𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎 ✯ steve harrington¹

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 : buzzcut betsy

WORD COUNT : 2.6k

Christmas hadn't been a big deal in the Webb household in years. The kids' father had stopped buying them gifts once he fell out of touch with their interests. Unsurprisingly, that had happened shortly after their mom died. Christmas Day had just become a day off of work for him, a day to actually sleep in.

But as they had with everything else, the Webb kids had formed their own traditions for the holidays. Their traditions almost always took place after night had fallen and their dad had retreated to his room for the evening. Their first Christmas in Hawkins was no different. As per tradition, Owen had spent most of the day with her nose stuck in a book that she had picked up from the library. Her book choice to put her in the holiday spirit this year was a copy of Pet Sematary.

"Let's open presents now," Law begged, drawing out the last word dramatically as he slouched against the doorframe to Owen's room. "I'm so tired of keeping all these secrets," he confessed with an over-the-top sigh. Owen glanced up at him from her bed with a quirk of her lips. She knew Law well enough to know that, while he may actually hate keeping gifts a secret, he's also just very curious about what he got this year.

"Okay, okay. Go get Gordon," Owen agreed, waving him out of her doorway before folding the current page of her book to save for later.

The only sign of Christmas in the Webb household was the less-than-impressive Christmas tree that Law had dragged out of storage. The tree was comparable to Charlie Brown's Christmas tree in a way, as only a couple plain ornaments hung from its branches. A single string of colorful lights wrapped around the entire tree, shedding a small amount of light over the living room.

A present for each sibling sat beneath the tree, each of them wrapped poorly. One of the presents was nearly covered in tape, while another was wrapped in birthday-themed wrapping paper, and the last still had slivers of the box peeking out from beneath the wrapping paper. Owen was shaken out of her admiration of the terrible wrapping by a knock at the front door. Her eyebrows furrowed confusedly, none of them expecting guests this late on Christmas Day. The fact that she was just in a huge t-shirt and oversized pajama pants didn't cross Owen's mind as she stood from the couch to answer the door.

The last person she expected to see on their doorstep was Frank Park. He was all bundled up in a huge coat, a knitted toboggan pulled over his ears, and snow-covered boots. His teeth were still openly chattering despite all of the layers, and his nose and cheeks were still dusted with a pink color from the nip of the air outside. Finally, Owen's eyes trailed down to the neatly gift-wrapped box that was being clutched against Frank's side with his non-broken, mitten-adorned hand.

"Uh... Hey, Frank," Owen greeted slowly. "Come on in," she offered, stepping out of the way so that he could get out of the cold. He gave her a toothy grin as he stepped in, making sure to slide his boots off at the door so he wouldn't track snow around their house. "I'm guessing you're here to see-"

"Law!" Frank exclaimed, interrupting Owen the moment his friend rounded the corner into the living room. The pink-haired girl turned around fast enough to see Law's face light up at his unexpected visitor.

"Frank! What're you doing here," Law beamed, coming over to wrap the other boy up in a hug that was made significantly more awkward by the full arm cast and gift box in the other arm. The two boys just chuckled in spite of the bumbling nature of the hug before Frank shoved the gift wrapped box into Law's possession instead. Owen took this interaction as her cue to wander over and drop onto the couch.

"I got you a Christmas gift a while back. I couldn't wait to give it to you at school," Frank admitted with this eager gleam in his eye.

"I... I didn't get you anything, though," Law said apologetically, the smile on his face faltering slightly. But Frank was quick to brush off his worries, his good hand coming up to wave dismissively.