"Hey! Vince, you made it!" Corey bellowed from the kitchen. There was already a huge crowd of people crammed inside, so the yelling was necessary. Vince rolled his eyes and tugged at the collar of his turtleneck sweater. He took a cup from the island and filled it with eggnog. Vince cringed at the taste, but downed the rest of the glass and then refilled it again. He needed to get plastered tonight, maybe so he'd be drunk enough for whatever was going to be thrown at him tonight.

"Of course, I made it. I haven't missed a single one of your Christmas parties in six years!" Corey smelled like aftershave and toothpaste. Vince slapped his best friend on the back and smiled a hazy grin. He could already feel the buzz of the liquor. He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut as he downed the second cup. Shit, he thought.

"Oh, Vincie boy, this is going to be the best one yet! I invited Adrian, just for you." Vince's eyes popped wide and he felt his face heat up. OH SHIT, he thought. Adrian fucking Sinclair. His goddamned ex girlfriend who, in fact, loves to fuck with his mind.

"Corey…I'm not sure that was such a good i-" Corey put his hand up and interrupted Vince.

"No, no, no. I already invited her. She'll be here any minute." Vince frowned and drank two more glasses of nog. He closed his eyes, thinking about her and how much he didn't want to see her and about how good it would feel if he, somehow, managed to make her hurt as much as he had that night. He had loved her, but she broke his heart. And now...he lost his train of thought when he opened his eyes to find Adrian walking purposefully toward him. He groaned.

"Hey, V. I've missed you this summer. Why haven't you visited?" She pressed her body against him, nearly spilling his booze. He scowled.

"You dumped me, remember?" She sighed and pursed her glossy pink lips.

"Oh, V, you know I was totally kidding!" He raised an eyebrow, remembering that night.

"Oh really? So sleeping with Sawyer was your version of 'kidding?'" She rolled her eyes and took hold of his shirt.

"I didn't sleep with him, V. I mean, I had every intention of doing it, but then you walked in on us and I saw what a big mistake I was making. I've been ashamed of myself ever since. I promise you, V. I love you. And I know you love me. You were going to tell me, weren't you? You love me." He looked at her, expression hard.

"Loved. In the past. Used to love. Now, I can barely stand to see your face. It sickens me." She exhaled and then looked up at him through her lashes, her eyes flashing.

"I only want you, Vince," she whispered. Her lips were inches from his. He took a deep breath and pried her fingers from his front; keeping her hands securely in his. A small smile spread across her face.

"That's just it, Adrian," he pressed his forehead against hers, "I don't want you." And he walked away, not glancing back. Corey stopped him before he could leave and brought him into the sitting room. There was a huge pitcher of eggnog in there too. Vince filled himself some cups.

"Tough break, man. She was what, your first love?"Corey asked. Vince downed his sixth cup of eggnog and threw his body on to the musty smelling couch in Corey's apartment. Vince nodded and cringed at the way his head throbbed. He was sweating in his Christmas sweater and he was feeling queasy. He excused himself and stumbled to the bathroom.

Arie takes a deep breath and steps out of her car. As she walks to the front door, she thinks about what Corey would think of her coming at such short notice. She thinks about whether he's even home. The lights are on, so that's a good sign. Maybe the rest of the family is here too. That would be…scary. She swallows her fear and rings the doorbell.

Nothing happens.

She can hear some Christmas carols playing inside and people talking. Oh no. The whole family is here. She turns around and starts walking away when someone speaks.

"Can I help you?" She turns and sees a man in the door frame. A man with shaggy dark brown hair and a small goatee. He's got a cup of something in his hand and a hideous knit sweater on. She sees the light reflecting off of his bright blue eyes and she smiles.

"Hi Corey," she says and walks back up to the door. He looks down at her and she watches as his eyes widen.

"Arie?" Her smile widens and she nods. He opens his mouth as if he's going to say something more, but his jaw doesn't seem to work. And then he's hugging her. It's been so long since she's had a chance to hug her cousin without pain and sorrow hovering over her head.

"Come in," he mumbles and closes the door behind them, shutting out the cold. It turns out it wasn't the family at all, but a huge crowd of strangers laughing and drinking and smoking joints. Arie removes her large winter coat, revealing her red velvet Christmas dress and waits for Corey to say something more. He leads her into the sitting room and gestures toward the small sofa that was unoccupied at the moment. There were less people in this room, so she felt a bit more comfortable. He sits down across from her in an empty recliner.

"Oh, Corey, you would never believe what happened in-"

"COREY! God dammit," someone yells. Corey sighs and excuses himself a moment. Arie watches as he walks over to a girl on the floor, surrounded by CDs. Arie stands up and paces the room. She walks over to the mantle and looks at all of the pictures he has there. They're all of him and his friends doing something stupid. There's always a different group of people in each of them, except for one boy. He had curly black hair and he was clearly the instigator behind all of the photos.

In one of them, Corey, the boy, and a group of girls were at a lake. The girls were bikini clad and were laughing at something forgotten. Corey was already in the water. The other boy, though, was in mid air with his two middle fingers up. Arie found this extremely repulsive. What a tool. Arie turns around and bumps into none other than "the boy."

She gasps.

He smiles.

Her stomach churns.

"I didn't see you there," she whispers.

"Why so surprised, sweetheart?" he says.

"…uh?" He exhales in her face and she can smell the alcohol in his breath.

"You are aware that you're standing under mistletoe?" She glances up and to her surprise, he's not lying. There's a large vine of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

"…oh!" He smiles and waits until she looks back at him.

"How about a kiss then?" She backs up and shakes her head.

"Maybe when you're sober…or we're both drunk," she muttered that last part to herself as she walked from the room, looking for Corey. She found him in the kitchen rearranging some of the food and drinks.

"I think I'm going to go…" He looks up at her with a confused look.

"Why?" she fidgets uncomfortably and then realization dawns on his face.

"Oh. Vince. Yeah, he's a total douche when he's plastered, but when he's sober…he's a whole other person." Arie raises her eyebrows.

"Oh really? Because he seemed like an all around asshole to me." Corey chuckles as Vince walks into the kitchen with a girl under each arm. He smiled at Arie and winked at Corey as he led them down the hallway. Arie wrinkles her nose in disgust.

"Don't judge him too harshly just yet, cousin. He may be a player, but he's got a heart of gold underneath. Deep down. Way deep down." Arie doubts it.