Nowhere Girl | The Darkest Minds Fanfic

Sure to Fall

It had been roughly a week since we got here, and if it wasn't for Ang and Drew's overly enthusiastic attitude and their surprisingly colorful haul that day, I wouldn't know it was Christmas Eve.

　　Ang joined me in the kitchen as I tried my best to whip up a decent holiday meal for everyone. Ang is not a cook, but he knows his way around fire—duh—so he was still helpful. Also, the cook book in Carlos' room was immensely handy.

　　I had only ever had one American style Christmas Eve dinner in my life, and it was the year when I stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Sanders. But I never got to spend the Christmas that year with them, because that Christmas Eve was also the day Dan came back home to spend the holiday with them.

　　All in all, Christmas isn't the time of fond and loving memories for me, but I want it to be different for the kids. I could tell that the boys want the same, too. They even made it a point to bring back gifts for everyone, though they also made it a point to not let us open them until tomorrow.

　　"Dinner's served!" Ang called out, and everyone gathered to the dining table.

　　"Holy shit!" Percy exclaimed at the sight of the food. Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, beef stew, clam chowder, roasted vegetables—granted that half of the stuff actually came out of cans, but I'd still say that we did a good job.

　　"Language, Percy!" James and Emma snapped at the same time, and Hugo chuckled.

　　"Yes, Moms." Percy retorted, and rolled his eyes.

　　"I saw that." James said. "Wash your hands before you start putting germs in your mouth."

　　"Could we not talk about germs before dinner?" Drew asked as he sat down beside James. They left a spot between him and Ang for me, and I didn't realize that I could ever feel even more touched by how much they see me as one of them, but I just did.

　　I took off the apron and joined them at the table. Now that everyone had sat down around the table, we actually felt somewhat like a family. The kids were bantering and giggling with one another, and Ang were singing to the holiday season tracks.

　　But the head of the table was empty. We still haven't found any clues on where Carlos might go. Even now that we were enjoying this dinner, I couldn't help but feel guilty, whereas the kids must have been feeling a little lost.

　　After the meal, we all gathered to the living room, and picked The Night Before Christmas for the night, which was all too fitting for the occasion.

　　During the ending scene, James suddenly jumped from his seat, and made some excuses about needing to use the bathroom, but headed for the terrace—the helipad on the roof—instead. Drew and I exchanged a look, and Ang followed him.

　　The kids were baffled, and a little restless. Emma, being the mother figure that she was during Carlos' absence, came up with the brilliant idea of playing board games, so the kids wouldn't go upstairs to interrupt whatever Ang and James had to sort out.

　　I didn't notice anything weird between them in the past few days. They didn't have any fights, nor did their attitudes towards each other change, except for the charm offensive on Ang's part on the night we arrive. For a moment there, I was worried that they might be fighting without me knowing, and wondered if I should go upstairs to make sure they don't push each other off the edge of the building.

　　When we were half way into the second round of Settlers of Catan, Ang and James came back. Ang was smiling his typical nonchalant smile, while James' expression was complicated in a somewhat contradicting way, like he wasn't sure if he was happy or not. Oh, and his face was flushed. Really, really red.