'Tis the Season

Chapter 5: Elf's Task

Chapter Five: Elf's Task

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little overwhelmed walking into the party. Carson hadn't lied, it was a pretty intimate gathering, but the house was on the smaller side and everyone seemed to have gathered in the living room- giving the illusion that the place was packed.

The ginger-haired boy, who I came to know as Gavin, that had spotted us in the front yard and was leading us into the room, didn't leave even a second for me to process the situation before announcing loudly that Carson and "his little girly friend" had arrived. I looked up to Carson and saw him roll his eyes before pushing the boy's face away.

Even though I was slightly uncomfortable having all the attention brought to our arrival, I couldn't help but admire the glow in his eyes as he started greeting his old friends, making sure to keep his hold on my hand and introducing me enthusiastically to each one of them.

"So you've finally found yourself a girlfriend, huh?" A girl with curly blonde hair came over last and wrapped her arms firmly around Carson, causing his hold on my hand to drop. My immediate reaction was "what a bitch", taking the interaction as her marking her territory until she let go and came over, giving me the exact same hug.

"Hi, I'm Nellie," she introduces herself with a warm smile and I relax a bit.

"Hey, I'm Naomi," I reply and the two of us start talking for a little bit while Carson gets pulled to the side by another guy who is beaming as he introduces him to who I presume is his own girlfriend.

"How long have you and Carson been together?" Nellie asks me and I feel my smile falter a bit.

"Oh, um, we're not actually together. This is kind of our first date," I admit and her eyes go wide with surprise.

"Well, let me tell you, Carson is one of the best guys I know. He's truly such a gentleman, you can trust him with your heart. He may have the looks of a playboy but this man is no heartbreaker!" Nellie playfully punches Carson's shoulder as she goes into full on wing-woman mode, causing him to redirect his focus to the two of us.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty impressed with him so far," I tell her honestly, and Carson smiles and loosely wraps an arm around me. Nellie grins as she sees this and another girl comes up behind her, slapping her butt and greeting Carson at the same time.

"Oh, this is my girlfriend, Sabrina," Nellie introduces us and I shake her hand as her eyes flit between Carson and I.

"Don't you break Carson's heart," she warns me. "He seems like this cool, confident guy but in all honesty he's as sensitive as a thirteen-year-old girl on her period for the first time." Sabrina squints at me, as though trying to measure if I'm good enough for him.

Based off looks, I'm probably not. My dull brown hair, hazel eyes, and fair skin aren't anything special and I'm very aware that Carson looks like some sort of angel sent down to earth by mistake. I squirm a little under her scrutiny.

"Oh my God, please, please do not listen to her," Carson groans, tensing up a little. "Sabrina if you scare her away ten minutes into our first date I'm going to kill you."

Sabrina looks away from me to him, giving him a tight lipped smile. "Remember the first time I introduced you all to Nellie? This is payback." Nellie blushes a little and rolls her eyes, pulling on Sabrina's arm a bit.

"Okay, enough. Let's leave the two of them alone now," she says, throwing us a wink while guiding her girlfriend back over to the couch they had been sitting on when we walked in.