When Hunter and I arrived at the deli, I immediately spotted Amber sitting at our usual table. I couldn't help but smile as she vigorously waved her arms around in an over dramatized way to get our attention. I practically skipped over to her, Hunter walking leisurely behind me. 

"Just like old times, huh?" I asked, sliding into the chair beside her. After a quick peck on the cheek, I turned my attention to my other rescuer; Hunter. "Thanks a lot, Hunter. You're really cool for helping us out like that."

I barely caught his mumbled "You're welcome", and smiled at his flushed face. 

"So, Blair, what do ya want for Christmas?" Amber asked, throwing her arm around my shoulders. I smiled at the affection, but it immediately dropped. Christmas. I had completely forgotten about the holiday with everything going on with my mom. I could tell Amber noticed my lack of happiness when she started laughing.

"Did you seriously forget about Christmas?" She asked in between laughs. I felt my face flush at the sudden attention. 

"I've just had a lot going on. Plus the weather isn't that cold..." I tried to defend myself. Unfortunately, Amber just kept laughing. And would. Not. Stop. "It really isn't that funny" 

"Suuure it isn't." She rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out slightly. I turned away from the girl, and faced Hunter across from me. 

"How about you Hunter? What do you want?" I smiled warmly at the boy, trying to make him feel not so excluded. 

"Um... I would like to get a Dropkick Murphey album, and maybe some paints." He replied quietly, glancing up at me,then over to Amber. 

"Oh, really? Blair's into the whole art thing too. And don't you like that group too?" Amber asked from beside me. Hunter looked back over to me, his eyes slightly wider.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I draw a lot, but I don't experiment with paints or colors yet. And I don't think I can be, like, seriously classified as a fan of them... I really only like 'State of Massachusetts'. " I tried to clarify, nudging Amber slightly with my elbow. I got a jab in the side as payback, and I shot a playful glare her way. "But I'd really like to see some of your drawings sometimes. If you don't mind, of course."

"Oh yeah! That's no problem. Sometime soon, maybe?" He asked. I smiled at the change of attitude with him, and nodded enthusiastically. 

"Most definitely!"

It was about three weeks till Christmas now. I helped my mom out with all the decorations, and my Aunt with our old tree. My mom was never one for taking care of real Christmas trees, so we decided to stick with a re-usable one. Plus it was cheaper. 

I started bringing Hunter over more often, which my mom seemed to like, after we discovered a similarity. We both loved to draw nature and landscape. So now it was almost tradition to come to my house every Friday night and look at the stars. Once you got pass his shy exterior, he was actually an extremely funny guy. 

The first Saturday of winter break, I managed to get away from my house and meet up with Amber. My aunt knew, of course, but we kept the 'Amber' part out of it. 

"Hey." I smiled as I took a seat across from Amber. She returned the smile warmly, but something wasn't right. "You okay?" I asked gently. She took a deep breath and nodded 

"Yeah everything's okay. Listen... I know we've had this, uh.. thing for a little while." My stomach lurched at her words. She sounded upset... depressed all most. Had I made her sad? Was she going to cut us off?

"Yeah, I'm aware of this... thing." I cautiously motioned between us, nodding while she played with her hands.

"Well, I just realized... Oh, geez," Amber took a deep breath, and I felt my heart flip as she did. "We haven't been on a date yet." 

I bit my lip hard to keep from smiling. It felt like a huge weight off my shoulders. 'Why would she have wanted to break up with you, anyways?' I questioned myself. "Oh, we haven't."

"So I was thinking... maybe... if you're free tomorrow...?" She asked, eyes squinted shut as if bracing for an impact. My face grew hotter as I nodded my head.

"That sounds great." I tried to reply casually. 

"Really? Great!" She smiled over at me and leaned across the table to peck my cheek. "I'll go grab some food!" I nodded and watched her walk to the register, a sense of achievement about her. I smiled as she laughed at something the cashier said, and ordered our food. I turned around and waited, even though I didn't have an appetite with all the butterflies.

A/N: Please don't kill me! I just got a message requesting an update, so here it is. I haven't in two thousand years, but I'm sorry it's so short. And crappy.

Yay! They're finally going on a date! :) Next chapter is going to be mainly fluff (maybe...I might make some drama, idk) but I'm predicting two more chapters to this story, then an epilogue. :) Hope you've enjoyed our extended time together!