Stay Here By My Side

"What kind of cookies do you want to make first?" Spencer asked, flipping through a holiday cook book. She hadn't gotten to Ryan's apartment until after one. Handing out the presents took longer than expected, and she also decided to stay longer to clean up to make up for leaving early the day before.

"Hmm....what about some sugar cookies? We can get the cookie cutters out and decorate them, too." He suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good." She agreed smiling. This was her first time making Christmas cookies in over two years - and she was excited about it.

After about fifteen minutes, they had all of their ingredients combined and mixed. Ryan scooped the dough on to a flat pan, and then put it in the oven while Spencer added food coloring to the frosting.

"Do you want some eggnog, too?" He asked, walking to the fridge. She made a face and shook her head.

"Eggnog is gross."

"Are you serious?! What do you usually drink during Christmas?"

"Apple cider! It tastes way better and makes your house smell good."

"You're weird." He replied simply, shaking his head in disbelief.

"And you're mean," She teased, dipping her finger in the green frosting and wiping it on the tip of his nose.

"Oh, I'm the mean one?" He asked laughing, smearing some blue frosting across her cheek, which of course started a full out frosting war. In just a few minutes time, their faces, hair and clothes were covered. Bright blues, yellows, greens and reds mixed together, making them look ridiculous.

"Is something burning?" Spencer and Ryan spun around, facing the direction of where the voice came from. "What the hell..."

"Oh, Jamie this is Spencer. Spencer, my brother Jamie." Ryan introduced, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, smearing even more colors across it.

"Hi," She said with a laugh, blushing as she imagined what this must've looked like from his perspective.

Jamie looked to be about fifteen, with brown hair and blonde tips, that flipped to the side. His eyes, in contrast to Ryan's dark brown ones, were a bright blue. He returned Spencer's smile before turning his attention to the oven.

"Are - or were - you guys making cookies or something? Because I'm pretty sure something is burning."

"Oh, shit." Ryan said, hurrying to the oven and opening it. Sure enough, they were completely blackened. "Well, at least we know the frosting tastes good."

- - - - -

"Sorry I got frosting all over your shirt," Ryan apologized, handing Spencer one of his sweatshirts.

"Please, it's fine. I got frosting all over yours, too." She pointed out, pulling it over her head. It was a bit too big, going halfway down to her knees, and she had to roll up the sleeves. But it was comfortable nonetheless and smelt just like him.

"Oh! I have something to give you, I can't believe I just remembered it." He said, after pulling on a sweatshirt, himself. He led her to the living room and reached under the tree, pulling out a thin, rectangular, neatly wrapped gift.

"Ryan, you didn't ha-"

"Don't even," he interrupted with a smile. "I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to, okay?"

"But I didn't get you anything..."

"It's fine, just open it." He urged.

Spencer looked at his excited and hopeful expression, and sighed in defeat, grabbing the gift out of his hand. She ripped the paper off, revealing an envelope. Reaching into the envelope, she pulled out the contents, and gasped. It was two tickets to the Blink - 182 concert next month.

"Oh my God, Ryan. This is way too much.." She started.

"No, it's really not, Spencer. I got them for a good price, and we both really love them, so why not see them live?" She hesitated, which Ryan noticed. "Come on Spence, live a little, it'll be fun!"

"Alright," She agreed, mirroring his excited smile.

She had a feeling that maybe, just maybe, this upcoming year was going to be great.