𝚂𝚄𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚄𝙽𝙺𝙽𝙾𝚆𝙽 ✩ ɢʀᴜɴɢᴇ

𝚡𝚒. 𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚡'𝚜 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚝

"So how exactly do these holiday parties work?"

"Well, you come here on Christmas Eve, celebrate that day and all the next, then stick around to wait for New Year's Eve, which is when the party starts back up again. In between it's just kind of mellow partying," Alex explained to Jo. Alex, Jo, Matt, and some people they didn't know were standing out on Stone's back porch, the party having started but still not in its craziest stage.

"So you just...live here until the holidays are over?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Matt replied, putting his right arm around Jo's shoulders when he noticed her shiver.

"Are you and Charlie planning on staying, Alex?" Jo asked, grabbing Matt's right hand with hers and playing with his fingers.

Are these two dating without my knowledge or are they just close?! "Yeah, we always do."

Jo looked up at Matt. "Are you?"

He nodded, grabbing her hand for a moment to hold her fingers still but letting go after a second, a teasing grin on his face.

"Can I stay too?"

"Of course," Alex replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, I'm going inside now--don't...like...don't do anything weird."

Neither of them knew what she meant and didn't get the chance to ask before she headed back in the direction of the living room, hearing bits of a joke or story Sean was telling.

"And then the clown stole all the wine!" Everyone who'd heard the beginning of whatever he was saying laughed, and Alex smiled at the oddity of that one sentence.

"It's been a while since I've seen a clown," Jerry absentmindedly said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Why? You don't own a mirror?" Alex asked as she walked in the room.

"No, it's just been a couple days since I last saw you."

"Ooh, good one. You're getting better at this."

"I'm learning it all from you."

"Well I should hope so. Who else would you gonna get it from--Charlie?"

"I'm right here, you know," Charlie said from the couch next to Jerry's chair.

"I know. I love you," Alex sang, turning and walking out of the living room, wandering out to the front yard to see what was going on out there.

"Hey Alex!" someone called, and without looking to see who it was, she tried to follow the direction of the voice, not getting it quite right. "This way!" That time, she recognized the voice as Chris's. She found him standing with Ben and Kim.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing. We're just trying to decide who's getting sacrificed at midnight," Chris said.

"Ooh, pick me. I'd make a great sacrifice."

"No you wouldn't. You're in the cult now. You have to help us choose," Ben explained.