Douse the Lights

It was the weirdest thing not being home for Christmas. I mean, of course, I'd spent a fair number of Christmases at different houses than my grandmother's -- switching from home to home as a child and everything. But since I'd moved in with my grandparents I'd gotten used to and really loved Christmas there. It was so homey. And here I was, about to spend my Christmas with my long-lost biological grandfather, cousin, and favorite band. It was the day before Christmas, and we'd all spent the last two days decorating all over the house. Apparently it was always a pretty joint effort. All of the guys came over and helped out. It was hilarious to watch and take part in. In the meanwhile, today I'd also been helping Grandmom make cookies, and after all the decorations were put up we sat around the living room all together and munched on them. I couldn't help but feel like Christmas here was even more homey than Christmas back in Philly. The living room had a little fireplace that was used for times like this, and its light was flickering across the room and everyone's faces.

By the time ten o'clock at night rolled around, the heat and the comfort seemed to be putting everyone to bed. I was practically already asleep myself; I'd curled up next to Brendon on the floor in front of the couch and had my head on his shoulder. Ryan was above us on the couch, his legs falling over on the other side of Brendon. My Grandmom and John were sitting on the loveseat across from the couch. Spencer and Jon were playing cards (War, I think) in front of the fire on the floor. I blinked my eyes open, yawning. There definitely could not be a better way to spend Christmas Eve than this.

"We're going to go up to bed now," Grandmom said after a few minutes. We all said good night to the two elder folks, wanting to stay up a little later ourselves. Even though I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to manage staying up.

Another hour or so passed in quiet (besides Jon and Spencer playing cards, which had I been more awake I was sure would have been amusing to watch). Brendon, Ryan, and I were pretty quiet; I think the two guys were close enough that they didn't need to talk amongst themselves -- they enjoyed each other's company in silence just as well. And I was perfectly fine with that. It was peaceful that way. I yawned again, and felt Brendon wrap an arm around my shoulder. "D'ya just wanna go to bed, Chel?" he asked quietly, though I could tell he was definitely laughing at me on the inside.

I shook my head. "No, no. I'm alright, really." As if to prove my point, I sat up and blinked a few times to get rid of the sleepy feeling. "See? I'm up." This time Brendon really did laugh, and I heard Ryan let out a quiet laugh, too. When I looked up he was grinning a little bit, but it faded away when he saw I was looking. This was the first time I'd really been around Ryan since I'd ran off, and it was still pretty damn awkward. I was willing to make up with him already, but it seemed like he was hesitant to be around me. And it really sucked. A lot.

"Alright," Brendon announced after another hour, "I think its time to hit the hay, yeah?" There was some nodding and murmuring in agreement. Jon packed the cards in their box and put them back where they were supposed to be. Then everyone got up and we headed to the different places we would sleep. When all the guys were over, they usually slept in the basement, I'd noticed. I wasn't sure how the set up worked since I had never been down there then, but the couch was one of those huge ones that could definitely fit two people sleeping; I assumed the other two had air mattresses or didn't mind the floor or something.

I stood up and Brendon followed suit not a moment later. He reached his arms over his head and stretched, then the limbs fell over me. "Night," he said -- which was followed by the chorus of three other voices. Another minute, and they were heading off. I headed in the opposite direction, to the staircase that would take me upstairs where my room was. When I got there, I stripped my clothes and pulled on my pajamas, then went to the bathroom and got ready. Finally, I was laying in bed. My eyes slipped shut and it wasn't long at all until I fell asleep.