Written in the Stars *EDITING*

Chapter 21: The Gift of Giving

After parking her car outside the restaurant, Mia adjusted her black coat, hoping to prevent the chill from getting to her once she exited the car. Deciding to honor the time of the year, Mia had dressed in a dark green sweater, black jeans, and green vans. Grabbing the gift bag from the passenger seat, she left her car and locked it. In the restaurant, she scanned the tables and finally found Rose's beaming face. Walking over to her, she gave her a hug before sitting down. The two had decided to hang out before school started again. They had chosen to talk over ramen, perfect for the cold weather. Opening the menu they settled into casual conversation. While they waited for their food to arrive, Mia handed Rose the gift bag. "Happy holidays! I know we didn't discuss presents but I hope you like it." Rose thanked her and opened the gift. Inside was a brand new sky blue journal and a set of sleek pens.

A few weeks ago when they were still in school, Mia had caught Rose writing in an old journal. She had quickly closed it as a blush overtook her face. Rose embarrassingly explained that she liked to write down stories and character ideas, always wanting to have written a novel. Mia had told her about her poetry, telling her how it was an outlet for her thoughts and feelings. The two had quietly smiled at each other, thankful there was someone else who enjoyed the power of freshly printed words on a clean page.

"Thank you so much! The funny thing is I bought you a present and left it in my car. I didn't want to weird you out or anything since we didn't discuss gifts. I can give it to you after we eat," Rose said.

For the next hour, the two talked about life and how their break was going. The ramen had done a fantastic job of warming them up and making them brave enough to face the cold after they eat. "Would it be crazy if we bought ice cream in this weather?" Mia contemplated.

"As much as I would love curling up on the couch with a pint of cookies and cream ice cream, I feel like my teeth will fall out if I consume anything cold," Rose laughed. Getting to her car Rose unlocked it and opened the back door. Handing Mia the red gift bag she wished her happy holidays. Opening the present, Mia was delighted to see a book of poetry prompts and colorful gel pens.

"I guess great minds do think alike," Mia laughed after realizing how similar their gifts were. They talked outside Rose's car for another few minutes but eventually, the cold was too much. Waving goodbye, Mia made her way to her car. Starting the engine with a smile, Mia was happy she had been brave enough to contact Rose asking if she wanted to hang out. I guess Nathan's insistence that I conquer my fears really has helped.

☼⚜☼

Christmas music blasted in the living room as Mia waited for Nathan to come over. She had texted him in the morning asking if he would be free to come over so she could give him his Christmas gift. Normally she only bought presents for her parents, Hazel's parents, Jade, and Hazel. She would go all out with Hazel, buying her multiple gifts, some more expensive than others considering she had no other friends to shop for. This year was different, considering she also bought gifts for Rose, Nathan, and Evan. Hazel would still be receiving an extravagant amount of gifts however, nothing could replace the feeling of shopping for gifts for her best friend.

The knock on the door brought Mia out of her thoughts. Opening it, she took in Nathan's appearance. His boots were covered in snow from the snow still left on the ground from yesterday's light dusting. He was also shivering, the idiot not bothering to wear a jacket over his thin sweater. Pulling him inside, she took him to the kitchen so she could make him hot chocolate to warm him up. "Is there a reason you decided not to wear a jacket?"

"I thought your smile would warm me up?" he tried to joke. Mia lifted her gaze from the hot chocolate powder to shoot him a look that said "really?" before pouring milk into the two cups. "Honestly I just didn't realize how cold it was."