Last Minute [open]

Being the oldest of all the Fallen, Louis decided to take on the duty of playing Santa.

Usually Roxy handled the holiday celebrations, but his paycheck was bigger during December, so he decided to buy a present for each of the members of the 'family'. However, he neglected to do it until the afternoon of the 24th and got caught in the last minute rush. By the time he got back and started wrapping, it was already 9 PM.

He sat cross-legged in the middle of the living room floor, surrounded by little clippings of wrapping paper (he only bought one kind, with little blue stars on it, to save money), and wadded up pieces of tape. A few had already been finished and were stacked on a nearby chair while he tried to wrestle Digg's present (a pair of comfy driving moccasins) into its awkward wrapping.

Louis glanced up at the chair and realized how bad of a job he had done. This was really only the second or third time he wrapped anything, and last year Amelia had helped him. Now he was on his own, regrettably, but it still had to be done.

The clock on the wall chimed the hour: it was 10 PM already and he still had quite a few to go. Louis sighed deeply and hoped he would finish in enough time to sneak off to bed before everyone else came downstairs in the morning.

%Mind if I join you? (Don't feel obligated to let me join just because I am an admin.)

((Go ahead, nobody else is <D))

%Gracias!

Wearing her blue velvet pajama pants, and a baggy black tee shirt, Cori headed to the living room. Under her arm she carried a stack of cheap gift certificates, and a roll of wrapping paper and tins. She couldn't think of anything else, so she got people coupons and discounts to their favorite stores. A few were harder to know what to get. Like Louis, he was always so quiet. And Diggs. Cori had finally settled on a certificate for a sports authority place for Louis. It was only 20 dollars, but she figured there might be something worth buying there. If not he could always just cash it in. For Diggs, she got a box of Milky Way's. She was always talking about how she wasn't eating sweets, but everyone knew about her secret stash of candy.

Cori pads into the living room, and gasps seeing someone already there. She quietly sits down, and lays down her load. Um? She questions hoping the person, Louis, would explain himself.

Louis almost jumped out of his skin when she sat down and narrowly avoided stabbing himself in the face with his scissors. He looked through the pile of gifts before remembering that Cori's gift (a sock monkey hat) was already wrapped and sitting behind her, labeled, but at the bottom of the pile. The man calmed down just a little, scooting away a little bit to allow her some room to wrap her own gifts.

((Hey, I'm drawing something. Is Preston more of a Mad Hatter or a Cheshire Cat?))

%What are you drawing? I think he might be more like the Cheshire Cat...

Are you Santa too? Cori ask him thinking that was really sweet because he didn't seem like the kind of guy that would do that. She starts to snip bits of paper off, and tape them around the cards. Yeah, no big suprise there. It would be like everyone knew what they were getting, but at least they would be getting something. She didn't know if she should talk, or just be quiet. See, the thing about just being quiet was that what if the other person felt awkward. It was all fine and good if you didn't feel awkward, but what if the other person didn't like it, and then you felt obliged to try to make some conversation even if you didn't want to.

((Okay, thanks! ... and you'll see soon enough.))

Louis gave a slow nod after a hesitation, then began labeling the gift in black marker. Once it was done, he tossed the package called 'Diggs' gently onto the chair with the rest of the gifts. He pulled a pair of sleek, black, padded sparring gloves his way, as well as a tiny green dress adorned along the bottom with vines and flowers, and a bird along the shoulder. Louis folded up the dress and wrapped it, then wrote a name on it before wrapping it in with the sparring gloves.

He sure was on odd one. Cori sighs, and soon finishes. Once all the cards are wrapped in nice shiny paper, she places them across the boughs of the tree, and stands back to admire her handy work. Then she turns to the man on the ground wrapping. How did you have enough money to buy presents for all of us? She wonders out loud thinking that it must be a Christmas miracle.

%Alice in Wonderland forum?

Louis had been saving up from his stick welding job most of the year (he did get paid fairly well), but he just shrugged at Cori's inquiry and continued wrapping the smaller present in with the bigger one.

((No, it's a picture. That's why I asked about Preston being the Cat vs the Hatter.))

%Ah I see.

Cori sighs, and sits down on the couch curling herself up in a ball. As if she could make herself smaller, and that would protect her. It was okay that Louis didn't answer her, she didn't mind the silence too much.

Once the package was wrapped and labeled 'Rocket' on the front, Louis set it on the chair with the others before rooting through the gifts to find Cori's. He tossed it to her on the other chair. She could open it now. She was playing Santa, too, anyway.

While Louis was satisfied by the smile, he wasn't in the least satisfied by the hugging going on. The second her arms wrapped around him he stiffened up, nerves on edge. His face glowed red, and he gently lifted a hand to pat her hair awkwardly.

}Scene: Roxy enters to find Cori and Louis embracing. She says, "Oh!" and leaves. Naw, just kidding. Ohh! I want to try..is it second person?

Roxy {OH!} was carrying a box down the hallway. She was headed for the living room; but frankly, she couldn't tell where she was going because the box was blocking her view. She had splurged on presents, her job at the burger joint providing a source, though small, of income. When she entered the living room, she was surprised to find it occupied. Cori and Louis were embraced, but Cori was doing most of the embracing which led Roxy to believe that Louis was suffering from one of Cori's hug attacks. Roxy heaved the box onto the couch and withdrew a small pad of paper from the pocket of her pajamas. One by one she emptied the box, crossing out names.

%No. It is third person. Second person is when some one writes to the reader. Like; You walk down the hall, and you can't see because of your box, and you then see your sister smooching a guy and you scream. Haha. that is second person.

Cori tears open the packet, and gasps when she sees the socks. Oh, thank you! Thank you! She says, and gives Louis a big smile. Cori pulls the most adorable hat over her ears, and hops around the living room happily. She finds his card on the tree, and sheepishly hands it to him. Roxy, whatcha doin'? Cori asks her sister curiously.

}Oh.....i knew that. I don't know, I like my first person.

"What? Me?" I looked up. "Just making sure I got everyone." I saw the sock monkey hat. "Oh, so we're opening gifts now?" I distractedly rooted through the pile of presents. "Cori," I threw a soft present at my sister. "Louis," I grabbed a box and gave it to him. Then I went back to sorting presents.

Cori's present:

Spoiler:

Louis' present:

Spoiler:

(Can I join)

}sure

Louis examined the card first and nodded to Cori, smiling weakly and tucking the card into his back pocket before opening Roxy's. He turned the shoes over: size 15 and a half, wide. The woman was a genius. It was especially nice since his other sneakers had worn out a few weeks ago and he was tired of running in his cowboy boots. He pushed the presents on the chair around before finding Roxy's and pushing it towards her on the floor, afraid to hit her with it while she was looking away. Her gift was a pair to Cori's: a polar bear hat with long enough tassels to be used as either a scarf or gloves. Louis worried a little about catching hell for giving the twins a similar gift, but he shook it off and continued to wrap presents, coiling Maya's present into a ball and wrapping it in paper.

%I don't know which one is easier. Sometime it depends on the setting...But it's nice when one person is using one of them and you use the same one.

Cori hops on the couch, and wraps her arms around her body that was curled into a ball. Next Christmas she would do better.

((I really dislike writing in first person.. <D For some reason I'm really bad at it.))

Louis turned back from his position in front of the couch and glanced at Cori before patting her head again, as if to say 'it's okay', before taping up Maya's present and tossing it atop the pile on the chair.

%It depends on the scenario...

Cori smiles at his sweetness. Maybe someday she would get to know him better, he seemed like a really cool guy.

This girl was confusing. Louis hoped he would be done wrapping soon so he could go to bed.

((... I've been listening to Irish drinking songs to get a feel for Louis, ahaha, but... these songs are rowdy and rude.))

%Louis; not so much loud and rowdy.

I'm going to bed. G'night. Cori says rubbing her eyes, and walking up stairs.