Special Chapter: Charlie's Holly Jolly Christmas: On The Way to Utopia

"Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are thy branches."

The sound of Christmas could be heard in the air. Everywhere was filled with joyful singing voices of choirs and children.

People gathered together, spending time with their loved ones. Families dined together whereas lovers made love – OH! I beg your pardon! We shouldn't be talking about something as unholy during the holy night.

In the meantime, Charlie was walking – alone – in the evening winter street decorated with bright Christmas lights. He was on the way to a place where all happiness in the world came from. He was going to Utopia.

Along the street, he saw exuberant crowds of people. The people were of the female specimen. As curiosity took him over, he approached them and realized that there was a big Christmas sale on clothes. Upon figuring out, Charlie rolled his eyes and walked away but soon was blocked by Anna Griffith, one of his best friends.

"Hey boo! Are you here for the Christmas haul too?" she asked, her eyeshadow glittering.

Charlie shook his head. "Of course not. I'm on my way to Utopia. I don't know where it is but I dreamt of it last night. It is the happiest place in the world where all the goods happen. Do you want to go with me?"

Thinking deeply, Anna rolled her eyes upward. "Sadly I don't think I can join you this time, CharlieBoo. I have to go somewhere else after shopping here."

Charlie pouted. "If that's the case, alright then. Merry Christmas, Ann!"

"Merry Christmas, Charlie," she replied and went back to struggling her way through the other shopaholics.

Charlie continued his journey while fantasizing about Utopia. Could it be that the place was filled with unlimited cakes or candies, would he get magical powers that could grant whatever, however perverted his wish was? Oh, there he goes again. Charlie punched his temple lightly. He thought he shouldn't be thinking of impure things in order to be able to get there. Santa would surely prohibit bad, perverted boys from entering.

To distract his mind, he observed his surroundings. It was a place he didn't know – he wasn't even sure how he got there! Nevertheless, Charlie had a feeling that it was the right way. It was as if an invisible force told him to follow the brightly lit path stretching ahead and his feet would lead the way.

He walked along the way and arrived at a darker park where he saw a silhouette of two similar figures of a young man. His green eyes followed their motions and he began to notice something. They were his twin best friends; Oliver and Matthew. Charlie walked ahead and greeted them who were previously practicing basketball in the small court of the park.

"Yo, Oliver! Matthew!" Charlie said, giving them each a high-five.

"What's up, dude? What are you doing here walking alone in the middle of Christmas evening?" asked Oliver.

"Wanna join us?" asked Matthew.

Their ridiculously similar features made them look as though one was a clone of the other, Charlie had thought before. Thus, he smiled at their one distinct difference in which only very few, including him, could see: their expressions.

Charlie gazed into the eye of the calmer younger twin, Matthew, and answered him with the hope that it answered both questions, "As much as I want to, I can't! I have to go somewhere . . er . . a place called Utopia. Do you guys happen to know about it or want to join me instead?"

The twins exchanged looks. Soon, the older and louder twin, Oliver, burst into laughter. "What are you, five or something? No such place exists!"

"Oh, shut up, Oliver. Anyone has the right to believe in whatever they want to. Besides, it's Christmas. Anything could happen, right Charlie?"

"Right. So, I'm guessing you guys don't want to go with me?" The light-haired dreamer wanted to convince.

"Maybe next time," said Oliver.

"Apparently, we have somewhere to go to after this, so we'll have to pass. Anyway, Merry Christmas to you. Hope you find the place you're looking for," said Matthew.

"Thank you," Charlie replied, "Merry Christmas to you too."

As Charlie walked away, he heard Oliver shout from the distance, "You forgot to zip up your fly!!!!"

Oh, geez, he mumbled to himself while zipping up his pants and walking off.

Soon after he was back on track, he was distracted by a sight of two teenagers, seemingly lovers, talking to each other. His gaze flew around him and he realized that there were lovers everywhere. But before he was jealous seeing how he was walking all alone in Christmas day, his heart almost stopped to see that the first couple he saw were Corrine, his best girl friend, and Andrew Carrigan, his biggest bully at school. The scene brought him back to many months ago where he witnessed a similar occurrence where a fight almost happened because of his carelessness.

I guess one never learnt to stop being nosy and move along. Without much thinking, Charlie approached them and shattered whatever quality time they had before.

"What did you do to her?" asked over-protective Charlie as he went between them.

"He didn't do anything to me," Corrine said softly in a slight panicky tone.

Andrew stared at the boy's green eyes and his funny defending stance, but he didn't dare laugh to impress his enemy. "Whatever," he muttered under his breath. "You win this time, gay boy. And since it is Christmas, I'll let you go unharmed. Merry Christmas." That being said, he left.

"What the . . ?" Charlie snapped. He turned to Corrine and met her beautiful brown eyes. "What were you doing with him?"

"He asked me out again and swore that that was the absolute last time even though I don't really believe him. Anyway, I turned him down again but told him this time that there's someone I like."

Charlie's jaw dropped to the ground at the information. "Y-y-you told him that? Did you tell him who?"

"I told him it's you," she said, pink rose onto her fair cheeks. "But don't worry, he promised not to tell anyone."

Charlie soon figured out why. The bully who took too much pride in himself wouldn't let anyone know that his crush liked his victim. It was fairly easy to read him if you followed his line of thinking. Charlie's own assumption of Andrew's cowardice reason angered him. For seconds, he was thinking of something really, really ugly. I'll pay gay mafia to rape him and take pictures of it someday, he thought, but HEY! It's Christmas day. Nobody should keep such impure idea in their mind.

The half innocent, half perverted young man decided to give up on his evil idea and instead focus on the one who loved him but would never have the chance to taste a piece of him, mmm – Oh, boy!

"I'm sorry that you have to fall for me, Corr. It is such a pity that I'm gay."

Corrine gave him an angel smile. "It's not your fault, Charlie. I'll be sure to get over it quick. By the way, Merry Christmas to you. Hope this day brings much happiness to you and your family."

Suddenly, the thought of Utopia came back to his emptied mind. Moreover, the idea of inviting the gorgeous long-haired girl came along with it. "Actually, I've been searching for a place called Utopia. It is known as a place with unlimited happiness, but I don't know where it is. Do you want to search for it with me?"

At first, Corrine paused to think but then she found herself softly disagreeing, "I'm sorry. I have something to attend to after this."

Disappointed, Charlie sighed at his fourth rejection. "Alright, then. Merry Christmas, Corrine! Don't stay out too long or you'll freeze to death."

"Merry Christmas." She waved at him joyfully before he disappeared.

Charlie continued his journey. He was starting to feel odd. He began to be able to predict what event was next – or to be more precise – who. This whole route to Utopia was just equally as strange. Charlie could feel strong familiarity yet somehow he didn't know the way. A portion of his memory could've been wiped out for all he knew. Or perhaps, they just didn't exist.

Walking along, Charlie found himself observing a family of four eating at a table. It was a beautiful candlelit dinner. The peaceful scene attracted his body to it. As he got closer, he could make out who the persons were; Aunt Vera, Daniel, Meggie, and Tamara. They didn't seem to notice him as they were busy chatting and laughing with one another. Charlie kept moving forward until a wave of electricity paralyzed him for two seconds. His gaze flew to his boots where a sparkly red and green mark was dancing about an inch above the ground in front of him. It was the boundary. He couldn't go any further.

Charlie glanced at the four of them again and noticed how pale and fake their bodies were. The dream-like scene suddenly creeped him out and he started to run away. He ran and ran and ran until he was out of breath and failed to prevent himself from bumping into someone.

That someone was Zanice.

"Hey, Charlie," the petite girl greeted him. "Wanna have some fun?"

Weird, he thought, why do I keep on meeting everyone randomly?

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked. "I'm on my way to Utopia. Sorry, but, I can't go with you."

Running away was the best choice now. "Wait!" He could hear the girl shout from where she was standing when he left her. Everything was starting to creep him out. The world he had been exploring seemed to have no end. Charlie struggled to remember when and how he got there. It was creepy when he started to realize how fake everything had been.

And as if adding to his fright, he went back to his starting point where he was just thinking of searching for Utopia.

"Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are thy branches."

The sound of singing was the same; the scene was as though copy-pasted from before. Beads of cold sweat ran down his face. This must be a dream, he thought. He looked to his left and right, and when he turned around, exactly before his eyes was an unfamiliar face that shocked him to his pore.

"Well, hello there young man. I'm Professor Boyce – "

Charlie ran away before she finished her sentence. His eyes were filled with terror and his heart beating like he knew it was going to be the end of his life. Along the way, he met Alex and Alpha who looked as fake as the creatures from before. And when he was on the verge of running out of energy, he met Paige.

"Bitch, what are you doing to my Frayne? You slut, give him back to me!"

Moreover, he was glowing with white light, making him look almost as if he was floating!

Unlike the others, Paige chased him as he tried to flee. Charlie started to sob, but no tear came out of his dry eyes. Just then, he noticed a small alley that wasn't there before. It was compromising, but he chose to hide in it so that Paige would lose him. The alley was as dark as his fear was great. He walked backward and weakly exhaled a breath of relief when Paige went straight, leaving behind the alley and him.

But then,

A hand from behind covered his mouth.

Charlie was almost sure he died at the spot.

"Hey, calm down, it's me," said the owner of the hand. The moment the gentle voice seeped into Charlie's system, his body actually calmed down.

"Frayne!" Charlie spun around to see the young man and smiled with huge relief. It went beyond his awareness how the dark alley was suddenly bright with Christmas lights.

"Why are you here all alone?" Frayne asked, his bright blue eyes suffused with concern.

Charlie's mind instantly recalled his experience and he trembled with fear. "I-I was searching for Utopia but then everything . . everything turned creepy!"

Seeing how scared Charlie was, Frayne pulled him into a tight embrace. "Don't be scared. I'm here with you now. Let's search for it together!"

"You wanna go with me?" Charlie asked, unconvinced. He remembered how all of his friends had rejected him before.

"Uhuh." Frayne nodded. He took Charlie's hand in his and led him out of the small alley. "Let's go."

The painful knot in Charlie's stomach disappeared as a he went out of the alley into a whole new world. The streets were bigger, the atmosphere merrier, and the people, jollier. There were colorful Christmas candy canes stuck everywhere alongside the streets and a gigantic Christmas tree standing tall close ahead.

His surroundings mesmerized Charlie, and how everything changed within a minute after he met Frayne. Frayne is truly my light, he thought blissfully.

"Do you have any clue regarding its whereabouts?" Frayne asked him.

Charlie shook his head. Actually, he had started to forget about it. As long as he was with Frayne, no such place was needed to make him drown in happiness. Even their linked hands had driven him crazy inside.

They kept walking aimlessly side by side, enjoying the Christmas spirit all around, when suddenly Charlie noticed an old man fixating his eyes on him. Beside him rested a big brown dog with small reindeer horns that were so out of place. Charlie had another invisible force that dragged his legs to him and an uncontrollable urge to discover something about him. The old man was mysterious, but had no aura encircling him.

When approached, the first thing that went out of the old man's mouth was, "Searching for Utopia, are you, young men?"

"Yes, Sir," Charlie answered nervously. He didn't even bother to wonder how exactly the old man knew about his objective.

"Do you know where it is?" asked Frayne.

"Ho Ho Ho," the old man laughed typically. Wait, typically? Of what? The familiarity that was so close to the truth was killing Charlie inside. In addition to that, the old man said, "Close your eyes, the two of you."

"Huh?" Charlie snapped out of confusion.

"Just do as he says," Frayne suggested. His warm smile convinced Charlie that following the old man's order was for the best.

The two young men closed their eyes and waited. Charlie felt cold breezes brushing against the skin of his face. Soon, he felt as though he was lifted up. He tightened his hold in their joined hands.

"Now sit down and open your eyes," the wind whispered.

Sit down? But that would make his butt land on the ground.

Charlie's inquisitiveness had him defying the invisible order and opened his eyes before sitting down. And below him stretch the whole city along with its glinting Christmas lights. "Wh-what the hell?" he shouted. His voice made Frayne decide to open his eyes as well and saw for himself what truly startled his boyfriend.

But before Charlie's attention was on Frayne again, another unknown voice sounded, "Mind your language, boy, or I'll drop you." Charlie almost fell from the flying sleigh when he figured out that the one talking was a reindeer. Wait, FLYING SLEIGH!?

The reindeer – Rudolph was his name – had been disguising as a dog by the old man's order. He was now told to bring Charlie to Utopia, the place where all happiness came from. However, the old man was nowhere to be seen.

Charlie sat down next to Frayne who had done it earlier as the sleigh took quite a drastic turn. He raised his palms that they were facing his eyes. "I-is this a-a dream?" he asked himself.

"It is indeed strange how someone who believes that Utopia exists thinks that this is a dream," commented Rudolph.

"B-but . . . "

Frayne put a finger over Charlie's mouth. "Just enjoy the moment while it lasts. Whether this is a dream or not, it isn't often that you get to fly across the city on a flying sleigh."

The minute Charlie focused on Frayne again, his demeanor calmed down. His heartbeat started to grow when Frayne leaned closer and left a soft peck on his red lips. It was romantic, in a strange, freaky, dreamy way. They gazed into each other's eyes and soon found themselves locking lips again. Ah! How pleasant! Charlie had broken his own rule to not think of impure thoughts. Worse, he wasn't thinking it, he was doing it.

Luckily, he still got to go to Utopia. That was his reward for being a good kid all his life before he thought dirty of William and did lewd things with Frayne.

Speaking of which, Charlie hadn't seen William yet.

Hm, I wonder if he is even in this story. Nevertheless, let's go back to the story first.

"We're here," said Rudolph. The sleigh landed in front of a house in the middle of nowhere. As soon as Frayne and Charlie's feet hit the ground again, the reindeer and sleigh disappeared into sounds of Christmas bells.

"That house . . . is that our destination? Is that Utopia?" Charlie asked Frayne who had zero idea about it.

"That must be it," Frayne replied, trying to convince himself as well, "The reindeer said so."

They walked toward the house; the grass where they stepped on made magical red and green sparkles. Charlie couldn't stop looking at the strange phenomena. He was in between stunned and confused. As they reached the porch, Charlie took a moment to stop and breath before pushing the front door open.

"Merry Christmas, Charlie!!"

"Merry Christmas, my dear!"

"Merry Christmas!!!!!!"

There stood Charlie's mom and dad, William, and Sophie, his older sister, joyfully greeting him as he went inside the house. Beside them stood his best friends, Anna, Oliver, Matthew, and Corrine as well as Frayne's parents – Daniel and Vera – and his siblings – Meggie and Tamara. There were other close relatives, friends, and his big family in the house. Furthermore, Alex and Zanice were present as well, and even Andrew Carrigan!

And lastly, Frayne who stood beside him.

What has this world turned into!?

Charlie stood frozen while trying to comprehend the scene before his eyes. All of his loved ones were there in one place – with the exception of one or two people, but still.

"Now that everyone's here, let's eat the Christmas dinner together and make this the most beautiful, joyous Christmas celebration ever!" exclaimed Charlie's dad.

Over the table was various kinds of dish and a huge three-tiered cake. Everyone gathered around the table and ate together, served by an unknown servant – an old man probably in his sixties. He served everyone around the table and they ate together, sharing chatters and laughter.

It was, undoubtedly, the best Christmas celebration.

The presence of Charlie's loved ones in a house, eating and laughing together, was the true Utopia.

Water started to well in Charlie's eyes from receiving endless happiness and being abundantly blessed. When he finished rubbing his tear-stained eyes, he found the servant standing right beside him.

"Did you enjoy it, young man? Ho Ho Ho," he laughed the same typical laugh as the old man earlier.

Charlie's eyes grew wide. "Y-you can't possibly be Santa, are you?" He was almost embarrassed of his wild conjecture that was usually wrong.

But then, as all eyes landed on the old man, waiting for his response, he laughed once again before he was surrounded by sparkly dust and transformed into . . the one and only . . .

"SANTA CLAUSE!" shouted Tamara.

Everyone gasped. "You're real!?"

The entire room was a commotion desperate for an explanation. "Ho ho ho," was his only answer before he turned the whole house using his Christmas magic into a wonderful Christmas land. Music suddenly started playing and everyone began dancing.

As they were busy dancing, Charlie searched for the Santa and managed to have one last contact with him before he disappeared. He gave him a thumb up and disappeared into lights forming the word "Merry Christmas".

"Thank you, Santa," Charlie whispered in a smile.

Charlie went back and danced with Frayne to the jolly Christmas songs.

"Rocking around the Christmas Tree at the Christmas party hop. Mistletoe hung where you can see, every couple tries to stop~ "

Charlie was enjoying the best Christmas of his life exactly the way he had dreamed it. Unfortunately, just like every fantasy, this one had to stop really, really soon before it destroyed more than it satisfied.

But hey, at least this journey ended hilariously. Props to William for that.

Just then, a karaoke music suddenly came out of nowhere and a magical microphone materialized in front of Charlie's lovely older brother, William Haynes. Just like everyone with common sense – Hell, this didn't even make any sense – he grabbed it and brought it up against his mouth. As William felt that it was time for his voice to blend in with the music, he opened his mouth and produced the most terrible voice anyone could ever hear. Blocking his ears with his hands, Charlie couldn't endure the pain from it anymore. The voice got louder by each second and finally, the horrible power it held annihilated everything in the Christmas wonderland world.

***

Charlie woke up to the sound of his mom's call.

"Merry Christmas, sweetie!" she said as she shoved the curtains to let in the Sun.

"Huh?" Charlie snapped with a hoarse morning voice. "Uh, oh, Merry Christmas, mom!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, that was all just a dream LOL. *0* Hope you enjoyed this whole mess! Don't forget to leave some comments <3

Me and the entire crews of Brother Complex wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and happy holiday!~~~

Have a holly jolly Christmas, everyone! Ho Ho Ho

{Uploaded on the 25th of December, 2015}