“Thank you, thank you, everyone! Santa will be here for the rest of the week! You guys take care!” Natale cheerfully waved at all the little kids exiting the metal gate stand.

She let out a deep sigh as she placed the closed sign in front of the gated gingerbread house. Another shift had gone by. It was just days before Christmas and she’s been working like a horse trying hard to earn her holiday shopping money. Her eyes glided over to the small surf shop across the escalators where she spotted a dark brown haired hottie, shirtless, wearing red board shorts and a Santa hat.

Her best friend Noel stood in front of the store with his smooth bare chest and washboard abs. All girls were cackling around him and giggling in delight, taking pictures and giving him pecks in the cheek.

Someone chuckled from nearby.

“You’re so green with envy,”

“Shut up, Nicholas!” she glared at her brother who was dressed up as ‘jolly ol’ saint Nick’. He stood up and walked over next to her.

“Don’t be jealous, sis. You’re not Mrs. Clause.” He joked. “You’re just an elf.”

“Ha-ha, very funny.” She retorted, sliding him a look.

What he said was unfortunately true. She was, after all, Santa’s little helper. Nothing more.

Noel and Natale were best friends ever since they were toddlers. They were practically joined by the hip. As they grew older, Natale found it hard separating with Noel.

As cliché as it sounds, she was deeply in love with her best friend.

From a distance, she saw a red headed girl dressed as a sexy Mrs. Clause. It was her other friend Celyn talking to Noel. Her stomach knotted at the sight. To Natale, She was, no doubt, one of the the most drop dead gorgeous girls of Camden County. Red hair, gray eyes, creamy white complexion with a dust of freckles across her nose.

“Hey, guys!” Natale cheerfully chirped. Celyn’s eyes had a worried look as soon as she saw her and she said good bye after whispering something to Noel.

“What’s up, Nat?” he puts an arm around her shoulder. She suddenly felt her cheeks flush as she stared up at his lips, but instantly brushed the feeling off what could actually feel like kissing those wonderful lips?

“What’s her problem?”

Noel just shrugged. “Boy troubles,” he looked down at her with his knee melting smiles, his dark hair falling over his eyes.

“Boy troubles, huh?” she mumbled looking over where Celyn was at. She was fixing the displays over at Victoria’s Secret, laughing alongside with her other co-workers also dressed up in Sexy Mrs. Clause suits. Natale caught her looking at them but she just gave her a sweet smile.

“She’s in love with you.” Natale whispered.

“Who?”  Natale pointed over at Victoria’s secret. He followed the direction of her gaze.

“The blonde?”

“No, you doofus!” she slapped him in the arm. “I’m talking about Celyn.”

“Oh.” Natale’s heart suddenly sank the way she saw him look at Celyn then down on her.

She knew right there and then, that Noel was also in love with her.

A medium sized snowball had hit Natale in the head while walking along the sidewalk, making her drop all her grocery bags. She whirled around and saw Noel laughing his head off in front of a snow fort where lots of kids and their mothers played at.

“Gotcha!” he yelled.

Natale dropped down to her knees and formed the perfect sized snowball in her hands and aimed it Noel’s face.

“BULLSEYE!” She laughed.

“PREPARE FOR RETALIATION!” he yelled cupping his mouth with both hands and he started throwing premade snowballs at her.

“Stop! Stop it! I surrender!” She started to run but Noel tackled her to the ground making them roll down the snow bank. They couldn’t stop laughing after what just happened. They laid there until snow started to fall on them.

“I love snow,” Natale said in a whisper. “And Christmas.”

Noel gave a low chuckle. “Isn’t it amazing how we’re both born on Christmas day?”

“I know,” she say, and a tiny glow of pride spreads over her. “It’s pretty amazing. And to think we’re also best friends.”

Noel placed his hand on top of hers. In an effort to distract herself, she focused looking at the sky instead. Natale remained quiet and closed her eyes, letting the snow flakes fall over her face.

She knew that’s all they were.

Best friends.

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” Natale hummed to herself as she walked up to her car wearing a black coat over her elf costume. Her shift has ended for the day and she was about to head back home after a tiring day at the mall.

“Hey, Nat!” Noel jogged over to Natale wearing his Santa hat but this time  there wasn’t any ab exposure, instead he was bundled up in layers of clothing and a thick black jacket. His cheeks were rosy pink and he had tiny flecks of snow on his hair.

“Hi, Noel.” She say, and immediately feel a joyful smile plaster itself over her face. Immediately, she felt her smile falter, looking down, pretending to fiddle with her car keys.

Noel looked a bit uneasy at that moment. He let out a puff of air before he spoke again.

“Uh, is it okay if we could… have dinner?”

Natale looked at Noel questioningly and his eyes were pleading for her to say yes. She nodded and they walked back to the mall.

“You’re… You’re leaving?” Natale’s heart felt like it was pricked with a hundred needles. Her eyes automatically dropped down at her burger and then shifts back up at him again. “The day before Christmas eve?”

Her heart nearly stops dead and she suddenly felt dizzy and elated after what she just heard.

“I’m—I’m sorry, Nat.” says Noel, who’s sitting opposite of her, his fingers laced together. He slowly reached for her hand and his eyes started to flicker. “I really wanted to tell you. Remember that day at the mall and Celyn was talking to me? I was worried about telling you this.”

“Noel, please….”

“I know it’s ridiculous leaving a day before Christmas eve. My mom thinks it’s for the best…”

Natale wiped the tears off her eyes and clamped a hand over mouth to prevent her self from giving out a loud whimper. For a few moments they gaze at each other without speaking. She can hear her pulse beating loudly in her ears.

“Nat, New York’s not that far from Camden.” He said reassuringly, reaching over to take her hand. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

“You’re moving away, Noel. You just lived across the street.” She quickly wiped the tear that trickled down her cheek. “I’m sorry… I have to go.” She got up and grabbed her bag.

“Natalie, don’t…” Noel caught her arm but she shook it away instantly. She walked out of the food court but Noel just remained seated at the booth.

Christmas Eve…

“What? You didn’t even say goodbye?” Celyn wrinkles her brow anxiously and rolls her eyes sympathetically at Natale. Celyn was curled up into a ball in front of the fireplace, wearing a red sweater with an antler headband. “But you guys were best friends!”

“He dropped by yesterday,” she finally say. “But I refused to talk to him.” She held her mug closely to her mouth, inhaling the fresh aroma of hot cocoa. “I just stayed in my room until he left.”

Celyn reached over Natale’s shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. She tucked a stray of brown hair behind Natale’s ear. Celyn wanted to say something but she just pressed her lips together and took a sip of her hot cocoa.

All the visitors left at two in the morning. As Natale was about to close the door, she couldn’t help but notice the mistletoe hanging above the doorway. When she was a kid, all her older cousins used to tell stories about how mistletoes were magical. They all vowed that one day they would be kissed under the mistletoe.

“Mistletoe magic, my ass.” She muttered, laughing at the memory.

“You don’t look too happy,” her mom stood next to her with crossed arms. She immediately puts an arm around Natale’s shoulder. “Something’s bothering you.”

“I’m fine, mom.” She quickly say.

“It’s Noel, am I right?”

Natale swallowed the lump in her throat. This was her first Christmas and birthday without Noel. Her eyes stung as she heard his name. Noel was somewhere in New York spending Christmas with his mom.

Her mom hugged her and gave her a peck in the cheek before she starts to walk towards the kitchen.

“Mom, I’ll go clean up. You go ahead and rest now.”

“You sure?” her mom started to yawn. “Oh, my—I guess you’re right, I have to go to bed now. Goodnight, see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, mom.” She nodded. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you, too, sweetie.”

Natale starts to clean up the mess in the living room when she saw the lighted advent calendar on the wall. It was made of wood with a picture of an old cabin on a snowy night with a lighted Christmas tree outside. Every day of the month of December had small boxes where you take out and reveals something special inside. The advent calendar was a gift from Noel’s family and ever since they were kids they would both open a box every single day of the month and find a little treat inside.

Natale stared at the advent calendar for a moment. She was about to open day 25 when the doorbell rang. It was almost two thirty.

She slowly walked to the door and peeked through the hole but nobody was there. Her eyebrows furrowed. Someone was playing ding dong ditch.

At a time like this? She thought.

As she opened the door, to her surprise, was none other than her best friend.

“N—Noel?” she whispered. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in New York?”

Noel’s eyes were teary. He moved closer to her, cupping one hand on her warm cheek. “I was… But I had to come back.” Noel brought her wrist to his lips and brushed them over inside.

“You had to come back? But why…?”

Whatever she’d had in mind was muffled against his mouth, He was too quick. For a moment there was nothing she could think of but sheer, unbridled pleasure. It was her first kiss and it’s like drowning in pure ecstasy, she didn’t want to let go. Their tongues intertwined, it was hard to stop.

She was kissing her best friend.

Under the mistletoe!

What do you know? It is magical after all. She thought.

Her eyes stayed closed, seconds after he’d drawn his lips from hers. When they opened, slowly, the irises were dark and clouded.

“What?” Noel grinned.

Her lips curved as she framed his face with her hands, sliding it down to his broad shoulders, pulling him inside. She leaned on the door and smiled. Noel puller her closer to him and they both walked to the living room. She bit her lip and took a deep breath.

“So… why did you come back?”

“I told my mom I couldn’t do it. I told her I had to come back to Camden. This is my home.” He scratched a brow and dropped down in front of the Christmas tree. Natale nodded nervously. She wasn’t really expecting Noel to come back so soon, but her heart was rejoicing at that moment.

“But where are you going to stay?”

“My aunt’s house a few blocks from here.”

She remained silent but feeling of awkwardness draped over her since they just finished kissing not too long ago.

“Uh, do you want a hot cup of cocoa?”

“Yeah, sure—that would be great.” Noel replied with a smile.

A few minutes later, she came back with two steaming cups of hot cocoa with mini marshmallows. She caught Noel in front of the small CD player, putting in a CD of Christmas classics.

“Great way to set the mood.” Natale cooed.

They sat down on the carpet together and stared at the remaining gifts under the tree. Noel gave her a slight nudge.

“Hmm?”

Noel stood up and extended his hand to help her up. They went to the wall where the lighted advent calendar was at.

“You haven’t opened the 25th yet.” His arm snaked around her shoulder. She gave a small laugh and looked up at him, his dark eyes twinkling from the faint glow of the Christmas lights near them.

He winked at her.

Natale stared at the square box that had the number 25 on it. She bit her lip and placed her hand on the small circular knob, pulling it slightly.

She gasped.

“Noel,” she breathed.

 He looked down her eyes. He wiped each tear with his finger and kissed both her cheeks before he kissed her softly on the lips. He pulls back slightly, his forehead pressed on hers.

“Merry Christmas.” He said in a whisper, taking the diamond ring from the box and placing it around her ring finger.

“And a happy birthday.” She whispered back. They both hugged and started to slow dance to the music.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, yuletide carols being sung by a choir, and folks dressed up as Eskimos…

Although it’s been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you...