Chapter 18. Secret Santa
A cool breeze drifted through the breezeway, a reminder of the season changing. A shiver ran down Indigo's spine. 'Why do we change uniforms if they're barely any warmer..?' She asked herself, trying to think back as she walked to class. She crossed her arms. 'It's almost winter break.'
Her gaze turned to the grey sky as she left the breezeway, a feeling of gloom seemed to surround her. Watching the same sky from her bedroom or when she did go out, it was only for necessities or to school. She breathed deeply, the air was crisp but refreshing. She exhaled, feeling some of her concerns drift along with the breath. "That's behind me." She reminded herself with a small smile, but that soon fell. "...Dammit, I'm cold." She quickly shuffled to class.
The hours passed and lunch rolled around. Indigo watched the window of the lunchroom, the sky was just as grey as this morning. The heat of the building was enough to keep her warm, though she still felt the chill. "Hey Sunny-" She said, turning to the girl at her side.
"Hmm?"
"You got a scarf I can borrow?"
"I told you to grab a jacket this morning." She sighed, taking off her scarf.
"I only have my letterman." She said, "You don't have to give me your's-"
Sunny draped the warm fabric around her neck, wrapping it gently. "It'd do neither of us any good for you to get sick."
"Cute." Lemon said to herself, though it earned her a gentle elbow from Sour.
"Why not use your jacket?" Sugarcoat asked.
"Negative association? I dunno, I just don't like looking at it." She admitted.
"We'll go shopping after school then. You really shouldn't face this weather without proper clothing." Sunny said simply.
"Aw, c'mon. You know how the weather is. It'll be cold for like a day or two…"
"Indigo, you know that part of the whole 'self care' thing involves I dunno, taking care of yourself." Sour said flatly.
She huffed, but offered no further arguments. Indigo simply watched as her friends resumed their conversations. Resting her cheek on her palm, she glanced between them. Sugarcoat and Lemon were discussing something about class, Sour and Sunny were talking about their days. She felt a smile across her lips. They certainly had a way of making her feel better. The loneliness she'd felt before lunch had vanished, though she did wonder if it'd be back afterwards.
"What do you think, Indigo?" Sunny asked, catching her off guard.
"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening."
Sunny sighed. "What do you think about a secret santa?" She asked.
"Oh yeah. Christmas is coming up...I suppose it'd be pretty fun."
"It's settled then!" Lemon blurted out, reaching into her bag and taking out a hat.
"You actually bought a hat for this?" Indigo asked.
"I have other clothes besides my uniform, Indigo." She teased.
After a moment of thought, she palmed her face with a groan. "Whatever. Let's just do this."
Lemon wrote down and tore off slips of paper, folding them and putting them in the hat before tossing them a few times. "Okay, who wants to go first?"
Sugarcoat shrugged, reaching in and taking out her's. She glanced down at it. Sour Sweet. "Perfect." She said with a nod and a confident smile.
Sour reached in, taking out one of the slips, looking down to see Lemon's name. She felt a combination of joy and nervousness. She could do that, no problem.
Sunny reached in and took her turn, reading Sugarcoat's name. "Hmm. This one should be easily done."
"Sounds like someone picked me." Lemon teased, reaching in to pull a name. Indigo. "I mean, it's pretty obvious the kinds of stuff I'm into." She chuckled, nonchalantly hiding her pick. "Last one, Indy."
Indigo took the last slip, reading Sunny's name. "Hmm. I got this." She smirked.
"Alright, so we'll all go to the mall after school and take a look around." Lemon cheered.
"Sounds like a plan." Indigo nodded, though her gift wouldn't be there, she wouldn't mind the fun. The bell rang a little after their picks and the group stood to head to their respective classes.
Lemon walked with Indigo down the hall, the rocker seemed unphased by the crowds of students that rushed past them. Was this place always in such a hurry?
"So, who'd ya get?" Lemon asked.
"Isn't it 'secret' Santa?"
"Right, Right. You don't have to tell me." She said, "Any ideas though?"
"Oh, I know exactly what I'm getting."
"Whoa, already? You must know her pretty well…"
"I know all of you relatively well." She said, crossing her arms. "Why are you trying to figure out who I got?" She eyed her with suspicion.
"No reason! Just wanted to try and help." She said with a grin.
"Okay. I got you, I'm giving you headphones that your current ones are probably better than."
"Huh. Okay. Knowing does kinda ruin the fun."
"Yeah?" Indigo asked with a sarcastic smirk.
"You proved your point." She chuckled before they split off for classes.
Across the school, Sour took a seat in her classroom, pulling out a sketchbook. No one bothered her in this class, they knew better. She flipped through some older drawings, a few of her friends, and fell onto a fresh page.
'This has to be good.' She thought, glancing up to see the teacher begin writing on the board. 'One day won't kill me.' She brought her pencil to the paper, starting a base.
Sugarcoat's class began as well, the studious girl seemed lost in thought. Her confidence waned as she thought more about her gift. 'What would Sour like..?'
Sunny hummed as she thought, 'Sugarcoat has been really into cooking more lately. That should do just fine.' She glanced up, returning to her notes.
Lemon rushed to her seat, just before the bell. "Made it!" She cheered.
"Miss Zest." The teacher warned.
"Sorry." She giggled, as he began his lecture, she took her phone out under her desk, typing blindly but coherently getting her message across. 'Cashing in a favor.' She wrote to one of her contacts.
The rest of the school day passed, and the girls met in the parking lot afterwards. "It'll be a bit cramped in the back, but you'll make it." Sunny said, unlocking her car.
"We'll be fine." Sugarcoat assured, climbing in, Lemon and Sour joining her. Indigo got in the passenger seat, scooting up a bit for extra leg room. The car was lively, music playing quietly, but the conversations overpowering it.
"Dude, it was cool. I got to go on stage and perform with the band." Lemon said with an excited grin.
"Woah, that's pretty awesome. Why would they pick a random person to do that?" Indigo asked.
"Well, I've been doing more drum covers on my channel. I'm not doing too bad." She smiled. "I get recognized when I go to local shows."
"Oh yeah, didn't you help that guy Twilight's friends with?" Sugarcoat asked.
"Yeah! I actually performed with them at a couple house shows." She grinned.
They pulled into the mall parking lot and parked, getting out to head inside. "So, I suggest we get Indigo a jacket and then split off for our gifts." Sunny said as they walked, the jock pouted, but shivered from the air after being in the warm car.
"Sounds like the best plan. You really shouldn't be without a coat in this weather." Sugarcoat said.
"I get it." Indigo grumbled, her chills evaporating as they entered the warmth of the mall. "Ahhhh~"
"This way." Sour said as she walked ahead, leading them to a fashionable clothing store. Everything looked so stylish.
"I dunno, don't you think these are a bit unfitting for me?" Indigo asked.
"The clothes don't make the person. The person makes the clothes." Sour said simply, looking around. "Do you see anything you might like?"
"How about this?" Indigo asked, looking to a black bomber jacket with her namesake color as highlights.
"That looks pretty sick, try it on." Lemon said.
Indigo shrugged, grabbing and pulling on the jacket. "I like it." Lemon cheered, Sugarcoat gave a reserved nod and Sour hummed in thought before nodding as well. She glanced at Sunny for the final opinion.
"You look wonderful." Sunny said. "It suits the tough girl look you strive for."
"It's not just a look…" She grumbled, a hint of red across her cheeks. "This'll do I guess." She slid it off to take it to the cashier.
"Great. We've got it from here." Lemon said before Sour grabbed it and the duo rushed off.
"Hey!" She groaned. "They couldn't have just offered?"
"Would you have let them pay if they did?" Sugarcoat asked.
"..."
"They knew." She added after a moment.
"Well, didn't expect that, but at least you're not going to be cold." Sunny said.
"I have warmer stuff, I just can't wear it to school." Indigo crossed her arms again.
"Like what?" Sugarcoat asked as they walked to the exit to wait on Sour and Lemon.
"She has a thick flannel jacket that she wears when she gets chilly around the house." Sunny noted. "She must just be a warm person, I don't seem to be cold in the house."
"You wear sweaters and those super fluffy pajama pants. You're like a space heater whenever you're at home." Indigo shot back.
"Do you have ugly Christmas sweaters?"
"I wouldn't wear them out, but of course I do." She admitted. "There's a certain charm in them." She giggled. "And Indigo, you have a few of those pants too. After you felt mine, you got some the next time we were out."
"I never said I didn't." She shrugged. "I'm just saying you don't feel chilly because you're always in warm clothing. I'm an athlete, we're used to wearing light clothing."
"Whatever your excuse, we should move on." Sunny said, looking around. "Lemon and Sour are on the way." She pointed, said girls walking up to the group with a bag.
"Here you go." Lemon grinned.
"Thanks. Both of you."
"Don't sweat it. So, we gonna split off for gift ideas?" Sour asked.
"Yeah, let's meet back in about an hour." Sunny suggested, pressing a button on her watch.
"Alrighty. See you girls soon." Indigo waved, walking one way, the others split into different paths.
The jock crossed her arms in thought. 'Okay. Sunny.' She hummed as she looked around. 'She likes girly stuff, but nothing crazy.' She looked at a makeup store. 'All of her makeup is really well kept and topped up.' She made a mental note to mark that one off. 'Clothes? I don't do fashion…' She sighed. 'Maybe the first idea was the best.' She took out her phone, scrolling a previous search. "Perfect."
With a few taps on her screen, she had placed the order. 'I hope I at least picked a good one…'
Sugarcoat stood in a game store, eyeing the cases. 'I don't even know what consoles she has. If she even plays games.' She pinched the bridge of her nose, pushing up her glasses. 'I know little of her interests outside of the archery club. This is disheartening.' She shook her head. 'All the better to learn more about her.' She walked around the store again before giving up, heading to another. This one was more anime focused, and a familiar pink ponytail traveled the aisles within.
'Didn't know she was a fan of anime,' She thought, noting how she was in the figures section. She watched her for a bit longer before entering as well. "Looking for a gift?" She asked as Sour noticed her approach.
"Sorta? Maybe just thinking still." Sour slumped. "This is much more pressure than I thought it'd be."
"Do you have an idea?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure she'll like it, but I'm bad about second guessing myself."
"I'm sure whatever you decide will be the correct answer."
"That sounds like some 'old people' wisdom."
"I grew up with my grandparents when my parents were at work…" She said flatly.
"Huh. So spot on then."
Sugarcoat rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna take a look around."
"Good luck." Sour said with a wave, leaving the store.
Sugarcoat looked around, walking to the spot she'd spotted Sour at. There were many really detailed figures, mostly from anime, but a few game characters. The ones in front of her were seven characters, each in unique outfits, and wearing odd masks. The one in white had a long red beaked mask. His weapon looked interesting.
'This is a long shot…' She looked at the group again before sighing. 'I can just give the receipt in the bag if she doesn't like it…' She slumped slightly. 'This one, I guess.' She got a clerk to unlock the case.
"Ah, Yusuke is pretty popular today." He said with a chuckle. She perked up at the comment.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, that girl you were talking to earlier was asking about him." He said. "Said she only needed him to complete her Phantom Thieves set."
Sugarcoat smiled. "Oh, that's great. Uh, if you see her again, don't mention this to her. It's a gift."
"Oh, I gotcha." He nodded. "Will this be all?"
"Yes, please."
Lemon hummed to the song in her headphones as she typed on her phone, taking a seat at a nearby bench. 'Yeah, I know they're in town to record in a few days. Could you help a sister out?'
'I can't swing anything crazy…' Her contact replied as she brought a candy cane from her pocket to snack on. Unwrapping it with one hand, she typed back.
'I'll help out as an extra if I gotta, I just wanna get a CD signed for my friend's Christmas gift.'
'Oh. That's way more doable. I was expecting backstage passes. Sure, come on by tomorrow and I can set you up.'
'You're the best, dude.'
Lemon stretched out, resting an arm on the back of the bench. "Just that easy, baby." She smirked to herself, the candy cane sticking out of her mouth like a cigar.
Sunny perused one of the bookstores, examining anything that caught her interest. 'Sugarcoat has been baking more and more lately. Probably because of Pinkie.' She crossed her arms. 'Surely she's gotten more than a few recipe books, but which ones would she not have?' She asked herself.
Her eyes scanned the multiple shelves. 'A dessert cookbook that listed multiple substitutes would be ideal, so many desserts use strawberries…' She tapped her chin as she read. 'She can be annoying, but I wouldn't wish to harm her.' She reached for one, opening it and flipping through a few pages. "Excuse me-" She called to a passing associate.
"Yes, ma'am?" He asked politely.
"I have a friend with some severe food allergies, do you have any cookbooks that are more aimed toward people with allergies or is this the only place?"
"Well, we actually have a few back this way near the dietary planners. I'll show you." He offered, Sunny placed the book and followed after him. "I suppose it's a good place to put them since changing your diet could be helped with different foods made with substitutes." He thought aloud.
"It makes some sense, but why not just have them on the opposite aisle of the other cookbooks?"
He sighed. "I'm honestly not sure. It's how corporate wants it laid out." He said, tiredly. She seemed to find a source of stress for the poor worker. "Here we are. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions."
"Thank you." She waved as he left and she returned to the search. Luckily, these were what she was looking for. 'This is perfect!' She cheered internally. '100 New Desserts: Enjoy Yourself Without Worry. I mean...the title isn't the greatest, but there are so many options. Ooh blackberry cheesecake?' Her stomach grumbled. 'Stop that!' She chastised herself before rushing to pay and exit the store, hoping her rumbling stomach went unnoticed.
Sugarcoat and Sunny both had the same idea, hiding their purchases in their backpacks. Before they knew it, it was time to meet up.
"How'd it go?" Indigo asked from her spot beside Lemon.
"All set." Sunny nodded. "You?"
"Got mine right away. Probly quicker than anyone else." She boasted with a smirk.
"I just had to send a text, so I probly beat you." Lemon smirked back.
Sugarcoat and Sour returned together, seemingly having come from the same side of the mall. "We ready to go?" Sour asked.
"Yup. Let's get going." Lemon stood, the group following behind toward the exit.
"When are we gonna exchange these?" Sugarcoat asked as they walked.
"How about Christmas eve? Maybe we can sneak away long enough to have some friend time in between all the family junk." Lemon suggested.
"That's as good a plan as any." Sunny noted.
"That'll give me plenty of time." Sour thought aloud.
"It's only about two weeks." Sugarcoat noted.
"I can make it."
Indigo pulled on her new coat, the cool dusk air not even phasing her. "Ahh, this is much nicer." She sighed happily.
"Wow, who knew all it took to be warm in the cold was a coat?" Sunny asked.
Indigo grumbled again, shoving her gently. They climbed in the car and Sunny set about dropping them off, the timer on the gift exchange began.
The next week passed quickly as each girl set about presenting their gifts. Indigo flopped onto her bed, checking the receipt of her purchase. 'I'll just print these out. Hope she's okay with seeing a play with me.' The tickets were to a performance of a local theater group that Sunny had mentioned before, 'The Crystal City Troupe'; she'd always heard them referred to as 'CCT' until she asked what it meant.
Sugarcoat took the time to wrap her gift. She did a few searches on the character, he seemed to be a 'starving artist' type. He seemed...eccentric to say the least. Who was she to judge Sour's interest in characters?
"Here you go, Lemon." The man said, handing over a cd. "We square?"
"Until you need me for another cover." She smirked. "Thanks so much! She's gonna love it. Was it any trouble?"
"Nah, he didn't mind the favor when I mentioned it was for a friend of mine." He shrugged. "Just make sure they don't fuck it up. That thing has value with that signature."
"She's not a child." Lemon rolled her eyes. "But I appreciate it. Catch ya later!"
Sunny wrapped her own gift, she'd read through several interesting recipes. 'Hope she enjoys this as much as I think she will.' She thought, writing down Sugarcoat's name on the card.
Sour pushed away from her pc, rubbing her wrist gingerly. 'This looks pretty good actually.' She smiled. 'What size print do I get her?' The art was of Lemon Zest behind the drums, rocking out as carefree as she could be. Strong stylistic uses of yellow and pink as the primary colors, she'd used a blue to outline her losing herself to the music she produced. 'Maybe I did a little too much..? Too late now…' She saved the image, readying to get a print.
Before they knew it, it was time. They decided on Sunny's place since it killed two birds with one stone. They all gathered in Indigo's room.
Sunny and Indigo sat on the bed, a bean bag chair was Lemon's perch and Sour and Sugarcoat had some chairs they brought from the other room.
"Alright! Who wants to go first?" Sunny asked.
"Me!" Lemon said with a raised hand. The actress gave her the go-ahead and she stood up. "This year I got everybody's favorite jock." She held out a small wrapped case. "Merry Christmas, Indy."
Indigo chuckled, taking the gift. "Thanks, Lemon." She tore at one side, pulling the gift free from it's cover. Her eyes widened seeing the name written on it. "Whoa, how'd you get an autograph-"
"I know some people, pulled some strings. You know how it is." She checked her nails casually.
"Dude, this is awesome! I love this band too, how'd-"
"Indigo, c'mon man." She scoffed. "I know all my friend's tastes in music." She said as if that were normal.
"Well thank you. I'll cherish this bad boy." She grinned.
"I'm glad you liked it." She crossed her arms with a proud nod. "My gut was correct!"
"Alright, settle down. Who's next?" Sunny asked. Sugarcoat shrugged, standing.
"Here, I hope it's something you'll like. I went out on a limb to guess this." She offered the bag to Sour Sweet.
Sour tilted her head, taking the box out and ripping the paper to reveal the Yusuke figurine. "Wha?! How- You saw me in the store the other day." She said, though she hugged the box to her chest.
"Guilty. But I only saw where you were for a moment. I don't even know much about the game this character is from."
"I'll lend you my copy, it's good." Sour said, looking at the box again. "He looks so cool. Despite being an absolute dork. Thank you, Sugarcoat."
"Of course." She smiled softly. "I'm happy you like it."
"While we're on the topic of Sugarcoat…" Sunny held out her gift, the bespectacled girl taking it. She pulled it from it's wrapping, to reveal the cover.
"A recipe book? That includes allergy replacements in the instructions, this-" She managed a rare giggle. "This is actually very helpful. You have no idea how many things require something I'm allergic to…"
"I thought it was only strawberries." Indigo thought aloud.
"That's the one I carry an epipen for. That's the one that could kill me. I do get some reactions from other things." She admitted. She thumbed through the book absent-mindedly, a small smile still rested on her lips.
"Okay, here's mine." Sour said, standing to grab her gift. It was a little larger. "I didn't know what size you'd prefer, I still have the original if you want a smaller or bigger one." She offered it to Lemon.
"Whoa," She pulled the wrapping paper away, revealing the custom art of herself. Her jaw dropped. "Dude, this is incredible! Did you commission this?"
"Sorta." She shrugged.
"You know how to pick 'em. This artist is amazing! I look so cool, check it out!" She showed the others, each taking their turns to gawk at the art Sour had secretly worked so hard on. Her heart raced at how many compliments she'd gotten, but went into overdrive when Lemon hugged her suddenly. "Thankyousomuch!"
"Yeah, yeah. Get offa me." She shoved her gently.
"Guess that leaves me." Indigo pulled an envelope from her jacket pocket. "To be honest, I feel it's a little underwhelming after those." But she held the envelope out to Sunny, who opened it, her eyes widened.
"You got us tickets to see the CCT?!" She asked, louder than anyone had expected. "I've never had the opportunity to see them live, this is wonderful!"
"Yeah? I'm glad you're excited. I didn't want to send you alone, so I'll tag along if you'd like."
Sunny grabbed her in a joyous hug. "Of course! I wouldn't dare deprive you of this experience."
"Uh oh? She's going theater kid again." Lemon teased.
"It's okay. Don't move, their sight is based on movement." Indigo chimed in, but loosely held Sunny back in a gentle hug.
"Oh ha ha."
"No, it's 'ho ho' and then a third one."
"I'm gonna smack you."
"Merry Christmas, Sunny."
Sunny smiled softly. "Merry Christmas."
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Is this a sequel?
11096585
It is not, the whole of it is an ongoing story about the Shadowbolts.
What a wonderful and cute chapter) Probably, it is from chapters like this that I read your wonderful work)
11101416
Aww, thank you! That means a lot. I worked really hard on this last chapter, I had hoped I made something worthwhile in my frantic rush to make a christmas chapter!
11103628
Yeah, I think I might steal it in some capacity if I write Sunny some day
As for names. Smart Bracelet. Wrist Pad. Are the two that come up at the top of my head.
11103634
I'll have to do that, It's not a bad name, Maybe I'll add a little "Flare" to it.
11106120
Oh, sorry, I meant to say lines, like this one
and yeah, that's a reasonable worry for Indigo to have.
11106124
I didn't know how to make that happen
11110035
It's my pleasure seeing the story evolve along with your writing, and yeah, brain goblins are the worse, but you're doing good work with this story.
11110039
Thank you, I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to take a compliment without second guessing myself. I don't think I'll ever not be grateful for anyone who reads my stuff.
11113607
You can vary with other stuff like "exclaimed" "shouted" and other synonyms. Or maybe just do the action before the words. Indigo drummed her fingers on her legs. "Sunny, can I ask you something?"
11117164
I have the most difficult time writing characters just chilling around normally for some reason, so I have things to learn from here.
I support the idea of characters having some interesting hobbies, and since you made the whole thing part of Indigo's growth I don't think it comes up as cringe.
11117176
Honestly? I think that's the best thing I've got is the interactions when there's downtime. I love giving a goofy idea and exploring who would say it or how the others would react. I think my favorite was one time I had the idea of Sour starting arguments in the group chat and leaving. Like..."A hotdog is just a tiny sub sandwich." Just to see the chaos. Which, I didn't plan this, but apparently at some point in my writing, Sugarcoat has become somewhat of a decent chef/baker in the background... and she's usually the one that Sour annoys with her questionable food takes.
That's one thing I'm trying to explain better. Why wrestling of all things? Well its because it's the thing she connected with her father-figure over. It means something to both of them.
11117201
Yeah, that's pretty good and one of the reasons I enjoy your writing so much. Also I love Sugarcoat Cheff, sounds perfect for her honestly.
11117218
I think I hinted at her looking into cooking to get an understanding on a potential crush.
I do love that...the seeds I planted and forgot about are coming back to help me in the long run.
11123122
If you want something fun, due to an old merch item, there's some belief Sunset Shimmer is also a masked luchadore
Awww, this was an adorable and very informative exchange of gifts. (I'm also surprised we both did gift exchanges for our Christmas stories XD)
I love this series and definitely what to see more of it.
By the way, if you ever need someone to pre-read or edit, send me a message, I'll happily help you as best I can.
Keep up the good work!
PS: I now need to see how to make some of my friends read this.
11123615
Oh man, really? That means a lot that you'd recommend it to others. I'll keep that in mind about the prereading stuff. I love to share ideas and junk as I go in a chapter.