A/N: This is a submission to 'Holiday One Shot/Short Story Contest' organised by talkthepoc. The prompt was to write a story an interracial friendship or love story set around the holiday time. Along with this prompt is merged another prompt, which was to write someone learning about/celebrating a new holiday, with a spin put on it.

I hope you enjoy this story! Thanks for reading! :D

It's The Spirit That Matters!

[Genre: General Fiction, ChickLit, Romance]

The last day of college before the commencement of winter break was spent being restless and impatient by most students and for Saisha, it was no different. She was drumming her fingers softly on the wooden desk in front of her as she stared at the balding man—who stood at the podium giving a lecture to uninterested students—with furrowed eyebrows. Her puckered lips would move to take a new shape every few seconds as she rolled her tongue inside her mouth, seemingly finding that to be the most interesting thing she could do in that moment.

Saisha's phone buzzed on the desk and she quickly grabbed it, making her fellow peers sitting beside her give her a glance, since they were equally as bored as her that a simple buzzing couldn't go unnoticed.

Wyatt turned back to look at his professor while watching from the corner of his eyes as Saisha—rather giddily—replied to whoever had texted her. The gleam in her eyes and her hidden smile told him that if she could, she might have just danced around the room because of her happiness. Despite himself, he felt slightly jealous of the girl in that moment.

In the three semesters that they have spent being friends, he came to know Saisha well enough to know that it wasn't a boy's text or an announcement for a sale that got her this excited. No, it was the fact that she would finally be going home that brought this smile to her face. And Wyatt was jealous of exactly that. The thought made Wyatt pull out his own cell phone and promptly go to the photos.

"Hey," Saisha whispered to him, elbowing his arm gently as she leaned over to glance at his phone—she was nosy like that, so Wyatt had learned. "What are you looking at while looking so forlorn?" she asked him, pulling at his hand so she could get a better view of his phone. She smiled once she did and took his phone from him, scrolling the screen to the right to see the next picture. "This looks beautiful!" she commented, making him smile at her.

"Yeah," Wyatt said softly, matching her low voice to not gain the professor's unwanted attention. "My sister sent me the pictures today. I wish I could be there with them to help with the decorations," he continued, looking down at the picture which was of the christmas tree his family had put up in their living room.

Saisha frowned as Wyatt took the phone from her, locked it and kept it back in his jacket pocket. "Aren't you going home this Christmas?" Wyatt only shook his head, scribbling mindless patterns on his notebook that Saisha knew was his cure for boredom, one that not always worked. "Why?" she asked again, turning in her seat to face him.

Wyatt looked at her, a small smile gracing his lips at the concern in her eyes—the same concern that she had shown for him back in the second semester. Wyatt was a foreign exchange student in India and adjusting here proved to be quite difficult for him, not that he hadn't expected it. Making friends wasn't the problem for him—hands were extended towards him in abundance—though, the eyes that followed his every step and the whispers that lingered in the air surrounding him were.

He had spent the first semester being friends with a couple of boys that turned out to be little scoundrels. Wyatt deemed it better to push them away, which in turn started rumours and at long last, Wyatt found himself sitting on the corner seat of the third row—alone—when the second semester began. That was until Saisha came to sit next to him one day and almost forced her friendship on him, not that he didn't want it anyway—he might have had a tiny crush on the girl.

"I've got to save money," Wyatt told her, shrugging his one shoulder as he turned back to his scribbling. He felt Saisha nod in understanding as she too turned to look at the professor, though the silence that ensued between them and her concentrated expression told him that she was busy with her own thoughts.

A few moments passed before Saisha turned to look at her friend again. "You wouldn't be celebrating Christmas this year, then?" she asked, though her words sounded more like a statement. She felt bad for Wyatt; he had told her so many of his Christmas stories back with his family that it was hard to miss how much he loved the holiday. Wyatt gave her a small rueful smile that dimmed the light in his striking blue eyes—at the sight of which Saisha found herself making an impulsive decision that she was sure she would regret later. "Come with me," she blurted before turning away from him, slightly embarrassed when the professor glared at her.

Wyatt was looking at her with wide eyes before he drew his attention back to his notebook after seeing the glare that the professor passed to Saisha. He licked his lips, waiting for the old man to resume his droning lecture again before turning his head towards Saisha. "What do you mean?" he asked her with furrowed eyebrows.

Saisha bit her lower lip as she up straighter in her seat. She was given a second chance to reconsider her invite, but she decided that she couldn't leave her friend alone in the university, even if it would be more awkward to take him to her home. She exhaled deeply, before glancing at him with a polite smile on her lips. "I meant, come to my home. You can celebrate Christmas with us."

Wyatt was pleasantly surprised by her words. Saisha—the girl who hardly ever talked about her family—was inviting him to her home, how could that not surprise—or even shock—him? He would have agreed in a heartbeat, had he not noticed the nervousness in her eyes and asked the question that escaped his lips without his permission. "You celebrate Christmas?"

Saisha's shoulders shook once with her silent laughter. She was expecting a taunting remark or a teasing comment from him—she knew how all her friends were curious about her family—but here he was, asking her a stupid question as that. She rolled her eyes at him and turned to the front to pretend that she was listening to the balding man who couldn't seem to shut up. "Yes, Wyatt, we do. Just because I am a Hindu, doesn't mean I don't celebrate Christmas. Yes, our way of celebrating the festivity is largely different from the traditional one, but hey, it's the spirit that matters, right?" she finished, giving him her brilliant smile. "So, want to join me?"

"I'd love to," Wyatt told her, smiling tenderly at her. He was really touched by her gesture and he appreciated it greatly; he didn't wish to spend his Christmas cooped up in his hostel room alone. "Thank you, Saisha, really!" he told her, earning a grin from her that made him grin right back.

After the class ended, Saisha's uneasiness returned as she grabbed her phone, intending to dial her mom. She needed to tell her mother that she would be bringing a boy with her. She didn't know how her mother would take it; she had never even mentioned being friends with any boy before to her family and now, she was bringing one home. God, she knew she was going to regret it.

"Hey, you okay?" Wyatt's soft words pulled her attention away from her phone's screen where her finger hovered over her mother's contact. She gave him a nod paired with a small—hopefully not nervous—smile. Wyatt furrowed his eyebrow, letting her know she failed to conceal her nervousness.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Wyatt added, giving her his best smile to tell her that it was okay if she uninvited him.

Saisha shook her head. "No, it's alright. I'm just... a bit nervous, that's all," she told him, getting up from her seat with her phone in her hand. "I'll give my mother a call to let her know I'll be bringing a guest," she informed him, walking out of the classroom without waiting for his response.

Wyatt felt selfish for not having stopped her, for not persuading her to drop the idea, but he didn't wish to celebrate Christmas alone and the option to celebrate it with his crush and her family seemed a far better one. Also, he was curious about her family and he couldn't let go of such an amazing opportunity to know more about them, now could he? So, he just sat there, watching her walk away while fidgeting with her phone.

Saisha stopped at the huge window across from her classroom door and dialled her mother's number, sighing heavily. She bit her bottom lip as she waited for her mother to pick up, which her mother did on the fourth ring.

"Hello, Ma?" Saisha asked into the phone, getting a reply from her mother in her native language. Her mother spoke English fluently, though, during their conversations, they tended to use their mother tongue more—it just seemed to come more naturally to them, she guessed.

Saisha half-heartedly responded to her mother's energetic questions and comments regarding what they were going to do for this Christmas before she cleared her throat and spoke in English, letting her mother know that she was nervous about something. Ever since Saisha had learnt to speak in English, she always tended to use the language especially when she wanted something from her parents or was nervous, she never understood why though and at last, termed it to be one of her nervous ticks.

"Ma, is it okay if I bring a guest with me?" she asked timidly into the phone, glancing back at her open classroom door. Her eyes met Wyatt's who was already watching her. She quickly gave him a smile before turning her back to him.

"Of course, Sayyu," her mother responded cheerfully, referring to her by her nickname, and sounding relieved that it wasn't anything serious. "I can surely prepare food for one more person and buy one more gift for them before you arrive. Whom will you be bringing, Sayyu? Is it Ahana?" her mother asked.

Saisha cleared her throat again. "No Ma, not Ahana. I'll be... bringing... my friend," Saisha knew she was stalling but she just couldn't help but prolong her next words. "I'll be bringing a boy, Ma. And before you make any assumptions, no, there's nothing going on between us. It's just that he won't be going home this Christmas and he is a Christian and I wanted to help, so I offered him to celebrate with us. His name is Wyatt." Saisha's words were rushed as she said it all in one breath, waiting anxiously for her mother's response.

Her mother was silent for a few seconds, making Saisha assume the worst that she was going to ask her to not bring Wyatt home, but her mother surprised her. "The exchange student you told me was your classmate? I didn't know you two were friends... but sure, Sayyu. It sounds wonderful. We will make him feel at home here. I'll see you two tomorrow. I've to go now, I think I burnt the dish while talking to you. Bye," her mother said in hurry before ending the call and probably going back to attend to her dish.

Saisha frowned at the phone for a few moments, wondering if she was nervous for no reason and her parents were the cool type. The thought seemed quite an odd one to Saisha, her parents being cool just seemed bizarre to her. She decided to mull over it later and went back inside her classroom, took her seat beside Wyatt and let him know that he should be ready to leave by six in the evening. Wyatt perked up at the news and left immediately to pack his things.

***

After a 16 hours long cab ride—that they had to take because they couldn't get Wyatt a train ticket for the journey—they finally were about to reach Saisha's home in fifteen minutes.

Saisha looked away from the window and turned to look at a sleepy Wyatt. She gently touched his shoulder to gain his attention and he immediately turned to look at her. "Listen," she began, sounding troubled. "I apologise in advance for anything wrong that happens at my home. My family can be... weird, I don't know. So, just bear with me whatever happens. Also for the Christmas you're about to celebrate—which I assure you is far from what you are used to; not even close to the traditional Christmas celebration, but I can't do much about that."

Saisha was ranting and Wyatt found it cute. He chuckled lightly that he was sure she didn't even notice and tried to interrupt her, but she didn't let him.

"A few tips for you to remember. Don't do these, or I'll honestly chop you into tiny little pieces," she threatened, making Wyatt even more interested to hear what she was about to say. "One, do not, I repeat, do not talk anything inappropriate in front of my family. No dirty jokes, I am warning you Wyatt," she said, making him scoff, as she was the one who came up with more dirty jokes than him most of the times.

"Two, you will be getting vegetarian food, not even eggs. Don't complain and don't even ask my mom to cook it for you," she continued. Wyatt pouted a little at this one, though he already knew she came from a vegetarian family and was vegetarian herself. He nodded, readily agreeing to adjust with it if it meant he would get to spend Christmas with her and her family.

"Three," Wyatt noticed how Saisha averted her gaze from his and how her cheeks tinged slightly pink. "Don't get too cosy with any of the girls you'll meet," she finished.

Wyatt let out an amused laugh at her words, baffled by where that even came from. "Why, you'll be jealous?" he asked after calming himself down, giving her his crooked grin.

Saisha rolled her eyes at him. "No, not me. But my father and uncles won't appreciate it very much. So if you wish to celebrate Christmas inside my house and not outside, maintain distance with my cousins and even myself," she told him firmly, just as the car stopped. She gazed out the window and her eyes brightened upon seeing her house. She had missed being here so much. "Come on, let's go!"

She paid the cab driver's fee, much to Wyatt's disapproval. "You're my guest," she had told him when he said he would pay his half.

Wyatt watched silently as Saisha pressed the button to her house's doorbell, his own anxiousness to step into her house finally catching up to him. He had made light of the situation till now, not considering how he was actually going to meet Saisha' parents. And God, didn't she mention her uncles too? Wyatt just hoped he wouldn't screw up. He remembered meeting his ex's parents back home and how it didn't go that well, and here, Saisha's parents were Indian, making it even harder for him to impress them.

The door to the two-storey house opened and they were greeted by the sight of a woman, probably in her late forties, wearing a green saree and a cardigan. It was Saisha's mother. Saisha went on to hug her mother and they conversed for a few seconds as Wyatt waited patiently for Saisha to introduce him to her mother.

Saisha stepped aside to let her mother see Wyatt and introduced the two of them. "Ma, this is Wyatt, my friend, and Wyatt, this is my mother."

Wyatt smiled politely, wondering if he should extend his hand towards the lady and address her as Mrs. Verma—which he knew to be Saisha's family name—as he usually did back home, or should he call her 'aunty' as most young people here seemed to use the terms 'aunty' and 'uncle' to address to their elders, regardless of them being strangers. Wyatt's wits helped him out as he joined his palms in front of his chest and bowed slightly. "Namaste," he chose to settle for. From the corner of his eyes, he could see how Saisha was surprised and amused by his actions and most likely, was holding in a laugh at his ridiculousness.

"Aww," Saisha's mother cooed. "He is so nice!" Wyatt heard the lady comment to her daughter before she turned back to him. "No need to worry, Wyatt. You can call me Mrs. Verma, I don't mind," she told him, understanding his dilemma. Wyatt smiled gratefully at her as she welcomed them inside and helped them with their bags.

Saisha's mother led them to the living room where she let Wyatt sit comfortably and brought him a glass of water that he seemed to appreciate greatly. She also brought the two kids some brunch and they made small talk as the two kids ate the food. Saisha's mother turned to her daughter, who had been eyeing her mother the whole time as if telling her to let Wyatt go and not talk to him so much. Though, she was used to her daughter's antics by now. "Saisha, everyone will be here by seven. You two can go, freshen up and take a rest for now. I have made accommodation for Wyatt in the guest room beside your brother's. And Sayyu, remember to buy a cake for the evening, alright?"

Saisha nodded, knowing already how things worked every Christmas. "Yes, Ma," she told her mother, before turning to Wyatt. "Come on, I'll show you around the house and to the room."

Wyatt got up and followed Saisha, pulling his bag along with him. He was grateful that they were talking in English and not in Hindi as they had done when Saisha and him had just arrived. He felt left out and dumb when people did that to him.

Saisha led him to a room that was two doors away from hers—as she informed him— and let him step inside first. The room was neat and well arranged. It gave off a homely feeling to Wyatt, as had the rest of the house that Saisha gave him a tour of. Wyatt decided that he liked the place. "Thank you," he told her, setting his bag beside the door.

Saisha smiled at him, "No problem. What are you planning to do for now?" she asked him, following him inside the room, making sure to leave the door open.

"I was thinking of sleeping; your snores last night didn't let me sleep well in the cab," he told her mischievously, to which she replied by smacking him with a pillow that laid on a well-made double bed. He chuckled, snatching the pillow from her and letting it fall back on the bed. "What about you?"

"Same. Because as I remember, it was you who had the passengers of even the neighbouring cars stay awake by your loud snores," she snorted, walking backwards towards the door. "We will be going out to get the cake at five thirty, be ready," she told him.

Wyatt stayed silent for a few seconds, still not used to hearing five thirty and not half past five, before nodding at her. He watched as she walked out the door after giving him a smile and shut the door behind her. Wyatt got up and took a quick shower—grateful for the attached bathroom—got dressed in a simple sweatshirt and pyjamas and allowed sleep to consume him—after setting an alarm of course.

Saisha walked into her room, dropped her bags inside and walked out to go to the kitchen, knowing her mother was already expecting her. The words "you two can go, rest for now" were only her mother being polite in front of Wyatt, while they honestly were meant for Wyatt to follow and not her. She sat at the kitchen slab as her mother was busy in cooking and they both talked about several things that they missed talking to each other about over the time she spent at her university. It was an hour later that Saisha went back to her room, showered and allowed herself to take a nap.

***

Wyatt woke up to the sound of his alarm and changed into his dark wash jeans and pulled on his blue jacket over the sweatshirt he was wearing. He was just about done with his hair when he heard the knock on the door. "Come in," he called out and went to sit on the edge of the bed and started pulling on his socks.

The door opened and Wyatt turned towards it with a smile, expecting it to be Saisha, only to find a boy of about fourteen standing there. "Hi, I am Sagar, Saisha's brother," the boy introduced, coming inside the room and standing in front of Wyatt.

Wyatt smiled and extended his hand to the boy that he shook eagerly. "I'm Wy—" Wyatt's introduction was cut short as Sagar spoke again.

"Wyatt. I know. Finally a guy I can address by his name, despite him being older, and get away with it. You know, I have to call every other guy your age bhaiya, I mean come on, man!" Sagar ranted, sitting beside Wyatt on the bed.

Wyatt only chuckled at the boy, pleased with himself as he understood Sagar's reference to his culture. Wyatt continued putting on his socks and shoes, knowing Saisha would be here soon. To be honest, he was surprised how she even let Sagar come to see him alone. From what Wyatt had noticed since his arrival, Saisha was trying her best to keep her family members away from him. He understood her reasons and only wished that she would understand that he would never judge her and her family.

"Woah, I just noticed! You're blonde and you have blue eyes. That's so cool! My sister just loves blue eyes," Sagar told Wyatt, grabbing his attention as he talked about his sister. The said sister soon appeared in the doorway, looking annoyed.

"Sagar!" Saisha's eyes narrowed at her brother. He had been asking to meet Wyatt since the time she woke up and she had managed to stop him till now, but he must have sneaked out while she was getting dressed. She threatened him to get out in their mother tongue and her brother ran away but not before making an insulting remark about her. Saisha seemed to fume at her brother and watching him run past her, smacking his head as he did. She sighed, turning to Wyatt. "I'm sorry about him."

Wyatt didn't seem to register her words as he gazed at how pretty she looked dressed in her black jeans and a red sweater. She had let her hair loose and wore a Santa Claus's with the words 'Merry Christmas' written on the front. She looked way too cute for her own good. She walked inside the room and before Wyatt could register, put a similar cap on his head. "Christmas tradition," she told him even before he could ask.

Saisha waited for Wyatt to finish tying his shoelaces and once he was done, they were both out the house, walking towards the cake shop that she knew so well. She buried her hands in her sweater pockets to make them a bit warmer and turned to Wyatt as he began to speak.

"This will be my first snowless Christmas. Also the first one when I didn't open the gifts in the morning," he trailed off, looking around the street and the various tiny decorations that some people had put outside their houses, much like Saisha's.

Saisha nodded, humming softly to his words. "I am not sure if it would be even close to a good celebration for you, but I hope it won't be as bad," she told him sincerely.

Wyatt looked at her and smiled, "I am sure it's going to be great. I'm already loving it." He noticed the slight redness of her cheeks and wondered if it's him or the cold that caused it.

They reached to the shop and selected a chocolate cake with a picture of Christmas tree made on it with cream. It looked delicious. Saisha and Wyatt also stopped to eat at McDonald's as Wyatt was quite hungry, having refused the snacks that Mrs. Verma offered to him on their way out. It was fifteen minutes past seven when they reached Saisha's home and apologised for the third time for getting her late. She waved it off, despite having received quite a few calls from her mother.

Everyone had already arrived by the time Saisha and Wyatt entered the house and she promptly went to greet her relatives and made introductions between her extended family and Wyatt. Wyatt met her dad, two of her uncles, one aunt, two cousin sisters that were twins, a cousin brother and his wife and child—a little boy of about eight years who was dressed as Santa Claus. He didn't have much trouble remembering the names of the youngsters as their names weren't as complicated as the elders' and was relieved that he only had to address to the elders by their surnames for the same reason.

The celebrations began with Krish—the Santa Claus of the day—cutting the cake they had brought. The whole family sang Christmas songs and Wyatt couldn't help but join in. He found himself laughing with everyone as the little boy swiped his finger over the cake after cutting it and licked it, eager to taste the cake.

"It's so tasty, Bua," he heard Krish say to Saisha who was clicking pictures with her iPad.

Saisha smiled at her nephew before turning to meet Wyatt's gaze. "Bua means aunt, father's sister to be specific," she told him to which Wyatt nodded and smiled, looking back at Krish.

He watched as Saisha' mother brought in a bag filled with nicely wrapped gifts and handed gifts to Krish one by one, as the little boy handed it to the person the gift was meant for. "Here, instead of parents or some other elder getting dressed as Santa Claus, we have kids dressing up and handing gifts to everyone—for some unknown reason," he heard Saisha explain as she passed on the iPad to her cousin brother.

"It started when Krish was two and asked my mom why we didn't celebrate Christmas. My mother went ahead and planned the whole celebration for the next Christmas and she had even taken Krish out to buy gifts for everyone. Krish saw the Santa costume and insisted on wearing it, so my mom got it for him—and hence the tradition," Saisha told Wyatt the quite dull story of how Christmas celebration in her family had begun, but she didn't mind. It had become a tradition that she wouldn't miss for the world.

"It's great. I love how your mom— your entire family celebrate Christmas with such enthusiasm. I don't mind the change of traditions, really. As you said earlier, it's the spirit that matters," Wyatt told her softly, making her smile up at him.

"This is for you, uncle Wyatt," Krish spoke, handing Wyatt a rectangular gift that was wrapped with green Christmas themed wrapping paper. Wyatt blushed at the word Krish used for him — 'uncle'. He knew that the kid was only addressing him as he was taught from the beginning—to address elders by calling them 'uncle' or 'aunty' to give respect—and didn't mean anything by it. But Wyatt couldn't help but connect himself with Saisha in that way.

His eyes met Saisha's and she averted her gaze, a light blush tinged her cheeks as she understood Wyatt's thoughts. Wyatt accepted the gift from the boy and thanked him, relieved that no one else seemed to notice the moment that happened between him and Saisha.

He watched silently as Krish went ahead to give the rest of the family members their gifts and once everyone had got their gifts, including Krish, Saisha's mother announced that they could all open them now.

Wyatt slowly unwrapped his present, making sure to not make a mess of the wrapping paper. He found a vintage photo frame upon unwrapping and inside it, instead of a photograph, lay a white paper with words 'to place the photograph of our Christmas together' written in a beautiful handwriting that he had known to be Saisha's. He looked at her and smiled gratefully before looking underneath the photo frame at his second gift. It was a navy blue sweater that he quite liked.

"If it doesn't fit, just let me know. I will get it changed," he heard Mrs. Verma tell him and he smiled gratefully at her and nodded.

"Thank you, Mrs. Verma. I really like both the gifts," he told the lady, glancing at Saisha once who was smiling at him.

The family then proceeded to have dinner that was Indian cuisine cooked by Mrs. Verma and some pizzas that she had specifically ordered in case Wyatt didn't like the Indian food she cooked. He loved it though.

Wyatt enjoyed his time with the whole family—they danced, sang, played games and talked, a lot. He was really glad that Saisha's family warmed up to him and accepted him—even her father and uncles. Saisha's tips really helped.

It was a little after eleven that everyone had left and Saisha's parents and brother had retired to their rooms. Saisha was walking with him and she stopped in front of her door. "Good night, Wyatt," she said with a smile.

"What, aren't you gonna walk me to my room?" Wyatt asked frowning playfully as he saw her roll her eyes, though her smile never disappeared. "I'm your guest, Saisha. Where are your manners? Walk me to my room," he told her firmly.

Saisha chuckled at his goofiness and pushed at him arm. "Fine," she agreed and walking alongside him. She felt Wyatt's hand slip into hers as they walked the small distance and she felt tingles shooting up her arm—something that never happened before when Wyatt touched her. She blushed lightly, grateful for the partially dark corridor. "There you are," she said softly as they stood in front of the guest room, that currently Wyatt occupied.

Wyatt didn't let go of her hand as he pushed the door opened and took one step inside, switched on the lights as the switches were right beside the door and turned around so he was facing her. She was standing at the other side of the threshold, only a small gap between them. He grinned down at her, "Thank you so much, Saisha. I really enjoyed today."

Saisha nodded and smiled at him, blushing as he still hadn't let go of her hand. "I'm glad you did."

They stood there silently for a few moments, gazing at each other and grinning. Saisha made a move to pull away after finally realising that they were just gazing into each other's eyes, but Wyatt stopped her and pointing up at the ceiling, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Saisha looked up, frowned before realising what it was. She gasped as she looked at Wyatt, her eyes wide and jaw dropped in shock. "You got a mistletoe!" she exclaimed, glancing up at the ceiling once again. "Where the hell did you even get it?" she asked.

He only grinned wider and shrugged in answer to her question. "We are standing under a mistletoe," he told her casually, before starting to lean in. "Gotta follow traditions," he murmured.

Saisha stood frozen in her spot as she watched him lean in to kiss her. She knew a part of her—a rather huge part—wanted her to lean in and meet his kiss halfway, but she knew the customs of her culture were different than his. The thought brought her out of her reverie and she quickly placed her fingers to cover her lips, her eyes wide as his lips were only an inch or two away from hers. Though, his lips never made it to her lips—or her fingers, in this case—as they landed on her right cheek as he planted a soft peck on her heated skin.

Wyatt pulled away a little after pecking her cheek and grinned broadly at her. "Don't worry, I understand. A kiss is a kiss, be it on lips or cheek. After all, it's the spirit that matters, right?" he winked at her and let go of her hand. "Good night, Sayyu," he wished, calling her by the nickname he had picked over the evening. "I'll see you tomorrow," he added before shutting the door and resting his back against it, closing his eyes and sighing contently as a silly smile curved at his lips.

Saisha stood in front of the closed door for a long minute as she felt her cheeks growing warmer and redder at Wyatt's actions. With a silly smiled gracing her lips, she turned around to walk to her own room, but not before whispering, "It's truly the spirit that matters."   

---- The End. ----

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