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It felt like they were a horde of zombies trying to claw their way in from the other side and here I was, about to open the door for them and let them right in. Oh well, zombies deserve Christmas too, I suppose.

“Hey, there he is! The man, the myth, the legendary legend!” Much like a zombie for sure, the exact moment I swung the handle, I was immediately pounced on, got snared into a quick bear hug that definitely fractured bits of my spine. “Long time no see, amirite?! Hoo, you look good, man! Real good! Are those muscles I feel on ya? Been on that grind, I see, ey?”

Long time no see, indeed. Tyler released me from his grip, and I could finally see what that long time had done for his attitude. Needless to say, it wasn’t much. He still dressed jarringly, still talked jarringly, and still did jarringly.

Good ol’ Tyler.

“Y’know for someone who doesn’t live in this city, you sure are here a lot,” I said, smiling. “Whatever case, Merry Christmas, man. Good to have you.”

“What can I say? I get around a lot, ya know?”

.....

He then proceeded to jab me on my shoulder which hurt a lot more than it was endearing.

“Anyway, real happy to be back here too, dude! Home sweet home at the playboy mansion! Like hell I’ll miss this, and shame on you for not letting ya boi know about it sooner, like fuck – only managed to swipe like a couple of drinks, having me rushing here like mad!”

I don’t know what exactly he was using as a comparison, but his version of ‘a couple of drinks’ turned out to be four stacks of various beer cartons being hauled forward by four of his buddies that he’s brought with him.

“Billy, Mitch, Ken, and Dave, by the way,” Tyler said in a lightning-fast roll call. “The more the merrier, right? You probably recognize them from some of my challenge videos, I’m sure.”

In reality, not really. Hell, I’ve already forgotten their names, but I just nodded along and smiled and waved anyway like I definitely did, then let them all come inside and make themselves at home.

“First stop is fattening up your fridge till it can hold no more!” Tyler proclaimed. “If I ain’t misremembering, I know you got a pretty big one in there. Shit-ton of cereals in your pantry too, lol.”

Who ‘lol’s in real life?

At any rate, once Tyler and Co had their moment or two to acclimatize to their newfound surroundings of this makeshift attempt at a winter wonderland, with the boisterous ring leader himself being the quickest to adapt, I think that was when I could definitely say that the party officially shifted gears into full-on go.

Music was blaring now, drinks and food were being served, introductions were being made, and generally, the atmosphere had upped in liveliness. If Amanda brought in the preparations, then Tyler and his crew brought in the execution.

I guess it’s true what they say about birds of a feather, ’cause Tyler’s gang was almost just as bold and brash as the man himself, but in the fun, amusing sort of way. They knew Amanda already, well enough to the point that they needed to take a solid second to just simply bask in her divine presence. It was a round of selfies and flashing lights before they finally managed to settle down.

As always Sammy seamlessly blended in well with their vibe, the social butterfly of her school she was. Before long, she was cracking their jokes, speaking their slang, and overall just having tons of fun.

As for Adalia, well...

“The hot goth G to the F everyone,” Tyler proclaimed with a grand gesture, formally introducing her. “Adalia be her name, and Mr. Big Man here be her game. Meaning to say she’s strictly off-limits, aight? We’re ain’t here to flirt, but to celebrate-remember, folks! You got any terrible pick-up lines you saving, better trash ’em out now.”

Adalia silently studied the faces of the four new strangers peering back at her, before finally acknowledging their presence and their warm greetings with a small simple wave of her hand, which in due part to her new overtly large jacket, exposed not a single jagged nail.

“Pretty shy too, if I’m remembering right,” Tyler then added. “Delicate maiden, guys. Go easy on her, alright?”

After a moment, Tyler must have sensed something was off with reality itself... for he suddenly but subtly whirled a concerned gaze left, before tossing even more alarmed eyes right. I saw him swallow, I saw him blink, and then I saw him make a beeline straight for me.

“Yo, dude,” He whispered to me, while the boys one-by-one attempted to rouse Adalia in conversation. “Where’s your other-other-other girlfriend? Where’s Ash, huh? I wanna show ’em just how much of a fuckin’ legend you are.”

“She’s sick,” I quickly said. “Very under the weather. Preferred if she ain’t disturb, you got me? Also, you don’t have to show me off. I’m just a normal guy.”

“Normal guy, my ass,” He rolled his eyes, snickering, before stopping at once. “For real though, shame about Ash. My thoughts and prayers, man, she’s got it all.”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate it,” I replied.

It was then that I felt Sammy lightly poke me in the ribs, muttering quietly from the corner of her lips. “Don’t look now, but I think a certain someone else decided to finally join us...”

“Huh? Who do you...?” I whipped my head around the place like a deer in the headlights, but Tyler’s frightening exuberance easily beat me to it.

“Oh, shit! Who the hell is this now?! Goddamn Tinky-Winky over here! Uh, no offense.”

Sera stood lurking at the bottom foot of the stairs, no offense clearly taken, paying absolutely no mind to this amped-up frantic squirrel of a man make a dash for her before I even had a chance to hit the brakes on the madman.

Around the same time, there was another round of knocking at the front door, to which Amanda quickly swooped in to the rescue.

“I’ll get it!” She announced, already striding towards the entrance, with both whisk and batter still in hands.

Meanwhile, I could only watch in a place with a barely-restrained grimace as Tyler began pouring all over Sera like she was the Mona Lisa of all things violet and gold.

‘Woah, woah, woah, what’s this? Another girl? Living here? An exotic one too?” He then briefly snapped his head so fast towards me that I’m actually baffled it didn’t just unscrew itself. “Big Man for real, are you running an orphanage of hot chicks or something? I mean where the hell do these girls just keep coming from?!”

“Roommates,” I simply said. “Adalia, Ash, and I, we all pitch in. I mean, c’mon a house like this? In this economy? Obviously, she pays her fair share as well.”

He raised a dubious brow at me, before he flicked it back towards Sera.” And just who might you be, o’ beautiful maiden of the purple?”

“She’s Sera,” I answered for her.

“Sarah?” He grinned at her. “Ah, Sarah! Beautiful name. No doubt it’s also got a beautiful face to match, ey?”

Christ, and he’s the one here going on about terrible pick-up lines. That was excruciating.

It seemed Sera shared the same opinion, making a faint noise that sounded like a scoff, before brushing past him on her way towards the still naked, undecorated tree without so much as a glance back at him or at anyone else, leaving a very puzzled Tyler rooted in place.

“Mute, rude,” I said, moving closer and placing a hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “And not interested, trust me.”

“Interesting combination,” He said, instantly brightening up again. “But nothing that a couple of drinks won’t wear down! Christmas is the time for bonding! Never fear, I’ll get her to unwind.”

Tyler promptly took off towards the kitchen, my advice evidently going unheeded. Ah well, you can’t say I didn’t try to warn him.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite employee,” suddenly chimed in a familiar sultry voice. I spun around, and almost immediately stumbled back from how close Hayley’s eyes were to mine, as well as her lips, forming into a red-glistening smile. “Happy you thought enough of me to invite me to this party of yours. I’m very flattered.”

“And you’re very close,” I remarked, taking another step back.

“I know,” She cheekily said, replicating me with a step forward of her own. “Is that a problem?”

“Big problem,” Amanda firmly interjected, abruptly appearing by her side, pulling her away by the arm like a thief who’s just got caught red-handed. “You said you’ll help me with the food, didn’t you? So help me. Leave him alone.”

“Aw, you know you’re so cute when you’re being protective, Amanda,” Hayley chuckled, all the while allowing herself to be hauled away, bidding me farewell with a simper and a wink. “Catch up later, alright?”

But with her disappearance, arose a fierce rumbling, a tumultuous stomping-it was like death approaching... manifesting in the form of a giant of a man slowly coming to a halt right in front of me.

And with a voice like a roar of the ruptured earth, he said to me, “Merry Christmas.”

“Yeah,” I said back. “Merry Christmas, Nick.”

Silently, solemnly, he then handed me a large basket brimming with an assortment of snacks and drinks which I had to hurriedly place on the dining table before it all came crashing down on me. It looked a lot smaller when he was holding on to it.

“Just so you’re informed,” He slowly said to me. “Getting a hangover is not an excuse to miss your shift tomorrow. Are we clear?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said as earnestly as I could. “Nothing else comes first to me than that, you have my word on that.”

“Sarcasm sounds stupid on you.”

“Yeah, I love you too, Nick,” I said, nodding forward ahead at the crowd amassing in the living room. “Go enjoy the party, won’t you? Otherwise, I can be a whole lot more stupid if you prefer my company.”

Nick took a moment to contemplate before making his choice, and slowly he began to turn the other way, his eyes momentarily flicking towards the distinct sound of someone’s laughter echoing from the kitchen.

“She sounds happy,” He remarked.

“I’d hope so,” I said, following his gaze and catching a tuft of bright blonde hair slinking around the corner. “Nothing else comes first to me.”

“Yes,” He said, his tone of voice slightly lighter as he resumed walking away again. “I can see that.”

At this point, things were starting to get a little hectic. They were noises coming from all around, movement everywhere I looked.

Sera was there sitting huddled by the tree in her own little world. Sammy was going around jumping straight into every conversation she’d overhear. Amanda and Hayley were emerging from the kitchen with platefuls of delicious food and drinks. Adalia was sitting in her nest pondering the taste of the beer can that someone had handed her in the midst of things, and after a moment or two of consideration, she went and took an even bigger swig.

“Hey, big man...” And here Tyler was. “Can we talk for a bit?” out of the blue, pulling me into the most secluded corner of the room he could find.

I glanced at him and he didn’t have that playful look in his eyes anymore, even his tone of voice, it was like night and day when compared to him just a few minutes ago.

“And just what kind of talk are we having? I asked.

“The short kind,” He answered. “I’ll keep it brief, promise. I’ll keep it simple.”

“Simple,” I repeated. “Somehow, it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be that simple.”

“Mmm, maybe, I guess, I dunno. It depends, I guess.”

Tyler dispirited, conflicted was not a Tyler I was used to hearing or seeing. He wasn’t even bothering to put a bravado... which means this had to be that serious.

The question now was-what could be this serious?

In the back of my head, I could only think of one thing, and one thing only... and judging back the quick darts he was flicking towards Adalia, there’s a high chance, this really can be nothing else but that one thing only.

“It’s, uh...well... you’ve been seeing Amelia a lot recently?” He asked me, jaw clenched so tight it looked almost sunk in. “Thing is... I’d like to talk to her, you see...”

Called it.