⁺◦ 𝔥𝔬𝔱 | 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 .

↳ 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢 .

the move took a toll on you, but you wouldn't allow your mother to know that. two, tiring days had passed since you moved, and you hadn't uttered a single word to her.

you haven't used your voice in a week. not when your mom tried making small talk when you'd join her at the dinner table or when your dad called to make sure that you were settling in okay. your friends called you non-stop, but you were unreachable. seeing vernon's number pop up on your screen made your heart ache, but you let it ring. he probably had a million questions to ask you, but you left them all unanswered.

school was just around the corner, but you didn't care at all. your mom, on the other hand, was thrilled. without hesitation, she suggested that a trip to the mall and an unlimited shopping spree would get you back in high spirits.

"(y/n), i know just the thing that'll cheer you up.we can go to the mall and get you a new wardrobe." she urges, doing whatever she can to ease her guilty conscience. "i know how badly you've been wanting to do that."

you shoot her a glare that's ice cold, before you climb up the stairs and slip out of your bedroom window. it's bad enough that you had to move at all, but being cooped up in the house with your mother was brutal.

now, christmas is fast-approaching. the weather is freezing, but you trek on anyway. you have no clue where you're going, but you feel better than you have in days.

snowflakes swirl around you. you take the sight in, then make an attempt to pull your jacket around yourself, but fail. you shiver, while realizing your dilemma.

how could i forget to put on a jacket when the weather's like this?

you bitterly recall the way you'd left the house in such a rush, trying to show your mother that you can be rebellious when you're unhappy.

your shoulders shake much more aggressively this time around, so you have no chance at disguising your discomfort with the cold.

someone places a cozy jacket around your shoulders, without saying a single thing to you. eager to discover who saved you from freezing to death, you turn around, but no one's behind you.

a guy who looks no older than you passes by you with a guitar case.  he walks right into a café that seemed to be a local favorite. maybe it's your curiosity that gets the best of you, or maybe it's just suspicion, but your feet follow the same path that he'd taken.

you enter the café, searching for the guy who lended his jacket to you. your head is on a swivel, but you can't spot him.

"hey, marigold's row, we only have a couple of days until christmas." the customers in the café clap, they cheer until the café is alight with excitement. "in honor of that, i asked a certain someone if they could carve out some time in their busy schedule to sing some christmas tunes for us. how does that sound, marigold's row?"

this time around, the employees join in the applause with the customers. all eyes seem to be set on the stage to see who'll emerge from behind the curtain.

the guy who gave you his jacket steps through the curtain. a santa hat sits atop his head and he's wearing a smile on his face like he's in paradise.

although it sounds impossible, the cheers get even louder. the building seems to be shaking, but that's not what you're worried about.

you start heading towards the stage, with the jacket in your hands.

"this is the time of the year where it starts to get chilly, isn't it?"

a little girl in the front row replies to him, "yes, it's really cold outside!"

"right, so that means we should dress warmly." a smile split his face wide open. you could tell that he really liked interacting with children.

"it would be a shame if you got sick before christmas." the guy says, while looking at you so intensely that you suddenly don't feel cold at all.

"keep it," he mouths to you, just before he takes the microphone and starts singing last christmas by wham!.

you freeze right where you are when he starts singing. he has a voice like an angel, and you were certain you'd never think that way about someone else after hearing vernon sing.

who the hell is this guy?