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“I still don’t understand why we’re doing all of this,” Jake states, an unamused expression on his face.
The golden glow of the Christmas lights on the tree illuminate Andy’s face as he adjusts the silver tinsel, making sure it is perfectly placed upon the tree. The plastic branches are strategically adorned with numerous red bulb ornaments. “Oh, come on, Jake!” Andy turns to face his boyfriend, then gesturing towards his handiwork. “You’re telling me you don’t feel any Christmas cheer right now? None at all?”
“No, I don’t, actually, because it’s not December. It’s July.” Jake deadpans.
Andy’s expression becomes slightly exasperated, but in such a subtle manner that only someone who knows him as long and as well as Jake does would see it behind his smile. Jake finds a strange sense of pride in that. “Yes, it’s July. I can read a calendar.”
“So why are we here then?”
“Because we live here. Together. In a gay way.”
“I meant that metaphorically, fuckwit.”
Andy ignores the insult. “We have Christmas in July so that we as Australians can have the classic winter Christmas experience.”
“That’s American propaganda and you know it.”
“It is not!” Andy shakes his head and steps closer to Jake. “Is your entire family this cynical?”
Jake thinks for a moment. “Well, my dad doesn’t care about much of anything one way or the other.” He laughs facetiously. “My mums love this sort of thing, though -- well, mum does, anyway. Phoebe might just be tolerating it for her. I don’t know.”
Andy points his index finger at Jake, stepping even closer. “I’m gonna make you have a great time today if it’s the last thing I do.” He glares up at him, pretending to be angry. “Mark my words.”
“Threatening. I’m shaking in my boots.” Jake’s grin seeps through his sarcasm. Andy shakes his head, smiling as well, then walks away to grab the last of the decorations that were stored away. He returns with a large cardboard box, setting it on the kitchen table, Jake leaving the living room to join him.
“Oh, would you look at that?” Andy says, faux-surprised, grabbing the mistletoe that was very conveniently placed on the top of the pile in the box. He lifts it by its string, raising it up, his arm outstretched high into the air. The mistletoe merely dangles in front of Jake’s face, the top barely reaching the top of his forehead.
Jake smiles, amused. “You know you’re too short to put me under it, right?”
“You do it, then.” Andy retorts.
“Gladly.” Jake takes the string from Andy’s grasp, easily holding it above them both. “See how my arm is still bent a little? That’s because I’m not sho--”
Andy cuts him off by pressing their lips together, his hands cupping Jake’s cheeks. Jake places his unoccupied hand upon Andy’s waist, welcoming the rude interruption.
Outside of their apartment, the sound of blaring music rapidly approaches, becoming louder by the second. The pair break apart, looking in the direction of the noise.
“That must be Sam and Felix,” Andy says, heading towards the front door, Jake soon following.
“Merry Christmas!” Sam yells as Andy opens the door to greet them. There is a moment of silence before he hesitantly adds, “In July.” In his hands resides a large speaker, blaring “Last Christmas” by Wham!. Felix is to the left, a half-apologetic look on his face.
Jake looks at Sam’s jumper -- black, printed in a pixelated art style with green pine trees on the top, red and white writing beneath it reading, “All I want for Christmas is One Direction” -- and laughs. “Nice jumper, mate.”
Sam laughs, too. “Sick, right?”
“Do you have to play that so loud?” Jake asks, wincing at the volume of the music. “You’re gonna get us evicted.”
“Am not!” Sam protests. “And this is the best Christmas song! You’ve gotta play it at full volume, dude.”
“He’s been playing it for days,” adds Felix, Sam nodding solemnly in confirmation.
Jake sighs, retreating back into the apartment, Andy doing the same with Sam and Felix following.
“We’re nearly finished with the tree,” says Andy, enthusiastically leading Sam into the kitchen, with Jake and Felix staying in the living room.
“Place looks good,” Felix compliments. “Very festive.”
“Oh, it’s all Andy’s doing. He loves this stuff.”
Felix nods. “Figured.”
“Are you really into all of this?” Jake lowers his voice so it is only heard by Felix. “All this ‘Christmas in July’ shit? It just seems kinda pointless to me.”
“Maybe it is.” Felix moves his gaze towards the kitchen, watching Sam and Andy gleefully rummage through the box. “But it makes him this happy twice a year.” He smiles fondly at the sight of his boyfriend laughing and dancing around with spare tinsel he found in the box. “That’s not pointless to me.”
“Dudes!” yells Sam, tinsel still in hand. “The song’s starting again!” He spins around to the music, causing the tinsel to wrap itself around his torso. Sam twirls his way towards Felix, handing him the bit of tinsel that hasn’t wrapped around him. With a speed that implies the pair have done this before, Felix spins around Sam, untangling him. He is freed just in time to start singing along with the song.
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart,
But the very next day, you gave it away.
This year, to save me from tears,
I'll give it to someone special.
“Where the hell is it?” Andy mutters to himself, rummaging through the box, his movements progressively becoming more frantic by the minute. “I know it’s in here.”
“Jake,” Sam begins. “You’ve gotta dance!”
He scoffs. “No way.”
“Oh, come on.” Sam grabs Jake’s hands, lifting one hand into the air, then putting it down and raising the other, back and forth in a rhythmic pattern, synced with the bell-like pings in the music. “Stop being so fucking miserable!”
“Take it back, cunt--”
“Bet you won’t dance, cunt–”
“Bet, cunt!” Jake begins bobbing his head, swaying around the room, Sam mimicking his movements.
Felix shakes his head. “I will never understand your friendship.”
“Good,” they both say simultaneously.
“Got it!” Andy yells from the kitchen, rushing to join the group. In his hands is a tree topper -- a silver star, large and coated in glitter. “Who wants to put the star on?”
Andy, Sam and Felix all slowly turn their heads to Jake. “What? Why me?”
“You are the tallest,” supplies Felix.
With that, Jake sighs, knowing there is no use trying to argue with any of them. He approaches Andy, taking the star from his hands, then begins walking towards the Christmas tree.
“Top the tree!” Sam begins chanting, moving his fists up and down as he says the words. “Top the tree!” Quickly, the rest of the group joins in, increasing their volume as Jake gets closer to the tree.
“I hate all of you,” Jake proclaims, before reaching upwards and placing the star in its place. His friends run up to him, cheering, and engulf him in a group hug.
In the embrace of his best friends -- the love of his life, his childhood best friend who has been there with him for most of his life, and one of the only people he has that constantly has him challenging his own perspective -- he can’t help but smile. He can’t think of many other moments where he has ever felt this happy, this loved. This, he thinks, is his family.
Maybe Christmas in July isn’t as terrible as he thought.