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NOW HERE'S THE thing, every year before Christmas, the Wrights and the Millses go on a Christmas trip outside of the UK for usually three to five days. It's become a tradition ever since 2008 and ever since then, we've never stopped. Yes, our families are that tight for all of us to go on a trip together. It's something we've all grown used to doing every Christmas, like it's not Christmas if there's no Wright-Mills Christmas Trip.

There was never an excuse to cancel the trip. Back in 2010 we were on our way to Australia when Harvey came down with a really bad flu. We told them that we could cancel the trip but Harvey really wanted to go see Bondi Beach so we ended up going anyway. Then in 2013 we booked our tickets to Colorado a little too late that my family almost couldn't make it. The Millses got there first and we ended up getting there twelve hours later after a lot of aggressive persuasion and determination from my parents. Then on our trip to Germany in 2016 the boys had gotten in this argument that blew up and became a huge fight. Small to say the least, it was a very interesting trip considering they were both so hotheaded. I could go on and list more eventful trips but that would take forever.

This year we're going to a mountain lodge at Park City, Utah. Aunt Tessa has a friend whose family owns the lodge so we were able to get a good deal. We'll be there for four days and three nights, and we'd be back home in time for Christmas Eve. It was a really big and beautiful lodge. It's kind of like our trip to Colorado but a whole lot better.

Max and I haven't spoken since the night of the Winter Formal. We didn't greet each other a good morning and good night, like we usually do, the mornings and evenings after the formal. Today would be the sixth day of us not talking and interacting. This isn't even supposed to be that bad since we went almost five months without talking to each other, but this is somehow a lot worse and a lot heavier than those before this. And this year, Max and I have the wonderful privilege of being the issue to cancel the trip, but since the trip never gets cancelled, we have no escape from each other.

Our flight to Utah was at 1:15 AM and the airport was packed with people when we got there. Friends saying their goodbyes, families reuniting, and couples giving each other goodbye or hello kisses. It was nearly a 15-hour flight, including the layover at Chicago. All of us were trying to not lose our minds due to lack of sleep except for Harvey, Alfie, and Tilly who seemed to have a lot of energy in them like they always do.

"Charlie, dear, do you want to sit with Max or are you alright where you'll be?" Sara asked me as we waited to board the plane.

I had my nose in a book when she asked me. When I looked up, I saw Max glancing to see what I would answer. The boys, Alfie, Leo, Tilly, and I have a habit of switching seats so we could sit with who we wanted to for the duration of the flight. At this point, both our families were well aware of Max and I's current situation. Sara was just being kind and I appreciated it a lot.

"I'm alright where I'll be." I half-smiled.

"Okay, love." She smiled and turned back to continue her conversation with my mum and Aunt Tessa.

We were all dead tired by the time we got to the lodge at around a little past 4 PM. The boys share a room with Tilly and Leo, I'm in a room with Alfie, Aunt Tess and Luke, mum and dad get their own room, and so do Sara and Paul. Once we checked-in and separated into our rooms, we all got our much needed rest and naps to rid ourselves of the tiredness and jetlag. The first day of the trip is always a free day so we could spend it however we wanted.

When I woke up, my only companion in the room was Aunt Tessa. I was the last to wake up. Luke and Alfie were going around the lodge while everyone else was somewhere else. Aunt Tessa was reading a book by the fireplace, so I gently made her aware that I was up.

"Hi honey! You're up." She smiled as she put down her book.

"Hi Aunt Tess." I smiled as I rubbed my eyes to adjust to the light. "What time is it?"

"Seven twenty." She replied as she checked her phone.

"Where is everyone?"

"Luke and Alfie are going around the lodge, and everyone else is... uhm... somewhere." She smiled sweetly.

"Alright, I get ya, Aunt Tess." I chuckled.

"Hey you wanna go down to Main Street?" She exclaimed as she hopped onto mine and Alfie's bed.

"The shops might close in a while though. It's getting late."

"Honey, it's Utah and it's Main Street. And second, it's Christmas. We've got all night." She smiled excitedly. "Plus, we already missed the dinner here so we gotta eat somewhere else."

"Main Street, here we come!" I laughed and got up to change.

——

After I changed into warmer, cleaner, and more presentable clothes, Aunt Tessa and I were able to catch a shuttle going to Main Street. The ride was quick and it was a good idea since it was too dark out to walk. Since we missed dinner at the lodge, Aunt Tess and I hit a pizza joint with really good prices. Aunt Tessa ordered a Margherita pizza and I ordered a meat lovers pizza then each of us got a cheeseburger and iced tea.

"So, tell me about you and Max. What's been going on?" She asked as she took a bite from her pizza.

"Ugh! It's terrible, Aunt Tess! Max and I are a mess." I sighed as I took a bite from my pizza.

"You, Max, Harvey, Alfie, and Leo are really a mess. Be more specific." She chuckled with a mouthful. I had to laugh at that because it was true but then my expression quickly changed.

"Max and I haven't talked in six days." I said with a serious face.

"You got through five months. You guys will be alright in a heartbeat."

"Not this time, I think. The days have been dragging so slowly and it gets harder and harder each day." I sighed as I took a bite from my cheeseburger.

"Okay, what happened at the Formal? You came home earlier than we all thought you would but you never told us the details, except for your mum and Alfie." She said after taking a swig from her iced tea. "I'm actually surprised you came home. I was thinking you'd stay the night at the Millses'."

I told Aunt Tessa everything from the first dance to the dinner. She listened intently and asked questions here and there for clarification. It felt good to finally talk about this with Aunt Tessa. Like mum, I told Aunt Tessa a lot about my life and they always knew how to guide me. The more I talked about the night of the formal, the more I was starting to feel better. But at the same time the weight of the consequences of Max and I's actions were dragging me down further.

"Then I was dancing with Harvey when I saw Max swarmed by a lot of girls. And their eyes were so fiery, it was as if they were looking for me and they wanted me to see them sweeping Max off his feet."

"Right, and then?"

"So I stormed out of the formal and ran to the church."

"You ran? Out in the cold? In your really open dress and heels? All by yourself?" She gasped with wide eyes and almost choking on her pizza.

"Yeah, basically." I shrugged.

"As your aunt, I'm really worried and I'm telling you to never do that again." She said sternly, but her expression and tone shifted quickly. "As your cool aunt, that's something right out of a romance film, honey!"

"It was, Aunt Tess! It really was!" I exclaimed, not to sure if I was ecstatic or if I was trying to make a point.

"Go on..." She said as she squinted her eyes to show interest.

"Just when I was enjoying my lone time, Max comes in. Woopdeedoo!" I cheered sarcastically.

"Oh my gosh!"

"Then we talked in the church."

"About?"

"About us." I sighed. "Max found out I got jealous since I kinda slipped then he defended himself saying that they were all just girls he talks to."

"Typical fuckboy move." She chuckled.

"I know right! It's such a Big-Headed Max thing to do." I laughed along. "I forced him to go back to the formal but he said that in movies, characters end up in a church when they're sad. He even mentioned Before Sunrise."

"He did?!" Aunt Tessa gasped and I nodded. She smiled and held a hand over her heart. "Awww! My sweetheart."

"Then I made the bold move to ask him why he likes me of all girls in the world."

"Dumb move because the answer is so obvious, but go on." She said as she shoved her burger in her mouth and I sent her a death glare.

"Aunt Tessa!" I laughed at her words and at how she devoured the burger. "Anyways, he was so specific and he literally listed down why he likes me."

"Like...?"

"Like my eyes, how soft my skin is, my smile, my scent, how I carry myself to a standard of grace, how I'm a sunshine wherever I go,"

"That's so sweet!"

"Then he mentioned how I'm such a big part of his and Harv's lives, and how he cannot imagine life without me. Then he said I make him so happy and I was just like 'same here,' because I was panicking and I had no idea what to say."

"So dumb but so cute. Go on."

"I asked him when he fell in love with me and he said a week after my 16th birthday."

"No way!" She gasped, once again almost choking on her pizza.

"I know right!" I agreed ecstatically.

"It's been that long?" She asked.

"I'm still trying to sink it in too, but yeah. Then I utterly lost it and went off about how mad I was about them singing Last Christmas, then Max got mad too, then I ended up telling him I like him too, then-"

"You told him you like him back?" She cut me off and she exclaimed in a loud voice causing some people to turn to us.

"Not directly. More like a read-between-the-lines sorta thing." I shrugged. "Then Max demanded to know what's so wrong with falling in love with him and I said that it was 'goddamn everything' then I explained my whole side about why I really didn't want to catch feelings."

"Oh baby. How are you holding up?" She asked so emphatically.

"Not good. Really not good. And this trip isn't making it any easier." I sighed and rubbed my hands down my face in exasperation. "Then he said that he could go all over the world and never find a girl like me. That's why I went home, because the globe from him wasn't just a globe."

Aunt Tessa saw the globe that night after I changed into my pajamas and didn't bother to join them in the entertainment room. She wanted to check up on me so she went to my room. She understood that I was too tired to tell her the whole story so she didn't push the issue any further. But she saw the globe and she saw everything in it. Small to say the least, she was super ecstatic about the globe and she gushed over it.

"Do you want to hear what I have to say about it?" She gently asked me as if she was afraid to overstep.

"Yes please." I sighed and started focusing on finishing my food this time.

"Well, love, I'm one of the people who saw you, Max, and Harvey grow up together. I saw you three from a different perspective which was able to give me a good view on you and Max. Aside from him being your best friend, I really believe that he's your soulmate."

"So I've heard from the 17 out of 21 online quizzes I took that told me if my best friend is my soulmate or not." I said matter-of-fact,y with a mouthful of pizza. "I also found out that the kind of Spiderman I am is Tom Holland, my Avenger name would be Steel Pizza, and I'm 67% Princess Jasmine."

"I'm 86% Princess Jasmine. Beat that!" Aunt Tessa exclaimed and made different poses to flex on me.

"Okay Aunt Tessa..." I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"But see? Even online tests can testify to you guys. And the random information you just shared with me is something you and Max would completely find a way to make conversation about and laugh at in the end." She explained. "You know each other so well that both of you know well enough how to take care of one another, how to cheer each other up, and the like. It takes someone special to know you well enough to remind you who you are if in the event you wake up with amnesia."

"What a nice example." I smiled sarcastically at her example.

"I'm trying to make a point, bear with me." She chuckled and I nodded. "Sure, all types of relationships have their ups and downs. Even best friends have their feuds. Remember when you and Max fought over who won at Mario Kart? And that time when you guys would argue when you didn't think that the person the other has a crush on is an entirely good influence?"

"Yeah, I do." I smiled down at my pizza as I remembered those memories.

Max and I often bickered and had petty arguments when we played video games. It wasn't just a video game for us, it was also a fight for dominance and who was better. Add Harvey in the picture and it's like World War III. Then that time when Keith Jones was becoming a really bad influence on me, Max and I often had arguments because I was being so hardheaded.

"But the thing about being in love with your best friend and being together with your best friend is that it's always a fun time. It's never a dull moment, I swear. It's like every day is a chance to do something fun and new." She smiled sweetly as if she were trying to sell a product to me. "And I get that you're living with a constant fear like 'what if one day he wakes up and he doesn't love me anymore' or 'what if this ruins our friendship,' but you aren't alone. You've got your best friend with you and you guys can face your fears and other challenges together. It's always tougher to fight a battle when you're alone but when you're with him, you'll never be alone."

She sighed in defeat as if she didn't know what else to say. I was afraid my face had given away how I was feeling about all this. Personally, I'd think I'm a lost cause when it comes to this whole thing. Aunt Tessa smiled gently and took my hands in hers. Ah yes, the intimate moment of hand holding that she often did when she wanted to let me know that things would be alright. Of course she had to pull that out of the bag.

"All I'm trying to say is that Max is a really great guy. He's your best friend and your soulmate. It may seem so cliche and that sucks, but you may never find a guy like him ever again. He's already admitted that he's never gonna find someone as special as you, so what's stopping you from saying the same?"

"Thanks, Aunt Tessa. That really enlightened me. Gave me a new point of view on the whole thing." I smiled at her, meaning every word I said.

"I'm always here, baby. I love you." She smiled back and let go of my hands.

"Love you too, Aunt Tess."

——

After dinner, we stopped by a few open galleries. Aunt Tessa has a huge appreciation for the arts and I have to admit that her artsy-ness was starting to rub off on me. I started to like galleries because, aside from studying the artists' works and trying to put meaning in them, it was a good place to gather your thoughts as well. Some artworks can remind you of certain memories or certain people, and it's therapeutic somehow. Being in those galleries allowed me to think about Aunt Tessa's advice for Max and I's situation. I couldn't help but wonder if he was gathering as much advice as he could too.

Then we went to one of the jewelers since Aunt Tessa and I were fans of accessories and trinkets. As we looked over the glass cases of necklaces and bracelets, Aunt Tessa did a verbal checklist on if I've done my Christmas shopping.

"Do you have a gift for your mum already?" She asked.

"No, actually. I was hoping to find something here in Utah." I admitted as I eyed a bracelet that looked like a vine with flowers around one's wrist.

"Get her that. She'll love it." Aunt Tessa said as she pointed at the same bracelet.

"You sure?" I smiled as I turned to her.

"She's my sister. I know her well enough even though I hate her most of the time." She smiled back.

"Right."

"What about your dad and Alfie? You got something for them?"

"Of course."

"Leo and Tilly? And Paul and Sara?"

"Yup."

"Max and Harvey?"

"Everyone except Max." This caught her by surprise as she gasped and turned to me in shock.

"You're an asshole. You know that, right?" She said, utterly stupefied.

"Aunt Tessa!" I laughed.

"You're not gonna give him a gift just 'cause you guys aren't in good terms?!" She exclaimed.

"No! It's not that. I actually do have a gift for him. I'm just not so sure if it's the right gift." I shrugged and asked the jeweler for the bracelet I was eyeing for my mum.

"Well what did you get him?" She asked as she asked to see a necklace up close.

"I got him those LED strip lights that change color. He always mentioned them so I thought he'd like it. But it doesn't seem special enough." I sighed in defeat. "He always gets me something special for Christmas. At least after he pulls his Trick Gift trick on me."

"Don't tell me you got Harvey the same thing though."

"Oh I got Harvey Supreme boxers. Now that's a gift he would appreciate and count as something special." I laughed then turned to the jeweler. "Can you put it in a nice bag? It's a gift."

"Of course." The old lady smiled sweetly at me.

"Of course you did." Aunt Tessa laughed. "Those are good though. Those really encapsulate your friendship."

"Thanks Aunt Tess." I smiled.

I did get Max the strip lights and I got Harvey the boxers. I also got Harvey a whole set of bandanas since we was going on nonstop about them to me lately. And I also made Max this sort of "Max's Mix" thing where I burned all of his favourite songs into a CD and made a nice cover for it. That I didn't tell Aunt Tessa about since I knew she would freak out.

It was always so hard to find the boys a gift since I'm a sentimental gift-giver, like there always had to be a special underlying meaning to a gift. Finding Harvey a gift was always easier since he was always very vocal about the things he liked or wanted. As for Max, him being my best best friend made it even harder. The CD burned with all his favourite songs seemed like it wasn't enough and neither did the strip lights, and it pissed me off.

We stopped at an antique shop before heading back to the lodge for Karaoke Night. We didn't stay too long since we didn't really find anything we liked. But there were a lot of globes in the antique shop that it reminded me too much of Max. Something about the look on my face must have given it away that's why Aunt Tessa rushed to get out of there.

By the time we got back to the lodge, everyone was waiting for us at one of the karaoke rooms on the third floor. Aunt Tessa and I rushed to our room to drop off our purchases from the jewellers before going to the karaoke room.

"Sorry we're late!" Aunt Tessa exclaimed as we barged into the room.

"It's fine. D'you guys have dinner already?" Mum asked.

"Yup." I smiled as Aunt Tessa winked at me.

Aunt Tessa took her seat beside Luke and the last space left was beside Leo and Harvey. It was a good spot if Max didn't sit to Harvey's left. The tension was too obvious and Harvey could barely stand it, but he knew better than to stand up and find a new place to sit.

Sara was singing while Aunt Tessa and I browsed through the two logbooks. I punched in a few numbers after Aunt Tessa did. Our families loved a good karaoke night every once