and the stars will all come out

chapter thirty-seven! ☆

LANDRY WAS ABRUPTLY WOKEN UP BY A PRESENT BEING CHUCKED ONTO HER.

"Merry Christmas!" Taylor exclaimed, and Landry blearily blinked herself awake.

"Wuhhhh-"

It felt like no time at all since when she had fallen asleep on Dave's air mattress, entangled in his arms. Except Dave most definitely wasn't next to her anymore. What time was it, anyway?

"Yeah, we get it man, we're getting up," Nate groaned from somewhere beside her, and she realized that he was being pelted with presents too.

"Where's Dave?" Landry asked, trying and failing to cover a humongous yawn.

A second present was chucked at her, before she could shield herself.

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, Lani," said Dave from above her.

"...Oh my god."

Landry propped herself up on her elbows and squinted at the alarm clock: it was barely six in the morning, which meant she'd barely slept.

"Thank you for the presents, guys," she said, sliding the gifts off of her. "It's really early, though."

"It's Christmas!" Taylor squawked, jumping on Nate's mattress with so much energy she almost thought Nate would be catapulted off. "C'mon, let's open them, I'm so excited."

"Really?" Landry asked sarcastically, and she picked up the smallest gift that had been flung at her, a small, thin square. Probably a CD of some sort.

Her heart started hammering. The sticker read:To Lani, From Dave.

She ripped open the red and green gift wrap and stared at the cover of the CD. She didn't know what to look at first, the giant Parental Advisory sticker or the two bloody skeletons serving as the cover art. But the title of the album caught her attention:

Tomb of the Mutilated - Cannibal Corpse

She immediately looked up and grinned at Dave. "Wow."

"I wasn't sure if you already have it," Dave said sheepishly.

"I don't," she said, smiling despite the extreme gore she was just presented with. "I love it, thank you."

"Here is mine," Nate announced, handing her a present gently, instead of outright throwing it at her. "From one bassist to another."

"Thanks, Nate," she grinned, the warmth of appreciation flowing through her veins.

She tore the wrapping open, which revealed a large chocolate in the shape of a bass guitar, and she gasped. "Oh my god, it's perfect."

"Figured you would like it. There was an even bigger one at the shop almost the size of my arm, but I figured that would take you, like, twenty years to get through."

"I can't believe it," she grinned. She never thought she'd be able to feel like this again, really. "Merry Christmas, guys."

☆

BY THE TIME ALL THE PRESENTS WERE OPEN, there were new belongings in every corner of the basement, festive wrapping and tissue paper strewn absolutely everywhere, and now that the excitement was wearing off, the hangover was setting in.

Landry surveyed the aftermath of their gift exchange, feeling a sense of contentment wash over her despite the impending headache. The basement, usually a cluttered mix of band equipment and janky furniture, was now transformed into a makeshift holiday haven, complete with the remnants of their enthusiastic unwrapping session.