** babydoll **

God, he couldn’t wait until it was like mid-January. Couldn’t wait until Dayton was back to being just a shit town with a great nightlife instead of home to some holiday winter wonderland bullshit. He’d enjoyed it up until Christmas actually came and passed. Now it was getting closer to New Year’s Eve and it was harder to be that happy flashy bartender everyone knew and loved. This time of year he was just the sole survivor of the attack that took everything from him. He kept himself out of his house though, knowing that if he holed up in there, shit would get dark real fast. It was hard to pay attention to other people, not because he didn’t care or wasn’t interested, but because his mind was just so loud and chaotic. “I– I think I might have seen one of those on my for you page,” he smiled at the other. “Er, some Christmasy style one?” Lewis stuffed his hands into his pockets, crinkling the small bag his latest hit had come in. “Oh, y’know, I’ve been busy at Plan B… Workin’, and stuff… You out for New Years’?” He asked.

Addy had always been a child when it came to the holidays. She was easily mesmerized by the holiday cheer but, of course, cheer came a bit easier to her. Why wouldn’t it? She hadn’t ever really struggled much in life. Sure, she grew up without much money but she never went hungry and her parents had always kept the true struggle a secret from her. Addy was cushioned and even in Dayton, her only problem was really that she lacked many friends. She had a job, an apartment, went to school. Addy was fine. She got to go home for the holidays to a family that loved her. Not everyone was so lucky and Addy was starting to realize that. But, instead of trying to make them as excited about the holiday as she was, she genuinely wanted to help them. A kind word, a nice act, something to at least restore their faith in humanity or even just smile. She could see that this boy didn’t exactly enjoy the holidays so she lowered her enthusiasm slightly. “If I did, I’d be shocked. And slightly embarrassed. A few of those were made after one too many glasses of eggnog. Which, by the way, is a very horrible drink. They need to make a better seasonal drink besides eggnog.” Addy rambled. She was prone to rambling when she was nervous, “I’m sorry if you had to witness that dancing with your own eyes but hopefully it made you chuckle.” The blonde nodded, “Must be a stressful time. I hope you get a nice break after the holidays. Get some extra sleep...” Addy laughed and shook her head, “Oh no. I have no one to kiss at midnight and not many friends to go dancing or whatever with. No complaints, it just means I’m staying home in my pajamas and marathoning The Mandalorian for the second time through. What about you? Do you have to work?” 

Ainsley raised a brow, faux clapping with approval. “It’s the digital age. If you can’t get famous on tiktok and instagram then you can’t be successful at life.” Her voice mirrored the teasing quality of the other’s. “You should make it a series. Get cutouts of other celebrities.” She waved a hand airily at the question. “I was on a conference call for most of Christmas, not the biggest holiday person.”

Addy’s smile dulled for just a minute. “I mean I’m not like... famous or anything. I just got like a hundred views.” That, unfortunately, was nothing compared to some people. She had just been joking about the whole influencer thing. Really, Addy wasn’t talented enough to be famous. Nor was she as pretty as some of the girls on those apps. Girls who were thirteen but looked twenty-five and wore clothes far better than Addy could ever dress herself in. After all, she still loved a good pair of overalls! “That’s alright. You don’t have to be. Sometimes they can be really draining. I’m honestly happy I only spent a few days back home and not a couple weeks. I think on New Years I’m just going to sleep through everything!” 

“what’s your handle?” belly asked, intruiged. tik toks kept her up until three in the morning most nights and it pissed her off but if someone was prancing around with a selena gomez cut out? she needed to see it. “shitty. my mom called for three seconds and i had to buy myself a gift. santa must have forgotten my house and my roomie, much like every man in my life, bailed. but, i’m have a big baggie of acid waiting for me so honestly? happy fuckin’ new year.” her honesty really became her, didn’t it?

“oh! it’s addybee. two d’s and two b’s.” she almost said just like these and pointed at her boobs but she knew that could sort of be harassment and she didn’t want to make the girl feel uncomfortable so she kept her mouth shut and giggled about it inside her own head. “i’m sorry to hear that. holidays can be rough.” she made a mental note, though, to make this girl something special. “did you at least get any baked goods? thats my favorite part about the holidays...” if not, this was something addy could definitely help out with. after all, she was a baker. it would be fun for her. “thats right! happy new year!” okay, so the acid bit went over addy’s head but the girl was excited about the new year it seemed and who was the blonde to halt her excitement?!

“Sounds exciting. How many views have you gotten? I remember one of the first makeup videos I posted on Instagram randomly went viral and I was really shook about it,” she admitted to the other girl as she spoke about feeling like an influencer. Tiktok was an app that seemed to really blow up this year and Veronica couldn’t deny the fact that she loved going on there after a long day to watch some of them. People posted the most random videos on there but they just seemed to be funny as hell. “My holidays have been really busy but good. This is the first holiday season I’ve spent in Dayton and so far? I don’t really have many complaints. It’s been different but pretty good.”

“Viral?? Oh I’ve only gotten like thirty-two views. But, compared to like the five I always get, this is huge!” Addy’s smile was brighter than the sun. It was the little things that could make her happy which wasn’t necessarily a bad trait for her to have. People often thought she was gullible or naive because of it but Addy just liked to live in her own bubble of positivity. It was easier that way. Letting things roll off her back. Addy didn’t plan to become famous or viral anyway. She just wanted to make a silly video and that’s what she’d done. “Did you get to spend it with friends? Family? I’m lucky I got to fly back home for a bit. Just got back into town today.”

This current Holiday season had been a bit more stressful and unsuccessful for the Valdez family. Stella wanted to try really hard to go above and beyond for her siblings when it came to Christmas, but it just wasn’t possible. While she was glad she still managed to get a few decent presents for each of the members of her family, it made her sad knowing she couldn’t make this Christmas the best yet. She always told herself that the next year, things would be better for them. Maybe next year, huh? “That sounds….interesting. Have you gone viral yet?” she asked with a chuckle. “My holidays have been pretty good. It’s been nice to spend a little bit of time with my family and other loved one’s, since I felt like I worked the whole month of December.”

Addy wasn’t any good when it came to the internet. In fact, she sucked at it. Even for her age she just didn’t grasp the concept of certain applications and it’s why she wound up posting things she really shouldn’t on her instagram. But, she was a silly girl. Always had been. It was just one of the things that made it a little more difficult for her to fit in around Dayton. “Oh no. No, no. I hear you have to be like drop dead gorgeous to go viral. Although I imagine it’d be so fun to become a meme!” Addy couldn’t just start that herself, though. She knew that much. “I’m glad to hear it! The holidays can be a bit of a mess but the family bonding time is amazing. Now we’re in that fun liminal space between the two major holidays where no one remembers what day of the week it is. I think thats my favorite part about the season.”

“There is! It’s cringey and really bad, but in the best way possible. It’s called Lez Bomb and it’s on Netflix. It’s about this woman who spends Thanksgiving trying to come out to her family and to tell them that her best friend is also her girlfriend, but a bunch of hi-jinks occur that make it difficult for her to do so. It’s so frustrating and hair pulling, but it does have its cute moments. Most certainly better than Jenny’s Wedding, that’s for sure. Chicken Run?! Oh my goodness.” Marisol couldn’t stop herself from giggling. That certainly is quite a movie to believe to be a Thanksgiving movie. “I have, yes! I actually started months ago but I’m still finding things that are perfect for people. What about you?”

She was cute and interesting to talk to. The perpetually hungry heart inside her chest perked up, hoping that this was a future friend, a future person to pour affection into. “He has like a radio and shit. I mean, I think he’s most afraid of nuclear war or a zombie apocalypse and if there were nukes heading our way we’d all hear about it.” Sadie laughed, fingers running through her hair. “You know that’s not the first time I’ve heard that bird/bourgeoisie theory. And I love it because I just love the word bourgeoisie….one of those words it just feels fun to say.” She hopes the girl means it, that she’ll be allowed to see the beautiful christmastown. “I do, yeah,” she answers with a sly grin. “I’m a baker. Around the holidays my kitchen is pretty much filled to bursting with gingerbread houses and snowflake cookies and cakes and pies.”

Addy had always found it easy to make friends. The trick was making best friends. That’s where skill came in and it was a skill she didn’t necessarily have. Sure, she had some good friends but the girl couldn’t quite say that she had a best friend which made her sad. It had been a few months now in a new place and it seemed most people were paired off but she was still sort of on her own. But, like always, she would let the chips fall where they may. She would not force anything. It would all have to happen on its own. But, the woman in front of her seemed like a nice contender. At least for a good friend. “Oh, the nuclear war I understand but at this point we’re just goners if it happens so why waste energy planning for it?” Addy shrugged as if it were no big deal. “You’re right! It is a fun word to say. You know what my favorite word ever is though? Cahoots. I love the word cahoots. Never use it much but its just so... cute.” The blonde giggled a little at the sound of the word in her mouth. She’d always had a thing with words. Noticed them more than other people did. Most people didn’t give two shits about words. They were just that. But, to Addy, words meant something more than their dictionary definition. “A baker?! I-I’m a baker!” The girls smile grew wider, “I mean I don’t work for anyone yet but I’m trying to. Eventually. Oh man, now I gotta taste all your stuff. I love seeing other peoples creations.”

Admittedly, the girl was a little weird and more squirrelly than he anticipated but he supposed it wasn’t that strange. Mckenna had his fair share of screaming red carpets but it’d been long enough that he almost forgot how uncomfortable it was facing it. Still, he looked unaffected. Kind. He even smiled a little at her fluster just to be polite in hope of assuaging some her anxiety.

“Actually, I didn’t plan for it to go any way at all so it’s all good,” he told her before jutting a thumb over his shoulder towards the concession stand. 

“You wanna grab another? It’s on me. I bet this isn’t how you planned your night to go.”

Addy had no idea who he was. He was a simple stranger to the girl but even then he was someone that she’d just embarrassed herself in front of and she had no idea how to rectify the spilt nachos. Addy was having an out of body experience basically and he was just a poor bystander for it. 

“That is good. Lower the expectations, the better the result.” Addy paused, “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. Crap. I’m sorry.” The girl shook her head.

Giggling, she smiled warmly. “Nope! I promise, there are many of us out there. So true! I mean, there is this one Thanksgiving romcom but otherwise, that’s probably about it. I love Halloween with all my heart, but Christmas truly is one of my favourites. There’s so much to love about it. Honestly, I’m really excited for Christmas this year. Oh my gosh, me too! It’s so nice to meet more people celebrating their first Christmas here. I really hope that you have a great holiday season.”

Sadie is instantly infatuated with this girl. Random, odd, pieces of conversation wrapped their way around her heart and pulled her into people. The denture thing was like gold. “Oh gosh, the DNA thing sounds like my mom’s new husband. He’s got a lot of money with a hefty side of paranoia. Got one of those shelters for the end of the world, always thinks he’s being watched, that the government is trying to control us with fluoride in the water.” She smiled at the sentiment in the other girl’s voice. “Oh yeah the houses always catch my eyes most. There’s so much detail work. I’d love to see your collection sometime.”

Addy had never liked being normal. It was boring a stupid. She could have been a hot girl and made the people beg for her but it seemed boring. Didn’t people ever get tired? She preferred to live a wild life. And, by wild, that meant a life where she read a lot of different books and watched a lot of different movies and collected bits and pieces from both to use in her everyday life. She knew some people would like her for it and others might hate her but the thing about Addy was, she’d never change. “Wait, seriously?! Oh man! I’ve always wanted to have a conversation with one of those. How would he even know Doomsday was here until it was too late?” Addy giggled. “Well, my favorite theory is that the birds all died and now birds are replaced with the bourgeoisie.” The blonde ducked her head a little and nodded, “When I get it up this year, you’ll be the first to know. So, got any traditions yourself?”

“I will never turn down baked goods!“ He walked closer to take the cookies and headed towards the kitchen to set them on the counter before turning back towards the girl. “Would you like to come in? I can make you some tea or cocoa maybe. You can even help me decorate a little if youre up for it.“

“I can’t deal with this rain. I love the sweater weather of the fall, but this raincoat weather is really killing my vibe. This makes me just want to lock myself in all day and drink cocoa by the fire and bake christmas cookies.“

Calum: YOU WERE IN THE WAR TOO? The keyblade war man. It had that effect on people. Kingdom Hearts 3 was a lifestyle choice.

Calum: Ooooo I love that! But sometimes I can only afford the store brand promptly called "Cinnamon squares."

Addy: When it was over a relief rushed through me, I had my life back, and yet..... I cried knowing it was over and the sacrifice I had made!

Addy: Or cinnamon crunch. There's no toast. Off brand cereals are sometimes better than the originals. There. I said it.

“I used to think drama was fun and exciting, but in this town, it’s never that simple. Fingers crossed that you can stay out of all the filth of Dayton.” Dayton had taken Adie’s innocence and could only hope that Addy wouldn’t lose hers as well. Not that someone could really control that in a place like this. But with the idea of a dinner with friends made her light up. “That sounds wonderful! I would love to, oh my god!”

“Has drama ever been exciting? Usually it just makes my stomach rumble and then I’m in the bathroom half the night.” Addy realized she probably shouldn’t have given up that much information but she couldn’t help herself. Sometimes she just spoke without thinking. “Really?! Okay! Perfect. What are you in the mood for? I mean, all of the places here are sort of... meh. But there has to be something thats good enough for a celebratory dinner!”