

"Oh, do not fret over it," Rosa said, her profile dimly illuminated by the little light which came from outside even during the storm. "Do not worry over my current state."

Helena, of course, knew that there was more than enough reason to worry over Rosa. She ended up speaking to Rosa in a near whisper, hoping that no one around would end up letting their curiosity take control as the two tried to have a near private conversation at an all too public dinner table.

"Rosa, there's something more bothering you than what you're saying."

"I do not believe I can explain what I feel," Rosa said, a pout falling upon her lips once again. "I only know that I...I have experienced this feeling before. It is familiar, as if I have felt such a pit in my stomach before, but only in a dream...oh!"

"What is it?"

"I have felt it in a dream. A premonition. Oh, Helena, what am I to do? I have frightened myself on Christmas Eve!

Rosa and Helena were not the only ones around the household that wished to have a sort of private conversation. As the two girls spoke to one another in a near whisper while Mr. Criss and Neville attempted to create some sort of discussion so that things would not be silent, a man and his nibling disappeared into another room.

"Things with me have been kind of...I don't know...weird between Rosa and I lately," Elliot began with a sigh. "I just wanted to talk to you about it, now that we have this moment, and it's the day before Christmas and all..."

"Well...um...what are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do," Elliot repeated after their uncle, taking a moment. "What am I going to do? I don't know at the moment, and I guess I was hoping that you might be able to help you out..."

"Does it look like I've been successful in love?" Jon asked. It was meant to be a joke of sorts, but it ended up striking the air and hanging there, leaving an awkwardness to the air.

"Well, you are older than me, at the very least...I have to do something, right? There has to be something I can do about this."

"You don't have to do anything, not if you don't know what to do yet..."

"No, no...I need to do something about this. Maybe not today. Maybe tomorrow. Christmas Day," Elliot said. "I don't know how she'll react. You always think you can predict what Rosa will do until she does something totally different. But I know she cares about me...I have to tell her something."

"Well, Elliot, you know that she might not return the feelings," Jon said. "You know that if that's the case, it'll ruin your Christmas Day and many days after that. I don't want that for you."

Elliot considered this for a moment before continuing.

"Uncle Jon. Even if she doesn't...even if she doesn't feel that way, I have a good feeling she might grow to feel that way. I don't know. I feel like...I feel like this will work out, one way or another. I have a good feeling about it. I can start treating her better and...it can work."

Jon wanted to protest, even though he knew there was no way he could change his nibling's mind. Elliot had already decided what they wanted to do, already decided how they felt about that girl. Rosa, Rosa Burgos. Elliot would never know that they were far from the only one with feelings about Rosa. They would never know that their very own uncle knew that he had far more passion for that girl. And yet there was nothing Jon could do except watch and hope. He hoped that it would fall apart.

Did it make him a horrid person to hope that Rosa would deny Elliot's feelings? Jon did not know, and somehow he felt as if he should not care. He only hoped that it would work out in his favor. He could wait and pray for Christmas Day.

Or he could do something about it that night.

"I'm going back to the dinner table now. I guess I'll just...I don't know. I'll talk to her tomorrow, give her a gift, see what we can make out of this."

"Well, I wish you good luck," Jon sighed. "Let's go back to the table, now."

But as Jon and Elliot returned to the table, they found that their guests were preparing to leave. Rosa had already wrapped herself up in her coat, despite the fact it was still saturated with winter rain from when she had been outside earlier. The others were getting out of their seats, apparently deciding to follow after Rosa's lead.

"What's going on?" Elliot asked.

"I know it seems rather early, but this storm is so vicious," Rosa said. "And, I must say, I feel rather...worried about tomorrow. It is Christmas, indeed, so such thoughts may make me seem somewhat of a blaspheme..."

"You're not the only one, Rosa," Neville replied, his voice low.

"We should probably head out now if we want to get back to Cloisterham before the storm gets too bad," Helena said, trying to make the situation seem far less uncomfortable.

"It seems unlikely the storm can get much worse than this, but we do not wish to risk such a thing. We have already intruded on Mr. Jasper's household enough, it would be dreadful to be stuck here...well. Better be on our way!"

Rosa started leading the way to rush out of the house, hoping that others would follow her, but it soon became apparent that things would not be so simple.

"You're not intruders, you're my guests," Jon replied. "And if you feel it is best for you to go then I won't stop you, but I-"

"Elly, you are coming with us?" Rosa interrupted, rocking on her heels. She made eye contact with Elliot while she held out her hand. She did her best to silently remind them that they were still pretending to be an adoring couple.

"Yeah, I am," Elliot said. "I might want to talk to you a little anyway..."

"Then I suppose we shall be off now. Neville, do you know where my scarf is?" Rosa asked, wringing her hands.

"No, Rosa," Neville said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I would help you find it, but..."

"Do not fret," Rosa replied. "Do not worry about it - I will return to Cloisterham without it. I suppose I can always purchase another scarf...that one would be saturated with water regardless, not unlike my coat."

She started leading the way out once again, but Elliot ended up heaving a sigh instead of starting to follow her lead. They had forgotten their coat earlier, and that meant they had no coat at the current moment. It would be hellish to head out into the storm in such a state.

Jon noticed his nibling's plight almost instantly - he quickly moved to the closet to find his own coat to give. Rosa bit her lip and began to pluck at her soaking coat, waiting impatiently for this act of kindness to pass.

"Take my coat, Elliot," Jon said. "I know you can bring it back to me some other time - and you need something dry to keep you warm. Goodbye, then."

"Goodbye, Uncle Jon," Elliot responded with a smile, slipping on the coat. With that, they turned and began making their way towards the front of the house, officially usurping Rosa's position as the leader of the group that was leaving. Mr. Criss and the Lanka twins said their thanks and goodbyes while passing by Mr. Jasper, but Rosa kept her head down as the last out.

This behavior did not go unnoticed by Mr. Jasper, but he knew better than to point it out. However, he also knew that he had things to say to Rosa that he had yet to articulate. She was already moving, already walking out of the door and into the storm. All he could do was stand there and watch as she escaped him and he couldn't think of something to do.

But he needed to do something. That much was certain to him, if nothing else was. She wasn't gone yet, even if she was close to being so. He rushed towards the door, which had been delicately closed by his retreating guests. He swung it open to find that no one has made it to Mr. Criss's car quite yet, including Rosa. He needed to speak to her.

"Rosa," Jon began to call out. She did not react at first, so he called out again. She turned around for just a brief moment, her face twisted in confusion. Before he could capture her full attention, she rushed off into the night.

But she did not make a motion as if she would return. No, she was running away to disappear into the wind and rain. She would fade away as she always did within his dreams with nothing more than a glance to show that she even acknowledged his existence. Now that she had made up her mind, there was nothing left to do.

The storm was very violent - he shouldn't have allowed them to head off. Even if he did not care much for the Lankas, at the very least he did not wish to see them perish in the rushing winds and the torrential downpour from above.

And he also allowed his nibling out there. Elliot was stuck out there in the tempest, where one could barely see a few feet in front of them. It was not a safe thing to do. The only small bit of comfort Jon could give himself was that Elliot was wearing his own good coat - it would not prevent the storm from pouring down on them, but at least it would provide some amount of protection.

No one ever considered that there might be a storm on Christmas Eve. It was such an odd occurrence, one out of the ordinary enough to put Rosa on edge. (But, of course, it was not very difficult to put Rosa on edge for one thing or another.) The storm would continue to beat down. There was nothing more to be done, nothing more but hope.