A Merry Merry Christmas

Five

Kendra's point of view

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"What does he mean by 'hang out,' what am I gonna wear? What do I even say to him?" I turned to Jackie and grabbed the collar of her shirt. "WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!" I shouted looking her square in the eyes with desperation.

"Well first of all, you can start by letting go of my shirt," she said pushing my hands off of her. She sighed before speaking further.

"Second, just be cool. Donnie and I are going out too, and I'm just as nervous as you are. Except I'm not making an idiot out of myself like you, no offense." She laughed, and I nodded in understanding.

"Where did Donnie say he was taking you to?" I asked. Jackie shrugged her shoulders.

"He didn't say. All he mentioned was that he'd pick me up here tomorrow." She explained.

"What? Here? Why?" I asked growing concerned.

"Because he only knows where you live. I haven't given him my address yet. But he knows we're best friends, and that we hang out here all the time." Jackie explained. I sighed.

"Aw, come on, Kendra! Don't freak yourself out too much. Joe is a sweet kid. We know he's not going to talk down to you. But if he does, he'll find himself at the bottom of the dumpster because I put him there." Jackie said menacingly lowering her voice. I laughed.

I was pretty nervous about this whole thing, but I was also pretty excited. Joe was so cute, and I really liked him. I just didn't know how he felt about me. Knowing the fact that we had just met and we were already hanging out made me think that maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.

"Come on, let's get an outfit for you!" Jackie instructed. She took my hand and lead me upstairs to my bedroom. The next three hours we're committed to finding the perfect outfit for Joey.

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The day was passing by quickly. Jackie went home not long after we picked my outfit, and now I was on the couch watching tv. My parents were in the kitchen making dinner when the phone rang. I quickly flopped off the couch and ran to the kitchen in hopes of answering it before my mother did. I knew who was calling.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey! It's Joe! Listen, I'm gonna put Donnie on the phone for you. He wants to ask you about your friend, Jackie. He was thinking of getting her a Christmas present, but he doesn't know enough about her yet." Joe explained.

"Alright, put him on!" I smiled. There was complete silence on the other end now as I waited to hear Donnie's voice.

"Hey, it's is Kendra, right?" Donnie asked.

"That's right. Joe told me everything and I know exactly what Jackie wants. It's perfect..."

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The next day

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I had spent most of the morning getting ready. I was freaking out more than yesterday now. I felt insane telling myself I was going out with Joey McIntyre. Even worse, I had no idea when he would be here. The anticipation was nearly eating me whole. I was so nervous, yet so excited! I sat on the couch of the living room allowing silence to fill the space. I zoned out for a while, losing track of the time when I heard a knock on the door. I jumped in fear and out of my thoughts, slowly getting up from the couch. Was it him already? I made my way to the door and stared for just a moment. It swung open in an uninvited fashion and I took a Sigh of relief.

"Phew, Jackie, it's just you." I sighed once again.

"Come on Kendra, please just relax! Why are you being so nervous about this? It's supposed to be fun! I mean, how many new kids on the block fans get to say they're going on a date with Joey McIntyre?" She asked. I hesitated before speaking.

"Not too many." I sighed knowing I needed to calm down.

"Exactly. So if I were you, I would get some confidence. I've never seen you so nervous about anything." She said.

"That's because I genuinely like him," I admit. "I've never liked anyone this much before. He's famous, and I don't want him to believe I'm using him. I've only known him a few days, and I've fallen for him. I don't want to blow it." Jackie smiled softly and tilted her head.

"Aw, Kendra," she put a hand on my shoulder. "You're not gonna blow this. You're sweet, kind, caring, and funny. Anyone would be lucky to have you, especially Joey." Jackie said. I smiled softly, embracing her in a long hug. The room was silent now, and in the midst of the quiet we could hear the rumble of their tour bus pulling up outside. Jackie let go of me and smiled.

"Okay, you ready to go?" I smiled back and nodded.

"Let's go!" I rose from the couch and walked with her to the door taking a nervous breath before opening the door.

"Come on, just be cool." Jackie insisted, walking by my side to the bus. The door of the bus swung open and Donnie's head poked out.

"Hey!" He smiled, opening the door a little wider for us. Jackie and I stepped on and instantly sat down on the couch. Donnie followed suit sitting next to Jackie. He smiled at sweetly her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She smiled back at him and leaned into him for comfort. Jackie was taking this like a champ, being so calm and cool about the whole thing. Joe hadn't even done that to me yet. In fact, I actually hadn't even seen him since getting on the bus. Where was he? I looked around the small space and saw Joe coming to the front of the bus from the back where the beds were. We locked eyes and I smiled as he took a seat next to me.

"Hey, it's good to see you!" He greeted with a smile. I smiled in return.

"You too!" I replied, butterflies in my stomach.

"I got you something." He said.

"You did?" I smiled. He nodded and pulled a relatively average sized box from behind his back. He sat on the edge of the couch.

"Open it." He insisted inching the wrapped box towards me. I looked to him, and then down at the package. I took the gift and placed it in my lap, glancing over to Jackie who was now sitting in Donnie's lap. Her arms were wrapped around him and she was resting her head against his. I looked back to the gift again and began to untie the ribbon tied to the box. All eyes were on me now as I removed the top of the present.

"Oh my gosh.... Joey, it's adorable!" I whispered softly with a smile. I embraced him in a tight hug and then shoved my hand into the box. In it was soft teddy bear wearing a Santa hat and a red coat.

"Thank you so much Joe, I absolutely love it!" I smiled again, wrapped my arms around him in yet another hug. No one had ever done anything so sweet for me.