I walked toward their driveway and saw that Melissa was already outside, swinging on their old swingset. Her little brothers were out there all the time in the fall, but now it was just her.
I smiled and waved, and she wiped at her face as I came closer.
At first, I thought the cold was making her nose red, but then I saw the evidence of tears she hadn’t managed to brush off. Her red-rimmed blue eyes turned down.
“Hey, Melissa,” I said softly.
She hardly looked up. “Hey, sorry.” She wiped her hands on her jeans.
I took another step closer and offered the bag of cookies. “I thought you guys might like some cookies. I baked a ton and—”
She took the cookies and gave me a small smile. “Thanks, Harper. You’re so sweet to think of us.”
“Sure,” I said. I sat down on the swing next to her, and we slowly swung for a couple minutes, our feet not leaving the ground.
I glanced at her and noticed the tears were back. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”
The tears came full force, and she stood up, the bag of cookies still in her hand. I stood too, took in her crumpled face, and gave her a hug. We’d never really talked except on the short bus ride home, but she was always nice and funny and didn’t seem like the person to cry unless something was truly wrong.
After a few minutes, she wiped her nose with the sleeve of her shirt.
I looked at her, and she looked at her feet. “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.
She exhaled and finally met my gaze. “My dad lost his job a couple weeks ago.”
My mouth fell open. “Oh, Melissa. I’m so sorry. That’s horrible.”
She nodded. “He’s having a hard time finding something else. My mom and dad said we won’t be doing Christmas this year after all. I mean, things were already kind of hard. I don’t really care. I just want him to find another job. But my younger brothers are a little upset about Christmas.”
“I am so sorry, Melissa. About everything. Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.
She shrugged. “No, it’s okay. I just needed to talk to someone about it, I guess. Thanks for listening.”
She stood up again, and it seemed like she was going to head back inside. Which made sense since it was freezing out here. “Thanks again for the cookies, Harper. My brothers are going to love these.”
I nodded. “Sure thing. And listen, I’m sure he’ll find something sooner or later. I’ll tell my mom, see if she knows of anything, okay?”
For the first time, she cracked a smile, and that made me feel better. “Thank you.” And with that, she headed back inside.
I did the same, sitting on the couch with a sugar cookie of my own and a Christmas movie on TV. However, it just wasn’t the same when I knew Melissa and her family weren’t going to have Christmas this year.
Her brothers were still in elementary school. They probably didn’t understand why they wouldn’t get presents on Christmas morning.
My phone buzzed, interrupting my string of thoughts, and Emerson’s name popped up on my screen.
Emerson: Hey, beautiful ;) will I get to see you tonight?
My heart practically glowed as I read my boyfriend’s message, but I knew the situation at hand needed my full attention if I was going to be able to do anything about it.
Harper: There’s something I have to do. See you at Tori’s Christmas Eve party?
Emerson: Sure, if that means you’ll dance with me :)
Harper: Count on it <3
A smile fading from my face, I stared at our little but perfect Christmas tree. It was stationed right in front of the window so it could be seen from outside. Ornaments of all sizes and glimmering white lights hung from its branches.
The sight was usually enough to put me in a great mood. But not right now.
I unlocked my phone and opened the #BFFs thread.
Harper: Guys, I just found out about a family in need. They can’t afford Christmas this year. My friend’s dad lost his job :( We have to do something about this. Tell me you’re with me? <3
Ella: OF COURSE. Tell me what you need.
Tori: Aw :( same. Let’s help.
Rey: :/ me too. I’m in.
Lena: Count me in!
Reading their immediate replies full of enthusiasm, my heart felt like it might explode. My friends were the best.
Together, we had to find a way to bring Christmas to Melissa and her family.
But how?
Five
Ella
Lena insisted she couldn’t escape the chores she had at home, Tori said she was busy buying a dress for her Christmas Eve party, and Rey assured us she’d be right over after a family thing. But they all promised to pitch in and help us wrap presents later.
For now, it was just Harper and me, brainstorming ways to make Christmas happen for her friend Melissa’s family.
We sat on stools at my kitchen counter. Harper had a pencil and notepad, ready to jot down ideas. “I’d love it if we could make this a surprise, you know?” she asked. “Show up on their doorstep on Christmas Eve with some gifts.”
“Maybe some groceries too,” I said. “If her dad lost his job, I bet they’re struggling to pay the bills too.”
She smiled. “That’s a great idea! But how are we going to pay for all this? I have some babysitting money, but it wouldn’t be nearly enough.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I could pitch in too, but it wouldn’t be much. Not enough to buy presents for all three kids and groceries.” I thought for a minute, and Harper did the same, bringing the tip of her pencil to her chin. “What if we asked our parents for donations? I’m sure my aunt would be happy to contribute.”
Her eyes lit up. “My mom could ask her friends at work.” Then she deflated like a balloon. “Wait, they’re probably broke like everyone else since it’s two days before Christmas…”
Even the guy dressed up as Santa outside the mall hardly got a second glance these days.
I shrugged. “Every dollar counts, though.” I wracked my brain for more ideas.
She nodded, and it looked like there were wheels turning inside her head. “I could use my baby-sitting money to bake some more holiday cookies and sell those to raise money.”
She began writing all of our ideas down, but I wondered if it would be enough. Especially since we only had a day to figure this all out.
Harper’s pencil’s eraser was back at her chin.
“Think of it this way,” I said. “Anything we can do to help will mean a lot for that family.”
She nodded, but her usual happy smile was missing. “You’re right, you’re right. I just wish there was a way we could do more.”
I gave her a sideways hug. “I’m sure we’ll come up with something.”
My phone buzzed on the counter, and I picked it up.
“Jesse?” Harper asked with a wink.
I nodded. “Yeah,” I replied. Then I frowned upon reading his text.
Jesse: Hey. There’s a big snowstorm heading this way. Not sure if flights will get canceled or delayed :/
“Is everything okay?” Harper asked.
I sighed. “I’m not sure. Jesse’s supposed to be getting back from visiting family in New York, but he’s saying he might not make it. And with me and my aunt leaving on Christmas Day for Puerto Rico, I may not see him until I get back.”
“Bummer,” she said. “Hopefully, he’ll make it back okay.” She patted my shoulder and stood up. “I’m wishing for snow over here, and they’re getting buried in it over there, huh?”
I gave her a small smile. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
But my mind was still on Jesse.
He and his family had left the first day of winter break a week ago, and we’d hardly been able to say goodbye. We’d been looking forward to spending Christmas Eve together at Tori’s party before he spent Christmas with his family. Now there was a good chance I wouldn’t see him until after the New Year
.
Talk about putting a total damper on the holidays. I was already starting to feel a lot more like the Scrooge that was Lena lately.
What was Christmas without the one person I really wanted to be with? The one who still made my stomach erupt with butterflies? Who made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world for having a boyfriend who was so incredibly handsome and sweet?
It had already been torture not seeing him over winter break.
It just wouldn’t be Christmas without him.
Six
Tori
I sighed. “I just don’t even know if that’s the right shade of green,” I said, letting my hands fall at my sides.
Noah stood on a chair, holding a bunch of green balloons near the fireplace like I’d asked him too. And he’d so kindly done.
He raised a brow at me. “Not the right shade of green?” His mouth twitched up into a smile, and I could tell he thought I was being ridiculous, but I really wanted this party to be perfect.
I shook my head. “They’re obviously too lime green and not forest green like they should be. Take them down. I think we’ll stick with the red ones.”
He stepped off the chair and let the balloons float to the ceiling while he came in close.
“Noah,” I said, trying my best not to whine. “We’re never going to finish decorating this place if you insist on doing this every five minutes.”
But when he pecked me on the cheek and then moved to my exposed shoulder, I smiled. Even so, I nudged him away. “We still have the rest of the decorations to go out and buy. We don’t have nearly enough.”
He brushed his thumb on my bottom lip and kept his gaze there. “Who cares? You know this party is gonna be great. Color-coordinated decorations or not,” he teased.
But I didn’t have just decorations to go out and buy. I still hadn’t found the right dress.
And then there was the most important question of all.
What was I going to get Noah for Christmas?
As if I wasn’t under enough pressure to host the perfect Christmas Eve party, which the entire school was invited to, I had to also find the perfect gift for my boyfriend of several months.
The problem was that Noah was impossible to shop for. He didn’t care about clothes (even if he somehow pulled off what we wore). Besides, he just wasn’t a materialistic guy.
But I wanted to give him something that would light up a smile in him on Christmas Eve.
Noah waved a hand in front of my face. “What are you thinking about?”
I gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Nothing. Just that I have a ton of shopping to do before the stores shut down tomorrow night, and I should get going.”
He stepped away and looked down for a second. “Are we still on for later?”
Later? I opened my mouth, trying to remember what he was talking about. “Uh…”
“Hanging out with Isabella and Emma? We’re supposed to make gingerbread houses and stuff?”
I groaned. “That’s tonight?” I asked, finally remembering that we had indeed set this up last week.
“Kind of,” he said.
“Oh, man,” I said. “I still have so much to do, though. I mean, just look.” I gestured around the room. The decorations were hardly done, I had Christmas shopping to finish, and I somehow had to find a dress within the next twenty-four hours. “Are you sure we can’t…do this tomorrow maybe?”
But we both knew tomorrow would be even crazier than today with the party happening that evening. “I’m sorry, Noah. I just—I didn’t expect all of this to be so much work. And I’m struggling as it is.”
He nodded but didn’t meet my eyes. “It’s okay. Maybe another time or something.”
But I could tell he was disappointed in me for forgetting and now ditching.
I could not have felt any guiltier, especially when he gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and mumbled something about needing to get home.
I bit my lip to keep from calling out to him.
If our first Christmas together was going to be just as amazing as I hoped, I had to get everything right.
This party. Noah’s present. My dress.
I didn’t have a choice. We’d spend tomorrow night together.
So I did my best to push those feelings of guilt away and got back to decorating.
Seven
Rey
Wes had lived next door for a long as I could remember, and our rooms happened to face each other.
Sometimes he left his curtains open, and I’d catch a peek of him doing homework at his desk or looking for something. But most of the time, his curtains stayed closed or he’d be in the next room, hanging out with my brother.
Today, though, his curtains were open.
I lay across my reading chair with Goblet of Fire in my lap. Just when I was reading about the Weasley twins trying to trick the age line Dumbledore had drawn around the goblet of fire, I caught a glance of movement outside my window.
It was Wes.
When I realized he didn’t have a shirt on, my eyes widened. I was pretty sure he was looking for one but not having much luck.
He stepped this way and that, moving stuff and throwing clothes to the side. But what really caught my attention were the smooth contours of his chest, his arms, and his abs.
I closed the Harry Potter book, the Weasley twins long forgotten, and sat straight up.
Then I looked away, my face burning. This was not cool. I could not stare at Wes like some sort of creep, even if he was the one parading around his room shirtless.
I made my way to my window to close my curtains and hopefully get back to my book. Just as I was about to close my curtains, he caught my eye again. Wes waved to me from his room, a sheepish grin on his face.
Sorry, he mouthed. He grabbed a black t-shirt and held it up.
It’s okay, I mouthed back with a smile, holding back a sigh.
I drew the curtains closed and fanned myself on the way back to my chair. That had not been what I was expecting, and it definitely didn’t help me forget about my crush on Wes.
If anything, it was impossible to get back into my book, so I headed downstairs. It was almost time for dinner anyway, and I usually set the table.
I reached the bottom of the stairs, but the sound of the doorbell stopped me in my tracks. My younger brothers were in the living room playing video games, but no way were they going to hit pause to check who was at the door.
“Can you guys get that?” came the sound of my mom’s voice from the kitchen.
I walked over and swung the front door open, only to find Wes staring back at me.
My mouth fell open, and he immediately looked away.
“Hi,” he said with a small wave.
Brushing my hair out of my face and stepping out of the way, I said, “Oh. Hey. Come in.”
He walked in and stood in the living room.
“Do you need me to go get Hugo?” I asked.
“Uh, actually, he invited me over for dinner, and uh, here I am,” he said. “My parents are at a work thing anyway, so…”
Begin awkward pause.
Things weren’t usually so stilted between us, but with that image of his abs still fresh in my mind, it was hard to act cool. And from the looks of it, he was pretty embarrassed too.
Thankfully, dinner went way better than our conversation.
Afterward, though, my parents insisted we all play a game of charades as a family before everyone went back to “those darn devices.” In my case, all I wanted was to run off to my room and my journal, but I knew they wouldn’t budge.
Wes pretty much knew the drill around my parents, so we all settled into the couch. My parents picked teams, and Wes and I ended up together with my dad against Mom, Hugo, and my younger brothers.
My team was the first one up, and I was the lucky person to step to the front of the living room. I’d always been pretty good at charades, but for the first time, I felt kind of nervous.
I had a
feeling it had to do with Wes staring up at me from the couch, waiting for me to start along with the rest of my team.
After shuffling the cards, I picked one from the top. I read it.
Washing machine. Great.
Okay. What could I do to make them think washing machine?
I paced the living room, the timer already counting down.
Trying to think quick, I moved my arm in a fast whirlwind motion.
“Tornado!” my dad yelled.
Wes said, “Cyclone!”
I shook my head and tried to think of something better.
So I pretended to take imaginary clothes from an imaginary basket and put them in my imaginary washer, poured in some invisible detergent, shut the door, and pushed some buttons.
They stared back at me clueless.
Wasn’t it obvious?
Then I realized…
MEN. Duh. My mom did the laundry around here, and now that I thought about it, the piles of clothes Wes had rummaged through earlier probably meant he didn’t do much laundry either.
I repeated my gestures, emphasizing every motion clearly, and they finally got it.
With only a few seconds left on the clock, I picked up another card.
Building a snowman.
So my mom had snuck a few Christmas ones in here after all.
I put the card down and immediately began to roll a pretend ball of snow until it was bigger and bigger and I had to push it around with my body.
Wes stood up. “Building a snowman.”
I smiled at him, giving him a high five without thinking about it. “Yes!”
My dad looked at us. “Really? I thought you were trying to make a fire.”
By the next round, Mom’s team was in the lead by just one point.
But this time, Dad was the one front and center. He grabbed a card, and my mom started the timer.
Wes and I sat on the edge of the couch, and I tried not to think about how close he was.
My dad began moving his arms and legs like they were in water.
“Swimming!” Wes said.
#AllIWantForChristmas Page 2