Christmas dinner was painfully silent, and more so than it normally is with just my mother and I. We had been sitting in silence for more than twenty minutes, the only sounds coming from our silverware hitting the plates. I glanced over at my Aunt to see her twirling her fork in her hand and looking around the room. 

"The food's good, Minny." 

"Thank you." 

And that was the beginning and end of our meal conversation. 

Another good ten minutes in, and my Aunt and I waited patiently for my mother to return with the pie. I couldn't help my mind wandering, even as my Aunt was telling me small Christmas jokes. How was Amber? Did they have a better Christmas dinner then we did? What cool presents did Jackie bring?

"Blair! Phone call!" My mother called from the kitchen. Oh no, I thought. No way she would have called. 

I stumbled out of my seat and barely got my feet to drag me to the kitchen. Instead of finding a ready-to-kill woman in the kitchen, my mom was heading out with the pie as I was going in. She even offered me a smile. Well, now I knew Amber didn't call. 

"Hello?" I asked into the phone when my mother finally left.

"Blair! I've got amazing news!" I let out a sigh of relief as I heard the voice on the other line. The excitement in it was enough to make me smile.

"Hunter, what's up?"

"There's no way I can tell you over the phone. Come meet me! Oh gosh, Blair, I'm so happy right now."

"Sure thing," I replied, the smile not leaving my lips as he told me where to meet him. "I'll see if I can get out."

Hunter hung immediately after that, claiming that if we kept talking, he'd spill the news over the phone. As I hung up the phone, I couldn't help the feeling of dread flowing through me. There was no way my mom would let me go. Especially on Christmas. 

"H-Hey, mom?" Get it together, Blair. 

"Yeah?" She replied. Her back was towards me so I couldn't see her expression, but I knew in a few minutes I wouldn't want too anyway. 

"Hunter called... he said there's something he wants to tell me. Do you think I could... maybe.... go out and meet him?" My eyes squinted shut as I braced for the oncoming -storm I was sure to receive.

"Sure, honey. Just be back before midnight." My mother turned around to give me a warm smile. Wait, what? Confused, I looked over at my Aunt. I was slightly surprised to see her already looking at me, she was staring at me with wide-eyes. I knew she was trying to tell me something, but there was no way I was going to process some secret message now. 

"Alright, then. I'll be back soon."

'It is way too cold for this.' I couldn't help but think. I had been walking around the park for fifteen minutes now, watching my breath come out in small puffs, with no sign of Hunter. Surely he didn't stand me up, right? He sounded so happy on the phone, so why isn't he here?

"Blair!" 

I turned around quickly from my spot by the fountain to vaguely see Hunter's form in the distance. He was under a spotlight down the sidewalk, waving sloppily. The smile that appeared on my face was big enough to crack my lips, but thankfully, it didn't. I grabbed my bag and started running over to him, disregarding the cold night air completely.

"Blair, you made it!" Hunter engulfed me in a warm hug and I melted into it gratefully.

"Of course I did, loser. You sounded super happy, so I had to come! Oh! But before I forget..." I pulled away from Hunter to dig through my bag. I felt my fingertips brush over the case, and I pulled the present out extra slow, making to sure torture him a little. 

"You didn't!" He practically squealed. As soon as the disc was fully out of my bag, Hunter managed to snatch it up, causing me to giggle.

"I did. The latest Dropkick Murphy's album is now yours, my friend. But screw that, what was the news?" I asked, feeling excitement bubble up as Hunter broke out in a smile.

"It's Charlie! He called me and said he still wanted to be with me, even if my parents weren't okay with it. He has a place in L.A and he wants me to move in with him!" Hunter exclaimed, a tinge of red appearing on his cheeks from the whether and the news. 

I smiled brightly, "Hunter, that's great! When do you leave?" 

"Tonight. Gosh Blair, this is it. I'm finally going to be happy." 

With that, I found myself in another one of Hunter's warm embraces. I'll admit, even though I was ecstatic for him, sadness still found its way through. My best friend was leaving, but it was for the right reasons.

"I'll miss you." I mumble into his chest, smiling as the vibrations from his laugh run through me. 

"I'll miss you too. But, I've gotta run, okay? I'll be sure to give you a call and keep you up to date with me, yeah?" He pulled away and took a step back,  smiling even brighter. "See you later, Blair."

I watched as he walked off, his silhouette the only thing I could see. The amount of happiness I felt for him was overwhelming, and I couldn't keep the stupid smile off my face. After a few more seconds, I turned back around to walk home, ready to get back into some warmth. 

"I called." A voice rang out. Startled, and a little scared, a whipped my head to my left, noticing a dark figure  a little ways down. "Your mom picked up, and told me you were out." Amber.

"Amber," I sighed, relief flooding over me as she started walking towards me. "I'm really sorry, it's just that Hunter called and-"

"And he's more important than me?" 

"What? No, of course not, but he had some really exc-"

"Where were you going?" She was now only a couple of inches away from me. I studied her face, trying to read what was going on, but she was completely guarded. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Just now, before I came along. Where were you going?" 

The intense gaze she held on me was enough to make me look away, studying my feet instead. "Home." I barely whispered. From the tensing of her shoulders, I could tell she heard. 

"Right." She whispered back. I looked up to see her looking away, the pain evident on her face.

"Amber, I'm so-" I reached to grab her hand, but she jerked away, looking at me as though I had tried to poison her.

"Did you think this was funny? You drag me along and say you care, then you go and play with Hunter, right? I told you about Krystal. I thought you really cared... but you just did the same thing." 

Sudden realisation struck me, a dread immediately filled my from my head to my toes. "Nonono Amber, it's not like that-"

"I bet you aren't even gay, right?" She scoffs. "I know how it is. You ditch me on our date, and now this. Thanks for spelling it out for me, Blair."

"Amber, please." I pleaded, and she took a step back.

"Merry ing Christmas. Don't talk to me ever again." I watched her through my blurred vision pull out a small black box from her pocket, and toss it at my feet. I tried to move as she turned and walked away, but the small step was everything I had. My knees suddenly went weak, and I crashed onto the sidewalk, the physical pain being nothing compared to what I was feeling then. I didn't know when I started crying, but as I picked up the black box, the warm stream of tears only thickened. 

To: Blair

From: Your llama ;)

Think we'll be together forever?

I opened the box slowly, sobs beginning to rack my body as I looked at its contents. Inside, we're two, almost identical, couple rings, both engraved with Amber x Blair. Glancing up and down the sidewalk, I saw that she was already gone.

I stumbled into my house, the cold winds and frozen tears making me feel like a walking freezer. The dining room was already cleaned up, and a majority of the lights were out. 

"You're late." I turned to the kitchen to see my mother sitting on a stool, closing her magazine and focusing her gaze on me. "How did it go with Hunter?" 

"He's leaving." I mumbled, feeling nothing but emptiness inside of me.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." She made her way over and pulled me into a hug, one I didn't return. "Maybe you can work long-distances?" 

Suddenly, a burst of rage flowed through me. I was angry at everything; me for being stupid, Amber for not listening, Hunter for not being here, and my mother for not listening or caring about anything. I pushed her away, not attempting to hide my emotions. 

"We weren't dating. We never were, we never will." 

"W-What?" Shock was written all over her face, from the news and my shove. "What do you mean? You two were always together and I thought-"

"No, dammit! Hunter and I never happened, and we won't! Jesus, can't you tell? I'm gay! And I have-" Merry ing Christmas. Don't talk to me ever again. "Had. I had a girlfriend." 

A few silent seconds passed, and I thought my mother didn't hear me. Key word: thought. Without a word, a hand grabbed into my hair, causing me to cry out as I was yanked back. 

"Don't say that again." My mother growled, giving a harsh tug. 

"I thought you would've figured it out. Amber showing up randomly? Spending all that time in my room-"

"I knew you were a !  Just like your gay girlfriend!" A slap was delivered harshly across my face, but I hardly felt anything. "You're no daughter of mine! Christ only knows what you've done with that girl! If you think your ever seeing her again..." A punch, and I was down on the ground. Before I could open my mouth to taunt her again, a cry came from the top of the stairs. 

"Minny! Stop it right there!" My aunt came running down the stairs, rushing  pull me up.

"I'm in a house full of diseased fags!" Mother cried out. 

"Go upstairs." My aunt whispered, and I immediately obeyed. Once I stumbled up the stairs and managed to shut my bedroom door, I slid down the wall. The past hour finally catching up to me. The screaming downstairs didn't lessen the weight in my heart, nor did the dark room across from my balcony. Eventually I found myself in a ball, drifting off to sleep as the tears continued their journey down my face.

I didn't move from my room the rest of winter break. Occasionally my Aunt would come and bring me food, but besides that, no one bothered me. Not Amber, not my mother, not even a phone call from Hunter.

When it was finally over and I was forced back to school, there was one prominent detail I couldn't overlook, no matter how hard I tried. Amber was gone. 

Fin. 

A/N: Sorry for the wait! School has been terrible... :( But here's the last chapter! I didn't re-read it, so I apologize for any errors. Also, happy National Novel Writing Month! I think I'm going to be going on an overall site hiatus to actually write a novel/mini novel. It's either going to be something new, or I'm going to finish up my Yoongi fanfic...hmmmm. If any of you guys are writing a novel and want a reader, feel free to hit me up! This is the month for all authors, after all!

Okay, back on track...  

Epilogue? Should I post one? Do you guys want one? Let me know in the comments! <3

Vote/Comment Lovelies!!