Don't Worry • Credence Barebone X Reader

Twenty

A/N: I am a pathetic person for leaving this book abandoned for so long... I feel like I completely abandoned wattpad... so I'm back with 3 updates :)) thanks everyone

Credence woke to an unfamiliar sound. His eyes shot open to see that he had fallen asleep in the living room. His head laid against the arm of the couch before he sat up to see something unusual. There was a big pine tree stuck in the doorway. You were trying to get it through the door by pulling the trunk. You turned and noticed Credence was sitting up. "I was going to try to surprise you." You chuckled, moving your hands to your hips, examining the tree. "I didn't think this one would be too big." You said, starting to pull the tree again. Credence stood up and walked over to you. You were again staring at the tree with your hands on your hips, trying to think of a way to get the Christmas tree in. "Let's try together." You suggested. He nodded and you both gripped the trunk. "1...2...3..." You both pulled as hard as you could and the tree finally came through the doorway. The unexpected force of the tree breaking through, knocked you both over. You laughed at each other, as you stood up. "Finally!" You exclaimed, putting your hands in the air. Credence smiled at your excitement. "I think I want it over there." You said, point to the corner beside the fireplace.

You both carried the tree over to where you wanted it. You propped it up in the corner, then stepped back to look at it. "How did you get this up two flights of stairs?" Credence asked you, with a slight laughter in his voice that made you smile. "It wasn't easy, let me tell you that." You said, laughing up at him. You looked back at the tree, but Credence kept looking at you. The way you smiled made him feel warm inside. He felt like it was possible for the world to not be as dark as he had known it his whole life.

After breakfast you got the Christmas decorations out of the closet. You wanted to make this the best Christmas he had ever had. You knew it wouldn't be hard to top his other Christmases, but you still wanted to make this the Christmas ever. You knew it would be with Credence around. You put a Christmas record on your record player to set the festive mood. It started to snow like crazy and the apartment started to get cold, so you started up the fireplace.

You and Credence hung ornaments on the big tree. "Have you ever had a Christmas tree before?" You asked him, hoping to get him to open up about his past. "Ma always said they were too much work, that they weren't necessary." He said quietly, picking out an ornament to hang on the tree. You frowned at this, thinking about how awful his life had been, even when Christmas was around. "Did you even celebrate Christmas?"
"Not really." Credence whispered. "Well you do now." You smiled at him thought the tree branches.

The morning was magical. The snow continued to fall and the fire continued to crackle. The music played softly as you decorated the tree. You picked up an old ornament and showed it to Credence. "I made this when I was in first grade." You smiled down at the horribly made ornament. It was a one of those cookie ornaments that you cook in oven. Credence looked at it with so much wonder. He had never really had something like that before: something from his past that he cared about. But he also loved it when you talked about yourself and your past. He smiled down at you while you laughed and told the story of how you made it. How you spent almost two hours trying to make it as perfect as you could. "It's so NOT perfect too." You laughed, putting the ornament on a bough. You turned around to find Credence still staring at you with a sad expression on his face. He quickly turned back to the box of ornaments on the coffee table. You frowned a little. He sniffed and quickly wiped away the fallen tears. You walked forward and placed your hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?" He shook his head violently. You pulled his shoulder a little so he faced you. "Credence, you can tell me." You said, reassuringly as you put your hand on his cheek, wiping away tears. "I know it's so hard." You said, bowing your head. "I don't expect everything to just be normal. You've been through so much. You need time to heal and work through everything and I'm here for you whenever you're ready to talk about it." You said, looking into his sad eyes. You hadn't seen his eyes this sad in a while. They were never completely happy, but they weren't like they were before, when he lived with Mary Lou. He nodded, blinking, sending tears down his face. "Come here." You whispered, pulling him into a sweet hug. You pulled away, placing your hand back on his cheek. His arms were still wrapped around your waist as you rubbed his cheek with your thumb.

"Okay, I think we're done!" You said, a while after the hug. You gathered all of the empty boxes and put them back in the closet. Credence sat on the couch, finishing up the book you gave him. You loved seeing him engaged in something. You stood in the kitchen, looking around with your hands on your hips. "How about some lunch?" You asked. Credence lowered his book and smiled, nodding to answer your question. "Okay, I'll make us some sandwiches." You smiled at him.
You ate lunch in your festive apartment. You could tell Credence loved the tree and the music and everything that had to do with Christmas.

After you finished lunch and the cleaned up the kitchen you told Credence you were going to go check the mail. You went down the two flights of stairs to the mail boxes. You looked in yours and there were a few letters. You ran back up the stairs to Credence.

You shut the door with you foot while flipping through the letters. They were all bills, till you got to the last one. It was from you mother. You got excited and Credence glanced up at you. You looked up from the letter and smiled at him. "It's from my mom!" You told him, with excitement in your voice. He walked over from the couch as you ripped through the envelope. You pulled out the letter and a small leafy thing. You looked confused at the little note attached to the plant. Your face started to turn bright red as you read the note.

'For the one'

"What's that?" Credence asked, curious of your reaction to the leaves. You looked up at Credence, with a little worry in your eyes. "U-Um it's, it's nothing. It's called mistletoe." You stuttered. Credence continued to stare at you as if to keep asking.
You took a big sigh, trying to think of a way to explain it without embarrassing you both.
"Well, there's a tradition during Christmas time. You're supposed to hang it up and if you stand under it with someone you're supposed to kiss them." You blurted out, feeling your face burn with embarrassment. "My mom is always pestering me that I'm single. I guess this is her way of trying to get me with someone." You laughed nervously.

"Anyway, let's read the letter." You said, breaking the awkward silence.
As you read it your face fell. You sighed frustratedly. "What?" Credence asked, shyly.

You covered your face with your hand saying, "I totally forgot that I'm going to Maine in a few weeks to see my family for Christmas."
"And you're upset about that?" Credence asked, confused. "No, but I can't leave you here alone and I can't-"
You stopped, sighing again, trying to figure out what to do. "You can't bring me." Credence finished your sentence.

"It's not that I don't want to." You quickly added. "I just don't know if it would be wise." You paused, thinking about all that could go wrong. "I haven't even told them about you." You quietly admitted. You felt bad telling him this, but you didn't want to tell your mother and have her freak out.

"Would you even want to go?" You asked him, breaking the silence again. "I don't know." He said, quietly. "Would they even like me?" He shyly asked. "Of course they would! Don't be silly." You smiled at him. "Could you handle a train? And being out it the city again?" You asked him. "I mean we could build up to it, we don't have to go straight to train rides." You asked, looking at him as he stood stiffly in front of you. "I think I could try." Credence said, quietly.