The Object of My Affection: My Band Mate's Sister

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Christmas Eve lulled into Christmas Day. It had been spent by all Harrisons in the end with the merriest of joy. Drinks were poured and shared in O'Sullivans. Everyone got swept away in the spirit of the holiday and all interaction was jolly and kind, wishing everyone a very happy Christmas. United in songs until it was time to go to prepare for the following day and to allow alacrity and anxious kids to go to bed as they awaited the arrival of a very special visitor.

As soon as the furniture had been adjusted for tomorrow's grand feast, most of the Harrison clan found themselves yawning and quite ready for bed. They waited for the youngest Harrisons, Donna, Edward, Andrew and Lara to hang their stockings and leave out treats for Santa and his reindeers before gradually, one by one, heading to bed until it was just the original Harrison children left to reminisce.

The living room was dimly lit. The warm open fire comfortingly crackled. The six siblings swapped stories of Christmas past, ending a tale in an uproar of laughter and then hushing themselves for doing so. They shared around the bottle of whiskey, fought over the cookies and Louise and Harry were forced to gnaw on the raw carrots. Harry lamented, he didn't have the acquired taste for raw carrots unlike Peter, who wouldn't eat them on account of not being hungry. Their children, their responsibility.

Realizing it was getting late when the TV went off air, they decided to wrap up their little festivities by Peter bringing in a black bin bag that looked as though it was ready to burst. Inside where all Santa's presents. They efficiently distributed them into the children's stockings. Then they revealed who bought for who in Chris Kindle, which would be passed of as gifts from Santa, and tucked them safely under the tree before Brona revealed what she had selected for their parents from their pool of money.

Knowing they'd be woke up by ungodly hours by their children, Harry and Louise decided it was best to go to sleep now. Harry and his family were waiting the night because the children wanted to participate in Santa with their cousins. Shortly, Peter followed up the stairs suddenly feeling wrecked on account of last minute, vigorous works on motorbikes. The twins, aka the babies, were left on opposite sides of the coffee table with the decision that they'd finished the bottle of whiskey between them.

"Does Paul seem awfully distracted lately?" voiced George suddenly, his fingertips patting his glass before he took a swig.

The words startled his sister, freezing her body. Her left hand was gripping a glass while the other tilted the whiskey bottle. She stopped momentarily. Her mind was flooded with wild thoughts. Brona was beside herself with worry. She couldn't think of any rational reason why on earth George would bring him up.

Then it hit her and the reality of it saddened her, sinking her heart in her chest just a bit.

They were friends once, her and Paul. The closest of friends. He was one of her favorite and most loved people. When she put it that way, it seemed like an age had past when in fact they were friends just two days ago. It amazed her that one tiny thing could upset and change everything just like that. It was so scary that just one kiss and confession could throw her life of track so much. It made everything so muddled, then so clear and now it was a mess.

Paul hated her. She saw it in his hazel eyes. His kind hazel eyes. She berated herself for treating him so cruelly. Her words were cutting and sharp. He had worked up the courage put his heart on his sleeve and she couldn't even remain gentle. However, he did push her and his luck. There were consequences for the brunette and he backed her up into an awkward position. It frustrated her and she had allowed her frustration to get the better of her.

Her hand titled further and the liquid resumed to flow, trickling into the glass. Brona offered her brother a shrug. Her eyes flickered up to meet his before returning to focus on the task at hand. "I'm not sure I'd notice." Placing the bottle down on the table, she took a gulp of her drink. The whiskey stung her throat but the stinging sensation was soothing.