Falling In Love

9 - Gift Exchange

small note: posted this as a story before, then made the decision to delete the story. anyway, enjoy this christmas story!
word count: 1060
ships: sorta poofless and merome and vikklan

(Preston's P.O.V)

It was cold outside. The wind blew flakes of snow at crazy speeds and ice covered the ground. I wrapped my scarf tighter around my face as I made my way to Rob's house. We were all going to meet there and have a sort of Christmas party. The whole pack was going to be there. Thinking of that, I couldn't help the smile that made its way onto my face.

The door open for me before I could even knock. I was greeted by Rob's face and a rush of warm air from inside. It smelled like cookies and hot chocolate.

"Preston! Merry Christmas!" Rob yelled and wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. I hugged him back, laughing. It was nice to see him again even though the last time I saw him was yesterday. When we pulled away, I was tugged into the house. I saw that Lachlan and Vik we're already seated on the couch listening to classic Christmas music. They shot up when they noticed I was here and ran over to hug me too.

It's been a while since I've seen them. Immediately we delved into conversation, forgetting about the world around us. That was until he heard another knock at the door and the few shouts from the steps. I guessed Mitch and Jerome were here to join the party. When Rob went to the door and opened it, he was greeted with the faces of the two familiar boys from Florida. I guessed right.

I scrambled from my place on the floor to the door and hugged the two, not having seen them since Arcadia Con. Everyone was hugging and yelling and laughing and God, it felt so good to have my closest friends to spend Christmas with.

Eventually, later in the night of course, we were getting ready to do gift exchange. Everyone except Lachlan was in the living area, sitting around in almost a circle.

"Lachy Dachy!" Mitch called in a high pitched voice. Everyone giggled quietly until Lachlan walked into the room and beelined for Vik. He sat on the couch next to him, quite closely might I add.

"Alright boys," Rob shouted from next to me. I glanced at him and saw a big smile on his face. It made me smile. "Everyone grab the gifts they brought," He continued, making eye contact with me. My face turned pink and I looked away quickly. I could feel his eyes on my still. "Then sit back down and we'll go from there!"

I quickly got up and ran to the pile of presents under the tall, lit up tree. I picked through on the packages until I found all of the ones I brought.

"Okay! Vik, hand yours out first and then Lachlan, and so on and so forth until everyone has handed out everything. Go!" I think everyone appreciated how Rob was very in control of the situation. Otherwise it would be pretty chaotic, presents flying everywhere and someone would probably get hurt. I waited my turn to hand out the messily wrapped gifts in my hands. Soon enough, everyone had a small pile of presents at their feet.

"Alrighty," Rob started, taking initiative once more. "Let's go around one by one opening one gift at a time. Don't forget to say who it's from!"

Vik started.

"Alright... So, this one is from Mitch?" He took the box, leaning closer to read the name before ripping the paper and once he saw what it was, he placed it down and covered his face with his hands. "Oh my God," He mumbled. "For real, Mitch?"

I peered closer and then saw it. It was a box of red lingerie with a note saying, 'for lachlan? ;)'. I laughed out loud, burying my face in Rob's to try and hide it. Soon, everyone except Lachlan and Vik was laughing. The two sharing awkward sideways glances with red faces. We moved on and Lachlan opened his up next. It was from me.

"Preston! And it's..." He trailed off, tearing the paper and retrieving the contents. "No way! Preston! It's an original Gameboy– no. No! Pokemon? For the original Gameboy." He shrieked, running over to hug me. I laughed.

"You're welcome, pleb," I stuck out my tongue childishly. He laughed and stuck up his middle finger at me, but he had such a wide smile on. I knew he was happy with it.

Rob was next and I felt nervous when he picked out the present from me.

"Preston, again!" He grinned and turned to me, blowing a kiss. I blushed and smiled, urging him to get back to opening. He opened it and fell silent. Did he not like it?

"Preston..." He whispered, looking up at me. I bit my lip.

"Do you like it?" I asked anxiously.

"Do I like it? I love it, so much," He smiled and pulled the gift from the wrapping. It was a collage of the two of us. All the pictures were rather small and in the middle was a photo of him kissing my cheek, slightly bigger than the rest. It was my favourite of us. He leaned over and pressed a small kiss to my cheek. I felt sparks of electricity.

"There's also something else," I mumbled after I felt my face cool down slightly. He looking into the wrapping once more and pulled out a gift card to his favourite bakery and cafe.

"Oh Preston, thank you so much!" He exclaimed, scooting closer to me on the love seat and throwing his arm around.

"No problem," I told him as I leaned my head onto his shoulder. "Merry Christmas," I whispered to him.

We went through all the gifts with lots of laughter and giggles. Somehow, Vik ended up with some crazy and sexual gifts (lots of 'toys' and a copy of an inappropriate book). I got a few articles of clothing (one being a Benja hoodie) and some chocolates. Also a very nice painting from the surprisingly artistic Lachlan.

But my favourite gift this Christmas was being able to spend time with the pack.