(#1) Roommates by Day, Enemies by Night

Chapter 29

When I was a boy, I always saw myself as a hero in comic books and in movies. I grew up believing this dream.~Elvis Presley

Dedicated to a fantastic and wonderful reader, RoseLily3313. Show your Hufflepuff pride, and thanks for the votes and comments! They mean so much!

Dylan

I can't ever remember a time when I didn't love the holiday season. Growing up in upstate New York, holidays were huge. Houses decorated for hours with more lights than in a Home Depot, and way too many Santas floating around the neighborhood. Don't believe everything that cheesy Hallmark movies feed you. Small-town Christmas is nice, sure, but Christmas in New York, that's something different. The city is beautiful in the wintertime.

To see the Empire State Building lit up with red, white, and green. To look at the massive crowds gathered underneath the gargantuan tree at Rockefeller Center. To see all the Santas collecting money, the massive toy drives and soup kitchens pulling out all the stops for the less fortunate. Everyone believes that New York city is a cold, unfeeling place solely because it's got so many people and a bad reputation. How is that possible? If a town of 30,000 can pull together and rally a ton of money, how much do you think a city of 8 million can get?

This is the capital of the world. Paris, fashion and food capital, sure. Shanghai, business maybe. But New York, New York is the people capital of the world. A diverse city, the best time to show this is during the holidays. Just the time when we all come together to show our love and friendship for one another.

Walking through the streets of New York is a surreal experience. I've only lived in this city for about 6 months. So I'm straining, to grasp every glimpse I can of the wondrous city. 

"Hurry it up idiot!" Jake called behind me. "The girls are going to be pissed if we're too late, and I don't think you want to make Siena angry today."

These words catch my attention. I pick up the pace quickening my step so I'm soon next to him on the sidewalk. "How far away are we?" I asked.

"Two or three blocks. It was the closest parking I could get." I shot him a mean look. "What?" He said defensively. "It's Christmas Eve, Dylan. I was lucky we got close enough to not freeze our asses off by the time we got there."

"Fine." I grumbled, shoving my hands deeper into my pockets.

"Damn, someone's in a bad mood today."

"I'm not in a bad mood." I grunted, though it was kinda obvious.

"That's like saying Nico and Will are horrible together." He retorted. "Whatever. You'll cheer up soon. We're here." (A/N: BTW, he means they should be together. Don't yell at me, I am the biggest Solangelo shipper, they are so perfect!)

"Oh thank god." I said, rubbing my hands together and blowing on them in an effort to generate more heat.

He raised a hand to knock on the door, but before he could, it swung open to reveal Calli. "I got your text." She said brightly, waving her phone up so we could see the glowing screen.

Jake didn't respond. I snuck a peek at him and saw that he was frozen, staring at Calli. She flushed under his watchful gaze, and I rolled and shoved past him, purposefully hitting my body against his. He woke from the motion and managed to string together enough words to form a coherent sentence.

"You look amazing." He stuttered out. Calli blushed even deeper and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Um, thanks."

"Ok lovebirds." I said, rolling my eyes again, even though I was secretly smiling. "Let's get inside before he gets frostbite from standing on the step for too long." I grabbed Jake's wrist and dragged him inside, and he snapped out of his stupor long enough to take his jacket off and lay it over a chair, before he went off with Calli.