Prologue

June watched the yellow flames dance among the burning firewood. His eyes followed the golden flakes from the fire as they floated above, disappearing into nothingness.

It's warmth urged him to curl himself deep within his velvety, yellow blanket and hibernate by the fireplace until the winter was over. The ambiance of soft Christmas music playing from the TV stereo was like a lullaby to his ears, willing him to slowly fall asleep and ignore the party that surrounded him.

The cozy setting fueled the holiday spirit in the room, especially his.

He always admired the twinkling Christmas garlands lined along the walls and resisted his urge to touch the ceramic Santa figures on the brown coffee table, which his mother had previously banned him from doing.

The vanilla-cinnamon-scented candle and the overbearing smell of pine overpowered his sense of smell, and he definitely couldn't ignore his mother's traditional decorations, such as the candy-filled stockings, the homemade decorations, and the matching gingerbread pajamas they wore on their backs to match the night-party theme (because, for whatever reason, his family preferred to open their presents at night).

June stood, letting his blanket crumple against the carpeted living room floor. Numerous distant relatives and cousins stood before him, gathered between themselves or around the Christmas tree in small groups, laughing, talking, or gossiping.

He twisted his body in various angles as he swam through the crowd, unnoticeably slithering into the kitchen.

His eyes feasted upon the kitchen island, spread with all of his favorite foods: pork, stewed beans, rice, plantains, and beef; all of it called out his name, begging for him to eat it. Most importantly, his favorite treat rested in the middle of the table, serving as its centerpiece. June admired the Chiffon cake, covered in smooth, smooth frosting and sprinkled in the shape of miniature Christmas trees. He knew from experience that its sweet frosting felt like silk on the tongue, melting in his mouth. His smile grew at the message in the center of the cake, 'Happy Birthday, June!' written in (cursive) red frosting.

"You excited?" June flinched, unaware that his friend Aaron stood beside him the entire time. June relaxed his shoulders and shook his head. It took every bone structure in his face to prevent his cheeks 

from lifting into a cheesy smile, but he managed to keep a straight face.

He was officially fourteen, a teenager, and he intended to act accordingly. He wasn't some little kid excited over birthday cake and presents (except he totally was).

Aaron chuckled and stuck out his pointer finger, inching closer until he poked his finger into June's puffy cheeks. June's static structure lasted for five seconds until Aaron managed to crack a smile out of him. Aaron grinned at his success, leaning against the table. "Yeah, you're excited. Why are you not downstairs with the rest of us?" he questioned, nodding towards the basement where June's distant cousins and friends resided. June shrugged, gazing at the distant fireplace.

"I don't know; I barely know any of them, even if they are family. And…I'm awkward," said June. Aaron titled his head, "Well, you know my brothers, Velvet and Gabe. Well, maybe not Gabe since he's new, but we're all downstairs. You should talk to everyone; you're the only one here lucky enough to have your birthday and Christmas on the same day, plus nobody will be mean to the birthday, dude." Aaron reasoned.

June sighed, and his eyes flickered at the brown tiled floor. "Easier said than done." He said, "Everyone likes you, and some of those kids give me dirty looks."

Aaron reached for June's wrist and held him firmly. "Then they're jealous. Come on, we won't let them mess with you." Before June could protest, Aaron pulled him by the wrist and guided him toward the basement door.

June bit his lip and nervously trailed behind Aaron, who came to a sudden stop at the kitchen exit. In front of Aaron stood Marshall, who loomed over both of them dangerously. Aaron scowled at June's older brother and attempted to rush past him, but a long stick of Christmas wrapping paper blocked his path at the hand of Marshall. "Where are you two headed, eh?" Marshall questioned, now beating the paper stick against the palm of his right hand.

"Marshall, move, or I'll tell Mom you're bullying me on my birthday." June threatened. Marshall lifted an eyebrow and eyed Aaron suspiciously. He pointed the paper stick at Aaron's chest and said, "I'm watching you."

He granted them access to the hallway by stepping aside, eyeing the two of them as they scurried to the basement. The basement door slightly cracked open, revealing the dark entryway to the lower floor.

Although neither Aaron nor June could see much in the darkness, the carpeted stairs and the growing sound of Christmas music and laughter guided them down the stairway and into the secondary living room, 

where the other kids hung out.

"June!!"

Velvet rushed her way to June and tackled him against the carpeted ground, showing her affection to the fullest of her ability. As much as he wanted to push her off his ribcage, he couldn't deny his best friend's love or her hugs.

Behind her followed Noah and Luca, Aaron's younger brothers, who shared almost the same amount of affection. Over the course of a few seconds, June ended up tapping himself out of the suffocating bear hug and standing up slowly (with the help of Aaron).

Nearly half the room of children decided to vocalize their happy birthday wishes to June when he appeared; the other half was too focused on the 'Home Alone' Christmas movie that played on the big screen.

Perhaps the other kids weren't as bad as he thought. Noah held his filming camera steady, zooming in on June's face. "How does it feel to finally be fourteen June?" he asked, repositioning his shaky camera angle every other second. "Dude, put down Dad's camera, or the battery will die." Luca reminded Noah. "Shuddup, he said I can have it when I'm older anyway, so it doesn't matter," Noah argued.

The twins continued to argue back and forth with each other, grasping Velvet and Gabe's attention and leaving June and Aaron to themselves.

Aaron leaned against the basement wall, staring at June in deep thought. June couldn't seem to keep his eyes still and allowed his eyes to roam the room until he eventually glanced at the floor, noticing a tiny white box that sat next to Aaron's foot. "Is that yours?" June pointed to the box. Aaron looked down, and his eyes widened. He quickly scooped the tiny box into his hands and stuffed it into his pocket. "Yeah, it was, thanks." June immediately noticed Aaron's sudden panic, but his questions were cut off by Marshall's obnoxious shouting.

"Time to open presents!" He shouted from the very top of the stairs, his hands cupped around his mouth.

Like a stampede, suddenly the other kids in the basement jumped up and ran for the stairs, somehow sweeping June upstairs along the way.

The adults sat neatly in the living room, greeting their children as everyone crowded around the Christmas tree, each child finding their own space within the busy area. The Christmas tree glimmered in various colors, sparkling its reflection against the antique ornaments that children weren't allowed to touch.

June sat down next to his brother, who was too busy typing away on his phone to notice anything else around him. Their mother, Rose, stood next to the Christmas tree and took June's hand gently, encouraging him to 

stand up in front of everyone, which he kind of hated. She kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair, then hugged him tightly from behind. His father stood up proudly, holding a small champagne glass in his hand, and took a light sip before speaking.

"Before we crack open these presents, I have a little speech, which I prepared." June's aunt groaned from the sofa across the room, sipping on the same champagne, except her glass was two times fuller.

"You give the same speech every year, Davis." Davis nodded his head and raised his champagne glass in response, earning a collective laugh from the crowd around him.

"Thank you for that, Viva. I wanted to thank our family and friends for coming to our Christmas party this year, as well as June's birthday. We may do this every year, but what's important is that we enjoy our time with each other. We must cherish these moments because we never know when they'll be our last. I'm thankful for every one of you who was able to come tonight, my beautiful family, and most of all, I'm grateful for my wife's cooking. God, that woman can make some good food."

Davis turned to Rose, smiling, and she mouthed the words "Te quiero" in response. Shortly after, the present opening began. June, being the lucky child he was, found himself with double the amount of gifts, varying from new art supplies to dangerous toys like skateboards that his mother did not agree to buy.

Aaron's own mother laughed with Rose about the hell they went through to get presents for their children during Black Friday and watched lovingly as their children opened their presents, sharing their excitement together. In the midst of it all, June was thirsty for a soda and made a trip to the cooler in the kitchen. As he sipped on the cola drink, away from the excitement, he felt an urgent tap on the back of his shoulder.

He turned around, surprised to see Aaron standing in front of him with one hand 

stuffed in his pocket. "Y-Yeah?" June asked. Without saying anything, Aaron took June's drink and set it aside.

Once again, June found himself being led to the basement, except it wasn't to greet and meet a bunch of relatives. This time they were alone, sitting on the couch while 'Home Alone' played its credits. "Aaron, they're gonna notice we're gone--" "It'll only take a second, June." Aaron inhaled deeply, trying his best to calm his nerves. "I um… I got you something, mainly for your birthday, and well, I guess Christmas too."

He pulled out the tiny white box from earlier. June didn't realize it then, but his brown skin was flushed red. They never exchanged gifts before, so what was special about this year? June began to fidget with his fingers.

"But I didn't get you anything, Aaron; I didn't know we were... exchanging gifts this year." Aaron smiled. "It's cool; just open it." June slowly took the box, reading its brand imprint, 'Bandora' engraved. He flipped open the box and gasped. Inside was a beautiful earth-shaped pendant made of lapis blue stone to resemble the earth's ocean and green emerald stone to represent the land. The back of the pendant and the chain itself were made of real sterling silver.

June rubbed the pendant's shiny surface with his thumb and flipped it, realizing that his name was engraved on the back of the circle pendant.

He was speechless.

Aaron coughed. "My mom helped me buy it. I spoke to her about us and, like, how I feel and stuff. And she said I should get you a gift to show you how I feel. Is this awkward? I hope it's not, but my mom is supportive, y'know, and your mom is nice, so she should be okay with it too, right? I mean,"

"Aaron?" June rested his palm over Aaron's lips to shut him up. Red as a tomato, Aaron quickly shut up and gulped. Did June like it? Was he going to accept the gift? Was Aaron talking too much?

A million questions ran through Aaron's mind all at once, but a single peck on the cheek from June was enough to stop all bodily functions and freeze Aaron's racing thoughts and mouth.

How could June not accept? Knowing that they both felt the same made June's heart skip about five beats. He felt as though he had eaten a million fluttering butterflies, and his stomach was the cage.

June slowly pulled away and grinned the happiest smile he had ever smiled before. "So you like it?" Aaron asked, touching the warm spot where June pecked.

 "I love it, Aaron... I'll cherish it forever."