Christmas Day

I looked over the fence to see the boy next door. He was outside playing with his younger sibling. Even though it was Christmas Day, it wasn’t snowing and it was warm.

God, he looks good.

I’m not sure for how long I stood on the balcony and looked over at the pair. But it was long enough to catch their attention.

The youngest found me first and called out to me, causing his older brother to turn and face me, with that heart melting uneven smile.

“Hi guys,” I called down to them; it was too late to pretend I wasn’t looking. “Having fun?”

“Yes,” the youngest nodded his head frantically, smiling widely, “Come play?” He held up his new kite and waved it around.

“Max, I think she might have better things to do,” the oldest told the younger, and then turned back to me, “Don’t you?”

“But, I want her to try my new kite too!” Max began to whine, “Come play!”

“It’s okay,” I said, “I’ll be down in a sec,”

After a few minutes, I was on their lawn walking towards them.

“Cool kite,” I commented, “It flies really well,”

“Isn’t it?!” Max boasted happily, “It’s so cool! Changmin thinks it’s just a plain kite, but I keep telling it’s awesome,”

“Maybe, Changmin’s just jealous,” I teased,

He chuckled, “Oh of course,”

“See~” Max cheered, “It is awesome! Admit it!”

“Fine, it’s an awesome kite,” He played along with his younger brother.

I giggled, and stepped back, allowing Max to walk forward following his kite and chanting his victory. “Are you sure Max is only seven? He gloats like a teenager,” I commented to Changmin.

He grinned, “Maybe, he’s just mature for his age,”

“Are you sure that your knowledge of twenty years of life has nothing to do with it?” I teased, poking his arm.

“Of course not,” He feigned hurt, “I can’t believe you’d think such a thing,”

“Well, being your friend all through high school might have just taught me a few things about you,”

“And now I’m wandering if that’s a good or a bad thing…” He drifted off, but from the look in his eyes I could tell he was just kidding.

“So mean,” I whispered, and the slapped the side of his arm.

“Kidding,” He grinned, “So are your sister’s coming back for the day?”

“No…why are you asking?” I asked narrowing my eyes,

“No reason really, they’re just pretty to look at,” I felt my heart drop at his comment, but I quickly shook it off.

“Well, sorry to disappoint but they’re both spending Christmas with their boyfriends,” I wish I had one to.

I looked over at Changmin to see him just nod and then his eyes look at his brother still playing with the kite. I wish I had you.

 “What?” Without realizing, I had blurted out my own thoughts.

I quickly covered my mouth with a hand and turned my head. “Nothing,” I said, but my voice betrayed me by sounding an octave higher than usual.

“Really?” Changmin sounded amused, “Because I’m pretty sure I heard ‘I wish’ and ‘you’ in the sentence,”

“It’s nothing,” I repeated, and immediately regretted it, knowing how suspicious I sounded.

“Now, I want to know what you said,” His words just confirmed my thought.

“It’s nothing,” I took a breath and turned around, surprisingly Changmin was a lot closer to me than I thought, and my forehead bumped his nose. “Sorry,”

He pulled back and rubbed his nose, “It’s fine, but now you have to tell me what you were thinking,”

“Why?”

“Because you hurt my nose, so now that’s your punishment,”

“That doesn’t make sense,”

“You don’t make sense,”

“Don’t be so childish,”

“Ahh, but you love me for it,”

And then, my words got stuck in my throat.

“I- I…”

I could see the look of realization fall on his face. “Oh,” was the only thing he said.

And with that, I ran for it.

Well, I ran as far as I could, before I completely stacked it over two sacks of sand.

“Oww~” I lay on the ground, writhing in pain. Stupid lack of gracefulness.

“Noona, are you okay?” I could hear Max calling me, and then run towards me. “Changmin! What are you doing just standing there staring into space?! Come help me!” He scolded his older brother.

“No, it’s okay,” I sat up, and reassured him, “I’m fine,”

“That looked like it hurt…” Max didn’t seem sure of my words.

“No really,” I stood up and took a glance at Changmin. His head was finally facing us, I couldn’t really see what his expression was, as I could feel the tears of the pain and my heart, fill my eyes. “I think I’ll just go inside,”

I didn’t wait for a reply as I just walked away to my home – with no one stopping me.

This is the worst Christmas ever.

I walked in the house and could hear my parents watching a Christmas movie, so I walked passed the lounge room trying not to disturb them and then walked up to my room.

I am an idiot. A big idiot.

I flung myself at my bed, and buried my head in the pillow, hoping that the Earth would just swallow me up.

I just lost my one and only crush, and my best friend all in one day… Nice work, you stupid stupid stupid-

“Idiot?” I heard someone say. I lifted up my head and turned to see the one person I didn’t want to see at that moment.

“Why are you here Changmin?” Ignoring the fact that once again, my brain and mouth seemed to not keep anything I think private.

“We were still talking,” He stated, steeping inside my room and closing the door.

“No, we were finished,” I said, turning my head away from him to face the wall, “I think your silence pretty much finished the conversation.”

I heard him pull a chair and then sit down, “You know ever since we were young, you had a really bad habit of assuming the worst,”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I glared at the wall, still not brave enough to face him.

“Don’t glare at the wall,”

“Stop doing that!” I snapped at him, finally getting up. I sat down on the bed and faced him, “Stop reading my mind! Stop pretending like you care!”

“I do care,” His voice started to get louder as well, “If you’d just sit and talk like an adult, you’d know that by now!”

“Stop it!” I shouted, “Stop giving me the wrong idea!”

“Who says I’m giving you the wrong idea?!” He yelled back.

My heart skipped a beat, “Don’t-don’t humor me,” I said quietly, after a moment’s silence.

“I’m not,” He got up from his chair and sat down next to me on the bed. He lifted my head to face him, and he gave me that uneven smile which made me fall from him in the beginning. “But you are right about one thing,”

“I am?” I asked confused,

“Yes, you did lose a crush…but you gained a boyfriend instead,” He said, softly.

His words were sweet and mushy, but they were right.

I smiled back at him, “But who says you’re my boyfriend?”

“I do,” Changmin responded without missing a beat, “You’re mine now,” He pulled me close to his body into a hug. “I love you…I always have,” He confessed. I was about to pull my body away to respond, but he didn’t let me move. “No, stay there,”

His voice was quick but firm…almost like he was embarrassed. “Changmin…are you blushing?” I asked coyly.

“NO,” It was his turn to have his voice got an octave higher.

I wrapped my arms around him and giggled, “It’s okay, because I love you too,”

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A/N: Sorry if the ending seems rushed... lol. I was being called away as I was writing (Might fix it later.)

aliceeyychan