December 23 - Charlotte, North Carolina�
�Man, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!� Jeff piped happily as he loaded the suitcases into the trunk of the car. Matt shook his head and smiled, amused at his younger brother�s child-like enthusiasm. Climbing into the car, he honked briefly on the horn and stuck his head out the window.
�Amy! Come on or we�re going to be late!� A few seconds later Amy came running out of the arena with her bags slung over her shoulder, her red hair flying out behind her. Jumping into the backseat behind Jeff, she slammed the door shut and let out a huge sigh of relief.
�Sorry guys, I ran into some fans and -� Jeff cut her off mid sentence, �and they wouldn�t leave until you gave them all an autograph - yeah, that�s been happening a lot these days�must be because of the holidays or something.� Matt rolled his eyes and shifted the car into gear, driving out onto the road.
�Jeff, you�re such a goof - you know that?� Jeff grinned and nodded his head slowly, his eyebrows waggling a little. �Yup, and proud of it!� Amy giggled from the backseat and gave Matt �bunny ears� while he wasn�t looking. Jeff cracked up and had to look away before Matt noticed anything.
�So,� Matt started, completely oblivious to what Amy was doing behind his back, �What�re you doing this Christmas Ames?� Amy�s hand dropped suddenly and she leaned back in her seat, a pensive expression on her beautiful face, her good mood forgotten.
�Ames?� Matt said when she didn�t answer after a few seconds, his eyes shifting to the rearview mirror to look at her. Amy smiled brightly into the mirror at him and shrugged her shoulders.
�Um, mom�s gonna come down for a few days and we�re just gonna spend the holidays together. You know, a family Christmas kinda thing?� Matt smiled and nodded his head, returning his attention to the road. Once she was sure he wasn�t looking, the smile melted off of her face and the pensiveness returned.
�Hey cool! We�re doing the �family Christmas� thing too!� Jeff gushed from the front seat, �every single member of the Hardy family is gonna be there - Daddy, Uncle George, Auntie Wendy�� Amy smiled sadly and half-listened as he went on to list all the names. His eyes were bright and merry as he told her all about the past Hardy family Christmases. ��And Cousin Luke, and Grandma Jenny��
�That�s great Jeff�� She said after a while, �It sounds like a lot of fun.� Jeff nodded enthusiastically and turned to grin at her. �Oh it is - there�s nothin� like being with your family at Christmas time, right Matty?�
�Sure baby bro.� Came the mumbled answer as Matt struggled to stuff some Christmas cookies in his mouth and drive at the same time. �Hey! How come you didn�t tell me you had these in here? Gimme one Matt!� Amy looked away from the brothers and stared out the window, watching the scenery fly past in a blur of gray and white.
�Piss off Jeff, I�m trying to drive!� Amy cracked a smile at their bickering, the sounds of Jeff squealing like a little girl while Matt gave him a noogie cheering her up a little.
�Ouch! Ooooh, you�re gonna get it now you little ass weasel!� Matt growled as Jeff gave him a nipple twister. Amy rolled her eyes and leaned her head back into the seat.
�Well, at least this won�t be another boring road trip��
December 23 - Sanford, North Carolina�
Two hours and several nipple twisters later they arrived in Sanford, Amy�s current place of residence. Parking in front of the small house she was renting, Matt shut off the engine and got out.
�You know, I don�t know why you just can�t move to Cameron with the rest of us Ames - the drive would be a hell of a lot shorter.� Jeff complained loudly, still rubbing at his injured nipples. Amy sighed and ignored him, too tired to start an argument. Getting out of the car, she grabbed her suitcases from the trunk and headed up the walkway with Matt.
Unlocking the door, she pushed it open and walked inside, setting the suitcases down and switching on the light. Matt walked past her into the living room and sat down on the couch, flipping on the TV.
�Aren�t you going to tell Jeff to come inside?� Amy asked with a smile, going into the kitchen and heading for the fridge. �Nope.�
Giggling a little at Matt�s response, she grabbed a bottle of water and was just about to go back and join Matt when she saw the blinking light on her answering machine.
�Hmmm.� Amy set the bottle down onto the counter and pressed the �play� button on the machine, resting her face on her hands as she waited for the tape to rewind. The first few messages were pretty standard - friends wanting to chat or go out sometime, friends wanting to borrow money� The last message though, was not one Amy would�ve expected.
�HELLO DEAR, IT�S YOUR MOTHER CALLING. I JUST WANTED TO CALL AND APOLOGIZE AGAIN FOR CANCELING ON YOU AT THE LAST MINUTE. I KNOW WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST NIGHT BUT I KNOW HOW MUCH IT DISAPPOINTED YOU� AMY I�M SORRY BUT I HAVE TO HANG UP NOW, MY FLIGHT TO JAMAICA IS LEAVING IN TEN MINUTES� MERRY CHRISTMAS DEAR��
Amy closed her eyes and listened as the machine rewound itself again, her mother�s message echoing in her head. Blinking back scalding tears she laid her head down onto the table and sighed heavily.
�Yup, merry Christmas to me��
December 24 - Sanford, North Carolina
Amy groaned as the shrill beeping of the alarm clock cut through the haze of her dreams, catapulting her back into reality. Throwing the covers back, she slowly got out of bed and padded into the bathroom and looked into the mirror, frowning when she saw how puffy and red her face still was from the night before.
After Matt and Jeff had left and continued on to Cameron, she�d gone back into the kitchen and replayed her mother�s message over and over again - finally breaking down and crying her eyes out. She just couldn�t understand why all of a sudden her own mother had called her up and told her that she couldn�t spend the holidays with her because she was going to Jamaica with her new boyfriend.
She�d kept the news to herself and didn�t tell anybody - especially Matt and Jeff. She knew that if the boys found out what had happened they�d want her spend Christmas with them and she didn�t want their pity�
So instead she�d lied to Matt and let him believe that everything was fine - that she was going to be having a nice family Christmas at home with her mom instead of sitting at home by herself wallowing in self-pity. The boys were probably home right now surrounded by friends and loved ones, singing carols and eating cookies� Amy didn�t even have a tree set up, she�d been planning on getting one but once she found out about her mom, what was the point?
Sighing heavily, Amy stripped out of her nightshirt and stepped into the shower, the hot spray temporarily making her forget the fact that her Christmas this year was a joke�
December 24 - Cameron, North Carolina�
Shane whooped with laughter as he pelted Shannon with a snowball, the snow hitting the smaller man right in the face.
�Ow, you dick head! That hurt!� Shannon growled as he wiped the icy slush off of his face and bent down to roll a ball of his own. Hurling it across the yard at Shane, he laughed when it connected squarely with his nose, knocking him backward into the deep snow.
�Take that, cock sucker! Haha!� Shannon did a little victory dance in the snow, a huge grin splitting across his face. Shane slowly sat up and shook his head to get rid of the snow, his vision a little blurry.
�Ohhh, my head�nice shot man.� Shannon came over and helped his friend to his feet, chuckling when he almost fell over from the dizziness. Holding him steady, they made their way back into the house and into the living room, Shane flopping down onto the couch and turning on the TV. Shannon started a fire up in the fireplace and was just about to sit down, when the phone rang.
�I�ll get it�� He mumbled, heading into the hallway. While he was gone, Shane flipped aimlessly through the channels, finally stopping when he found a wet T-shirt contest on MTV. Making himself comfortable, Shane laid back and let the TV do its magic.
�Yup,� He mumbled, �Merry Christmas to me��
December 25 - Sanford, North Carolina�
Amy hummed softly to herself as she loaded the last of her dirty laundry into the washer, her hair a little damp from the humidity in the laundry room. Coming back upstairs, she flopped down onto the couch and turned on the TV, the image on the screen that of yet another Christmas special.
�Greeeeat�� She mumbled, watching as Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer pranced across of the screen for the millionth time that day. Settling back to watch it some more, she was mercifully saved minutes later when someone rang the doorbell.
�Ooooh, wonder if it�s Santa�� She muttered sarcastically as she shuffled over to the door, one hand pushing the hair out of her face. Looking through the peephole, she broke into a huge grin when she saw who it was.
�Shannon! Shane!� She cried, flinging open the door and pulling them inside. Giving them each a huge hug, Amy stood back and looked them up and down.
�What�re you guys doing here?� Shannon chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair, giving her a wide smile. �Just wanted to come by and see our favorite girl on Christmas day - you know, see how she�s doing�� Shane grinned and threw his arm around her shoulders.
�But instead we decided to come here.� Amy punched him lightly in the shoulder and giggled. �Dick head�� Shane gasped dramatically and clutched at his heart. �Why does everyone keep calling me that!� Amy ignored him and walked back into the living room, flopping down onto the couch and patting the seats beside her.
�So, how ya been baby doll?� Asked Shannon as he sat down beside her and put his feet up on the coffee table. Amy smiled and shrugged her shoulders. �Oh you know�keeping busy.� Shane snorted and sat down on the other side of her, draping his legs across her lap and throwing his arms over his head.
�I can see�� He said, motioning to the dim interior of the room. Amy blushed a little and shook her head at them. �I haven�t exactly had time to decorate��
Shannon glared at Shane and patted Amy�s shoulder. �It�s okay Ames, we know how it is around this time of year. Actually, the real reason we came by was to see if you wanted to go out for a while, maybe see a movie or something.� Amy grinned and nodded her head. �Yeah, that�d be great.�
�Cool, why don�t you go get cleaned up a bit and we�ll wait here for you.� Amy nodded and pushed Shane�s legs off of her lap so that she could get up, her red hair bouncing behind her as she headed down the hallway and into her bedroom.
Once they were sure the door was closed, Shane sighed in relief and turned to his friend. �Man, she�s really bummed out, ain�t she.� Shannon nodded and absently pushed the hair out of his eyes. �Which is exactly why we�re taking her out - to cheer her up.� Shane nodded and then turned his attention to the TV.
�Hey, I wonder if she�s got MTV��
December 25 - Sanford, North Carolina�
�Man, that movie was awesome! Jim Carrey is so funny!� Amy gushed as they pulled up in front of her house again, Shannon and Shane grinning at her.
�So you liked it then?� Amy nodded enthusiastically and leaned forward in her seat, throwing her arms around their shoulders. �It was great you guys - thank you so much for taking me out.� Shannon shrugged it off and blushed a little. �It was nothing Ames��
Walking up to her door, Amy turned to them as she pulled out her key and unlocked the door. �Do you guys wanna come in for a bit?� Without waiting for their answer, she opened the door and dragged them inside, shushing their protests. Flipping on the lights, she smiled and them and gave their shoulders a squeeze.
�At least stay for a�� Amy�s voice trailed off suddenly as she turned around and faced the living room, her breath catching in her throat as she saw what had been done in her absence. In the corner stood a gigantic Christmas tree all decorated and shining brightly - presents arranged beneath it. The entire room had been transformed into the very essence of the Christmas spirit - bows and stockings hung from the mantle, a warm fire blazing in the fireplace�it was perfect. Amy felt tears well up in her eyes.
�Who - who did this?� She whispered, turning back to Shannon and Shane. Shannon grinned and pointed behind her. �They did.� Whipping around, Amy gasped when she came face to face with Matt and Jeff, huge smiles on their faces and Santa hats on their heads. �Merry Christmas Ames��
Amy threw her arms around Matt and hugged him tightly, the tears now running down her cheeks. �Thank you�� Pulling back from him, she drew Jeff in for a hug as well. Behind her, Shannon and Shane gave the brothers two thumbs up and went and sat down on the couch, Amy and the boys soon following.
�How did you guys get in?� Amy asked after a few minutes, her mind still struggling to believe what had happened. Shane blushed a little and twiddled his thumbs. �We let them in through the back while you were getting ready to go out.� Amy blinked and gave Shane a hug, laughing when he turned even redder.
�Enough with the mushy stuff, let�s get to the presents already!� Everyone laughed at Jeff�s enthusiastic order, they all knew what a sucker Jeff was for Christmas presents. Moving closer to the tree, Amy started passing out the various gifts that Matt and Jeff had placed under the tree. Among them were the presents that Amy had given the guys a few days before - they had yet to be unwrapped and Amy thought it was so sweet that they would wait to do this with her.
It was at least an hour before they were all done opening and trying out their presents - Shane was wearing the funky Christmas boxers that Jeff had given him over top of his jeans, Shannon had changed into the new T-Reilly shirt Matt had given him, Jeff had his new Pearl Jam CD going in the background, and Matt was wearing the new chain that Amy had given him.
�Come on Ames, please?� Amy blushed but firmly shook her head at the guys, still holding the four new thongs that they�d given her in her hands. �Guys, there is no way I�m modeling these for you�� Ignoring their pouting faces, she set the underwear down beside her and sat down onto the floor.
�So whose idea was this?� She asked, genuinely curious. Matt smiled slightly and raised his hand. �Guilty.� Amy smiled and raised her eyebrow at him. �But how did you know that�well, my mother�� Matt looked down at the floor sheepishly and twiddled his thumbs a little.
�I uh�kinda overheard your mom�s message the other night, I had the TV on mute.� Amy swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and lowered her eyes a little. �Oh, I see.�
Matt hastened to continue. �I realized that you didn�t want us to know because you didn�t want us feeling sorry for you, but I couldn�t let it go so I called up Shannon and Shane and told them to come and get you out of the house for a while so we could set things up.�
�Are you okay Ames?� Asked Jeff when she remained silent. Amy looked up at him and the guys could see the tears in her eyes. �Ames?� Asked Shannon worriedly. Amy suddenly flung herself forward into Matt�s arms and hugged him tightly.
�You guys are the best friends anyone could ever have�thank you so much.� They guys all smiled and moved in for a group hug, almost crushing the air out of her in the process. Pulling back after a second, Shane reached over and tapped Amy lightly on the arm.
�Um, about modeling those thongs��
THE END.