DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS // CHRISTMAS CALENDAR 2020

Sunday December 13th

We got ready for church like we did every Sunday. I got dressed in the dress that I wore to my parents funeral. Only difference was that this time, Damon was coming as well. He was sitting on my bed, his shirt half unbuttoned and his tie hanging over his shoulder. I was applying makeup.

"You don't need that. You're too beautiful for it," he said after many minutes of silence.

"Funny. My parents said the same thing," I said and stopped applying blush to my cheeks. Checked myself out in the mirror to see if I was satisfied.

"Well, kids aren't supposed to listen to their parents. I never did," Damon smirked.

"I know you didn't." I said and eyed him in the mirror.

"Hey. Don't judge me for defending Stefan. He was too young to do anything against our father. He wasn't strong enough."

"I'm not judging you, Damon. I actually don't really mind you going against everything that people ever told you to do. I really don't mind." I sighed and turned around to look in the mirror again.

"Are you okay, Luna?" He asked with concern. I nodded.

"I'm fine." I said. "Do you need help tying that tie?"

"I've been alive for 178 years. I know how to tie a tie," Damon smirked. I chuckled.

"Well, then I'll see you downstairs," I said and left the room.

Damon and Stefan both came downstairs 15 minutes later, and we all left to church. I was seated in the middle of the two boys. Damon pretended to be bored by the ceremony, but I knew that he wanted to be here. He didn't like to be here, but he wanted to.

So there I was, sitting between the two people who meant the most to me in the entire world, and felt like I couldn't breathe, but I never told them a thing.

"And it's in time like these, when we are amongst family and friends, people who love us, and people who we love, that we realize what love really means. And so all there's left to say is have a nice day and Christmas. I will see some of you again next Sunday." The priest finished and we all left.

"Are you coming to the Christmas gift charity, Damon?" I asked and looked at him as we walked out the door.

"What so I can compel a little poor kid a nice firetruck for Christmas? No." He chuckled. "There's only space for one hero in town right?"

Damon glanced at Stefan, who just ignored him and kept his eyes on the ground. I nodded a little.

"Okay," I said and took Stefan's hand and we left without another word.

The town had this Christmas gift charity every year, where children who usually wouldn't get very much for Christmas, could make a wish and then strangers would get it for them.

Stefan and I decided to take two wishes each and then we drove around town wo visit the shops where we could buy the gifts. Little Joey wished for new backpack for school and Jackson wanted some headphones. He even wrote that he didn't care about the brand, he just wanted something to listen to music.

Stefan's wishes was a winter jacket for Kayla and a new pair of pants for Nicky.

I decided to get Jackson the most expensive headphones I could find and get Joey a cool abstract backpack. Stefan got Kayla a white ski jacket and some black jeans for Nicky.

"You think this is good?" He asked me.

"It's perfect, Stefan. Don't worry." I smiled.

"Well, what if Kayla doesn't like white? What if she'd rather have a black one? Or pink for that matter?"

"Stefan." I said catching his attention. "It's fine. They'll love it."

He seemed to calm down by that.

"Okay," he smiled and grabbed my hand. We brought the items to the car and drove back to the charity place. We delivered our items with a smile and wrote a greeting for the kids on a small piece of paper.

"Thank you." The host smiled as we left.

"You're welcome," I smiled back.