Mistletoe [Closed]

The room suddenly felt a little bit colder as she rushed out of his lap, scrambling to grab her hat and sit it seemed near on the complete opposite side of him, or about as far as she could go without any junk getting in her way. Preston still smiled that stupid, cocky smile, but he felt somewhat disappointed. He got comfortable again, balancing the rusty nail of his neatly on the tip of one finger. With a few sparks, it had it spinning, like a stationary top... Or a bey blade that was stuck...

"You mean I'm not the first guy to have thrown meat at you?" Pres asked, raising one eyebrow and looking her way. He had  noticed she'd let her hair down (she looked like a totally different person the few times she did), but he still hadn't noticed the perilous rubber band on her fingers until it snapped - and by then it was too late. "Ow - Motherffff...!" He groaned, "I was going to make us dinner... Before we got fucking trapped in here." He supposed he still could, but with no spices and no pans or anything, it would both look and taste like shit, at least to his standards it would.

He glanced around the room, gazing over the different foods and trying to think of something to throw together when he noticed her shiver. "You know, if you came and sat next to me, it'd be warmer for the both of us," he mused.

She let out a disgusted groan.

He deserved that.

Dinner... Dinner sounded nice. Kayla ignored his 'suggestion,' just another attempt to get under her skin, and stared into the flames. She didn't have any other hair ties to shoot him with anyways, or else he would've gotten another one right between the eyes. "Doesn't your whole family live here?" she asked after a few moments of silence, just wishing she had the boy's school uniform instead right now. She'd already met a few, and knew the others by reputation, or Preston's grumbling. Both his parents worked for the school, his older brother was a Guardian, his sister had been the Formal queen... The other little shits ran around getting underneath everybody's feet. "What the hell were you rooting around in here anyways? Shouldn't you be with them?"

Preston leaned close to the fire, rubbing his hands together beside the warm, just close enough that the flames were just shy of licking against his fingers. It took a little less than a minute for the heat to suddenly become uncomfortable. The young man then would pull away to cool down and start again. He hadn't given another thought to his family until she'd brought it up. That was pretty shitty of him, wasn't it?

"They're not here," The Autumn muttered, biting back a sigh. "Some old friends sent out the invite. Mom and Vera didn't want to stick around for the holidays, next thing I know, they're half-way out of town." It stung more than he was willing to admit, shrugging his shoulders. "They invited me, of course, but fuck. I'd rather just stay here and cook and sleep in."

It spared him the holiday hassle, didn't it? Pres glanced around, being reminded all too easily once again of where he'd ended up and laughed weakly under his breath. Whatever. He was hungry.

He stood up, looking down at the shivering Pikachu and down at the fire. "I thought it'd be nice to have a quiet Christmas for once," Preston peeled off his blazer, tossing it onto Kayla's lap and walking away, beginning to shuffle through a lonely pile of frozen potatoes.

Staying home alone to cook and sleep. Yeah, that sounded more like him. She didn't know what she expected, but she couldn't help but feel a hint of surprise, even if she should've figured that was the case... Whenever he talked about his family, there was always a slight air of distance, and he was picking through a school freezer on Christmas Eve. It wasn't like he was sitting around waiting for Santa. Still, she couldn't help but try and imagine what Christmas would be like with a family like his. Kayla let out a sigh, watching her breath billow out in front of her, dropping her gaze into the fire as he climbed back to his feet. Probably too hectic, huh?

She shot him a confused glance when the blazer landed in her lap, narrowing her eyes, but chose not to question it, returning her gaze to the burning wood. "Christmas was never really a big thing in my family," she admitted. Especially after what happened to her mom. After that, Lain was the only reason they celebrated at all, in their own little way... Her dad would be off somewhere else, working or blowing off work or drinking himself to death in the living room, and she'd drag her sister off somewhere else and try and surprise her with a dumb toy she managed to get with all the money she'd dredged up, or try and make it worthwhile any way she could. One year, after it snowed, they'd taken some trash bin lids and went sledding down a hill near her old elementary school... She'd tried to do it standing up, and like an idiot, she ended up eating snow when she slipped. The memory almost made her smile, but it was bittersweet.

Those were some of the few days they really spent together, and she could never even get those right.

Sparks crackled in her hair.

It wasn't much, but the blazer draped over her legs was still better than nothing. She couldn't bring herself to even nod a thank you. She held up her bloody hand to the light, the glow of the flames reflected in her eyes. How long are we going to be stuck in here?

He shifted through the brown, red, and yellow vegetables, picking out the best few he could find and beginning to wrap him in tin-foil, mostly bits that had fallen or had been used to wrap other foods, but he didn't have much of a choice. The young man set them all on the edge of the campfire, on top of the lowest flames. "How could it not be a big thing?" He knew by then that Kayla wasn't exactly the type to roll in green, just being around her for so long made that obvious, but Christmas was arguably the biggest holiday of the year. Friends and family and Santa and good will and shit.

"We always three huge parties. Invite everyone we knew in the neighborhood, or go off to Ireland to visit me dear 'ol mum's folks. Those were even worse." He knew his dad always hated the big occassions, but he unfortunately was glued to a family of extroverts. "I never cared much. Just liked helping cook and bake cookies and shit for Santa... Even if the bastard liked to short-changed me." Funny how his older and younger siblings always had gotten everything they wished for. His list always seemed mostly forgotten.

Damn, Preston was talking his fucking mouth off, wasn't he? At least it helped with the freezer's eerie silence. He found a box opener in his pocket, hardly a chef's proper knife, but it'd do. He began to tear away at it. "Small Christmas doesn't seem much better," He muttered as he worked, smiling despite himself.

She almost choked, but it came out as a laugh. What? Seriously? He couldn't be for real, could he? "Ireland?" she repeated, not sure if she heard that right. He was complaining about a winter vacation to Ireland...? Was his family that bad? Kayla tried to rack her brain for a smartass retort, but all she could imagine was Pres crowded into a giant house packed full of family, in an elf hat and reindeer mitts and a Mrs. Claus apron, grumbling while he bake cookies for Santa. How many kids did his parents have again? Like, twelve?

It was so stupid.

Kayla couldn't help but crack a smile, laughing again. "That does sound annoying as fuck. I hate parties." She never got invited to them anyways.

They really did live opposite lives, didn't they? When she really thought about it, he should've been right at home in a big crowded scene like that, soaking in all the noise and attention... But somehow, that didn't fit in with the image of him she'd grown inside her head. She glanced over to him as he started to chop up vegetables. "My Christmases were never much either..."

Preston shot her a strange look, wondering what it was exactly she'd found so funny about his family haul-togethers in ye olde Ireland. "My mom has like ... shit, six or seven brothers from there? Add in cousins and in-laws and the whole nine yards." She thought a house of seven was madness? Kayla had no idea. He felt exhausted just thinking about it.

He cut and wrapped the last of the vegetables, a few carrots included, and began to slice open frozen bits of steak. It was even a bigger bitch to cut those apart, but somehow he managed. "And what were yours like, Pikachu?" He mused while he worked. For some reason, he had this cliche image of her in her little, modest TV-less home. Cheesy fires and cheap factory baked pies. And ... well, he realized he couldn't imagine much beyond that. She never really mentioned shit about her home as far as he could remember.

Fuck, did anyone in his family know how to call it quits? Six, seven kids, all with their own kids... That was insane. And yeah, it sounded like a hilarious nightmare in its own stupid, goofy way. She didn't know what a family gathering like that would be like. For almost as long as she could remember, it had just been her, her parents, and her sister, and her mom had left when she was young. The rest of the family didn't want anything to do with them. Could she blame them? Kayla didn't want anything to do with them either.

She watched him slice up vegetables and cut away at a frozen slab of meat, shifting uncomfortably in place when the question turned back on her. "We didn't really do anything," she answered after a moment. "I would just take my sister out and try and kill time. We didn't wait for Santa or anything dumb like that." She grabbed at a fragment lying on the ground and poked at the fire, watching the embers rise up and twirl.

Preston frowned, setting all the food aside and tearing apart two skewers out of a thin, fallen wire shelf, which proved to be more difficult than he'd been anticipating. Thankfully, he managed to get the pieces apart without sending anything flying. "Nothing?" He muttered half-heartedly, keeping his attention in sliding the red meat and veggies unto each makeshift stick. Yeah, he'd always thought Christmas Eve could be pretty boring too, at least until it was time to ba-

He froze, instantly shooting her a distasteful look. "Dumb? What do you mean it's dumb?" Preston said with slight indignation. His mood was almost soured again and tried his best to keep a straight face as he stepped back around the fire, handing her one makeshift kabob and sitting down next to her.

You couldn't just say things like that about the big, red guy. He kept his eyes questions on her, holding his food lazily over the fire.

Kayla had been staring at the makeshift kebab held over the fire, but the sudden offense in his voice made her look up. She raised an eyebrow. Uhh, had she insulted him somehow? Or was he fucking around again? She hadn't put any thought into it, but now she found herself backtracing her words in her head, trying to find out what she'd said wrong. "Yeah, dumb," she said again, a spark flickering over her head, a bit slower this time. "Nothing," she repeated. "When she was younger, I tried to surprise her, but it never worked out." Kayla shifted around, drawing her legs up closer to her chest. The first Christmas she could remember, she'd been living in a car. "I don't remember believing in Santa, actually."

He bit his tongue, turning the small spit in his hands over the fire, and thinking it was probably better to stay quiet then to push the whole Santa thing, then. Sure, the big, fat guy was more generous with some than others, but that didn't mean he didn't completely fucking not exist, right? The Autumn let out a heavy sigh, regaining his cool composure and shooting her another small smile. "And why not? After the shit we've seen? Dragons and man-eating spiders and shit... By all means, we shouldn't be able to do this either." Preston lifted his fingers, shooting little wave of sparks at her nose. "You can't say for sure he's not real now, eh?" And hopefully, she'd think he was coming off as teasing. He was dead fucking serious.

Some people just couldn't get it. Most people. Almost everyone. Pres leaned forward, poking at the meat, imagining still her in a big suit, waddling around with pillows stuffed underneath for her sister. It was an amusing thought, at least. "What about you? Why are you here, not with your sister?"

Was he fucking with her again? Kayla just gave off a snort, poking at the fire again. Yeah, sure thing. Santa just skipped out on her place a lot, then. She guessed it'd make sense that she wasn't on his nice list, though. "Whatever you say," she said with a hint of a smile, ignoring the sparks popping off near her nose. He had a stupid sense of humor. "Write Santa for some coal, yeah? This fire isn't gonna last forever." Maybe he'd lump some into Preston's pillow tonight if they made it out of here before dawn, but the idea of someone chancing by and unlocking the door seemed a bit too much of a Christmas miracle.

The question made her shut up. She stared into the fire, not answering for awhile. Why was she here? A part of her wanted to tell him to shut up and mind his own business, but if she asked, it was only fair for him too, right? Another part of her just wanted to blow it off with some half-baked answer, but trapped in here, there wasn't anywhere for her to escape, no way to dodge it. So she just had to be honest.

"I don't ever want to go back home again," she admitted, focused on the crackling flames. "I haven't even written her back since summer, so I have no idea how she's doing." The thought of her all alone in that apartment filled her with enough fear that she could've blown a hole straight through the wall, and she felt the familiar sick urge in the pit of her stomach to get a ticket home, but she knew she never could, now.

She was being watched.

But now she was just being dramatic, wasn't she? Kayla sighed and gave a small smile. "It's pretty selfish, right?"

Damn, that was more kind of an answer back than most had bothered to give him. That or she did fall for his oh-so-elaborate teasing rouse. The young man couldn't help but laugh lightly at her snarky comments, glancing over the fire and the pile of ember and ash that quickly grew with each passing moment. The flames were just eating through the cheap crate qood, weren't they? "It will if I can fucking help it," He muttered, grabbing a few more pieces of wood, stroking the hot charcoal and adding fuel to their fire again.

Once she went quiet, he didn't bother to say anything. It was clear on her face that the question was hard on her, but he hadn't meant much of it. It was a passing thought, something to fill the air. He found himself focusing on their food anyways, listening to the soft cracks of the warm fire before she finally spoke again.

He blinked, staying quiet for sometime himself before smiling weakly. "Shit, if it is, I don't have place to judge. Pres mused quietly. If he was smart, he would have stayed quiet, but it wasn't as if anyone else could have been listening then - or that he had much to lose rambling shit on now. "I never liked my brother and sister. The little ones are fine, but..." He felt a slight pang of guilt just uttering the words, biting back a sigh. "I love 'em, but fuck. They've always got the whole world fawning over them, everyone at their whim." Enchanted allure was one hell of a gift. Funny how easy to end up like a ghost in your damn home. "I'm glad they're gone. Gives me some peace and quiet." Sad thing for him to admit, but still true. Even if it was being spent trapped in freezer of all things.

That made sense, of course. What was it? Jealousy? Just sibling rivalry? She didn't get it, not when she tried to put herself in his shoes, but in a way, she at least felt like she could understand them. No, they'd never had the whole world fawning over them... Lain wasn't a prom queen, and she couldn't see herself being that petty, but she knew Preston. He sounded like a little brother. In the end, they lived in separate worlds. "I get it," she answered. That's what she thought. But in a way... Well, while they were being honest with each other, why even deny it? "Sometimes I used to wish my sister wasn't born." She stared down into her palm, watching the electricity play across her fingertips. "Then my life would be a lot simpler. But I was all she had." Kayla closed her hands shut, watching the electricity flicker out. "If it wasn't for her, I probably would've done something stupid a long time ago."

She was telling him too much. The regret hit her like a freight train before she even got the last word out. He already knew too much about her.

It was a stupid thing to say, anyways.

Kayla let out a low sigh, her tone lightening. "But is Christmas that much better in a freezer?" she asked, with all that old bravado and cheekiness, but it was a fragile voice. "It doesn't sound like I'd get along with your family either, but do you have your ticket for Ireland laying around? I'll take the food."

She did? Preston's gaze flickered over to her in surprise. He listened quietly as she spoke on, the weight of her words sinking in. What the hell kind of life did she live before she'd come to the school? It was something he'd wondered before now and then, but...
Kayla was all that her sister had? The young man gave off a weak smile. He'd never been all that sort of a caring person, not in the way he saw himself. He always helped Dublin and Verona when they needed it, but never without some bitter feeling. And she called herself selfish? After saying something like that? "You're the better person between us," He muttered. By miles.

She had said that she was only person for her sister... Her sister was the only one Kayla had, he thought to himself. As he looked over at her, he pictured the ugly scars hidden underneath her uniform. Her mom left when she was little. She hated smoking and, to some extent, drinking. She never had toys or TV or even fucking Christmas. And after what she'd just said, all the puzzle pieces had begun falling into place.

A gross feeling grew in the pit of his stomach? Was it pity? She would've hated that. Preston pulled back the food from the flames, watching the steam rise in the frosty air. What the fuck could he do about it? What was he supposed to say? Shit, maybe it was better to just not say anything at all.

Her voiced had strained had she seemed even more rigid than before. He had to hold back another sigh himself. "Shit. Maybe." He chuckled under his breath, tearing off one of the chunks of meat and stealing a bite. It was bland and dry, in his opinion, but it was better than starving all night. "Too late for that, Pikachu. Next time I'm dragged up there though, I'll sneak you onto the plane with me." The young man smirked, though it had seemed more playful than his usual cocktail grin. "For now, I'll just have to keep making meals for two. Or three. Lord knows you could out-eat the entire school." And yet she never gained about. Had to be all the energy she was constantly burning off. Literally.