"Did you know that your initials were X.O.?" I asked as I popped the gummy bears I had brought into my mouth. With my feet propped on the dashboard of my Beetle, I made myself comfortable as Xander lay on a skateboard-thing, tinkering away beneath my car.

"No," Xander replied, pushing himself from under the Beetle, his head and shoulders sticking out beneath me. "Do you know that never in my twenty years of life did I realize that the name Xander O'Hara gave me the initials, X.O.?" He made a face. "What would I do without you, Thalia?"

"Very funny, O'Hara," I said, tossing a gummy bear at him.

He laughed, catching it with greasy hands.

"Are you seriously going to--"

Xander popped the candy into his mouth.

"And there's my answer."

"What?" He shrugged, rolling slowly beneath the car. "Thirty second rule, Thal. Duh."

I threw my head back and laughed. "You're so dumb," I said, shaking my head.

Xander's head popped back out. "Hey!" He pouted. "My feelings are hurt."

"What?" I shrugged. "The truth hurts, remember?"

I chuckled to myself, leaning my head against the headrest, a comfortable silence falling upon the garage.

After a while, I looked down.

I threw another candy at Xander, who lie beneath me, smiling. "What?"

"Nothing!" He exclaimed defensively as the little bear bounced beside his head. "C'mon, throw better."

"Xander, you know I can't throw, okay?"

"Dude, I'm like a foot away from you. I'm not asking you to throw a pitch."

I nodded, "You're right, 'cause that would be impossible."

"Y'know," he began, as I tossed him another piece of candy, "you should come play with us sometime."

I nearly choked. "Play what?" I sputtered. "I know you can't possibly mean baseball."

"What?" he shrugged, looking up at me with big, puppy-dog brown eyes. "What's wrong with that?"

"Xander," I began, "what part of 'I don't do sports' don't you understand?"

"But it'll be with us. We aren't playing in a tournament, Thalia," he said matter-of-factly. "It's just a friendly game between friends."

I stared at the bag in my hands. "I don't know..."

"You could be our ninth! Invite your brother and we've got ten. Don't you want us to have even teams?"

"Well..."

Xander groaned. "April and Mischa make twelve. We could play six on six."

I grabbed another gummy bear. "Now, see here..."

"C'mon, Thalia. I bet if Roman asked you, you'd come in a heartbeat."

"Not true," I said defensively.

By the look on Xander's face, he didn't believe me for a second.

"It's just..." I let my eyes fall back on the bag. "Remember what happened last time we hung out? Y'know, as in Century City," I turned to him. "Last weekend," I widened my eyes. "With Nikita--"

"Yeah, Thal, thanks. I was there."

"A friendly movie between friends turned into a screaming match between enemies, Xander."

"Again, Thalia," Xander snapped, "I was there."

I threw him another bear. "What's you guys' problem with each other? You two argue like cats and dogs," I paused. "Or werewolves and vampires."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I think I get the reference."

"Or," I grinned, "or, Beliebers and Supernaturalists."

"Okay, you lost me," Xander said. "Things just got weird. I'm uncomfortable."

"Well, you get the point!"

Xander shook his head. "That's the thing, I don't have any problems with Nikita."

I raised an eyebrow. "Right."

"Really! I don't!"

I clicked my tongue. "So why is she out for blood every time you guys are in the same room?"

"Dunno," he shrugged, rolling back beneath my car. "It's not my problem."

"Xander," I placed my Ugg-clad foot on his chest, permitting him from rolling away. "You do know; you just don't want to tell me."

He didn't respond.

"C'mon, Xander, we're friends, right?"

"There's nothing to talk about, Thalia."

"Why don't you want to tell me?"

"Why should I?"

"Because we're friends! Friends trust each other, Xander."

"I do trust you, Thalia" he said, chocolate eyes wide as he peered up at me. "I do."

I threw up a hand. "Then why won't you tell me?"

"So what?" He snapped, gaze steely as he stared my way. "So you can hate me, too?"

"Xander, I'd never..." I shook my head, because that was not the response I had been expecting. I looked down at Xander, whose eyes never waivered from mine, and I sighed. "Xander, I would--I could never hate you."

His laugh was loaded with contempt. "Sure."

I groaned loudly. "Fine," I held up my hands. "I surrender. I won't bring it up again, okay?"

"Thanks, now could you get off of me?" He stared at my foot still on his chest. "I'm trying to get this muffler fixed before I leave today."

"How's it lookin' under there?" I asked. If Xander and Nikita weren't talking about their feud, then I was going to go straight to my next most reliable sources: their friends. I was not giving up that easily.

"Want to see for yourself?"

I looked from my GW crewneck and jeans to Xander's grease-covered ensemble. "Maybe not today," I said. "But, thanks."

"Thalia, you won't get dirty," Xander laughed, smile returning as the playful atmosphere in the garage was revived.

"I don't believe that for a second," I said, stretching. I pushed myself from my seat in the car and stood beside Xander's head.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, scrambling to get off of his rolling board. "Where are you going?"

"Shopping." I laughed as Xander finally rose to a stand.

He wrinkled his nose. "Aren't you always doing that?"

"Don't blame me," I shrugged. "It's Aaron's fault."

"What?" Xander asked, the corner of his lip raising in a small grin. "He's making you shop with him?"

I shook my head. "He's the only one I still haven't found a gift for."

"Thalia," Xander laughed, "there's a full week until Christmas. You know that, right?"

"Yes, Xander," I said, placing my hands on my hips. "But, I always wait until like, Christmas Eve to buy his present and it always ends up being super crappy compared to whatever he spends all of his money on for me."

Xander cocked his head, staring at me sideways. "So, pretty much you're a horrible sister."

My mouth opened defensively, but I snapped it shut.

I nodded. "Maybe a little."

Xander threw his head back and laughed aloud. "My present better be better than his."

I froze.

"Who said I was getting you anything?" I asked teasingly, but getting Xander a present? The thought hadn't even crossed my mind. I was actually grateful that he'd brought it up. This kid was fixing a freaking car for me. The very least I could do was buy him a Christmas present.

Xander shrugged playfully. "I've already bought your gift."

My eyes widened immediately. "Shut up! No you haven't."

"I sure have," Xander nodded. "Roman helped me pick it out and everything. It was expensive as hell, too."

"There's no way--" I watched as a Xander's straight face waivered. A grin broke out across his lips.

I punched him in the arm.

"Ouch!" He exclaimed. "Damn it, Thal," he laughed. "Are you sure you don't box?"

"You're a terrible liar, Xander."

"How can you always tell?" He asked, following me from the garage.

I scoffed. As if it was even a question. "You start smiling after you lie! It's like you're trying to laugh and give yourself away."

He was still grinning. "Oh."

"Yeah," I nodded. "You should probably work on that."

"Eh. I like that you can tell."

I rolled my eyes, pulling my mom's keys from my pocket. "Bye, Xander."

Xander linked his fingers through the metal as he leaned against the fence, watching me as I walked to my car.

"Have fun shopping."

I stopped just outside the car door and turned back towards him. "What are you doing for the rest of the day?" I asked. "I'm sure you've got better things to do than stay in this garage."

He shook his head. "In case you've forgotten, Thalia, I have a car that I'd like to finish up, 'kay? Thanks."

I laughed. "Xander, you're always here. It's your winter break, too. I'm starting to feel bad that you're always working on this thing for me."

He shrugged. "I want you to be able to drive it before you go back to school."

I squinted against the sun. "Xander..."

"What? It's been fun!"

I didn't stop staring at him.

"Thalia," he began with a laugh. "Seriously, there's no place I'd rather be."

I opened the car door. "You'd better not be lying to me," I said.

"I'm not!"

"Good," I exclaimed, "because if you are, I will find out. I will. I shall."

His eyes sparkled as he shook his head, chuckling.

"Bye!" I called, waving, and as I drove away, through my mirrors I could see that Xander stayed attached to the fence, watching my car until he disappeared from sight.

There was a week until Christmas.

Seven days.

"Damn it," I cursed as I rode shotgun in Eliza's Prius. She'd picked April and me up shortly after I returned from the garage. "What the hell am I going to get Aaron for Christmas?"

"That's easy," April shrugged from the backseat. "Just get him the same thing I get Leigh."

The car cabin filled with laughter.

"And the Best Sister of the Year Award goes to April," Eliza announced. "Sorry, Thal, but Ap takes first place this year."

She shrugged. "It's about time someone gave me the recognition I deserve."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "I'll figure something out..." I said. My brother loved anything clothes or sports related. I'd choose what to buy depending on the stores in the mall--that's what I usually did. I looked around at my friends. "Where are we headed, anyway?"

"I was thinking The Grove," Eliza said. "If we hate everything there, we could always go to the Beverly Center."

I nodded. The Beverly Center was only a few blocks up, so placement was perfect.

"As long as we stay far from Century City, I'm down," April exclaimed. "I think I've been permanently scarred for life."

"Yeah," Eliza nodded, gripping the wheel with both hands. "It's going to be a while before I can shop there without having flashbacks about Nikita screaming in my face."

"She was definitely Jeckyl and Hyde manifested," April added. "What happened on Saturday was some serious Two-Face shit. Paranormal Activity isn't even scary compared to the veins popping out of Nikita Moore A.K.A. Harvey Dent's neck."

I choked on a laugh.

"You should have heard Leigh in the car on the ride home," April continued. "She was all, 'this is why you don't keep secrets' blah blah blah..."

"She's right!" I exclaimed. "I never need what happened this weekend to ever, ever happen again."

"I don't know about you," Eliza said, "but I'm still having nightmares. Nikki still won't speak to me, either."

April and I nodded in agreement.

"She won't answer any of my calls or texts," I said.

"And you two got the brunt of it," April continued.

"No," I said, "Mischa did. Nikita's been ignoring her at home."

Eliza shook her head. "No way."

"Yes, way," I continued, recalling the conversation I had with Mischa. She'd slept over at my house for the rest of the weekend, and when she finally did return home, Nikita had instantly given her the cold shoulder and the silent treatment.

"Apparently, Nikita's only speaking to Misch when she has to."

"Anyone who tried to talk her off the ledge got like, blacklisted or something," April nodded. "We're like on some kind of 'Most Wanted List,' in Nikita's eyes."

"I know," Eliza sighed, running a hand through her thick, curly black hair. "I mean," she paused, "in high school, when she said she didn't like Xander or his friends, I just assumed that it was for a good reason. It was like, she hated them so, duh. Naturally I did, too. And besides," she continued, "I thought they totally lived up to their nicknames at Westchester. Everyone knew the stars of the baseball team," she snorted. "I was head cheerleader. Of course I knew their reputations."

"But, you guys have been out of high school for fuckin' three years," April stressed.

"Exactly, Ap," Eliza shook her head. "Things were fine and dandy when we just ignored each other. I don't know what to think, now."

I broke the silence that fell over the car.

"Did anyone know about Mischa and Robert?" I asked. "Was I seriously the only one surprised by that?"

Eliza shook her head. "You were definitely not the only one."

"Well..."

I turned around in my seat and Eliza nearly crashed her car.

"What do you mean, well???"

April grinned. "Well, after Thal gave me my phone back, you'll never guess who texted me."

Eliza peered at her through her mirror. "Who?"

"Collin."

"No way."

"Shut up!"

April nodded. "Apparently, I gave him my number at the party."

I snorted. "Apparently."

"Whatever, Thal," April exclaimed, pushing me from behind. "I was drunk, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Eliza exclaimed. "Tell the story, Ap!"

She shook her head. "So, anyway, we started texting and I told him that Misch had been M.I.A., and..." she scowled. "Well, here," she thrust her phone towards Eliza and me. "You can see for yourself."

I took the phone out of her hand. Her message chain with Collin was already open.

"Just scroll through."

"Umm, hello!" Eliza exclaimed. "I'm driving here!"

"Fine," I laughed, before picking up in the middle of April's conversation and reading aloud:

CP - so wyd today?

AK - Getting drunk. :P

CP - seriously?

AK - No lol. That nonsense is reserved for weekends.

Eliza and I laughed.

"Lies."

"Shut up!"

CP - ...

CP - I can't tell if you're lying or not lol.

AK - Lmao! Don't worry, I am. I'm currently shopping with my sister because all of my friends have lives.

CP - ha. at least your friend didn't cancel plans on you. :/

AK - What do you mean?

CP - rob was gonna hang out but he bailed again.

AK - Aww. The frat bro got stood up?

CP - lol yeah I guess

CP - can't be mad tho...he's on a date. it means a lot to him so it's cool.

AK - Really? With who? Some dumb UCLA girl?

CP - lmao noo. not unless your friend goes to ucla.

AK - My frirnd????

AK - *friend

CP - yeah

CP - you didn't know?

AK - No! Which friend????

CP - umm...

AK - COLLIN TELL ME.

CP - ah shit

"I do not believe this!" I exclaimed, handing April her phone back. "Collin knew? How did Collin know?"

"He didn't tell me all that, Thalia."

"But," I sputtered, "not even Roman knew! How did Collin know?"

"They were always close, Thal," Eliza said. "If Robert wasn't with Rome, he was with Collin. Just like Roman typically pairs up with Tucker. Xander's kind of the only loner, 'cause Jason, Nico and David are always together, too."

Yeah, arguing, I wanted to add.

"You've hung out with them," Eliza said with a small smile. "Haven't you noticed that?"

"Wow," I said, because she was right. "I never..."

April shrugged. "Well, I didn't even put two and two together until I saw Mischa with Robert at the movies. For a second I thought he was talking about you, Thal."

I didn't believe what I was hearing. "Me?" I gasped. "Me and Robert?"

April nodded from the backseat. "Now, that would have been a scandal."

Eliza laughed. "Poor Collin. He walked right into a trap."

"Speaking of Collin," I said. "Guys, I've got to get Xander a gift for Christmas."

"Why?" Eliza exclaimed.

"Does Roman know?" April teased.

I shook my head, explaining to Eliza how Xander was the one fixing up my car.

"Oh yeah," she nodded. "Everyone who had a car used to take it to his dad's shop. Students got a discount on repairs."

"Well, he's doing my baby for free," I said. "The least I can do is buy him a Christmas gift."

"What about the other guys?" April asked. "A.K.A. Collin who found my phone and Roman who loves you?"

"Very funny," I barked as Eliza laughed beside me. "I hadn't thought about it...Remember, like an hour ago I wasn't going to do anything at all."

"And the award for Worst Friend goes to Thalia," Eliza giggled. "Way to go, Thal. A+ for lack of effort."

"Okay, fine!" I exclaimed. "What do you guys suggest I do? I don't want to come off as creepy...What if Roman gets my gift and thinks I'm trying too hard?"

April shook her head. "He won't."

"Yeah, how would you know? He didn't tell you, April."

"He likes you!"

"So? We haven't even gone out, yet! We aren't even dating, Ap." I wished we were though. I had definitely dreamt about it...The possibilities consumed at least 75% of my thoughts.

Or maybe 90%.

Fuck it, I thought about him a good 99.3% of the time. The other .7% was reserved for Christmas shopping, my car and now, how to get Nikita from ignoring the hell out of her friends.

"Wait! I've got it!"

We turned to Eliza.

"We can all chip in: you two, me, Jamie and Mischa. We'll all get everyone gifts, and that way, with it coming from a group of us, Roman and Collin won't feel creeped out."

"I mean, Nikita won't speak to us anyway. We might as well, right?"

That's when an actual light bulb went off over my head.

"No, wait!" I exclaimed, snapping my fingers. "We should do Secret Santa! We could all get together and pick names. It'll be more fun that way!"

April and Eliza nodded.

"Perfect," Eliza said. "That's called teamwork!"

I nodded. "Did you see how we totally played off each other's ideas like that?"

"We're like, Batman and Robin, Thal."

"Gru and his minions."

"Dwayne Wade and Lebron James."

"There we go. I'm definitely Lebron."

"Pssh, in your dreams. Thal, you're the artist. I'm way more athletic than you."

"Okay, weirdos, that's enough," April interjected. "D'you think Jamie and Mischa'll be up for it?"

"Umm, hell yes to Misch," I nodded. "Obviously."

"And it's a 'yes' for Jamie, too," Eliza added. "She'll probably think this is a great idea to get Nikita to start talking to the guys."

April scoffed. "Or hate us even more..."

"Half full!" I exclaimed. "Let's make our glass half full, Ap."

"Just keeping it real, Thal."

"This'll be a first," Eliza murmured. "It's like I spent all four years of high school ignoring these guys, and now I'm buying them Christmas presents," she shook her head. "What is the world coming to?"

"Change is good," I said, patting her arm.

"Sometimes," April added.

I twisted around in my seat. "Most times."

"Nope, Thal," Eliza shook her head. "I'm with Ap--Sometimes."

"Half full, you two!" I exclaimed again. "There's a silver lining somewhere!"

But, Eliza was right: this would be a first. Getting my girls together with the guys? Things would either be perfect or...

I shook my head, rebuking the thoughts that dare ruin my hopefulness and positivity.

"Half, full, Thalia," I reminded myself. "Half full..."

-~*~-

Okay, so I'm super duper excited for this next chapter. Seriously. This is the first time that almost everyone is together and I can't wait. Like, I'm so hype for you guys to read.

P.S. It's snowing and I'm freezing. I'm in my room and my nose is cold like I'm outside or something. There's something horribly wrong with that.

Anyway, I need to find some heat.

Vomment lovely people. <3