Winter Wonderland

thirteen: christmas day

*

It's been a long time since I woke up before sunrise on Christmas Day. When I was a kid I used to be up by five, hopped up on the thought of presents and the possibility of Santa, and I'd race to my parents' room way too early; Dad would take me back to my room and set a two hour timer, and he'd tell me not to leave my room until the timer was done.

I haven't needed those kinds of measures since I was seven or eight, but after my early night, it's still dark when I wake up and realize it's Christmas. My first instinct is to check my phone, my bleary eyes slowly clearing enough to see the time, and when I see that it's four thirty, I sink my head onto my pillow. Rather than childish annoyance that it's too early to get up, I'm flooded with adult glee that I can sleep in for at least four more hours.

Except, as I shut off my screen, I catch sight of a notification from Storie, and I'm wide awake again. I rest on my elbow to read her message, sent at a minute past midnight.

STORIE: Merry Christmas Liam! <3 I hope you made it home all right; I can't wait to see you again. Who'd have thought we'd find each other again? We're certainly ending this year on a high! Have a great day with your family and I'll see you soon. Love you xx

Her words are a balm on my soul. I miss her like crazy, and we've been apart for less than twenty-four hours, and I don't know how I ever managed four years without her when she is so clearly my soulmate.

ME: merry christmas!!! good to be home but sucks to be so far from you! i love you so fucking much and can't wait to start the next year with you storie. I hope you have an awesome christmas & I know you'll have a great new year <3

It's hard to get back to sleep when my mind is whirring so much, but for once the whirring is good. It's spinning over everything that has happened in the past couple of weeks; it's keeping me awake thinking about how fucking lucky I was. I mean, what were the odds? I only got that job because I fell asleep on the rapid – what if I hadn't lost the job I'd had before? What if Storie hadn't visited the Winter Wonderland that day?

There are so many things that could have happened to stop us from bumping into each other that soon I'm overwhelmed by how coincidental our meeting was, how flimsy the fabric of the universe is, how easily our paths could have slid along in parallel, never crossing.

But they did, I have to remind myself. And Storie is back in my life. And I will see in the new year with her by my side. For the first time in my life, I will kiss someone I love as this year slips into the next. Really, our timing couldn't have been better.

STORIE: what're you doing up at 4:32?? Too excited for Santa??

I grin when her message jumps into my inbox.

ME: you can talk lmao! What're YOU doing up at 4:33?

STORIE: you don't want to know

Well, there goes my interest, officially piqued.

ME: try me ;)

She sends a laughing gif, and continues typing for several seconds. I start to drop off again waiting for her reply, until my phone buzzes in my hand and jerks me awake.

STORIE: Nav and Gray are "celebrating" I guess ... maybe they're just enthusiastically exchanging Christmas gifts in bed? Either way, they woke me up so my earphones are jammed in as deep as they'll go

I splutter as I type a reply.

ME: sounds like gray is too

STORIE: OMG! NO! LIAM!!!