Hate Me

Three Words

Pretty When You Cry- Lana Del Rey
"All the pretty stars shine for you, my love."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
"Holy shit!"

Cassidy screams, falling from whatever surface she's on, she doesn't remember. She rubs her head, groaning and looking up. She quite literally freezes.

Sunoo is standing right there, a cup of steaming hot chocolate sitting in his hand. Memory washes over Cassidy, and she remembers how she and Ni-ki fell asleep: her in his arms. She scrambles to her feet, her eyes widening at Sunoo's shocked stare. Cassidy literally looks up and thanks God when the rest of the group walks from the bedrooms, tired but excited with Christmas cheer.

They just missed that. She breathes out a breath of relief.

Now, how to deal with Sunoo? Explain herself? Tell the truth? Gaslight him? Pretend it never happened? Yeah, the latter seems like the best option.

Before she can even process it, the fact that it's Christmas crashes into her. A burst of energy explodes in her and she shoots up into the air, almost scaring everyone and making a freshly awoken Ni-ki jump.

"Merry Christmas, everybody!" She shouts, brushing past Sunoo who slowly turns to her, mouth still open. She walks over to a plate of Christmas cookies she doesn't remember being there, popping one into her mouth and grabbing a cup of hot chocolate. Everyone behind her starts to celebrate, pumping their fists in the air as they sit down besides each other around the tree. They must've stacked all the presents under the tree after Cassidy fell asleep after the drinking game.

It's only 7AM, yet everyone is excited. Light Christmas music sings in the background as Cassidy joins in the circle around the tree, next to Taylor and Amara. Taylor is dressed in pink pajamas that matching with Heeseung, whom she knows for a fact hates pink. She can't help but admit that they're cute together. Their "fake" relationship isn't fooling anyone anymore.

Amara sports a purple nightgown that falls short on her legs which catches the attention of a certain someone. Sunoo stares at her, full of lust at 7AM on Christmas morning. She smirks back at him, tucking a braid behind her ear and turning away from them. Cassidy looks around, relaxing as everyone is dressed in Christmas pajamas besides her and Ni-ki.

"Alright, me first!" Jake claps his hands together, his light Australian accent shining through his excitement. He pulls forward a couple of presents, handing one to everyone in the same dark blue wrapping paper.

Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon and Heeseung open theirs at the same time, all different variations of boyish things: baseball gloves, alcohol shakers, posters of their favorite things, and even a few vinyls. They all seem genuinely happy at their gifts as they tuck them behind each other.

Ni-ki goes next, ripping open the small box in front of him that is significantly smaller than the others. His happy face turns into an angry one as he pulls out a small giftcard. Before he throws it to the side in seeming embarrassment, Cassidy gets a glimpse of what the giftcard was to.

A shitty hotel chain.

Cassidy immediately gets what Jake was hinting at. It was basically saying, "here's a place for you and Cassidy to hook up in! Have fun, asshole!" She turns her head around, her eyebrows furrowing. He smiles smugly, leaning backward. How immature of him!

The others don't seem to notice as Ni-ki shoves his own present to Jake foward. Suspiciously, he opens the black wrapping, his face dropping when he realizes what he got him.

A gun handle.

She can't believe how juvenile they're being. It's Ni-ki's turn to be smug. She rolls her eyes, desperately wanting to say something but she doesn't want to ruin the mood. The others remain none the wiser as they continue to exchange gifts.