Electric Barbarella

“Cheerios have no age limit, just saying.” He shook his head. “And you would lose that bet. No going home for the holidays for me.” 

"Maybe not for you, but I won't even allow Pop-Tarts anymore. I'm very strict about these things," she shrugged with a grin. "Oh, really? How come? Or is that too personal?"

“Well I was thinking glasses for her eyes, but champagne glasses would not be the worst idea either, though I am sure she would refuse to use them,” the blonde huffed. “It’s like the only thing I ever worry about. It’s the only thing I care about…” Claudia pushed her shoulders up into a shrug. She didn’t want to be the type of person who worried over anything, especially if somebody hated her or not. She just wished it was somebody other than her own sister. “I’m going in for the biggest turkey and the best crackers.”

"You could just ask for them back, then. Or give them to me..." Crystal trailed off with a wiggle of her eyebrows. She looked up at Claudia with sadness in her eyes; sadness on her behalf. "I can't just tell you to stop caring. But I do want you to try and not care as much. At least not until she stops being so stubborn and starts to show she feels the same," the blonde shrugged. "Yes! Get the crackers with the silver foil hats, because they're so much classier."

“oh, feisty. don’t worry me too.”

"Or just irritated," Crystal replied with a shrug. "I'm not the only one, then. Great. Who are you, anyway?"

“That’s a notion I can get on board for. I fucking hate Christmas.” 

"That's strange, because you seem so festive." A small smile crept onto Crystal's lips. "How come, anyway? A bad experience with Santa when you were younger?"

— “ rose, my part-time retail employee, grew up here, and just tells people that yes, she is going home to her flat after her shift rather than spending the holidays in the bakery. ”

"Why are you telling me this? I literally just wanted to buy a cake. Do you do this with all your customers?"

“Sorry- I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. I was just wondering.” Caspian shrugged, trying for a smile. “I was meant to go home today but I forgot there’s no trains so that failed. You might not be the only one not going home for Christmas.”

Crystal took a deep breath and looked at Caspian. "Sorry," she sighed, sliding her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, shit... That's not good. Where were you supposed to be going? Maybe you could hitchhike or something."

“Damn, who pissed in your Cheerios? I asked what your plans were, not if you were going home.”

Crystal raised an eyebrow as a smirk crossed her lips. "Cheerios? I'm not eleven, darling," she hissed. "Same thing, isn't it? Most people's plans are to go back to their wonderful, welcoming families. I bet it's like that for you, am I right?"

“Oh…I’m - I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it…I was just making conversation.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’m not going home either.”

The glare Crystal held on Amelia dissipated when the girl spoke, and she felt guilty for snapping. "I'm sorry," she said in a much gentler tone, looking down at her fingernails. "It just feels like I'm the only one not going back to a perfect family." The blonde shrugged and looked back up. "Where's 'home' for you, then?"

“If that’s what would make your Christmas, I would have to say yes.” Arya smirked, then shook her head at the apology. “Don’t worry about it, I think everyone gets a little stressed out at this time.”

Crystal let out a chuckle and swirled her glass around, watching its contents spill against the edges. "'Stressed' is an understatement. This'll be the first Christmas I'm spending without my parents. They're not dead or anything - that might actually be preferable - but they decided Christmas would somehow be better without their ray of sunshine present. Who'd have thought it?" Crystal smirked.

“Maybe I should’ve bought her some glasses as her Christmas present. She just needs to learn how to let loose and think less about things. It must be all of those darn books putting awful ideas in her head. Other than that, I think she’s fine. I don’t see the problem.” Claudia shrugged. “It’d be fine. I’d just get drunk again so fix it. But today it is. We best go and find a turkey.”

"Spectacles glasses or champagne glasses?" Crystal queried with an amused grin. "It's just jealousy, babe. Don't let it get to you. Honestly, you worry too much about what she thinks." Crystal secretly wished that she had a sister to care about her as much as Claudia did; hence why she was so bitter towards Noelle, who she viewed as being completely ungrateful. "Of course you would. Hope you're ready to elbow people out of the way for the best ones."

“I’m sure I can cook a Christmas turkey to perfection. Not that I’ve tried but well, how different can it be to cooking a chicken?” He wasn’t completely useless when it came to the kitchen. “The Christmas spirit however, not sure how not to be a complete scrooge about it all.” His grumpy features faded when she said they’d make it the best one and a smile smile pushed into his face. “Certainly is there loss. Since we’re practically family…you’ll still be spending it with family. So it’ll be just like a proper Christmas, I promise. Think I might need to invest in a last-minute Christmas tree for us to put up. What do you think?”

Crystal regarded Liam affectionately and let out a chuckle. "Sometimes I wonder why we're friends, and then I realise it's because you're as vain as me." She rose to her feet and clapped her hands together. "Come on, up you get. We'll have to get cracking if we want to catch the shops before they shut. We've got a tree, decorations, a turkey and all the trimmings to buy." An excited smile crossed the blonde's lips as she realised she didn't need her parents to be able to enjoy Christmas. "You're the best, by the way. Did I say that already?"

“Hey, don’t be so harsh about my sister. I can only wish that one day she’ll love me as much as I love her. I get why it’s so difficult for her…” the blonde responded with a shrug. “Sorry, I meant like we could do it today or on boxing day. I think my family would have a meltdown if I didn’t show up there and their house is hardly a long ride away. I plan to spend the whole day drunk and entirely off my head.”

Crystal raised her eyebrows. "You're too good to her, Clau. Seriously, she acts as though it's your fault you're prettier. You can't help the genes," she laughed. "Oh, I get you. I forget that some people actually want to see their kids at Christmas." Crystal rolled her eyes. "Let's do it today, then. Don't think I wanna deal with a hungover Claudia on Boxing Day."

“Good. Because you won’t possibly get a better one than this.” His eyes tilted downwards for a moment. “Though…you may have to show me how it works. I’ve never really celebrated Christmas. Not since I can remember at the very least.” Christmas was chaos in the children’s home and he’d usually just stay in his room. Once he’d left, he still didn’t have anyone to spend it with so did the same. Maybe it was about time that changed. “What did they say? It’s cruel, anyhow. Maybe I should have a word with them?” 

Crystal laughed. "I've never really done it by myself either. I don't even know how to cook a turkey or anything. I suppose McDonald's is always an option if we fuck up," she suggested, sitting up and crossing her legs, her spirits suddenly lifted. "We'll make this the best Christmas ever," she assured him. Crystal reached into her pocket, producing a scrunched-up piece of paper and unfolding it. She passed it to Liam for him to read, as she scanned her own eyes over the writing despite having most of it already committed to memory. "They don't sound like they're full of Christmas cheer, do they?" she chuckled humourlessly. "Oh no, no. Just leave it, babe. They've made their choice, there's no point dwelling on it I suppose. It's their loss, isn't it?"

“Sorry Crys. At least you don’t have to deal with another year of ‘our parents spent more on perfect Claudia then little Noelle’. Freaking nightmare. I don’t know why they do it but it doesn’t half please me. We can have our own Christmas if you wanna? I can cook and stuff so…”

Crystal's expression softened and a smile appeared on her lips. "Noelle's a brat. No offence. She doesn't really do anything, does she? So it's hardly surprising your parents don't know what to buy her. How many books does one person need?" she chuckled. "Well, Liam's offered but you can join us if you want. But won't Noelle throw a bit of a hissy fit?"

“Then you will spend it with me. And I shan’t take no for an answer.”

“Well... I’ve got no other offers.” Crystal smirked and lifted her head to kiss Liam on the cheek. “You're a babe,” she told him, resting her head back down on the arm of the sofa she was lying on. “I just can't believe they don't want me there. Like, I'm famous now. Kinda. I thought they'd be proud.”

“So you’re just going to stay in this bar until Christmas is over?”

Crystal raised an eyebrow at Aryanna and raised her glass to her lips. "If I do, does it mean I'll have you for company?" she snarled. She wasn't usually this nasty to people, but her parents had recently written to her to tell her she wasn't welcome in their house for Christmas, so she had been in a bad mood for a good few days now. "I'm sorry, alright? Just ignore me. Got the winter blues or something."