Why Do You Love Me ── MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER

xx. the gift exchange

.·゜゜·　　·゜゜·．

REINA'S POV

Christmas is in a few days. I have realized I'm not in a Christmas-y mood this year, which is really depressing for me. It's one of my favorite holidays, and I usually go all out with it, but this year I just...haven't. I guess with all that's been happening, it didn't seem right to decorate my house with lights and glitter to make it seem all cheery when I'm not.

But I am doing it now because I'm hosting our Christmas movie night this year.

Christmas movie night was a tradition Stef and I had when we were kids. My family used to go over to her house dressed in pajamas and watch Christmas movies all day together. It was something I looked forward to every year. Then we got older, and our parents got busier so there wasn't really much time left to spend a whole day just watching movies. That is until Stef managed to convince Dylan and Matthew to continue the tradition with us. We always thought of each other like family, so Stef had no problem shifting the tradition to a new group. Usually, she hosts it, but because of the recent damage to her house, she won't be able to host for a little while.

So, I shouldered the responsibility. That was before all these other issues arose, but I'm not going to back out now. Which means I'm going to deck my house from head to toe like Santa Claus came in here and vomited Christmas spirit on every possible surface. But I couldn't do that alone, obviously, so I called in reinforcements.

Liana holds up a tiny frosted Christmas tree. "Where do you want this little cutie?" She asks with a grin. I direct her to the shelf on the far wall with a wave of my hand, and she scurries off to place it where I said. "So," she begins, and I look up from my decorative gift boxes to glance her way, "what changed with you?"

I blink. "Sorry?" I place the gift boxes under the already decorated tree, making it look fuller. "What do you mean by changed?"

I watch as she picks up a statue of Santa Claus, holding it up to her eye to examine him before ultimately settling on placing him beside the tiny tree. "I mean," she says slowly, turning to me with a smile, "something changed with you. You're different."

My brows furrow. "You saw me two weeks ago, Lia."

"Yep, and in those two weeks, you changed," she reiterates. She then flops down onto my couch, patting the spot beside her as a signal for me to join her. I slowly sink down into the couch, my leg tucking beneath my thigh as I face my little sister. She sits with her hands in her lap, a small smile on her lips. "You're dating someone," she tells me.

My brows furrow. "I am?" This is news to me.

Liana doesn't acknowledge my confusion, just nods. "You are," she says. "You know how I can tell?" She doesn't wait for a response from me. "I know when someone is making you feel all loved up. You walk a lot more chipper, and you pull your hair out of your face."