Tis the Season

“Come on, let’s go!”

Jamie stared up at her friend like she had five heads. Elise Davenport was glaring at her. She’d already ripped the covers off of Jamie and was fully prepared to start tugging on an arm or a leg to pull her out of bed. In the two days since she visited Harry’s flat Jamie had managed to go off the grid. She called out of work, turned off her phone and holed herself up in her bed.

There had been knocks, multiple times but Jamie never got up to answer them. Unfortunately for her Elise managed to get her spare keys from Kendall - that little traitor - and she was now trying to pull Jamie from her bed and get her to go down to the tree lighting. But that was the last place the brunette girl wanted to be on Christmas. She was the furthest thing from happy and being near a whole bunch of happy, smiley people wouldn’t change that. If anything, it’d just make her situation worse.

“Come on J,” Elise sighed as she dropped down onto the bed beside her friend. “It’ll be fun.”

Jamie thought otherwise. But it was evident that Elise wasn’t going to give up any time soon so she gave in and rolled off of her bed. She motioned for her friend to leave and then quickly hopped in the shower and got dressed in a sweater and jeans. She didn’t even bother doing anything to her hair – after a quick blow-dry she pulled it into a haphazard side braid and pulled a knit cap over that.

“Are you ready?” Elise asked as Jamie stepped out of her room. The blue-eyed brunette nodded and they set off to the tree lighting.

As soon as they reached the very large, beautifully decorated tree Jamie regretted agreeing to come. She wished she fought a little harder and made Elise leave because the couples surrounding the tree were making her heart ache. Deep down she knew it was stupid and she knew that she gave up on getting Harry back far too easily but she couldn’t help and worry that he changed his mind after she called him when she fought with Derek.

“Do you want some hot chocolate?” Elise asked as they made their way around the tree for a second time. Jamie shook her head but smiled thankfully at her friend. She wanted to snap at her but she knew it wasn’t Elise’s fault that she was feeling incredibly Grinch-y.

“I’m just going to explore the shops a bit,” Jamie said as she noticed Elise waving to a group of friends. She didn’t want to deal with Elise, let alone a whole group of people. Instead she figured she’d pop around the shops quickly and then once she was sure her friend wasn’t looking out for her she’d head home and go back to bed. Maybe even call her parents for once.

Elise nodded beside her and didn’t put up a fight. She gave Jamie a one armed hug and then ran to catch up with her other friends. Once she was gone the brunette pulled her jacket tighter around her body and headed towards the rows of little booths that were set up on one of the streets by the tree. She walked by them, looking at the hats and scarves and gloves in one booth and the pretty handmade ornaments in the next. A part of her thought it was crazy that so many people were walking around and shopping on Christmas but she knew by now that it was a tradition to have the big tree lit up as soon as it was dark enough.

Jamie trailed her fingers over the edges of the less popular booths, smiling at the people working behind the counter. She thought back to the boy that had gone into the jewelry store a few weeks ago and bought a ring for his pretty girlfriend. She absently wondered if he already proposed as she reached a booth full of wreaths, mistletoe and kissing balls. There was music playing from a tiny radio next to the man who was sitting behind the counter and Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas was softly filling the air. Smiling to herself, Jamie closed her eyes and found herself getting lost in the music. It was her favorite Christmas song and this year it was somewhat ironic.

“Oh I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know.”

Jamie’s eyes popped open and she spun around. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as Harry smiled and stepped a little closer.

“Make my wish come true,” he sang softly, “baby all I want for Christmas is you.”

A shiver ran down Jamie’s spine as Harry stepped closer still. His hands found her hips and he tugged her closer. The song continued behind them, the soft waning vocals of the end of the song carrying on but Harry stopped singing. His green eyes were staring into Jamie’s blue ones with an intensity that made her want to grab him by the collar and drag him back to her flat.

“So what do you say, Jam?” Harry asked quietly. The girl could feel eyes on them from all around and it made her squirm.

“Not here,” she whispered back before pulling away and grabbing his hand.

Harry groaned as she led him away from the scene he’d caused and toward the park where she’d broken things off with Derek. As soon as they were far enough away for Jamie to feel comfortable she stopped and let go of his hand. She felt empty as soon as the contact was gone but she forced that away as she turned to look at Harry.

“How did you find me?” She asked. “What are you even doing?”

The curly haired boy laughed and shook his head. “I’ve been looking for you all day,” he said with a shrug. “I just got back from seeing my mum and Gemma. I saw your note and I know you so you probably went round my flat and I wasn’t there so you probably went home and gave up instead of just ringing me like a normal person.” His tone was teasing but Jamie could still tell that underneath that he was frustrated that she didn’t just call him.

“I’m sorry,” Jamie murmured. Now that she was actually face to face with Harry she had no idea what she was going to say. When she went to his flat she had a vague idea but now, actually seeing him? Nothing was coming to mind.

“I know,” Harry replied softly. He closed the space between them and pulled Jamie to his chest. “I know you, remember?”

Jamie nodded and wrapped her arms around his chest. For the first time in a long time she actually felt content and safe. But she couldn’t let Harry do all the work here. She had to say her bit; she had to let him know how she felt.

“I broke up with Derek,” she murmured against his shoulder. “A couple of days ago before I went to see you. I should have done it sooner. I never should have been with him, actually.” She shook her head and Harry rubbed a soft circle into her back. “I’m sorry that I was too scared to wait when you left.”

“Me too,” Harry murmured back before pulling away slightly to get a look at the love of his life. “But that was then and this is now and none of it matters since we found our way back to each other.”

Staring up at Harry was too much. Seeing the love in his eyes, knowing that despite it all, despite her not waiting for him he still loved her made her body tingle with warmth. She was stupid to love him go in the first place, she knew that, but she also knew that they were meant to be, just like he said in the café.

“I love you,” Jamie blurted. Her cheeks warmed with blush but the wide grin that spread across Harry’s face was worth it. She suddenly wished she had some kind of bow she could put on her head and present herself to him as a Christmas present.

“I love you too,” Harry murmured as he tugged her close. He lowered his face to hers but before giving in to what they’d both secretly been wanting since the break up he smiled and rested his forehead against hers. “So what do you say, Jam?” He asked again, his green eyes twinkling.

“I’m all yours Harry,” Jamie murmured back, sliding her arms up between them so she could get her necklace off. Harry let go to help her out; he unclasped the necklace and slid the ring off the chain. As he slipped it back onto her finger where it belonged Jamie leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Merry Christmas, Harry.”

She moved back to pull away but Harry was too quick. He wound his arms around her and found her lips again. This time he was never letting her go no matter what happened.