Three weeks have passed and Mr. Brunner still isn't back. I'm beginning to think that Vixen had something to do with it. The rest of my class however (or at least all the boys, who have fallen head over heels for her, anyway) obviously doesn't sense anything suspicious.
Soon winter break will begin and everyone is discussing their plans for the holidays. Most of the people I've talked to recently are planning on visiting relatives or going on a vacation. I, on the other hand, will be doing little more than staying at home and visiting Zandra a few times.
I'm walking down to my locker to grab the things I will need over the break (it's the last day of school before the holidays) when I hear someone calling my name.
"ALOURA! Hey Al!" I turn around to see Xavier running towards me.
"Oh hi Xavier," I say, grinning.
"Um Aloura," he says, trying to catch his breath, "w-would you like to come to my family's cottage in Colorado for the holidays?"
"Oh," I say taken by surprise, "sure! I'd love to! I'll have to ask my parents though."
"They can come too if you'd like." He replies with a grin. "Call me when you know if you can come. We're leaving the day after tomorrow."
I can feel myself blushing as an interesting thought occurs to me: 'does this count as a date?'
After my parents' okay and a day's worth of packing, I found myself sitting next to Xavier in his parents' car as we drove to the airport. My parents are in front of us (Xavier's family has a really big car) yakking on about skiing and picking out a real Christmas tree for once. I however am starting to doze off (I couldn't fall asleep last night 'till really late and then had to wake up rather early this morning.)
I can barely keep my eyes open when I hear Xavier whisper in my ear: "If you want to, you can use my shoulder as a pillow."
"Wh-what?!" I whisper back blushing furiously.
"C'mon Al, you're tired right? So go ahead I don't mind." He replies smiling.
I try to refuse, but before I know it, I'm waking up with my head on his shoulder to my parents and Xavier's parents singing 'One-hundred Bottles of Milk on the Wall.'
I sit up so fast that tiny stars appear. "Have a nice nap?" Xavier asks, grinning at me. "We're almost to the airport."
My face feels really hot as I reply "o-oh okay..."
One flight and another short car drive later and we arrive at Xavier's cottage. It's huge at least two stories tall and frosted with snow. I feel my jaw drop as we walk up to the front porch, which has little wind chimes here and there, and little twinkle lights hung everywhere. We step inside (more oohs and awws from me and my parents) to a gorgeous living room. The walls are painted a light cream color with an amazing mural on one of them. In the corner is a marble fireplace with a large portrait of Xavier and his family hanging above it. A striped cat with two different colored eyes (one brown and one startling green) sits by the entryway as if he's our welcoming comity. This place is so perfect that I have to pinch myself to make sure that it isn't a dream.
"Well," says Xavier's mom, who's named Fraya, "I think I'll get dinner started. Xavier can you show our guests to their rooms?"
"Sure mom" replies Xavier picking up some of our luggage.
"Oh I can carry that" I say, feeling bad that Xavier has to lug my two-ton suitcase all the way upstairs.
"Nah it's fine, I've got it." He says grinning.
He leads us upstairs and over to a room with a king sized bed and sets down my parents luggage. "This'll be your room. The T.V.," he points to a flat screen that's mounted above a dresser, "has cable but the channels are all mixed up so you'll have to ask my dad if there's something particular you want to watch 'cause I don't know them myself.
"Okay sounds great!" Says my mom, smiling like she just won the lottery. I can understand why. This house is incredible.
"C'mon Al," says Xavier, "your room's this way."
We walk down the hallway to another room this one has a ceiling to floor window with an amazing view of the mountain. I look around and see that I have my own bathroom and my own flat screen and my own fireplace. Before I know it, my jaw is on the floor again. I look back at Xavier in disbelief, "i-is this all really mine?" I ask him, in complete shock.
"Haha yup! It's all yours," he says, laughing. "Dinner should be ready soon, make yourself at home." He left, leaving me awestruck.
I spent several minutes admiring every little feature of my room, until Xavier came to tell me that the dinner was finished. "We should go skating together tomorrow," says Xavier as we walk down the stairs.
"Oh okay, sure" I reply.
The next day, I woke up to find myself sprawled across my bed, with my feet where my head should be (this bed is quite a bit bigger than the one I have at home.) I get dressed, brush through my hair and walk down stairs to find that everyone else is already up and gathered around the dining room table looking at something my mom was holding.
"Oh good morning sleepy head!" says my mom ginning.
"Yeah morning, uh what do you have there?" I ask her trying to peek over her shoulder.
"Oh hehe this?"she says holding out her camera for me. I take one look at the picture and feel my face turn scarlet: it's of me asleep on Xavier's shoulder. "You just looked so cute that I had to take it."
"WHAT!!" I shout. "Not cool Mom, gimme the camera!" I say trying to make a grab for it.
She yanks it away and says cheerfully "Haha not a chance! This'll be our Christmas card this year!"
My face feels even hotter. "NO WAY!! Give it here NOW!" I shout starting to chase her around the dining room while Xavier chuckles in the corner.
"Oh but what about this one?" says my mom showing me the camera from a safe distance. This time the picture is still of me asleep, but in this one Xavier appears to be sleeping as well; with his head on top of mine. I blush harder than ever.
"H-hey when d-did you take that?!" Asks Xavier, who's face is as red as mine, making a mad dash for the camera as well.
We chase my mom around the dining room for several minutes before Xavier finally manages to snatch it away. "Yes!" He exclaims scrolling through the pictures, "now to delete this one."
"Aw but I was just kidding! It's not really going to be the Christmas card!" Says my mom, giving Xavier her 'Pwease? for me?' look.
Xavier slumps his shoulders and I know that she's got him. 'Oh great' I think, 'so much for that.'
He hands back the camera "fine but er j-just keep it to yourself please?" He says.
"Well now that that's out of the way," says Fraya, "breakfast is ready so let's eat. You two are going skating right?" she asks Xavier and I.
"B-but Mom I thought that we were all going." He replies turning red again.
"We were," explains Xavier's dad (who is named Hank) "but we decided to look for a Christmas tree instead."
"What?" Says Xavier, his face getting redder by the second, "b-but uh I thought that we were going to do that together as well."
The adults were already at the door. "Bye! Have fun!" My mom says. After one final wave they close the door, leaving me alone with Xavier, who has his arm out stretched in vain.
"Uh," I say blushing, 'did they plan all this?!' I wonder. "So er, d-do you still wanna go skating?"
"What? Oh yeah of course!" He says grinning down at me, "C'mon, you can use my mom's skates if you want."
After locating Fraya's ice skates, and sweaters for both of us, we found ourselves at the edge of a skating pond that, for being the middle of the woods, was pretty crowded.
"Is it always this busy?" I ask.
"Yeah pretty much, that's not a problem is it?"
"Oh no not at all. It just seems kinda weird that there are so many people at a pond in the middle of the woods."
"Hmm yeah I guess it sorta is... Anyways c'mon!" He grabs my hand and pulls me towards the ice.
"W-wait!" I say starting to panic slightly, "I-I've never been skating before."
"Oh, really? Okay then just hang on to me until you get a feel for it." He grins, dragging me onto the pond, were I immediately start to fall.Xavier catches me just before I fall flat on my butt. "Whoa careful there. It's pretty slippery isn't it?"
"Y-yeah so er please just don't let go." I say blushing and holding onto his hands like my life depended on it.
After several minutes, Xavier finally says "okay I think you should try it on your own now."
"WHAT?!?" I say fearing for my life, "i-if you let go now I'll end up breaking something. So please please don't let go."
"Okay fine but you have to hold on with only one hand now 'kay?" he says, chuckling slightly.
"Why are you laughing at me?!" I reply indignantly.
"I'm not laughing," He says laughing harder.
"Yes you are! Don't lie!"
"Alright alright," he says in surrender. "I er," he's blushing again, "I well... I was laughing at uh at-at how cute you sound."
This statement made me blush harder than I ever remember blushing. "Oh I-I um... Th-thanks I guess."
We return to the cottage after a few hours. We're the first ones back. "I'm exhausted." I say flopping down on one of the couches.
"Yeah, that was pretty tiring." Xavier says, sitting beside me.
My eyes are starting to feel heavy. I try and blink the tiredness away, but the next thing I know there is a bright flash in front of me. I open my eyes to find that my mom is taking pictures again....My face feels hot 'darn! I did it again!' I think standing up to try and grab the camera away. I can tell that this'll be a long vacation.
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