((I actually typed this whole thing without taking a single break, that proves I had way too much inspiration for this.

Summary: I bump into Marv in New York, but we used to be dating and I thought he was in prison

Words: 1.5k words

Me and my family took a trip to New York for Christmas, because my uncle moved there and Dad really wanted to be able to see his brother for Christmas. I didn't mind at all mostly because New York would be a fun place during Christmas, well, the movies explain it that way. Although the large city was constantly crowded every hour of the day, Dad insisted that we go Christmas shopping and just walk around before going to his brother's new place. But I was hoping doing something new this year would help me forget what happened last Christmas. What is it you're asking? Well, I fell in love with Marv Murchins, the wet bandits. Everything started out well until I discovered he was arrested along with his friend Harry for trying to rob some kid's house. I was absolutely devastated upon hearing the news, and I hated Christmas ever since that day. Sometimes I do think about Marv on some occasions.

We walked past a large store called 'Duncan's Toy Chest.' The building looked huge, and crowded as well. After some convincing, we managed to get Dad to let us look around. The inside was littered with kids and parents running around and laughing. While looking around on my own, I noticed a couple holding hands. I frowned when I started to remember one of my most favorite memories; Marv stealing things from the store for me. A single tear rolled down my cheek. I never mentioned my secret relationship with Marv to Dad or any of my brothers, because I knew they wouldn't let me date Marv Murchins of all people. So you could guess they were confused last year when I looked extremely depressed. A blonde haired kid wearing a beanie wandered past me while I squeezed past to get into another asile. 'Last Christmas' started to play throughout the store, reminding me of those memories I had with Marv before he was arrested. Dad soon found me standing there, and immediately noticed that I was crying. "Modesta? Is everything alright? You always seem to be sad around this time of year." He stood beside me and rubbed my back, "I-I'm fine." I muttered out as I wiped away my stray tears with my jacket sleeve. "Did something happen last year that I should know about?" He asked me, "It was nothing, can we go now?" I hugged myself, starting to whimper quietly while all those thoughts started flooding my mind. Now every thought was about one thing; Marv. I would've wished I knew him and his friend were going to rob someone's house, so I would've been there to stop him. "Okay, we'll go." He kept his hand on my back as we left the store, soon followed by my brother. We stopped by a café and grabbed some hot chocolate before finally stopping by my uncle's place, which was a huge condo type apartment. I was surprised he could afford this knowing how expensive rent can be in New York. Just the sight of my little cousin made me feel better, but those thoughts continued to remain in the very back of my head. "I'm glad you guys could make it." My uncle stated. Suddenly, my oldest brother emerged from the entrance doors, carrying loads of presents. While everyone crowded around him, I stood in front of the large windows and looked down at the busy traffic. My head tilted slightly at the sight of a young kid running down the sidewalk with two men chasing after them, but shrugged it off since everyone knows loads of weird things happen in New York.

"Is Modesta okay?" Wyatt, my oldest brother asked. "I don't know, she always seems to be sad around Christmas." Dad responded as he and Wyatt stood beside me, "Modesta?" He laid his hand on my shoulder. "Huh?" My gaze left the busy traffic below, "Are you hiding something?" He suddenly asked. My response was to make a confused face at him, "What, no-" I tried sounding surprised at his remark; which worked successfully. They shrugged off my behavior and went off to the living area. While I was sitting on the couch with everyone else, I reached into my pocket and felt a paper-like thing stuffed into my pocket. Confusion washed over to me as I pulled out the strange object from my pocket. My eyes widened at the polaroid photo in between my fingers; a picture of me and Marv together. I was staring at the picture for a little bit too long while all the memories from the back of my mind forced their way back. "What are you looking at?" Wyatt from beside me asked, "Nothing!" I stuffed the picture back into my pocket. "Modesta, seriously, is everything okay?" My uncle stopped his conversation, "Mhm." I slouched into the couch. "I'm getting something to drink real quick." I made the mistake of shrugging off my jacket and disappearing into the kitchen. My aunt was in the kitchen cooking some dinner for everyone. "Do you need something hun?" She asked me, "Yeah, some water." I responded. She motioned her head to where she kept the cups. I grabbed a glass and poured in some water and took a huge gulp before making my way back into the living room. But I stopped dead in my tracks at the sight; everyone was holding and looking at what looked like a polaroid photo. "Is that who I think it is?" I heard Dad ask. I quickly appeared, "Hey! That's mine-" I snatched the photo from them. "Modesta, who was that?" Wyatt asked me. "Nobody." I responded, "It looked like some kind of boyfriend to me." Wyatt answered. "Wait, wait, Chuck." My uncle said to him, "Yeah?" He turned towards him, "Weren't you talking about some people named 'the wet bandits' last Christmas?" Steven asked. Wyatt displayed a confused look at the strange name, but Nevan and Dad knew exactly what he was referring to. "Oh my god-" Dad covered his mouth, "What? What's going on?" Wyatt looked around everyone confused. "The wet bandits are two robbers from back where we live." Dad turned towards Wyatt as he spoke, "But what does her picture have to do with any of this?" Wyatt asked. "Well, in that picture was one of the wet bandits. What was his name... ahhh! Marv Murchins!" Dad pointed a finger. Everyone slowly turned towards me, and I could tell Dad was pissed off. "You know what? I think I could use some fresh air!" I darted out of their condo and ran down the hallway, and onto the elevator. The last thing I saw before the elevator doors closed was Dad and Wyatt rushing towards me.

Once the doors opened, I ran out, accidentally bumping into a few people until I was on the streets of New York. I kept running until I was as far away from the apartment complex as possible. I stood in an alleyway and breathed heavily from all the running. After a couple minutes of resting my worn out legs from minutes of running, Dad and Wyatt appeared into the view of the alleyway I was hiding in. "There you are." Dad said with an aggravated tone in his voice. My response was to dunk underneath both of them and start running again. While I was running I never paid any attention to what was in front of me, more focused on how close Wyatt and Dad were to me. Suddenly I slammed into someone's chest, landing on top of the stranger. Once I opened my eyes to see who I accidentally bumped into, I was completely shocked; it was Marv fucking Murchins. "Shit, I'm so sorry-" He stopped and stared at me, "Modesta!" I heard Dad's voice in the distance. "Yeah, Modesta. No time to explain, let's go." I immediately got up off of him and onto my feet, grabbing his hand and running the opposite direction. "Is that actually you?" Marv asked while we were running, "Yes, and is that you, Marv?" I kept my eyes ahead of me. "Yeah." His sweet voice filled my ears.

After some running, we ended up in some other place, where I saw a familiar face; Harry. "Damnit Marv, who the hell is-" He stopped and stared at me, "Modesta?" He asked as I nodded. "Marv, how the hell did you find your girlfriend all the way in New York?" Harry turned towards him, "I have no idea, she quite literally just knocked into me." Marv shrugged. "So, what were you doing in New York?" Marv asked as Harry started leading us both somewhere else. "Well, my uncle moved here and my Dad wanted to visit him for Christmas. What about you? I thought you were in prison." I looked up at him, "Long story short, we escaped." Marv laughed while I joined him. I inhaled happily and leaned my head against him, forgetting that I was running away from my family. The only thing that mattered right now was Marv.