The Christmas Foster Boy

Chapter 12 : Party

Chapter 12

Later...

Nick POV   

I'll admit, it was sort of annoying to have to check on Jeff every 30 minutes. But I just want him to feel comfortable, so it's fine.

Some of the guys had left, but now the guys that were staying were getting ready to settle down and head to bed soon. We were all going to watch a movie.

I went up to check on Jeff though. He was watching a cooking show.

"Hey. How are you doing?" I asked.

"Fine."

"Some of the guys went home. And the rest are getting settled in the living room. We're all going to watch a movie before we go to bed. I was just wondering if you wanted to come watch it with us. It's a lot calmer than it was before. But David said if you're still nervous, you can sleep up here. And if you really want, I'll stay up here with you too."

"He's so nice. But I think I'm ok. I'll come down so you can watch the movie with everyone. But you'll stay near me, right?"

"Of course. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah."

He shut off the tv and then came downstairs with me. We got settled on the floor near the back of the room. I know Jeff likes to be away from the chaos, so being in the back of the room should help with that.

We had some pillows and blankets. David gave us some popcorn and drinks.

Jeff seemed pretty tired. He had some popcorn and soda, but then he fell asleep beside me.

Later...

Jeff POV

I woke up and it was pitch black and silent.

I reached out beside me, feeling for Nick. I found his hand.

"Nick?" I whispered.

I started shaking him a little.

"Nick?"

"What?" He asked, sounding half asleep.

"What time is it?"

"I don't know. Why'd you wake me up?"

"I need to use the bathroom, but I don't know where it is and I can't see."

"Ok."

Nick took my hand and let me through the house. I don't know how he could see or know where he was going.

All of a sudden, we stopped, and Nick flipped a light on. And I saw the bathroom.

"Wait for me?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I shut the door and used the bathroom. But I was kind of nervous. I don't really like sleeping downstairs anymore.

I opened the door.

"Nick?"

"What?"

"Can we go upstairs and sleep?"

"Why?"

"Because it's too dark down here."

"Yeah, I guess. Let's go."

He led me upstairs to David's room.

"Can we watch cooking shows?" I asked.

"Go for it."

We both got in David's bed. I put on the tv. I liked having the tv on because it lit up the room a little and it calmed me down too.

Nick immediately fell back asleep right beside me. I laid down but watched tv for a little while before I fell back asleep.

Morning...

Jeff POV

I was eating breakfast downstairs with everyone else. There were like 12 of us at the table. I was sitting between Nick and David. I felt a little better today.

We were having pancakes and they were really good.

"When are we going home?" I asked Nick.

"Soon, Jeff."

After breakfast, we got changed into clothes and then we went back to Nick's house.

"How was it?" Mrs.Duval asked.

"Well... I had fun. Jeff was kind of nervous with all the people and stuff. David let him hang out in his room for a little bit because he was just a little nervous and stuff. But I think he had a good time anyways."

I nodded.

"Good. Are you boys hungry for lunch?"

"No, we had a late breakfast. I think we're just going to go hang out upstairs."

I followed Nick upstairs.

"Be honest. Did you have fun? Or no?" Nick asked.

"No, I had fun. David is really nice."

"I know. That's why I decided to see if you wanted to go. If it was anyone else, I just would've stayed home, but I knew if you got nervous, David would be totally cool just letting you chill somewhere else in his house."

"I wish I had friends like him. I know I have you and stuff, but that's it. I only have you. You have so many friends."

"It's because I go to a boarding school. You become friends with a lot of people."

"Is it like fun to live at school?"

"Yeah. I mean I miss home sometimes, but you become really close with your classmates and it's just really fun all the time."

"That's so cool..."

"You don't like school, right?"

"Yeah... I get bullied usually... It's hard because I keep switching schools because they keep putting me with different foster parents. So I never really get to know anyone or catch up with my schoolwork. And then I do bad on tests and stuff and people make fun of me because I'm dumb."

"You're not dumb, Jeff. It's just because you switch schools so much. I'm sure if you stayed in one place for a while, your grades would go up."

"I'm not so sure about that... My grades weren't so good when I was still at my parents' house."

"Well not everyone is good at everything."

"I'm not really good at anything."

"I'm sure you're good at a lot of things. You just have to figure out what they are."

I flopped down on my bed.

"Are you good at school?" I asked.

"Some subjects I'm good at. Other ones are hard. But some of my friends have a study group, so we study together and stuff."

I sighed. I just want friends like Nick.

"Are you ok?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. Just tired, I guess..."

"You can just relax. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. So we'll be hanging out with my parents and going out to dinner. You like my parents, right?"

"Definitely. They're super nice. Were they mad I didn't make a Christmas list?"

"No."

"Can you tell me like... what we do on Christmas?"

"We'll wake up and go downstairs. My mom will make breakfast. We'll open presents. And then we'll just chill for the rest of the day."

"Sounds good."