Damn, it sure felt nice when things went well for a change.

Ever since their talk at the party, it was very obvious that Santiago was trying his hardest to become a better… whatever he was to April. They’d spent the rest of the night and all day Sunday hanging out at her place, and he’d even felt cheerful enough to make breakfast for his beloved on Monday morning. Although he would never openly admit it to everyone, the Devil of Crown Heights definitely felt that what had happened over the weekend was necessary for things between he and April to move forward. There was definitely a positive change in the way they treated each other, and the young man hoped that this was the start of what could lead to a proper relationship between them. Their hardest attempt was the least their unborn child deserved.

After his breakfast with April, Santiago went back home to get ready for the school day, and made it to King’s Academy in record time. Although the teachers of his missed classes were less than pleased with him, a quick explanation of his situation (along with April’s ultrasound photos of the last appointment) was enough to have them apologizing and offering support in any way possible. The rest of his morning classes went by as per usual, and before he knew it, lunchtime was here. When his eyes fell on the empty chair at their usual table, Diablo cursed under his breath. With the reconciliation between him and his baby mama happening during the weekend, he'd completely forgotten what an asshole he'd been to the one friend who'd stood by him through thick and thin. If anyone besides April deserved an apology for his dickish behavior, it was Max.

Deciding he'd put it off long enough, Santiago began to search for Max around the school. He checked the gym and locker rooms to no success, but when he eventually found his blond-haired friend in the lacrosse field with the rest of the team, he stumbled on what looked like a heated argument between the captain and none other than Sawyer Lockwood. Diablo knew his friends well enough to tell when they were getting seriously pissed off; and he could see the signs flash in front of him like headlights in the night. Max had that telling throb in the vein of his right temple, Sawyer's ears were red, and they both looked ready to throw hands.

Before things could get physical, Santiago jumped in. “Why don’t we all just take a breather and revisit the topic when cooler heads prevail?” he told his friends, cautiously standing between them and extending his arms to keep them apart.

Sonny had been feeling uncharacteristically chipper and overall happy this morning and throughout the morning hours too. It wasn’t like him to be like this. Sure, he was usually all smiles but more in a laid back sort of way, but for a strange reason, he was not like himself. One could say Sonny was acting how he was before he developed the tough guy gene that alienated most of his friends.

When lunchtime came around, there was also something different in how he greets others. It was noted by someone he waved to when he didn’t follow their name with some kind of homosexual slur of some kind that he was known for using in a joking way. And while others may not know why exactly, Sonny knew the reason for his new sunny outlook on life now. It was now that he was friends with his best friend's friends. After Kavi’s party, it became solidified.

Sonny Drake is now chummy with Kavan and Archer. Sonny will now forever be protective over his fairies. If he wasn’t so hungry, he might go find them, but like a Drake, when food was on the mind, everything else came second place. So Sonny went to the cafeteria, found himself a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza, and began his usual eating and walking routine as he went on a lunch adventure to find his fellow Misfits.

The decision to take the party up to Max’s bedroom was by far the best idea the ex-lovers had had in awhile. They’d spent the night catching up between the sheets, making the most out of what was probably going to be the last time they’d ever be together. By the time Sunday morning came around, they’d been absolutely worn out and right in the middle of a deep sleep when the youngest Wallenberg suddenly burst into her older brother’s room.

"Jesus, Max! Who was the loud slut that kept me up last ni- Kellie?!” Agnes has cried out in disbelief, eyes wide in recognition of the sleepy, shirtless, messy-haired girl rising from under the covers. “Seriously, Kel? After everything we talked about? I thought you guys were over for good!”

Max and Kellie exchanged panicked looks, hoping to come up with a plausible explanation for their compromising position when Elin Wallenberg strutted into her baby brother’s room. The oldest daughter had come back to spend some time with her family after being away at college for months-- and of course she had to arrive in the most unfortunate moment. After an embarrassing attempt at conversation, Max’s sisters left the room, graciously allowing them the chance to get dressed and attempt their quick, undetected escape. But just as they were rounding the kitchen corner to reach the house’s back door, the couple stumbled head-first into a confused Alice Wallenberg carrying the last plates to the dining room... Which lead to what was probably the most awkward breakfast the Kellie Anne had ever shared with the Wallenberg family.

The dancer finally made it home in the early hours of the afternoon, and quickly buried herself in the mountain of homework that had accumulated throughout the past week. During all this time, her phone had been forgotten underneath her Halloween costume at the bottom of one of Agnes’ old backpacks. It was only after she was getting ready for bed that she remembered the powerless device needed charging, and as soon as she turned it on, a stream of text messages from Shawna popped up on the screen. For the longest time, Kellie simply stared at her phone, feeling the guilt bubbling up in the pit of her stomach and asking herself whether it was a good idea to simply come clean about what had happened. After all, it’s not like what she and Shawna had was anything more than two friends exploring their sexuality with each other. But at the same time, the last thing Kel wanted was to hurt her new friend, so she opted to simply send her a sweet little message before bed and worry about everything else later.

---

That Monday morning had started out as a regular one for Kellie Anne. She arrived at school on time, was greeted by Molly Davis handing her a caramel frappuccino from Starbucks, made it to homeroom with time to spare, and attended all her classes as per usual (low-key avoiding Shawna along the way). It was at the start of her lunch period when the young woman’s phone vibrated inside her pocket, and the text message she read had her mood shifting from cheerful to pissed in record time.



Kellie didn’t even bother with a reply. Fuming, she stuffed her phone inside the pocket of her skirt and stormed in the direction of the cafeteria. There was only one person whose name started with a “G” that had any reason to spread rumors about her, and who had everything to gain from them. Probably the same G-named person she’d seen messing around with Max in the pier a few weeks ago, too… But if there was one thing that Kel was certain of, it was that it was time to face the root of the problem head-on.

The young woman’s brown eyes scanned the area and quickly lit up in annoyance at the sight of the girl in question occupying one of the tables in the cafeteria. Hands balled into fists, Kellie made a beeline for the table and eventually slammed her belongings on top of it, effectively imposing herself and interrupting any conversation between her fellow classmates.

“You’re Georgia Fielders, right?” she asked the brunette, plopping down on the seat right in front of her and staring daggers at the other girl while effectively ignoring the boy joining them at the table. “I'm Kellie Anne Nicholson- though I'm pretty sure you know this already. I heard you like to throw my name around quite a lot, actually. Any particular reason why?”

The youngest member of the Mossos clan had spent the majority of the holidays with her large family in Greece, and away from one of her favorite people in the world. The sights, activities and time spent with everyone kept her entertained for the most part, but the brunette’s thoughts always went back to him whenever she was alone. Three weeks had seemed like forever without his kisses, his burning touch on her skin, and the rush of adrenaline of the forbidden relationship they shared. So when Ariana finally got the text message she’d been praying for since the day of her arrival to Florida, she was unable to hold back the squeals of excitement. She quickly lied to informed her parents she'd be spending the weekend with one of her friends, packed her overnight back with his favorite selections of lingerie (and some new acquisitions she'd purchased during her trip) and made the short trip down the familiar streets of Crown Heights and to his cozy home.

Ariana pressed the doorbell once, and was quickly greeted by a tall, bearded man with black hair and piercing blue eyes, wearing nothing but those gray sweatpants that drove her crazy. Grinning, she took a second to hungrily and shamefully stare at his chiseled features before speaking. "You called, Daddy?" she asked the man innocently, looking up at him with kittenish eyes but with that suggestive smirk on her juicy cherry gloss-covered lips.

The last few weeks of Christmas vacation had given Mr. Jace Russo time to do the usual nothing with his life. The winter break of the most attractive male teacher of King's Academy had consisted of grading a few tests, visiting family and watching football with his friend Brent. While he hadn’t been counting down the days until his favorite student got back from vacation, he did have the date carved into the back of his mind. Giving her a good day or two to settle back in, he had finally sent her the classic: “I miss you. You should come see me” text. It wasn’t a lie: he did miss her from time to time. However, his message had been more code than sincerity. And luckily enough for him, the young woman had picked up on the hint.

”Welcome back, Princess,” he responded, looking down at her. Moving from the doorway back into the living room, he turned down the volume on the TV as Ariana made her way inside. ”How was Greece?”

"Ugh, exhausting!" she huffed, slipping her sneakers off by the door and making a beeline straight for the refrigerator to grab one of the pink lemonade bottles her favorite teacher kept in stock for her. "As much as I love traveling, I was so ready to be back home. Don't get me wrong: I had a lot of fun, obviously," the brunette explained, hopping up to sit on the kitchen counter, opening her lemonade bottle and taking a long sip. "The sights and the shopping were fabulous, as always. But you know how big my family is. There were my grandparents, my parents, my siblings, my cousin Romeo and his girlfriend, my aunt and my other cousins… It was a circus! With the amount of people around me all the time, there were times that I felt so suffocated. I felt like I couldn't even take a shower without feeling like someone was hovering over my shoulder!"

Setting the remote back down on the coffee table, Jace made his way over to the kitchen to stand in front of her, resting his hands on her thighs as she spoke.

”Hopefully now that you're back you can relax,” he said, reaching his hand up to brush her hair behind her right ear. ”Do you want anything to eat? You know I’d be more than glad to fix you something.”

"Wow, dinner tonight and everything? I'm in for a treat," she teased, letting out a small laugh before throwing her arms around his neck. "I already ate back home, but I wouldn't say no to some dessert."

He couldn’t help but smirk at her comment before leaning down to kiss her. ”Always quick to the chase, aren’t you?”

Ariana's flirtatious laughter filled the kitchen. "Always," she murmured, taking some time to return his kiss with some additional passion and pulling away only after she was breathless. "I was away from you for three weeks, Jacey. You can't tell me you didn't miss me as much as I missed you."

“You know I did. I couldn’t even pretend that I hadn’t missed you if I tried. I don’t have that much will power.” He stepped away from her momentarily to grab a drink from the fridge. ”I heard from Amanda yesterday. Oh, joy. She’s back in full swing in New York. Can’t say I blame her after the hell that was the reunion. Remind me to never go to one of those things again, would you?”

The mention of Jace's ex-girlfriend always brought a rather comical expression to the brunette's face: the scrunched-up face you make when you step on a turd with your favorite high heels on. Ariana hadn't had the 'pleasure' of meeting Amanda Woodall in person, but from what she'd gathered, the blonde was a nightmare. How her charming, fun, outgoing and beloved teacher had gotten tangled up with someone like that was a question the young woman would always ask herself.

"I mean, I did tell you it was a bad idea. But you're both stubborn and a masochist, so there was nothing I could have said or done to keep you here," she scolded him with a shrug and a roll of the eyes. "But anyway: moving on. What did Little Miss Dragon Lady want with you now?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

”Oh, you know… Just wanted to catch up, let me know she was twelve weeks pregnant, and wish me a Merry Christmas. Just the usual stuff.”

Ariana nearly choked on the sip of lemonade she'd taken from the bottle just seconds before Jace dropped this bombshell on her. "What?!" she cried out, frowning at the man while her heart raced a million miles a minute, just like the stream of questions coming out of her mouth. "Babe, please don't tell me it's yours. Because it can't be yours, right? You told me you stopped seeing her months ago. Right?"

”Of course it’s not mine! Thank God. And yeah, I did stop seeing her forever ago. I wouldn’t lie to you.” He took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. ”But yeah. She went back to Benjamin, so I guess they ended up working things out. It’s his kid.”

The young woman watched the man carefully for a few silent seconds, taking in his gestures and expressions. She could tell the news had done a number on him, even if he was trying to act unbothered about it. Of course, the young Mossos was never one to shy back from seeking the truth, even if it hurt. And in the complex case that was Amanda and Jace, she'd peel the band-aid right off if it meant her darling's wounds would heal faster.

"Do you still love her, Jacey?" Ariana asked him in a voice barely louder than a whisper, waiting for his answer with bated breath.

Her question took him by surprise. While he thought that he was used to her bluntless after all this time, it still caught him off guard from time to time. He looked her in the eyes, seeing the slightly worried look there. Why she was worried - he didn’t know. As far as Jace knew, this was still just a casual thing to Ariana - even if he thought he felt different? Jace pushed away the thought and answered her question.

”No. No, I don’t.” He opened his drink, taking a sip before speaking again. ”We’ve always been complicated, but in the end, we both knew it wouldn’t work. We both agree that we’re still good friends. If she ever needs me, I’ll do my best to be there. But as far as loving her? No,” the man stated, shaking his head.

"Okay." Ariana murmured, letting out the breath she'd been holding and taking the last few sips of her drink. The young woman was fully aware that what she and Jace had was a friends with benefits type of deal between two consenting adults. But although romantic feelings weren’t supposed to be involved, Ari cared enough about her lover to know that he deserved much more than Amanda The Toxic Dragon Lady. "You know, for someone so smart, that Amanda's kind of an idiot," the brunette declared, setting her empty lemonade bottle on the counter next to her and wrapping her arms around Jace. "I can't believe she'd let you go like that. I would never do that to you."

Listening to her words, Jace smirked. ”You sure about that?” he asked in a joking tone as to try and hide how serious he was. ”I mean, you have college… cheerleading…. Wouldn’t an old man just hold you back?”

Ariana's laughter filled the kitchen space. "Okay, first of all: you are not old. Are you slightly older than me with a degree, a career and your own home? Yes. But that doesn't mean you're old, Jace. Hell, some of the other guys you teach fucking wish they looked like you. So let's get that dumb thought out of the way, okay?" she told him, playfully tapping his nose with her index finger. "And second of all, who says I can't go to college, be a cheerleader and the world's best girlfriend to you at the same time? You know me, love: I can multitask."

Jace laughed quietly. "My knees pop when I stand up sometimes, but I guess you have a point," he replied. "Just sort of always thought you would get a scholarship and move away or something. But no matter what you decide, I'll be here to support you."

"A scholarship?" she repeated, letting out another round of laughter and shaking her head. "My grades aren't even that great, and even if I were to get a cheer scholarship, I'll stay right here. I'm not letting some other chick take my place."

”Fine, fine. But just promise me if some great opportunity comes knocking at your door you won’t turn it down, okay?”

"Yes, father," Ariana replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him. She hated when Jace made comments like that. She knew they came from a place of genuine concern for her and her future, but it made him sound so much like her father that it killed any other feeling she could have for him. "Are we done with the lecture, Mr. Russo? Because I didn't come all the way down here for you to play guidance counselor with me. That’s Mrs. Quinn’s job, not yours."

He held his hands up defensively. ”I know. Mushy stuff isn’t your forte,” Jace said jokingly.

Ariana rolled her eyes again and shook her head. “It’s not the mushy stuff I have a problem with, Jacey,” she explained, wrapping her arms around the dark-haired man again. “It’s when you start lecturing me and acting like a wrinkly old man. You’re my daddy, not my father. There’s a difference.”

Of course. How many times had Jace said or done things to remind them both of the apparent age gap? While Ariana would reassure him time and time again, something told him that this wouldn’t be forever. Sadly, he couldn’t help but hope.

”Apologies, love. Did you wanna grab a shower or something? I know that show of yours was coming on soon. What was it called again?”

"A show?" she repeated in disbelief, staring at him for a few seconds to see if he was being serious before bursting out in laughter. "I haven't seen you in three weeks, and you think I came all the way down here to watch a show with you?"

”Well isn’t Netflix and Chill a thing now?” he asked, a smirk on his face. Of course he was only joking now. Hopefully she would understand that.

The laugh from before was now a knowing little giggle, with Ariana visibly perked up now. She shot him a mischievous smirk and a playful wink. “Oh thank God. I was starting to think you didn’t miss me as much as you said you did…” she purred, pulling on the elastic band of his sweatpants.

The smirk now more of a smile of joy, Jace took Ariana’s head between his hands before kissing her slowly. He had missed her. Terribly, at that. Was it wrong for him to admit? No… he didn’t think it was.

"You know I have, Kitten,” he said, taking her right hand in his while leading her down the hallway. ”Now come on. I think it’s time we finally dropped the chit chat and celebrated your return.”

As the youngest son, grandson, nephew and cousin of the Fernandez family, Santiago was put on a pedestal from the moment of his birth. He was the pride and joy of the family with his charm, affection and vivacious nature. They celebrated his successes, bragged about his athletic accomplishments and supported him unconditionally. So when everyone’s favorite golden boy had shown up to the family’s Christmas Eve party with a very American, very visibly pregnant girlfriend, everyone had been nothing short of shocked. But once the initial surprise had blown over, the Fernandez family had quickly embraced April as one of their own. Santiago had done his best to properly introduce his girlfriend to the family, but it had been Gabriela who’d taken the girl’s hand and paraded April around the opulent home, gushing to everyone about her and her excitement about becoming a grandmother for the first time. It was during one of the moments in which April was caught up in conversation with his cousins that Santiago had excused himself from the party, and entered the house of the late Rosalba Fernandez.

An overwhelming wave of grief and nostalgia suddenly came over him, tears suddenly burning at his eyes. It was the first time he had set foot on the property after her passing, and he was surprised to see that everything looked exactly the way she had left it. A part of him secretly hoped that the elderly woman would suddenly round the corner with her welcoming smile, embrace him in her arms and wrap him in one of her warm, loving hugs-- but he knew deep down that it was nothing but an empty dream.

His brand footwear made soft clicking sounds against the tile floor as Santiago took his time examining every single inch of the house he’d grown up in, taking in all the sights and reliving many memories of his upbringing Once in the hallway, his pace came to a complete stop, eyes glued to the framed photographs of the members of the Fernandez family hanging from the walls: childhood photos, weddings, class pictures, graduations… And right at the bottom of the hall, adorned by a large golden frame, was a photo of the family matron with her beloved youngest grandson.

To say April was a bit overwhelmed by all the new people was a massive understatement. Santiago had told her about his rather large family in the past, but actually seeing the vast majority of them in one place was completely different. The brief moment of their shock when they saw April--very much not from Puerto Rico and very obviously pregnant--was a bit jarring at first, but after some casual conversation they seemed to warm up to her quite quickly. But of course, no one warmed up to her as much as Santiago’s dear mother. Initially, the amount of love and kindness from this woman was almost uncomfortable, but given that April had barely had a mother figure in her life until now, she grew to love it. Gabriela was the mother she’d dreamed of, but never had.

Conversations about April’s childhood, her father and her hobbies dominated the conversations that took place between herself, Gabriela and a few of Santiago’s male cousins. April’s smile never left her face as she regaled them with obviously over exaggerated stories of her time at the race track and on the road, stories of close calls with the cops, and most importantly the stories where she beat her dear Santiago around the track.

It wasn’t until she got dragged away into conversation with the women in Santi’s family that she got to talking about the baby and how the pregnancy had been. It didn’t take long for the question to come up. “Is it a boy or a girl?” they all asked. April took a deep breath and glanced around for Santiago. He would probably want to be here so that they could announce it together. “Let me get back to you on that, Santi would want to be here for it.” And with that, she gave them her gentle warm smile and paced off to look for her now absent partner, leaving the warm evening air outside and heading into the house.

After a few moments pacing around the unfamiliar house, April caught a glance of her lover through the crack of an open door. The flats on her feet made little noise as she quietly and slowly walked down the hall towards him, her head cocked slightly as she tried to see what he was looking at. Once she was no more than a pace away, the brunette spoke quietly to him “I know you miss her more than anything. Are you alright?” April wrapped her arms around his waist from behind him, tucking her head into his muscular back.

The feeling of his girlfriend’s slender arms around him instantly provided Santiago with a sense of comfort. He basked in the warmth she provided for a few seconds before turning around to face her. “I’m fine,” he said softly, wrapping his own muscled arms around her and kissing the top of her head. Hugging her was starting to be a feat these days. “What about you? You holding up okay? My huge family hasn’t scared you off yet, hasn’t it?” he joked, flashing her one of his playful grins.

April grinned as they embraced, shaking her head as much as she could manage with it against Santi’s chest. “Your family is amazing Santi, they’ve been super supportive. Especially your mother, she’s just amazing.” She gently broke from Santi’s arms and looked up to him before kissing him gently on the lips.

"I'm starting to think my mom loves you more than me, and I'm the favorite," he chuckled softly, playfully squeezing her shoulders.

“I’m serious mi amor, I know how much she meant to you. I’m always here for you.” April smiled to him before glancing around. His grandmother certainly had a nice home.

"I know," he reassured her, kissing her forehead. Now that the nostalgia was over, he honestly felt okay. "I'm fine, promise." He was quiet for a second, but when he noticed her looking around the house his smile returned and he grabbed her hand. "C'mon. Let me give you a tour."

April nodded and squeezed Santi’s hand gently before he began to lead her around the beautiful home. It was a very bright and peaceful looking place, with walls colored in gentle shades of brown and cream, and spotless white marble floors that tied the entire look together. It was a place with a partially modern look, but the furniture suggested a more rustic taste with stained wood in almost every room in some manner. It wasn’t décor that April would’ve chosen herself, but she didn’t mind it at all. It was very cozy, but still a sizeable house.

As they walked, she ran her fingers along the now marble walls as they entered the master bathroom. “As much as I like my bathroom back home, I could get used to this.” she grinned, running her finger along the edge of the very modern looking bathtub before turning and walking over to the mirror. The brunette looked at herself briefly, then down to her very pregnant looking abdomen. She let out a relaxed breath before looking at Santiago through the mirror “If you had told me back in freshman year that I’d be having a child before I graduated, I would’ve laughed in your face. And now, now I feel like it was meant to happen. It just feels...right, y’know?”.

The young man couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head, staring at their reflection in the mirror. "It's fucking crazy, Lils," he admitted, closing the short distance between them and wrapping his arms around her once more, resting his chin on her shoulder and his hands on her round stomach. "It's been a rollercoaster, but I'm thankful for it at the same time. If it wasn't for you and this kid, I would still be walking around with no idea of what to do with my life. But now I've got you, we'll have our kid, we have this house…" he purposely trailed off with a smirk, waiting to see her reaction.

“What do you mean we’ll have this house? We’re gonna move to Puerto Rico?” April turned around almost instantly, looking into Santiago’s eyes inquisitively, trying to see if he was messing with her or not.

“Only if you want to…” he said with a shrug. “Abuela left me this house on her will. Whether you want to or not, it’ll always be here. The house is still ours.”

“I mean, it’s gonna have to be after I finish university. I already have a few places lined up where I want to apply, they have the best engineering programs in the area.” A smile broke out across her face, her warm playful eyes sparkling in the dimmer light of the bathroom. “I guess I’ll have to work harder on my Spanish.” she said with a grin before leaning in and planting a kiss on his lips.

“Feliz navidad, princesa,” he responded with a sweet smile, kissing her again before taking her hand once more. “Now let’s go back to the party. I think it’s about time we give everyone what they’re asking for.”

April followed Santiago back to the party with a big smile on her face. As they got back outside, all eyes were on them, looking up questioningly at both the young couple and at the confetti cannons Gabriela had handed each person during their absence. She had left them with quite a cliffhanger and evidently they were eager to find out about the baby. April looked to Santi, then back to everyone else as she took in a deep breath. It seemed like there were so many more people when every single one of them was waiting for an answer.

“Ladies and gentlemen: if we could have your attention, por favor. We have a big announcement.” She smiled to their audience, before looking to Santiago once again and speaking to him in a whisper “Are you ready, mi amor?”

The young man’s grin was infectious as he nodded and winked at his girlfriend. “Definitely!” he answered cheerfully, shooting his brother Steven a thumbs up so he could start filming the happenings before excitedly addressing his family. “Okay. So. The most asked question that April and I have gotten all night is what are we having. So instead of us telling you, we’re going to let you find out yourselves…” he declared, still grinning widely at his family while putting his arm around April’s waist and pulling her closer to him. “Mami gave everyone a confetti cannon a few minutes ago. What I want everyone to do is to point their cannons upward, and on the count of three, twist the top and bottom parts of the cannon in opposite directions. Anyone got any questions?”

After looking over the group and ensuring the group knew what they were doing, April leaned over to whisper to Santiago as everyone began to grab their confetti cannons “This was an awesome idea. So much better than regular old announcements.” She turned back to the rest of the group and squeezed Santi’s hand gently before calling out once again. “Is everyone ready?!

As all of the gathered smiling faces nodded, the couple of the night called out in unison, their voices echoing across the yard.



And after their united countdown, over thirty separate confetti cannons shot off into the evening air and filled the sky with a mix of pink and silver confetti. The first few moments were silent as the confetti rained down above them in slow motion, a mix of bewilderment and awe on the faces of all. And then smiles, applause and cheering began to fill the air as the many faces of the Fernandez family returned their attention to April and Santiago, rushing over to the expecting parents and showering them with love.

After all was said and done, the young couple posed for a couple of pictures together. And for the first time ever, Santiago decided it was about time he showed off his growing family to the world. With the most genuine of smiles, the young man picked out his favorite photo out of the bunch (a beautiful candid of them mid-laugh with his hands on April’s round stomach) and posted it on all his social media platforms with an accompanying caption.

Sonny always had a complex relationship when it came to his feelings about the holidays. Of course, he loved the many weeks King’s gave their students for winter break, but with the break and free time came the demand for family to visit. He didn’t really mind that part of it either. There were some cousins and family friends he never got to see as much as he would like to that came to visit over the course of a week or so. It wasn’t that nor was it the expectation of parties that came with being half of the famed Hungarian-British Banks family. He could deal with those. At the least, his cousins made it at least bearable. No, it was the more localized Christmas party that had him feeling somewhat weary.

Every year, the Banks-Drakes and the Castillo-Jameson families, who all were close friends, held a Christmas party for their nearest and dearest, taking turns in hosting. Soleil and Jackson co-owned Asgard Fitness, Viola and Marco were co-heads of the King’s Academy PTA, and, of course, Andrea and Marco Junior were the ever-infamous on-again, off-again couple.

Sonny’s time at the party so far had been full of unpleasant pleasantries he was forced to be the receiver of as well as the giver. Family of family friends, friends of the family, and his own kept bothering him to the point where he was only able to get free after nearly half an hour of boring conversations. It was mostly about how these people who hadn’t seen Sonny in so long and how much he hasn’t grown. That was like a knife in his back, forever reminding him that he didn’t inherit his father’s height. Added to how they all refused to call him by his preferred name and just went straight for the jugular as they called him Jackson Jr.

As he made his way far from where all of the boring adults were, Sonny leaned against the table where he happened to see Marisol sneaking some of the alcoholic eggnog as her parents weren’t anywhere to be seen. “Smart. But it tastes like ass. Nowhere nearly enough brandy for my liking,” Sonny commented, looking Marisol up and down. He knew it was a party, but seeing her all dolled up really made it set in that even Slim herself could shock and awe. “Nice dress.” He complimented, doing his best to not stare for a prolonged amount of time.

While Sonny was of a somewhat bittersweet opinion when it came to the holidays, Marisol was in the opposite. She loved Christmas time: the food, the break from school, the time spent with family, the way everyone seemed to be in the best of moods, the PRESENTS…

Hell, the Castillo-Drake Christmas party was probably the biggest family event Marisol Castillo always looked forward to throughout the year besides her birthday. Good food and good company were always the order of the evening, and it always brought a long-lasting smile to her usually-grumpy face to catch up with those she loved the most. As always, her immediate family was in attendance, as were both sets of grandparents, her aunts, uncles, and cousins. And although Mari had been incredibly excited to see each and every one of them, there was one particular person she would never get enough of her cousin Nicolas. The blond boy had been away for the last few months studying abroad in Europe, causing Mari a great deal of heartbreak. So the second the short girl saw her big cousin’s tall figure walking up the steps to her home, she had ran out the door, tackled him with a hug, and had refused to leave his side ever since.

Right as the party was in full swing, Marisol had decided that she needed a little more alcohol. And after excusing herself with Nico for a second, the girl leaped up from her seat on the couch next to her cousin and made her way to the drinks table. When Sonny caught her mid-sip of her eggnog, she offered her best friend a wide grin.

"Why, thank you, Prince Charming! You're looking good yourself!" Marisol responded in an uncharacteristically cheerful tone while slurring her words a little: both clear signs that she was getting tipsy. "Did Drea pick that outfit for you?"

Sonny faked a couple of laughs with a grin and then lost it. “Very funny.” He paused for an awkward moment of silence. “Okay, she may have been with me when I went to Barnie’s,” he confessed, somewhat embarrassed. “But enough about me, let’s talk about your glow up for a sec because I could have sworn you hated dresses. Something about missing you with that girly shit?” He teased, laughing.

Mari rolled her eyes at his last comment. "Trust me: I haven't changed my opinion on this dress bullshit. But when Aunt Callie saw me heading downstairs in jeans, the black Thrasher hoodie, and your orange beanie, she blew a gasket. Before I made it to the top of the stairs she'd pulled me into her room, dressed me up in this-" she pinched a bit of the red fabric hugging her slim body for a moment. "-did my hair and makeup and had me borrow some of her shoes and accessories. I'm so fucking ready to get out of this thing."

“Careful now, I think some of my cousins might see that as a challenge.” He teased her some more as if he wasn’t thinking the same thing- no, what? He didn’t know what he was thinking. There was no way he could...could he?

The short girl snorted and rolled her eyes with a sardonic smile. "As if I'd give any of them a chance!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. Sonny’s cousins were all fifty shades of idiots, and with her minuscule amount of patience, there was no way she could handle both her best friend and some relative of his.

Sonny quickly shook his head when Marisol wasn’t looking in his general direction, likely when he mentioned his cousins, and took a glass of eggnog. It wasn’t enough alcohol as he said, but it still was eggnog. As he sipped it, he used this time to think, knowing full well there was a limited amount of time he could do it until Marisol thought something was up, so he had to think of something to say.

“Sooo…” Sonny’s voice came with an extension as though trying to find his beat. “You know Jamie’s around, right? He’s been asking about you.”

Marisol's smile was quickly wiped away from her face, replaced by a deep scowl and a disgusted expression. "Ugh, fucking Jamie!" she spat, looking around for the bane of her existence. From the first time they’d met as children, Sonny's older cousin Jamie had seemingly made it his mission to make Mari's life difficult, to say the least, with constant jabs at her height. There had been many attempts at kicking him in the nuts so hard he’d think twice about making fun of her again, but much to her chagrin, they were either futile or interrupted. "Where's that son of a bitch?! I've had a few drinks already, so I have no issues squaring up with that piece of shit if he calls me anything!"

Sonny found her reaction quite entertaining. Maybe it was the fact that she had a couple of drinks or just how Jamie had this effect on her, but seeing her want to pick a fight with him brought an amused grin to Sonny’s face. He laughed for a few moments. “Calm down there, tiger,” he advised her, “he’s three-thousand miles away. He and his parents are in Cabo for Christmas. He just asked about you when I called him last night,” Sonny admitted, “I just wanted to see what your reaction would be.” He remained silent for a few seconds. “Safe to say, you didn’t disappoint, Slim.” He smiled at her.

The green-eyed girl visibly relaxed and let out a relieved breath. "Oh thank God…" she said, grinning widely now. "I would've hated to ruin the party by breaking darling Jamie's nose, as much as he deserves it."

“He could use a good bruise or two,” Sonny commented, looking at Marisol. And like previous times, Sonny couldn’t bring himself to take his eyes off of her again. He didn’t know what it was about tonight of all days, but something was in the air. Perhaps it was just the Christmas festivities, or maybe it was how Marisol had a rather unique glow about her tonight. Red was her color and the dress was doing everything it needed to.

Sonny collected himself again, looking at Marisol. “Hey, you wanna get out of here for a while? I got something I want to give you.”

"What do you mean?" the brunette asked him, eyebrows raised and eyeing him suspiciously for any signs of a prank or a joke.

“What do you mean, ‘what do I mean’?” Sonny rolled his eyes. “I’m saying I want you to come to my room with me so I can give you your Christmas gift, dumbass.”

“Alright, fine!” Mari exclaimed, rolling her eyes and raising her hands defensively. “Just let me finish this and we can go-” she said, grabbing her glass of eggnog from the table, downing it in one gulp and placing the now empty glass back down again. She flashed Sonny a grin. “Ready!”

After Marisol had downed the rest of her eggnog, they would excuse themselves from the party to a part of the house that was a little more isolated from all of the overplayed holiday music and chatter. This part of the Drake house was in Sonny’s room, a place the two of them were very familiar with. The epic roars from downstairs could still be heard but it was a lot quieter and much easier for them to talk about whatever, which was exactly what Sonny wanted.

“Ah, that’s much better!” He let out a sigh of relief, parking his ass on his bed back-first.

Marisol followed his lead, plopping herself right next to him and releasing groans of relief as she took off the high heels that had been silently torturing her for hours. “I’ll say!” she replied, rubbing at the imprint the footwear had left on the top of her feet. After about a minute, Mari turned her attention away from her feet and to Sonny instead. “So… Where’s my gift, dipshit?” she inquired, raising a demanding eyebrow.

Rolling his eyes at her, Sonny propped himself upright and off his bed. Sonny stood around for a couple of moments to gather himself due to the blood rushing to his head, but once he gathered himself, the teen went to his nightstand and reached inside to pull out a box the size of two baseballs horizontally aligned that was wrapped in red and white candy cane gift wrapping paper with a golden bow and a card attached to it.

Sonny returned to his bed and set it on Marisol’s lap. “There’s your present,” he announced, gently punching her arm.

There weren’t many times in which Marisol showed an expression other than anger or violence. But if there was something that was guaranteed to cause her to light up with excitement and anticipation, it was receiving gifts. Whether it was Christmas, her birthday, or just a random occasion, getting Mari a gift was a foolproof way of raising her spirits and putting her in the best of moods. Upon receiving her gift, she clapped excitedly a few times, shooting her best friend a beaming grin before removing the card from where it was attached to the box. “Do you want me to read the card first? Or do you want me to do it after I open the gift?”

He knew what he wanted her to do. She probably knew it as well, but saying it out loud meant that what he wrote on that card was going to be real. Knowing what he put on that limited space card, he had to think about it, but time wasn’t on his side. “It’s common courtesy to read the card before the gift,” he said, chuckling to himself.

"Okay! Fine!" Laughing, Marisol rolled her eyes, slid a finger under the flap to open the envelope, pulled out the card and started to read:



A warm feeling traveled across her body with the sweet, handwritten words in the card. “Awwwww!” Mari exclaimed, throwing her arms around her best friend and planting a kiss on his cheek in a surprising affectionate move. “Thanks, dipshit! I love you too!”

As he sat there, looking at how uncharacteristically happy Marisol was, Sonny felt something odd in the pit of his stomach. It felt it was turning and his whole body felt slightly warmer than usual. It was very similar to how he felt when he went on that date with Nadia and when he was involved with Ariana a couple of years ago. He knew what it was, but never anticipated he would be getting these butterflies because of Marisol. Or at least, when he wrote those words down, he didn’t think it would make him feel like this.

“That’s not…” Sonny stumbled for the right words, while Mari quickly became concerned. He scratched his head, finger digging at his scalp as he tried to find the right words to say. The thing about that was Sonny was terrible at finding those exact words that summed up what he was thinking. “Mari, that’s not what I meant. I mean, I do love you but not just like that.” He grabbed her hands, forcing her to set down the gift while she frowned at him with confusion. “You know I’ve never been good at this sort of thing, so I’ll just show you.” He lingered in her jade-colored gaze for a moment before giving her a kiss that lasted for a long few seconds until he pulled away. They felt like an eternity and his heart was pounding as if it was trying to break free of his chest.

There were no words to describe the feeling Marisol got when Sonny pressed his lips against hers. While her mind raced a mile a minute, her heart was hammering against her chest, and her head was spinning. She sat there for a few seconds, frozen on the spot, trying to make sense of what was happening between them. And even when he pulled away and she pieced everything together, she could only stare at him with a mixture of confusion and wonder plastered all over her face.

Although the young woman wanted to speak, no words were coming out. She opened and closed her mouth a few times like a fish out of water, stuttering and stammering all sorts of incomprehensible gibberish. But after taking a deep breath to compose herself, Mari finally found her voice.

“What does that mean?” she croaked in barely more than a whisper, looking up at Sonny with big doe eyes.

“I figured that kiss said it all,” he joked, laughing as he held her hands.

He surveyed her face, seeing her mass confusion. Admittedly, he didn’t quite understand this either. He never did quite grasp his feelings. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what he felt. But when it came to Marisol, it was tricky. It took months of discovering things about himself and what he wanted to get into a state of mind where he could think clearly; and more importantly, when Sonny could look within himself and find a true answer. This, right here, was that.

Marisol felt right. He and she felt right.

And as he made a mental check, he kissed her again. It lasted for the same amount of time and he pulled away. “When I wrote that I love you, it wasn’t because you’re my best friend, Mari. It’s because I’m finally ready to say it: I love you and I’m willing to give this a real shot if you are.”

If the first kiss had left her stunned, the love declaration had blown her mind. After they’d made up a few months ago, Marisol had put in all her efforts into keeping her feelings for Sonny in check, focusing on their friendship and accept the fact that he didn’t feel the same. Things had certainly felt different since then, with the same amount of playful banter but with less arguing and more affectionate actions shared between them. Of course, she had been hesitant to address their new bond it in fear of jeopardizing their relationship again. But from a softer demeanor to love? It was a surprising confession, but one that made her heart swell with happiness and that she welcomed with open arms.

"Oh, Sonny…" the girl started to say as her jade-colored eyes filled up with tears, her voice breaking a little with the sudden wave of overwhelming feelings. In typical Mari fashion, she blinked rapidly to fight hard against it, refusing to show how her heart was nothing but a puddle in her chest at the moment. In the end, it all proved to be in vain. After a few wobbles of her lower lip, the brunette embraced Sonny and burst into tears of joy.

Once the sobs subsided she'd regained some sort of composure over her feelings, Marisol pulled away. "I love you too!" she loudly proclaimed in between sniffles, wiping her tears away and giving him a watery smile. "I would love to take a chance with you."

The air was thick with the feels. Sonny hadn’t been surrounded by them in a while. It wasn’t since he had been involved with Ariana that he experienced this kind of high -- the kind that was nigh infectious and how every bone in his body felt weak and every breath he drew was lost at the sight of Marisol. It was as though she was different to him now. His best friend and partner-in-crime, the person he had known forever was no longer just the friend he went to for everything, for laughs, for rants, for some quality gaming -- but someone who actually was his soulmate was that and so much more.

But as he remained on her face, taking in the roundness of the shape of it, her almond eyes with that unique green/hazel shade that was unique to her Jameson genes, and the hue of her skin that brought some color to her pasty relatives, Sonny was speechless. He wanted to speak but nothing felt right. Maybe he had said everything that needed to say and maybe that was okay. Perhaps it was more than okay and he was just now realizing that.

“I more than just love you, Marisol Alejandra Castillo,” he admitted, squeezing her hands in his, “I pan you!” Sonny laughed, unable to keep a straight face, but his smile that came after was a wholesome, genuine, I’m-in-love-with-you grin.

“You’re so stupid!” she cried out with a shake of the head after her small laughing fit, playfully swatting his arm. She took a second to simply stare at him, or “Does this mean I’m the spatula to your skillet after all?”

Sonny kissed her, laughing and quickly pulled away. “Yes it does.” the young man eagerly affirmed before he kissed her again. “Now shut up and let me show you how skilled I really am!” Sonny kissed her some more, guiding her backward onto his bed, their loved-up giggles filling up the empty spaces of his bedroom.

"Just leave me alone, Warren…” Archer sighed as he slid down to the floor. His winter break had been stressful to say the least. When his brother Warren had come home from Harvard for the holidays, it had been a constant cat and mouse game- with Archer trying to avoid his brother as much as possible and Warren trying to corner him at every turn.

“Come on, Arch… I just want to talk.” Warren’s muffled voice came from behind the door. A long silence filled the air, and the only sound was breathing coming from the two brothers on either side of the door. “You promised me on the phone…” Warren finally broke the silence. “You said we would talk about what happened.” he continued.

A huge sigh escaped Archer as he covered his face with his hands. It would seem he was trapped. But he really didn’t want to do this with Warren. He didn’t want to relive his darkest moments where he had done something terrible- especially with his brother, who had been one of the factors to him doing said terrible thing. He looked around his room to find something, anything, to get him out of this situation. His green eyes fell on the big oak tree outside of his window: a tree he had used many times when sneaking out with Marisol.

"Okay, Warren… Just… Let me collect myself. Just wait downstairs. I’ll be down in like 5 minutes.” He lied as he stood back up.

“Sure, ok. I’ll wait in the kitchen. You want something to drink?” Warren asked.

"No, I’m fine.”

Archer waited for Warren’s footsteps to disappear down the stairs before opening his window as wide as it would go. The oak tree's branches were still thick enough to support his weight, but getting out of the tree was still very hard for Archer. He kind of had to shimmy his way down the tree trunk before not so graciously jumping down to the ground.

Quickly, he got into his rusty SAAB, which thankfully was parked in the driveway. In a swift move, Archer backed out and drove off without any plan of where he was driving. Soon enough, he was parking his car outside the Surf Shack. A small walk later, the tall boy was sitting by the beach, blankly staring out at the crashing waves. Maybe he needed to talk to someone about this? But not with Warren. There was no way he could handle that right now.

Without really knowing why he was doing it, he had taken out his phone and composed a text message to his best friend:



When Marisol received the text message of Archer wanting to meet up, the alarm bells started ringing immediately. It wasn't the fact that he was requesting her presence that made her suspicious, but the . Normally, whenever . Frowning, she quickly typed up her response to his message, her thumbs flying across the screen of her phone. And as soon as she pressed "Send", she was grabbing her skateboard and heading out the door.



Archer ignored his phone buzzing next to him as he lay on the blanket, running his fingers through the fine sand. His mind was swirling with thoughts as he listened to the crashing waves of the ocean. Was he ready to share his deepest secret? Only two people knew what he had done… Well three now, apparently. The young man snapped back to reality as his best friend plopped down next to him in record time.

Marisol took a moment to stare at the tall, lanky boy next to her. The lack of any sort of greeting only added to the growing state of alarm, as did the lack of acknowledgement of her presence. For whatever reason, Archer seemed to be distracted, lost in some unknown, faraway thoughts. When you've known someone since the age of five, it was easy to tell when things were off. And today, there was definitely something wrong with Archer.

"Is everything okay?" the young woman asked him gently, concern dripping from her voice.

Archer turned his head slowly to look up at Marisol. “Yeah…” he sat up, brushing his hands off on his pants. "I don’t know… Maybe not.” He pulled up his knees so they sat under his chin and continued to stare out at the ocean. "Warren is home…”he continued quietly. “And he is…”
Archer hesitated, still unsure if he was ready to talk about it- even if it was with Marisol, who always did what she thought was best for him. She was the one who he came out to first and she supported him through everything.

But how would she react to this? Would she be mad that he had kept his suicide attempt from her this long?

"You know last summer before we went off to that crappy camp?” he asked her, a slight tremor in his voice.

"Yeah…?" she cautiously responded, frowning and scooting closer to him. For someone who was always so open and honest about everything, Archer's body language was extremely guarded, and the more he spoke, the more Mari's levels of worry increased.

His legs were shaking now and Archer was chewing on his lower lip, trying to figure out how he was going to go about this. "You know how I was very hard to get a hold of for some time?” At the time he had made up some lie about being away to Harvard to help out with Warren’s move. He could feel the wet build up in the corners of his eyes, and his breathing became a little bit faster and heavier. “Mari… I did something really bad…” he finally turned to his best friend, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Okay, Marisol was really scared now. "Archer, honey, what's wrong? What happened? What did you do?" she asked him in barely more than a whisper, placing her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to keep him stable and unknowingly holding her breath while she awaited his answer.

Under her hand Archer’s shoulders were shaking as he cried. “I- I. It was just…” he started but stopped wiping his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt. He took a steadying breath before he looked Marisol in the eyes and just let go.

He told her everything. How he had had enough, how he felt alone and how he was so so tired of how his days looked like. How he made up his mind that it would just be for the best if he didn’t exist. He told her about he took the chance when his parents actually was helping Warren move. He told her that he emptied his mothers sleeping pills and took them with the vodka they had bought of that strange dude. He also confessed to her that it was his brother’s girlfriend that had found him and brought him back… saved him. He spoke fast and low. The whole time he felt guilt that it had taken this long for him to tell his very best friend about his darkest days.

"... and then I made her promise to never tell anyone. But apparently she and Warren broke up. The idiot has found someone new… and I guess Katie was angry and told Warren and now…” He stopped to look at his friend. “I’m sorry Mari…”

Meanwhile the wide-eyed Marisol listened to Archer's story in a shocked silence, feeling her heart sinking with his every word. As a clinically-diagnosed bipolar person, she definitely knew firsthand that mental illnesses had an evil way of twisting your insecurities around, and could see the possible reasons behind his thought process. But even with this in mind, the short girl was struggling to believe that even with the unwavering support of her and her family, Archer had thought things would be better without him.

And frankly? The fact that she’d been so terrifyingly close to losing one of the people she loved the most in her life was too much to bear.

Mere seconds after he’d finished speaking, Mari wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could and started to sob uncontrollably on his shoulder.

Archer sunk into his small friends embrace burying his face in her silky hair. “I’m so sorry Mari…” his muffled voice whispered.

"I- just-" she hiccuped each word in between sobs. "I- don't- want- to- lose- you! You’re- my- best- friend- and- I- love- you!"

Archer pulled away and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “I love you too... I mean, I’m obviously happy it turned out like it did… and I’m better now, thanks to you and Kavan.” he wiped his eyes as he straightened up again. "But Warren won’t stop trying to talk about it back home. I’m just… not ready to talk to him about it. But what if he tells mom and dad?” he sighed.

It took Marisol a moment to compose herself, allowing her sobs to slowly subside until she could finally make up coherent words. "It's not his place to do that…" she croaked, grabbing a napkin from her backpack and loudly blowing her nose. "Would you like to stay a few days over at my house?"

He shook his head and let out a little chuckle "That has never stopped Warren before…" he chucked a small stone out towards the ocean. He brushed his hands together to get rid of the sand as he turned to face Marisol again. "Do you think your parents would be ok with that?" He asked more out of habit than anything. He always stayed over at the Castillo's but he always felt like he was being a nuisance anyway.

"Duuuuuh!" Mari said, rolling her eyes and giving him a shaky smile, slowly returning to normal. "You're family at this point. Just bring over a bag of clothes and we'll set you up in the spare bedroom. It's definitely no big deal. You can spend the rest of the holidays with people who love and care about you."

A tearful Archer enveloped the smaller girl in a tight embrace. "Thank you for always having my back. I really do love you" he whispered as he let go of her. He wiped his eyes one final time before standing up holding out his arm toward his best friend.

“I love you more, Archie. Never forget that.”