𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘬𝘪

𝐨. 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘵

𝐨.
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘵

彡

The young girl stood outside, bundled up in a puffy pink coat and staring up at the snow falling from the starry night sky. Her mother and older brother stood tall above her, both holding onto containers filled with Christmas desserts. All that the girl held in her hand was the last Harry Potter book, it dangling from her fingers as she waited for the front door to open.

"Aimee, your book's going to get wet," her mother, Daina, scolded. The eight-year-old tilted her head to look at her mother and grabbed onto her book to clutch it to her coat.

Just as she shielded her book away from the wetness, the front door of the house opened up and revealed a smiling dark haired woman, clad in a red sweater dress.

"Hey guys! Aimee, don't you look so cute. Come inside, Stiles should be around here somewhere," Claudia Stilinski greeted the family, reaching out for the young girl and ushering her inside.

"Sorry we're a bit late, Clauds, Aimee was putting up a fight," Daina said, whispering the last part so Aimee wouldn't hear. Claudia chuckled at her good friend and took the container of cookies she held in her hand.

"It's fine, Stiles has been running around too, he's upset Scott's not going to be here," Claudia replied.

Aimee perked up at the sound of Scott's name but her shoulders instantly sunk. She was hoping that the McCall boy would be showing up this Christmas to keep Stiles occupied so she could read her book in peace. Scott usually did a good job at keeping Stiles away from her, but in his absence Aimee knew she'd be forced to put up with the scrawny boy.

"Jasper, your hair is getting so long," Claudia cried out, ruffling her hands through the older boy's hair. He stood a couple of feet taller than Aimee but the resemblance between the siblings was apparent. Their brown hair was the exact same shade and their eyes both twinkled a light blue shade. The teenager laughed awkwardly, shuffling his feet back and forth.

"How've you been feeling?" Daina asked softly, knowing her friend had been having trouble sleeping and managing her stress.

Claudia shrugged. "I have a doctor's appointment after the holidays."

Soon enough, Noah Stilinski entered the room wearing a Santa hat, Stiles hot on his tails. Greetings were shared amongst the three adults and Jasper. Aimee and Stiles stood off to the side, the girl ignoring the boy as she shed her boots and coat off. The boy stood by her side, eyeing the book in her hands. But, he quickly got distracted as Aimee walked away and his mother mentioned cookies.

Aimee took a seat on the floor by the coffee table. She got herself situated and held her book open on her lap. Her fingers lingered on the edge of the page her eyes roamed over as she leaned the elbows on the table. Her short legs were crisscrossed out on the floor and the skirt of her dress crumpled around her like a flower. Despite the loud festivities of the holidays that had exploded around her, she was totally engrossed in the book in her hands. She had completely blocked out the noise of the parents chatting in the dining room as they set the table and her brother playing a video game on the TV.

Though she remained in her own world, Stiles stood on the opposite side of the room hopping from one foot to the other. He had been left to his own devices for the whole night because of the McCall family's absence (they had to go visit Melissa's mother for the holidays this year). Scott wasn't going to be around to run laps with him and shoot zombies on the TV when they got bored. So instead, he wobbled around on his own, making attempts to entertain himself while all the adults stood over him gushing about how much the kids have grown and how much work has taken over their lives. Stiles' eyes were about to roll out of his head as he tuned them in and out. But, just as he was thinking about pouring gravy into everyone's drinks, his mother called out for him.