Sequel (Advent Calendar 2016)

THE 24TH OF DECEMBER

The 24th of December

...

Kristen looks up at Rob from the couch as he enters the cottage. He shakes his head.

"Still won't start," he tells her, sighing. "Guess we have to spend Christmas Eve here. And Christmas morning."

He takes off his coat and boots and walks over to the couch, plopping down next to her.

"It'll be okay," she assures him, looking him in the eye

. She places her hand on his thigh, and he glances down before looking up at her. Feeling bold, he takes her hand in his, intertwining their fingers.

"Yeah," he says, getting lost in her eyes. "There sure could be worse people to spend Christmas with. Donald Trump, Voldemort, Jack The Ripper, Harry Kane, uh-"

"I get it," Kristen says, interrupting his listing. "I'm better than a rather sexist and racist republican, a... noseless villain, an infamous serial killer and, wait, who's Harry Kane?"

"He plays for Tottenham."

Kristen looks at him like he's speaking another language.

"And what do you have against him?"

"Kris, I just told you," he says. "He plays for Tottenham."

Kristen just stares at him, trying to figure out what he's telling her.

"I'm an Arsenal fan," Rob reminds her, like it's an explanation.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak soccer," she says, waving with her free hand.

Rob rolls his eyes, mumbling 'soccer' in an exaggerated American accent. Kristen smiles at him.

"What, you never had a girlfriend or a boyfriend who were interested in football?" He asks her.

"Hmm," she hums, thinking. "There was this one crazy Brit..."

"Guy or girl?" He asks, then furrows his brow. "Wait, that doesn't matter at all, I'm not sure why I-"

"Guy," she answers, interrupting him. "Though that was debatable at times." She snorts. "He was obsessed with soc-... football. Every weekend, he watched a game. Sometimes, he invited me to watch it with him. Every time his team scored, he would celebrate it by kissing me."

Rob looks at her, trying to figure out why she's suddenly telling him about one of her past relationships in so much detail.

"He was always loud, screaming at the players. It was kinda hilarious to watch. Not the game, but him." She pauses, smiling slightly. Then she continues. "So yeah, he was always pretty loud, but whenever I fell asleep, either, like, against his shoulder, or on his lap, he suddenly got... completely quiet."

It's clear in Rob's eyes when he realises who she's talking about.

"Sounds like the bloke cared a lot about you," he says, smiling softly at Kristen.

"He did." Her lips twitch up into a slight smile before they turn into a small frown.

He strokes the back of her hand with his fingertip. He still does.

For awhile, they just sit in silence, playing with each other's fingers.

Kristen looks up, glancing around the room.

"We don't even have a Christmas tree," she says, sighing. Rob looks at her.

The Christmas tree was always a big deal to them. They went out and got it together, choosing the perfect one. Once they were home, they would start decorating it.It was rarely aesthetically pleasing, but there was always a story behind it. Their story.