Young Writers Society

The sun was beginning to rise when Naya's eyes had finally dried itself of anymore tears. She looked up and realised that it was Christmas morning. What a way to celebrate, her birthday yesterday was a complete hell, and today, on the morning of Christmas here she was on the floor of a hotel bathroom.

Miserably, she got to her feet, her body felt slightly stiff from sitting on the cold tile floor for so long. Her backside almost felt numb. Rubbing her eyes with her sleeve, she walked towards the basin and turned on the cold tap, cupping some water into her hands before splashing it onto her face. Grabbing a warm clean towel she dried her face and unlocked the bathroom door before walking out.

She couldn't hear any noises in the room. She guessed that Julian had obviously left her again, no doubt to Maggie or whoever else he felt more comfortable talking to than her. She brushed him from her thoughts like dirt under a carpet. Remembering him and what he'd said to her last night had left Naya feeling nothing more or less than hate for him.

It wasn’t until she entered the bedroom to get changed, did she realise that Julian hadn’t actually left her afterall...

It was early morning when Julian heard the lock click, and the door opening. He was laying in bed, not under the covers, he layed fully clothed on the bed. He only looked at her and slowly looked away. He needed to shave, he felt the five o'clock shadow building up.

"Merry Christmas." He grumbled.

She walked towards him, she looked as bad as he did. She sat down on her side of the bed. She didn't say a word. Not that Julian blamed her. Every word they spoke was just an attempt to hurt each other. Julian was sick of fighting. He knew that they were stuck together so they might as well make the best of it. He hoped it wasn't too late to at least try.

Naya sat with her back to Julian and pulled on a pair of thick socks. Her mind wandered on how she normally would’ve spent Christmas morning if she’d been at home with her parents. She would’ve probably been opening her presents by now. Her grandpa would come over with his new girlfriend Lisa and all hell would break loose. Her grandma would exchange snide comments to the pair of them whilst Naya’s parents would try and do their best to keep the peace. Naya and Rosa on the other hand would just watch and laugh before Naya would go off to the kitchen and make a big breakfast for everyone.

Her mind wandered to what her family were doing now without her, her parents, Rosa, Danni, her friends, it must be an awful Christmas for them this year. Naya wished she could call them, she ached to speak to them all, just to hear their voices and let them know she was alright...well...as alright as she could be given the circumstances...

“Merry Christmas,” she finally said, her voice completely absent of any emotion, before getting up from the bed and heading towards the kitchen.

She was going to make Christmas breakfast. Well, she was going to try at least. She needed to do something...anything to take her mind off her family and the truly awful birthday she’d had yesterday.

Julian thought of his family. Jennifer was probably cring right now. Linda was probably out with friends. Jasper was probably with Jill. The poor guy was love sick. Jace was obviously in jail. Guessing the situation Sergi was probably drunk off his chair. And Julian was with his crazy emotional wife. Man, you gotta love lifes curve-balls. He watched her disappear into the kitchen. He looked out of the balcony windows. The sun was beautiful and there was no snow in sight.

Julian loved the snow, ever since he was little. His mother use to make snow fort, she use to make cookies with all of her children and wear beautiful star diamond earings. The ones that Jennifer now wore. Why did his life have to turn out like this? He forced the thoughts out of his mind. Before they took control of him. He then thought of what Naya's life must be like. What did she want out of her life. Surely they both had no intention of marrying each other. So where would she be if he weren't in her life right now? Where would he be?

There was no point in thinking about this. It didn't matter.

"Breakfast is ready." Naya spoke, her voice was monotone.

Julian sat up from the bed. "I'm not hungry. You go ahead." His back was to her. He didn't hear her walk away so he turned around. "Naya I-"

She shook her head. "Just don't say anything."

He didn't know where to go with this. Was he apologizing? This felt alien to him. He didn't even know how to start. They had both said mean things.

"What is it that you thought I was going to say? What did you want me to say?"

She shrugged. "It doesn't matter. It's never going to change our views on each other."

That was it. Something inside of him completely snapped. He walked up to her, grabbed her by her shoulders, picked her up and pinned her against the wall. He slammed his mouth against hers, and kissed her. He wasn't sure how long this was going to last. He pulled away, she was still in his hands. "I'M SORRY!!!" He roared. He dropped her, and walked out of the room slamming the door behind him.

Naya stood frozen with her back still against the wall as she heard the door slam shut. What on earth had just happened? From nowhere Julian had just kissed her, yelled at her and then left their hotel room again. And that look on his face after he kissed her, he looked....terrified. She felt her stomach knot. None of it made any sense. What the hell was wrong with him?

It took her several seconds before she could finally react. She peeled her back away from the wall and headed for the door to try and stop him.

“JULIAN!” she yelled, but it was too late. He’d already gone.

She was so confused that she ventured down the hallway and near the elevator, but he was nowhere to be seen. He'd run from her...again, and what made it worse this time round was the fact that she wasn't sure what she did to make him so mad. At a complete loss, she miserably headed back inside the hotel room, closing the door behind her.

So much for a happy Christmas...

Someting was so wrong with this picture. He was running from everything. He had told her to mature, when he wasn't sure he had yet. He started asking himself questions. Why hadn't he got married yet? Why didn't he want children? He was married now and knew that he would have made a terrible father. A child needs love, something he couldn't give. Then both questions were answered. He walked super fast down the stairs. Screw the elevator.

It was Christmas.

Julian went down where he saw the front desk had at least five employees with looks of worry on their face. The phones were ringing off the hook. Julian walked outside, only wearing a t-shirt. The fresh, cold, crisp air slapped at his face and arms. He forced himself not to feel anything. He then thought about what he left in the room. Who. Naya. She was beautiful. She made him mad as hell. He liked her. He felt like a stupid teenage boy with a crush.

"Shit." Was all he said, as he turned around and started to head back.

Less than five mintues he was back at the door, he slid his card key into it very fast and just opened the door, his cheeks were cold and his hands were too. When he walked into the room. She stared at him in confusion. He walked up to her put both of his large hands on either side of her face and pulled her into him. When they kissed he felt electric current going through his veins.

"Julian." She breathed.

"Naya." He said firmly.

"Hmm?" She was kissing him back.

"Shut up." He said, smiling against her mouth....

He pushed his lips to hers, silencing her, making her smile through several kisses as she let her arms wrap around his neck. This was real. Naya was kissing Julian.

At first she was shocked and she wanted to say no, she knew she should say no, but unfortunately – or maybe fortunately – the body doesn’t always listen to what the mind tells it. Naya let him kiss her and she kissed him back, sending a million emotions spiralling through her like an out of control firework.

This wasn’t a chaste kiss like the one’s they shared before in the trailer and then the stuffy motel room where they were either drunk or mean to each other and the kiss was nothing more than a brushing of the lips. And it certainly wasn’t like the tense and quick one they’d shared just before Julian yelled at her only minutes ago. This kiss...it felt different, it felt warm, deep...It held things that they both didn’t know how to voice properly to one another without wanting to rip each the other’s throats apart.

They were absolutely crazy, the pair of them. They annoyed each other beyond imagination, hell, they couldn’t even stay in the same room without either getting pissed out of their mind or lashing out. Julian just plain infuriated Naya, always knowing what to say to get under her skin, but yet somehow there was something about him that drove her crazy for him. What was it? Maybe it was the way he made her feel safe, or the way that he did something which no guy before him ever did; fight everything about her.

“I was going to say...” she said in between kisses, she knew he’d told her to shut up but she couldn’t help herself, “as much as I hate to ruin this very romantic moment...your clothes still smell of smoke and your stubble is scratching my face...”

Wow, so this is what that felt like. To genuinely like someone. Last time Julian had ever kissed someone and meant it was... Well never. Never really. The last time he'd had a one night stand however was a week before he found out he was getting married. Apperently women loved a man in uniform.

They were still reapeatively kissing. He felt her small hand wrap around his jaw, which he felt popping out. Her middle finger was cold and it was by the bottom of his ear and the bone's starting point. She gently pushed on the spot. It made Julian want to pull her closer, but he got the message, he was smelly and ichy.

"Shower." He mumbled. It came out more like. "How... Errr."

Her fingers combed through his hair, she pulled her face back. Julian could see her cheeks were iritated by his scuffy face. "What?"

"I need to shower. I'll be out in a few." He kissed her, hard, one last time and then unwound his arm from around her waist. He grabbed his bag and headed into the bathroom...

Cheeks on fire and a million and one butterflies now zooming around in her stomach, Naya walked back to the kitchen where she picked up a glass of orange juice and took a small sip from it while leaning against the counter. She touched a finger to her lips and smiled to herself kinda like how those sappy love-sick teenagers did in thos awful romantic comedies.

She still had no idea how all this had even happened in the first place. In fact, after Julian headed for the bathroom she’d wondered whether it had even happened at all, maybe it was just a dream. But she only had to look at the smile on her face and listen to how fast her heart was beating to know that it wasn’t a dream. And she was glad that it wasn’t.

As she heard the water from the shower turn on, Naya couldn’t help but wonder what the people back home would make of this. She knew her friends would have a field day if they knew, especially Lola. And Danni...well...Danni would probably kill her...

God, she missed them all so much...

Water rippled down Julian's back, beading on his shoulders. He ran shampooed hands into his hair and tried to keep breathing. He wasn't acting like a woman would react to this. At least, he didn't think so. He knew he could never love her. He just knew he cared very much about her. Fifteen mintues after he showered he was shaving. His face felt like there were spikes coming through. No wonder he was hurting her cheeks. It was like sandpaper.

He pulled on jeans and a black tight shirt. Black was a good color. Oh, wait, it was a "shade" now.

He was done shaving and he felt like a business man again. Business, so painfully boring. He brought out the tight necklace that he always wore. Jessica. His heart throbbed for his older sister. She was too young to die when she did. He owed Naya's father. He owed him his life. Reality crashed in, and Julian didn't know what to say or do. What do you say to a woman you more than just enjoy kissing, but don't want to hurt her, it's not her fault he couldn't love.

He left the bathroom, and threw his duffle on the floor side of his side of the bed. She wasn't in it. Disappointment. He wasn't going to rush her. They both knew what was going to happen eventually. She was leaning against the counter top in the kitchen, spacing out, and holding a glass of orange juice.

"Earth to Naya. Do you want to come back down to Earth, Space Cadet?" He asked.

Her eyes locked with his.

Julian walked up to her, took the orange juice out of her hand, put it in the sink behind her, and pinned her against the counter top. "What's wrong?" he asked, not gently, but not angerily.

Naya bit her bottom lip as Julian loomed over her. She hated it when he pinned her down like that, it scared her.

“You’re going to think I’m moaning,” she said to him, avoiding his gaze.

“That hasn’t exactly stopped you from doing it before...” he responded.

“Funny...” Naya glared up at him, well, she tried to at least. She still found his height quite intimidating.

“Tell me,” he said to her, his voice firm.

“I just miss my family,” she responded sadly. “Last night there was this news report and our parents had their spokesmen read a statement from our families...”

“What did they say?” he asked her.

“Just that our families are missing us and their doing everything they can to get us back home safe and sound...”

Julian gave her a look of scepticism. “Sure they are,” he commented. “They’re the ones who got us into this mess in the first place.”

Naya nodded sadly in agreement. She didn’t mean to make the mood around them so grim, especially after that wonderful kiss. Besides it was Christmas.

“I guess you’re right,” she said before placing her hands on Julian's now shaven cheeks. “Much better,” she commented with a smile before turning away from him so she was now facing the kitchen counter before washing up her glass.

Julian took into thought. Just because his family was disfunctional doesn't mean her's was. She had a good mother and father. Sure Linda tried to make up what she took away but Sergi acted like Julian's mother just died. Julian promised himself that he was going to get her home safely. He backed a little away from her, his back was now on the fridge.

"So... What do you want to do today?" He asked.

She washed the glass, "what do I want to do? Want and Can are two different things." She said, politely.

He felt the corners of his mouth go up. "Smartass. Let me rephrase. What do you want to do today, that we can do today?"

She shrugged. "It is Christmas. Nothing is going to be open."

"Except Wal-mart." He poked at her.

She turned around and gave him a black stare. "That wasn't even funny."

Julian opened the fridge, got a soda and walked out of the kitchen. "I thought it was hilarious." He threw over his shoulder. He had a surprise of what they were going to do today...

Naya just rolled her eyes in a bemused way as she watched Julian leave the kitchen before drying her hands on a towel and heading for the bathroom.

Once inside she turned on the shower and stepped in. As the water sprayed down to her body she started wondering what would happen if and when she and Julian did manage to get back home. Would they still be married? If not, would she ever see him again? Would he want to see her again?

The thought of the answer being no, left Naya feeling quite hollow inside. But it was Christmas. She was determined not to let her thoughts or fears ruin her mood today. So, stepping out of the shower, she dried herself before doing something she would only do on Christmas morning; straighten her hair. Lame, yes, but it was the one day of the year Naya could be persuaded – on the insistence of her family and Rosa – to turn her curls into straight sleek hair. Apparently, it made her look like her great-great grandmother when she was her age.

So, with the help of a few products courtesy of Wal-Mart (cue the groan), Naya’s curls were transformed into straight hair. Using a comb she gave the top part of her locks some volume and a small quiff before covering her mane entirely with hairspray.

Once she was done she leaned over the basin and looked at herself in the mirror. She’d been doing this every Christmas for three years straight now and she still couldn’t get used to the end result. She looked good with it though. So, a little more on the cheery side, she got dressed and walked out of the bathroom.

Julian would probably have difficulty recognising her like this.

Julian was sitting in one of the royal red resting chairs that he was sure everyone in the hotel had. He was reading a newspaper knowing that they were no longer on the front page as missing people made him begin to feel normal again. No, instead on the front page that the turkeys from a local market were bad and worse, sending people to hospitals over the sickness.

"Turkey? Are you serious?" He grumbled out loud. He then stopped himself, and thought. He had started talking to himself when he married Naya. He didn't know whether to laugh or call an asylum. He heard the bathroom door knob turn. He didn't look up.

That was until she stepped outside...

Julian almost jumped out of his chair. He stared at her and rolled up that paper as if to hit her. "Who are you and what have you done to my curly headed wife?"

Naya shrugged with a smile.

"A Christmas tradition," she explained before taking a seat on the armrest of the chair Julian was sitting on. "What d'you think?"