Chapter Text
Luckily, her condition hasn’t been worsening lately, although she’s still been feeling unwell from the chemotherapy. However, her oncologist said that her new scans weren’t showing much improvement compared to her previous ones. They’re considering adjusting her dosage, or maybe adding a new drug to—
“...Chase!”
Chase was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of Deacon calling his name. He had been perched by the window of the tower, watching to see when Prunella would arrive, when his mind had drifted to recalling what his uncle had told him at their most recent visit to see his mother. He looked at Deacon.
“Did you catch any of that?” Deacon asked.
“Uh, totally,” Chase answered absentmindedly. “Book stuff. Whatever you picked sounds good.” He gave a dismissive wave and returned to looking out the window. “Oh, I see Prunella. I’ll go get her.” Chase left the windowsill and climbed down the ladder to the tower without another word. Deacon watched him, a look of concern crossing his face, and sighed once Chase was out of earshot.
“Deacon?” asked a sweet voice. Deacon looked down to see Silver looking up at him, her glittering pink eyes wide and her brow knit with worry. “Chase seems upset today, do you know if he is alright?” Deacon sighed again.
“Things still aren’t looking great for Aunt Myra,” he said somberly. “She’s stable for now but… she’s not getting better either. Plus, these last few stories we’ve done have gone off the rails more so than usual, so I think he’s also feeling the pressure of not getting narratonin as quickly as he would like.”
“He certainly won’t be getting a lot of narratonin if he’s that stressed out,” Bronze mused.
“Poor Chase,” Silver said sadly. “I wish that there was something more we could do for him. Is there any way I can help him enjoy the stories more? Should I work harder on his outfits?”
Deacon shook his head. “No, Silver, he always really loves your outfits, you’re doing a great job as it is. I’m not sure how to help him, honestly.”
“Perhaps master Chase needs a different type of story to inspire him!” Goldie prompted.
“I guess it is hard when he mostly ends up in danger and with princes trying to mack on him,” Deacon pondered. “I’m not sure what other stories we have though… ah, wait a second.” Deacon got up from where he was sitting and walked over to a stack of books in the corner. “I have notes for this one, but we haven’t done it yet because I thought it was a bit too cheesy.” He pulled the book in question out of the stack and held it up for the keys to see.
“Love Between the Christmas Trees,” Silver read aloud. “That sounds romantic! And also festive!”
“There are tons of books like this,” Deacon continued. “I grabbed this one at a yard sale because it was cheap and I thought it might be a good change of pace if we ever got sick of fairy tales. It’s not the most well-written, and it’s still a romance, but Chase loves Christmas, so I think he might have a better time. There won’t be any danger either, unless you count getting an upset stomach from drinking too much eggnog.”
“That sounds wonderful!” Silver beamed, clasping her hands together. “I’m sure Chase will enjoy that very much!”
“Seems worth trying,” Bronze said. “Bring me back a candy cane, would you?”
“Bronze, you and I both know I can’t do that,” Deacon frowned.
“Maybe if you tried harder,” Bronze replied with a shrug and a sly smile.
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of someone ascending the ladder to the tower. Prunella’s head popped up from the hole.
“Hi everybody,” she greeted, climbing up into the room.
“Miss Prunella!” Goldie exclaimed with a boisterous wave. “Ready to embark on a new adventure today?”
“Yeah, sure,” Prunella grumbled, casting a sidelong glance at Chase as he came up the ladder into the tower. “Ready to do more baby books Chase picked out for me.”
“Save it, kid,” Chase sighed. “We’ve been over this like, a billion times and I’m not in the mood to argue with you. Take these snacks I packed for you and skedaddle.” Chase handed Prunella a paper bag, which Prunella took with indignation.
“Fine,” Prunella said with a roll of her eyes. “Let’s go, Goldie.”
“Right ho! Let’s have another great adventure today!” Goldie promptly transformed into his key form, and Prunella begrudgingly entered the book Happy Friends and the Island of Unicorns.
“Alright Dorkin, I’m ready when you are,” Chase said.
“All set,” Deacon replied. “I think we’ll start with a different book than what I was originally thinking though.”
“Oh, okay. Why’s that?”
“You’ll see.”
When Chase opened his eyes, he found himself squinting against the bright light of sunshine reflecting off of the pure white snow that covered the land around him. He blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted and he was able to take in the residential street he was standing on, populated with neat rows of adorable Craftsman-style bungalows, each adorned with a different combination of string lights and wreaths, some with snowmen or reindeer lawn ornaments in their front yards. He looked down to see that Silver had outfitted him in a teal green puffer coat, a cream-colored knitted scarf with matching gloves, and dark blue jeans that were tucked into fur-trimmed snow boots. Chase turned to Deacon, who was wearing dark blue parka, black slacks, and a simple pair of black snow boots.
“Uh, are we in… now times?” Chase asked, looking confused. “This doesn’t look very ye-olde-fairytale.”
“I thought we could try something new,” Deacon grinned. “A lot of contemporary adult fiction would be pretty boring compared to the stuff we usually do, but this is one of those Christmas romance books, so it should still feel a little magical. Who doesn’t love to do Christmas in July sometimes? Here are your notes, by the way.” Deacon handed Chase a stack of note cards.
“Wait…” Chase said slowly, taking the note cards, realization beginning to dawn on his face. “You mean there are books that have the same stories as those Christmas TV movies that Grandma always watched? Where someone is trying to escape their stuffy boring city life so they go to a small Christmas town and fall in love with someone there and also fall in love with Christmas?!”
“Yep, that’s basically it.”
“That’s… AMAZING!” Chase shouted with glee. “I mean, I still have to hang out with a princey guy, but instead of talking about boring princey stuff we can talk about Christmas stuff! This is going to be way more fun! Wait, do you hear that?” Chase went silent, cocking his head to the side. They both listened in silence for a moment, until they realized they could faintly hear the sound of jingle bells ringing.
“Is that… coming from somewhere?” Deacon asked. “It almost feels like it’s just coming from the sky...”
“Oh my God, this book has its own background music!” Chase exclaimed. “This is awesome, way to find a book that’s actually fun for once!”
“I feel like faintly hearing Christmas music the whole time will get old fast… let’s just start heading over to the first scene. It should be that way, downtown.” Deacon pointed down the street, where the darling homes gave way to larger buildings on what looked to be the main thoroughfare of the town. The two of them began walking in that direction, and before long, they arrived in the bustling heart of the rustic middle-America town.
All around were residents pleasantly strolling on the sidewalks, waving and chatting with one another with effortless familiarity. While snow neatly blanketed the grass and rooftops, the sidewalks and streets were perfectly clear and dry, absent of any gray slush or ice. Chase and Deacon passed a small park that had an octagonal wooden pavilion in the center, intricately carved and painted a perfect bright white. It was decorated with red ribbons that twisted around each post, blooming into large, intricate bows at the tops, and wreaths hung on each of the railing sections. Near it, some children were working on building a snowman, while a golden retriever wearing a red and green tartan bandana joyfully bounded around them. Every storefront they passed was downright adorable, having been lovingly adorned with all manner of festive decorations—lights, wreaths, ribbons, and even the occasional painted window mural.
“Wow, and I thought I loved Christmas,” Chase quipped, taking in the boisterous display of holiday cheer. “Everything looks exactly like every single one of those Christmas romance movies. Do people really like them so much that they need to read them as books, too?”
“Guess so,” Deacon replied, shrugging. “It’s all formulaic enough that it’s probably pretty easy to write up a dozen of these stories, whether it’s for a screenplay or a novel.”
“Yeah,” Chase said with a laugh. “I think I could probably get through this story without any of your notes just fine. Let me guess, I get to hang out with a hunky guy and then we talk about Christmas so much we fall in love?”
“More or less,” Deacon said. “The heroine comes back to her hometown right before Christmas, because she got dumped by her fiancé back in the big city that she moved to for a job at a marketing firm.”
“She should have known she wouldn’t find true love outside of her wholesome Christmas hometown!”
“Right,” Deacon snorted before continuing. “She’s staying at her parents’ house, but they’re away on vacation because she told them she would be working on Christmas and wouldn’t be coming home. I’m the heroine’s friend that she reconnects with after getting back into town. Mostly she just helps encourage the heroine to forget her ex and pursue the new guy. She runs a bakery, but now that we’re here, it seems like there are… a lot of them?” Sure enough, while walking down the idyllic main street of the town, they had already passed four different bakeries, and could see signs for nearly half a dozen more up ahead.
“Huh, yeah,” Chase replied, scratching his head. “Do you think it’s the one that only sells Yule logs, or that one over there that only sells gingerbread?”
“I’m pretty sure I wrote down what it’s called,” Deacon muttered, pulling note cards out of his coat pocket and beginning to flip through them. “Uhh… it’s ‘Deck the Doughs’... not sure what the author was thinking when they came up with that one.” Deacon shook his head. “Whatever. So pretty soon the heroine—meaning you—will meet a new guy. He’s the nephew of the owners of the local Christmas tree farm, and he just moved to town a little while ago to take over the business so that they could avoid selling the farm to real estate developers.”
“Wait,” Chase interrupted. “That’s not the conflict here? They do the whole, ‘We have to stop this beloved local business from being turned into condos!’ thing before the book even starts?”
“Well, yes,” Deacon sighed. “This is where Buddy’s role comes in. After the heroine meets the lumberjack guy, she finds out that the rich girl who bullied her in high school is also trying to get with him.”
“Great,” Chase groaned. “Bullying me is already Buddy’s one and only hobby, so I’m sure he’ll have a blast.”
“It’s not so bad,” Deacon offered. “The villainess mostly just tries to badmouth you to the hero and sabotage a date or two. At least we know he won’t have demon powers or try to kill you, so what’s the worst he cou—” Deacon’s words were cut short when a snowball suddenly collided with his face.
Standing smugly in front of them on the sidewalk was none other than Buddy, looking pleased with himself. He was wearing a long, black trench coat, buttoned and tied at the waist, with pearlescent bead embroidery accents on the lapels, sleeve cuffs, and bottom hems, as if covered in glittering frost. A dark gray knitted scarf was tucked neatly into the collar of his coat. His legs were clad in snug black pants, tucked into black leather boots that rose to knee height. He was casually throwing a second snowball in the air before catching it again in a gloved hand. The moment their eyes met, Chase felt a familiar flutter in his chest, but his indignation on his cousin’s behalf quickly eclipsed the feeling.
“Hey! What the heck Buddy, are you allergic to Christmas cheer or something?!” Chase yelled, Deacon still sputtering beside him as he wiped the snow from his eyes.
“Bah humbug,” Buddy said with a smirk. “You know, I’d say I’m surprised that you’ve managed to find a book even more simplistic than usual, but I’m really not. I almost admire your ceaseless commitment to doing as little work as possible. Although, I don’t doubt that you two idiots will find a way to completely ruin even a story as trite as this one.” He lobbed the snowball in his hand towards Chase, but it sailed harmlessly over his head.
“Ha!” Chase exclaimed. “Missed me, stupid!” Deacon, having cleared most of the snow from his face, rolled his eyes in annoyance.
“Oh, whoops,” Buddy replied with faux surprise, his lips still curled into a haughty smirk. “If you weren’t so short it would have been a perfect hit. Aren’t you lost, by the way? Santa’s workshop is much farther north, you know.”
“You—! I’m pretty sure you’re lost, because this isn’t Huge Jerk Town!”
“Chase, please,” Deacon interjected, sounding exasperated and putting a hand on Chase’s shoulder. “Let’s just go, stop giving him the satisfaction of ticking you off.“
“Rest assured, Freckles, that I feel plenty satisfied right now,” Buddy said. “Even so, you idiots really should be on your way, before you’re once again late to a scene.” He stepped to the side and leaned against a lamp post, arms folded, so that they could pass.
“Whatever,” Chase huffed. “I’m not going to let a boring mall goth like you ruin my Christmas fun anyways! I’m going to have a super festive fun time no matter what you try to do!”
“Be my guest,” Buddy replied, rolling his eyes. Chase shot Buddy a final sour look, one that Buddy deliberately ignored as he and Deacon walked by, before continuing down the main street, past more bakeries, toy shops, gift shops, and cafes.
“Stupid Buddy,” Chase grumbled. “Almost didn’t recognize him without a stupid shirt with a stupid low neckline that shows off his stupid collarbones. But he’s probably wearing something like that under the coat. I bet he’s going to take his coat off all dramatically later and it’ll be like, ‘Bam! Here’s a sexy shirt that shows off half of my stupid torso.’”
“Uh… sure,” Deacon said, giving Chase an odd look before he returned to looking at his notes. “Anyways, most of the plot is you spending time with the lumberjack guy and getting to know him. Then the villainess is going to host a party where you’ll get a phone call from work telling you that you need to come back. The lumberjack overhears and tries to stop you from abandoning Christmas or whatever, but the villainess tries to interfere by telling him that you’re engaged, because at one point you drop your engagement ring and she’s the one who finds it. You also haven’t told anyone that he dumped you and that that’s why you came here in the first place, so that’s important to keep in mind: don’t mention the heroine’s ex-fiancé to anyone.”
“Psh, why would I?” Chase asked dismissively. “He sounds like he sucks anyways. She’s better off without him.” Chase felt around inside of his coat pockets and pulled out a diamond engagement ring. “No wonder she drops the ring, she’s just keeping it in her coat pocket. I’ll just give it to Buddy later.”
“This next part is also important,” Deacon continued. “The lumberjack leaves the party, and the heroine follows him home—”
“Wow, creepy much?”
“Well it’s supposed to be romantic, because she tells him about her engagement being called off and how she isn’t going to go back to the city, because the most important things are here or whatever… but it doesn’t really matter because a snowstorm comes in out of nowhere so she can’t leave anyways. She has to stay the night there to wait out the storm, they have a romantic yet chaste evening, and that’s when they confess their love to each other.”
“Man,” Chase sighed. “I have to spend a whole night alone with this guy? That’s going to be so weird. Maybe we can just sing Christmas songs and make popcorn garlands so it feels more like a fun holiday sleepover and less like what you just described.”
“Yeah, I dunno, just go to bed early and it’ll be over sooner,” Deacon shrugged. “After that you just go to the town’s Christmas Eve parade and the book is over.”
“Hey, that sounds fun again! Still way better than being kidnapped or framed for murder.”
Chase and Deacon arrived in front of Deck the Doughs, a cozy-looking bakery with loaves of bread scored with festive designs and pastries intricately braided into wreaths proudly displayed in the front window, shiny and golden under the warm lights shining down on them.
“Deacon, I think this is the best role you’ve ever had,” Chase said dreamily, his face glued to the window.
“Alright, c’mon Chase,” Deacon smiled, opening the door and ushering him inside. The heat from the kitchen rushed to greet them as soon as they stepped inside, followed by the intoxicating smell of freshly baked bread. From behind the counter, a young woman looked up at them and beamed.
“Hi Emma!” she greeted Deacon. “What brings you in on your day off? You look cute today, by the way.” Deacon’s face immediately turned bright red.
“O-oh!” he replied sheepishly, his mouth curling into an awkward grin. “Yeah, haha, h-hi! Hi, yeah… that’s me, I, uh, I just uh… my friend! I-I brought… a friend! Her name is, uh, Cha—I mean, um, haha, t-this is… Claire.” Deacon half-gestured towards Chase.
“Oh my God, Dorkin,” Chase muttered. “Would it actually kill you to have one normal conversation with a girl?” He gave the woman at the counter a friendly wave. “Yep, hi, I’m Claire I guess! I’m here from Big City, USA, because of Christmas. Nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you too!” she replied cheerfully. “It must have taken you a long time to drive all the way out here from the city! Do you want a croissant? We just pulled a batch out of the oven, it’ll be on the house since you’re with the boss!”
“Oooh, don’t mind if I do!” Chase said eagerly, pulling his gloves off and walking up to the counter. The woman briefly stepped into the back area and returned with a perfectly golden croissant on a small plate. “Thanks!” Chase grinned, accepting the plate from her as he stuffed his gloves into his coat pocket.
“We also have free hot chocolate on the table over there if you want some! I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything else!” With a wave, she once again retreated to the room behind the counter. Chase turned to look where she had pointed, and sure enough a hot beverage dispenser with a sign reading “Free Hot Chocolate” sat in the middle of a rectangular table stationed against the wall, alongside a bowl full of marshmallows and a canister of whipped cream.
“This place rules,” Chase said. He put his plate down on one of the small tables. “C’mon Dorkin, quit being weird and come get some hot chocolate.” This seemed to snap Deacon out of his flustered stupor.
“O-oh, uh… yeah, sure,” he mumbled. The two of them filled Christmas-themed mugs with complimentary hot chocolate and set them down on the table.
“Alright, I’m taking this coat off because it’s super hot in here and I want to see what else Silver made for me,” Chase declared. He quickly unzipped his puffer coat and pulled it off. Underneath, he was wearing a bright red sweater with a large image of a Christmas tree taking up most of the front. The sweater was embellished with colorful pom-poms and ribbons meant to look like decorations on the tree. The sleeves were striped red and white like candy canes, and from the neckline sprouted a white collar from a button-up shirt.
“Wow, that’s—” Deacon started.
“The BEST!” Chase interjected excitedly. “Oh man, Silver nailed the gaudy Christmas sweater look, I gotta tell her how amazing she did when we’re done.”
“Well, it does suit you,” Deacon chuckled, removing his own coat. Chase, briefly distracted from admiring Silver’s handiwork, looked up to see what Bronze had outfitted Deacon in, and failed to suppress a laugh.
“I like the apron,” he snickered. Deacon looked down at himself in confusion. True to his role in the story, Deacon was outfitted in a white chef’s coat, with a wine red bib apron snugly overtop. The apron featured embroidery that read “Kiss the cook” in an intricate cursive script, alongside an embroidered bundle of mistletoe.
“Oh my God,” Deacon groaned, putting his face in his hands. “I forget to buy more chocolate peanut butter cups ONE time and this is what he does.”
“Chill, Dorkin, it’s not that bad. Just take it off if it bothers you that much.”
“Yeah, I don’t have to put up with this,” Deacon grumbled, reaching behind his back to untie the apron strings. “I’ll just… wait…” As he felt around where the strings were, Deacon realized in horror that he could not untie them—they were sewn into the fabric of his shirt, as was the rest of the apron.
“Seriously Bronze?!” he lamented, while Chase giggled again. “Ugh, whatever. The hero is about to show up, so let’s just get to the scene and get this all over with.”
Right on cue, the door to the bakery opened, and in walked the man they were waiting for. He was tall and burly, with dark hair and a beard, wearing a red plaid flannel shirt underneath a tan corduroy jacket. He was immensely good-looking, in an effortless and rugged sort of way. He gave Deacon a friendly wave.
“Morning Emma, good to see you,” he greeted, unleashing a handsome smile. He locked eyes with Chase, his gaze lingering as a subtle look of enchantment took form on his chiseled face. “I don’t believe we’ve met—I’m Nick.” He extended a calloused hand towards Chase.
“Oh, hi,” Chase said, stepping forward to shake his hand. “I’m, uh, Claire, it’s nice to meet y—” Chase suddenly gagged, having been overwhelmed by the strong scents of pine, cranberries, and cinnamon that had flooded his nostrils once he was closer to Nick. Chase began to cough as Deacon looked on, grimacing.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Claire,” Nick replied, Chase’s reaction evidently having not been shared by the heroine.
“Sure,” Chase coughed again. “Are you wearing, like, an entire bottle of cologne or something? Or are you maybe being haunted by the ghost of a candle from Soaps, Lotions and Candles?”
“Oh, do I smell a little like pine?” Nick chuckled. “Must be all the time I spend at the Brunell Family Christmas Tree Farm. I’m actually the owner these days, since my aunt and uncle have retired.”
“Yeah man, I totally know about the Christmas tree farm already, since I grew up here…?” Chase gave Deacon a questioning look, and Deacon responded with an affirmative nod.
“Is that so? Home for the holidays, I take it?”
“She’s staying at her parents’ house, but they’re out of town,” Deacon chimed in. “She didn’t think she’d get the time off from her job in the city, so they planned a trip.”
“Well, if you need a little extra Christmas cheer around the house, you should come up to the farm later,” Nick offered with a warm smile. “I’d love to help you pick a tree out, if you’d like.”
“Um, I think I have plenty of Christmas cheer already, thank-you-very-much,” Chase scoffed, putting his hands on his hips. “I’m basically having the most Christmas fun a guy can have already, and once I find this house, I’m going to decorate it for Christmas in the best and most fun way ever.” Deacon gave Chase a stern look. “...I mean, but a tree would help that so, uh, yeah I can come to the farm I guess.” Chase gave Nick a weak smile.
“Great!” Nick beamed. “Come up anytime you feel like it and I’ll be happy to help you out.” The woman running the bakery counter returned from the kitchen, having heard the chatter coming from the entryway.
“Hey, Nick!” she greeted, smiling. “I’ve got your order ready to go when you are.”
“Perfect, thanks Katie!” He went up to the counter to pay for his order, and the two of them chatted pleasantly. Chase pulled Deacon aside.
“Dude, how am I supposed to get to this guy’s tree farm if I don’t even know where it is?” Chase hissed. “Do I even have a car?”
“I think you do,” Deacon whispered back. “You should probably have a phone, too. The heroine has both of those things.” Chase felt around inside of his pants pockets before producing a keychain in one hand, a smartphone in the other.
“Cool!” Chase whispered, barely keeping his voice down. “This book just got even easier, this is awesome!” Chase returned both items to his pockets as Nick came back to where he and Deacon were standing, a bagged loaf of bread in his hand.
“Well ladies,” Nick said brightly. “I’d better get back. Claire, it was wonderful to meet y—” Nick was cut off by the chime of a bell as the bakery door opened. In walked Buddy, looking haughty as usual.
“Well, what a surprise,” he crooned, pulling his gloves off of his hands. “Fancy running into all of you here. Nick, I was meaning to come to the farm today to talk to you about getting some trees for the party.” Buddy walked over to Nick and put his hand on his arm. For a moment, Buddy’s nose wrinkled, before he quickly forced himself to smile again. Chase snorted at this, making a face at Buddy, and in return Buddy scowled at him. “And it’s so good to see you after so long,” he said as he turned to face Chase, once again faking a smile while his voice dripped with sarcasm.
“Sloane, you know Claire?” Nick asked.
“Oh yes, we know each other quite well,” Buddy responded. “So many… fun memories with this little firecracker. Haven’t seen her since graduation though, such a shame.”
“Yeah right,” Chase shot back. “Deacon told me the villainess was the heroine’s high school bully, so don’t act like they were gal pals.”
“What’s a little light-hearted teasing among friends?” Buddy asked with a shrug, maintaining his pleasant facade. “Then again, you always had a hard time taking a joke.”
“Is that what you call it when you—”
“Say!” Buddy interrupted. “Did your friend tell you about the party I’m hosting tomorrow night? Since you’re in town, you should come.”
“Yeah, not like I have an actual choice,” Chase shrugged.
“Sounds like we’ll all be there then!” Nick said brightly. “I really need to get going. Sloane, feel free to come up to the farm if you want to talk about getting those trees for the party, or just give me a call if you’d prefer. And Claire, it was lovely to meet you, really. You all have a great rest of your day if I don’t see you later.” He waved and left the bakery.
The moment the door closed, Buddy turned back to Chase and Deacon, looking annoyed. “Is it really so hard to stick to a script, especially one as mind-numbingly simple as this?”
“Relax, you goth Grinch,” Chase replied with a dismissive wave. “Tree Guy didn’t think anything was weird. Too busy thinking about Christmas trees, I guess.” While he was speaking, Buddy gave Chase a once-over.
“Did you ask your key to make that outfit for you?” he asked, his expression a mix of confusion and disgust. “Or is it meant to be some sort of cruel punishment?”
“Uuugh, it’s a Christmas sweater, Buddy, it’s supposed to be obnoxious and fun, and I like it very much!” Chase crossed his arms with a huff, sticking his nose up. “Not that you would understand, Mr. I-Hate-Christmas-Because-I’m-So-Edgy. Maybe you should just imagine it’s a Halloween sweater, since that’s like, the goth equivalent to Christmas.” Buddy sighed.
“If you must know, I don’t hate Christmas itself so much as I hate ostentatious displays of tackiness,” he scoffed. “Something you’re clearly quite familiar with.”
“Pfft, listen to this guy,” Deacon muttered with derision. Buddy gave Deacon a disdainful look, having largely ignored him up until this point, then stifled a laugh as he read the words on Deacon’s apron.
“Nice apron,” he said, a mocking smile spreading across his face. “Though I think I’ll refrain from taking its advice.” Deacon shot him a glare. “Tell me,” Buddy continued, his smile twisting into a sneer. “What horrible urge possessed you to choose this gift-wrapped drivel masquerading as literature to waste my time with today?”
“Seriously, Buddy?” Chase sighed. “Is this book really that bad?”
“Yes it is that bad,” Buddy snapped, whipping back around to glare at Chase. “It’s freezing outside, the town’s residents all act like they’ve been lobotomized with a candy cane, and if I have to keep faintly hearing the sound of jingle bells I swear I’m going to—” Buddy stopped, having noticed the sign advertising free hot chocolate. He silently marched over to the table, filled a mug with hot chocolate, then promptly downed half of it, letting out a contented sigh after he finished.
“Well,” Buddy finally said. “I suppose there are technically worse ways to spend an afternoon.” He finished off what was left in his mug before filling it again, placing it on one of the other tables and pulling out one of the chairs. “Nevertheless, I’d prefer not to draw this out, so let’s just get on with the next scene.”
“Does it involve you drinking so much hot chocolate you explode?” Chase quipped.
Buddy ignored him and began to pull his scarf off of his neck. He then unbuttoned his coat before shrugging it off of his shoulders. In doing so, he revealed that he was wearing a deep violet-colored turtleneck sweater, woven with metallic purple threads that shimmered in the light as he moved. The sweater had a deep keyhole neckline, allowing for a glimpse at his chest, and cutouts on both sleeves exposing his shoulders. As he draped his coat and scarf on the back of a chair, Chase gave Deacon an I-told-you-so look, to which Deacon responded by merely rolling his eyes, before pulling out his character’s phone and starting to tap around on it. Chase’s attention was immediately drawn back to Buddy, his eyes lingering on where the soft knit fabric gave way to bare skin. He quickly looked away as Buddy looked back up, nonchalantly examining the pastries in the display case. Buddy walked purposefully towards Chase until he was standing directly in front of him, peering down with a smirk as Chase felt his cheeks grow warm.
“This is the part where I tell you,” Buddy murmured in a low, sweet voice. “That I only invited you to my little party to be polite, because I still don’t like you. This is also where I tell you to stay away from the lumberjack, because I don’t like to share.”
“O-oh yeah?” Chase stammered, struggling to keep calm and not falter under Buddy’s intense gaze. “Well if you like him so much, you can have him!”
“Wha—” Buddy sputtered. “That’s obviously not going to happen, you little idiot. This whole asinine story is about the two of you falling in love by talking about Christmas.”
“Hey, I said the same thing earlier!”
“Hmph,” Buddy huffed, taking a step back. “Whatever, consider my role for this scene fulfilled. You and your little friend should run along to the next one so we can get this over with.” He sauntered back over to the table he had claimed earlier and plopped down in his seat, taking another long sip from his mug.
“Here, Chase,” Deacon said, walking over to Chase and showing him his phone’s screen. “I found a navigation app on this phone, and I think I figured out where the tree farm is. We should head over there.” Deacon started to put his coat back on.
“Yeah, alright,” Chase replied, putting his coat on as well. “See ya later, Buddy.” Chase gave Buddy a small wave, which Buddy responded to with a slight nod.
“Are you heading out, Emma?” called the woman from behind the counter—Katie, according to Nick. She had been in and out of the kitchen while the rest of them had been talking, bringing trays full of breads and pastries to stock the displays with. Deacon’s face reddened slightly once more.
“Uh!” he choked. “Yep! Y-yeah, going to get going now!”
“Great, well enjoy the rest of your day off! See you bright and early at four-thirty tomorrow!”
“Four… four-thirty?” Deacon questioned, his complexion now paling. “In the morning…?”
“Ha! Good one boss,” Katie laughed. “You know how much we still have to get done for Sloane’s party!” Deacon gave Buddy a deadly look. Buddy hummed, taking another sip of hot chocolate while looking nonchalant.
“Yeah,” Deacon sighed. “See you tomorrow then… bright and early.” With that, Chase and Deacon left the bakery.
“Great,” Deacon grumbled as they stepped back onto the whimsical streets. “Apparently I have to go to work tomorrow.”
“Aw man,” Chase complained as he looked down at his character’s phone. “This phone is like one of those fake phones they show on TV that just has basic stuff on it. How am I supposed to keep up with the celebrity gossip in this world if there’s no social media?”
“Cool, glad you’re focused on what’s important,” Deacon said. “Instead of messing around, can you see if the heroine has the address to her parents’ house in there? We need to figure out where it is.” Chase tapped around on the phone some more.
“Um… oh! I think it’s this one: 7 Cherry Lane. Isn’t that where we started the book?”
“Alright, let’s get there so we can get the car and go up to the tree farm.” They continued on their way, back down the glittering, festive residential streets, the quiet sound of chiming jingle bells heard all around them.