Broken Guitar Strings

Chapter 28

(ALLIE'S POV)

Merry white Christmas!!! I baked a fresh batch of gingerbread cookies this morning and made my mom breakfast in bed. To be honest, I'm a huge geek when it comes to the holidays; I'm pretty sure you've figured that out by now.

At around nine thirty I decided to go and deliver presents. After bundling up in a coat and scarf, I load the beautifully wrapped presents into my car and drive the Audi to IU's first. I drive up to her house and pull out a huge pink box. Since the panda was fairly large, I had to find a large box to put it in along with the scarf and beanie. I tied a huge golden bow on top, and I think she'll like the decor a lot. I ring the doorbell, and she opens the door with pajamas and a Santa hat on. Her face totally lights up and she exclaims, "Allie! Come on in!" I quickly step inside because it's cold out there, and I put the box down. She gives me a huge hug and says, "Merry Christmas!" I reply with the same thing and tell her, "I brought you a present!" She eyes widen. "Oh my gosh, that's huge, thank you!" She then runs somewhere into her house and comes out with a little package. "I know this is nothing, but here's a little holiday gift from me too." She grins. I tell her that I have to go and deliver other presents too, and we hug again. She tells me to keep warm out there because it's pretty chilly, and then I leave. I love IU.

Next stop: Chanyeol's house. I've been here one or two times already, so I know the route pretty well. Again, even though I know that it's expected, I can't help but be a little bit surprised when his house, or I mean, mansion, comes into view. I honestly don't know why it surprises me. I've encountered many other heirs with huge homes before. Anyway, I park on the side of the street his house is on and carry the box of athletic stuff up to his front door. I'm just about to ring the doorbell when the door opens right in front of me! I see Chanyeol with his hair gelled up and tall and handsome as usual. "Hey!" I say. "Oh hi, Allie!" He exclaims upon opening the door. "Come on in. I was just about to go deliver presents too! Merry Christmas." We hug briefly. I feel like I should feel...awkward around him, but I don't. He doesn't make me uncomfortable. And plus, even if he did, I'm not letting that get to me on Christmas. "This is for you," I grin, handing over the wrapped box with his Elites, Jordans, and basketball. "Thank you so much, Allie." He says. He wraps me in his arms and says, "Stay warm out there. It's cold." I breathe in and breathe out. I can feel his hard, toned stomach press against me, and we stay there for about forty-five seconds, until I clear my throat. "Um," I shuffle and look around. "Let's get a move on. We both have presents to deliver, right?" He releases me and I turn around. He picks up one of the boxes he had put on the floor and extends his arms. "Right. This is for you." He smiles. I take it and he says in a low voice, "About the engagement, my parents say that they want us to be officially engaged by mid-January. I know you don't really want to bring up this topic, but I'm just giving you a heads up." Oh. Mid-January. Before I could really ask him anything, he urges me out the door and walks me to my car. "Stay warm!" He calls as I enter my car. I shyly smile down into my scarf. This is the Chanyeol who has rejected handfuls of girls before. The arrogant, powerful, and rich Chanyeol. Kindly telling me that I should stay safe and warm out there. I really am something special to him.

Okey dokey, Lay's my next and final stop. I think I saved him for last because his present means the most to me (and I think it will mean a lot to him too). I stop at his house, and even though I haven't been inside yet, the shape and color of the house already makes me feel cozy inside. I take a step outside and shiver. It is cold outside, and snow has started to lightly drift to the already white ground. Lay's present is a moderately sized, nicely wrapped box containing all of his guitar picks, strings, and Beats. I ring the doorbell, and no one answers. Is he not home on Christmas? I ring the doorbell again, and two minutes later, Lay opens the door wearing a gray beanie, a red, long sleeved plaid shirt a size too large, and sweatpants. He looks really surprised at seeing me, and looks slightly down towards his feet at first. "Hi, Allie. I'm so sorry, I was practicing down in the basement. Come in, it's cold outside." I step in, and say, "Merry Christmas, Lay!" I wrap my arms around him. He hugs me back just slightly, and says, "Oh my gosh, Merry Christmas!" I hold out the present and say, "I got you this." His eyes widen. "I..." he shakes his head, "I can't take this." I frown. "Why not?" He brings his hands together and looks up intently into my eyes. "Well, I didn't buy you a present. And I didn't make one either. I just-- my family-" I quickly put the present onto the ground and hug him. "It's okay," I say. He seems really upset. "It's okay, Lay. I didn't ask for a present from you." He wants to say something, but I stop him by giving him a brief kiss. His breath smells like hazelnuts. "It's alright," I comfort him. He looks at me worriedly and says, "I...I entered a dance competition last month. It was the Starbound National Talent Qualifying Dance Competition." I nod for him to go on.

"And...out of sixty-three freestyle soloists, I earned 10th place."

"Oh my gosh, Lay, that's amazing."

"Top twenty get to go to nationals in May, but...the fee for going to New York and competing is over three thousand dollars. Starbound itself covers the hotel fee because it wants all of its competitors in one building before the competition, but I have to pay for the rest. And because Starbound is one of the largest dance competitions in America, the fee for even entering nat quals was six hundred dollars. I know this isn't a lot to you, but I've already spent so much money to get to where I am now. My parents believe in my skill for music and dance, and so they supported me. But...I don't think I can go to nationals. I can't just drain them out and use up all of the money they've worked so hard for. Just for myself."

"Lay...." I breathe. From the look in his eyes, I can tell that he really wants to dance. And continue on. But...he knows that his family is spending too much money on dance. "But you've already come so far. You're going to nationals, Lay, and it would be so disappointing to see you not go when you've worked so hard and when your parents have supported you this far."

He's tearing up. "I know that it would be a shame to not go. I want...I want to go. But the costs would damage my family way too much, especially when my parents are already struggling to support just the three of us. I'm working, but it doesn't make that much of a difference." He looks away.

I really want Lay to be able to dance at nationals. I mean, he went through so many hours of practice and competing and spent so much time and money for this. I have to do something. "You know what? I'll pay."

Lay immediately shakes his head. "I can't let you do that. I'll take the present if it means that you won't pay for me."

"Lay, I'll do it. I can do it; I can afford it. I'm going to help you pay off those three thousand dollars and I'm getting you to New York."

He shakes his head, but I cup my hands on his face. "It's all good," I say. "Three thousand dollars...it doesn't mean that much to me. But in your case, it means everything. And I'm happy to lend a helpful hand to those I love." He starts crying. It's a shy, reserved type of crying. I can tell that he doesn't want me to do this. How will he explain to his parents? How will they react? I give him a huge, reassuring hug. "I will write your parents a letter. Everything will be alright. Don't feel bad at all," I smile.

He graciously accepted my present. I told him that I'll get the letter to him by New Year's Day and the money to him somewhere around that time. I know he still feels really bad and uncomfortable, but I think he'll come around. He asked me if he could do anything in return to compensate for my kindness, and I asked him to show me a short freestyle dance. "But don't show me the one you're preparing for nationals," I say. He shows me this one minute dance cut to the song "MAMA" by EXO. Every time I see Lay dance, not to mention sing or play the guitar, I am awed.

When I got home I ran a really long Christmas playlist. My mother got me some clothes and outer apparel; and my dad got me a nice watch and a phone case. At about three in the afternoon I got tired of blasting music throughout the house and I took a nap. Some carolers stopped by and delivered a nice Christmas jingle at around five.

I texted my friends from California. Sometimes I miss them so much that it hurts. But I'm also really grateful that I met Lay and Chanyeol and IU. There are so many great people here in Chicago. So much talent, courage, and integrity lofts in the hallways of Cedarwood High School. My neighborhood is very nice and kind to one another. I love it here.