A/N: Hey this is a Christmas Special Chapter. This is NOT cannon. So it's like a one-time thing. My Instagram Goldies voted on what they wanted and I decided to merge two ideas into one. Please enjoy xoxo

"Alright guys, let's make a neat straight line," I urge everyone.

"Uh, straight is boring," Matt interrupts me.

"Let's just go before it's too late," Jack sighs.

"Do we even know where we're going?" Calvin asks.

This is chaos. I mean, it's always chaos whenever we cross to check out the Living Realm, but somehow the spirit of Christmas is making everyone even more on edge and excited. I can't blame them. We only get to build enough karma about three times a year to go visit the living people of this world and today would be our third trip for the year.

"Hey, hey, hold on everyone, I have the GPS coords right here," I reassure everyone and zoom in on the location we're heading to. Pretty cool of that angel guy to give us mere ghosts a smartphone.

"Who made you in charge?" Calvin asks.

"Calm down, Strawberry Tallcake," Matt soothes, going to hug his boyfriend, "Let the kid feel important."

"Hey, hold up, I'm seventeen this year!" I argue.

"Doesn't count. You died at fifteen," Jack says, picking at non-existent dirt under his fingernails.

I pout my lips and visibly sulk. It was enough for people to treat me as a kid when I was alive. But treating me like a kid while I'm dead? That's just crossing the line. Like my life isn't hard already.

"Oh, look, you're making him cry," Calvin said to Jack.

"I didn't do anything!" Jack said.

"Didn't do anything my strawberry blonde ass! You betrayed the west! You're the reason most of us are dead," Calvin barked back.

"I feel kinda awkward being the only East-side member here," Matt said carefully.

I start crying. Full ghost tears leak out of my eyes. "Why's there no shampoo in the afterlife?" I sob desperately. "It's been almost two years since I last washed my hair!"

"Hair doesn't get dirty when you're dead!" Everyone yells at me.

I sniff. "But... but... My hair is losing its curls..."

"We don't have time for this. We need to go before the day is done," Jack sighs – face-palming himself like he can't deal with anyone here.

He's right though. We only have one day when we go to the Living Realm. It is without a doubt the best time of the year and wasting even a second would be awful. The rest of our eternal days we spend in limbo. I guess it's nice knowing we aren't booked for hell, but getting the pearly gates closed on you is embarrassing as well. If Calvin and Matt didn't find me in Limbo, I don't know what I would've done. Where I would've gone. They're the ones that explained everything to me.

"Hey, new kid, just calm down for a bit," Calvin tells Jack.

The two of them don't get along very well – to put it lightly.

"Yeah, new kid, let us veteran ghost take the lead," I chirp in, but I'm quickly sent an unimpressed look from everyone. "Alright, alright, let's just get going," I say – admitting defeat before checking the smartphone again.

Currently, we're in the Limbo Mist. It looks about the same as it sounds. A misty mirror of the living realm where everything just seems slightly off. It's not always gloomy. Sometimes it seems sunny, but the mist never leaves. The mist is also the main reason why collecting karma is the hardest thing ever. Trying to help people out while in the Limbo Mist is near impossible. The only reason I've got enough for this trip is because the four of us are helping each other out.

I check the GPS once more.

"It looks like we'll have to take a Limbo Train to get to where the dot is flickering," I say, "I'm sure there's a train station close by."

"Yes, Tallcake and I went on a date the other day. The train station is just up ahead," Matt grins, pulling Calvin along with him as the four of us follow the blond ball of sunshine.

Seriously, I never expected the two of them to be a couple, but it's kind of cute. Being from the West, I had no idea Matt was this happy-go-lucky, but after I heard he helped save my life at the Northern ball, I knew I could trust the guy. Calvin tries keeping a straight face around us, but I don't miss his face blushing whenever Matt so much as breathes the same air as him.

Urghh watching them makes me miserable. I can't believe I died a virgin. This sucks. And it was all Blakey's fault!!! If I so much as thought about bringing a girl home, he'd scare the shampoo out of her and she'd instantly block me. I guess I kind of accepted I won't ever have a girlfriend – the closest being when Amber asked me to be her date to the Northern ball, but... It still sucks. I'm a guy, or... was a guy. I guess I'm a ghost now, but I was a guy once and it would've been nice to have my first kiss before I died.

Nothing I can do about it now, I sigh. All I can hope is that Blakey is doing all right. I've only checked up twice on him so far and it didn't look too good... The first time was at a hospital. I just got enough Karma and saw Blakey take Owen to the hospital. I'm really happy he got himself a friend... Everyone needs a friend and I was scared he'd be alone without me to remind him the shampoo was running low. The second time I visited him was at Amber's wedding. Everyone went this time, but while most of us watched the actual wedding, I left halfway through to go see where my Blakey went. And... He was alone again.

I just hope he won't be alone this time...

"Stop zoning out, you need to tell us which train to get on," Calvin says – shaking me from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I ask.

"What? You still got a bullet in there?" Calvin teases, ruffling my hair.

"Hey! That's a sensitive topic!" gasp, swatting Calvin's hands away from my precious curls. While distracted, however, Matt suddenly snatches my phone from me and checks the GPS.

"It's not too far," he says, "Follow me."

I try arguing that I'm the owner of the phone, but everyone just ignores me. Some things never change. Not even in death. I sigh but follow the guys without further protest.

The Limbo ride doesn't take long. With Matt's guidance, we get off at the right stops and go about as far as the train would allow us. We could see the Living Realm through the mist, but we couldn't enter just yet. Traveling in the Limbo Mist was faster so we'd only enter the Living Realm once we arrived where the blinking red dot was taking us.

"We in some kind of forest?" Calvin asks.

"Ohhhh, a forest. That's where our next date should be! We could float around, scaring teens and stuff, messing with their things, and sprinkling glitter all around. They'd call us... the gay ghouls!" Matt grins, but we alll just shake our heads at the blond idiot. I glance back and smile at the sight of Calvin's face being redder than his hair. Man, they're cute together.

Though Calvin is right. We are definitely walking through a forest – the trees blurring past as we walk. It's a spruce forest and I think it's snowing, but I don't think anyone can be completely sure with all this mist.

It takes us about half an hour to finally arrive at the blinking red dot on the phone. Matt announces that we are here and Jack suggests it is a good time to enter the Living realm. We all agree and take a few steps away from each other, gathering our Karma.

Gathering Karma is a tricky business. Keeping it safe can be trickier. Ghosts generally keep their Karma in something they brought with them from the Living Realm. My karma is being kept in a shampoo bottle. People can laugh at me all they want, but it actually makes things easier. I can easily squirt the powdery substance out of my bottle, collecting some in my hand before I draw a door in front of me with the silver powder. When I have my door drawn, I merely step through.

Wow.

Whenever I see the Living Realm nowadays, I always just think wow. Compared to the Limbo Mist, it is a wonderland. You can see ahead of yourself for more than two meters. Colors are so much more vibrant, sounds don't come across as being underwater, smells are so rich and everything just feels so.... alive.

Why did I never appreciate it all when I had it?

"Damn, I never get used to seeing you guys in the Living Realm," Jack says.

I look over and it is pretty clear what he means. When in the Limbo Mist, we are still pretty visible and clear to each other, but whenever we cross over to the Living Realm as ghosts, we come across as misty ourselves. Like ghosts in cheesy horror movies.

Jack looks like a ghost even before he died; with his white hair and all, but Matt and Calvin look blatantly out of place. Especially Matt that's abusing his ghost powers.

"Ahhh this is my favorite part of being a ghost," Matt beams, "The flying!"

Matt floats up to the air and starts whirling around. Manipulating the distorted gravitation that applies to a being that's not quite there while still being there. It isn't really flying as much as it is hovering with style, but I'm not going to burst Matt's bubble.

"I feel like a butterfly," he sings.

I immediately go to check Calvin's reaction and sure enough, the guy is staring at Matt like he's the best shampoo in the world.

"Stop messing around, I think everyone's in there," Jack says – pointing towards the cabin right ahead of us.

It really is a typical Christmas scene. About twenty meters ahead of us is a cabin. Or at least, an expensive holiday home trying to appear like a cabin. There is a lot of wood and logs, I'd give the place that, but there are also modern glass windows and expensive sports cars parked in front. The pathway leading up to the modern cabin is kind of cute with small pebbles and Christmas lights guiding your way. The Christmas lights themselves are very charming, golden lights slowly changing patterns. And with that golden light, the delicate snow descending down seems golden as well...

"Mannnnn it looks so cozy in there. I'm freezing," I sigh.

"You can't feel anything. How are you freezing?" Jack asks.

"I dunno," I say.

With an eye roll from everyone else, we all head towards that warm cabin. Matt floats ahead and feeling tempted, I start floating towards the door as well. Jack keeps walking while Calvin tries to keep up with his boyfriend.

I'll admit, floating through stuff still feels weird as Hell. Weird in the sense that I don't feel everything at all. It really freaks me out.

Once we float through the door, we're all immediately greeted with chatter and laughter. I look over at my fellow ghosts and everyone nods before disappearing to their respective stations – looking over whoever they came to see.

I immediately float over to the heart of the cabin. The living room is by far the most spacious room in the building. A big ol' fireplace dominates one side of the room completely with a large glass window filling the other side. There are probably about half a dozen couches forming a half-circle by the fireplace with pillows and blankets spread all around – even on the floor where a massive fur rug is getting toasty by the fire. A giant Christmas tree is proudly displayed in the corner, when I float closer I notice that most of the decorations on the tree are handmade though. Some of the décors are well made while others are... well, less well made. I think the supposed Christmas angel is a blow-up doll's head. But I've never seen one of those things so I'm not sure.

And filling this cozy room is... a group of people that look more like family than anyone I've ever seen. I float over to the fireplace and sit down on the rug, watching the scene in front of me.

"Please, can someone stop Daniel from committing genocide on all the whisky bottles this house has to offer?" Amber laughs.

Amber... she is still as beautiful as ever. The sun. I'm pretty sure she is in pajamas while snuggling under that blanket, but nobody seems to mind. Everyone is dressed however they like.

A girl I'm pretty sure is called Nessa comes falling on the couch next to Amber's. She's wearing a.. uh, pretty revealing Christmas themed dress. I'm quite sure it's something you'd only see in a strip club, but I don't want to seem rude or anything so I can't say for sure.

"Let the manwhore be. He's just sad because I fooked his date last night," the red-haired girl laughs. She seems pretty drunk as well.

"Hey, hold up! I thought since you and Mancandy got together, you'd leave me be!" the one called Daniel stammered as he came sauntering into the room. I'm not sure what gives me the impression he's drunk. It could be the half-empty bottle of whisky in his hand. It could also be the sexy Santa outfit he has on. Or had on. I don't know; he's just wearing the pants and a hat. His fake beard is around his neck now.

"Owen doesn't mind me sleeping around if it's with girls," Nessa grins, "Isn't that right, Mancandy?"

"Honestly, I think it's hot," Owen says. He comes walking into the room with a Christmas sweater and tailored pants. It's clear he's been drinking as well, but not as much as everyone else. He strolls over to Nessa and kisses the girl before he sits down on the couch. "When are we opening presents?" he asks.

"We're just waiting for Paul to come back," one of the twins answer, Bryan.

"He took Pollock outside to go pee," Ryan explains.

The twins also have their own couch and they're wearing matching hideous Christmas sweaters. I'm pretty jealous of their socks though. It looks so comfortable!!!!

Just then, the one called Paul walks in and Pollock follows the scary tall guy. Paul is dressed as Santa Claus, but unlike Daniel, he has most of his clothes still on, and he kind of pulls off the look if I have to say so myself.

Pollock, however... I've never met the doggo but oh my god do I wish I had!!!!

"Who's a cute boy!?" I exclaim and immediately float over to the beautiful doggo as he runs over to Amber. The floofy doggo goes to cuddle with Amber on the couch and I join the pair.

"What shampoo do you use?" I ask the doggo earnestly.

Pollock immediately looks over at me, wagging his tail. Animals are much more perspective than humans.

"What are you looking at, Pol?" Amber asks her doggo.

Pollock whines before trying to sniff me. I giggle and hold my hands up in an attempt to stop the doggo. "It's no use," I tell him, "I'm not really here."

"The dog looks like he got a hold of Daniel's whisky," Owen comments with a chuckle.

"I don't know, he's just acting a little weird," Amber smiles.

"Who's acting weird?" Someone suddenly asked.

I know that voice....

I look up and sure enough, it's Blake...

Blakey...

He walks into the room in a black robe that looks like you'd find at an expensive hotel. He has coffee in his hand and a cookie in his other, taking a bite as he walks over.

"Move it, Stripper," Blake says as he goes to sit next to Owen.

Nessa is quite successfully pushed away and the glare she hands Blake is deadly. I'm surprised she doesn't actually kill him, but the red-haired girl doesn't put up a fight – walking over to Paul instead. She takes the giant by his hand before walking over to the only remaining couch, sitting down with him and letting her legs rest on his lap.

"You don't have to call her a stripper," Owen smiles, shaking his head.

"Was I lying?" Blake asks – kicking up his feet just like Nessa and having his legs rest on Owen.

"You need to show women some more respect," Owen sighs.

"Says the former pimp," Blake jokes, "The only woman that'll get my respect is Kelly. Not because she's particularly respectful, but I know she'll kick me in the balls if I don't."

Owen laughs. "That's my sister for you. You should count your lucky stars she's asleep and not down here, hearing what you have to say."

"Please don't snitch on me," Blake begs his friend.

Without realizing it, I've done nothing but grin this whole time. After everything... After all that's happened... my Blakey finally looks happy...

"Alright, we've got the hot chocolate," someone announces.

I look over and Xavier comes walking into the room, holding four cups of what I assume to be hot chocolate. I float up and instinctively drool because each cup has a marshmallow in it. Mannnnn that looks good!

"Hey, where's the rest?" The twins ask.

"Relax, I'm coming, I'm coming," someone says behind Xavier.

I float around and Sean comes walking into the room as well, carrying another four cups of hot chocolate. Xavier goes to hand the twins their cups before walking to Amber. I watch him hand Amber a cup with two marshmallows.

"I gave you an extra one," he whispers to her before Amber thanks him and they kiss.

Being single sucks.

Dying single sucks even more.

Sean hands a cup for Owen, Paul, and Nessa. Daniel seems content with his whisky and Blake already has a coffee. When everyone seems settled, Sean goes to sit on the rug in front of Amber and Xavier's couch. Pollock finally stops sniffing at me and goes to lick Sean's fringe. I'll admit, it's pretty damn cute.

"It seems everyone's settled. Are we ready for Christmas gifts?" Xavier asks. Everyone agrees and Paul starts handing out all the presents under the tree.

"I hate this," I hear Calvin say next to me.

I look over and Calvin and Matt are also on the rug in front of the fireplace. Though Calvin seems uptight while Matt just wants to cuddle.

"It's nice," Jack says on my other side.

I look over and the frosty guy is smiling at the scene. I can see tears appearing in his eyes, but they don't dare to escape.

"What's nice about any of this? The North killed Matt and me! They're the bad guys! Why do they get to have a happy ending?" Calvin demands.

Jack loses that warm smile of his and scowls at Calvin. "I've already told you a million times! That was the south. The south! Xavier is a good guy! The North are great people!" Jack argues.

"Of course a traitor would say that," Calvin huffs.

"Babe, calm down. Just enjoy the scene. Owen looks so happy. I never knew East and West could become friends but... Well, they seem gayer than we ever did," Matt jokes.

Calvin blushes and it seems like Jack's perfect opportunity to start arguing again. "Look, the North was responsible for West and East merging. They just needed to scare everyone to unite them against the South," Jack tries.

"Not buying it," Calvin says with a grumpy face.

I sigh. "I'm with Matt," I say, "I mean, I don't really like the North, but my leader looks happy. And Amber looks happy. That's all I came here for. I don't know if the North are good guys or bad guys, but anyone that can make Amber smile like that is a good guy in my books."

We all look over and stare at the scene again.

Everyone's handing out presents and laughing at what they got or gave. Through it all, Amber and Xavier stay cuddled, sharing secret glances like they can talk to each other without using words. Even Blake and Owen are laughing – shoving at each other whenever the other made a joke too close to home. The twins bring up funny jokes, Daniel stays drunk while glancing at the redhead for some reason. And even Sean is having a fun time. Laughing along and checking his phone every few seconds.

"Oh, my gift arrived!" Sean announces. Everyone looks at him funny, but he just grins back at them. "Come on outside," he says.

"What is it?" Amber asks.

"Your Christmas gift."

Still confused, everyone carefully follows Sean outside. I share a look with my fellow ghosts as well before we float over to the scene. I immediately know what the gift is as soon as I float outside. Everyone is looking ahead as a dark blue car comes driving to the front of the cabin. Snow's already clinging to the vehicle, but the car is just too distinct for everyone not to know who's car it is.

"Blue Jay!?" Amber asks amazed.

"Sure is," Sean says proudly.

Amber runs up to her car just as the driver gets out. It's a tall kid with a big grin. He hands Amber the keys before walking over to Sean and giving him a fist bump.

"I thought... I thought she was gone forever!" Amber cries.

"I fixed her up for you," Sean says, "Before I escaped from Jane I was working on her for a while. Jane gave me all the parts I needed so it was relatively easy."

"Jane did that?"

"Yeah."

Amber smiles sadly at the car. "Feel kind of bad for defeating Southern Sterling now... I'll miss my cousin's crazy antics," she sighs, "Though peace is much better."

Everyone agrees and Amber walks over to Sean before giving him one big hug. I float closer and hear her whisper something in his ear. "I'm so glad you came back to us. You're one of my best friends, Sean. The first person who understood me."

When Amber pulls away, she and Sean share a lingering look. The tall kid steps in between them though.

"Hey, I'm Chad, Sean's friend," the kid introduces.

"Nice to meet you Chad, I'm Amber. Leader of Northern Sterling," she greets back.

"Oh, you're my boss now!" Chad said.

"Nah," Amber replies, "I'm your friend."

I watch with the other ghosts as the group of friends all goes back inside. Xavier snakes his arm around Amber's waist and the two kiss before heading back inside. I can't move... I just float there, watching from outside. The living room is visible thanks to the open window so I can see how everyone's getting cozy on the couches again. Sean and Chad are sitting on the rug and Pollock is sniffing Chad up.

"I... I'm supposed to hate the North," I hear Calvin say. When I turn to look at him, he has undeniable tears in his eyes. "But why do I want to be a part of them so bad?"

Matt floats over to his boyfriend and hugs him tightly. "I know, Strawberry Tallcake," he says, "I know."

I look to my other side and Jack is crying as well. "I can't believe we have to leave again... I wish I could stay and watch this forever..."

This really is depressing... We need to go back to the Limbo Mist soon and the idea of leaving this pocket of happiness behind is just...

"Oh Lord, you boys are piss-babies," I suddenly hear someone say.

Everyone looks behind us and nearly shit ourselves at the ghost staring back at us. She's not like any ghost I've ever seen. Where everyone's usually misty, she's glowing bright... Wait, no... she's not a ghost at all. I've seen that holy glow before...

"The fuck?" Jack asks. "You of all people got to be an angel?" Jack asks.

Camila smirks. "Oh, you bet I did," she says.

I'll be lying if I say I don't want to know how the hell that came to be either. I didn't know Camila that well, but she definitely wasn't the nicest girl at school... Plus she was part of a gang.

"How?" Matt asks – stealing the word from my mouth.

Camila flips her long black hair and glides over to us. "It was simple really," she says, "Turns out all you need to do to get through the pearly gates is ask for forgiveness. Guess who said sorry as she bled out in a shady alleyway," she says proudly. I wouldn't exactly brag about dying in a shady alleyway but...

"This is so unfair," Matt grumbles. "I was an angel during my life."

Camila snorts. "Oh dear Matt, you were part of a gang. Just be lucky you didn't end up in hell."

"What are you doing here, Camila?" Calvin asks. "Are you just here to torment us?"

"Oh, Ginger," Camila starts, getting a glare from both Calvin and Matt. "For your information," she continues, "If you didn't know, angels have like unlimited Karma. And well, I kind of felt bad for you losers just crying out here."

"Your point?" Jack asks more annoyed.

Camila then smirks some more. "Oh, you better treat me better if you want me to extend your Living Realm Visa's."

"You can do that? Make us stay longer?" I ask with hope.

Camila nods and everyone looks at each other with... Joy. Pure Christmas Joy. This really is the best present we could have gotten.

"Tallcake and I are placing dibs on the rug!" Matt suddenly yells.

"Hey, I wanted to relax at the rug!" I protest.

"Can I sit close to Xavier?"

"Oh, I just want to sit on Owen and Blake's laps, hehe."

We all head back inside and thanks to Camila, can spend as much time as we want with our friends. Though they don't know we are there, I'm sure they could feel it in some parts of themselves.

We might not be alive, but we were once part of it all and we'll continue keeping an eye on our friends for as long as it takes.

Merry Christmas.

Hey Golden Cabbages.

I'm super tired so I'll keep it short. I really hope y'all enjoyed this special chapter. Trust me this is the best you will get haha. It was pretty long so I'm spent haha.

Hope y'all have a great Christmas. I'm not celebrating it this year but you should still enjoy it!

Stay Golden, stay cabbage

~ Holly Shmit