His Christmas Gift

Chapter 1

        "Hey, Riss," I greeted her.

        She smiled at me in response.

        Mom took in our exchange and gave me a sly look. I rolled my eyes at her and frowned. What does she think goes on with us?

        "I'll go get dinner ready," Mom said, leaving Kariss and I alone.

        "Are you just going to stand in the doorway all day? Come on," I said, taking her arm and leading her into the living room.

        Kariss's eyes immediately moved to look at the tree, and I saw her smile. "I love the tree this year," she said. "A lot more lights. Your mom sure loves to go all out, doesn't she?"

        I grunted in response, and flopped back onto the couch. "I don't care about the tree," I said. "I just want the presents."

        Kariss scoffed and sat next to me. She took off her coat and laid against me. Even though she just came from outside, her skin was very warm. Then again, so was mine. Because Santa is my grandfather, I never get cold; I radiate heat.

        "What do you want to do before dinner?" I asked Kariss. I shifted so that her head was at my shoulder. Her hair smelled good; probably the shampoo she uses.

        "Let's play zombies," she said, sitting up and smirking over at me. She thinks she's better than me at the game, but really, she's not.

        "Game on, Riss," I said, giving her a smirk of my own.

~~~**~~~

        Mom ended up making a chicken pot pie. It was okay, not her best. The conversation was smooth and easy. Kariss comes to my house so often that my mom always knows what to say to her.

        After we were done eating, Kariss went back into the living room and sat under the Christmas tree. She played with a few of the branches, then picked a glass ballerina off and toyed with it.

        "What are you doing?" I asked her.

        Kariss glanced up at me. "How can you hate Christmas, Gabriel?" she asked. "What's wrong with it?"

        She doesn't know that I'm related to Mr. Claus. I'm not sure if my best friend believes in Santa, but Mom doesn't have any panic attacks near her, so I'm guessing she does.

        I didn't have an answer for her. There's no real reason I hate Christmas, I just do. Maybe it's because ever since I was born, I have been forced to do everything having to do with Christmas. I enjoy meeting my grandparents up at the North Pole, but I just don't like their jobs. Although, they don't think of it as a job.

        I shrugged and sat down beside her. She moved so that she was in between my legs, laying on my chest. She put the ballerina back on the tree and just laid on me. We sat like that for awhile. After a few moments, I started playing with her braids.

        A half hour later, I felt her slump back against me more. I shifted slowly to look at her face. She was asleep.

        I held her gently in my arms and picked her up. She shifted to a more comfortable position. Her face was pressed against my neck, and her hands were on my chest. She looked adorable.

        I carried her out to her car and laid her in the passenger seat. A small frown marred her face when I set her down, but she didn't wake up. I ran back in the house and told Mom I was taking Kariss home, before going back outside and starting Kariss's car up.

        I know I'll have to drive this car back home, but I can just pick Kariss up tomorrow. I drove at a medium pace to her house. After parking in her driveway, I went to go pick her up again.

        I rang the doorbell and waited for her mom to open the door. When she did, I said, "I'll just bring her upstairs." Her mom gave me a soft smile and opened the door wider for me.

        I walked up the stairs slowly, making my way to her room. Her house was all decked out for Christmas, too. Lights and decorations everywhere.

        I opened her bedroom door and gently laid her down, making sure not to jostle her around too much. I wasn't going to be a perv and change her clothes, but I did take her shoes off. I pulled the covers over her, and tucked them under her hands, just as she likes.

        "Goodnight, Kariss," I whispered, running my hand down one of her braids.

        We're just best friends, I swear. No romantic thoughts from me, that's for sure.

~~~**~~~

Sooooo.... it's been awhile guys. I hope this is as good as you hoped! It's a little boring right now, but I wanted to introduce the characters. I made one reference to Jett here, can you guess what happened to him? He WILL make an appearance in the story, I promise. Keep being awesome guys!

xxSavannah