December

Avery's POV

"Evan, do you know why they did it?"

It was finally the week before Christmas, and in the busy holiday rush, we decided it would be nice to decorate. After coming home from Target and buying a cheap, artificial tree, Evan started to put it together.

When the words left my mouth as I gathered tree ornaments, I clamped my lips shut. I shouldn't have asked that. Not yet.

"Who did what?" He asked, becoming honestly curious. He probably had some idea of who I was talking about, I'm sure.

"My parents. Why they decided to give up. It's been weeks and I still can't figure out why." I said, sitting down on the floor of the living room. Evan looked down at me, sighing as he dropped the fake branches to sit next to me.

"Honestly, I really have no clue. It doesn't make sense. Your parents used to be so... so-"

"Kind. And thoughtful. And as soon as they locked me away, things changed and I wish I understood why." I finished. Sighing, I shrugged it off, opening the boxes of new ornaments.

"Maybe that's the point, though. Maybe they didn't want to upset you more. They knew you'd probably hold the reason in your head and let it destroy you." Evan said, sliding his arm around my shoulders and squeezing tight.

I nodded. He was absolutely right. Maybe that wasn't the reason why my parents didn't leave a suicide note behind, but I still would have found some way to blame myself if I knew the reason.

"Maybe someday it'll make sense." I sighed. Shaking the thoughts from my head, I smiled at Evan. "I know it'll be okay. It couldn't be worse than the rest of my life so far."

"You're a tough one, Ave." Evan said, pulling me forward to kiss my forehead. I squinted and blushed, hiding my face as soon as he let me go. Biting my lip, I tried as hard as I could to shove my feelings away.

Evan's my best friend. Best friends act like this all the time, right? They can be cute and stuff without being a couple, so he probably doesn't feel the same.

I wouldn't see why, I glanced at my arms, covered in scars. Barely any clean skin left. Why would anyone want a girl like me? Especially someone like Evan.

"Wow, that was easier than I thought." Evan said, snapping me from my thoughts. I looked up and saw the tree was assembled already. He grinned at his accomplishment, and then down at me, making me laugh.

"Proud of you!" I giggled, standing up to begin to hang up decorations. Evan joined me, grabbing some ornaments to hang up. We just talked about little things while decorating, and sometimes silence hit, but it wasn't a painful silence. It made me content. A few times, our hands bumped when we both reached for the same branch. Of course, this made me blush harder, and I could have sworn I saw Evan's face turn red once or twice.

I'm probably imagining it.

"Hey, if you wanna finish this box up you can. I have to get stuff upstairs." Evan said, and I noticed he was up to something. Before I could question it, he darted up the stairs. Shrugging, I went back to cluttering up the tree with the silly decorations and pretty lights.

It felt like a day, when it was only about 10 minutes when I finished. Curious, I walked upstairs to find Evan.

"Evan, what the hell are you doing?" I called out, smiling. I've been doing that a lot lately, and it felt wonderful. I felt so at home here and with him, I was starting to feel like myself again.

Walking into the bedroom, I saw a note hanging off a nerf gun on the bed. Curious and slightly scared, I grabbed it and read the note.

" Hey, Avery!

Just wanted to warn you, as soon as you pick up this nerf gun, you're under attack. Don't worry, it's loaded. So good luck, beautiful!

You're gonna need it!

Love, Evan "

"That sick fuck!" I mumbled, cursing under my breath. He would do this to me. Rolling my eyes, I laughed and took the nerf gun. "I don't need your luck, I have enough of my own!" I yelled out into the house.

Holding the gun at arm's length, I walked stealthily around the house. It was completely silent, and I had no idea where Evan ran off to.

"Seriously, Evan, where the fuck did you go?!" I yelled out, still laughing. I tried hard not to let my guard down, though. I wasn't losing this one.

I checked the rooms upstairs, and even the attic. He was nowhere to be found. Deciding to try the first floor, I ran down the stairs, checking every corner and hidden spot.

A blur moving fast around the kitchen corner into the living room caught my eye. I ran after it, pulling the trigger. "Dammit, Evan!" I screamed as he dodged the foam bullet. I ran back the way I came, hoping to meet him in the hallway, and noticed he didn't run in from the other room.

"Wait..."

I turned fast to see Evan behind me, but didn't dodge the foam bullet aimed right between my eyes. It hit my head with a soft smack! noise, and I frowned, dropping my toy gun on the ground.

"Unfair!" I whined, dropping to the floor and laying on my back, covering my face with my hands.

"I told you that you were going to need that good luck." Evan said, laughing. I huffed, sitting up with my face still in my palms.

"You suck." I muttered, still not bothering to uncover my face. I heard a soft laugh come from him, and then it became quiet. I felt the space in front of me become warmer, and opened my eyes to see Evan sitting in front of me, smiling.

"There is one decoration I found while upstairs, though." He said, smirking. I scrunched my face into confusion, until he reached into his back pocket and held a mistletoe over the open space between us. My face, heart, and stomach instantly dropped at once.

My mind raced in the short amount of time neither of us moved, until seconds later Evan moved closer to my face. He was so close, and it felt like eternity until his lips finally crashed onto mine. Like instinct, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself closer to his body. His arms reacted, grabbing my waist, settling his hands on my hips. Evan pulled away, pressing his forehead to mine, smiling. I smiled, biting my lip while looking right into his eyes.

"I'm sorry it took so long. I'm sorry it took me years to come back, to find you, to help you. I'm sorry it took me so long to finally let you know how I've been feeling since we were kids. I just want to make it up to you, Ave. For as long as I possibly can. You deserve the world, the stars, and all the happiness in the spaces between. Will you let me do that?" Evan whispered, holding me close and tight. Still biting my lip, I took the words in and nodded slowly, smiling.

"I love you, Evan." Was all I could say, trying to hide those sappy, "tears of joy". He kissed me again, only to pull away and hold my hands with his own.

"I love you too, Ave. Always have, and always will."