SAM

Outside the school parking lot, Sam leaned against Indie's car, totally dumbfounded. He kept looking at The Gregor and it continued to exist. His sunglasses covered eyes staring into Sam Hayes's soul. Sam could reach out and touch it and it would still be there. His finger couldn't faze through it.

The fact Margaret was yelling at them didn't even bother Sam. It just grounded this whole affair back to earth.

"You're like a stick of dynamite, Ned Flowers," Margaret berated Ned as if she was as big, as strong, and intimidating as mountain, even though she was pint sized and Ned was a gallon of a man. She snapped, "Something bad always happens when you're around!"

"How can this be a bad thing, Maggie?" Ned asked and motioned to The Gregor in Lena's arms. "I got The Gregor! He's famous for being a good thing!"

"I told you, it's Margaret and it's bad because you ruined my night."

Ned grabbed Margaret's elbow, pulling her towards him. He whispered, "And we ruined his night, so cool it."

Not that Griffin would've been the best first date in the world, obviously because assholes don't make good dates, but that wasn't something Sam should've had to figured out. A small fire ignited in Sam's stomach. Sam had to figure it out the hard way, the way he'd like Ned to never figure out. Imagining Ned kissing someone else made that small fire burst and burn his eyes.

"We should go," Lena suggested and handed The Gregor back to Ned. "I'm freezing and really hungry. All I've had today was Christmas cookies and I couldn't even finish those."

"Sure," Indie said. "Maggie, wanna go to Waffle House?"

"With you, sure. With him—" She pointed at Ned. "Not a chance. We'll end up spinning out and crashing through the window if he's around."

"We get it, Maggie," Sam said.

She kept going, walking herself to one of the many metal benches in front of the school and plopping down. She was legendary at throwing tantrums with a pout known far and wide as the most impressive. "I don't doubt Ned has already caused five tragedies on the way here. It's amazing you're all still standing. Where did you even get The Gregor? Did he just fall into your lap?"

Ned flushed. "Well, uh no. I was scrolling through Instagram and saw one of the Creekside cheerleaders had him and I just—"

"Stole it." Margaret scoffed, rolling her eyes and deepening her slouch. "Our parents are right." She looked at Sam when she said it. "The Flowers are nothing but a bunch of thieves."

"Ignore her, Ned," Sam said, noticing his head dip. "Let's just go to Waffle House."

Margaret held out her hands. "You're just gonna go and leave me here? What about our parents? They're on their way and they're gonna expect you to be here."

She was right. 

That would be the first question out of his mother's mouth, "Where's Sam?"

In part, his mother's anger could curdle Sam's stomach acids, but on the other hand... surprising his parents for once might be everything Sam wanted and more. Sam usually did exactly what they expected. Took the classes they wanted. Applied for all the college prep courses they advised. He never even told them he wanted to working in publishing. His dream of being an Editor might give his mother the aneurism she always threatened him with. 

Glancing at The Gregor, Sam plucked up his courage. He smiled his brightest, most sparkly smartass grin. "You're the one who told me to rebel!"

Tuning his sister out, Sam climbed into the backseat of the car with Lena and Indie sitting in the front. Ned crawled in too and their hands bumped each other. "Oh," Ned said, still blushing. He was so red, from the top of his ears and past the collar of his sweatshirt. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Sam mumbled.

Ned buckled The Gregor into the middle seat with both straps. He held his hands up as if willing The Gregor to remain in one piece as if it could spontaneously explode.

#

NED

With The Gregor in his lap, Ned rested his chin on top of his hat. He wished he didn't let words hurt him like sticks and stones. Words did stick to him like glue. Never getting picked off, super glued to his skin, so every harsh word was slathered on like another layer. The Flowers were thieves. There's nothing harmless about Ned Flowers. He was a freak.

And now, Ned was faced with what he was going to do next. He figured after he captured The Gregor, that would be it. He'd be done. He'd level up in life and add points to the courage category of his stats. But just like everything he did in his life, he was halfway from the finish line and too paralyzed to go on.

"Eat something," Sam instructed, pushing Ned's plate of hashbrowns and eggs at him. He handed him the bottle of ketchup too. Ned hasn't eaten hashbrown and scrambled eggs any other way since he was in elementary school.

One of the many local Waffle Houses was decked out in enough tinsel to cover a Christmas tree as tall as his house. A few of the staff even wore Santa hats. People were packed into booths, seated closely into tables too small for their party.

"I am," Ned said, taking his first bite of hashbrowns. He grabbed the ketchup and drenched everything on his plate in ketchup. He'd been doing it since he was a kid and didn't know how to eat breakfast any other way.

"So, are you just going to keep it?" Indie asked, pointing their fork at The Gregor.

"It's kind of a waste on me," Ned said. "I mean, I don't do anything. Ever. So why would I need luck?"

"Well..." Lena wasn't looking at Ned when she spoke to him, but she was obviously talking to him, about him, and over him all at the same time. Her words were so pointed it pricked at Ned's skin. "Maybe you can use him as inspiration and maybe, you can finish things."

Ned's brow furrowed. "Like comics?"

Lena sucked in her lips, trying not to give anything away. "Yeah, or whatever."

Ned's stomach tied another knot. He held onto The Gregor a little tighter. He didn't want to ask because he didn't want to know the answer. He'd rather avoid it until the problem was a distant memory.

Sighing, Sam shook out of his blazer and rolled up his sleeves. Ned was sort of mesmerized by it. By him. It had only been a few hours since Ned had seen Sam last... but in some ways, tonight has made Ned realize he's been looking at Sam through the veil of their preteen years. Sam's been trapped in what he was and looked like to Ned three years ago. Just as Ned hasn't moved from that spot either.

But Sam had gotten older.

Ned's eyes followed the line of Sam's chin to the curve of his lips.

And what started out as innocent had developed too. Ned wanted Sam like he's never wanted anything. And he was suddenly annoyed by the presence of his friends and the entire room. Life would be better if it could just be him and Sam all the time. Forever.

He caught Sam's eyes and quickly looked away. His face was a box of matches that caught a spark, bursting in quick wild flames. Curious, Ned glanced at him again. A third time made Ned realize Sam was actually staring at him too.

"What?" Ned grinned, leaning his arm into Sam's.

The side of Sam's lips pulled. "What?"

"You're staring at me."

"You're staring at me." Sam nudged him back, trying to suppress a smile. "Weren't you the one who needed to tell me something?"

Ned, Lena, and Indie froze for a split second until Indie boomed an announce fit for a stadium and not this small booth, "I think I'm going to shave my head after the holidays!"

"Really?" Lena replied, louder than necessary. "Do please tell!"

They divulged into the topic, which was either real or fake, but Ned still kept his voice down. "Um, I'll tell you about it later. Why were you staring at me?"

"That's not fair," Sam said, but he didn't seem actually upset. Still half smiling, Sam took a sip of his coffee and sat it down with hands covering the bottom. He seemed to be funneling the warmth and it rose into his own cheeks. Sometimes, Sam seemed cozier than a cat in a sunspot. Ned didn't think a lot of people noticed that.

Shrugging a little, Sam admitted, "I was just thinking about how I was in bed this morning, scrolling through Twitter and then you came to get me and suddenly, I had a whole new bookshelf."

He looked up from the coffee and caught Ned like a fish on a hook. "Tonight, I was having a terrible time and then, you came to get me." Sam nudged him again and that spot on his arm felt like it was cover in static. The air between them crackling. "And now I'm at Waffle House with my friends having a much better time."

Ned smiled. "I'll always come to get you Sam."

"I know," Sam whispered. "Thank you."

Taking a deep breath, Ned tipped his head and Sam rolled his eyes, the one to finally break their eye contact. He turned his head and all Ned could see were the backs of his red ears and the blush peeking out of his collar.

He thought about asking why he had such a terrible time, but Ned knew Sam. He probably didn't want to talk about it. He was the move on type... which might be the exact reason they've never had the conversation about their kiss ever before. It must've been a kiss as terrible as this night. Ned's stomach twisted and he tried covering the pain with ketchup covered hashbrowns.

"Ned," Lena spoke up and he jumped, having forgotten his friends were even there. "Hide The Gregor."

"Check please!" Indie raised their hand and a receipt emerged in their hands. Jumping out of the booth, Indie said, "Y'all can cash app me later."

"What's going on?" Ned said but didn't argue as he shoved The Gregor underneath his sweatshirt. His heart immediately drumming to the beat of All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey.

Indie said, "There's this car that keeps circling the restaurant."

"Restaurant is a strong word," Sam muttered.

Lena ignored him. "I thought they were just looking for a parking spot, but then I noticed they have that car window chalk paint that I feel are only supplied for Cheerleaders and then, I noticed it said Go Chipmunks."

Ned's eyes widened. "They found us."

"Who found us?" Sam furrowed his brow.

"We gotta go."

"That's what I'm saying!" Lena shouted.

Fumbling through the booth and the crowd, Ned and his friends scurried out of Waffle House and ran for Indie's car. A car blared its horn and Ned whipped around just as his hand seized the backseat handle. The car, a bright white SUV flicked its light at them as a leaned out of the passenger side window. "HEY YOU! Give The Gregor back!"

With a curse, Ned jumped into the car and Indie slammed on the gas. They whipped out of the parking lot. Ned rolled down his window and yelled back at them, "Sorry! But I need him!"

"We need him!"

Another girl leaned out the window. "And he's OURS!"

"Not anymore!" Indie shouted and peeled into the road, cutting another car off. They honked at us, but so did the cheerleaders. Indie joined traffic and started driving down the highway. "So, what is the plan? Where are we going?"

Fishing The Gregor out of his sweatshirt, Ned stared into his sunglasses covered eyes. It was suddenly such a heavy lawn gnome. Heavier than a dumbbell. Ned didn't think about it at the time, but the fate of The Gregor was suddenly in his hands. His life and legacy could change forever because of him. Ned could be the reasons hundreds of kids out there can't be inspired by The Gregor like him.

Or worse, The Gregor will hate this decision.

And then hate Ned forever. Until the end of time.

"I wish you could tell me what you want," Ned told the gnome.

"Well, Ned," Lena said, holding the headrest as she turned to look at him. "The Gregor's whole thing is about giving success to the students at Creekside, right? So maybe he should go to our school."

"Go Bulldogs," Indie said.

"Does that mean we should go back to the gym?" Ned asked, glancing through the back window for any sign of the cheerleaders.

"No," Sam raised his hand while he was looking at his phone. "The football guys left the dance. They went to a Christmas house party at Dylan Sanderson's. Maggie just sent me a text to guilt trip me that she doesn't get to go to that party either because of..." He eyed Ned. "Well, it doesn't matter."

"Do we know where he lives?" Ned asked.

"Nope, but I'm sure someone does. Lena, be a dear and grab my phone. Dial up Barbie. She'll tell us the way."

As Lena reached underneath Indie's butt, she grabbed their phone and went through a very surprising long phone list. "Why do you have Trixie Mattel on your phone?"

"Did I tell you to dial Trixie Mattel? Or did I tell you to dial Barbie?"

Rolling her eyes, Lena stopped snooping and finally called Barbie. She held the phone up on speaker as Indie drove off the highway and started circling an empty movie theater parking lot.

"Ned," Sam whispered, setting his hand between them. It looked like it was just asking to be picked up. "That thing you want to tell me, what was it?"

"I'll um... I'll tell you after we figure out the whole Gregor thing."

Sam shrugged and pulled away to look out the window. Sighing, Ned sat straight and jumped when he noticed Lena grimacing at him. She mouthed, "Do it."

"No," Ned mouthed back.

She made a show of rolling her eyes and Ned couldn't help himself. Keeping his voice low, he snapped back, "You're not great at talking either so get off my back."

Her brow furrowed so much, her glasses slid down her nose. "What's that supposed to mean?'

"Nothing," Ned lied.

If he was on the nice list this year, Ned was surely going to be on the naughty list by the end of the night. Stealing, lying, and getting into fights. He just hoped this night could be over soon before he added any real misdemeanors to that list. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE

That is the question, right? What to do with The Gregor now? Is giving him over to the football players the best idea? And it looks like the cheerleaders aren't gonna give up without a fight! We're not leaving Nisha and Addie behind~ There's still more of their story to tell. And we're only going to see more familiar faces. 

Don't forget to leave a comment and tell me what you think about the story so far! What would YOU do with The Gregor? 

And if you're enjoying the book, you can check out my COMPLETED works and put this one in your library to keep up with updates. My goal is to finish this book before the end of the month.