The Monsters Inside and Out (Scott Howl x Depressed Reader)

42. Christmas Party

You signal for Vera and Polly to wait a minute, and you exit your room to check on the rest of the house. Your cousins and uncle are asleep in the living room, after playing your game system all day. You can also hear your mom and aunt quietly talking in the kitchen. You peep in and see them drinking wine. You hear your aunt say, "You spoil your kid too much. They don't know how to do anything." "They help out plenty. They do their own laundry, and the dishes, and sometimes vacuum." "Still, your kid outta get a real job. Then they could have gotten my kids something good. Don't forget, you still owe me." You let them continue their petty conversation and quietly head back upstairs. You open the window to the room and Vera whisper-yells, "Take this and turn it on!" She tosses you a baby monitor. You catch it and turn it on. You set it down near the room door. You climb out window, and get to the ground. You pull Vera and Polly into a group hug, and they accept you warmly. After a minute, you separate and Vera leads you and Polly away and down the street. You say, "I love your sweater" gesturing to Polly's sweater that says 'Santa's Favorite Ho'. She thanks you and you make to the end of the street when you are greeted by the Interdimensional Prince. "Ah, you have found your wonderful friend, I see." He turns his attention directly to you and says, "You know, I don't normally do this, but this goddess asked me to and I aim to please. Especially now that she's my girlfriend." From behind the Prince, you see Vera mouth, 'No I'm not' causing you to chuckle. You walk through the portal the prince made and are transported to the front of Vera's house.

Vera tells the prince to go somewhere to leave her alone until she calls him later. Looking at Vera's house, you see Vicky approaching you. She hugs you and wishes you a merry Christmas. Continuing on, she says, "I wrapped your presents for Scott for you, I hope you don't mind." She gets in her car's trunk and grabs them, handing them to you. You thank her for wrapping them and you are led inside. Before you have a chance to put anything down, you are tackled into a hug by a very affectionate werewolf. He rubs his face on yours and starts licking/kissing your face. You laugh, returning his affection. You wrap your arms around him and kiss all over his face. As you lay there in his warmth, you can hear his tail thumping on the floor from its intense wagging. He whispers in your ear, "Merry Christmas, cutie." You whisper in his ear, "Merry Christmas, hot stuff." After a minute, Amira ruins the moment, saying, "Hate to stop the party, but maybe keep your sexual tension elsewhere." Zoe says, "No! What? Amira! Shut up! You two keep going!!" You both get up and you grab your presents for Scott, putting them under the tree as directed. Zoe looks disappointed, but not too bothered. In the corner of the room, you see Brian and Damien talking to eachother. Damien glances at you, but pays no attention. You spend the next few hours talking to everyone about how their lives have been. When it's finally time to exchange gifts, you grab your gift for Scott. You see everyone giving their own gifts. Everyone looks happy and thankful for the things their friends gave them. There are expensive wines, jewelry, and rare drugs. Seeing everyone's expensive gifts suddenly makes you feel.. Inadequate.. Don't you understand that affection is best expressed through money? Those words ring in your mind. Before you can dwell on it any further though, a present is thrust into your face. Scott smiles warmly and you grab it, handing his present to him. You unwrap yours to find two new video games, for the console you were supposed to get. You give Scott your thanks in the most sincere way possible, and he begins opening his gift. Your heartbeat quickens as you watch his eyes slowly light up with excitement. He smiles wide and pulls you into a hug. "Thank you so much (Y/N)! I really needed a new pair of shoes!" You hug him back, happy that he's happy. However, you are curious about what happened to the LED football toy.

After you and Scott let go, you make your way over to Vicky to ask where the toy is. "Vicky, where's that one toy football I got Scott? It wasn't in with the shoes." She slyly looks at you and says, "Oh yeah. It's in the backseat of my car. It's in a little gift bag. I'll unlock my car." She presses a button on her car keys and you go outside to retrieve it. You open the door and lean inside to find it. It's on the floor behind the driver's side. As you shut the door and turn around, you see Scott approaching you. He stops in front of you, and you both just stare at eachother. As you're about to say something, he puts his finger in front of your mouth, and he says, "Don't say anything. I just wanna watch you in the snow." You chuckle as you realize that it's currently snowing. You look around, up and down the street, in the night sky, everywhere. Watching the snow fall. Once you look back at Scott, he's holding out another present to you, and you see he's blushing. You take it, and slip yours in his hand. He removes the tissue paper from the bag and pulls out the football. He smiles slightly and you say, "Squeeze it." He squeezes it and it makes a loud, squeaking noise. His smile and eyes both grow wider and you add, "Shake it." He does that too and it flashes multiple pretty colors. His tail picks up speed as he watches the flashing colors fade. He says, "Thank you so much, (Y/N)! I love it!!" He hands it to you, making a gesture for you to throw it. You throw it across the yard, and Scott darts after it. He digs in the snow for a second before grabbing it with his mouth and happily bringing it back to you. He drops it into your hand and you toss it again. After about the 12th time or so, he says, "Hey, wait right there, I'll be back." He runs to the front door and sticks his head inside, saying something to the rest of the group. He comes back out and jangles his car keys. Taking the hint, you go inside his van.

He drives you to your favorite spot, the park picnic table. You both get out of the car, and Scott hands you the ball. You squeak it a few times, to get him really excited. You throw it, and as he darts off to get it, you examine the box he gave you in your hands. What could it be? What else could he have gotten you? He comes back with the ball, and you take it, throwing it as hard as you can. He runs to get it, and as he's out of sight, you open the box. Inside, there is a little notebook saying 'You Can Do It!' It's signed by all of your friends. You open it to read notes, almost like letters, from your friends. Everyone writes about how they felt every step of the way, from when they saw you, to meeting you, to developing a relationship. Everyone found it a bit off-putting that a human was attending a monster school, but weren't really bothered. Vicky writes about her tutoring you, Polly writes about the party, Amira recalls the time the Wolfpack peed on your old classmates, everyone has something to say. From every dodgeball game you won, to every panic attack you've had. From your highest highs, to your lowest lows. It meant something to them. You meant something to them. You begin to tear up as you hear the crunch of snow underneath someone's footsteps. Scott is approaching, but more slowly this time. His cheeks are tinted pink, and you can't tell if that's from the cold, or something else. He sits down next to you and carefully wipes the tears from your eyes. He grabs your face and says, "Merry Christmas." He pulls you in for a kiss. You gladly accept, cupping his face as well. Once you separate, you tell him, "Merry Christmas," and for the next hour or so, you watch the snow fall, enjoying eachother's presence.