A Bundle of Gifts

Thanksgiving Night, Thursday, November 28

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Brandon Cole watched as his girlfriend swung around on the sidewalk with her arms spread out. Yes, you are beautiful. At eighteen-years-old, Ashley Woodsen looked every part of a cute, perky teenager. Her long, straight light blonde hair, blue eyes, medium bust, and toned ass led numerous guys at Azure Rocks High School to curse Brandon for locking her down as a girlfriend. Not to be outdone, just as many, if not more, girls would say the same about the friendly cheerleader scoring the star quarterback as her boyfriend. Also eighteen, girls swooned over Brandon's handsome face, dark brown eyes, and short, messy black hair. And they dreamed of running their hands over his athletically sculpted body.

Of course, the teenager knew his girlfriend wasn't talking about herself when she admired the beauty around her. No, the couple was out enjoying the annual tradition of several streets lighting up their Christmas decorations. This particular neighborhood was famous around Azure Rocks for every single resident going all-out in the holiday spirit. Even the street names had been renamed decades ago to reflect its tradition. The teenagers had chosen to walk along the sidewalk rather than in their cars. Reindeer Road was currently bumper-to-bumper with vehicles as families took their children out to enjoy the sparkling sights.

"Look at that snowman family! They're so cute," squealed Victoria Walker. She pointed to a snowman decoration, his snowwoman wife, and two snowchildren, a boy and a girl.

"I so want my parents to get those for our yard," Ashley said, clapping with joy at the snowman family. She and Victoria raced over to admire the decorations from a closer distance.

Brandon had long become accustomed to having Victoria tag along wherever he went with Ashley. The girls were best friends, so it was to be expected. Not that he minded. Sure, Victoria could be a little uptight when it came to anything involving sex, but she was easy on the eyes. Also, eighteen and a blonde, Vicky's hair was long and slightly wavy with green eyes, a large bust, and a nicely curved ass. If Brandon could be entirely honest, he would admit that he wished he could switch over Vicky's breasts onto Ashley. That would make her perfect in his eyes.

"They do seem to transform into eight-year-olds, don't they?" Dustin Lewis joked while chuckling. Dustin was another person that Brandon had learned to deal with always being around as he was Victoria's boyfriend. Brandon didn't particularly mind the brown-eyed teen with his short, messy brown hair as he was a nice person. Almost too nice if you asked the quarterback, but that was okay as Dustin never caused any problems. The bigger issue could be the awkward silence between the two teens as they had almost nothing in common to talk about when left alone together. That's the reason why Brandon made sure to invite a third couple for their holiday sightseeing.

"Don't you find it annoying?" asked a dark-haired teenager. "It seems like something that would get old fairly fast."

"Now, Lisa, be nice," the teen's boyfriend reminded her.

"Hey, I'm always nice," Lisa Rivera defended herself. She was usually a friendly girl but could have a sassy streak, one that Brandon knew well.

A gorgeous girl of Hispanic heritage, Lisa had long, wavy black hair, dark brown eyes, large breasts, and a curvy ass. Of all the teenagers in their six-person group, Brandon knew Lisa the longest and maybe the best. Their mothers were close friends that co-owned a restaurant, and his twin sister, Madison, happened to be Lisa's best friend. Her passionate attitude proved to be a breath of fresh air on this holiday tour.

"Hey, look, girls! It's Sam the Snowman and Rudolph!" Lisa's boyfriend pointed out loudly, rushing down the sidewalk with the two blondes.

"God, Zack's now turned into an eight-year-old as well," Lisa remarked, watching the three happy teens.

Zachary Bishop had proven to be a unique friend for Brandon. They had befriended each other earlier in high school when Zack tutored the football player when his grade slipped. That had put in jeopardy his ability to play on the team. Similar to Dustin, Zack was a nice person and one that Brandon had little in common with on the surface, but unlike Dustin, Brandon and Zack seemed to click.

Also, a senior at Azure Rocks High, Zack had short, dark brown hair and blue eyes. While not as athletically gifted as Brandon, Zack had some basketball skills. They both could talk about their interest in each other's preferred sport. Another significant factor in their friendship came from the Bishops and Woodsens being close families. Zack and Ashley's mothers were good friends, and their older sisters were best friends.

"I guess we better catch up," Dustin said, hurrying ahead.

"We should have dragged Maddie with us," Lisa remarked to Brandon as they took their time to catch up.

"Are you crazy? She'd turn into an eight-year-old too. Only she'd be the bratty kid that wants to go home," Brandon replied in disbelief.

"Exactly."

"What put you in such a bitchy mood today?"

"Ugh! My dad and my aunt spent all Thanksgiving dinner arguing over my cousin," Lisa revealed.

"Oscar?"

"Yeah. My dad still says he's banned from our house. It's such bullshit! Oscar's a good guy that made a mistake, but Dad has to be a hardass about it."

"That sucks. At least my dad behaved for once. Although Mads glared at him for most of the dinner over something," Brandon recalled.

"Probably because she got asked out on a date."

"What?! A date? With who?!"

"I'm not telling you," Lisa responded with a firm shake of her head. "You and your dad need to let the chains loose a little. Maddie shouldn't be a nun when you get to date."

"We're trying to protect—" Brandon started to argue before Ashley came running full-steam and jumped into his arms.

"Isn't this awesome? I swear the decorations get cooler every year," she gushed as Brandon swung them around in a circle, Ashley's feet dangling in the air.

"Come on! We're crossing to the other side," Victoria announced. She and Dustin then dashed between a stopped car, who's owner waved them through.

The teens had taken a different route than most people on the L-shaped tour of lights. Reindeer Road formed the longest road with the dead-end Candy Cane Lane as the short part of the letter L. Most people started at the top of the L and turned around on Candy Cane Lane, but the teens started halfway down the L, entering from a side street. They wanted to see everything on Reindeer Road first as they expected to meet some friends on the shorter street. Now, they were at the entrance where everyone else started.

"Wow! Look at that," Dustin yelled. The others hurried through the stopped vehicles to join him and Victoria.

The Cringles owned the first house that greeted visitors, and they took that honor very seriously. A large sleigh and life-like reindeer stood suspended several feet off the ground. Angled in a direction that made it appear as if Santa Claus was taking off into the air, children of all ages ran over. Mr. Cringle, decked out in expensive Santa outfit, stood in the sleigh, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas while passing out candy canes.

Naturally, Ashley and Victoria raced to get a few of the candies. Lisa surprised Brandon by shrugging her shoulders and joining the other two girls. The three guys gave in and went to get their candy canes as well.

"You should grab one for James," Dustin suggested to his girlfriend.

"He's probably been here already. It's Delilah's turn to take our little brothers this year," Victoria revealed.

"And Isabella," Ashley added.

"What?! I didn't know that," Victoria responded. Isabella Ravers was a year younger than her brother and also happened to be the cousin of their other best friend, Heather.

"Heather said Logan freaked out, going into full-blown big brother mood. His mom finally told him to stop it," Ashley relayed. "Can you imagine if Bella dated your little brother? That would be so freaking cute!"

"If that happened, you might need to have a talk with Logan. He gets a little too full of himself at times, which is obnoxious," Lisa stated.

"Oh, he's not that bad. You just need to get to know him," Victoria replied.

The conversation became drowned out as screaming kids flocked all around them. Brandon grumbled that they should've waited until later into the night to check out the lights.

"Don't be a grinch, Bran!" Ashley scolded him, standing with her hands on her hips. "Part of the fun is seeing the kids' happiness."

The grouped moved one down the street. They commented on what they liked and what they didn't like. They all agreed that the one house with only inflatable decorations seemed a little lazy. The huge Frosty the Snowman appeared imposing, but also out of place amongst all the houses of intricately decorated displays.

"I'd be worried if the winds strengthened and blew them down the street," Dustin commented, walking backward as Victoria half-heartedly defended the homeowner. Turning back around, Dustin let out a terrified scream and fell onto the ground.

"Did we bring four girls with us?" Lisa joked.

"Jesus Christ!" Brandon bellowed when he saw what scared Dustin. "Those look creepy as fuck!"

The next house's display was fashioned after The Nutcracker. It featured characters from the ballet, including several life-sized Nutcracker soldiers. Much like those porcelain dolls that people collect ant not realize they appear terrifying, the soldiers were similarly frightening.

"Those look like the killer in a Christmas slasher film," Zack said, keeping far away as he walked past them.

"I think I'm going to have nightmares tonight with them," Ashley foretold, shuddering at the thought. Victoria nodded.

"Y'all a bunch of pussies. I think it's obvious who's the daughter of a cop," Lisa said without fear. To prove her point, she even walked up to one of the soldiers, flicking her finger at its forehead. Everyone else held their breath, almost expecting a person to be inside and attack the daring teen. "See nothing scary."

"Yeah, not until they come alive like Pinocchio," Zack added, getting a slap in the shoulder from Ashley.

"Stop that!"

"Maybe we should move along," Dustin suggested. "We're almost to Candy Cane Lane."

"Ooh! Wait until you guys see it," Ashley teased. "I've heard all about the plans at cheer practice."