19

I've always been good at denying things. Ignoring them, like they don't exist. My parents wouldn't know about my bad grades until they got a letter addressing them. When my dog died, I couldn't take it (I was only 7 years old), and I pretended like he was staying with my aunt for a while. One of my best childhood friends was a girl I met while on vacation, and when we went home, I acted like she had come with us.

Even now, with my heart pounding, my face flushed, I keep denying. It's because it shocked me. It's because I ran. It's because it's cold. I'm fine, I'm okay with being alone, it's just my imagination running wild because I am still a teen, just barely an adult.

Before long, I arrive at my own doorstep, out of breath and out of reasons to refute. Luckily, one of the maids opens the door before I can give my brain any space to form a truth, which wakes me up from my trance-like state and brings my focus back to the real world.

"Ah, sir! Are you alright? You look tired." The maid called Christine looks truly worried. She is a sweet girl, but every time she's around, I get the feeling everything we say is a secret, that we have to whisper. It's like she is holding back, like she is keeping something hidden, and I have to contribute to that. It's weird. But despite that, there's a connection between us. As if we're on the same wavelength. I don't know why.

"I'm fine. Just went for a run because I didn't want to be in the cold air for too long," I say, my breath slowing down and stabilizing again. "Are you on your way out for the groceries?"

"Yes. Dinner won't prepare itself!" She giggles. With a recyclable bag in one hand and a small wallet in the other, she walks past me, waving goodbye. One day, she'll make a man a very happy groom, I'm sure.

I walk in and quickly close the door, not wanting to make the hallway cold and waste energy on heating again. As fast as I can, I head upstairs, into my room. I throw myself on my bed and grab one of the many teddy bears crowding it. Before my mind can focus on anything I'm trying to run from, I grab my phone.

A few minutes of scrolling through Instagram later, I get a message. Noah has sent 2 messages in the group Christmas Boys

Noah:

Hey guys

Nuri, send me your address, I forgot it T-T

Oh no, tomorrow's events totally slipped my mind! I haven't even wrapped the gift yet! I quickly send them my address before storming out of my room, running into Chizu, who was just walking past my door.

"Sorry, Chizu!" I stop to see if she's okay. She doesn't seem hurt, smiling at me as if nothing happened. "You're fine? Good." I let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes. Why are you in such a rush?" she responds, patting my head and giving a smile. Remembering Jerah's similar actions, the genuine smile and the feeling of his hand on my head, makes me blush. I blame it on my hormones and on the young girl standing in front of me.

Seeing my shocked face, she pulls back quickly "I'm sorry!" she apologizes.

Wanting to forget this happened, I change the subject. "Chizu, do you know where the wrapping paper is?" I ask her, remembering my goal. "I still have to wrap my gift for tomorrow."

"Hmmm... Follow me," she says after thinking for a few seconds. We walk towards the stairs, going down a few floors and arriving in the cellar. This is Chizu's territory; she knows where to find everything.

As we go through the maze of stalls, I am amazed by what we have down here. I've never seen 80% of this in our home, and about 10% I've never even seen or heard of. Before long, we arrive at a stall full of wrapping paper. I guess we need it, with how many people we know and how many gifts we give to them. Still...

"This is way too much..." I say as I rub the back of my head. "But that's great. Thank you, Chizu!" I dive into the different kinds of paper, looking at what fits my gift, what kind still has enough to wrap that big of a gift, and what fits Noah.

When I turn around with my arms full of wrapping paper, Chizu is already gone. I need to find a way out myself now. "If I stay close to the wall, I should find it, right? But where did we come from..?" Confused, I decide to go right, keeping the wall on my left side.

---

Wrong side. After half an hour, I finally found the exit. Apparently the cellar was even bigger than I thought, and going to the other wall would've been faster. It's almost 5 o'clock now, so I should hurry if I want to finish before dinner's ready. I walk up the stairs, then walk up the other stairs, until I arrive at my bedroom door.

The gift is huge. I underestimated its size and the amount of wrapping paper I need for it. I sigh in defeat as I get about 75% wrapped before I use my final piece of paper. Now what? I could go back to the cellar, but that would take hours for me to find on my own, and finding Chizu isn't as easy as it sounds either...

I look around, trying to find anything to finish the wrapping without looking ridiculous. There's not a lot of paper to be found: a drawing I made when I was a little kid (an adorable teddy bear), some blank pieces, a few tests I got back and took home, and a few pictures. Pictures? Of course! I could just print out pictures of us, the band, his favourite other bands... That would fill it up!

I grab the blank pieces of paper and my phone, then walk to my dads office. I knock on the door twice. No answer, so I decide to walk in and do it myself. We have a lot of ink, a high quality printer, and enough money to buy something new if I mess up. Though I'd rather not do that.

Then, I spend yet another 30 minutes on looking up pictures, and 20 more on printing all of them. Just when I am about to go back to my room, I hear Christine call for me.

"Sir, dinner is ready!" she yells. Disappointed that I couldn't finish the task of wrapping the gift before dinner, I put down the sheets and head downstairs.

"Nuriel, you seem to be busy. Are you excited for tomorrow?" My mom waves as I walk into the dining room. I sit down next to her and without even looking at the food, I shove it in my mouth. I wish I could finish this quickly, but it's my favourite food: steak with fries. I can't help but savour the taste.

"Yes. I am wrapping Noah's gift. I can't wait to see the look on his face!" I grin as I put another piece of steak in my mouth. I like my steak medium rare, because it makes it juicy but chewy. I especially love to eat it with herb butter, which is like garlic butter, but with more herbs, and way more yummy.

I finally swallow the last fry, kiss my mom and dad goodnight, then hurry back upstairs. I grab the pictures from my dad's office, along with some more tape, since I almost ran out of that too, and get back to my room.

The rest of the evening is spent on arranging the pictures, then gluing them on. When I finally get in my bed again, I feel tired but satisfied, fully focused on tomorrow's events, denying today's once again.