Forced To Love You

Gift Giving

"So... your aunt doesn't like me." I twirled some spaghetti around my fork, keeping my eyes on the food in front of me.

Christian's aunt had said some pretty harsh things about me without really even getting to know me. She barely knew who I was and she was already criticizing me. It didn't leave me excited to meet her completely.

He let out a long exhale. "She doesn't take well to strangers. I thought she'd be nicer considering you're the new Luna."

I hadn't taken on any new responsibilities since moving to Twisp. The move had been hard on me from day one so I wasn't exactly welcoming any new responsibilities. But since I accepted my new life and the new reality set for me, I knew I wanted to be involved in some way. I already had some changes in mind but I knew I couldn't just shout them out and expect them to be addressed right away.

"Am I really that bad?" I gave Christian such a hard time when I first came to Twisp. I was surprised he held out for so long. Surely, he thought that maybe letting me go would be easier than dealing with me. I probably would have done so had I been in his position.

"Blair... You're not... Don't think that her opinion of you is an indication of how anyone else will feel about you. When you start to get to know more people, I'm sure they'll like you almost as much as I do."

I looked up at him through my lashes. "Yeah, because that went really well with Madison."

"You're not going to stay friends with everyone you meet the rest of your life. It doesn't always work out that way."

I let go of my fork and took a sip of my water. "I just want people here to like me. I want someone to like me."

"Don't I count?"

I rolled my eyes. "I already know you like me. You don't count."

"I'm sorry, Blair. Is there something I can do to help?"

I shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I think I just need to see more of this town. It still seems so foreign to me."

"We can go into town in the morning if you'd like. I can show you around and introduce you to people. I need to make an appearance anyway."

"An appearance? You make it sound like you're a celebrity or something."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I mean..."

I rolled my eyes at him as I laughed. "Oh, my gosh. You can't be serious."

"Some of the kids think of me like that. I try not to feed into it but I have been asked for a picture before."

That made me laugh even harder. "Shut up."

He laughed. "I'm mostly kidding."

"That would explain why everyone flocked to me when I went shopping a while ago."

He nodded. "Either that or because you're just so pretty."

I felt my face flush and I lowered my gaze to my plate. "That can't be it."

"I'm serious, Blair. You are."

I took a bite of my food to avoid saying anything. It was another reminder that I forgot how good Christian was at cooking. He always said he was only good at making his mom's spaghetti but I was sure if he tried to make other things, he could do it well.

Christian swallowed his bite and sat back in his chair. "Do you have any ideas on what I can get you for Christmas?"

I raised my eyebrows as I met his gaze. "You want to get me something?"

He nodded. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well... I can't get you anything. I don't have any money right now."

"You don't need to get me anything. I'm not much of a present person anyway."

"But that isn't fair to you."

"As long as you like whatever I get you then I'll be happy. I promise."

I pursed my lips. "If I have to pick anything... I could probably use a new laptop for school. Mine is an old one and I'm not sure it can hold up with online classes."

He nodded. "Okay. What else?"

"You want to get me something else? Christian, laptops are already so expensive. I couldn't ask for something else on top of that."

He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. "Blair, I'm serious. I want to do this for you."

I shook my head slowly. I felt like I was dreaming. Never had I been treated so well by someone who wasn't my family.

Was I really deserving of it?

"Let me think about it."

"We only have a week until Christmas. You better think fast."

My eyes widened. I'd been so busy that I hadn't even noticed that Christmas was right around the corner. I felt so unprepared. I had no presents for... anyone. Who was I even supposed to buy gifts for? I didn't have any friends and I really only knew Christian.

I was so pathetic.

"I'm good at giving gifts so don't sweat it." He grabbed his plate and headed into the kitchen.

I sighed and put my head in my hands. What kind of girlfriend, or whatever I was, would I be if I didn't at least get him something for Christmas?

I really needed to find something.