"11:56. Almost there. Oh geez." You said, pacing. Pete, your boyfriend, said that he has been planning a special "event" for twelve o'clock on your birthday. You take a deep breath and look at the clock. 11:57. You hear your older brother, Dalton, playing his guitar. You quickly walk to his bedroom to calm yourself.
"Dalton?" You say, knocking on his door. You hear panicked rustling inside and Dalton opens the door, but only a crack. You see his one eyeliner-ed eye peeking out.
"Yeeeeess?" He asks.
"Do you know when Pete's coming?"
"Well, if I did know, I wouldn't tell you. And if I didn't know, I wouldn't tell you. And if in some sort of alternate dimension that I did in fact know, I wouldn't tell you. And if my subconscious knew and I didn't, I-"
"Okay, I get it. You're not telling me." You reply, rolling your eyes.
"Precisely. Mmmmmbye!" He says, shutting the door. You walk back to your room, with the band posters and fairy lights, the bookshelves and dark purple walls, and plop down on your bed. Looking at your phone, you sigh. It's 11:59.
"C'mon, Pete..." You mutter. Suddenly a loud crash rings through the house. You jump up and run out to the hallway. Dalton is lying on the ground, with Pete fallen on top of him, and his friend Patrick fallen on him, and to top it off, your best friend Cleo is sitting crisscross on Patrick's back.
"Hi!" She says, waving. You begin to say something, but stop yourself.
In a weak voice, Dalton says, "Well...what a pleasant surprise, right?" Dalton, you, and Cleo laugh, but no one else. You watch as they start picking themselves up, and Pete, with a cheesy smile, kisses your cheek and whispers, "Happy birthday, love." You smile at him, and Patrick instructs you to stay in your room until they finish setting up. You wait patiently- wait, scratch that. You wait impatiently for about five minutes, and finally Cleo comes to get you. You walk out of your bedroom to find a sight...well, that's strange. Patrick is duct taped to the wall, Dalton is attempting to cut an orange with chopsticks, and Pete was hanging up mistletoe.
"...Christmas in January...?" You breathe.
"Hm?" Cleo asks.
"Eh, nothing." You reply. After Cleo goes to help Patrick, you walk up to the most sane of the guys, Pete, and...
"What the hecky peck is going on here?" You ask, laughing.
"You see, you're the birthday girl, and a normal tradition for American people is to throw a party for the said birthday girl, and we just want to keep up the tradition because we are American citizens and-"
"Well, yes, but like...why is Patrick taped to the wall...and...why is Dalton cutting oranges with Japanese cutlery?"
"I...I can't explain that..." He replies, looking down. You tussle his hair. He looks up at you, bites his lip, and leans in. He kisses you softly and wraps his arms around your waist. You hear Dalton muttering, "The person said this would work at Panda Express...and now the emo kid is kissing my baby sister...and the fedora kid's still taped to the wall...and everything's gone wild..." And behind you, you hear Patrick and Cleo giggling. After a little while, Pete pulls away and smiles.
"That was nice, wouldn't you say?" He says, smirking. You nod, biting your lip. He kisses you again, but this time Dalton breaks you up.
"Alright, alright, I think we've shared enough DNA for now..." He says.
"Nah, man. I don't think so." Pete says, going for another kiss. You playfully slap him, and Dalton just rolls his eyes.
Patrick comes up behind you and scares you.
"Happy birthday, Nix! I didn't get to say it earlier as I was part of a...totem pole." He says awkwardly. He slowly steps away. Cleo comes up next.
"Happy-" she wipes tears away, "birthday-" she sniffles, "Phoenix." She hugs you tightly. Dalton stands right in front of you.
"Now, Phoenix, I think we need to talk about something." He glances at Pete. "Now that you are a legal adult, doesn't mean you can just run around and...well, what I'm trying to say is...abstinence." He tries to keep a serious face but fails. "Okay, well, just try to make good life decisions, k, sis?" He says, and hugs you. You tear up, but you're not exactly sure why.
"Oh my gosh, guys, thank you. This is the best birthday ever." You say, and you all group hug. After you all break apart, Pete tries to hide a smile. You look at him.
"What?" You ask. He stifles a laugh.
"Christmas...in January..." He starts laughing uncontrollably.
"Oh, shut up, you." You say, giggling.

Dalton is still trying to cut his orange, Cleo and Patrick are cuddling on the couch, and you and Pete, well, to be completely honest, are making out. Pete pulls away finally and leans towards your ear.

"Merry Christmas...and a happy new age."