Distance

Chapter 7: Christmas

"What if I came over for Christmas?" Andrew randomly asked when we were Skyping. Christmas was in two days and I couldn't wait. I've done all my Christmas shopping and was currently helping Danial with his. Back to Andrew's question, I raised my eyebrows at this.

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly, "Come over, as in...?"

"As in to Malaysia," he said.

"No," I shook my head.

"Why not?"

"Because there's nothing fun to do here!"

"Well, I could hang out with you. That's fun," he mumbled. I felt the heat creep up my cheeks as I looked down.

"T-That's different-"

"How?" I looked at him, his eyebrows raised and arms folded across his chest. I opened my mouth, only to close it again. I thought for a while.

"Well, it'll still be boring," I said.

"Why? What do you normally do?" Andrew asked.

"Um, every year they have this "winter wonderland in a box"," I said, with air quotes, "Where there's Christmas decorations everywhere and fake snow falling from the ceiling."

"Sounds like fun," he said, amusement in his voice. I rolled my eyes.

"Not when you've experienced real snow and already seen the same decorations for sixteen years," I said.

"It can't be that bad," he laughed when I nodded.

"Family meeting!" I heard my mother declare from the kitchen.

"That's it for today," I said, "Bye."

"Bye," Andrew smiled.

"You still can't come to Malaysia!" I smiled back.

"Oh, c'mon!" I click the 'end' button just as he said this. I left my room and went downstairs. I sat at the kitchen table next to Danial.

"So, I've got good news!" Mum beamed, "We'll be hosting the gift exchange this year!"

Danial and I groaned. The gift exchange is where my whole family, well my mother's side, gathers at the selected house on Christmas night. Everyone has dinner, some get drunk, the kids run around, smashing things and making a mess of it. Then, when the food's finished, the main event starts. Someone, usually one of my uncles that were on the heavy side, sits on a chair while everyone else sits on the floor and starts giving out the gifts. It mostly ends up like an auction because if you're not there when your gift is being handed out, it's given to someone else. Finally, when everyone leaves, the unfortunate family who lends their house for the night has to clean up. And this year, it's our turn.

"What?! Why?!" Danial exclaimed.

"How is that good news, Mum?!" I shrieked.

"Well, since we've never hosted I figured we should this year," Mum said, playing with her thumbs.

"We've never hosted for a reason!" Danial said, "Have you seen what those little demons do to the houses?"

"Those little demons happen to be your cousins-"

"Unfortunately," I muttered under my breath.

"-and they only did it because no one disciplined them. But this year, they won't do it, you know why?"

Danial and I looked at each other and sighed. "Why?"

"Because we're the hosts," Mum said. We didn't say anything for a while, just letting it sink in.

"Well, since we're hosting, I'm gonna invite someone," Danial said.

"Who?" Mum asked.

"This girl I met at the CD store," he replied.

"Oooo, you've got a girlfriend!" I teased.

"Shut up, she's not my girlfriend, she's just a girl I met!" Danial's face turned crimson. I laughed so hard.

"What's her name?" Mum asked.

"Eleanor," he said.

Once my laughter subsided, I said, "So...Alvin and the Chipmunks."

"What?" he looked at me like I was crazy. "How's that?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask your girlfriend, Eleanor Roosevelt?" I threw my hands up.

"Dude, are you gonna make Eleanor jokes until Christmas?" he asked.

"Not unless she looks like the Eleanor that's dating that One Direction dude," I said.

"What?"

"No?"

"No."

"Ok, fine. But if you get to invite someone, then I get to too," I said.

"Who?" Danial asked.

"Adam. I can't wait for you guys to meet him!" I beamed.

"Whatever, I'm gonna call Eleanor," he left the table. My mother left to prepare a few things. I took out my phone from my pocket and dialed Adam's number. He answered at the second ring.

"Yo," he said.

"Hey, it's me. Are you doing anything for Christmas?" I asked.

"Not really. My parents are in Florence until next week, so I'm alone," he said, "Why?"

"Well, my family's having this gathering at my house, and I need someone to keep me sane for four hours," I told him.

"Ok? When is it?" Adam chuckled.

"Christmas night. Six o'clock," I said, "Please come."

"I'll try," he promised, "I have to go, bye."

"Bye," I hung up. I went to my room and played with my phone for the rest of the day.

On Christmas morning, I woke up to Christmas songs playing throughout the whole house. I instantly smiled, the Christmas spirit seeping through my veins. I got out of bed and ran down the stairs.

"Merry Christmas!" I yelled , twirling around the living room.

"Merry Christmas, Jamie. Cookie?" Mum held out a plate of cookies to me. I smiled and took one. My mother's chocolate chip cookies are to die for!

"Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" Danial came running down the stairs. He started munching on the cookies. "Oh, meh gawd, Mum, I jus wove your cookies!" he said with a mouthful of cookies.

"Yeah and you finished them!" Mum grabbed the plate back and went to the kitchen, probably refilling it. Danial shrugged and started singing - a little off tune - to the Christmas songs. He picked me up and started spinning us around the room. I laughed and demanded to be let go. He set me down, but continued to dance.

"Dude, you've never been this happy for Christmas. What's gotten into you?" I asked, still laughing at him.

"Nothing. Can't I be happy that it's the best time of the year?" Danial replied.

"Is it that Eleanor girl?" he shook his head immediately. I narrowed my eyes at him, daring him. He sighed and nodded. I grinned and squealed. "Why didn't you say so? Oh, my God, I can't wait to meet her tonight! It's gonna be super fun! What's she like? Is she really pretty? Did you get her a present? What is it? Tell me, Danial! I can't wait to meet her! Oooo maybe we can have a double date! You and Eleanor and Adam and I! It's gonna be fun!"

"Jamie!" he slammed his hands on my shoulders, "Oh, my God, you are rushing things!"

"Sorry, it's just that Adam hasn't really been...participating in the relationship," I mumbled.

"Ew, Jamie!" he scrunched his face in disgust.

"Not like that, you pervert!" I smacked his arm. "God, you can be disgusting sometimes!"

"Choose your words carefully next time, m'kay?" he ruffled my hair. I glared at him and went to answer the phone which started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Jamie?" I swear my heart skipped a beat when I heard Adam's voice. I instantly grinned and leaned against the wall.

"Hey, Adam. Merry Christmas," I say, twirling the cord between my fingers. I feel like those girls in the movies when their crush calls them for the first time. This sort of reminds me of it. I was in my pyjamas, like now, and it was really early in the morning. Adam called me and told me about this party he's having. Even though it was short, it left me grinning from ear to ear the whole day. Then I told Isabelle about it and she made me go shopping with her so I'd have the perfect outfit to wear. But it was a waste anyway, I didn't get to see him. I feel like I told you this already.

"Did you hear me, Jamie?" I blinked, I didn't realize I zoned out. Oh, my God, that's so embarrassing! I'm so glad Adam wasn't here cause I'm pretty sure I'm as red as a tomato.

"Um, no...?" I heard Adam's manly chuckle and immediately facepalmed.

"I said I'm coming over at six thirty," he said. I was confused for a second before realization hit me. My family's gift exchange. At my house. Tonight. Crap.

"Jamie? Are you still there?" Adam's concerned voice snapped me back to reality. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah. Um, could you come a little early? I really need you to distract me," I said.

"Sure. I'll see you later, bye."

"Bye," I hung up and ran to my room. I still have about...ten hours to prepare. I changed into a pair of shorts and a loose shirt and went to the kitchen. Mum was there, baking something.

"Hey, Mum," I smiled as I walked in. She looked up and smiled back. At a closer look, it looks like she's baking red velvet cake.

"Hi, who was that on the phone just now?" she asked.

"Adam, he said he's coming tonight," I replied, helping her mix the batter of the cake. She nods and pulls out a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven. Danial must've smelled it because he comes skipping into the kitchen with that same goofy grin of his. Mum pays no mind to it, just tells him mop and sweep the whole house until it's spotless. He gave a mock salute before leaving.

Time couldn't have flown faster. One minute I was helping my mother prepare the food for tonight and the next I was in my room, standing in front of my full length mirror, wearing my Christmas dress. It was Christmas green with subtle red stripes. It stopped right above my knees and was sleeveless. My hair was curled to perfection and I let it down naturally. I was about to leave but was stopped by a bing from my laptop. I sat down at my desk and opened it. I smiled, seeing a Skype request. Right on time.

"Wow, you look beautiful. Dressed up for me?" I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"Pfft, in your dreams, Georgsson!" he laughed, never hearing me use his last name. "This-" I gestured to myself, "-is for someone else."

"You have a date? On Christmas?" he asked as if it was impossible.

"No, my family's coming over for the annual gift exchange," I said, "plus Adam's coming."

"Ah, Adam. Your boyfriend, yes?" Why did it sound a little harsh? I shrugged it off, probably I heard it wrong.

"Yeah," I couldn't help but smile. I'm still a little giddy from our conversation this morning.

"Oy, Drew! It's time to open the presents!" I heard from the background. I raise my eyebrows at Andrew.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"My brother," he sighed.

"And Drew?"

"My family calls me Drew. Mum's the only one who still calls me Andrew," he explained, "Please don't start calling me Drew."

"Too late!" I giggled. He groaned and placed his head in his hands. "I'm just kidding!" I said. It's not like I'd actually call him Drew. It sounds too weird. Andrew looked at me with tired eyes.

"Are you ok?" I asked, genuinely worried.

"I'm fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go open some presents," he gives me a strained smile before ending the video call. I sat there for a while, wondering what the hell was wrong with Andrew. First he's a little harsh about Adam, then he looks like he's about to pass out at any minute, and finally, he hangs up without a decent goodbye! Seriously, what's up with him? Before I could ponder on it any longer, Danial knocks on my door to tell me to come down.

Once I'm at the top of the stairs, I'm greeted with the sight of my family members packed in my living room. I scan the crowd for Adam, I'm sure he's here already. I spot him leaning against the wall, a drink in hand. I grinned and rushed down the stairs to greet him. Unfortunately, I got crushed in a bear hug by my uncle before Adam even noticed me.

"Jamie!" his voice boomed in my ears, "It's so good to see you again! You've grown!"

"It's nice to see you too, Uncle Ross," I say with a forced smile.

"How's school? I hear it's your final year. SPM's coming! Do you think you're ready?" I nodded and tried to wiggle out of his bone-crushing grip. God, this hurts!

"Listen, um, Uncle Ross, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to go," I said, finally getting loose. I don't wait for his response before running to where Adam still stood.

"Hey," I stood in front of him.

"Hey, beautiful," he pulled me close to him. He leaned down to kiss me, but I stopped him with my finger.

"Little cousins," I simply say. He nodded in understanding and stood straighter, but he kept his arm around my waist though. I smiled up at him and pulled him into the nearest empty bathroom. I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips on his.

"Not exactly romantic, don't you think?" he said when we pulled away. I giggled and stood properly. I kept smiling at him. He ran a finger down my cheek.

"You look so beautiful," he murmured. I blushed and looked down. Adam lifted my chin and kissed me softly.

But our little moment was ruined by one of my little cousins. He burst through the door and screamed, "EW! JAMIE'S WITH A BOY!"

"Aaron, get out of here!" I exclaimed.

"But I have to use the toilet!" he shouted back. I groaned and pulled Adam out. Aaron slammed the door behind us. I looked up and saw everyone staring at us. I blushed madly and dropped Adam's hand.

"Uh...hi?" I wave awkwardly. I swear, my family has never been this quiet before. You could seriously hear a pin drop right now.

"Food's ready!" someone called from the dining room. Everyone scrambled out of the room, as if they can't be in this here any more. Or, at least, you know, with me...

I looked at Adam, his face was straight and he was tense. I wonder what he's thinking. I hope he's not going to leave.

As if reading my thoughts, he said, "I'm gonna leave," and started walking towards the door. I took me a second to register what he said before I went after him.

"Wait! No, don't leave. It's still early," I said, taking his hand to stop him.

"Your family doesn't like me, Jamie-"

"So? It was just a misunderstanding. If we explain to them what happened, they'll understand," I said.

"It's not just that," he said.

"Then what is it?" I asked, desperate to make him stay. He opens his mouth, only to close it again. Adam shook his head and turned to leave again. "Adam, please," I look at him with desperate eyes. He sighed.

"I just-I don't know..." he trailed off. I lightly squeezed his hand, encouraging him to continue. "When I came, they thought I was lost. And, I don't know, they just seem a little cold to me, I guess," he shrugged.

"Look, who cares if they don't like you-"

"I do."

"-the only thing that matters is that I like you. Ok?" I smile when he nodded, "Besides, you wouldn't be here if I didn't like you, right?"

"I suppose," he mumbled.

"Hey," I squeezed his hand so he would look at me, "It's gonna be ok. We still have three hours to go."

Adam let out a short laugh. "Find, I'll stay."

I grinned triumphantly and hugged him tightly. "Now let's go eat!"

Dinner goes by excruciatingly long and awkward. Adam and I sit at the "Young Adults" table (I'll die before I call it the kids' table) with Danial and my other cousins my age. Oh, and Eleanor. She's more prettier than I imagined. She had long, wavy, black hair, big brown eyes and a nice smile. She said she was from Australia.

"So, Eleanor, what do you see in my brother?" I asked her, before receiving a hard kick to my shin from Danial under the table. He glared at me from across the table while Eleanor nervously laughed beside him.

"He's been...very sweet and kind to me," she said.

"Really?" Danial and I say at the same time. She smiled at us.

"Yeah," she replied. My brother smiled. I can tell he really likes her. I'm proud to say the feelings mutual!

"So, Jamie," my cousin, Fran, cleared her throat, "Pretty awkward just now, huh?"

This time is was my turn to kick. I felt Adam tense beside me. My hand immediately squeezed his under the table.

"Ouch! Dude, I was talking about Uncle Vincent's dancing! Someone put "his jam" on and he started dancing. Super awkward!" she said.

"I'm pretty sure you're using the word awkward wrong," Harold, her brother, said.

"It's better than you using literally in every sentence," Fran retorted. They started to bicker loudly. I tune it out, only focusing on my food and Adam beside me. I'm still worried about Andrew, though, but I push him out of my mind, making a mental note to ask him tomorrow.

"TIME FOR THE GIFT EXCHANGE!"

Everyone gathered around our Christmas tree, the young children in front, eager to get their presents. I remember when I used to be like that, young, innocent, and full of wonder. I can't wait to tell them how they'll turn out.

"Jamie," someone shook me out of my thoughts, it was Danial. He, Eleanor and Adam were sitting on the sofa which was pushed to the wall. I sat down in the middle, next to Eleanor and Adam. Once again, I tune out everything and leaned my head on Adam's shoulder. Danial didn't seem to mind taking my presents for me, since I helped him last year because he fell sick just before Christmas. That boy gets sick at the worst time.

Finally, it's time for everyone to leave. The children skip out, grinning from ear to ear with their new toys while their parents lug the huge bag of presents to the car. Eleanor and Adam were the last to leave as they offered to help clean up. Danial managed to shoo them away by the end of the night. Though, I did hear Danial and Eleanor's conversation. It went something like this:

"I'll call you tomorrow," he said.

"I'll be waiting," she replied. She suddenly giggled.

"What?" Danial questioned, laughing slightly.

"Mistletoe," she said.

"Oh," he hesitantly said, "I, um..."

I didn't hear anything after that. I sneaked a glance at them and silently squealed. They're kissing! Yes! I knew putting a mistletoe above the door was worth it!

"Hey," Adam's breath tickled my ear. I turned around and smiled.

"Hi. I thought you left already," I said. I guess I was too distracted by Danial and Eleanor to notice.

"Couldn't leave without giving your present," he produced a small box from his back. It was snow blue with a rose pink ribbon tied around it. I gasped as he gave it to me. "Open it."

I pulled the ribbon and lifted the lid. I took out the little snow globe and held it in the light. I shook it a little as I admired it. There were two people inside it, a girl and a boy. They were in each other's arms, foreheads touching. It looks sweet, though it reminds me of that snowball fight my friends and I had in London. I finally managed to make a snowball and hit Isabelle with it. Andrew hugged me and we had a moment. Damn it, how does that British boy always find his way back into my mind?!

"Do you like it?" I snapped my eyes up to look at Adam. He had a hopeful smile on his face and his eyes were glittering. I smiled softly and nodded.

"It's amazing," I said softly. Adam's face lit up and kissed me.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he said when he pulled away. I nodded and watched him leave. Andrew still clouded my mind as I went to my room. I placed the snow globe on my night stand and fell asleep with Andrew haunting my mind.

AN: HAPPY EARLY CHRISTMAS! I don't like saying 'Happy Christmas', but 'Merry Early Christmas' sounds worst than that. Anyway, this is my Christmas present to all of you! You're welcome! :D

So, more Jadam than I expected, but that's ok, right? Andrew's not there and he's just Jamie's friend, so...yeah...Honestly, this chapter didn't come out the way I wanted to, but it turned out fine. But, seriously, you'll see a lot of Jadam instead of Jamdrew for a while. Oh, and I'm sorry for not having Andrew visit Jamie, it's just too soon in the story. He'll come, that's for sure, but just not now.

What do you think of Eleanor, by the way? Do you want to see more of her? Or do you just want to see Jamie and her 'love interests', if you put it that way. I think Danial should get a love interest too, thus Eleanor was born! Well, not exactly born, she's 17, like him, but you get what I mean...

In other news, I just had an amazing idea! This is in an alternate universe, where Jamie's an aspiring Broadway actress, with an amazing singing voice and Andrew's a young director of a new musical. Jamie gets an opportunity to audition for the lead role, where she blows him away with her singing voice. Immediately, Andrew knew she should get the part. As they rehearse and stuff, Andrew slowly falls in love with her. But are the feelings mutual? Basically, this idea's been in my mind for the past week(I'm well aware that it's Wednesday, thank you very much) and I really want to write it, but I haven't found the time, sooo...I was wondering if one of you could write it? You don't have to, but it'd be nice if you did. I'd appreciate it, a lot. :)

Thank you for sticking around to read this long author's note and it'd be awesome if you left a review! It will boost my self-confidence and I will keep writing! Peace out, Merry Christmas and enjoy the snow if there are any from where you guys are! Cause there aren't any here! :D

P.S. Did you notice the new cover? I did my best making it, but it turned out weird...So, fudge it, I'll put it on anyway!