"So with 12 Days of Smosh coming to an end, we'd like to try something new," Ian says into the camera. "We've decided to hold a Christmas contest! The winner will get to spend the rest of December here in LA with me and the rest of the Smosh Fam!"

He shifts uncomfortably in his chair and Courtney, who's watching from behind the camera, walks in front of the camera to help him out. "Hey guys! This contest is a really awesome way to spend the rest of your December! All you need to do to enter is email us your name, age, and what you would do to make Smosh better if you were in charge."

"It's a simple and easy way to come meet us!" Ian adds.

"The winner will be announced a few days before Christmas. Hope to see you all soon, and good luck!"

The camera is turned off and Ian sighs. "Do you really think people will sign up for this?" He asks. "Well, people old enough, I mean. I feel like our viewing age has been going down and down lately."

Courtney pats her friend and boss' shoulder. "I don't doubt it at all. I bet people would love to come hang out with us!"

"Yeah, but since Anthony left, our views have really been going down."

"Ian, try not to worry so much. It's supposed to be fun!"

He sighs, but when his phone rings, his face practically glows from happiness.

Courtney smirks. "Is it Anthony?" She asks.

Ian blushes. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

He picks up the phone, and just hearing Anthony's high-pitched voice relaxes him. "Hey, Ian."

"Hi, Anthony. What's up?"

Anthony clears his throat. "I wanted to know if you wanted to come hang out today."

Ian grinned. "Of course!" He answers immediately, but then remembers Miel. "Wait, is Miel going to be there?"

Anthony gulps. "Uh... yeah. She'll be here. I can make her leave though, if it's a problem."

Anthony knows that Ian doesn't like his girlfriend. Back when he first introduced her, it was Ian who first told him that he shouldn't tell the entire world about their relationship. He had thought it was because their fans wouldn't like Miel, but he later learned that it was because Ian didn't like her and didn't want to make that obvious. However cautious Anthony has been with Miel, he still can't help but feel a strange sort of love for her. Of course, it's nothing like what he feels for Ian, but Anthony could never see Ian loving him back.

"Well, if we're going to hang out, I feel like it should just be us instead of having her interrupt and me third wheel."

"Okay, fine. Point taken. I'll tell Miel to take a hike," Anthony agrees with a chuckle.

"Okay, so I'll be over in half an hour?"

"Sounds good. See you then."

"See ya, bitch."

"Bitch."

Ian hangs up, clearly in a good mood. Courtney raises an eyebrow. "How come you haven't told him yet?"

"Told him what?" Ian asks, clearly playing dumb.

She scoffs. "Come on, you know what I'm talking about. We can all tell that you have it bad for him."

A couple of the crewmen snicker. "Even I can see that you're crushing hard, dude!" One of the cameramen shouts.

Ian blushes again. "No I don't! He's like a brother to me! That's just weird!"

"Y'all act way too much like a couple for it to just be a brotherly love," Courtney argues.

Ian groans, before giving up on the argument. "Whatever you say, Courtney. I'm going over to Anthony's place."

"Be sure to measure his dick size for me," Courtney teases, and Ian rolls his eyes.

Of course he didn't love Anthony. That was preposterous. After all, they were best friends and practically brothers. Of course, Ian could remember back in 2005, before they'd started Smosh together, feeling something  for him. What the emotion was, he didn't remember nor particularly want to know. Maybe it was just gratefulness at having found a new friend. He didn't know.

He thought about Anthony the entire way to his house. Maybe it was love, and he just too young and dumb to understand it. No, he couldn't be in love with Anthony. He was straight! It was ridiculous to think that he would develop a crush on his best friend.

He parked his car and pressed the button that buzzed him into Anthony's apartment. "Hold on one minute," Anthony buzzed back.

Ian waited outside in the chilly winter air, before Anthony let him inside. "Hey bitch," Anthony greeted, smiling at his dear friend.

The man with the deep, blue eyes, smiled back at him. It was a real smile, unlike the faux ones he'd been wearing since Anthony's departure as his co-worker. "How have you been, Anthony?" He asked, taking off his Dablizzards hoodie. 

Anthony winced. The truth was, he'd been awful. His YouTube channel got more complaints than compliments, his was barely making any money, to the point where he was struggling to pay rent, and it seemed that even his best fans didn't really like Miel. He got daily threats to go back to Smosh, and worst of all, he missed Ian. Every day without Ian seemed like a day wasted.

"I'm doing okay, I guess. People are still mad about me leaving Smosh, though," he said, only telling the partial truth.

Ian nodded, a bit sadly. "I told you that's how it was gonna be, man. People suck. They don't like change."

"I know."

Ian let out a small chuckle. "Maybe we should do a mailtime, for old time's sake."

Anthony grinned at Ian's stupid suggestion. "I love it, but where the fuck are we gonna get mail here?"

Ian grinned. "It just so happens that I brought some," he said, pointing at his bag full of stuff.

Anthony scoffed. "Did you plan this?" He asked.

Ian shrugged. "When I get stupid ideas, I intend to follow through with them."

"Fair enough."

Ian retrieved his bag and set it between them on Anthony's small couch. "Should I grab a camera?"

"You're not going to post this, are you?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because I want nothing associated with Smosh anymore," Anthony admitted, and Ian's heart fell.

"Oh."

Anthony, seeing Ian's disappoint, lifted up his chin with two fingers. They were mere inches apart, and a spark ignited in his heart. Desperately, he wanted to lean in and kiss his thin, soft lips. "You know it has nothing to do with you," Anthony told him.

So desperately, Ian wanted to believe him. However, he'd felt guilty ever since Anthony mentioned the idea of leaving Smosh to him. He'd gone from a happy man, satisfied with his job, his girlfriend, and best friend, to a broken man, who would have probably been better off leaving it all behind and starting over. Of course, he was stuck in Los Angeles with his misery, and he knew that.

"I know," Ian lied.

Anthony sighed. "You can record it, and keep it as like, unreleased footage or something. I don't know. Just please don't post it."

Ian faked a smile. "You know I would never do anything to upset you, Anthony. At least, not on purpose."

"I know."

"Okay."

Ian fished the camera case out of his backpack and took out the Canon Shot Pro. "Smile!" He said, and flashed a picture of Anthony just as he was looking up. He laughed at it when it appeared on the smaller screen. "It caught your dumb face perfectly," he teased.

The other man scoffed. "Whatever, bitch. We all know that I'm smarter than you."

"Yeah right! You can't smarter and  hotter!"

"Who said I was hotter?" Anthony asked, making both of them blush. "Er... sorry. I used the wrong words there."

That was the moment that Ian Hecox fell in love with Anthony Padilla.

"I... no, it's fine," Ian stuttered. He put the camera back in its case. "This was stupid. I think I should go."

Anthony hung his head. "Are you sure?" He asked, grabbing Ian's hand.

Ian hesitated for a moment, letting Anthony's soft hands linger on his skin. "I really think I should go, Anthony."

And just like that, he was gone.

December 26th

Cassandra didn't know what to expect when she entered the LA airport. Would Ian hold up a sign with her name on it? Would she be expected to take a cab to the studio? Would she have to find Ian somewhere in LA? Maybe it was just one large, cruel joke that they were playing on her. It wouldn't be the first time that she got her hopes up, only to have them crushed, after all.

Her answer was given when her buzzed with notifications from the official Smosh Twitter. 

Meet at the Starbucks by terminal C after you get your luggage. Ian and I will be waiting there to meet you. So glad to finally meet you!

She felt herself grinning like an idiot as she made her way to baggage claim. She was in claim, and she was going to get her dream. Her, the weird 19 year old from New York, meeting Ian Hecox, her idol of eight years, because she was lucky enough to get chosen out of the hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of fans that entered.

She grabbed her luggage when she saw it, and only just then realized how much she packed. She had no idea what she was supposed to wear, so she packed casually, formally, professionally, and even like a bum. She wondered if she could ask any of the girls to help her pick out outfits, and maybe even go shopping with them.

Whoa, slow down, Cass, she thought. They're just doing their job. Just because you won a contest doesn't mean you get to control them.

She began to walk the opposite direction of the meeting place, and it took her ten minutes before she realized she was going the wrong way. This is what you get for not grabbing a map of the place back at baggage claim, she thought, shaking her head.

She was practically running when she saw the Starbucks. She had promised herself not to lose her cool when she spotted Ian, but there he was, in the flesh, and not even all that remained of her dignity could keep her from hugging him as soon as she laid eyes on him. "I'm assuming you're Cassandra," he noted with a chuckle.

She nodded into his embrace. "Sorry for nearly tackling you, but I couldn't help myself," she explained.

Courtney, who was standing next to Ian, a big grin on her face, patted her back. "It's completely understandable. If I hadn't been extremely nervous at my audition to be on the Squad, I would have done the same thing. I didn't think that throwing up all over Ian and Anthony would be a good way to get hired, though," she said with a chuckle.

Cass laughed. "I am extremely  nervous. I just don't know how to express it," she admitted.

Ian scoffed. "What about me? Can I be nervous, too?"

"You're the one running everything!" Courtney argued.

"Isn't that reason enough to be nervous?" Ian asked.

Cass laughed at their bickering. "I'll grant you that," she said.

"Thank you, Cassandra."

"She's picking favorites! This isn't fair!"

She shrugged, a smug look on her face. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. You have no proof to say either way."

With that, a happy Ian decided to buy his "partner in crime" a double chip frapuccino, her favorite, she made sure to let him know.

"So, where would you like to stay?" Courtney asked, drinking her vanilla latte.

Cass blinked. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, we decided that we didn't want you to stay in a hotel by yourself, so we thought we'd offer you an opportunity to stay at one of our houses for the time that you're here."

If Cass' jaw could go any lower, it would hit the floor. "You mean as like, live  with one of you?"

Courtney laughed. "Yeah! How does that sound?"

"I'm... I'm in shock. I just... whoa."

Courtney laughed again and Ian came back with Cass' frappucino. "Here you go, m'lady. Now, shall we head out?"

Courtney looked to Cass, who nodded. "Don't rush to make any decision," she whispered. "And you can always change your mind. I'll warn you, Ian snores like a fucking pig."

"I heard that!" Ian called back to them, making Cass chuckle.

"Thanks, Court."

Courtney sat in the back so that Cass could sit up front next to Ian in the car, and their first stop was the Smosh studio.

Ian wanted to talk about Cass' life, but her and Courtney seemed more interested in a different subject. "So how did it go with Anthony last night?" Courtney asked teasingly.

"You were with Anthony?"

Ian blushed, moreso than usual. "I was only with him for a bit. I left early."

"Why?"

He hesitated, and both girls picked up on the lie before it was even said. "Miel came home early."

"Ian, you suck at lying," Courtney said. "Tell the truth."

"Come on! We're all friends here!" Cass said, nudging him.

Ian groaned. "Just a bit of an awkward encounter. Don't worry about it."

"Did Anthony not want to fuck you?" Courtney asked with a pout, and Cass burst into giggles.

"No! I mean... I don't know!" Ian's fierce blush grew, and the girls were out of breath from laughter. "I didn't ask him to fuck me, and I never will!"

"Why not?" Cass asked.

"Because I'm not fucking gay," he answered, though he really wasn't sure that was the truth. Just the week before Christmas, he had broken up with Pam with the excuse that he needed time to figure things out, which had been true. When she asked about what, he said about his purpose life, which wasn't; at least, not fully.

Cass scoffed. "I can think of a thousand examples that proves that's not true."

"Name ten."

"Okay, let's start off with the Ianthony kiss."

"That was scripted."

"What about the head kiss?"

"Also scripted."

"And your hidden smile afterwards?"

Ian began to blush. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Okay, fine. Let's move on. The ass slap."

"That was Ryan's fault!"

"The staring contest."

"A fan told us to do that."

"They didn't tell you to laugh at each other like a flirtatious couple."

Busted. "Well, I uh..."

"Okay, what about when you two held hands and jumped into the ball pit?"

"That was Anthony's idea."

"So you're suggesting that Anthony is gay then."

Courtney sat in the backseat, in awe of Cass' evidence of the ianthony ship.

"Okay, I get it."

"Really? So soon? I have so much more."

"So maybe I like him a little bit! What's the big deal?"

The car was silenced by Ian's words. "Did you just admit that you liked Anthony?" Courtney asked, as shocked as Ian was.

Ian sighed. "Yes, I like Anthony."

"How long have you known?" She asked.

He sighed again, and looked at Cass. "Swear that you won't tell anyone," he demanded.

She nodded silently. "I swear."

"Not even to your little Twitter friend. They're a blabbermouth."

"Uhm... okay."

Ian sighed. "I think that maybe I've always loved him. Maybe I was too dumb or too blinded by what I wanted to be with Mel and Pam that I didn't realize it. But last night, I realized it. I understood what it meant to be in love, and that's what I feel for Anthony."

Cass, who was internally screaming at the notion of ianthony being real, decided that she should probably help out the poor man instead of just screaming at him. "Why don't you tell him?" She asked.

"Have you ever fallen in love with your best friend?"

"No."

"Well, it's not as easy as it sounds. I can't just tell him that I love him and not expect him to get mad at me for something."

Courtney scoffed. "If you think that Anthony doesn't love you, you're stupid."

They pulled into the parking garage of the studio, and Ian shook his head. "Look, can we talk about this later? I really don't want the entire crew knowing about my stupid crush, okay?"

The girls nodded, but Cass pulled out her phone.

cassanta and her shaynedeers

DUDE IAN JUST ADMITTED THAT HE LOVES ANTHONY FDJIFJIFIWWJIFWIJFSISJ!!!

Seen, 4:08 PM

Santa Rami 🍓

WHAT ARE YOU SERIOUS???

Seen, 4:08 PM

cassanta and her shaynedeers

DEAD SERIOUS
but you can't tell anyone because I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone

Seen, 4:09 PM

Santa Rami 🍓

DAMN IT WHY NOT

Seen, 4:10 PM

cassanta and her shaynedeers

I'M TRYING TO BE A GOOD PERSON OK?

Seen, 4:10 PM

Santa Rami 🍓

UGGGGGGGGGGGGHFUFUFYFYYFGU
FINE
BUT THAT'S NOT GONNA LAST

Seen, 4:11 PM

cassanta and her shaynedeers

OK BUT AT LEAST UNTIL THE END OF MY VISIT, GOT IT?
hey I've gotta go but don't tell anyone seriously lol

Seen, 4:12 PM

Santa Rami 🍓

Ok
Have fun! Tell Ian that I love him!

Seen, 4:12 PM

Cass smiled before putting her phone away. Ian eyed her suspiciously. "What are you smiling at?" He asked.

"You know that blabbermouth you were talking about?"

"Yeah..."

"They say that they love you."

Ian scoffed. "Tell them I love them, too."

The three of them walked through the Smosh studio. Cass' hands were shaking from nerves as she saw people that she recognized as writers and editors. "Okay, please don't faint," Courtney said with a smirk as they approached the main doors. Cass could only nod, curious as to what she would see and who was there.

When the door opened, she recognized it as the room where a lot of Squad Vlogs. She saw Olivia, Keith, Noah, Damien, and Shayne, and she thought she was going to burst into flames. Damien waved, a goofy grin on his face. Shayne and Noah followed, while Keith and Olivia sat, looking confused.

"I feel like I'm missing something," Keith said, and Olivia nodded.

"This is Cassandra, dummy," Courtney answered, playfully.

"...Oh! The contest winner, right?" Olivia asked, and Keith's face lit up.

"Glad you finally showed up, two," Noah laughed.

Cass laughed nervously. "Hey, I'm Cass," she said, even though Courtney already introduced her.

She blushed when everyone greeted her. She was smiling, but internally, she felt nervous and very overwhelmed.

"How would you like to be in a Smosh video?" Ian asked her, and her eyes grew ten times their normal size.

"Are you.... are you serious?"

"Yeah! We actually already scripted you a part," Olivia said.

For the second time that day, Cass'  jaw was nearly on the floor. "I would love that!" She shouted enthusiastically.

The members of the Smosh squad all grinned, and took her on set. "Wait, we're filming now?" Cass asked, taken a bit by surprise.

"Is that okay? We wanted you to have the rest of the week to hang out in LA with us."

Cass smiles at the thoughtfulness of the squad on her behalf. "Alright, yeah that sounds good."

"Also, I think the guys over at Smosh Games wanted to shoot a Board AF with you."

"I'm totally down for it!" She replies eagerly.

Ian grins. "Great. For the Smosh video we're going to have you dress up as a bear. Is that cool with you?"

She furrows her eyebrows. "A bear? What kind of video are we shooting, exactly?" She asks, and the rest of the cast shares a look.

"Hope you don't mind weird," Ian answers, and they take her into the dressing room.

There, she takes in every outfit and costume there. The Sargent Anous costume, the Billy hat, the Boxman head- all of it in one place, overwhelming her and filling her veins with joy, excitement, and overall satisfaction. She puts on the bear costume while exploring the dressing room, letting her fingers brush over every prop of significant Smosh history.

"Almost ready?" Courtney asks, knocking on the door. She takes one last look at the mysterious room before she steps out onto set.

Recording a five minute video is a lot more tedious than people may think. Each scene has to be recorded several times (mostly because Keith and Noah keep cracking up at Shayne's improvisation), which makes the recording time way longer than just a few minutes per scene. Additionally, between each scene is a mandatory costume change, which takes Olivia at least five minutes each. At one point, Keith stars complaining about how long it takes her to get dressed, of which Courtney replies to him by playfully slapping his cheek. "Us girls have to get ourselves to look perfect."

"All you're doing is changing into a costume! Does that really require fine touch and finesse?"

"You'd be surprised," Cass answers nonchalantly.

Keith groans. "Y'all are hopeless."

When production is finally finished, they all cheer, and Cass asks Ian about the editing process. "Well, our editors usually do their stuff tomorrow, but if you want, you can help them," he offers.

"Well, you know, it's kind of a dream of mine to be able to edit for you guys."

Ian grins. "Great! So we'll make you an honorary editor then! I'll let the Chief Editor know."

It's Mari who next speaks to Cass. She finds the poor girl wandering around, lost. Mari immediately recognizes her as the contest winner (since she's much more organized than Keith and Olivia). "Whoa, hey. You're Cass right? You seem a bit lost."

Cass, who's trying to keep herself from screaming about the fact that Mari Takahashi is touching her shoulder, chuckles lightly. "Yeah, well, Ian kinda left me to go talk to the editor chief or whatever, and I really need to use the bathroom."

"That's why I hate being in Smosh videos. They take forever and there is very little time for pee in between costume changes," Mari admits.

"I guess you get used to it after awhile, right?"

"Probably. Anyway, before you piss yourself, I'll direct you to the bathroom."

In the bathroom, the two of them get to talking and determine that they actually have a lot in common. Mari is beautiful, funny, relatable, and very quickly, she moves up the list as one of Cass' favorite cast members. "So the boys and I wanted to shoot a Board AF with you, if you're up for it. I know you just got out of production, but Board AF is a lot easier to shoot, because you don't have to act or be in costume or any shit like that."

Thinking, she wonders how on Earth she could turn down a chance to play a game with part two of her favorite people in the world. "Of course I'll come! It sounds like a blast."

Mari grins, showing her perfect, white teeth. "Great! Do you know how to play Smart Ass?"

"Well, coincidentally, that happens to be my favorite game of all time," the 19 year old answers. 

"You're joking."

"I'm not!"

"Dude that's awesome!"

She walks Cass to the set of Board AF, where Wes, Flitz, Joven, and even Lasercorn and Sohinki sat waiting. Internally screaming, she ran over to each of them and hugged them, beginning with Joven, as he was the closest to her. "Guys, this is Cass, our contest winner. She's going to play Smart Ass with us."

"What? She doesn't look like a donkey!" Joven says, trying to make a joke. The entire room hangs their heads in shame for his poor crack at a joke.

"No, but I am definitely an ass," she answers, actually receiving a few chuckles.

"Oh come on! Now you're just picking favorites!" He whines.

Cass rolls her eyes playfully. "Where can I sit?" She asks.

Wes motions to a seat beside him and Sohinki, and she plops herself into the comfortable chair squeezed in between two mean that she'd been calling beans since 2014. Cass sneaks a look into Wes' bag and stifles a giggle. "Do you always carry around sweets?" She asks, noticing the immense amount of candy shoved into his bag.

Sohinki nods. "If he's not carrying around sweets, then it's not the real Wes," he tells her.

"Or if technology doesn't break when he walks into the room," Joven adds.

"Hey I always fix it!" Wes argues.

The group chuckles, and Cass grows confident enough to defend him. "He's doing his best," she says, and Wes grins.

"Thank you, Cassandra. See? She gets me."

As they play the game, Cass slowly becomes more comfortable to being in front of the camera. She acts like it's not even there, and uses the vibe from the group to shape her own demeanor. She loses the game (badly), but still, she's able to build a bond with the group like she's always dreamed of being able to.

"So, are you ready to head out, kiddo?" Ian asks, and Cass looks back to the Smosh gang, who have dispersed around the office.

"Just one second," she says, running back into the office to find Courtney.

The blonde is found sitting at her desk, teasing Shayne about how he looks like a country singer that went pop. Cass, out of breath, pops into the room right as Shayne screams one of his infamous screams, making the contest winner nearly burst into laughter. "I just... came to ask if I could crash at Courtney's tonight," she says.

Courtney smiles warmly at her. "Of course you can!"

By this point, it's already after six, and Ian decides to take Cass out to dinner, which he had already planned out with Anthony. Of course, he doesn't tell her this, and decides to leave it as a surprise.

"So, do you like In and Out?" He asks.

"Ian, I live in New York."

Ian sighs.. "Right. I forgot that New Yorkers have horrible taste in foods."

"Whatever, man! Have you never heard of Brooklyn style pizza?"

"Uh... is it any good?"

"Never tried it. I'm not big on pizza."

"Then my point stands."

They walk into the restaurant (which is actually one of those fancy places, and not just In and Out), and Cass nearly faints when she sees Anthony standing there, with his infamous smile on his face. Ian runs over and practically falls into his arms. "I'm so sorry about last week," Ian whispers. "I shouldn't have walked out like that. I don't know what was wrong with me."

Anthony shrugs. "I juts assumed you had somewhere else to be."

Ian looks back at Cass, who's on the verge of joyous tears. "We'll talk about this later," he whispers, and invites Cass over to wait for the host to seat them.

He does so quickly, and takes their drink orders immediately.

She doesn't mention anything about having just witnessed an ianthony moment in person, but of course, she can't stop thinking about it, either. "So Anthony, this is Cassandra. She was the winner of Smosh's Christmas contest."

Anthony smiles at her. "Merry Christmas!" He says. 

"You too, Anthony!" She replies quickly. "How did you celebrate Christmas?"

He blushes. "Miel and I just spent it by ourselves at home. My mom came over and made some dinner, but nothing more than that."

At the mention of Anthony's girlfriend, both Ian and Cass tense up. "What about you Ian?" She asks, trying to change the subject.

Ian smiles a bit, visibly trying to relax. "I spent it with my family. I went over to my mom's house and my sister came over with her boyfriend. We heard a huge feast, and poor Mom is stuck with all the leftovers. My stomach hurts just thinking about it."

Cass laughs, and seeing the tension being released, tries to rejoin the conversation. "If you throw up at all, don't do it on me."

"Yeah right! If I throw up, I'm going to get my puke all over your nice outfit, then laugh about it later."

"Damn, Ian! When did you turn into a bitch?" Cass asks, laughing.

"He's been a bitch!" Anthony replies, making the whole party laugh.

The waiter gives them their drinks, takes their orders, and Ian goes to the bathroom, leaving Cass and Anthony alone. He sighs as he watches Ian walk away from the table. Cass eyes him suspiciously.

"You like him, don't you?" She asks, the words falling out of her mouth, even though she tried to keep her mouth shut about it.

Anthony shoots a worried look back at her, his eyes begging her not to say anything more about it. She thinks back to when Ian admitted to his crush on Anthony, and is unable to keep her mouth zipped. "I think you should tell him."

He nervously shakes his head. "I can't. It'll ruin everything that we've been working towards for years."

Cass internally smirks. "If you love someone, shouldn't you let them know? After all, it's Christmas time! I feel like that's the best time to tell someone something."

"Why?" Anthony asks her, quietly.

She clears her throat. "Because that's when miracles come true."

Anthony scoffs. "You actually believe in that shit?"

"Look, I'm just saying. You never know what might happen."

He clears his throat and softens his voice. "Maybe that's what I'm so afraid of," he says, right as Ian is coming back.

Cass looks to Ian, who seems way too happy to have just been coming out of the bathroom. "You look like you just got laid," she tells him, making Anthony laugh.

"Uh... duh. The janitor was hot."

The rest of the dinner is spent talking about different things, such as Christmas and New Year's resolutions. Apparently, Ian's resolution is grow Smosh even more, which Anthony appears to disagree with. Anthony's, though, is to tie the knot with Miel and to grow his own YouTube channel.

Looking back to Cass, Anthony thinks about her advice to tell Ian, and suddenly feels extremely insecure. "Hey, Ian, do you think that we should get Cass' number?" He asks.

Cass looks to Anthony, pleasantly surprised, and back to Ian. "Why?" Ian replies, confused.

"So that... I can text her if I need her ever," he admits.

"Why would you need to do that?"

Anthony sighs. "I want to be her friend, okay!"

Ian, whose eyes are burning with jealous rage, reluctantly agrees. "Fine," he says, before walking away. "I'll be waiting in the car."

Cass can't help but grin at the jealousy emanating from Ian. "He thinks you like me," she explains. 

Anthony looks distraught. "He likes you," he think aloud. 

"What? No! He likes you, idiot!"

"That doesn't make any sense," Anthony scoffs.

"Why wouldn't it? He doesn't want you to get my number because he thinks you like me, and he wants you to himself."

Anthony rolls his eyes. "Look, I'll tell you what. I'll invite him over and tell him that I like him, but if he says that he doesn't like me back, then you ask him out, then see what happens. If he says yes, then I win. If not, you win."

"And what if he says yes when you tell him that you like him?"

He thinks for a moment before taking a loving sigh. "On the off chance that it actually happens, then it's a win for both of us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do you want me to do your hair for you tomorrow? I think it would be really cute if we curled it," Courtney says to her temporary roommate, who nods eagerly.

"My hair is kind of a mess, but I do like getting fancy with it."

"Have you ever dyed it?"

Cass scoffs. "I ruined my hair by bleaching all of it at one point."

"Ah. Yeah, since my hair is so light, I don't have to bleach it."

"Thanks for rubbing it in," Cass teases.

Courtney offers her a spot on her bed, and Cass eagerly sits beside her. "What do you want to be when you get out of college?" Courtney asks, genuinely curious.

"Well, I want to be an animator or editor somewhere, but the dream is to work with and for you guys."

Courtney awes, and smiles warmly at the 19 year old. "Don't give up on that dream. Anything can be done if you work hard for it."

Cass is about to reply with something cheesy, when her phone vibrates, saving her. She opens the message from Anthony, who seems a bit distressed. 

how am I supposed to tell him

She visibly scoffs, and Courtney tries to get a peek at her phone. "Anthony and I made a bet," she explains. "I told him that Ian likes him, but he didn't believe me, so he's going to tell him tonight, and if Ian says that he doesn't like him back, then I have to ask him out to see who Ian is really jealous of."

"Been here a day and already causing Ianthony related mischief. I love it," Courtney replies, giving her a high five.

Just tell him lol

Her and Courtney continue to sit on the bed, just chatting about different things, like future aspirations and relationships. Throughout the conversation, her phone keeps buzzing, to the point where she gives up and calls Anthony instead of just texting him.

"Hello?" He answers.

"Anthony, did you tell him yet?"

He sighs. "No. I told him that I had to pee, so make this call quick."

Cass groans. "Just tell him! He likes you! I promise! Maybe even more!"

"I'm scared! What if ruins everything?"

"What if it's the beginning of something new?"

Anthony sighs. "Fine. I'll try."

"Okay. Good luck."

Slightly annoyed, Cass returns to the bed with Courtney. "How's it going?"

She groans. "The idiot is scared."

"Did you reassure him?"

"Of course! Who knows if he'll actually man up and do it?"

Courtney shrugs. "He can't hide from the truth forever. Eventually he'll understand that his love for Ian is more powerful than any other force in the world. Eventually he'll realize that he can't die without telling Ian that he loves him."

Cass sighs. "I just wish he weren't so stubborn about it."

The blonde chuckles. "Well, that's Anthony for you."

Meanwhile, at the Padilla residence, Anthony is having a silent mental breakdown while Ian waits for Anthony's confession.

"Anthony?"

The man with the curls nods, and takes a deep breath. "Ian, I..." He gulps. He likes you, Cass' voice rings in his head. It could become the start of something new.

"I love you," Ian blurts first. He immediately covers his mouth, shocked at his own confession.

"I'm sorry, Anthony! Please don't hate me, I-"

He's cut off by Anthony's lips on his. Shocked, he grabs Anthony's face, kissing him back, with more passion than he's ever kissed anyone previously.

Damn you, Cassandra.

They pull away, and Anthony smiles. "Cass said something about Christmas miracles," he explains. "She said that there's even a chance that you like me back."

Ian chuckles. "That bastard. I told her not to tell anyone."

"Sounds like we both trusted a girl that we hardly knew with our most valuable secret. Are we smart or what?"

Ian snakes his arms around Anthony's waist. "Well, it got us this far, didn't it?" He asks, before moving in close to Anthony's lips again.

"I love you," Anthony whispers.

"I love you, too."

And just like that, a miracle was made.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One Month Later...

"Cass, don't you dare edit a penis in my mouth," Ian says into the camera, aiming his comment specifically at the crew's newest editor.

Cass laughs from behind the camera, and shrugs.

"Okay, that's a wrap," Ryan says, cutting production short for the day.

Ian immediately runs over and hugs his boyfriend, who has returned to Smosh as the lead writer. Keith pretends to be disgusted, telling them to rent a room, to which Ian replies by sucking on Anthony's mouth.

Anthony picks Ian up bridal style, snuggling the small man close to his chest, before dropping him. "Jesus, you're heavy."

"Hey, what did you expect?" Ian asks sarcastically.

They laugh, and Cass decides to take a picture to save the moment. They all smile in the picture, and she posts it to her Instagram with the caption, "Maybe dreams really do come true..."

~Author's Note~

CASS THIS IS SO LATE I'M SO SORRY BUT I REALLY WORKED HARD ON IT AND I HOPE IT'S NOT AS SHITTY AS I THINK IT IS. THE ENDING WAS REALLY RUSHED AND I'M SORRY BUT I KINDA WANTED TO LEAVE THE REST OF THAT WEEK UP TO YOUR INTERPRETATION.

Anyway, merry Christmas (even though it's late) and I hope all your dreams come true in 2018!