It wasn't what I expected. I expected something not so sentimental or gorgeous, not something so... hand picked. But that was a good thing.

"Colin..." I whispered, turning to him. I smiled and kissed his cheek, which was starting to get a little stubble on it.

He smiled back at me. "Do you like it?" He asked.

I could tell he wasn't completely focused on being happy, I couldn't blame him. We had been through a lot together. Everything was changing. But he was trying, and to me that mattered a great deal. From someone who understood what he was going through, I knew it was hard to do even that.

"Well duh!" I slipped my hand into the bracelet, letting the silver chain glint in the dim lighting. On it, was one charm. A yin and yang done in obsidian and opal. It was simple and sweet, something not too flashy. It was perfect.

He stretched his arms up. "I know you didn't get me anything but... I had to get you something."

I cringed up. I mean sure Christmas presents wasn't on the top of my list of things to do, but I didn't even think about getting anyone anything for even the merest of a second.

"I'm sorry, Col."

"You don't have to be sorry." He chuckled. "Just make it up to me later." He kissed my jaw lightly and pulled away, licking his lips.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay hot shot." I laughed and pushed him lightly away, slouching.

He hummed lightly. "You think I'm kidding but... I'm really not."

And that was the worst yet best part. I knew he wasn't. "I'll tell you what, we can do whatever you want and that'll be your merry Christmas."

"Whatever?" He asked, a devious look on his face that made me realize that I was really going to regret my next word.

"Yes."

****

I was tired and my legs were sore. My head was pounding but I felt great. I tried to stand but failed and fell back.

"Can't believe that wore you out." Colin laughed, rolling next to me.

I widened my eyes. "I can't believe you're not tired."

He shook his head. "Nah, I used to make this hike all the time."

I looked around the woods, the snow glistening off of every pine and shining from every angle. We had hiked up a large large hill and laid out a tarp, on which we spread out a blanket.

We were in a small clearing, the sunset hidden by trees.

"I workout for a living and I'm dying." I crossed my arms underneath my head and laid down, taking deep breaths of winter.

He laid down next to me, running his hand through my hair. "I'd say the same but... I'm already dead."

I scoffed. "Then you should feel like you're living again. We all know it's painful."

"Mine was a joke, yours is just sad." He poked my nose and smiled at me. "I want you to close your eyes."

I narrowed them at him instead. "I don't know... that could lead to many different things. You could kill me or kiss me or..."

"Just close your eyes, Eve." He groaned, but laughed while he did so. "Trust me."

I held my hands up in defeat and then placed them back. "Okay okay." I closed my eyes and focused on Colin's breathing, something I needed to ask him if he even had to do. I was pretty sure he didn't... so why did he breath?

"I want you to keep them closed, just relax, let go of all your problems. Your uncle, your dad, your family. Let it go." He kissed my eyes and grabbed my hand. "Just a little while longer. Take deep breaths."

I tried to clear my mind, I really did. But all I saw was Uncle Kas's body on the floor, replaced with my father's. All I saw was me with a blade through Colin's heart on that abandoned locker room's floor.

I took a deep breath, trying over and over and over to remove the images.

"Open your eyes, Eve." I opened them, and I saw a million stars floating above me in cascades of silver glitter on black felt.

Around us, the trees outlined my view into a near perfect circle. Snow was covering the ground and the stars reflected off of it, making the ground shimmer.

The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. But it was dotted with little specs of Heaven.

I looked away for a moment to see Colin staring at me. "We are... in a bad spot. A bad situation. We've both said things that have... harmed the other. But... just because things get ugly doesn't mean there's no beauty." He snuggled closer to me on the blanket. I was glad there was a tarp under the blanket despite the loud noises that sounded through the woods whenever either of us moved. "We've argued and fought but we're stressed with the whole world against us. We're making it work in a burning world and I think we're doing a damn fine job." He brought my head to his chest and sniffled. I couldn't be sure whether he was crying or if the weather was getting to him. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to the weather.

"Good point."

"I'm full of those, dear." He chuckled.

As much as I didn't like the nickname in the beginning, dear had begun to grow on me. I loved it just because it was what he called me.

I looked up to the sky and sighed contently. I was mesmerized by the field of diamonds above us. By him. "How did you find this place?"

"My mom found it. We'd go picnicking here." He yawned and stretched his arms.

I sat up and looked down at his long frame. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "No, it's fine. I know this isn't her." He sounded so defeated and broken that it crushed my heart. And yet he was optimistic. Maybe that was the worst part. Being happy even though his optimism was useless.

I laid my head down on his chest. "Merry Christmas. It's a crappy one, but still..."

He kissed my forehead. "You're here so everything is okay."

I chuckled and closed my eyes, ready to fall asleep. My breathing synced with Colin's, our embrace a tennis match of emotions and words that didn't have to be said. It was an understanding moment of quietness, complete bliss.

"I'm not giving you up. Ever. You know that, right?" He turned and looked at me. "Nobody is dragging you away from me."

He was so honest and true. People like that weren't so easy to find. Everything about this moment was perfect from the stars in the sky to the stars in his eyes.

"Yeah, I know." I meant to match his intensity, match his meaningfulness but I fell halfway. I had lost too much to make a promise like that.

"I'm serious." He set a hand on my shoulder. "Everly, I'm yours."

We went in for a kiss at the same second, our lips meeting in a time stopping moment but I just wished everything would move faster. I was hungry for something I didn't ever really think I wanted or needed before but at the moment it felt so right.

My body heated up as Colin rolled over to on top of me, resting on his elbows as his longing eyes raked me up and down.

I tilted my chin up at him, defiance written on my face. "Is right now the right time to even commit to this?" I hoped he was on the same track that I was on, and considering the tension every time we met eyes, I felt safe to suppose that we were. I rolled over so I was on top, resting on his hips in a sitting up position.

He grabbed my sides and pulled me in roughly. "I've been wanting to commit to this, I just want to make sure everything is okay with you." He flipped us once again so I was back on bottom.

I had made out with Colin before but something about this was different. We were both striving for something far beyond what we had already done.

This wasn't a kiss that would lead to nothing, this was a kiss that could lead to everything.

"Well I mean, if we're going at this in a—"

"Yes or no?" He asked a little more sternly. I hadn't ever really seen this side of him. The side that was pushy and dominate. Couldn't say that I hated it.

"Yes." I said breathily.

He leaned in for a kiss but I turned my head so he missed and planted one on my cheek instead.

He ran kisses down my neck until he reached my color bone and then went back up. He tried to go in for another but I smiled and turned.

"I thought you wanted to?" He asked.

"Oh I do." I teasingly pulled on his shirt.

He tilted his head. "Then kiss me."

"Then make me." I responded, looking up through my lashes.

He took off my shirt, discarding it, and ran his hands down my sides until they rested on my hips.

***

I woke up covered in a blanket I didn't even know we brought, laying close to Colin. Our bodies entangled in each other's, snow laying over us.

"Colin?" I whispered, watching the sun start to rise. It was winter so the sun was rising late.

I looked over to check the time. 7:58. Among with 8 missed calls from Dallas and a lot of texts from him.

I shook Colin as I looked around for clothes. I winced and he shot up and looked at me. "We fell asleep."

I closed my eyes and laid back. "My brother is going to kill me."

"Us." Colin corrected. "But uh, best Christmas of my life that's for sure." He smirked at me.

"It's about to be the last Christmas of your life if we don't go back." I snapped.

I called Dallas up, him answering faster than any of my family members have ever answered.

"Where the fuck are you? Are you okay?" He asked. "I went to Colin's and you weren't there either."

I blew out a heavy breath. "Well you see here, we went camping." It sounded even stupider than I thought it would.

"Camping?" He repeated.

"Yes."

"I don't want to know, I'm just glad your safe." He was relieved and I could tell that even through the phone. Something happened.

I looked to Colin who had the same thought process. "Is everything okay? Is Zach okay?"

"Yeah." Dallas wasn't convincing at all. "We're just worried..."

"What happened?"

He faltered for a couple moments. "King Trelpses of the Weepers is dead. King Anaforo's of the Necromancer's Wife has been taken. And Queen Seralphira and her son have been murdered. All evidence points towards Clay."

I made a panicked look to Colin and then stood up, finding my clothes and clumsily throwing them on quickly. "How?"

"Apparently Clay did kill them. I guess. Because— guess who called me? My EX GIRLFRIEND! Yeah! Thanks for that! She said that there was no time to waist on waiting for a witch. Clay killed them and then Konrad I guess I don't know, somehow told everyone that Clay flipped out because his kid has completed the Prophesy and that more death is going to brought because Arlis has a human mate. Everly shit is going to— even worse shit."  He was breathing heavily by the end, taking too many breaths. He practically said that all in one breath.

I bit my nails. This is bad. Bad bad.

"Dallas? What are you gunna do? What are we going to do?" Colin put on his clothes too and began rolling up the tarp and blankets to take down the mountain.

"Sis... I... I don't know. Pray? Try to find mom? Run." He said it last, but he seemed dead set on choosing the option of running. I couldn't say that I blamed him.

This was the endgame.

"People want you and Colin dead, sis. They want blood." And that was the only confirmation I needed.

We had to run.

I know this chapter is A) Short and B) Slightly disappointing because there's no smut. I just A) Feel like there's a lot to take in and adjust to so it shouldn't be a long chapter and B) Would you rather have really badly written cringey smut or no smut. 😂. I'm sorry. I just really can't write smut. I don't feel comfortable writing that YET. I'll eventually get there.

ANYWAYS— I hope you all have an amazing day. I love you all.