Magic Under the Mistletoe

Chapter 1: The Magic Awaits

Anddd I'm back! I know I have a whole ton of uncompleted stories, but I've decided to finish this one no matter how bad it gets. It's a Christmas short story themed on romance, so hopefully it gets you swooning instead of cringing. Heh. Merry Christmas in advance everyone (:

Dedicated to @jennisonsilverye for the beautiful cover. Thanks for being here for me on Wattpad since day one <3

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Happiness might just be contagious. Especially on Christmas Eve.

Tessa couldn’t help beaming at the sight before her—fairy lights adorned the city square; horribly annoying Christmas music blasted from the nearby loudspeakers (she’d heard “Jingle Bells” ten times so far); and the majestic Christmas tree sparkled with festive colours of red, green and silver.

The place was alive with the squeals of little children spinning round and round funfair rides. She watched her little brother, Anton, scream in delight as the merry-go-round spun him in circles, faster and faster. It made her dizzy, but she laughed along with him. Then she watched her parents walking along the rows of shops hand in hand, admiring the fairy lights and picking last-minute presents for the neighbours. They looked like a happy teenage couple all over again. Tessa waved a packet of gingerbread cookies at her parents, then laughed as they shook their heads and tried to look stern—obviously failing to do so.

Immersed in the sights and sounds of the city square, Tessa jumped when a voice rang out behind her, deep and clear. “Hi, Tessa.”

She knew that voice.

She whirled around, her stomach fluttering with anticipation. Trying her best to tamp down the butterflies in her tummy, she looked up into the depths of bright hazel eyes, at a pair of lips which curved up like the edges of a crescent, unfailingly warm and smiling.

“Andrew.” She grinned back at him, trying to appear calm.

“Just call me Drew,” he replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets casually. He looked around. “You alone here?”

“Nope, but my brother and parents are busy with their own stuff.” Tessa pointed her brother out, and Drew laughed to see him spinning round and round and clapping his tiny hands in glee. “Are you alone?”

Drew shrugged, and Tessa thought she caught a hint of disappointment flicker in his eyes. “My parents are working late today, so I thought I’d come here to explore.”

Tessa recalled that he’d once told her his parents worked late hours and were rarely home. Being an only child, he probably got bored staying at home. She realized this was probably why he lingered in the school cafeteria after school, on the pretext of hanging out with his buddies.

But it was Christmas Eve, and no one deserved to feel lonely on this night.

She offered him a gingerbread cookie, and nodded at the rows of snack-shops in front of them. “Care to walk around with me?”

Drew took the cookie from her and jokingly answered, “Yep. And I’ll even help you finish all of these cookies- you look like you’ve had one too many.”

“Hey!” Shoving Drew’s shoulder, Tessa made a face at him. Then, realizing how firm his shoulder was, she turned and stalked away, heat creeping up her cheeks.

He caught up with her easily. “Remember last semester when we went for that class buffet, and you ate and ate and wouldn’t stop eating? And we were all gaping at you because you kept coming back to the table with more food! I think you ate more than four of us guys combined.”