"Is there a reason you called?" I sighed, closing my mechanical pencil in my textbook and leaning back to set my phone against the wall before me. My lead-stained fingers delicately removed my glasses from the bridge of my nose, revealing the indents left behind. This didn't bother me considering my current state; my hair was wrapped up in a knotted, messy bun that looked nothing like bullshit hairstyles on Pinterest, my makeup had washed off in the shower I took a few hours prior, and I was clad in very fashionable stained grey sweatpants and my father's tee shirt. Honestly, I looked as stressed as I felt.
"I called because I wanted to see your beautiful face," Luke beamed, nervously chewing on the inside of his cheek.
I blinked twice, my blank expression never faltering. "Luke, I love you and everything but I have exams tomorrow and I need to keep studying."
Michael's furrowed brows appeared upside down on my phone screen, clearly scanning the disgusting image of me. "Bro, she looks exhausted," he whispered, probably unaware that I could still hear him. "FaceTime her some other day."
"It's fine," I reassured as I reached for a cold water bottle on my desk, nearly lost in the sea of roughly 14 empty plastic bottles that littered my workspace. "I was about to take a twenty minute break anyway. I'll just talk to you guys for twenty minutes and then get back to studying."
Luke smiled and carefully set his phone down where I could easily view his entire living room. "Did you hear that, boys?" he shouted, startling me. "We've only got twenty minutes to decorate the entire house."
The other three came into the frame, each one carrying a cardboard box labeled "XMAS". Luke backed up until I could see his whole body, then he did a small jazz-hands motion, resulting in me groaning and face-palming.
"I figured you could use some cheering up!" he exclaimed, excitedly yanking a Christmas hat over his unruly hair. Ashton did the same, waving to me from the back of the room. Calum and Michael had disappeared somewhere, though their bickering was still very audible. Luke clapped once and tore open a box. "The time starts now!"
Instantly, their house was alive with motion and laughter. My stress dissipated as I watched in amusement and slight admiration. Each boy ran from corner to corner, retrieving ornaments from boxes and hanging small, cheap wreaths on every inch of their wall. I caught myself smiling as I curled up on my desk chair, staring at the tiny screen before me. They were just so... joyful.
"Michael, you fucking imbecile, that's an egg, not an ornament."
"It's an ornament made out of a hollow egg, you ignorant asshole."
"Guys," Luke exclaimed, lighting a red candle on their fireplace (which seemed redundant to me but I didn't want to say anything to him), "watch your fucking language!"
This started an uproar, bringing their speed-decorating to a screeching halt as everyone began swearing at one another. An alarm interrupted them after a few seconds, returning the house to full silence. Glances were exchanged until Michael's face visibly lit up with happiness.
"The cookies are done!!"
The incessant buzz of chatter filled my ears once again, though it was hard to understand them considering they were all yelling over each other. Luke's phone was shifted to face their small kitchen where a pan of poorly shaped Christmas cookies lay, evidently burnt along the edges. Different colored icing and a large variety of sprinkles crowded the countertop, immediately disrupted by Calum dumping a spoonful of vanilla frosting into his mouth.
A knock on my door pulled me back to reality. My sister cracked my door open and poked her head in. "How's studying?" She paused, most likely bewildered by the sounds of shouting coming from my iPhone. "Are you watching a video?"
"I'm on FaceTime," I replied, ignoring the boys' obnoxious questioning.
Adrianna cautiously sauntered over, peering down onto the phone screen, where each boy showed only their eyebrows. They giggled amongst themselves but didn't dare show their faces.
"What the hell?" she asked, inching closer as if it would help her see them. "Who is that?"
"They're friends of mine."
She nodded without waiting for them to show themselves, ruffling my disastrous bun before snickering and exiting my room.
Before the boys could start cookie decorations, another alarm went off. Luke frowned, peering down at me. "That's twenty minutes. That was so fast!"
I sighed, sitting upright and placing my head in my head. "I don't want to but I gotta go, punk."
"Wait!" he exclaimed, "There's one thing we forgot!"
He ran behind the phone, leaving me facing the three others as he dug through the boxes in the living room.
Luke reappeared with something behind his back and mischievous grin illuminating his innocent face. "Mistletoe," he declared, pulling out a pathetic piece of fake mistletoe tied to an inch of yarn and proudly displaying it for me. "We have to kiss now."
"We can't, idiot."
"Then you owe me one."
I threw my head back in laughter. "Sure, I owe you one. I love you, bye."
* * *
once again, this is the product of very stressed paige on a tight schedule who is trying to update for the sake of you guys. I haven't rested in over fifteen hours::) I am gonna lay down after this.
sorry it sucks kids (s/o to the people calling me mom that's so funny)
next update may be Saturday?? who knows at this point?????
yeah uh really belated Christmas chapter, next will be the hemmings family get ready bitches
HAVE A SUPER CHEERFUL DAY/NIGHT CUTIES
