Chapter Sixteen: White Christmas

The last day of school before Christmas break wasn't structured at all. Each room seemingly had a different thing going on for students to enjoy. Annie, Holly, and Meghan usually just hung out in the cafeteria and talked, but considering they had Max now and this was their last middle school Christmas, they decided to enjoy it.

Steve also warned her that high school didn't do anything like that. That really pushed Annie to want to enjoy what they could while they could.

Another thing that was different was Max. Usually, the girls got each other gifts, and Annie totally planned on doing that again this year, but she was struggling. Max wasn't like Holly and Meghan. Not only did she not know the redhead as well, but she also liked said redhead.

The girls were sitting together in the "snacks" room. It was just like it sounded: the teachers baked cookies or bought other snacks and that's where the students ate them (to minimize the mess).

Annie was deep in though. Holly and Meghan shared a small look before the latter cleared her throat. "So, we should totally do Secret Santa this year," she said.

The other two girls looked up with confused looks. "What do you mean?" Max asked, not knowing what that was.

Holly smiled. "Yeah we should! It's really fun, so we put all our names on pieces of paper and then into a cup. Then, we each pick a name out of the cup. If we get our own, we drop it back in and pull someone else's. Then whoever's name we drew we get them a gift! Nobody else is allowed to know who you got until the gifts get exchanged."

Max smiled and nodded. "Yeah, okay yeah that sounds cool. Are we just getting that gift or something for everyone else, too?"

"Oh, just the Secret one. Kinda defeats the purpose if we get each other all gifts," Holly answers. "We can throw a fun little exchanging party and everything!"

Annie was smiling, really excited about this. "We can do the party at my house! I'm sure Steve won't mind, he honestly might have something else going on. If not, it'd still be fun!"

The girls excitedly nodded and Meghan jumped up to grab a plastic cup and a piece of paper. When she came back over, she placed the cup in the middle and then tore the paper into four pieces. "Don't fold yours in any weird way! It needs to be a surprise."

Pencils in hand, each girl wrote their name on the piece of paper then folded it twice before throwing it into the cup.

Holly grabbed the cup once her paper was dropped in and mixed it around, her hand on the top while the shook it around to get them all nice and mixed up.

There were several thoughts going through Annie's head. This was a great idea! She didn't exactly have that much money and didn't want to cheap out on gifts for her closest friends so this was a good way to only have to buy one gift and not have to make it cheap and sad.

However, she was stuck between wanting Max and not wanting her. If she didn't get her, then she'd have an easier time finding something for Holly or Meghan. But then she'd feel sad that she didn't get Max anything especially with the obligation her crush seemed to hold.

But then if she did get Max, she would have no idea what to get her. Lucas and Dustin would be no help because they've known her as long as Annie did. She was terrified of Billy, so that was never happening. Her parents were a mystery to Annie, and she didn't exactly want to talk to them. But then she could really get Max something awesome to show her she liked her.

After the Snowball- just a few days ago- where she saw Max kiss Lucas, she's been kinda depressed. Her mind was racing with thoughts telling her she was dumb for thinking Max would like her, or girls at all! Her hopeful side got the best of her, sadly, and she was mad it did.

Well, whatever name she grabbed, there'd be no take backs.

Max pulled one out first, having to toss it back in and grab a new one. Then Holly chose, followed by Meghan. So Annie got the best for last.

She pulled the fated paper out of the cup and unfolded it. Her face remained straight as she read the name scrawled on it.

Max.

Her luck was either great or god awful. She'd decide later.

"Okay, if you've got the name then throw the paper away! No cheating to find out who has who!" Holly said, already ripping her paper to pieces and tossing it into the trashcan nearby. The other three followed and they all decided to head over to a different place to hang out.

"We should go to the games room! Might be some good stuff," Max suggested and the others easily agreed.

When Annie was being picked up at the end of the day, she knew she'd have to talk to Steve about what to do. The group decided they'd have their little party the same time next week, right before Christmas.

Steve looked over at his baby sister and raised an eyebrow. "You doing okay there?" he asked as they drove out of the parking lot.

Annie let her head fall to the side to face him and sighed. "Not really. We decided to do Secret Santa this year and I got Max," she said, then moved her head to face forward again.

"I'm confused... do we not like her now...?" Steve asked. He had heard from her that Max had kissed Lucas at the Snowball, but she still liked the girl. "Did something happen?"

Annie shook her head and waved a hand. "No, no, she's still amazing. But that's the problem. I don't know what to get this amazing girl who I like and haven't known for that long. Plus, it's not like Hawkins has that many options for shopping."

Steve shrugged. "So then we make a trip to the closest city and go shop there," he said as if it were the most normal thing.

The younger girl in the passenger seat balked at that. "We just... drive a couple hours away?" she asked, to which Steve nodded. "But won't mom and dad disagree?" Their parents didn't like them driving far distances without them, meaning Annie hasn't really been out of Hawkins much.

Again, Steve nodded. "It'll be fine. If they ask, I'll deal with it," he said. She knew that meant he'd argue with them until they just gave up and moved on. "We've got that covered, now what about things she likes? We can work off of that."

Annie nodded. "Okay, okay yeah that's good. She likes skateboarding..."

"Duh."

"She doesn't wear dresses. Um, she likes going to the arcade! And I think she's not as into pop music but she like some of the rock stuff that Billy listens to?" Annie thought aloud. Steve nodded along the whole time, doing his best to help think of things. "I bet it'll be easier once we look around and see what there is."

So, just like Steve promised, the next day they went on their present journey. Both of their school years were over, so there was no reason not to go. Their parents looked a little peeved when they left without much explanation. But Steve said he'd deal with it when they came back.

It was a long drive, and they prepared by getting one of their mixtapes. A long time ago, Steve used to make them so they could listen to their favorite songs together. Annie couldn't remember exactly when it stopped, but it did.

They were proudly shouting the words to Dancing Queen. Annie was adamant that song would be the first thing she'd listen to on her seventeenth birthday, before the classic happy birthday song.

Right as the song was finishing, the Harrington siblings arrived at the nearest mall a couple hours out from Hawkins. "All right, let's get shopping," Steve said. The two got out of his car and started for the mall's entrance.

When Annie walked through the doors, she was in awe. Hawkins didn't have a huge mall like this one. There were plans to get one built, maybe it's even already started, but it didn't exist yet.

The bright colors, fun music, and food court smells made Annie smile. "It was a mistake bringing me here because I don't think I can leave," she told Steve when he walked up beside her.

He shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder to lead her to the stores. "Yeah, yeah, just wait for the new one to open up. You'll have to find a way to get that spending money, though," he said.

They walked into several shops where Annie mostly shook her head and cringed at the things she saw. None of them felt like Max to her. Steve brought up how it might be nice to get her something different for fun, but she was too scared Max would hate it to try something like that.

In one store, Steve had the idea to think about summer things, too. Even though she was from California, there would definitely be things to find that she would like.

So Annie thought about a little bag of a bunch of small things for the summer, as a way to say she needed to be prepared for the summer hangouts the group would have. Maybe a couple hangouts where it was just her and Max...

At the end of the day, Annie and Steve were sitting in the food court eating hot dogs on sticks as she looked through her purchases. "So, you think it'll be good? Not dumb or anything?" Annie asked, again, looking up at Steve.

He smiled. "Of course. I think people always appreciate present because of the thought that went into them, no matter what's inside. But I think the idea that you're saying you guys won't just hang out during school is pretty nice."

A loud bang across the large room caused Annie to nearly jump out of her seat as her head snapped towards the sound. Some toddler had pushed over a metal chair, that was all. Steve wasn't as startled, but was also on alert. They turned and looked back at each other, the understanding passing through them, before they moved on.

"Okay, so we've got the red sunglasses, scrunchies in the colors of the rainbow, and a pack of friendship bracelets. I feel like there needs to be more..." Annie said. It felt like it wasn't personal enough.

Steve leaned forward. "Are you saying that because she's your friend or because you like her?" he asked in a low voice. It was less of a tease and more of a genuine thought.

Annie's face reddened dramatically and she slouched down in her chair. "No, I just don't want it to feel dumb... maybe just one more look around and I'll see if anything jumps out. We never went upstairs," she said.

They finished their snacks and then went up to the second floor. Most of the stuff up there didn't interest Annie, so she passed by them without much thought. At one window, she stopped and had Steve nearly knock her over.

"A warning next time would be nice," he muttered and looked at what she was looking at.

"Do you think that would be too much?" she asked, moving to look up at Steve.

His hands were on his hips as he thought. "I don't know, I mean, it's nice and would be a great gift for anyone. Do you think it'd be showing too much favoritism?"

Annie looked back at the item and thought it over. "Maybe I could give it to her privately? Like, after the party and just make a note of it in the card to her. Just so Meg and Holly don't get too jealous," she said.

They went inside the technology store and came out with a brand new Walkman set. Annie was a tad jealous of it, but she thought Max would love it and that's all that mattered.

~~

The next week, Annie's parents were gone and Steve was hanging out with some friends from school. At least that's what he told her- she wasn't 100% convinced he wasn't just driving around to give her the house.

The girls were sprawled out on the living room floor, a bunch of chips and cookies laid out almost gone. "Present time!" Holly said in a sing-song voice. The others laughed and all grabbed their gifts from where they were placed.

They went around the circle, Meg going first. She had Holly, and got her a set of nail polish that started pink but each shade got closer and closer to purple along with two sets of earrings- daisies and suns. There was a card as well, which made Holly make an audible 'aww' sound.

Holly ended up getting Meghan, which made Annie think for a second before she moved on. After reading the card, Meghan pulled the tissue paper from her bag and revealed a set of hair ties with little soccer ball charms.

"I had some left over from some charm bracelet kit and thought they'd be cute for soccer practice!" Holly said, proud of her own creativity. Also in the bag was a multi-colored neon fanny pack, something Meghan wanted to use for days she went running with her soccer team. The girls hugged and then it was Annie's turn.

She handed her bag to Max. Well, the first. The second one was up in her room waiting for after Holly and Meghan got picked up. That part alone was freaking her out.

First, she read the little card (not out loud thank goodness). Then, Max took out the tissue paper and carefully unwrapped the things inside, revealing the red sunglasses, scrunchies, and friendship bracelets. "Oh these are so cute!" she said, and Annie felt a weight lift. Max sounded so genuine, no fake cheeriness in her tone whatsoever. She modeled the sunglasses with the scrunchies on her wrist, then picked up the bracelets. "Are these for all of us?"

Annie nodded quickly. "Yeah, figured it was a way of really connecting our little group..." she said, fighting a blush and was slowly winning.

There was a warmth that bloomed in Max's chest when Annie said that. It was the official way to really say she was a part of the group. Not like she hasn't been for the past two months, but now they had cheesy friendship bracelets.

There were four different colors with the same charms that said 'BFFS.' Without question, Annie was given the pink one, then Max took the red one (many jokes were made), Holly took the yellow one, and Meghan took the purple one.

And then it was Max's turn to give Annie her gift. "Here you go," she said, handing the good sized bag to her. Annie took it- somewhat eagerly (she liked presents, they were fun)- and read the card sticking out first.

Merry Christmas, I'm really glad I became your friend on my first day :)

Max

Annie smiled and placed the card next to her gently, then got into the bag. Inside was a pair of pink sunglass, not quite the same style as the red ones for Max, but the connection still made her laugh. She did the same as Max and modeled them for the group before continuing in the bag.

The next thing made Annie's jaw drop. "You found one?" she asked, completely in awe. Holly and Meg were trying to peak in the bag until Annie finally pulled out a cassette of Madonna's Like A Virgin album that had just come out. When they first were released, they went super fast so Annie couldn't get one and then her parents brushed her off every time she asked to go out and buy one.

"It took a bit, but yeah. My mom drove me to a few places," Max said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Similar to the other girls, Annie pulled Max into a hug. When they let go, Annie wished she hadn't.

Max had the same feeling.

"Okay, let's put on a movie!" Meghan yelled, and the party was back on, starting with finger nail painting.

A couple hours later, the party was coming to a close. At that point, Meghan's mom had come by to pick her up, followed by Steve coming home and then Holly's dad coming to grab her. They didn't think they'd get a chance to hang out before school started back up, so Annie waved them bye with the promise of seeing them at the beginning of next semester.

Steve and Annie were going to take Max back to her house- they didn't even let her try and argue against it, they were taking her home.

"I'll be right there, I'm gonna go grab something," Annie said, then hurried up the stairs to her room. Max and Steve went out to his car while Annie grabbed the other bag with the Walkman. She hesitated before leaving the room, and took the card in that bag out.

It was supposed to be a confession of feelings, but she couldn't do it.

They drove to Max's house, the redhead looking at the bag suspiciously the entire time, but not noticeably looking at it. When they pulled up to the outside of her house, Annie got out with Max.

"Hey, um, I've got one more thing for you... I just didn't want the other two to see it or whatever and... yeah..." Annie forced out. Her eye line was focused on the ground that her foot was messing with to avoid eye contact with Max.

Max titled her head. "What is it?" she asked.

Annie looked up at her and then handed the bag over. Max opened it and moved the single piece of tissue paper and gasped. "Oh my god... Annie... oh my god," was all she could say. One hand let go of one of the bag handles and pulled the Walkman out. "This is too much."

Annie was quickly shaking her head. "But it's not. Really, I saw it and knew you'd love it so you'd just be stabbing me in the feelings if you don't take it," Annie rushed out.

There was a second, then Max put the Walkman back in the bag. She moved the handles of both bags to one hand and then used the other to pull Annie into a hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

Annie bit the inside of her lip and hugged back. "Of course," she responded just as quiet.

When they let go, Max decided she didn't want to be done yet. "You know, with those sunglasses, it's just adding to the whole Barbie thing," she said as she smiled.

Annie chuckled and nodded. "I guess with your sunglasses I should just go ahead and call you Red," she responded.

They chuckled and awkwardly stood there. Annie regretted not giving her the card. She opened her mouth to say something but was beat to the punch. "Max, is that you honey?"

The girls looked up at the front door and saw Max's mom standing there. Max looked back at Annie and said, "I gotta go." Annie nodded and smiled. "See you later?"

"See you later."

A/n: I love this chapter! It's really fluffy and sweet. The next chapter... oh boy you guys aren't ready for it