stay | ashton irwin

2

Blair

"You two need to stay close," I demanded as I gripped the two hands. We walked through the crowded mall as I tried to find Nordstrom. There was a pair of earrings that she wanted for a long time, so I saved up to get them for her. It would be a present from me, Tommy, and Max, along with some other small things I've gathered.

"What are we getting her?" Tommy asked.

"Some earrings, and then we will get lunch," I said, making them happy. We eventually made it to the Nordstrom and now were at the jewelry counter as I looked through the earrings, continuously making sure the two were next to me. "This one is perfect," I smiled as I held the pair of dangly earrings up.

"Yeah, let's get them," Max grinned with Tommy nodding. I was checking out and paying when I heard Tommy gasp.

"Look, pokemon," Tommy jumped up and down.

"Tommy, no," I demanded, quickly grabbing his hand before he could run off. He groaned and huffed as I finished paying, then we left Nordstrom and went out for lunch. I still held both their hands as we got into the restaurant.

"Can we see Santa today?" Tommy asked as we waited for our food.

"Probably not bud, I only had enough for Bee Bee's christmas present and lunch," I explained and they sighed.

"But we haven't seen him yet,"

"You still have two weeks," I chuckled. "We'll get to see him soon,"

"Promise?"

"I promise," I nodded with a smile, but inside I knew I couldn't promise that. December was the most expensive month for both me and Bea. I normally made money by pet sitting and babysitting and then Bea had her job. Between the two we could afford presents for Max and Tommy, and normally I took the hit of not getting as much, It made Bea feel guilty but I didn't mind honestly. If my siblings were happy, that was all I cared about honestly. This year was just harder, it was more expensive. Rent raised, bills were higher, and I had less time.

"Speaking of Christmas," I spoke up, gaining their attention. "What would you guys like?" I asked.

"Oh, oh," Tommy jumped up and down in his seat.

"How about we let Maxy go first?" I suggested, raising an eyebrow. "He has been very quiet,"

"Yeah, you go Max," Tommy nodded firmly, gripping Max's hand.

"Uh, I want a plush kitty and a spiderman costume and barbies," Max smiled shyly.

"That's very cool, Max," I smiled back at him warmingly.

"Yeah, those are very good presents," Tommy nodded in agreement, making me chuckle.

"What would you like Tommy?" I looked at my other brother.

"Pokemon and trains and an Olaf robot," Tommy quickly listed off, making me chuckle as well.

"Those are very good as well," I complimented, still smiling.

"What do you want, sissy?" Tommy asked.

"Hm, I haven't really thought of it," I sighed as I thought for a moment. "Maybe a hoodie," I shrugged.

"That's boring," Tommy groaned and Max laughed.

"Yeah," Max agreed, making me chuckle.

"Hey, I was nice to you guys," I jokingly scoffed. They both bursted into giggles, making me chuckle as our food came. We all ate our food with them rambling on about little things. Once we had finished, the waitress came and gathered our plates as I asked for the check.

"Oh, the table over there actually paid for your meal," she pointed to a table with four guys, making my eyebrows furrow.

"Oh, uh, that's ok," I quickly reassured her, making her chuckle.

"I already took their card," she said, then walked away with the plates.

"Come on guys, let's go thank them," I was about to stand up, but they shook their heads.

"We'll make a card quickly," Tommy decided, grabbing the kids menu. The two worked on the nasty piece of paper that definitely had mac and cheese and ketchup on it, but they were determined and I couldn't say no. So after five minutes, they made the card after I spelled out thank you, then we went over which gained their attention as we approached.

"Hi, um, the waitress said you paid for our meal," I nervously said, "and we just wanted to thank you. I really appreciate it, if you want I can pay you back," I started, but they just smiled.

"No need, we wanted to," one of them spoke up. "We overheard they wanted to see Santa, and you should take them," he said and I nodded.

"We made you this card," Tommy handed one of the other guys the cards. "My name is Tommy and this is my twin Max and we're five and this is our older sister Blair," Tommy pointed to each of us. "What our your names?" he questioned as they chuckled.

"Calum,"

"Ashton,"

"Luke,"

"Michael," they each went around telling their names, which made him smile.

"Well we better go see Santa," I said, which made Max and Tommy jump up and down excitedly. "Again, thank you so much, I really appreciate it,"

"Not a problem, happy Holidays," Luke said.

"You too," I grinned and left to go see Santa with my brothers.