"Blair, it's ten in the morning! Come down here and help us!" My eyes cracked open at the voice ringing from downstairs. I rolled over and glanced at my clock, squinting to make out the numbers. It was, in fact, ten. Mom let me sleep in this much? 'Oh,' I thought, 'Christmas Eve. That's why.'

I stumbled out of my bed and made my way to my door, opening it up and yelling a quick, "Ten minutes!" and going back in. Today I had to make sure to be extra good. Mother is always on edge during big holidays because she always wants to cook everything possible, which makes it an iffy time for me.

After showering and throwing my hair into a braid, I rummaged through my drawers looking for something warm to wear. I finally settled for a nice black sweater and white skinny jeans, my Converse tying the look together. Make-up was set to a minimum, with just eyeliner today. Before I walked out of my room, something on my desk caught my eye. Smiling, I walked over to it, and picked up my black beanie. 

Suddenly, something small hit my window, and I felt my heartbeat speed up at the noise. I glanced through my balcony window, hand placed over my heart to try and will the beating down, and was met with a sheepish grin through the window parallel to mine. I couldn't stop the smile spreading over my face as I saw Amber waving at me through her window. It took me a few seconds to realize that she was mouthing something to me. I looked more closely at , and tried to read her lips. Park. Tonight.

As I made my way downstairs, the smell of turkey and other foods filled my nostrils, making my stomach release a few sounds out of hunger.

"Morning." I greeted my Aunt and Mother as I entered the kitchen.

"Morning, Blair." My Aunt greeting sending a smile my way. She was busy washing dishes, while my mom invested herself into her food in the stove.

"Took you long enough." Was the only reply I got from her, but I just kept my mouth closed, and began assisting her. 

It didn't take too long to get all the food cooking at a pace that will have it ready for dinner, which left my Aunt and I in the kitchen cleaning up while my mom showered. We both we're washing in a comfortable silence, and it was honestly really nice. Quiet is always nice, every once and a while. But it never really last very long in my family.

"So, what have you gotten your friends for Christmas?" My Aunt asked, her eyes never leaving the plate she was cleaning. I looked over at her and noticed the small smile ghosting her lips. That's when I understood the secret question: What did you get Amber?

"I haven't gone shopping yet." I mumbled, continuing to dry the dishes. I honestly felt like crap for not getting her anything, but I just haven't had time to go shopping yet.

"You haven't?" My aunt asked incredulously. I shook my head in response, focusing even more of the dishes to hide my embarrassment.

"Well, why the hell are you drying dishes? Go and shop!" My aunt stated, smiling as she snatched the dish away from me. 

"Are you sure? There's still a lot to do-"

"If you don't go right now, I'm going to have to kick you out myself. Go!" I couldn't help but laugh at my Aunts playfulness, and agreed to go, walking over and grabbing my bag by the the door.

"I'll be back in a bit!" 

Shopping in Lockhart is extremely limited. There are barely any shops that sell things other than school supplies or uniforms, so my gift for Amber was going to be difficult to find. Hunter I had already taken care of, getting him the latest Dropkick Murphey album, but I hadn't seen anything that really struck me as the perfect gift for Amber. 

I had been to the local book store, gift shop, and a couple of clothing stores, and still couldn't find anything. Maybe I should really just see if I could get her a discount on a haircut....

Before I could decide to go back home or not, and small "Mommy, let's go in here!" grabbed my attention. I watched as a kid, probably around six, was dragging his mom into Timmy's Toy Hut. I smiled at the scene and went to turn around, before something caught my eye in the window of the toy store. I laughed out loud at the toy, and happily made my way over. As I entered and grabbed it from a shelf, my stomach flipped, hoping Amber would like it.

A/N: *apologizes profusely* I know I promised an update sooner, but this is all I've got :( I'm working on Chapter 18, and it looks like that will be the final chapter!! Yay, no more waiting on slack me~ 

But I really am sorry guys. School is kicking my and its only been five days. *sigh*