That's What You Get, Lydia // Hayley Williams

[Chapter Twenty Nine] Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass

Song & Title Credit: Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass by All Time Low

~*~

"Merry fucking Christmas," I raised my bottle of beer into the air. We all sat at the dinning table, drinking beer and eating some delicious food. Hayley and Riot cooked some type of Italian chicken with pasta, macaroni & cheese, lasagna and some other good stuff. By the time we finished eating, I couldn't move. 

"I thought you hated the holidays." Riot pointed out. 

I looked over at Hayley, smirking at my beautiful girlfriend. "This is the first Christmas that I've sat at a table where I don't feel like slitting someone's throat. It's actually been pretty fucking amazing." I spoke honestly. Every past Christmas has been spent with my father and his redneck family. Well, expect the Christmas in 2003 that I spent with Cameron and his family. That is the only other Christmas memory I actually love. His mother was so kind, but she kept warning me about getting pregnant at a young age. 

Riot smirked, "I think I know why." She said, winking at Hayley. I rolled my eyes and drank from the beer can. 

"Let's open the presents?" Robin suggested. 

"I thought you opened the presents on Christmas day." Jannah said. 

"Don't you have dinner on Christmas day and open presents on Christmas Eve?" Hayley asked. 

"Who gives a fuck?" I stood up from the chair and walked into the living room area. "Let's just open them now and do something else tomorrow." 

"We can have another big dinner tomorrow." Jannah suggested. 

"That sounds like a good idea," Riot nodded, "but Hayley and I need help. It was hard cooking so much crap with just us."  

"That's fine by me." I shrugged and knelt down, grabbing as much of the gifts as I could hold. I handed each of them their gifts and placed the four that I received down on the table. I hid my smile as I watched Hayley go through her gifts, frowning once she saw that I hadn't given her one. Mine's still under my bed, waiting to be opened.  

I walked over to her and leaned down, "I'll give you your gift later." I whispered, smiling.  

"Okay," Hayley nodded.  

As everyone started to open their presents, I began to grow more and more nervous with the gift I had for Hayley. It's a bit cheesy, the gift I got her, but it's the best I can do. I'm not really the romantic type person, but I did try my best when I searched for something to get her.  

"Nice, Lydia." Robin held out the huge purple glass pipe I had chosen to give her. Her brown eyes filled with amusement. 

"I figured you needed one since you're always smoking from mine." I said, Robin laughed and thanked me for the gift. For Jannah, I got her tickets to go see Fall Out Boy live and gave Riot a new pair of converse.  

From Riot, I got a Nirvana sweatshirt and Jannah got me a Gorillaz Vinyl. I thanked her for the gift, even though I didn't have anything to play it on. Robin decided to give me a similar gift; a new bong with the letters 'LP' on the side. The gifts seemed pretty fucking amazing.  

"Here's mine," Hayley handed me a flat box wrapped in Santa Claus wrapping paper. My fingers eagerly tore open the paper, a quiet gasp left my mouth once I saw what the gift was.  

A picture. An 8x10 picture of Hayley, Diana, Erica and I standing in front of my father's house. A picture that was taken on Erica's birthday, I remembered the day clearly. The picture was framed, protected by a thick layer of glass.  

Ignoring the tightening in my chest, I stood up and embraced Hayley in a tight hug. "Thank you," I whispered, kissing her. The rest of the night was basically spent watching those stupid Christmas movies you see on t.v almost everyday during the holidays. I had to smoke an entire joint to get through 'A Christmas Movie' without wanting to throw a shoe at the t.v  

"Oh my god, I love this movie!" I exclaimed in excitement. A wide smile grew on my face as I watched a homeless Santa Claus stumble towards an apartment complex. Without having to see the t.v guide, I knew exactly which movie it was.  

"Of course you do." Riot snorted loudly, airing out the smell of marijuana through the window. "Haven't you seen this movie like twenty times since it came out?" She asked. 

"More than that," I took a long hit from the half-finished joint, "I've watched the entire 'Friday' series so many times, I know exactly what they're going to say." Honestly, I think I've seen the entire 'Friday' series more times than I've gotten an 'A' on an assignment this year. It's said, I know, but true.  

Hayley rested her head against my shoulder, her fingers tracing patters on the palm of my hand. She looked exhausted, sleepy. "Here," I handed the remainder of the joint to Robin, "I'm going to go to bed." 

"And miss out on the movie?" Robin raised an eyebrow, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes and gave her the finger. Robin happily returned the gesture before returning her attention to the movie. 

I stood up from the couch and leaned down in front of Hayley. "Let's go to bed, babe." I whispered. Hayley yawned and nodded in agreement. She stood up from the couch, her hand hanging loosely over my shoulder, and we headed towards my bedroom. I'm grateful that Hayley came along with us on this trip because for the past few days -the days I've slept in the same bed with her-, I haven't had any nightmares. I hope things stay that way.  

Closing the bedroom door, I carefully laid Hayley down on the bed. She moaned something inaudible and sat up on the bed. "Wait," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes, "where's my present?" Despite the darkness that engulfed the room, I could clearly see the smug smile on her lips. 

Laughing quietly, I walked towards the side of my bed and knelt down. "Right here," I handed her the small velvet box. Maybe because of the high I was feeling, I wasn't as nervous as I was earlier. "It's kind of cheesy and not original but it's the first thing that came to mind when I was trying to figure out what the fuck to get you for Christmas. I know your birthday is in like three days so if you don't like this present than I can make it up by getting you something else..." I rambled on, still knelt down beside the bed.  

"Shut up, Lydia." Hayley softly ordered. Her fingers slowly untied the lace bow and moved away the lid of the box. She gasped quietly, her eyes widened at the sight of the gift. "Is this..." She trailed off, unable to finish her short lived sentence. 

"Yeah," I shook my head and claimed the empty space beside her on the bed, "you remember it, don't you? The necklace my mom gave me when I was little? I don't know why, but I thought I'd give it to you. Even before we started dating, I was thinking about giving you this. Of course, I'd give it to you anonymously, but I know you'd figure out it was me in the end." I was rambling again.  

Hayley carefully lifted the necklace out of the box. Her fingers traced patterns in the silver 'L' that dangled from the medal string. She turned the L around, smiling at the small words my mother had engraved into the necklace nearly twelve years before.  

The pendant was fairly small, but noticeable. I never wore it because, well because I couldn't find myself to wear it. The necklace held too many painful memories of my deceased mom and sister. Every time I wore it, I felt the burning in my chest that couldn't be ignored, no matter how desperately I tried.  

"It's perfect." Hayley whispered as she pressed the pendant against her chest. "See? This Christmas wasn't so bad." She smiled brightly. Her smile managed to make my heart flutter, but of course, I didn't let this show.  

I smiled and nodded in agreement with her words. "Actually, this may be one of the best Christmas to date."