a/n: LOL Y'ALL BRACE YOURSELVES :)

"You look like you've seen a ghost." This is the first thing that Ethan says to me when we meet up outside the airport.

He's got the stupidly mischievous smile on his face as he says it. I look him up and down, wondering if I should give him the satisfaction of a reaction – I know that's what he wants. But then, Ella makes my choice for me.

"Ethan!" She shrieks and barrels past me into his arms. He hugs her but over her shoulder, he gives me a confused look. I just shrug and wander towards the big doors, separating me from my New York destiny.

I feel like freakin' Carrie Bradshaw. All I need is to curl my hair and acquire a huge fashionable skirt.

We get a coach into inner city Manhattan and get a taxi until we're close enough to the hotel we're staying at. I realise how spoiled I've been by suburbia when I see how close together everything is: there's barely any space to breathe here. Somehow it's refreshing. I could see myself living here if it ever came to that and hey, I might even mess around and enjoy myself.

"This place is cute!" Janet exclaims as we stand in line for check in.

"Right? I can't believe we could afford it..."

"It's only for a week."

"But still. Damn, my dad's breaking bank for this trip." Ethan says. He comes up next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder like it's the most natural thing for him to do. I don't question it, mostly because I like it there. David winks at me and I feel like I'm going to spontaneously combust.

"Alisa and I get first pick of the rooms!" Ella hollers when the line moves up. Everyone starts grumbling but she chuckles, looking fulfilled. Then she spots Ethan's arm around my shoulder and frowns, but she doesn't say anything.

I sure as hell don't say anything either.

Later, Janet comes to chill in our room. She's sprawled out on my bed, flicking through the channels on the small television.

"Hey, look, they're showing Spirited Away on New Year's Eve!" She says.

"What's that?" I ask, braiding my hair. I sit next to her and cross my legs, taking up the minimum amount of space her stance has left me.

"It's like the best movie ever!" She gasps. "It's about this girl whose parents turn into pigs and – and – and bildungsroman!"

"Who?"

She shakes her head. "Okay. In two days, we'll watch it. Let's make it a thing, all six of us can chill together and watch it. Ella, you down?"

"Did I tell you I liked Ethan?" Ella asks randomly.

Janet whips her head around and frowns. "Who?"

"Ethan. You know, our cute blue eyed friend? Anyway, I want your help getting him to like me back, is that cool?" Janet looks at me. I pretend not to hear a word Ella's said but she takes our silence as affirmation. "Great! I knew y'all were my besties for a reason!"

We share a look again. She giggles and I guess Jessica calls her because she screeches about her phone ringing and leaves the room.

I look at the TV, wondering how I'm going to just... not do what Ella wants me to do. I mean, it's easy enough saying it but I'm pretty much a wimp when it comes to saying no to my friends. No matter how much I wanna change this, I know I haven't.

"Okay, what the eff." Janet interrupts my thinking. Startled, I look down at her. "What the entire... eff?"

"You know, you can curse. Or just tell me what you're thinking."

She gestures towards the door. "Ella just made a claim to your man and you're sitting here talking to me about a girl whose parents turn into pigs?! Is everything okay up in Alisa land?"

"I mean – what did you want me to say?!"

"Ella you're not allowed to like Ethan because we're basically set to have a green eyed kid named Theo in six years after my acting career has really taken off? Something like that?!"

"First of all, both our eyes are blue so I don't know where the green eyed kid would come from."

"You're focusing on that out of all the things I said?"

"And SECOND of all, he's not set to have anything with me. I'm not with Ethan, even if we all like to pretend I am." I say, aware of my skin heating up.

Janet stares me down. I avoid it, snatching the remote from her and flicking through the channels. I catch sight of my face in the mirror hanging on the closet and yep, I'm redder than a tomato right now.

"Okay, Alisa." She says, sitting up. "I realise that I haven't been the best friend this school year."

"I mean, that's an understatement."

"Miaow!" She puts her hands into a claw position and despite myself, I smile. "But honestly even me! Even I, who has been totally MIA this year knows how much Ethan means to you. Ella's probably just saying she likes him because of something stupid between her and Jessica."

She grabs my hands all of a sudden. "What are you doing?" I ask, alarmed.

"I am on your side." She announces. "Your side completely. I will not let her get in the way of your man, okay?"

I stare at her, wondering why the hell she's so weird. But her weirdness is so wonderful sometimes, that even I can't doubt how good a friend she's been to me at times in my life.

"Okay?" She pushes.

"Okay." I sigh. She squeezes my fingers.

"OKAY! Now time for Operation Get Alisa Together With Ethan! I call it Operation GATE for short."

I squint. "Wouldn't it be Operation GATWE?"

"Together-With is one word." She snaps.

I decide to leave her be.

-

We decide to go out to a fancy restaurant for dinner that night. Its super cold out but nobody seems to mind except me because everyone suggests on walking. I'm just glad I packed two pairs of gloves. On the walk there, Ella sidles next to me and I lick my lips, wondering what she's going to say.

"So I told Janet that I wanted to sit next to Ethan tonight and she said I should ask you if that was okay. What'd she mean by that?"

I look up front to see Janet staring at us. She mimes a door opening and it takes me way too long to piece together that she's miming a gate. I refrain from rolling my eyes.

"Um, I don't know. Does Ethan want to sit next to you?" I ask.

"I mean, I didn't ask him but-"

"Yo, Alisa!" Ethan comes out of nowhere and pushes between the two of us. He puts his arm around my shoulder with a bright smile. "Sit next to me at dinner? We haven't spoken, just the two of us, in a long time and I have a lot to say."

"Oh, sure?" I say, spotting (and ignoring) the pointed look Ella's giving me. "You have a good time with your mom?"

"I mean... Yeah? And I got you a Christmas gift too, so remind me to give it to you when we get back to the hotel, cool?"

I smile at him, pleasantly surprised. "You got me a gift?"

"Of course I did. You're my best friend." He pinches my cheek and grins at me. I stop to smile back. We're having a mini moment, just smiling at each other. Despite the fact I'm almost breaking my neck to look up at him, I don't mind it, truly.

But then I realise Ella's stopped walking with us. Ethan seems to realise it at the same moment and turns to smile at her, looking really confused.

"You okay there?" He asks. She smiles brightly at him.

"Did you get me a present too?"

Ethan is shocked. Knowing that the mood is ruined, I remove his arm from my shoulder and start walking, eager to catch up with the group. The two of them hurry up with me and I end up in the middle of their budding conversation anyway.

"I didn't know you wanted something from me." He says nervously.

"Of course! I mean, it'd be super nice –"

"Ella!" Janet shrieks. "Could you come take this picture of me and Anthony?"

She frowns and attempts to gesture towards Ethan but Janet is adamant. Ethan and I move out of the way while she begins a mini photoshoot with the loving couple.

"Ella's acting really weird." He says to me.

I shrug, pretending to be completely oblivious. "Is she? Maybe she's just tired."

We get to the restaurant and Ella ends up sandwiched between David and Janet. Janet winks at me from across the table as Ethan and I goof off. I begin to relax a little as we fall back into our old routine of being best friends and eating food, like always.

When we get to dessert, he hands me a fork.

"What's this for?" I ask.

"You're gonna somehow end up eating my cake." He says. "So you might as well get a dessert fork and enjoy it the right way."

I am truly overjoyed and take the first bite of his cake. It's great and I feel even better about it when I remember he's paying for it. However, Ella's giving me the evils when I look up.

"Y'all are so cute! Aren't they just so cute David?" Janet says, leaning over.

David mock wipes a tear from his eye. "The sweetest couple I've ever seen. Right Ella?"

She fakes a grin. "Yeah... Um, Alisa, could you follow me to the bathroom?"

"After this cake maybe?" I try to stall but then the look on her face sort of scares me into standing up. "Ethan, don't finish this without me."

"I make no promises." He mutters.

She confronts me when we're in the bathroom. I start checking myself in the mirror, pretending like I'm not expecting this.

"Alisa, what was that?! Are you my cock-block or something?!" She hisses.

"Um..."

"Don't do that again! He practically fed you the cake and Janet's cooing at y'all being stupid cute even though I claimed him." She says. She goes through her bag and pulls out some lipstick and a hairbrush.

I roll my eyes. "You're blowing this way out of proportion." I mutter, not expecting her to hear. Unluckily, she does. Ella turns around and glares at me.

"I am so not!"

"Relax." I decide to do damage control.

She groans and storms off, not even fixing her makeup or whatever she wanted to do. I follow after her, reluctant but also eager to get back to that cake. Ethan's still got a little bit left when we sit down, but he's speaking to David and ignores me when I eat the rest. We start getting ready to go when I'm done: Ethan, David and I stand up, ready to leave and start talking about things we'd like to do tomorrow. Ella bolts up when she sees us too.

"So, Ethan! How was Christmas?" Ella asks, interrupting his conversation. He looks at me and I shrug, sidling up to David.

"It was good, my mom got me a new skateboard. How was your break?"

"Oh my God, it was great! Jessie got me a new –"

"Oh shoot!" Janet gasps, interrupting. "My water fell over!"

We all peer at her and her perfectly upright glass of water. She blinks at us innocently until she realises that there is nothing wrong with her glass of water and her eyes widen. Then, quite dramatically, Janet slaps the glass hard in the direction of Ella, causing it to spill pretty much everywhere over her pants.

"What the heck Janet?!" Ella shrieks, jumping back.

"Oh shoot! My water fell over!" Janet says, this time robotically. "Let me help you dry off, Ellie!"

"What an unfortunate incident." David says, gasping. He too sounds like a robot. "Anthony, why don't you wait for the girls while Ethan, Alisa and I head on back to the hotel?"

"I mean, we could all just wait together –" Anthony starts. He is met with a glare from Janet and David and clears his throat. "Actually, y'all go ahead."

I glare at David who just hurries me and Ethan out of the restaurant.

"That was so weird." Ethan says. "Is everyone except me and 'Leese drunk?"

David shrugs and then lets out a loud sigh. He sees a store across the street that's still open and takes hold of my arm. "Let's go in there! It looks super cute!"

"Since when were you into super cute things?" Ethan asks, super perturbed. I'm thinking the same thing but before I can ask him the same question, he's dragging me across the street. Ethan follows us, albeit unwillingly.

David looks up at the doors and grins. "Why don't you guys wait out here while I get me some... trinkets?"

"David, they sell banana stands here, you already have one in your room." Ethan sighs.

"OK and what if I want another?! Bite me, bitch!" He snaps before pushing the door open. He hurries into the store and the two of us watch him frolic inside through the frosted glass windows. I shake my head and sigh, wondering why he's acting like this and sorta knowing why.

"You need new friends." I say bluntly.

Ethan's eyebrows raise. "I need new friends? Me?"

"Did I stutter?"

"I can't believe you just said that to me."

"I said it because it's the truth, Dummy."

"Oh, so we're name calling now too?"

"I mean, yeah?"

"Unbelievable." He says chuckling. And then he looks up.

I look into the store, wondering what the hell David's doing, looking for trinkets. He's actually staring out of the window at the two of us and pretends to go back to staring at a candle holder.

"He's so annoying though, look at him." I say, watching David gasp dramatically. Ethan doesn't reply, and I reach out to tap him, my fingers bristling to the cold as soon as they leave my coat pocket. I don't look at him, watching David still, but from the corner of my eye, I see he's still looking up.

"Alisa," Ethan says quietly. I turn towards him and he's still looking up. There's a little blush on his cheeks but I refuse to look also. Slowly, Ethan points upwards and yep. It's mistletoe.

I realise we're both standing right underneath it and internally face palm for not understanding David's little plot sooner. He really hasn't been that sly, I don't know why I didn't catch on earlier.

"Oh. Oh?" I say. He finally looks at me, licking his lips. For the first time tonight, I begin to feel nervous, and I wonder if I should say anything to ease the sudden awkwardness of the situation. I probably should. "Well, my lips feel like icicles! So I don't know if mistletoe would really –"

Ethan leans forward, shutting me up completely. It's such a simple move but it makes my breathing shallow and my cheeks heat up.

"We promised, right?" He whispers, cupping my face in his cold hands. I nod slightly and keep my eyes on his blue ones as he keeps on leaning down. "Remember, on your front porch?"

"You also just bopped my nose." I can't help but mutter. He chuckles and that's the last thing that happens before our lips touch.

I can taste the faint chocolate from the cake we had earlier on his soft lips. Ethan's hands caress and cup my face gently, making my cheeks get warmer and warmer until I'm sure that they're burning his hands. But he doesn't seem to mind. At one point I wonder what I'm doing and open my mouth to tell him to stop but he gets the wrong idea and opens his mouth too and... Well, yeah. Before I know it his tongue is in my mouth and I hate how much I'm enjoying this.

Ethan stops kissing me quite abruptly and releases my face, looking a little weirded out. He smiles to himself while I stand there, dumbfounded.

"Well, that was interesting." He says.

I scramble for something to say. "Shouldn't we-"

"THERE you guys are!" Janet yells from across the street. Ethan glances at me, his cheeks also a little pink as the other three hurry across the street. Ella has a small damp patch on her pants but for the most part, she looks happy.

"Why are y'all standing out here looking like eggs? Where's David?"

Looking way too proud of himself, David pushes the door to the store open and steps out. "Hey friends! Is it time to go?!"

As we start walking back to the hotel, I lag behind, opting to walk with Ella behind Janet and Anthony. They're being really lovey-dovey and I bite my lip. The action reminds me of the quick kiss Ethan and I shared so I stop, sure my cheeks are still crimson.

"Hey, why are your cheeks red?" Ella asks, nudging me. I look up to where Ethan's walking with David and see he's staring back at me. He winks before facing forward.

"It's cold." I reply, blushing harder.