[Word count - 3,022]
The next day...
Location - Live House CiRCLE, Lobby
Your POV
It was very early in the morning when I began to make my way to CiRCLE. I couldn't stop thinking about my idea as I went to sleep last night. I just hope that it works, and that everyone will show up.
As I walked inside CiRCLE, Takeru was already there. He was taking to Marina about something. Both of them were surprised to see me.
"Wait, (Y/N)? What are you doing here?" Takeru asked.
"Yeah, your shift doesn't start for another two hours from now." Marina added.
"I know, but I just thought of an idea that I think could be fun for everyone." I said to both of them.
They were confused by what I was talking about. Then I told them about the idea; a Christmas party here at CiRCLE. After explaining my idea, a big smile spread across Marina's face.
"A Christmas party, huh? I like the sound of that." She said.
"But why do you want to have a Christmas party?" Takeru asked.
"Because everyone is doing something incredible with their families and love ones, then you got me who doesn't have anyone besides my 35 girlfriends, and everyone else here at CiRCLE." I explained.
Takeru and Marina expressions began to soften upon hearing that.
"I guess I can see why you want to have a Christmas party here." Takeru said. "But are you sure the girls will be okay with that?"
"I'm sure they will, especially those like Kasumi, Kokoro, etc." I replied.
"And I can ask the owner about it, I'm sure she'll be okay as long as things don't get out of hand." Marina said.
"Thanks, Marina-san." I said and focused my attention on Takeru.
"Takeru, you'll join us, right?" I asked as he let out a sigh.
"Sorry, but I don't think I can." He said.
"You told me you were going to spend Christmas with Aoi-chan, right?" Marina asked.
"Yeah, I was."
I always knew how much Takeru loved her girlfriend, so I can see why he wants to spend Christmas with her.
"That's fine, man." I said. "I hope you two have a good time."
"Thanks (Y/N), and you make sure to have fun yourself."
We gave each other a fist bump and a smile.
"Anyway, I better get going." He said and grabbed his bag. I don't know if it's just me, but there is something weird about that bag.
"Alright, Takeru-kun. Have a safe trip." Marina said.
"Thanks." He said before leaving.
"Now then, I'll go talk to the owner and see if it's possible to hold a Christmas party." Marina said and began to dial the number.
While Marina was on the phone talking to the owner, I looked up at the sky. The grey clouds were darker than they were a few days ago. This was making me a little nervous. Could we expect a white Christmas this year?
"I hope the weather won't be a problem..." I said to myself.
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A few hours later...
Location - Station Entrance
It was lucky that the owner said yes, otherwise I really will be upset, and I'll be alone on Christmas. After getting permission to do a party, Marina and I were out and about buying Christmas decorations and snacks to eat. On our errand run, we ran into Lisa. She spotted us and grinned.
"Hi Marina-san. (Y/N)-kun." She said.
"Ah, Lisa-chan."
"Hi beautiful." I said and gave her a kiss.
She kissed me back and blushed a little.
"Aww, (Y/N)-kun, you're too adorable, I swear." She said.
I started to blush myself as Marina spoke up.
"So, Lisa-chan, are you out doing some shopping?" She asked.
"You bet I am. I'm going to get ingrediants to make my Christmas cookies for Roselia." She replied.
"That sweet of you, Lisa." I said.
"And I'll make sure to give you a cookie, as well." Lisa said and winked at me.
"That's... kind of you." I said and looked away.
Lisa giggled, then noticed the amount of bags we were carrying.
"Say, what do you got in those bags?" She asked.
"Oh, these are filled with Christmas decorations and snacks for the Christmas party were doing at CiRCLE." I said.
"A Christmas party at CiRCLE, huh? That could be fun."
"If you want, Lisa-chan, you're more than welcome to join us." Marina said.
"And tell Yukina and others about this as well." I added.
"Yeah, of course. I'll let them show the next time I see them." She said.
"And is it okay if I make a dish of my own to share with everyone?" She asked.
"Yeah, of course." I said. "I'm sure they won't mind."
"Awesome, then I better get started right away. See you later." She said before leaving.
"Bye, Lisa-chan."
"Take care, my dear."
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Location - Hazawa Coffee
Our next stop was at Hazawa Coffee. We needed to get out of the cold, and wanted to rest a moment before heading back to CiRCLE. After walking inside, we spotted two girls talking to each other: Tsugumi and Sayo. Marina began to get their attention.
"Excuse me, Tsugumi-chan? May we get a seat please?" Marina asked.
Tsugumi saw us and looked embarassed.
"Oh, Marina-san. (Y/N)-kun." She said. "I didn't see you there."
"No worries. And I can see that Sayo is here as well."
"Yeah, hi there." Sayo said with a small smile.
"Feel free to sit anywhere." Tsugumi said.
"Thanks, so where should we sit?" Marina asked.
"Good question."
"If you like, you two can join me." Sayo said as her face turned red a little. I can tell that Sayo felt embarassed when she said that.
"Really? Thanks Sayo-chan." Marina said.
Marina and I joined Sayo at the table she was sitting at. I sat next to her, and Marina sat across from her. Sayo and I held hands under the table, and I rubbed her hand with my thumb. Sayo blushed a little as I did this, and not wanting Marina to say anything about it, she quickly found something to talk about.
"So I noticed all of those bags you two had before coming in." She said. "May I ask what they're for?"
"Oh, they're for the Christmas party we're having at CiRCLE." I said.
"You are? Who came up with that idea?" She asked.
"It was all my idea." I chimed in.
"Really? I didn't see that coming." Tsugumi said as she showed up with menus for me and Marina.
"Yeah, I know, but since I don't have parents to go to, I thought it would be nice to celebarate Christmas with Marina-san and my girlfriends, if it's possible." I said.
"Wait a minute, you want us to come to the party?" Sayo questioned.
"Yeah, I think it'll be fun, so do you think you can come?"
Sayo thought for a moment.
"Well, I guess doing stuff like this is fine every now and then, so yeah, I'll be more than happy to attend." She smiled.
"Glad you'll be able to come." I said. "And Afterglow is also invited, Tsugumi."
"Thank you." She smiled. "I'll talk to Ran-chan and the others about it."
"I'll ask Hina about it when I get home." Sayo said. "Hopefully she and Pastel*Palettes won't be doing any work for a while."
"Please do."
"Say, do you guys have snacks for the party?" Tsugumi asked.
"We do, and Lisa said she plan on making something herself." I answered.
"Do you think it's okay if I do the same?" She asked.
"Go ahead. The more stuff we have, the better."
Tsugumi began to think about she wanted to make for the Christmas party.
"Maybe I can make some Gingerbread Men for everyone." She said, thinking.
"Hazawa-san, is it okay if I can help you?" Sayo asked.
"Of course! Having help will be greatly appreciated."
Marina and I smiled at each other.
"This is going a lot better than we thought, huh?" Marina said.
"I agree."
_____________________________________________
The day of the Christmas party...
Christmas Day...
Location - Live House CiRCLE, Lobby
The day of the Christmas party is finally here, and we got everything ready to go. We got plenty of food for the party, thanks to Lisa, Tsugumi and a few others. We managed to give CiRCLE that Christmas feeling because of the amount of decorations we bought. And even though Takeru couldn't be here, I did manage to invite all the girl bands. Needless to say, they were happy to come over. Well, most of them at least...
"This is a waste of time..." An annoyed Chu2 said. "We should be practicing, not taking part in some Christmas party."
"Come on, Chu2. It's the holidays, so there's no need for you to get upset." Layer said.
"She's right. Stop being a genderbend grinch and have some fun." Masking grinned.
"I don't know, this Christmas party is pretty boring so far." Chu2 said, quite unassumed.
"Don't say that. (Y/N)-kun and Marina-san worked really hard at this party." Lock said. "Plus he was able to invite Poppin' Party."
"And Pastel*Palettes..." Pareo sighed happily.
"You two are simps, you know that?"
Meanwhile Marina and I standing in the background watching everyone as they were talking to each other.
"Looks like everyone is having a good idea." Marina said.
"Yeah, I'm glad I suggested this."
"Why don't you go ahead and talk to everyone?" She suggested and smiled.
"Really? You sure?" I asked.
"Yeah, go ahead."
"If you say so..."
_____________________________________________
A few minutes later...
As Marina suggested, I began to go around and talk to the girls. It didn't take long for two of them to come near me.
"(Y/N)-kun! There you are."
I looked to find Ran and Tsugumi calling out to me.
"Hey, you two. Having fun?" I asked.
"Yeah, this party is really fun!" Tsugumi said.
"Yeah... not bad, I guess." Ran said.
"I'm glad you two are having fun." I smiled.
"Did you see the Gingerbread Men?" Tsugumi asked. "You're welcome to take one."
"Maybe I will have one." I said as I grabbed one and took a bite.
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah, this is really good."
"I'm glad you like it."
"You made those with Sayo-san, did you?" Ran asked.
"Yeah, and if you want, Afterglow can make some for next year." Tsugumi replied.
"I'll think about it..." Ran said as she looked away.
"Anyway... I'm gonna go around and say hi to more people. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas."
_____________________________________________
A few minutes later...
I continued to walk around and saying hi to people. I took some of the food and began to eat. While eating, two more girls approached me. This time it was Aya and Kokoro. I rarely see them together, so this is definitely something new.
"(Y/N)! This is the best Christmas I've ever been to!" Kokoro said.
"I'm glad you think so, Kokoro. Thanks." I replied.
"Everyone is full of smiles, and I can't stop smiling myself."
The most classic response out of Kokoro.
"What about you, Aya? Are you having fun?" I asked her.
"Yeah, and I was so happy that we were able to go." She replied.
"Did you think the talent agency wouldn't let you go?" I asked.
"Yeah. We were suppose to do an assignment on Christmas day, but when the staff heard about your Christmas party, they were kind enough to let us go." Aya said.
"Yeah, I guess working on Christmas day is not the best, but it can't be helped, you know?" I said.
"Yeah, that's true."
"(Y/N), I don't see Takeru anywhere. Where is he?" Kokoro asked.
"Oh yeah, he said he wanted to spend Christmas with his girlfriend, so he decided not to come." I answered.
"Aww, I think it's sweet how he wants to spend time with her." Aya said.
"Aya, are you... getting emotional?" I asked.
"M-Maybe..." She stuttered.
I let out a small chuckle. Aya is too adorable when she gets emotional.
"Hey (Y/N), do you think you want to hangout with Hello, Happy World! sometime?" Kokoro asked.
"Oh yeah, and do you think you can do the same thing for Pastel*Palettes one of these days?" Aya asked.
"Sure. I'll find time to hangout with each of the girl bands." I replied.
That made Aya and Kokoro happy, and both of them gave me a kiss on my cheeks, making me blush.
____________________________________________
A few minutes later...
After speaking to Aya and Kokoro, I stepped away for a moment to take a look outside. It's been snowing since last week. It started out light at first, but then the snow kept on piling up. Thankfully the news report said that it won't be an issue, but I hope it stays that way.
"Looking at the snow?" A familiar voice asked me.
I turned around and saw Rui and Tsukushi standing behind me.
"Yeah, just making sure it doesn't cause a problem for us." I said.
"Fufu, that's kind of you to think of our safety." Tsukushi said.
"I guess."
"By the way, are you two having fun?" I asked them.
"I guess you can say that." Rui said.
"I'm having a good time." Tsukushi said. "It gives me a chance to interact with girls from other bands."
"That's good to know, but I'm surprised Morfonica was able to come here, considering you said you were doing your own Christmas party." I said.
"We had our own party the other day, and Kirigaya-san really wanted to come to this party since everyone else was going." Rui explained.
"Hehe, that sounds like Touko alright." I chuckled.
"She acts like a free spirit, and does whatever she wants." Rui said.
"I often think that her energy mentally drains us." Tsukushi sighed.
"Well hang in there." I said. "You can't blame Touko for getting excited on Christmas day."
"Yeah, I guess." Rui replied, not convinced.
"(Y/N)-kun, is it okay if I asked you something?" Tsukushi began to ask.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Do you think you can hangout with Morfonica soon? Mashiro-chan and the others will like it very much." This is the same question Aya and Kokoro were asking me earlier.
"If I can find some free time, then yeah, I can hangout with Morfonica." I told them.
"Looking forward to it." Rui said with plain expression.
"Same here!" Tsukushi said with an excited expression. I feel like these two are complete opposites to each other.
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A few hours later...
This has been a fun Christmas party, and I wish it would last a bit longer, but sadly, it has to come to an end because of the time. I thank the girls for coming to the Christmas party, and they went home for the night. Once they were gone, I stayed behind to help Marina clean up.
"I'm glad everything turned out well in the end." She said.
"True. I'm glad everyone had a good time, and that I was able to make more wonderful memories with my lovely girlfriends." I said.
"I did notice that Saaya-chan was taking a lot of pictures towards the end." Marina pointed out.
"Yeah, but let's not forget how Kokoro was trying to make Michelle Santa-san." I said and chuckled a bit.
Marina chuckled as well.
"But I think what was really funny was when Hina-chan placed a mistletoe over your head and the other girls tried to kiss you." Marina laughed.
"Yeah... let's not talk about that."
Marina giggled, then an idea formed in her head.
"You know, (Y/N)-kun, I did rent out a Christmas movie at home." She began. "How about we watch it together?"
"Sure, I don't mind." I smiled.
"Awesome. Let's finish cleaning and we can go."
"Works for me."
This is probably one of the best Christmas' I've had in a while. I wonder how Takeru is spending his Christmas?
_____________________________________________
Meanwhile...
Location - Takeru's Room
Takeru's POV
I'm sitting on my bed, in my bedroom alone, looking out at the sky as the snow began to fall. Christmas this year hasn't been the best for me. Aside from not having my parents, my poor girlfriend is fighting against a terminal illness to save her life. I wanted to help her, so I ended up making a deal eith the wrong person.
My phone started buzzing. I looked at the caller id, and sighed before answering.
"What do you want, Ren?" I asked.
"I haven't heard from you in a while, so I wanted to see if you have any updates for me." He said.
"If you must know, everything is fine." I replied.
"So that means you were able to become friends with (Y/N), then?" He asked.
"Yes..."
"Good. Keep being his friend a bit longer, and when the timing is right, we'll make our move." He said.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked. "(Y/N) has been nothing but kind to me ever since we became friends."
"I'm going to pretend that you're not questioning my decisions." He said.
"You do want your girlfriend to get better, don't you?" He asked.
"Well, yeah, but..." I said before being interrupted.
"Then you gotta do what I say, otherwise your girlfriend is going meet god by force!" He said before hanging up.
This is leaving a bad feeling in my stomach. I was really beginning to warm up to (Y/N) and the others, and the fact that I have to betray them soon, is making me feel uneasy.
"What do I do now?"
To be continued
A/N: This is my early Vhristmas gift to you guys: a Christmas chapter with a shocking plot twist towards the end.
Thank you so much for reading this chapter. I hope you guys liked it, and I'll see you in the next one. :)