Various x reader || secret santa

A/N: (a/n at the beginning this time to explain) Sorry this took me so long to get out, I have big plans for this ^^ So I had an idea. I'm going to write this now, then post a story with a survivor up until Christmas. Semester exams are coming up, so updates will be slow, meaning that this is what to expect for the next chapters. Below are the characters I have planned for this series.

Naib

Norton

Emma

Melly

Eli

Edgar

Tracy

a little side note, most things in this chapter are plot relevant to each character's chapter. I wanted to try out something new^^ I hope you enjoy!

You awoke in the morning with a chill. Being the beginning of December, you knew it was about to start getting cold. When you headed downstairs, you were greeted by a brightly dressed doctor holding a bowl.

"Good Morning (y/n)!" She waved you over and handed you a sheet of paper. "Could you write all the survivor's names on this sheet of paper, then tear them off and put them in this bowl?" You nodded while she left to go make breakfast. With your best handwriting, you wrote down the names of the 30 survivors of the manor, placing a tiny heart next to each name, for creativity. Emily took the bowl when you finished, and the two of you waited. When everyone arrived at the dining room for breakfast, she began her announcement.

"Good Morning, everyone! As most of you know, it is December 1st, meaning we are stating our secret santa! For those of you who are new," she looks at you for a moment, "every year during the Christmas season, each of you will draw someone's name at random, and you have to give that person a gift!" You, along with the other survivors that haven't been here long enough to know what to do, gave her your full attention as she spoke, while the "veterans" seemed slightly bored with her explanation. Once she finished her spiel, she held the bowl out to you. You closed your eyes and reached into the bowl, fishing around for a moment, then drew your hand back with a folded up paper in your clutch. Everyone formed a line behind you. You decided to wait until later to read the name on the slip, as you didn't want anyone else to see it. You wouldn't have a chance to look at it; you were called to a match.

You were the first to the match room, being both the most and least prepared. You weren't very hungry, but it would've been nice to get something in your stomach before you had to spend who knows how many hours running for your life. Naib was the first of your teammates to arrive.

"So (y/n), who'd you get for the secret Santa thing?" He nudged your shoulder playfully; you shoved him back with an equally cheerful attitude.

"I haven't looked yet, besides I don't think we're supposed to tell other people." He huffs for a moment, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, I'm very satisfied with who I got."

"Who'd you get?" Norton asked, taking the seat next to you, placing you in between the two.

"We aren't supposed to say!" Emma skipped over to the last seat as she arrived, lightly hitting Norton's hat. Before anyone could counter with their own argument, the match began.

There was no comfort from the sound of machinery coming from the Arms Factory. You didn't find solace in the clacking of the keys as you typed away on the cipher machine in front of you. You didn't have to wait long for a light-hearted feeling to lift you up, however, as Emma came behind you and jumped up using your shoulders as support. She dismantled the nearby chair with haste and assisted you in your decoding. When the cipher was near completion, you told Emma to finish it off while you searched for the next one to work on. You wondered why the hunter hadn't found either of you yet. It was a dumb idea to waste time chasing after Naib or Norton first, where as a hunter could get you or Emma down fairly quickly, depending on the day. It never occurred to you that something might be different when the two boys shouted their cipher decoding progress from two different spots, both well over half-way. You decided to scout out the hunter, just in case something was wrong. As you made your way to the center of the map, your heartbeat began to pick up. Finally, you were face to face with a droopy-eyed sculptor.

"Miss Galatea, are you alright?" She blinked rapidly as if you had just woken her up and yawned. She didn't respond; she only threw her chisel at you, opening a red leaking scratch in your arm. A yelp escaped your lips and you ran, clutching your arm and trying to dodge the statues ready to attack. Slightly slower than usual, she followed behind you, though she was still quick enough to gain on you. You tried to back-track and hit her with the pallet you passed, but your lack of attention provoked a flare of pain in your calf as two sculptures trapped your leg. Ignoring the sudden pain, you pulled down the pallet, stunning her and gaining distance. You didn't know when, but all three voices from the same cipher shouted "cipher machine primed." Using the time you were about to buy yourself, you maneuvered yourself to a better kiting area, a place where you knew you could hold her off until the others opened the exit gate. After vaulting a window to bait a hit from the sculptor, letting the others pop the cipher and you gain more distance. Your half-health came in handy when you reached the exit gate where the others were waiting for you. You weren't focused on what the hunter was doing, only the comfort of your friends beckoning you to cross the threshold of safety, causing you to run face first into an oncoming statue. Though you quickly recovered, the laughs of the other three survivors brought a pink hue to your cheeks.

"Are you ok, (y/n)?" Emma put her hand around your shoulder as the four survivors made their way back to the manor. She still cared for you even after laughing at you for your clumsiness, though she must have noticed the limp in your leg as you dragged yourself back to the manor. You nodded in response to her question; however, you weren't very convincing as she dragged you quicker to the infirmary. Before you knew it, you were on the back of Norton Cambell, speeding off to give Emily a visit.

As you arrived at the infirmary, you realized why the three were in such a rush. You felt your eye swell up as well as the growing red liquid dripping down your arm covering your flesh. You were a little worse off than you thought you were. Emma sympathetically pats your back as you hold an ice pack to your rapidly purpling eye with your non-dominant hand. Your other arm was held out, gripped with force by the doctor while she cleaned the gash in your arm. When she brought out a kit, you began to squirm away from her grip. It took the three survivors in the room to keep you still long enough to let the doctor stitch up your arm. Emma removed her hand from your back as Norton restrained you in his lap, Naib holding the ice pack to your eye. You squeezed your eyes shut and turned your head as far as you could away from the sudden pain from the repeated stabbing of your skin. The moment the needle pierced your skin, Emma brought something cold to your bruised calf, drawing out a yelp from you. Thankfully you couldn't jump, or even move, but the surprise from the sudden cold on your hurt leg distracted you from the stitching in your arm.

"Well, Merry Christmas to me." You mumbled through the pain, referencing your black eye and delicate stitches.

"Hey Emily, have you seen-" Melly stopped in her tracks when she saw you quivering in pain, being coddled by the three survivors you had your previous match with. You only realized who walked into the room when you remembered your match that was scheduled an hour after your last match. You couldn't do much in terms of greeting the masked entomologist, but your whimpers did enough to let her know you weren't exactly up for another match. She walked over to you and patted your head, baby-ishly cooing at you as a way to cheer you up.

"Did these mean boys beat you up? Do I need to send some bees after them?" You giggled like a child as the boys in question shuddered in their place. Emily finished up the stitches while Melly comforted you with her words and silly bee puns. The doctor dismissed everyone from the infirmary, after ensuring that you were alright, with the instruction for you to get rest. Melly walked you to your room before rushing back to the match room where Eli had taken your place in the match. The moment you hit your bed, the fatigue from all the excitement you experienced since breakfast hit you, knocking you out without hesitation.

Many people entered and exited your room as you slept, leaving something for you to wake up to. When you awoke hours later, you were met with the enticing smell of late dinner and the sight of a few things piled up on your bedside table. You looked through the few notes as you sipped on the hot cocoa that Eli brought for you, one specific one caught your attention. Written in distinguished penmanship was a letter you knew exactly who wrote. Placed on top of a tiny slip of paper, the note read:

"Sleep well.

p.s: I know who you have to get a gift for, good luck."

The snarky manner the words were written gave away the sender. Edgar knew who you had for Secret Santa before you did. This prompted you to reach for your slip of paper. Before you could read it, your door creaked open.

"Oh, you're awake!" Tracy beamed while approaching you carefully. You gave her a confused look. You didn't know why people were giving you so much attention, you weren't hurt very badly. Eli entered the room shortly after her, both of them noticing the small stack of things on your desk.

"No one has ever gotten hurt that bad during the Christmas season." Eli explained as if he could read your mind. You gave him your full attention as he continued. "Normally there is a sort of grace period where there is no way to get hurt during specific times. We were all really worried about you." With his last statement, he took your hand, looking into your eyes. You smiled back at him, placing your other hand on his cheek. Tracy joined your huddle wrapping her arms around your and Eli's waist. You affectionately patted her head as the three of you held each other. Together, you walked down to the kitchen to greet the others after your medically mandated nap.

"(Y/n)! You're feeling better!" Emma's arms found their way to your shoulders as she embraced you. Naib pulled her off of you before you could do anything to react, lightly scolding her for not giving you time to recover. Eli must have been trying really hard to keep calm when he gave you his explanation; everyone looked intensely worried for you. To say you weren't nervous would be a lie. You didn't like all of the eyes in the room on you, even if you were only getting looks of sympathy and care. You use your good arm to reach behind you and scratch your neck, a light pink hue creeping up your face from the sheer awkwardness of the situation. With a nervous chuckle you try to clear the air.

"I'm alright, there's no need to get so worked up." No one wanted to press the issue, but you could tell there was some underlying statement that someone was dying to say. You realized a bit too late why the issue was so prevalent. If you managed to get hurt pretty badly in a time where no one is supposed to be capable of getting hurt, then what does that mean for the others? This is supposed to be their break, but now they still have to worry about the very likely possibility of death. Moreso, it's your fault for letting them believe this. Suddenly, you filled with guilt. Without knowing it, you basically ruined everyone's Christmas. You thought you were being subtle about your abrupt feelings, but it seemed like the others could sense your shift in emotions.

"It isn't your fault." Eli whispered in your ear, taking a step towards you. Tracy squeezed your hand and Emma nodded happily beside you. Even with their reassurance, you didn't feel comforted. Feigning exhaustion, you pushed them off and excused yourself, apologizing for your lack of interaction and blaming it on still being tired. In all the excitement, you still forgot to check your little slip of paper. When you arrived back to your room, the first thing you did was locate the paper. Without any interruption, you wanted to finally find out who you had to make a gift for. With slight hesitation, you unfolded the crisp paper. Taking in the name written in your pretty handwriting, the heart you drew by the side of the name took more meaning than you thought it would. Oh boy, this will be fun.