My Christmas Wish.

The soft sound of Christmas music traveled up the stairs into my room. I sat on my bed, sitting cross-legged on the festive red, white, and green comforter.

A cup of hot chocolate sat on the small mahogany table that stood next to my bed, steam periodically rising up to the ceiling.

The air was a brisk thirty-one degrees, a crisp temperature for the nearly always warm Tempe, Arizona.

My body sat tucked underneath a white, wool blanket, draped loosely around my small frame.

I wore one of my brother’s sweatshirts along with a pair of sweatpants that were far too big for me.

The countless, untamable waves of my light brown hair lay fallen over my shoulders. Inhaling deeply, my hand moved to adjust the black-framed glasses that sat on my face.

I stared down at the thick book, smiling to myself as my eyes scanned over the various words on the page. Every year during the holiday season, I took pride in re-reading the Harry Potter series. So this is why I was here, sitting aimlessly on my bed, reading the day away.

Just as I was getting to an exciting part in the book, my perfect moment of magical bliss was interrupted when I heard a knock on my door.

Of course, it was my mother.

“Come in.”

She opened the door slightly, just poking her head in.

“Jess, can you come help decorate? I want your brother to come home to a warm welcome.”

I sighed, sliding the worn, paper bookmark into the book, saving my place for later. I lazily picked my body off of the bed, and followed my mother down the stairs.

My brother.

Garrett’s two years old than me. He’s in a band. That band, The Maine, just so happens to be coming home today; Christmas Eve.

Garrett and I are really close, and he knows everything about me; the good, the bad, the ugly. And I know more about him than he would really like.

But what Garrett doesn’t know, is how I feel about a certain member of his band. His name starts with “J,” ends with “ohn.”

John O’Callaghan. Just thinking about him sent shivers up my spine and butterflies to my stomach. He was perfect. He was tall, funny, sweet; everything a girl could ever ask for.

But that’s just it. He was everything that any girl could ask for. So there was always some girl hanging off of his arm. And if he didn’t have a girl with him, there was always one right around the corner.

I didn’t think I would ever have a chance with John. Not even if I was the last girl on earth. But hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?

I walked around the living room of our medium-sized house, hanging random strands of garland in any place I saw fit. Then I hung numerous glass ornaments on the tiny green pine, along with the “arts-and-crafts” ornaments that Garrett and I had made growing up.

My fingers moved to the little sparking lights that lined the Christmas tree, running the tips over the pointy little bulbs.

“Jess? Can you go out back and hang some more garlands outside?”

As much as I didn’t want to go outside in the freezing weather, I knew my mother just wanted everything to be absolutely perfect when Garrett came home.

So I put on my boots, my coat, and my gloves, before heading out back to decorate the backyard; a place that I knew deep down, no one would see anyway.

I trudged around the yard, decorating and decorating, time passing by out of my control.

I finally had one last item to hang; a gold star. I knew exactly where my mother wanted it. She always had it hanging off of the roof, high up where it was truly a struggle for a five-foot girl like me, to reach.

I mumbled various profanities to myself as I stood on the tips of my toes, trying to get it right.

My heart stopped when a hand reached out above me, placing the star in the exact spot I was looking for.

“After being around for so long, it’s about time I know where things go, right?”

I spun around, even though I already knew who that angelic voice belonged to.

“John!”

He smiled and reached his arms out, wrapping them around my waist as I collided into his chest. He was so warm; I could have stayed like that forever. He pulled away and looked down at me, placing a hand on my cheek.

“Jess, are you blushing?”

Of course. That’s what you do to me.

“What? No, I-I mean, I’ve been out here for a while. The c-cold must be getting to me.”

He tilted his head, not convinced. I wrapped my arms around myself, lightly rubbing my arms.

“See? It’s freezing! Come on, let’s go inside. I want to see Garrett!”

I turned away from him, hoping that the scarlet blush that currently resided on my cheeks would disappear as quickly as possible. I ran into the house with John trailing behind me. Immediately, I ran and jumped onto my brother’s back.

“Gary!"

He laughed and dropped me down to the ground. I leaned in, giving him the tightest hug I possibly could.

“Hey, Jess.”

He smiled and I lightly punched him in the arm.

“Call me more than two times next you’re gone for three months, jerk.”

All the guys of the band were in the room and we started to laugh as my mother called us into the kitchen for dinner.

It was quite the site to see; my mother, the boys, and myself, all sitting around the round glass table. The time ticked by on this Christmas Eve, and everyone was just happy to be together.

I sat at the table across from John. My eyes moved from the table to look up at his face, where his gaze met mine. Even though our family and friends were all around us talking, it seemed like we were the only two people in the room.

Lightly, his foot under the table tapped my own. I couldn’t help but smile and I hoped that the horrid shade of bright scarlet had not returned to my cheeks.

As my mother cleaned up the kitchen, the six of us moved to the living room, spreading out all over the place as we admired the tiny pine tree that sat in the corner of the light blue room.

Much to my protest I allowed the boys to take over the couches and the armchairs, because they were just “so tired” from their trip, according to Garrett.

So this is why I find myself sitting on the floor beneath the couch where John lay. He was completely spread out, and I could hear every breath that escaped his lips.

I felt so nervous as I sat by him, being so close. I probably would have lost it if my mother did not come in a second later.

“You can all open a present if you want, it’s midnight. There’s something for all of you.”

It was our tradition to open one present late at night. And ever since the boys had been around, she had extended the tradition to them as well.

I smiled as I watched them bend under the tree, pulling out various perfectly wrapped boxes.

Garrett, Pat, and Jared sat on the floor with their boxes, trying to decide who should open first. Kennedy grabbed a box quickly before heading outside to call his girlfriend. That left John and I.

I smiled and looked over at him.

“Go ahead.”

He shook his head and some hair fell into his eyes, which he immediately pushed away. Biting his lip, he grabbed a tiny box from under the tree.

“Nope, you go first.”

I shook my head and took the box, twisting and turning the little five-by-five box over in my hand.

I lightly shook it, teasing him.

“What is it?”

He chuckled, lightly pushing my shoulder.

“Just open it.”

I ran my finger over the tiny edge of the green paper, after taking off the red bow that had sat on top; which I had placed on John’s head.

I ripped off the green paper, tossing it to the side, and opened the box. I took out its contents and smiled at the little booklet in my hand which read: Coupon Book.

I lightly flipped through the book which had various ‘coupons’ such as, one free song of your choice, one day without tickling, lend one coupon to another person. But my eyes fell upon the last coupon in the book.

One free wish.

I couldn’t help but smile as I gazed up at the handsome boy in front of me. His own smile mirrored my own.

“Well, go ahead. Make a wish.”

I looked down at the floor, knowing exactly what I wanted; exactly what I wanted to wish for.

I took a deep breath and looked back up at his face, studying it intently.

“So, what did you wish for?”

I shook my head and laughed.

“I can’t tell you, silly.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Come on. Describe it.”

I bit my lip. Something inside told me that this was it. This was the moment I would tell John how I really felt.

I hesitated before meeting his eyes again.

“Well. It’s sweet and kind. A little tall, but that’s okay. It’s super handsome too; way too good for me. I don’t deserve it, really.”

He bit his lip and placed his hand on my cheek.

“Jess, don’t say that.”

His eyes moved to my lips and my breath caught in my throat. As he started to lean in, eyes closing, I quickly flipped through the coupon book, handing him one of the small pieces of paper.

“Lend a coupon to another person?”

He shook his head, confused.

I smiled and flipped through the book until I found the one I was looking for. I ripped the tiny red slip of paper out, my heart fluttering as I ran my eyes over the white text that was on it.

I handed it to John, waiting for his reaction. He took the piece of paper, finally reading what it said. Immediately a smile broke onto his face.

Once again he leaned in, chuckling.

“One free kiss?”

I laughed.

“What? You didn’t think it was going to be that easy did you?”

I smirked as he shook his head, leaning in and closing the gap between us for the first time. The sparks were incredible; like sparks from firewood, burning in the fireplace.

The kiss was just as brilliant as I always thought it would be, soft yet passionate. Perfect.

After a few moments, I felt something on my head as we broke apart. I looked up to see the other four boys standing around us. Garrett stood there with a tiny piece of mistletoe in his hand, waving it back and forth.

“Well, it’s about time, don’t you think?”

I lightly kicked him in the shin, making him fall to the ground. Cheery laughter filled the room and I leaned into John’s chest.

I picked up the coupon for a free wish and slid it over to John. He smiled down at me, throwing the paper to the side.

“Don’t you want to make a wish?”

He smiled, grazing his thumb over my skin.

“Only one use per coupon.”

I shook my head, lacing my fingers with his own.

“Can’t you make an exception?”

He laughed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder while he placed a soft kiss on top of my head.

“Nope. But you what? My wish already came true. I have you.”

His lips met mine for a second time and we broke apart, staring into the fireplace.

As the night went on John and I had a good time, just being together. It was this night that made me realize why Christmas is my favorite time of year.