(Hey y'all, I know my updates have been coming along pretty slow, but I'm glad that many of you are being kind and patient for this book. Can't say the same for some of my others, but yeah. Although, there is something I would like to address.

*Inhale*--YALL ARE SO. FUCKIN. EDGYYYY!

Look, I get it. This is a Dee x Reader and I knew that the audience would bring your kind of lot. But COME ON! I'm getting tired of seeing "ugh, no." "Too light/too pink" "my eyes!" "Yeah, imma make the clothes black".

Really??? Really. C L O T H E S is what you want to complain about. Literally, boi. 🫱 Guys. 🫱 Come on!

I specifically said in the comments that I didn't want you guys to talk shit, and talk shit you did. I told you guys that I KNOW you want dark clothes. I KNOW that what I was showing wasn't your style. But there was a reason: THE PLOT! And I said eventually in the story you will get what you want, but you guys were so impatient. There's a reason why (Y/n) is wearing soft colors, and I obviously can't say anything now because I literally spoiled enough for these upcoming chapters.

*And breathe... seriously, I was holding my breath while typing this*

I really didn't want to say anything. But your picky-pesty-comments just got to me. And this may sound like I'm being too sensitive but, it's just flat out insulting my craft as a writer. And trust me, it's not just you. I see it in every one of my books. But this was the worst case to date.

I hope some of you take message to heart, you know who you are. But I thank you also for still reading and supporting my work. Despite what I just talked about, your comments are usually the highlights of my day. Y'all are a funny bunch. Now enjoy this chapter.)

🥀Dee🥀

"We'd like to invite you to our sister's birthday and Family Christmas Party."

I stood at the front door of my home with Levi and Joseph on the other side of the frame. Levi had a red envelope sealed with a golden bell sticker and was handing it to me. I took it and saw the home address written on the back, along with "You're Invited" in Russian.

I was surprised. If (name) wanted us to be there, wouldn't she be giving this out herself. The brothers seemed to have read my mind.

"We came here personally because it's a surprise party." Joseph explained as Levi added.

"We and our parents knew we had to invite you guys since, well, (nickname) just talks the world about you guys."

"Yup. You're chill with her, so you're chill with us."

I just stared dumbfoundedly at the envelope. A birthday and Christmas party. With (name) and her family. With my family. I felt a warmth growing on my chest and the thin hairs on my arms stood up with goosebumps. Or was it the cold doing that?

"We have to get going, but any predictable questions you might have are on the invite."

"Catcha later, dude. Be sure to let your family know."

I finally snapped out of my stupor as I noticed the two brothers walking away into the snowy streets.

"Uh- right..Th-thank you!"

"DEE! CLOSE THAT DAMN DOOR! ITS FREEZING!" I heard my mother yell from inside. "ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!"

"Yeah, yeah! I heard you!"

I shut the door and made my way to the living room, where my family was watching TV. Well, Mom and Heavy were, Dad was reading a book quietly.

"Who was at the door?" My brother asked and I answered.

"(Name)'s older brothers. They invited all of us to a party."

Heavy gasped, "a Christmas party?!"

"And (name)'s birthday." I said as I opened the invitation. "Says here, you're invited. (Name) is turning..17 this year and would be very happy if you all came to celebrate.."

"Wow, 17." My dad smiled, "how wonderful. I had no clue she was older than you, Dee."

"Yeah, no kidding." Mom smirked, "what else does it say?"

Recovering from the slight shock, I continued, "ahem. -to celebrate on Dec. 25th. And join us too for the Christmas Eve party on Dec. 24th. Hope to see you there, Happy Holidays."

"That's it?"

I sighed, "there is the time stamp for each party and a p.s. saying to bring presents or food offerings if we want. But, it's nothing much. Oh, and it's a surprise party. (Name) doesn't know about this."

"We're going! Right, Ma?" Heavy bounced on his tippy toes. "She's my best friend! We have to go! Pleeeaase!!"

"Heavy, down!" Mom said sternly, "of course we're going. The kid's been nothing but sweet. Right, Glam."

"Yup, I agree."

And from then on, it was final. We would attend the Birthday-Christmas Party at the Mikhailov's.

$~$~$~$

After receiving the party invitation, everyone was assigned an offering to give. Obviously, Dad would cook something nice to thank for the family's invite and hospitality. Mom would bring the alcohol. And Heavy and I? We were in charge of (name)'s present. The only problem was, we didn't know what the fuck to get her! Anything we thought of was either too expensive or too cheap, most of them were Heavy's ideas, and this task was eating me alive! It had been 4 days since the invite and still nothing! The party was 8 days from now and we're empty handed!

I sat in homeroom bouncing my leg anxiously. What can I- ugh, we get (name) as a gift? I quizzed myself. Grr.. THINK, Dee. Maybe a squishmallow, but she has tons of them. I don't want to get her a duplicate.... A band T-shirt? No. That's not good enough.... A poster and a figurine. Are you fucking kidding me?! There's a literal SHRINE on her wall! And why would she need another stupid figurine!-

"..Huh?"

I felt a hand gripping and pushing my leg down to stop it from bouncing. I looked down and my eyes followed the arm that led me to the owner, (name). My face starts to burn and go completely red. She's touching my leg! Why!? WHY!?? Her grip lifts a bit and her thumb started to rub my leg. She didn't dare to make eye contact with me, nor has she considered what she was doing to me. Or maybe she did know...

"You okay?" She whispered, "take a deep breath, and let it out slowly."

For some reason, I did what she said. And with that one breath, I felt all the pent up anxiety wash away. I was finally calm. A smile curved on (name)'s lips as she pulled her hand off my leg.

"Feel better?"

"Uhm, da.."

"That's good, take it easy. Okay?"

I then felt my heart skip a beat. I now knew what I was feeling, but I couldn't. I shouldn't. Yet, she's so alluring. She confuses the hell out of me. With her two face personality and secrets. But she's also so much fun to hangout with. No one except me and Heavy have seen the true side of her outside of school... And I kinda don't want anyone else to see her like that.

I found myself admiring her to the finest detail. Her hair...her smile..her long lashes..and captivating (color) eyes. She we staring fondly at something on her phone. So I followed her gaze and saw her swiping through puppy pictures. Nothing specific, just puppies, newborns at that. (Name) was gushing at every one of them.

Wait... A puppy! That's it!! The idea hit me a truck. The most basic birthday/Christmas wish! Haha! I swore that I was grinning like a maniac but that didn't matter. I knew exactly what (name) wanted and I'm gonna get it for her.... Shit. Where am I going to find a puppy?

$~$~$~$

This just got serious. I know what to get her now, but getting a girl a puppy is easier said than done. I don't even know what kind of puppy she wants.

"Ugh," I face-slammed into my desk, "this is impossible.."

"What's impossible?"

I turned my head slightly and looked up to see Diane standing beside my desk.

"None of your business, Diane."

The girl faked pouts, "aw, come on, Dee. Tell me what's wrong."

"Like hell I am."

"Tch, fine. Be that way," she huffed. "Don't think I don't know what's going on. I see the way you stare at her, that American Girl."

"She's half Russian." I sat up.

"So what? And why do you care?" Diane leaned in. "She told me and a bunch of other girls that you're nothing but business partners, not even friends."

"Again, that's none of your business." I stood up. "(Name) is a nice girl and you getting jealous for no reason is just sad. I'm so relieved that she's not in this class so she doesn't have to hear your bullshit everytime you open your damn mouth. She doesn't need that kind of toxicity during her holiday."

I realized that my speech had gotten the attention of the whole class, including the teacher. With an aggregated sigh I asked to be excused to the restroom. My teacher grants it and I left the classroom.

I began to replay the scene that just went down and I start talking myself in my head again. What the hell was I doing? Defending her? She can easily do that herself, she doesn't need me to do shit on her behalf. It's as Diane reminded me: (name) and I aren't friends. I'm just her tutor. Heavy is her real friend. So why? I sighed again. (Name) was invading my mind like a forest fire, I had to clear my mind.

I walked into the boy's bathroom and splash my face with cold water. The makeup around my eyes started to melt and dripped into the sink. Grabbing a paper towel, I dabbed around my eyes to dry them and pulled out my makeup kit from my bag. I cleaned up the mess and reapplied the eyeshadow and eyeliner. When I was done, I did one final check before leaving the restroom.

"Dee?"

Not far ahead of me, (name) was there making her way to the girls restroom.

"O-oh, hi." I forced out.

"Your makeup," she pointed at my face, "did you need to do a touch-up?"

"Kinda."

"Well, I don't know if you noticed it earlier, but it's a little uneven." She giggled. "Want me to fix it for you?"

The usual happened with my face and chest. But now, I was feeling sweaty in my hands and I was shaking. "I- uuhh..S-sure! I mean, ahem. If you're cool with it."

"Okay, just give me a minute. I've been needing to go like crazy."

(Name) goes into the girls bathroom. Once she was out of sight and earshot, I immediately hid my face in my hands. Stutter. A Fuck-ing! Stutter! When have I ever stuttered and fumble with my words?! I leaned by the wall and slid down to seating position. The amount of pure embarrassment made me want to curl up in a ball and die on the spot. I looked like a fool in front of her! I sat there in silence for a while longer until I hear the door swing open.

"Hey, I didn't take long did I?"

"Not long at all." I stood back up.

(Name) smiled, "great! Let's go."

She grabbed my hand and led me out of the school and onto the field. She complained about the cold as we stepped foot outside but carried on. We hid behind the bleachers, even though there was no one around to see us, and (name) sat me down. (Heheheheh, y'all ain't ready for this~) As she did, she then sat on my lap, straddling me!

"Uh, 'the fuck are you doing?" I questioned, it was no surprise I was getting flustered.

She rolled her eyes with a scoff, "Bruh, quit acting like a middle schooler and gimme your shit. This is the best way I'll be able to fix your eyes. And also, I don't want to get my clothes dirty."

Oh, you're kidding, right? Knowing she meant my makeup kit, I handed it to her and she digs through it. Pulling out the brush and eyeshadow, she started evening out the volume on each side, same with the eyeliner. I didn't know about her, but the position we were in was awkward as hell for me. I was trying my best not to move, and wouldn't dare touch her anywhere on her body.

"Y'know, Dee," (name) distracted me, "you have a beautiful completion. You'd make a great model."

"Oh..thanks." I mumbled.

"Aaannd~ done!" She says, puting everything back in my kit. "Take a look for yourself."

I pulled out my phone and went to the camera app. I checked the work she did and I was speechless. My eyes have never looked so good. "Woah" was all I managed to say.

"You like it?"

"Yeah, I do." (Name) only smiled, but a small thought crossed my mind. "Aren't you worried that you're skipping class?"

She shrugged, "ehh, it's just painting. Do an abstract piece every week and you're set for an easy A. Besides, the teacher loves me, so I'm sure he won't mind."

"Okay, then."

$~$~$~$

We ended up ditching the rest of the school day, only coming out for lunch and hiding away again after. We spent our freed time showing each other YouTube videos and shitting on Light Turner while rewatching the Live action Death Note movie. This was genuinely the most fun I've ever had at school. Never thought I would.

(Name) was still sitting on my lap but I wasn't so nervous this time. She curled herself in, snuggled up in her fluffy coat to keep her warm. As she leaned onto my chest, I wrapped my free arm around her. Hesitant at first, but I let it happen.

It's hard for me to pin down what I liked about (name). Someone who I thought was weird and annoying turned out to be someone weird and entertaining to be around. Although, there are her major flaws. The ones that creep me out or, make me worried about her mental health.

"Dee....Are you okay?" I didn't realize I spaced out and saw (name) getting close to my face. She placed the back of her hand on my forehead and then my cheeks. "My guy, you're freezing! We've been out too long. Let's get inside." She gets off of my lap and begins to pack her things.

I fully wake up and started to do the same. It wasn't long till the final bell and we knew that the hall would be flooding with students, so we kinda had to hurry. When entering the school building, we felt like we were ice blocks being melt away. There was snow in our hair and our cheeks and noses were pink from the cold. Giving each other a blank stare we started to laugh.

"We nearly- hehaha, we almost froze out there!"

"Yeah and look at you," I pointed at her hair, "Little Miss Abominable~"

She gasped, "you should talk, Frosty. Your pebble freckles fell off back at the bleachers."

I playfully rolled my eyes. I was about to add something else but was cut off by the intercom.

*Attention, students. Due to rough traffic, there will only be about two buses driving you home. But please, do not swarm the school halls. We would like to avoid any trampling accidents. That is all, good day-*

And without a second beat, the school bell rang. (Name) and I locked eyes muttering "oh, no" and decided to book it. Of course, the statistic chance of us making it out on time was 0. We had to find a place to hide and keep away from everyone else. Otherwise, we'll get stomped on. The classroom doors had opened and the students were pushing themselves out. The first few that stepped out started running, followed by the rest.

"Hehe, we're in danger~"

"Is NOW really the time for a Simpsons reference?! Come on!" I took her hand and went in the direction of my locker. I unlocked it and swung the door open quickly, "Get in!"

"What!?"

"Just go!"

I push her inside and squeeze myself in too. And good timing. The stampede of the student body marched along the hallway. They were all pushing each other around, a few actually slammed themselves on the lockers. I sighed in relief. I'm glad these lockers are able to fit two teens. Otherwise, one of us would have to sacrifice the other to the next Lion King remake. A few minutes go by and there is suddenly silence. Phew. I took the moment to check if (name) was alright and saw that she was hugging herself, her eyes sewed shut.

"What's up with you?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in a pretty tight space. And I kinda want to keep my hands to myself."

Oh..yeah. We were in a tight space. In the rush of the moment, I didn't consider how she would feel about us being in here. She could've had claustrophobia or something. To make things slightly worse, we might actually be stuck in here until someone comes and unlocks the door for us. Damn.

Although, being this close to her wasn't all that different when we were outside. She invaded my personal space without a second thought. Was the lack of actual space too intimate for her? Makes me kinda wanna..tease her.

Though it was just a thought, my hands slithered inside (name)'s coat and landed themselves on her hips. She flinched, letting out a small squeak. Her eyes shot open and looked up to meet mine, a hue of red spreading across her face.

"D-Dee..?" She whispered, "wh- what are you doing?"

"I..," I started pulling her in. One of my hands lifted off her hip and caressed her face. It was so warm. "I honestly.. don't know.."

"Your hands are cold.."

The gap between our lips was getting smaller. I saw that (name) was slowly shutting her eyes again, so I did the same. And, soon enough, our lips finally met. The feeling that came with this action was indescribable. It was as if time had stopped. And it was just us in limbo. Our kiss quickly started to grow hungrier. Her gloved hands that were previously pressed to her body instantly grabbed onto my winter jacket as my arms desperately hugged her body closer to my mine. I didn't want for this moment to end, but then, I suddenly felt her begin to squirm.

"Stop!"

I'm pushed away, much to my surprise. Both (name) and I were panting for air, despite there being very little in a cramped spot like this. The girl in front of me was looking down, refusing to look at me anymore. I reached a hand out to her.

"(Name), what's wron-"

"Don't!" She slapped it away, "..I want to get out. Call Heavy so he can open the door... Please."

"..Alright..."

I took out my phone and called my brother. I told him the situation and though he laughed, he was there right away. After unlocking the metal door, (name) was the first one out. I came out too but neither of us would look at each other, not even during the walk back home.

Once back on our street, we parted ways without a goodbye. Just a glance and a wave. Heavy was so confused but I never answered the questions he asked. That evening, I locked myself in my room, wondering. Wondering what would become of me and (name) now..