NED

Ned must look worse than he thought.

Out of all the places he imagined Sam Hayes choosing to go after the fight of the century, Hobgood Park was last on that list. actually, it wasn't even on Ned's list. It was on a post-it that missed the bottom of the garbage can. Hobgood was a smallish park with a great sidewalk for walking and a little playground for kids to release as much energy as possible, but it was really meant for the two baseball fields on either side. One for little league and the other for bigger kids.

But today, for the holidays, it was Santa Land.

A snowy wonderland was caged inside one of the fields, complete with little elf houses and a long line of people twisting around the North Pole as they waited anxiously to meet Saint Nicholas himself. The other field was labeled Santa's Workshop but was really a bunch of tents for activities kids could do and the rest of the park was littered by vendors and people asking for church donations.

Any other day, Ned might be running around like an idiot, convincing his friends to get their faces painted with him or betting he could eat his weight in funnel cake. He might even be manning a booth or two.

Real life got in the way of this joy. The reality of his fight with Lena was churning his stomach like a mixer turned on too high and his mix of anxiety and guilt was splattering the walls of his body. His phone was also still vibrating in his pocket. The weight of The Gregor in his hands growing.

A girl with a ponytail noticeably very high was staring at him.

She was texting, but still looking at him.

Glancing at The Gregor too.

"You have to relax," Sam said with two hot chocolates he just bought. It was cold enough now that Ned could see Sam's puffs of breath as he spoke, "You're not going to make any good decisions freaking out."

"I don't think that's physically possible, Sam," Ned insisted, looking at his mother's caller ID again and then, the girl who definitely just took a picture of him. He put his hand on Sam's cold shoulder and started steering him away. "Everything's going wrong so fast."

"I mean, yeah, but it's not like life or death. Just drink some of this," Sam handed him a hot chocolate before he convulsed a little. Ned's chest tightened. He took both hot chocolates and sat them down on the nearest bench.

"I'm pretty sure that girl over there was chipmunk cheerleader and my mom won't stop calling me and usually, I'd ask Lena to talk to her for me, but Lena hates me now." As he rattled on, Ned slipped off his coat and handed it to Sam, but he recalled the little wrapped present and pulled it back . "Take this, but uh don't look through the pockets."

Sam shook his head. "Lena doesn't hate you and I'm fine."

Ned draped the jacket over Sam's shoulder. "I'm wearing a sweater. I'm the one who'll be fine. Okay, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Actually, let's say that for everything."

Giving up, Sam slipped on the jacket and it hung a little loosely around his shoulders and slipped a little too far around his wrists. "Lena shouldn't have to talk to your mom for you anyways. And you should answer the phone before she calls the FBI."

Sitting on the bench, Sam pulled Ned's jacket tightly around him like a blanket. "Let's just start with what you don't want to happen, you're good at that."

"I mean, I don't wanna lose Lena and I don't wanna talk to my mom. And Chad's also right. I don't wanna let my school keep failing. Everyone should have a fair chance with this..." Need motioned to The Gregor. "Him giving one school the upper hand, it's not fair. People should do well based on their own merit. Not from lawn gnome magic."

"You mean like you wishing Lena could talk to your mom for you."

"What's it like always being right?" Ned asked, exasperated.

"It's a terrible burden." Sam smiled and the visual of Sam in his clothes warmed Ned all over and he didn't miss the jacket even a little bit.

But the fact his present to Sam was still in that pocket made him nervous. Everything made Ned nervous. The call. The girl. The Gregor. The everything. He didn't want to call his mother back because he knew it wouldn't end well, so why would he purposely put himself through that? If he knew by opening the door, he'd fall off a cliff on the other side, why would Ned go anywhere near that door? Ned never chooses the harder option.

Why walk upstairs when there's an elevator?

He can't get into trouble for the things he doesn't do.

Staying still means nothing bad will happen. No news can be good news.

"She's calling again," Ned said, taking out his phone. Sighing, Ned took a swig of hot chocolate for courage and did the unthinkable. He answered his mother's call.

"Hi, mom-"

"NED FLOWERS!" His mother roared and he had to flinch away from the receiver. A few inches away, he still managed to hear her, like there was little mouse screeching inside this little black box he called a phone. "Where are you? Why do I hear Christmas music? You better be home right now. We don't have time for this."

"Um, well uh no-"

"Ned! You're brother is on his way home. We're supposed to pick him up from the airport."

"I know but--"

"And the rest of the family comes tomorrow. we have too much to do, to clean, to cook, and figure out. What are you even doing? I can't believe you. You're seventeen years old. I should be able to leave you at home without having to worry!"

Ned started to pass back and forth, staying near Sam and the bench, Ned swiveled around the crowd because he couldn't possibly stand still when he was walking around on eggshells. Too much anxiety was sparking out of him. Uncontainable nervous energy that took him for a ride.

"You can trust me! Tonight's just weird and I'm fine, so-"

"You don't have to tell me tonight's weird. I can't believe I had to have a phone call with Linda Hayes about you kidnapping her son and how you're a bad influence on him. Him? Sam of all people? She'd be lucky if Sam was a little like you. God. I've never met a snootier or more rude kid in my life."

"Sam isn't like that!" Ned shouted and his face was slapped with a hot blush. He whirled to meet Sam's surprise. Ned's brow furrowed. "Sam's helping me."

"Well, whatever you two are doing stops right now. Come home and maybe I won't ground you for the rest of your life."

Ned didn't know what face he was making, but if it was close to how he was feeling maybe he should go home. He didn't like it when his mother said exactly what Ned tried to never think about.

"I don't understand you, Ned," she said. "This is ridiculous. What are you even doing? You're getting older and you're going to stop playing around. This little act you have isn't going to be cute forever. Do you want to be acting this when you're thirty?"

"M-maybe!" Ned's nose flared and he was a rock in the river, standing still as the river of people flowed around him. "What if it's not an act? What if this is who I am? What if I am just weird? Huh?"

Sam appeared as a rise of noise exploded in the crowd. Ned glanced behind his shoulder at the back of Santa land. It looked like Santa was coming out. People were waving and cheering for him. He unleashed a booming ho ho ho and wished everyone a merry Christmas as he passed.

"This is not the way to do it, Ned."

"Then, what am I supposed to do? Just tell me. Why won't anyone just tell me? It makes me feel stupid."

Ned's voice cracked and he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the wave of emotions crashing into him. When he was hit by a wall of a person. Sam's body hit Ned as he threw his arms around Ned's neck, forcing him to bend over as Sam squeezed him so tight, even if Ned exploded into a thousand butterflies, he'd still feel secure.

"We can talk about this later," Ned's mother said.

Sam squeezed him even tighter. He whispered, "You can be you, Ned."

"Your father and I are on our way home and you better be there."

"I like that you're weird," Sam whispered and Ned recalled him saying that once before.

Ned smiled and kept his eyes on Sam. "Sorry, mom. I'll come home later. There's something I have to do first."

"Excuse me?"

"Ground me. Take away my phone. My computer. Whatever, I don't care, but I have The Gregor and I need to find him a home."

"The who? Who's that?"

His heart was beating every wall of his body, but now that he started, he didn't want to stop. "Maybe the problem isn't that I need to change. Maybe the problem is you don't know who I am. Your problems are with the Hayes family. It's your problem John decided to go to school in another state. It's your problem you invited the whole family to our four bedroom house."

"Ned!" She shouted, but Ned was already hung up.

But not until he snatched the last word, "Your problems aren't my problems!"

Shoving his phone into his pocket, Ned swallowed and his chest burned as he realized he wasn't breathing anymore. Sam held his cheeks and whispered, "Breathe. Take a deep breath. Come on."

Ned could feel himself shivering inside Sam's cold hands. Ned peeked and matched the way Sam would take a deep breath and release the air through his nose. They did that a few times as Ned's focus trickled farther away from the breathing, the people, Santa just behind them, and his mother. Ned was too distracted by the warmness of Sam's brown eyes. By the swoop of his bottom lip. By the way his cheeks flushed, like spilled paint.

"Sam, earlier, I just wanted to tell you..."

"Tell me what?" Sam asked, doing a terrible job of hiding his eagerness. "If you keep teasing me with it, I'm gonna start to worry."

Honestly, whatever Ned could say in this moment wouldn't be able to surmount what Sam gives him. Ned never wanted more than this. He could spend the rest of his life in this moment. He wondered if he could bottle it. Crush it into glittering powder and keep it in a jar in his pocket and he could spread it around the worst moments of his life.

"Are you worried about me? Like Lena or my mom?" Ned had to ask.

Sam shook his head. "No, not in that way,"

"But you do worry? In what way?"

"I worry you'll hit your head walking through doors."

Ned snorted. "I'm not that tall."

"I worry you're not drinking enough water."

"There's water in food."

"I worry you'll meet someone and forget all about me."

"On my phone, you're my first contact. I have you under AA Sam."

"Then, what are you saying? I have nothing to worry about?"

Ned shook his head. "No, you can worry about all those things, except that I'd find someone new. There's only you, Sam. Tons of idiots like me, but only one of you."

Sam's brows raised, his eyes welling up with what looked like glittering hope.

"Sam Hayes, I like you. I like you a lot."

"Mommy, look! This elf has sunglasses. He's so cute, can I have him?"

Terror ripped down Ned's entire body like jagged claws and him and Sam whipped around at once to see a little girl by the bench with The Gregor in her hands and a mother that looked too tired to fight. Those were eye bags of a woman that hasn't seen peace since last month.

"Pardon me boys," a robust voice said, but all Ned could hear was the Psycho theme. He sprinted back to the bench, slipping and pushing people as he passed, receiving a lot of shouting back.

"That's- that's mine!" Ned announced. He grabbed The Gregor's head, meeting the pleading eyes of the little girl. She looked like she popped out of a Christmas catalog in a plaid little dress and a huge black bow poised in her golden blonde hair.

"No, he's mine!" She yelled.

"Katie, baby, please don't yell," her mother begged.

"I'm sorry, but he is mine and I really need him back."

"Prove it!"

"I can't-"

Ned yelped just as that robust voice returned. "Ho, ho ho what seems to be the problem?"

Sam shouted, "Ned, watch out!"

In the same moment as Ned yanking The Gregor out of this kid's hands, his elbow darted back, punching the belly of what Ned was horrified to find out was Santa Claus. The hit knocked the wind out of him and the little girl burst into tears. She sobbed like a banshee, like the wind howled on a stormy night and Ned was red handed with Gregor.

Santa's voice changed. "That's it."

He grabbed Ned by the collar and Ned found himself at the business end of a fist. This Santa had murder in his eyes.

For the first time in his life, Ned got slugged across the face. His face pounded the way someone beat against the drum, all to the tune of his thrumming heart. He whirled around, grabbed and taken down by the pull of gravity. He hit the sidewalk hard and The Gregor slipped out of his grasp.

The sound of cracking sounded like dying.

#

THE GREGOR

Holy heck. 

Ouch.

#

NED

His vision blurry, Ned tried finding common ground as a pair of hands lifted him up. "Come on, Ned!" Sam yelled. He gathered up The Gregor and a small porcelain shoe. He lost a foot. Ned had The Gregor less than a day and he was already broken.

"What's going on? Break it up!" A pair of Santa Land security came bumbling over. A man and a woman wearing security outfits with Santa hats and little elf ears. "You! You're coming with us!"

They pointed at Ned.

His stomach dropped. Scattering, Ned quickly got to his feet and almost started a run for it when the two chipmunk cheerleaders came running up the sidewalk. "Stop right there!"

"What did you do?!" The blonde one roared as she noticed Gregor's missing foot.

Taking Sam's hand, they ran back around the stunned crowd, round the bench and missed the grabbing hands of the cheerleaders and security. They smashed into each other trying to reach Ned.

Ned whirled around Santa and the elves as Santa was also being escorted out, shouting, "All day! All day! I get yelled at by parents, peed on by brats, and only a ten minute lunch break! Then that kid wants to hit me? Fuck this! It's not worth seven an hour!"

Meanwhile that little girl was still crying and Mariah Carrey's voice blared throughout the land as she sang about all she wanted for Christmas is you.

"What are we going to do?!" Sam yelled. "We don't have a ride!"

Ned just kept running. He jumped over several lighted reindeer and sort of wished they'd come alive, but now that he ruined The Gregor, magic was probably ruined too.

"There!" Ned said, yanking Sam towards a Santa land security golf cart. He'd seen tons of people decorate golf carts for Christmas, but this one was decked out to the nines with tinsel and lights spun around the side and the top. A small Christmas tree, completely decorated, was tied to the ceiling and a fake Santa doll sat in the backseat with a sack full of presents by his side. Even the rims were lit up.

Even better. The key was still in the ignition.

"It's a Christmas miracle," he whispered and started it up. 

"Floor it, Ned!"

Ned did just that. He slammed on the gas and they sped off across the sidewalk and he slammed the horn, telling everyone to get out of their way. He bobbed and weaved through the crowd, breaking through a barrier to get to the sidewalk by the road. Behind them, Ned noticed the security guards and the cheerleaders running after him. The guards stumbled to a stop before the cheerleaders led up, but everyone let them go when they got too far.

Letting out a huge sigh, Sam hugged The Gregor. "Holy, shit. Now what?"

"Now we gotta fix The Gregor. What time is it? Do we have time to go to the grocery store?"

Sam checked his phone. Ned noticed a bunch of texts and calls on his phone too. "We're good. Looks like we're buying super glue."

"Hold tight."

Sam nodded and tried to catch his breath. He rested his head on Ned's shoulder, which burned most of his brain cells. He just hoped he could remember which way to go to the nearest store while thinking about Sam and the way he just confessed and the way his confession seemed like the very thing Sam wanted to hear...

Now Ned just had to figure out how to bring it up again.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello friends! We're back to the Prologue and now, past it! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a comment with all your thoughts and feelings, especially about Ned's declaration! He did it, but what now??? 

See you again soon with another update!