The light reflected off of the dangling decorations in the vast hallway as laughter rang through the house. A giggling fit almost caused to fall off of the ladder she was stood upon.

“Oi! Steady!” chuckled as he threw out his arm to stop her from falling backwards. They caught each other’s eyes, setting them off again.

“You two are not right in the head!”

The pair turned their heads to the doorway of the kitchen where their friend, , stood with a tray of freshly baked cookies.

squealed, “Oooh! Yummy!” She put her hands on ’s shoulder and leaped off of the ladder.”

“Careful!” he gasped after her, the ladder sliding back an inch as her foot left it.

shook her head in dismay as reach out and took a warm cookie.

She bit into it desperately, her eyes rolling back, “Mmmmmmm!”

“I’m glad you like them. Where’s ?” she tilted the tray at , offering him a biscuit.

He pointed upstairs with his free hand, “He’s upstairs getting more decorations. Think went up to help him.”

She nodded with a smile, “I think I’d best give some to the others first before he smells them.”

“Hey! I resent that!” a laugh came from the top of the stairs, “I’m not that bad.”

“You’re still not getting any before them,” she giggled, moving the tray a little further from him although he was nowhere near it. That man was like a ninja when it came to food.

“Aww, but babe!” he moved down a couple of steps.

She continued giggling, “No chance, babe.” She turned and gave him a smirk as she headed into the dining room to find . bounded down the stairs after her, determined to catch her before she reached their other friends.

“Erm… a little help here, guys?” ’s muffled voice was barely audible behind the mountain of boxes in his arms.

and looked up at him and laughed at the sight of their friend – or the lack of sight of him, rather – buried beneath the sea of cardboard. They looked at each other and burst out laughing again as they walked up the stairs to their friends’ aid. Hearing whine after just made them laugh even more, causing to double over with a stitch. took a couple of the lighter boxes from him and passed them to who, after adjusting herself so that stitch no longer hurt, made her way downstairs to guide the two lads down with the rest of the boxes. Looking up at them, she just knew that the coming week was going to be one of the best.

“Some assistance here, please?” called as she waited for her hot chocolate concoction to warm up in the pan. ’s ears instantly picked up her tone and he practically jumped out of his seat causing an outbreak of chuckles and giggling all round.

“You’d think you’d fancied her or something,” joked.

He pulled a face at her, reaching out a hand and pushing her head with the palm of his hand slightly as he passed her. His hand sprang back far too quickly and she barely grazed his hand with a light tap in response.

“Tosser!” she called after him, grinning.

“Love you too!” he gave her a cheeky smile as he passed through the doorway, making his way into the kitchen, “What can I do for you, babe?”

Hearing his voice made her look up and smile; “I need help taking these mugs through. The hot chocolate is almost done,” she nodded towards them as she stirred in the last of the powder, making sure it was completely dissolved, “but I need to find the carrier bag I brought in with me. It’s got my special ingredients in it.”

though back to a couple of hours previously when she had arrived, the scene playing in his head, “You gave it to .”

“So I did,” she giggled, “mind stirring this for me?”

slid in front of her, their hands lightly touching as she handed the wooden spoon to him.

“I’ll be two secs.”

He nodded at her as he watched her poke her head around the doorframe.

spotted her before she even had a chance to make her presence known, “Taking a breather from “secretly” snogging are we?”

She blushed bright red but decided to play his game; “Jealously will get you nowhere, .”

He feigned hurt, putting his hand on his chest and giving her a sad look, “But I just love him so much.”

She shook her head with a laugh and looked at who was awaiting the pair’s next moves having put the TV on mute, “Do you know where the carrier of treats is?”

looked to the side, “I gave it to .”

turned her head to him.

He looked up at her, “It’s in the back cupboard.”

She furrowed her brow, “Why?”

“So that didn’t eat them,” a wicked grin appeared on his face.

“I heard that!” ’s voice came, echoing through the doorway, “no hot chocolate for you, !”

giggled, “Thanks, babe,” as she disappeared under the arch again.

nudged him, “Why did you really put it in there?”

“Because,” he lowered his voice so that only the group in the living room could hear him, “the hanger I put it on is too high up so she’ll need to ask him to reach it for her…”

“And?” asked , figuring that there had to be more to the story.

“And I might’ve put some mistletoe above the doorway on the inside of the cupboard.”

He let out a laugh, “Mate,” he pointed between himself and , “we put some around the rest of the house.”

“Great minds must think alike because I put some over every doorframe, archway and ledge in this house,” grinned at them.

“And I put some outside,” added, “seeing as there’s going to be a firework display on the night of the party.”

put her feet back onto the table, leaning into ’s side as she turned the volume back up on the TV; “We might just be the most brilliantly evil people to have ever existed, my friends.”

lifted his head up as walked in, still stirring away, “Find it, babe?”

She shook her head, “ says it’s in the back cupboard.” She walked behind him towards the door, pulling it open and flipping on the switch on the inside of the interior wall. She stepped inside, looking for the bag. When she couldn’t find it, she sighed;

“! Where did you put it?” she yelled, her voice echoing through the unusually large cupboard. Although it was larger than expected, it still made her feel claustrophobic, “!”

“I don’t think he can hear you,” gave a light laugh as he entered the cupboard, “What’s wrong?”

“Can’t find the bloody bag.”

gave a cackle as he reached over her head, “Probably because he put it out of reach.”

muttered under her breath, “Bastard.”

Something else caught her eye;

“We have some crafty friends.”

He raised an eyebrow at her so she grabbed his arm, turning him around and pointing above them.

“Oh,” he couldn’t believe that they had put up mistletoe – and in the cupboard of all places, “Do you think they’re trying to tell us something?”

She blinked at him, gently biting her lowly lip; “You tell me.”

“Definitely” he leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers. As he moved his lower face towards her, a loud ringing blared out causing them to jump back from each other. The fire alarm had decided to go off.

“Rain check?” he breathed.

She gave him a curt nod as they parted. As he left the small room, she let out a deep breathe that she didn’t know she had been holding in. She shook her head and followed him out. Tonight was going to be interesting.

walked ahead of carefully balancing a tray. The group cheered as she started walking around the room passing out mugs and spoons to her five friends.

“That looks amazing!” was practically salivating over hers.

“Thanks! It’s my special hot chocolate recipe with a layer of mini marshmallows, whipped cream, a few Maltesers scattered throughout and a flake to top it off. Where’s ?”

“Bathroom!” she used the spoon to scoop out a mixture of all of the ingredients. The smell was intoxicating, “Mmm! Where’s yours?”

At that point walked in with the remaining two mugs.

smiled at him, “Right there.”

walked across the room and handed her her own mug.

“Thanks babe.”

He gave her a warm smile, “No problem. Where are we sitting?”

scanned the room, “There’s only one seat.”

“Guess we’ll need to squeeze in together then,” he winked at her. This didn’t go unnoticed to the four friends who shared a series of smug smiles and nudges.

returned to his spot, spying his mug, “So you found the bag then?” He looked up at her with a shit-eating grin, his eyes flickering between the pair.

“I couldn’t see it so I had find it. He brought it out for me.”

“You didn’t happen to see anything else in there, did you?”

and looked at each other and shook their heads.

“Like what?” asked.

’s forehead creased, “Erm… nothing. I thought I saw a spider in there earlier.”

narrowed her eyes at him, “OK… weirdo.”

walked back across the room to the only free armchair with close behind him.

turned to who just shrugged from behind her mug. She was enjoying her drink a little too much to care about their failed plan.

chuckled from across the way, “With the noises that you’re making, anyone would think you were about to have an orgasm.

She looked at him with a wicked smile and winked, “I just might!”

The rest of the group laughed as let out a “Hey, hey!” and nudged . wasn’t one for getting embarrassed but he felt his cheeks warming up.

handed her mug to as she perched on the arm of the chair. She slid in sideways, resting her legs over his lap. He gave her a smile as she took back her mug. He laid his arms across her legs.

“You two quite comfy?” smirked at the pair.

“Quite,” nodded at him.

“You two always sit together,” pointed out.

’s shoulders shook as he snorted quietly, “You never give us a choice.”

gave him an offended look and hit the back of his head with her free hand.

“Not that I’m complaining!”

“Nice save,” she poked his cheek with her finger. He stuck his tongue out at her and she sent on back, laughing.

coughed, “Well if you two are done interrupting…”

“Yes, mum!” they chorused, sending into a fit of laughter again.

She tried acting stern by giving them a disapproving look but it wasn’t working. She was in far too good of a mood. Instead she just shook her head and pressed “play” on the remote, her mind already concocting a plan to get the pair of them together.

The night had passed in a sea of hot chocolate, movies and an avalanche of sweet treats leaving the group too euphoric to pinpoint exactly when it was that a lot of them had disbanded after had surrendered and gone to sleep in the guest room and had fallen fast asleep on the couch. and had left fairly early to spend some time with their other halves whilst and had remained for quite some time. They had all left somewhat defeated after their many attempts to get the remaining pair to kiss under the mistletoe had been thwarted. Together they had managed to completely bypass getting caught under every sprig of the festive plant that was strategically placed around the entire house. The next day, they gathered, would be the perfect time to boost their efforts in finally getting their friends together as they completed the finishing touches for the party that night.

“Thanks for locking up last night,” ’s voice was heard as he strolled over to the kitchen island where was busy decorating a series of holiday-themed desserts for the guests. was stood just behind her taking party-sized foods out of the oven.

grinned up at him, her hair a stringy mess from having thrown it up in a disheveled bun on the drive over with who was in charge of creating the ultimate Christmas party playlist. As they had been leaving she had snagged ’s house keys from the sideboard and locked the pair in for the night, posting them through the letterbox before she had joined in the car.

He surveyed the trays of treats expertly crafted; “These look incredible.”

“Why thank you.”

“You know I could’ve called a catering company to do all this; don’t you?”

threw her hands up in mock disbelief, “Now you tell me!” Her eyes twinkled as she grinned.

shook his head as he laughed.

“You could’ve but honestly, this is probably the best Christmas present ever.” licked the frosting off of the spatula she was now done with.

raised an eyebrow at her, “You actually enjoy slaving away, putting so much time and effort into decorating cakes that will be gone within minutes?”

She nodded, “As narcissistic as it seems, seeing them all fly off the trays and having people return for seconds and even thirds is just the nicest compliment anyone could ever be paid.”

He nodded thoughtfully along with her.

“Sometimes it’s just nice to be appreciated and have the smallest of details acknowledged – especially if you go out of your way for them,” added.

quickly turned to her, some of the frosting dangling dangerously from the spatula and threatening to drop onto the tiled floor beneath her before turning back to when she saw that her friend was busy with some sort of hors d’Oeuvres, “Exactly! You might not notice it but sometimes people do loads of little things for you that they normally wouldn’t do for others because they’re putting in some extra love and care.” She said the final few words through her teeth, exaggerating the final few words and making sure got the intended meaning of them by nodding her head in ’s direction with every word. Although couldn’t see her, had picked up on her ploy and proceeded to pretend to strangle her from behind whilst making sure not to draw attention to herself.

His mouth formed an “oh” as he tried not to laugh at her behaviour; “Well, great work, ladies. I’m thoroughly impressed. : excellent work on not burning down my house.”

saluted him. It was an inside joke of theirs that despite her knowing how to cook, she was always worried that she might unintentionally cause a small fire.

“Now who wants to help me get the booze?”

The trio traipsed through the snow, crates of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks stacked high in the trolley that was pushing – more like shoving – along the car park and in the arms of . was laden with bags of last minute décor and some party food essentials that had been forgotten in all the excitement. They had only a few short hours left to get ready before the party started and there was definitely a buzz about them. The atmosphere was all the more apparent when they returned to ’s house not even ten minutes later and were greeted in the driveway by the four ten-foot tall inflatables they had left for their friends to set up. was attempting to tie down the final lawn ornament – a slightly terrifying, rosy-cheeked Santa – with the help of a slightly winded as they piled out of the car and onto the freshly shovelled path. Apparently Santa had been a bit too eager to get back to the North Pole to load up his sleigh that even in the slight, frosty air he had tried on more than one occasion to escape from ’s clutches and have a jolly across the long stretch of grass leaving the young man breathless and sore from laughing at his fumbling friend. was inside with and who were both trying to escape the cold, having returned from their own homes with other festive treats. According to , who would only be sipping on water and soft drinks for the remainder of the night, the only thing left for the group to do was to get dressed in their festive gear. The women had made a pact several weeks ago to get ready together in one of ’s spare rooms whilst the men got ready in his own. Years of sharing dressing rooms had made them more than comfortable with dressing in front of each other, one of them often being found completely naked, running around without a care in the world.
A few final spritzes of perfume later and the women were nearly ready. Whilst the men chose to dress casually in cheesy jumpers (and, knowing , something quirky) they had put on their most cheerful of dresses, glitter reigning down on the floor as they twirled around for each other, an impromptu fashion show in the works. As the others filed out of the room to kind their other halves, and were the last to walk out, bumping into each other as adrenaline started to fill their veins in their attempt to get downstairs before the rest of the guests arrived. Christmas tunes blared out over the surround sound system that had been specially installed so that the music could be heard on both levels of the house as well as in every room minus the bedrooms and bathrooms. The pair stumbled backwards as their bodies collided, the impact catching them off-guard. Their eyes refocused on each other.

“Wow”.

A giggle was heard from the left. They noticed their friends were still stood on the staircase watching their every move and nudging at each other. Their cheeks burned. had the idea to look up. Yep. There it was; the white-berried plant. ’s eyes followed his and upon seeing the greenery blushed even deeper.

“I… eh… The food!” She couldn’t even form a complete thought as she took off down the stairs in the flat, ballet-style pumps she was sporting, lightly brushing past their friends in a bid to get as far away from them as possible. In the safety of the kitchen, the oven making a tremendous distraction from the embarrassment, she busied herself with setting up various displays of food and sweets. After a while her friends finally rushed around her, most of them making a beeline for the booze before other guests started streaming in. shot her an apologetic look but she brushed it off. Since last night their friends had made several attempts to get them to kiss but so far it hadn’t worked and it was getting bothersome. If they wanted to kiss; they would – if they both felt compelled to, that is – and not when their friends dictated so. She was a fan of letting things play out rather and leaving things to fate rather than meddling in the lives of others – even if her friends were convinced that her and were more suited to being more than just friends. She sighed to herself. If the last 36 or so hours were to go by it was going to be a long night.

Everyone was in the full-blown festive spirit (and full of the alcoholic kind) when the music was providing came to a halt. The crowd booed in a friendly manner, their drunken dancing interrupted.

“Come on, everyone!” had taken over the microphone and was practically bouncing off of the walls, “The fireworks are about to start!” She stopped briefly to put on her jacket before running out of the front door, pulling by the arm. The poor man’s arm was practically being dislocated as he struggled to keep up but all he did was laugh. He loved seeing her so excited over the smallest of things.

and the others exchanged a couple of bemused looks, shaking their heads. The partygoers made their way outside in the icy cold, most of them too high on adrenalin to really feel anything despite their thick coats. passed out the jackets from the various hooks and they followed the crowd out as lead the way.
The group of friends joined the rest of the party guests out in the vast front garden lit up by the towering inflatables and tree lights for the show that was about to commence. As an added gesture of kindness (although nowhere to be seen) had hired someone to put on display on the paved area across from his house for everyone to enjoy. There was a fizzle of excitement in the courtyard, the thrill of the party bubbling out into the night with the revellers. They cast their eyes to the skies, preparing for the initial scurry of bright, majestic colours and glorious, if high-pitched, squeals both from the crowd and the explosives. Seeing her friends break off into their couplings, wondered where had gone. He surprised her momentarily when he joined her seconds later clutching a woolen blanket in his hands. Without a word between them he unfolded it and placed it around his shoulders, inviting her into the warm shell he had created. She huddled under it with him, their arms wrapped around each other for extra warmth. The attendees ooh-ed and ahh-ed as colourful patterns lit up the sky, a tremendous display crackling high above the rooftops. Many chose to light various sparklers that were to hand creating dazzling works of art or, in ’s case, trying to spell out rude words backwards and capturing it on camera. and chatted away easily as the skies lit up. A shadow soon cast over their faces, disrupting their conversation. Their friends had migrated back to them, essentially cornering them and loomed next to them hovering a piece of mistletoe above their heads.

looked at them hopefully, “You can’t escape it now.”

The pair groaned. They knew their friends were just being playful and were, quite potentially, right in thinking they had feelings for each other but there was a difference between having fun with it and being annoying, which they there finding their intentions increasingly so. turned to and they shared a look. She whispered something in his ear and he nodded.

“Fine,” she said reluctantly. Their friends’ eyes lit up somewhat in disbelief. She turned her cheek to him and Ton pressed a quick kiss to it. There. That would have to satisfy them. The disbelief, however, turned into disappointment.

“That’s so not fair,” whined. She seemed to be more intent on them kissing than anyone often being the ringleader in their plans to get them alone together or to get them under the mistletoe.

“Loopholes, my darling. Loopholes.” gave her a wink. The crowd subsided, many returning back to the warm interior and guided inside away from prying eyes. They laughed together, finding their way around the whole “kissing under the mistletoe” scenario all too amusing. Their friends could be gloriously wicked and so could they.

Late in the night, when all the revellers and well-wishers had left and their friends had settled for the night, a final few thoughts were shared between and as they snuggled under the covers upon of ’s bed – the only available sleeping place in the house.

“I just can’t believe how dense they think we are,” giggled, resting her head on his shoulder for extra comfort, “As if we couldn’t tell that they’re trying to fix us up!”

chuckled, “I know. I appreciate their efforts though. I’ve had a good old laugh dodging all the mistletoe they’ve put around the house and at us suddenly running off because we’ve ‘forgotten’ something.”

shook her head, “Our friends are crazy. I find it hilarious how, because and got together after being friends for so long, that they suddenly think that we’re going to get together.”

“It must be all the love in the air seeing as has and has as well.”

“I think they’ve spent so long trying to convince us that we like each other that they’d probably all collectively have strokes if we were to suddenly tell them that we were in love.”

“Right? And what was all that in the kitchen earlier with pointing out that you do things for me out of love and making sure we were alone? You were right there.”

laughed, “She has no shame and apparently no remorse for trying to embarrass me.”

’s own laugh joined hers, “I know that that was all for my benefit but how were you not supposed to hear that?”

She shrugged, “I have absolutely no idea. I was right behind her! I could’ve strangled her – and don’t even get me started on the whole fireworks scenario! Talk about bloody peer pressure.”

rubbed his face with his hands, kneading his palms into his eyes. He had long taken off his infamous dark-rimmed glasses. “I get that they want us to get together but you’d think they’d have stopped by now – it’s been a whole year of dropping hints and still nothing.”

“Tell me about it! Change the record already.”

They sat in silence for a little while, mulling over the audacity of their friends.

cleared his throat; “So; when are we going to tell them that we’ve actually been together for nearly a year?”

She shrugged a smile plastered on her face, “I don’t know. I quite like messing around with them.”

“Another day then?”

She nodded, planting a soft kiss to his lips, “Another day.”