Vikk's P.O.V.
I was glad for some company as I was home alone, all of the other Sidemen and other friends with their families in other parts of the country. So I thought I would be alone for Christmas, at least until Preston flew into London and surprised me three days before the big day because he knew I was going to be alone.
The knock on my door came when I was just waking up, around 10am. For a moment I considered just ignoring it and pretending like I wasn't home when it rang again, and I groaned quietly. I really couldn't be bothered to answer the door but the ringing was insistent so I eventually dragged myself from bed to go and get it. The knock came again as I got down the hall, and I rubbed my eyes.
"What?" I said, rather rudely as I opened the door to the person standing on the other side. "I was sleepi-"
My eyes widened in shock as I recognised the person standing on the other side of the door, a bag in hand and a soft smile on his face despite my rude words towards him- Preston?
"Pr-Preston?" I mumbled, stunned.
"Hey Vikky." He grinned, reaching out to pull me into a hug. "Good to see you babe."
I basically collapsed into his arms, breaking out into sobs as I hugged the boy I hadn't seen in almost 6 months and he hugged me back, head resting on top of mine. His hands gripped me tightly and I'm pretty sure he was crying too because his legs were shaking, but for several minutes we just stood in my doorway, hugging and crying.
When we pulled away I wiped my eyes with my fists, sniffling quite heavily, while Preston tried to wipe away his tears as well, laughing at his own tears. One of his arms was still around my waist and I leaned into his touch, desperate to just be close to him after so long apart.
"Pressy?" I whispered, my eyes sliding up to his face. "Is it- is it really you?"
"Yes Vikky." He smiled, cupping my cheek. "It's me. I'm really here."
"H-How?" I breathed.
"By getting a flight of course!" He laughed, mouth turning up further in a grin. "I knew you were going to be alone this Christmas and because I don't celebrate it I figured I'd fly down and surprise you, spend some time with my boyfriend."
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We spent the first few days cuddling, reacquainting ourselves over basically every surface in my house, purple and blue bruises on my neck and collarbones that I hid with hoodies or a scarf because it was cold. Preston laughed at them and I kept playfully fighting with him for causing them because now I couldn't stream- not that I wanted to- and had to rely on pre-recorded videos to get one out a day over the Christmas period.
But the closer we got to Christmas, the more nervous and anxious and sad I got. The decorations and music and carols all reminded me of home, a place where I was no longer welcome because of who I loved, and a year on I still thought about it daily, more often now that everything reminded me of them. There were no decorations up in my apartment this year because of this, no tree, no tinsel, no lights, no music, no presents.
Preston didn't mind at all, he didn't celebrate the holiday and he knew how much everything reminded me of home, so he didn't press it. My way of coping was to push it away and pretend it hadn't happened, repressing the memories and although I knew that wasn't good for me, I couldn't help it. I would talk when I was ready, and only to one of two people. My boyfriend or my therapist.
His arm tightened around my waist as I leaned up against him, eyes not entirely focused on the movie playing on the television. My mind was elsewhere and that place was not at all peaceful, making my hands shake whenever I thought of it and drifted off into my own little world. It only took Preston a little while to notice as well, squeezing my hand whenever he saw I wasn't focused, or sometimes pressing little kisses to my cheek and ear.
After about half an hour he gently moved me off his chest, sitting up and swinging his legs onto the ground.
"You look exhausted Vikk." He said gently, facing me. I nodded.
"I feel exhausted." Sighing, I rubbed my forehead. "I just want to sleep."
"I'll tell you what, we'll do something before you go to sleep. It's Christmas and it's a day meant for celebration so we'll make a cake and cover it in icing and sprinkles and then we'll have some of it with ice cream. Does that sound okay?"
I nodded a little, a smile flickering onto my face. Neither of us were great bakers but we could follow a recipe and if we wanted to, I'm sure we could make a cake without burning the kitchen down.
"That sounds..." I paused. "Good. That sounds good."
Preston smiled, already getting up to retrieve ingredients and equipment to make said cake. I got to my feet a minute or two later, ready to help as well.
"Let's make this cake!"
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By the end of the evening the kitchen was covered in sugar and flour and egg and chocolate cake batter, but there was a cake covered in icing cooling on the bench and it smelled amazing. I smiled, breathing in the scent as Preston and I cleaned everything up, nudging each other on occasion and giggling.
And, just as Preston had suggested, we ate more than we probably should have with ice cream and frozen berries and a nice hot chocolate because it was getting to about the time where I wanted to start settling down and going to bed, and it had been an eventful day. I yawned a little, placing my now empty bowl on the ground beside the couch.
"Did you have a good day?" Preston asked me, his hands trailing through my hair.
"Yeah." I smiled. "It was a good day."
"Great, cause it's a day for celebration."
