KENNEDY

"Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh,

Hey!" I sing to myself as I skip down the stairs in a happy mood.

That carol has been stuck in my head since the beginning of December because it's all Wesley has been singing. Now even when he is not around I still find myself singing or humming the cursed song.

"Good morning Glynn." I greet him waltzing into the kitchen.

I perch myself on one of the seats kicking my legs like a kid in the candy store.

"Good morning Miss Foster. You're in a good mood this morning." He comments with a kind smile.

"That I am. It's officially one week before Christmas." I declare.

"That it is. What do you want for breakfast this morning?" He asks.

"A little bit of everything. I need all my energy today." I answer.

"A little bit of everything coming right up." He replies making me smile appreciatively.

I retrieve my phone to keep me busy whilst Glynn makes breakfast still humming that blasted carol over and over again. A message pops up on the group chat and its from Isaiah reminding everyone of what we are doing today. I reply affirming my attendance and so does everyone else.

I'm excited about today because it's the Christmas party at the homeless shelter. We decided to do it today because most of us will get busy as of next week. School will be closed for winter break and some of us will be traveling for the holidays. Astrid and I will be spending Christmas together, as for my parents I have no idea where they are and I honestly don't care. We haven't celebrated Christmas as a family in years. Our house isn't even decorated because we never celebrate. They don't even get us gifts but Astrid and I do get a pretty hefty amount of money from them which to me is okay. I've already used up all of mine anyway. Speaking of ...

"Glynn did you get what I asked delivered?" I ask recalling the favor I asked of him two days ago.

"Yes miss, it was delivered yesterday together with everything else." He answers.

"Perfect, thank you." I reply.

"My pleasure miss."

Five minutes later he pushes a plate full of my favourite breakfast foods towards me together with a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice.

"Thank you Glynn." I smile digging in immediately.

"Enjoy."

I am just about done with breakfast when I hear the front door open and close followed by a sound I know too well. The familiar clicking of my mom's stilettos and my dad's deep baritone. My mood deflates because they have chosen the worst possible time to come home. I have no idea why they are here considering they spend Christmas in some Ski resort.

I hear them asking for me and Glynn directs them to the kitchen. The backdoor is too far away for me to escape in time so I stay glued to my seat.

"Jane!" Mother exclaims excitedly when they walk into the kitchen.

I plaster on a fake smile and get up from my seat to hug them both.

"Dad, mom what are you doing here?" I ask pulling away to put my now empty plate in the sink.

"We do live here you know?" Mother retorts with one of her polite rehearsed smiles.

"Sure and a hundred other locations around the world." I scoff under my breath.

"What did you say darling?" Father asks.

"Nothing. So are you going to spend Christmas in New York this year?" I inquire.

They look at me as if I've lost my mind, look at each other and then burst out laughing. They could have just said no, no need for all the theatrics.

"Oh no sweetheart, never! We are going to Switzerland for Christmas." Father answers.

Thank God! I cannot not bear spending Christmas with the both of them trying to be a fake happy family. But then the way father said we, while looking at me gives me the chills.

"You and who?" I ask just to be clear.

His next words ruin my whole Christmas and all the plans I've made.

"The four of us. Your mom and I thought it'd be nice to have the whole family together for the holidays." He explains.

I turn my glare to my mom who is still smiling as if this is the best idea she's come up with since she designed her first purse.

"We haven't done that since Astrid was in highschool." I grit out trying to calm myself.

Even before my rebel phase my family was already falling apart so them coming up with this desperate attempt to save our family with a destination Christmas getaway does not sit right with me.

"Perfect time to revive the tradition don't you think?" Mother insists.

She looks so confident I want to pull my hair out by the roots at how frustrated she is making me with this impromptu plan.

"But I have plans with my bo... friends." I reply quickly correcting myself.

Nice save Kenny.

"I'm sure they also have plans with their own families. Now go pack, we leave tomorrow and won't be back until new years." Mother demands snapping her fingers at me as if I am one of her assistants.

"You're serious!" I screech.

"Mind your tone young lady and nobody is laughing so yes." She answers confidently.

I know there is no getting out of this because once my mom gets an idea into her head there is no changing it.

They always ruin everything.

I pick up my phone and bag from the counter top and turn to leave the kitchen.

"Where are you going? You should be packing." Mother asks.

I turn to her with an unimpressed look. "I had previous plans with my friends. I'll pack later."

"Jane..." She calls out warningly but I interrupt her.

"Mom you guys have already messed up my Christmas with no prior warning. Please let me have this one last day with my friends." I plead knowing that nothing she'll say will stop me from leaving the house.

For once my father speaks up and stands up for me. "Let her go honey, we'll have her the rest of the holiday season."

I am surprised by his words but I am glad for them. Mother cannot argue with him so her shoulders deflate in agreement.

"Be back by nine. Astrid will be here as well." She demands.

"Yes ma'am." I reply and walk out of there

At least I have my sister to fall back on when this supposed holiday and family bonding time blows up in our faces.

I consider driving my car to the homeless shelter but then I remember that all my friends will be there and they don't know that I'm rich yet. I still don't know why I am keeping it from them when I know how accepting they will be. When the moment presents itself I will tell them. Not wanting to overwhelm them I decide to take the bus instead.

I text Isaiah to tell him that I am on my way and he replies a minute later to tell me that he is already there.

My all too familiar route to Frosty dream comes in sight and I smile as my heart fills up with pride. I have grown so much over the past few months and a lot of credit goes to working for Archer.

Speaking of Archer he needs to know that I will not be available to work all through Christmas. I decide to get off at my usual stop to deliver the news and then walk the rest of the way to the homeless shelter.

Cove is working behind the counter when I walk in while Archer is with a customer.

"Hi Cove." I greet walking around the counter to hug her.

"Red, I didn't know you were working today?" She asks me.

Cove has been experimenting with different nicknames for me and currently seems to have settled on Red. I honestly don't mind it. I am used to all the nicknames because I know they are not mocking me, just having fun with me.

"I'm not. I just dropped by to talk Archer." I reply.

"So talk to me." The devil himself speaks up behind me.

I jump startled easily because I did not hear him walk up to us.

"Hi boss." I wave turning to face Archer.

"What brings you around on your day off?" He inquires.

"I wanted to talk to you about the holidays schedule."

"What about it?"

"I won't be here." I say in a low tone.

He stops what he's doing and turns to me. "Why?"

I consider lying to him and giving him some lame excuse but the I reconsider. Archer is the best boss there is and I am hoping he will understand.

"My parents arranged for a trip outside the country and we leave tomorrow." I explain.

He goes silent for a moment before smoking at me. "Family time is important and even though we could really use you, I can't stop you. Thank you for letting me know in advance. We'll hold down the fort until you come back."

"Thank you so much."

"Anytime. Now aren't you supposed to me at the homeless shelter?" He asks me.

"Yes, I'm going." I chuckle.

"Why don't you grab a cooler and fill it with popsicles for you and your friends." He suggests.

"Really?"

"Yes?!"

"Thanks boss. You're the best." I grin, hug him for a brief moment before I rush to the back.

Since I'll be walking I make sure to fill it with the right amount that won't be a bother to carry. After I am done, I say goodbye to Archer and Cove, steal a canoli from Oscar for the road before I leave. Having popsicles when it's so cold might seem like a bad idea but we will be working all day so it'll be nice to have something to cool down with.

Now that I have talked to Archer, there is no need for me to worry about getting fired while we are in Switzerland. That's one problem solved, now I have to tell Isaiah since we had Christmas plans together.

I hope he takes it as well as Archer has.

Getting to the homeless shelter turns out to be more of a struggle than I anticipated. I packed too many popsicles but I still manage to make it with my arm intact.

The place is buzzing with activity when I walk in, a big smile gracing my lips when I spot all my friends standing in front of an eight foot tall Christmas tree. Looks like I am the last one to arrive.

"Hey guys." I greet walking up to them.

They all turn and smile when they see me.

"Kennedy!" Kristie exclaims excitedly.

"Princess!" Wesley cheers happily picking me up.

Luckily I've put the cooler down so I laugh and hug him back.

"Hi Wes." I reply.

He sets me down and I turn to face Isaiah walking into the open arms of my boyfriend. Yes we are boyfriend and girlfriend now and I am still floating on that happy cloud. I was so elated when he asked me and there's no way I could have said no. We are official and I couldn't be happier.

"Berry." He whispers into my ear.

"Iz."

I am surprised when he kisses me in front of all our friends and even more surprised when I start to kiss him back. Why did we wait all those months to get here? It feels so good to be held and kissed by him; to know that I am his and he is mine.

"Okay enough sugar love birds." Baron declares forcing us to pull apart.

I blush and instead of hiding my face with my hair, I hide it in my boyfriends chest. I will not true of tire of calling him that.

My boyfriend.

"You and Kristie do the same." Isaiah retorts.

"I didn't know it was a competition." Baron bites back.

"I should be the one getting offended. I am officially the fifth wheel." Wesley pouts.

This makes me feel sorry for him so I give him another hug.

"Thanks but I want my own girlfriend." He says.

"She'll come. For now you're stuck with us." Kristie consoles hugging him as well.

"I like this." Wesley decrees with a grin as he hold us closer.

This does not sit right with Baron and Isaiah who pull us back into their arms.

"Okay, I give up. So what did you bring today?" Wesley asks looking at the cooler.

"I passed by Frosty Dream and Archer asked me to bring popsicles." I answer.

"Yes! I love that guy." Wesley cheers reaching for the cooler but I slap his hand away.

"Those are for later." I inform him.

"But I want one." He pouts using a weird baby voice.

"I know but it's too early for one." I reason with him.

"No it isn't." He argues and before I can stop him, he grabs the cooler and runs away with it.

None of us even bother stopping him because if he gets a sore throat or a cold it will be his own fault.

"Anyway, what were you guys doing before I got here?" I ask them.

"Deciding on how to start decorating this giant." Kristie replies and we all turn to face the tree.

"It didn't come with decorations?" I ask looking around.

"It did." Baron answers pointing to a couple of boxes on the other side.

"I say we get started then, there's much to do including making the ginger bread houses, wrapping all the presents, cooking and cleaning." I decree.

"God! You sound exactly like Iz. He said that exact same thing before you came in. Meant to be indeed." Kristie points out.

I smile and snuggle closer into Isaiah's side who responds by tightening his hand around me and kissing the top of my head.

"Let's get started then." Baron says with a clap moving towards the boxes with the deco with Kristie right behind him.

I try following them but Isaiah holds me back.

"Wait up little lady, I have something to ask you." He says turning me to face him.

"What's up?" I ask beaming up at him.

"Why didn't you tell me you were planning on donating all these things to the shelter?" He inquires.

My eyes widen at the mention of this but I quickly compose myself. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't." He scoffs. "Ines told me that the tree and decorations were delivered by a white older guy with a posh accent. Plus gifts, food, blankets and heaters." He points out.

Busted.

There is no point lying anymore. Glynn was supposed to play cool when he delivered everything but I guess the cat is out of the basket.

"I just wanted to do something nice for these nice people who don't have it as well as I do." I explain.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asks.

"I don't know, I've never done anything like this before and I didn't want you to think it's because I wanted to show you up or anything. You planned this whole thing and I just wanted to help a little more without throwing my money at your face." I answer.

"Oh Berry." Isaiah sighs and pulls me back into his chest.

"Are you mad? This hug doesn't look mad?" I inquire.

"No I am not mad. I couldn't be when you've proven just how great you are. Glynn didn't give the name of the anonymous donor so Ines has no one to thank but on behalf of everyone here thank you Berry. You are awesome." He expresses.

My heart swells up with pride and happiness because I did Isaiah proud. He was my whole inspiration to do what I did. He is so kind and selfless that I aspire to be half of what he is.

"Just spreading some Christmas cheer." I respond.

"And that you have." He whispers and tilts my face up to kiss me.

I savor his lips on mine and kiss him back but making sure to keep it pg since there are still a lot of people milling around us. We pull apart before it can get too heated and join our friends in unboxing all the decorations and then get to work. Since Kristie and I have height deficiency we go low while the boys and their looming heights go high. We are joined by a few more people and soon all the activities planned are underway.

"Ines gave me candy canes!" Wesley declares happily joining us half an hour later.

His tongue is three different shades and he's definitely on a sugar rush.

"Wes please lay off the sugar." I plead with him.

"Do you want a candy cane?" He asks ignoring my question completely as he holds out more than ten candy canes.

"You'll crash if you keep going at it." I reason with him.

"Stop being a party pooper. Do you want a candy cane or not?" He insists.

"Fine I'll have one but if you hurt yourself it's on you." I reply taking one from him.

He moves on and gives everyone a candy cane. When he runs out he goes to get more instead of helping with the tree.

Such a child.

Even without Wesley's help, the tree turns out great. One of the girls at the shelter gets to put the star on top, with the help of Isaiah who holds her up. When we light it up, everyone claps and cheers because of how good it looks.

"We've never had a tree before. This looks really good. Great job kids." Ines compliments us.

Isaiah winks at me and I blush hiding my face with my hair.

"So what's next?" Kristie asks.

"Gingerbread houses for us and gift wrapping for the boys." I answer.

"Why not the other way round?" Baron argues.

"Because we're much more delicate and you'll just mess up the houses." Kristie replies.

They get into it for a moment which ends with them making out right in front of everyone. We pull them apart and separate to move onto the next line of business. We are making gingerbread houses with all the kids in the shelter because it's a fun activity for them to enjoy.

"So did you finally submit your Yale application?" Kristie asks me as we draw faces on the gingerbread men.

"Yes." I sigh sadly.

"Don't worry girl, you'll get in." She assures me.

"Thanks." I reply with a forced smile.

I know I will get in, that is not the problem. The problem is what I will get in to do. With Miss Sandy's help I submitted an application to the art program in Yale. It's one of the most prestigious in the country and I'll get in but my parents will be furious because it's not what they envisioned for me. But I keep reminding myself that this is my life and not theirs. Whatever happens I know that I followed my heart and I have Astrid's support.

"These look pretty good. Can I have one?" Wesley asks resurfacing yet again.

I slap his hand away before he can get to one. "No!"

"You're mean!" He scolds.

"No, you are high on sugar. Now go help Baron and Iz before I get angry." I demand shooing him away.

I don't expect it to work but he actually does as I ask.

"Nice!" Kristie grins giving me a five.

Hot cocoa with marshmallows is served and we all get to take a break when we are all done with the gifts and the houses.

"Those turned out pretty great. I am proud of us."Kristie declares as we admire our hardwork.

"Me too." I reply with a smile.

Baron whisks her away and I find a spot to sit as I wait for Isaiah while mulling over how I'll tell him that I am leaving tomorrow.

I don't even realize that I am banging my forehead on the table when I feel Isaiah's hand slip to protect me once again.

"What's wrong?" He asks sliding into the seat next to me.

I turn to face him whilst trapping his hand against the table with my face because I'm laying my cheek on it.

"What makes you think that something is wrong?" I answer even though its pretty obvious.

"You only bang your head against surfaces when you're stressed about something. Is this about the college applications?" He inquires.

"No. I mean I'm stressed about that but this is not it." I reply.

"Then what is."

I have to tell him so I take a deep breath and sit up.

"You remember how we'd made plans so spend Christmas together?"

"Yes."

"Well something else came up." I start.

"Your parents?"

"How did you know?" I gape in surprise.

Can he really read me that well?

"Just a hunch. They are the only ones capable of putting you in such a bad mood. Plus you were supposed to come straight here but you passed by Frosty dream which I assume was to tell Archer that you won't be working over Christmas break." He expounds.

He really does know me well. "Yes, my parents arrived before I left this morning and told me that we're leaving for Switzerland tomorrow."

"Switzerland? Wow! I hear they have great ski resorts."

"They do. I'm so sorry." I apologize.

"Don't be. Family is important and even if you don't like your parents I think it's good that you guys will be spending the holidays together." He consoles caressing my cheek.

"I don't, if we were flying commercial I would have found a way to miss the flight but I can't." I decree already having thought of that but it's impractical.

"Let me guess, private jet? " Isaiah says.

"Yes." I nod.

"Nice."

"No! Not nice. I wanted to spend Christmas with you." I mumble in a sad tone.

He pecks my lips softly and pulls me in for a side hug. "I know Berry, I know but it'll only be a few days and then you'll be back."

"You're taking this better than I did. We were supposed to exchange gifts and now I won't even get to see you."

I was really looking forward to seeing his face when he opened my gifts.

"Hey, it'll be okay." Isaiah comforts.

"No it won't."

"How about this? Do you already have my gift?" He questions.

"Yes."

"Drop it off tomorrow at Frosty Dream on your way to the airport. I'll give you mine as well and we'll open them on facetime Christmas day. It won't be the same but it's better than nothing." He suggests.

I smile because as always he's managed to find a solution instead of pouting like me

"Yes it is, thank you. You're the best. I am so lucky to have you." I whisper gazing at him affectionately.

"No, I'm the lucky one." He replies.

"I'm still bummed though."

"How can I make you feel better? More kisses? Do you want to draw on me? Play with my hair?" He offers.

"All of the above." I request.

"Okay let's start with the kisses." He whispers a moment before bridging the gap and kissing me.

Now that Isaiah knows and we've found a solution, I am able to enjoy the rest of the day.

It ends with all of us sharing one full meal family style as we laugh and watch as everyone gets presents. Isaiah tops the day off by singing us a few Christmas carols on his rusty old guitar. My favorite part of the night is when he sings mistletoe by Justin Bieber and ends up pulling me into his arms at the end of it and kissing me under the mistletoe.

Talk about ending the day in the most beautiful way possible.