Ch.1

The Holidays are here

"December 17"

*LEO'S POV*

It was the final day of exams until I could enjoy the long-awaited Christmas break. I was in the middle of my most hated subject, the Algebra exam. I don't know why, but Math was always the biggest pain in the ass as far as school goes for me, even in Elementary school when it was easier. It was the only test we had on that final day, so we only had to stay at school for about two hours before we could go home, right around 10:00. By the time we were in the final exam, I was quite tired due to fatigue from all the other exams I had taken during the week, and, being the idiot I was, I actually started to drift off to sleep while taking this last one. We were about 45 minutes into the exam, so we only had another hour to finish it. I must have been asleep for about 20 minutes before Aeris threw a waded up piece of notebook paper at me from across the room. I'm surprised the teacher didn't see her, but he was sitting at his desk, really interested in reading Salem's Lot by Stephen King. Our teacher had good tastes. My favorite book by Stephen King just happened to be Salem's Lot. Heh, even if he wasn't reading, I'm sure that he wouldn't give two shits if you completed the test or slept. Anyway, I snapped awake and looked around, finally landing my sights of Aeris' mischievous face. She lowered the lower lid of her left eye and stuck her tongue out at me. I just rolled my eyes and went back to the exam. I looked at my watch, realizing how long I had slept, and started to scramble to finish the test. While doing this, I kept looking over to see Aeris silently laughing at me, her sharp, sapphire eyes mocking me. It seemed that she had already finished her test, which I couldn't believe. I kept glaring at her and giving her dirty looks, but she kept that smug smirk on her face. At the time, I didn't show it, but I was quite grateful that she had woken me up; I probably would not have woken back up by the time our time was up otherwise. I'm sure I still failed the test, but I know I would've done a lot worse if she hadn't bothered to wake me up. Pretty soon, our teacher said "Time's up", and told us to give our papers to him, and that was that.

"How the hell do you manage to fall asleep during a final exam?" Aeris asked me teasingly. We had just left from school, side by side like always. We lived only about two houses apart from each other, about 5 blocks from the school, ever since she enrolled at the Elementary school in our area in 3rd grade. I could see other kids start to head off in different directions to their homes as well. A cold, Toronto breeze was blowing snow directly into our faces as we walked back to our neighborhood. We had dressed for the day just like we should have; the typical fluffy jackets, earmuffs, baggy sweat pants, you get the idea. I wore all blue, from head to toe, since it was and is my favorite color. I even had a cool blue collar with a bell on it. It had been a gift from Aeris when I turned 13. Not a day has gone by that I haven't worn it. The only other color you could've seen on me, other than the ashy gray and pale white of the fur on my exposed head, was on my red shoes with white laces. I remember getting them as a little twelve-year-old, back when I still liked Sonic the Hedgehog and thought that Duke Nukem Forever would be the best game ever. Unlike the rest of my now *ahem* MASCULINE body, my feet had remained the same size, just about 8 and 1/2. The shoes were falling apart, but I didn't care. Because of my get up, I'm surprised passersby didn't mistake me for a retarded Sonic. Aeris was always dressed oddly for cold weather; I guess that she just had some resistance to it more so than I did. She was dressed in her typical pink hoodie (to match her fierce pink fur and hair), covering a velvet purple shirt underneath. She wore nice jeans that fit her, compared to my baggy ones that had a hole in the left knee. Unlike my earmuffs, she wore a red and white Santa hat. It looked cute on her.

I grunted as she asked that heinous question. "You know I suck at Math. Why waste my time?" I muttered. I could feel very slight warmth on my cheeks. "Aw, did I hurt the little kitty's feelings?" Aeris said sardonically. She suddenly clasped my right cheek, which only added further to my embarrassment and continuing rise to the warmth in my cheeks. I swatted her hand away, kind of annoyed. Aeris obliged, but she said kind of seriously, "I didn't have to wake you up, you know." I looked away and said quietly, "Then why did you? It's not like I asked you to." Despite saying it quietly, my tone was kind of out of line, and I didn't know why. Usually, Aeris is the foul-tempered one. But right now, I was the one who just sounded like I had been chased by McGruff the Crime Dog for six blocks (that actually did happen to Aeris once). Maybe I was just depressed over the exams, or I was tired, but either way, the damage was done. Aeris usually did not take lightly to any form of insolence I may have. I regretted my words immediately after I said them. I dared look back at her. She was staring at the ground as she walked, hosting a very pissed off expression on her face, but behind her eyes I could plainly see melancholy, just as plainly as I could read a book. I'm surprised that she did not back-hand me. I felt bad and apologized. "I'm sorry Aeris. I'm just not feeling very cheery today. You did a wonderful thing for me, and I'm grateful." I put my arm around her and pulled her close, stopping along the way, giving her a beaming smile, hoping to ease any tension I might have caused. She stared at me for a few moments, a surprised look on her face. After a few seconds, she pushed me off and socked my in the right arm. If there was one difference between her and me when either of us got mad, it's that I never hit people. Ever. "You're such an idiot sometimes." Her eyes told me she was mad, but her smile betrayed it. "Aren't I always an idiot?" I said hilariously, rubbing my sore arm. "But hey, you're the one who made friends with me, so you gotta put up with me, right?" I started to walk again, holding my hands behind my head. She caught up only to tell me something actually kind of surprising. "Yeah, I know. Remember in 3rd grade, you helped me out when Snake was being a dick to me?" I thought for a second, then went, "Oh yeah."

3rd grade was the first school year that we shared together. For the first few days, I remember not seeing her at all. We were in some of the same classes, but the classes were big enough that you could not notice every single person. The Elementary school was quite large, with plenty of rising video game stars, like Mario, as well as plenty of anthropomorphic cats and dogs like Aeris and me. I think it was on a Friday of either the first or second week, I had the chance to meet her. I never saw the full scene, but Aeris later told me her point of view of the situation too, or at least part of it. So basically what happened was that Aeris and Solid Snake had been taking a Math test together in the same class. They had just been released by the teacher, I think it was Mr. 47, who was a crazy robot secretly bent on human slavery. Yeah, if it's that easy to figure out, you may want to rethink you're evil world domination plans. I'm talking to you, Krug. Anyway, Aeris was just calmly walking to her lockers, humming some video game tune, when Solid Snake suddenly pushed her from behind. "What the hell! Snake, you big JERK!" she shouted. Snake calmly replied in his deep voice, "On the battlefield, you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times. Attack can come from any-" I had been walking down the hall, asking if anyone had seen my turquoise Gameboy. Turning around a corner, I had just seen enough to know that a pink cat whom I'd never met before was on the ground with Snake standing over her. I somewhat knew Snake; we had been in one class together, and actually talked a bit. My first impression was that he was very quiet, kind of depressed, really. I didn't know that much about him, until I asked his friend Hal Emmerich, who goes by Otacon, more about him. The gist was that Snake had been hoping to get into a video game called Metal Gear Solid, as the lead role. I had made a mental note to check it out later on if he did manage to get the part, which he did. Otacon also told me that Snake can have kind of a foul temper sometimes; it was just his way about handling the insane problems he faces on a regular basis. Remembering the scene at hand, I decided I would surprise the two arguing kids.

Snake had just gone through his usual BS rants about the situations on a battlefield. Just as he said "…attack can come from anywhere…" I sneaked behind him and shouted, "ALARM!" Snake, realizing what I had done, quickly opened an unlocked locker and rushed inside. It suited him well. I put a lock on the locker to keep him from causing more trouble for a while. Looking at the innocent pink cat, I held a paw out to her. "Gets him every time," I said. She clasped my hand. When she was on her feet, I noticed a book on the floor, figuring it must be hers. "Here, you dropped this." I reached down and picked it up, holding it out for her as I did. This actually gave me ample time to get a good look at her face. She looked just like she does now, except for a few things. Her sapphire eyes were looking extremely shy back then. She had little braces on. Her clothes just about matched mine; the typical T-shirt and jeans. She was extremely cute. I didn't want to say anything that would muck up my previous act of courage that I had just shown to her, so I finished lamely with a smile and a "See ya!" Going in the opposite direction, I started to look for my Gameboy again, figuring it had to be somewhere. That was the first time we met, but it wouldn't be our last.

The following Monday, I was sitting under a large oak tree during recess over by the edge of our field, finally having found my Gameboy in my closet in my room. My mother had apparently moved it while cleaning my room, neglecting to tell me where she renovated many of my personal belongings. It didn't bother me much though, just as soon as I had found my Gameboy. Anyway, I did not typically hang out with other kids my age. I was very much into video games. Back in Elementary school, many soon to be famous video game stars had not been into the roles of video games that pretty much changed their lives. Funny to think how I could see Link chasing chickens in the playground and field area, only to see him do it again, when Ocarina of Time came out. Other video game characters were also doing God knows what. I was probably one of the only people in my school who was interested more into playing the games themselves rather than being in one. Sitting there under that oak tree, I was playing some Tetris. Pretty fun game, hell of a challenge. Eventually, I could feel the presence of someone standing before me. I pressed pause on my game to see who it was. It happened to be the pink cat I had saved from Snake just last week. I smiled and said, "Hello!" She muttered "Hi" to me. I could tell she was pretty shy, because she wasn't looking directly at me. After a moment of silence, I asked her "Hey, you want to play this game I have? It's called Tetris." This is when she looked at me. I could see a slight blush in her cheeks, but I didn't care. "Sure. I actually have that game. It's pretty fun." She smiled as she sat down next to me. I handed her my Gameboy. We spent the rest of recess like that, just taking turns playing Tetris every time another person would lose. This was back when we were not exactly pros; nowadays, both of us can fly circles around the game. When Mr. 47 came outside to call us all back into the school, I heard my new friend say "Awwwww." I turned to her and said, "Don't worry. We can play with each other again sometime soon. What's your name?" She looked deeply into my eyes before answering, "Aeris." I smiled and said, "I like that name. My name is Leo. I'll see you later, okay?" She nodded in understanding. We pretty much hit it off from there, hanging out with each other every chance we could get, all the way up until now. I think the only thing that changed between us was that she ended up getting a fouler temper, especially in 7th grade and onward, and I was beginning to no longer understand her when she did things to me. To be completely honest, though, she hasn't hit me for being stupid in at least a month, so I think I've been getting off somewhat well.

"Huh. I guess you're right. If it weren't for me, you'd have no one, except your parents." I said jeeringly. Just as an FYI, she didn't consider guys like Pantsman and Ternaldo our friends, even though I do. She quickly ran in front of me, a rising blush on her cheeks now. We stopped again. "Hey! That's not true! I would have actually made lots of friends, had you not helped me that day…" I raised an eyebrow at her. To be fair, I would not have anyone except my parents if I never became friends with Aeris, but of course I didn't say that. I don't think my face showed it, or I hope not, but I was slightly hurt by her remark. "So you're saying that you regret our entire friendship? That you'd rather have stuck-up sluts for friends instead of me?" I never spoke highly of other kids at our school, because their all whining brooding egotistical morons who do nothing but gossip. Except for the video games stars. Guys like Riku from Kingdom Hearts were actually half-way decent people. Aeris didn't say anything to my harsh words, but looked down at her feet. After a moment's silence, I said softly, "Come on. I've been you're friend for as long as either of us can remember, or at least me. Even if I sometimes annoy you, or you hit me out of frustration, you have never left my side. Obviously, I'm special to you, and you're special to me..." I would've said more, had her face gave me an indication not to. She continued to not say anything, but she looked up and stared at me, her lips slightly parted (I guess this was a subtle way of her gaping). I was a little embarrassed about what I had just admitted to her. Even though we were both best friends, it was always alien for one of us to show affection to one another. I had just broken sort of an unwritten rule. Looking away from her gaze, my face burned hot. I decided that it would be best to change the subject. "Nevermind, Aeris. Let's just go home. Do you want to come over to my house?" She was caught of guard by the question, just by how drastically I had changed the subject, but she said, "Sure, but not right away. I'm kind of tired. I think I'll go take a nap for a few hours. Maybe around 3? I'll call you." "Aw, come on. Right now. Pwetty-pwease?" I said this in my most obnoxious voice I could manage, to hopefully lighten the mood further. She just smiled and told me that we had the whole Christmas break ahead of us to hang out. I could feel my face relax from the blush, just as I snorted from her response and got out my IPhone from my pants pocket to start listening to music. We were about 3 blocks away from our street by now, so I figured I had enough time to listen to some songs before I bid farewell to Aeris. I started listening to Depeche Mode, Enjoy the Silence, which is one of my favorite songs. Aeris never particularly liked them. I always thought she was crazy, liking shit bands such as New Order. I'll stick to Joy Division, thanks. Ever since Ian Curtis killed himself, the band went to shit…

I pondered these random thoughts among other things as I was barely paying attention to where I was going. Luckily, nothing bad seemed to happen as we walked. I think I almost walked into a light post, just barely noticing it before it was too late. I remember faintly hearing Aeris giggle over my music. I smiled at my stupidity; sometimes, you just have to laugh at yourself. I just finished my second song, Superpowers by Dismemberment Plan, when Aeris spotted her house. I pulled out my headphones. "Well, I'll see you later." I said as she rushed to the front door. "See ya!" she said cheeringly. It reminded me once more of the first day we met. I watched her go until she entered her house. I just kind of stood there for a moment, admiring her house. It was one-story, pretty compact, with nice brick furnishings on the outside walls. Her parents had certainly gotten off well. Truth be told, I'm not very fond of her parents, since they hate me with the fiery intensity of a million George Forman grills (SpoonyOne reference), but whatever. My parents love Aeris in contrast, so it's not all bad.

Not one to waste my day just standing around, I started walking to my house, which was only a few houses away, but I didn't quite feel like going home. I felt like just walking around for a bit, enjoying the falling snow. There already about a foot of snow on the ground from all the snow that had fallen last night and today. Trust me when I say that I don't normally behave this way. Usually, I rush home and stay there as long as I can to play video games, or watch random crap online, or listen to music in peace, since I hate being outside when it's not necessary. But right now, not so much. Well, the holidays are approaching. "Maybe I can look for something Aeris might like at GameStop…" I thought aloud.

Oh, I forgot to mention how both Aeris and I like to talk aloud to ourselves. Aeris has been trying to break the habit for the last couple of months, but I really don't care enough to do so. I remember this one time last year, when Aeris, Krug, Ternaldo, Scott- er, Pantsman, and I all went out to eat at some restaurant (Johnny Evilguy eats testicles, so he's not really a friend). When our waiter came and said he was faking enthusiasm, I remember shouting to him, "I wish to first expel urine from my sack of pee before ordering!" I mainly did this just to be funny, just to fuck around. I saw him give me an amused expression, while I could hear Aeris quietly tell our friends, "This is exactly why we never go out…" I just shook my head out of good humor as I walked. 5 seconds later, I started peeing in a filthy green stall, unintentionally giving a full speech as to what I was doing. I don't remember myself even speaking, but all I know is that restaurant security cameras (don't ask) caught my whole spiel, and later put it on Youtube as a little joke. Boy, I never heard the end of that one… So I see that there's a load of substance best not described left in the toilet bowl. There wasn't even any toilet paper in there either, so that only gave me a clearer view of the shit. Already peeing, I couldn't just stop; that's unmanly, and it stings real bad. I tried flushing, but to no effect; obviously, the toilet was clogged. I don't even know how that's possible without the toilet paper, but hell if I am making this up. I tried a nearby plunger to hopefully unclog the toilet. It was pretty gross. All of a sudden, the toilet FREAKIN' EXPLODES for no reason right in my goddam face. So I'm covered from head to toe with shit and piss water and whatever other foul things that I don't even want to imagine may have been left in the toilet. I step out of the bathroom, ENRAGED at what just happened. I didn't even wash my hands, or any other part of my body; I just know that I'm about to kill someone. Aeris would've been proud. Walking back to my table, I hear Ternaldo say to all of them, "I tell ya, I left one stinker in there!" I realize that it was him all along. Aeris was about to shout "TMI" at him, just as she sees me soaking wet. "Leo, w-what h-happened…?" At first, she was shocked and concerned. Then, when she got a closer look at what I was covered in, I could tell by her face that she was struggling not to laugh. She finally burst like a friggin' balloon. Krug and Pantsman were a little more subtle about it, just covering their mouths and lightly banging their fists on the table. I didn't care though; all I was thinking was that I was about to rip Ternaldo's head off. He finally turned his fat hairy head around to look at me. At first, neither of us said anything. He didn't seem fazed by my appearance. He just had that typical shit-eating moronic grin on his face that he always has. Then I zip down the fly on my jeans. He gasped. What happened next? Nevermind, it's so bad… Let's just say that I'm banned from that restaurant for life, which I don't care a shit about. Ternaldo and I later became friends again, so it's all good.

So anyway, I walked past my house to go down to the local GameStop, and maybe Starbucks. Okay, definitely Starbucks.