1 (jaylor) wisteria hearts and caged folk songs

chapter seventeen.

She dreamt of blonde hair, sandy beaches and a friendship that had sunk beneath the sea. It was the kind of dream where you woke up and felt empty. And she knew that she shouldn't feel like that, because... well, it was Christmas. But it had all happened at the worst possible time. How could she possibly feel festive and like she wanted to celebrate when her friendship with her closest friend? 

"Merry Christmas," Joe kisses the tip of her nose. She smiled, opening her eyes. At least he was able to bring back some of the light to her eyes. Hearing his voice, seeing his smile and feeling his lips against her skin made her feel better. Through the crack in the curtain, she could see the winter wonderland that had fallen overnight.
"Merry Christmas!" She leaned up and kissed him again. She gently cupped his cheek as he looked down at her, beaming. "Can I just stay here with you forever? Do we really have to get up?" She sighed. "I just want to spend all day with you."
"I wish we could - but then you'd never get to see your present under the tree." Joe kissed her lips, and Taylor smirked against them.
"You got me a gift?" Taylor's heart skipped a beat. It had been so busy that she was surprised that he'd had time to get her anything. There was a tiny part of her that wondered why he'd even bothered - Adam hadn't really gotten her Christmas presents last year. She knew that Joe wasn't Adam, but sometimes she couldn't help but compare them. Because Joe was everything that Adam was not. 

"I have a present for you but it's not under the tree yet..." She'd printed out plane tickets, and had compiled a list of everything they were going to do, and had put it all in a book. She'd written, the lakes onto the cover of it. She'd also written a card that she'd made herself, telling him that he'd get to hear it when they were alone tonight. She'd painted a watercolour snowglobe on it, and felt self-conscious when she thought about giving it to him. Joe Alwyn was the best painter she knew, and the thought of her silly little pictures made her worried. 

Upon investigating the pool house, she'd discovered that there was a piano on the second floor, and she'd not said anything about it to Joe because she wanted it to be a surprise. She wanted them to come back from a long day of Christmas celebrations, and she wanted to sing for him. A song that she had written for him and only him, that she hadn't sung in front of anyone else. It had been hard to keep herself from humming to the tune she'd created. But she'd managed. She loved humming her songs around the house, but it had been frustrating not being able to practice it when he was around.

She was greeted by warm hugs when they went inside, Austin had a cheesey Christmas sweater on and Taylor couldn't stop laughing at it. They always opened presents before they had breakfast, and while Joe was talking to Austin, Taylor slipped the card and notebook under the tree. She was so excited to show him, and she really, really hoped that he would like it. She always doubted herself and the things she did, and she figured that because she loved Joe so much - this worry was amplified.

She went back into the kitchen, where her Mom handed her a Christmas mug filled with hot cocoa. "Joe's been teaching me his secrets to a good hot chocolate," Andrea told her.  The snow was still falling heavily outside, and it really was the perfect morning. Taylor had intentionally left her phone out of the house, because she didn't want anything to drag her down. She didn't want any catastrophic news, didn't want any Christmas wishes from anyone outside of the household.

"Merry Christmas!" Andrea exclaimed as Joe came into the kitchen. There was such warmth radiating from the house, and Taylor couldn't help but smile. "We're so glad that you two could make it," Her mom told her as she took her hand in hers. "It's not Christmas without you, Taylor."
"You're right about that, Mom." Austin agreed with a smile.
"I can see why," Joe added.
Taylor felt her cheeks turn red. Accepting compliments was still not her strong point, and they still tended to make her a little uncomfortable.