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p . smethwyck (feebees) wrote in valesco, @ 2015-12-24 22:21:00

WHO: Phoebe Smethwyck and Lottie Sweeting
WHAT: Christmas chats
WHERE: Lottie's flat
WHEN: Tonight
STATUS: Finishing in comments



Phoebe stood, stiffly, awkwardly, in the center of Lottie’s living room, listening to her friend flutter about and going on about something that had to do with Diagon Alley. She couldn’t be sure, because her mind was focused on not looking at the couch she was sure Lottie had shagged Flynn on.

Oh, Merlin, even the thought made her chest clench, and she wondered how she had convinced herself that having their annual cookies and gift-exchange at Lottie’s would be fine. She certainly could not have brought her over to the flat she now shared with Elphias and Leo, as that was...well...a secret flat that she shared with Elphias and Leo. Only her brother knew of her true living arrangements, and she had been nervous to tell him because who knew what Grayson Wilkes was up to, how long he was willing to wait for one of them to mess up---

“...hm?” Phoebe let out, realizing that Lottie had been talking to her while she was getting lost in her thoughts. Her eyes drifted to the couch, then back up to Lottie. “No, no, I don’t need to sit. I sit all day.”

Lottie could not believe how completely unprepared she was for today. She had known for weeks that Phoebe would be coming over. No, longer! They did this every year, so Lottie could not believe that she had nearly forgot. Considering what a blur the past few months had been, perhaps it shouldn’t have been such a surprise that the year was suddenly nearly over.

She had burnt two batches of cookies in her attempts to bake and clean her flat at the same time. Nearly crying the second time out of sheer frustration. Lottie had seen Phoebe maybe once since Halloween, and now their evening was going to be ruined because she could not even manage to pay attention long enough to make cookies.

“Oh, okay, just make yourself at home,” Lottie said, wanting desperately to sit herself. Somehow, she had managed to pull herself together before Phoebe arrived, but it wasn’t by much. All day, she assured herself, everything would be fine once Phoebe showed up. Except the air somehow felt stiffer, and Lottie just prattled on about whatever came to mind in hope that she was just imaging how awkward it felt to have Phoebe just stand there.

“Would you like some hot mulled wine?” she offered, flitting back into the kitchen. “I found a new recipe. Oranges and clove, it smells amazing. I suppose if you’re only going to get one thing right, it should be the alcohol.”

It would later be embarrassing with how quickly Phoebe agreed to a glass. She dropped to a seat in the kitchen, taking much too large of an initial gulp after Lottie poured her glass. Okay, okay! They could just stay in the kitchen, eating burnt cookies. They could do that.

Flynn was her ex, it wasn’t like he was cheating on her, or anything. Or that Lottie had stolen him away. Maybe she and Ollie had been too quick to judge, or maybe---Flynn loved oranges and clove. Was that how Lottie had found the recipe? Was that---wait, had it been oranges and clove? Merlin, it hadn’t been that long, but---it---Phoebe kept her lips pressed to the glass, trying to calm her thoughts.

“Don’t worry about the cookies,” she said, waving her hand toward the gift bag she’d had clenched in her fist a few minutes ago. “Open your gift.”

The gift, purchased before spotting the pictures in Witch Weekly, was a new bag with a matching scarf. A pink that the lady in the shop had insisted would look perfect with red hair.

“Oh!” Lottie abandoned her own drink on the counter at the mention of gifts, setting off to retrieve Phoebe’s. Somehow, she hadn’t even managed to get a tree set up this year, which was a depressing thought whenever her mind settled long enough for her to remember it was that time of year and notice the empty space by the window where she normally put a tree. You’d think that with how little she was sleeping, she’d have time to get it done.

“Here you are!” She called in triumph, finding the neatly wrapped parcel she had stashed in the side table drawer. Lottie had bought the bracelets ages ago, having has spotted them on a whim. She had a hard time choosing which to by with all the different charms and colors. In the end, she ended up with four or five, but Lottie thought they looked better that way all stacked up.

“Aw, Phoebe!” Once Lottie had passed Phoebe her present, she wasted no time more time listening to the suggestion to ignore the cookie. Running her fingers along the soft fabric of the scarf, her hearts swelled. By now, she should no longer be surprised how well her friend knew her but sometimes she wondered if she truly did enough to show how much she appreciated it.

“This is beautiful!” she gushed wrapping it around her neck before taking the time to inspect the bag closer. “Now we just need a girls night out so I can show it off! It’s been too long since we’ve gone out, just us.”