⇝G A R R O T H⇜

Zane had told me I would never get friends. He said I was antisocial and lonely, and that I was going to be that way forever.

"Welcome home, Zane."

My brother's piercing blue half-gaze struck me as he opened the door to our shared apartment in downtown Phoenix Drop. He forced a smile at me and muttered, "Thanks."

I tossed the book I was reading beside me on the couch and glanced around. Our apartment was a mess, to say the least. Newspapers were scattered on the coffee table. The dishes in the sink were dormant. We hadn't cleaned in at least three months. It was strange, considering Zane was a neat freak. And I rarely left the apartment.

Since it was December, Zane had bought a shabby excuse for a Christmas tree and set it in the corner. After a few days, he forgot to water it and its needles fell.

Zane and I don't have the best place to live, but at least we have somewhere to call home. It's a miracle we can even pay rent.

"I won't be here for long," Zane spoke. "I'm going to Aphmau's Christmas Eve party." He reached into a kitchen cabinet for a travel mug and prepared himself hot chocolate.

I wasn't surprised. Aphmau had invited me too, but I said that I was busy with homework and my job. It was a lie. Besides, Aphmau  was better friends with Zane than I was. And I hated Christmas.

"Okay. Have fun, and don't get caught under the mistletoe like last year," I said, watching as Zane growled at me and then disappeared out the door, a small present in one hand and beverage in the other.

⇝Z A N E⇜

Garroth just had to bring last year up.

The necklace I bought for Aphmau was wrapped in shiny purple paper. I smiled down at the present, sipping my hot chocolate slowly so it wouldn't burn my tongue.

A brunette boy was walking down the hall from the stairwell. I had seen him once or twice before; he lives across from Garroth and I, I think.

"Merry Christmas," he chirped at me as he unlocked his door.

"And to you too." I smiled involuntarily. He grinned and waved as I walked to the elevator, wondering why I smiled when I had a mask on.

⇝L A U R A N C E⇜

Huh, that was weird.

The ravenette that I live by actually talked to me.

Wait, doesn't he live with his brother?

I wondered these things as I shut the door to my apartment. I walked three miles to my baking class to find out it was cancelled. Nice job, Laurance.

His brother...

If Raven was gone, does that mean his brother was left alone?

On Christmas Eve?

I sighed. I was spending the holiday alone too, so I decided I might as well go over.

Flipping through a cookbook, I found a cookie recipe that I could make for Raven's brother. Hopefully he would like them.

Grabbing everything I needed from my pantry, I got to work.

I only saw him once. He had wavy blonde hair and ocean eyes, and he was tall. He had this sad face on.

"Christmas Eve / Sarajevo" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra came on the Pandora station I was listening to while making the cookies. ( I put it in the media if you want to listen to it :3 ) The oven beeped, and I decorated the cookies after they were done cooling. I turned the music off and put the cookies in a festive tin to take across the hall.

⇝G A R R O T H⇜

I was almost done with my book when I heard a knock on the door. Sighing, I went to answer it. Zane probably snuck out of the party; typical.

I looked through the peephole to see someone barely familiar. Huh. Zane and I have never gotten a visitor before.

I cautiously opened the door, and the person was the one who lived across the hall. He smiled up at me and was holding a tin container.

"Err, hi," I greeted him, wondering why he would want to visit me.

"Uh, hey. I saw your brother on his way out," he said.

"Oh. Was he kind?" I almost laughed.

"Yeah, he was."

"Cool."

We stood there for a while, awkwardly not knowing what to say.

"I'm Laurance," he finally spoke, introducing himself and shifting the tin into his other arm so he could shake my hand.

"Garroth. What's that you have there?" I motioned to the tin.

"Oh, this? I'm taking baking lessons, so I made cookies, and I was wondering if you had anyone to spend Christmas Eve with," Laurance said, his dusty-brown bangs moving with his body. Dang, he was cute.

"No, I don't. But thanks for the offer," I said, grabbing the doorknob and beginning to shut the door.

"Wait!" He practically shouted so it echoed down the hall and grabbed the handle. "No one should be alone on Christmas!"

His crystal eyes connected with mine. Well, this was awkward...

I winced, looking back at the untidy apartment and down at my clothes: plaid pajama pants and an old high school tee.

"Uh, okay...Don't mind the mess," I opened the door more to let him in. His eyes widened at how clean my home was: not at all.

I offered to take the tin from him, and I set it down on top of the coffee table. Finding two clean plates and cups, I made peppermint hot chocolate for him and I. Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell that he was watching me like a hawk. I brought the drinks and plates back over to the living room, placing them on top of the newspapers.

"So...when did you make these?" I prompted, removing the lid of the tin.

"Just now," Laurance answered, sipping his drink. "I was bored."

The last part was a lie. I'd gone to college for psychology long enough to learn to differentiate truth from lie by reading tone of voice. He made these for me.

"Oh." I examined a cookie, pretending like he was honest. They were frosted with white frosting and sprinkled with red and green sprinkles. I bit into one; they were truly delicious.

"Mmm," I grinned, satisfied. "Thank you."

Laurance looked back at me with the most innocent smile I've ever seen. "You're welcome."

Zane had told me I would never get friends. He said I was antisocial and lonely, and that I was going to be that way forever.

Zane was wrong.

•••

Hello everyone! I'm Allie ( twistedneko ) , and I'm new to TPA :D
Hope you enjoyed my first oneshot, even though it sucks xD