The holidays, a joyous occasion for most. Christmas trees, Christmas lights, the smell of pine in the air. Cold nights by the fire drinking hot co-co. Yeah right. In my house, nothings joyous. People screaming, crying and glasses breaking. Doors slamming, bottles falling off the wall. Oh Ya, its definitely Christmas here.

The new twist this year, parents divorced. Oh Ya its been great, wonderful even! Mom’s house equals me cleaning and sleeping in the basement. Dad’s house, even better. The smell of smokes everywhere, clothes all over the floor, beer bottles from a party the other night. Oh I love the holidays! Picking where to go, smoke or basement. But luckily this year, my friend Denise invited me over. Her parents, being divorced, not really minding me over at random times. Like the time Denise and I came home at three in the morning, drunk. That was great. Those were the good times. Now it’s merely a daily routine. Wake up, get dressed, go to school, come home, sleep wake up, get drunk, and pass out. Every once in a while something will be thrown in. for example, detention, smoking, a weekend, or vacation. That’s on a good day. Other times, Denise and I would get depressed and skip school to hang out with high school dropouts.

The bus ride home was terrible. People singing Christmas carols, everyone happy, it was making me sick. I took out my cigarette lighter and melted some straws I found. The bus driver yelled at me. I dropped the straw and flung my bag over my shoulder. The bus stopped, Becky got off with me. She was eight, lost in her third grade world. She skipped inside. Can you believe it? SKIPPED! Ugh why is she so happy anyway? Could it be the mom likes her better? I shut the door behind me. Becky skipped up to her room. I was about to do the same, without the skipping of course, when mom came after me yelling for me to clean the kitchen. Blah Blah Blah, that’s all I’m hearing. I finally roll my eyes and lock myself in my room. Crap, I'm definitely gonna get it tonight. Oh well.

Hours later I look out my window. Becky’s friend Amanda is walking up the steps. Great, another moron running around my house. I pick up my guitar and start playing songs from Dashboard Confessional and some from Blink 182. Cheesy I know but they were my first favorite rock band, I can’t let them go. I hook up my amp as Becky bangs on the wall for me to shut up. I ignore her and turn it up full blast. I randomly play a mix of songs. Finally Becky opens my door. I should have never shown her how to pick a lock.

“Can you turn it down? Mandy and I are trying to play Barbies,” Ha! Like I’d ever listen to her. I get up and go to my door. I slam it in her face but not before doing n inappropriate hand gesture. She looked pissed off and just like it was on a timer, I hear the whole,” I’m telling mom” speech. Ha ha.. Loser.

At 7:30, my mom’s boyfriend came home. I can her mom telling him how horrible I’ve been today. Then it comes. The banging and screaming at my door. I’m used to it. But one time he took my door off the hinges. I roll over on my bed and open the window. The screen is pushed out. I step out onto the roof. I close the window. I stand at the side until I hear the drill go on and off goes my door. I run to the other end of the house. I hear my window opening. I jump and land in some bushes. Ok great, why did I do that? I don’t have much time to think about it before he yells for me. I start running. Denise won’t be home till Wednesday. I think of someone who’ll let me stay the night.

Ryan, my ex. Ok, I must be desperate. Things haven’t been all right between us since he went away to Juvenile hall. That’s when out relationship ended. I knew my mom’s boyfriend would be looking for me and it’s easy to get to Ryan’s house from the woods, so it would be the best place to go. After walking for 15 minutes, I stop across the street from his house. I see him and Nick Minicuchi and Eric Ohlson outside drinking beer. I can tell Nick has been drinking the most on the account of Eric and Ryan still being somewhat sober.

“Ryan can I spend the night here?” I ask trying to avoid looking at Eric and Nick. I can tell Ryan’s not too happy to see me.

“Sure” he finally mumbles. He throws me a beer and I open it. I take a sip then move over and sit on the hood of his dad’s jeep. Nick turns on the radio and blasts it. An hour goes by and we’re still downing the beers. Neighbors have been coming by yelling at us. Eric gives them the finger. Finally Ryan brings out to goods, 12 packs of cigarettes, 8 cigars, cherry flavor of course, and other stuff that will keep us up the whole night.

It’s the next day. I wake up in Ryan’s bed. Uh oh! What happened last night! I get up and find Ryan asleep downstairs on the couch. I look out the window and see Nick passed out on the lawn and Eric on the top of the jeep. Umm right. Ok I won’t ask. I walk into the kitchen and open a cabinate. It's weird being here, I haven't really seen Ryan much since we broke up. We grew up together and I guess it wasn't a good idea to go out, it ruiened uor friendship. Crap, i was getting soft. Ok never gonna happen again. I get out luck charms, Ryan's favorite, and Honey Comb for me. I hear the slider door open. It's Nick. I can tell he has a hangover. His eyes are blood shot and he looks like hell. He stops and looks at me, then stumbles over to the table. I take out other cereals for breakfast. Eric walks in and wakes Ryan up. They all look somewhat stoned. I have a little hangover, but nothing big. I open another cabinate and take out the asprins. I take 2 and pass it off to the rest of the gang. They all take 2 then we eat.

After breakfast, I'm not really sure what to do. I can't go home because my mom and her boyfriend will still be mad. I decide to meet some peopl at the arcade. I talk with Ryan but i can tell he wasnt me to leave. What a loser...

At the arcade, I meet up with Aaron, Dan, Justin, Allison, and Ashley. Where there's Dan, Ashley is near and vice versa. Allison is all over Aaron, I guess I never had them meet. Oh well. I can tell Aaron's glad I'm there to take Allison off him hahaha. Allison's looking Emoish today. Aaron's got on his black jacket with band patches all over it and Jayco jeans on. Justin’s got his usual Hot Topic attire on, this time a Blink 182 shirt. Of course, I’ve got a Dashboard shirt on and a Blink 182 sweatshirt. Dan and Ash are off somewhere so I don't really know what they're wearing. Ash is probably in something skimpy, especially if Dan’s there. Dan, I dunno what Dan’s wearing, he’s always in something random. I played Aaron in PAC-man, and I won as usual. Then after four hours of spending quarter after quarter, we ran out. I decided to go to Allison’s house when we saw Lauren smith walk out of Claire’s in a blue pancho she stole from the Spanish teacher. Normal.. I guess.. well if you want to call Lauren normal then Ya that works. Allison and I started walking to the door when Aaron came running up behind us, he asked for Allison’s phone number. She took out a piece of paper from her purse and wrote it down. He smiled as she handed it to her. She turned around and we walked out the door.

Back at Allison’s house, my cell phone rings. I answer it and its Justin.
“Party tonight my house, no parents. Be there,” he says then hangs up. I look at Allison and she’s over whelmed with excitement. Aaron will be there of course, because him and Justin are best friends. I need to stop at my house before we go cuz I need new clothes.

Allison’s dad drives me home an hour later. I walk in quietly and hurry to my room. The door is still off the hinges. I grab some other jeans and a shirt. I run to the bathroom and change. I open the door and out of all the people who could be there, it was my mom’s boyfriend. He’s mad as can be. I slam the door in his face and lock it. I try hard to open the window but it doesn’t budge. Finally I grab a broom from behind the door and smash the window open. It’s a 20-foot drop to the ground. My mom’s boyfriend breaks the door down and I jump. Ouch! I land on my feet but I fall down. I get up and limp into the woods. I eventually walk it off. I run to the common where Allison said she would meet me. She’s there waiting with her dad in the car. I jump in and we drive away. Another close escape from my moms boy friend.

At the party, me and Allsion look pretty good. I meet up with Lauren who is out of her pancho, aww i really liked it, blue definately is her color. We hang for a bit by the food table when a mosh pit starts, some guy jumps into us , and there is no more food table. Lauren introduces me to her hott cousin, Brad, at the age of 15,and with thoes looks, who can't help by fall for him? ya so me lauren and brad are talking and we see Aaron. he comes over asking for Allison. We turn around to find Allsion not where we left her! Aaron goes off the find her. an hour later, i see Allison and Aaron go upstairs, don't wanna know where they're going or what they will be doing, ugh thats a disturbiung image. After a while lauren drifts away to hang with Ashley, who arrived late WITHOUT Dan! wow this is a once in a life time thing! i dont really care tho so i keep chilling with brad. Justin comes over and puts his arms around my waist. i turn around and hes drunk. great, parties over. I hear someone screaming the cops are comming. I have Brad yell for everyone to leave. everyone rushes out the door. I lead justin upstairs to his room. I open the door and Aaron and Allsion come out looking well, umm out of breath? wow i dont think this room is sanitary anymore. I lock justin in his parents room and lock the windows too. I run down stair where a bunch of us are cleaning the house. The cops eventually come when the house is clean. Allison and Aaron are on the couch sleeping, Dan arrived like 15 minutes ago and him and ash are watching tv, me and brad are still cleaning the kitchen. Lauren is checking on Justin she comes back down stairs and reports hes passed out on the floor. When the cops come, they dont really look around then they leave. haha they need their donuts. ok well tommorow is Wednesday, Christmas eve. I decide to stay here at Justins. Brad and Lauren stay here too. Allison goes with Aaron back to his house. A cute couple i admit, but they still kinda freak me out. Dan and Ashley leave, i don't really care where they go.

By now, its midnight. I'm not really tired so me and lauren make smoothes. Brads looking for some blankets that aren't located in Justin's room or his parents' room. Lauren talks about how she stole the pancho, as if it were a huge deal. My cell phone rings again and this time it's Chelsey Hird. She's upset cuz her mom kicked her out of the house after a fight they had that night. I tell her im at Justin's but she can come over cuz he's upstairs passed out. we hang up and i continue helping Lauren make smoothes. About 15 minutes later, Chelly knocks on the door. I lok out the window. then let her in. She's not alone though. As I guessed she was with her boyfriend Chris Cotteril. Chelly comes in the kitchen to help me and Lauren make smoothes, while Chris hangs with Brad, who just came down with a pile of blankets. After we Finnish making 12 smoothes, we bring them out to the living room. I set some on the coffee table and Chelly sets the rest on the side table. Brad goes through the movie collection and finally takes out South Park. Lauren sits on the chair, I sit on the first couch, and Chelly and Chris sit on the other couch. Brad comes over and sits next to me. We all fall asleep before the movie is over.

In the morning, I wake up at 10. Everyone is awake except Chelly and me. I grab my cell phone and see I missed a call. I call back Denise and talk to her about what has happened in the last 4 days. She's not shocked like I thought she would be but that’s probably because I’ve known her all my life and this stuff is almost normal for us. She decides she'll meet me later today at her house. I agree and hang up. I decided to go and check on Justin up stairs. I open the door to his parents’ room and he’s watching TV. He comes downstairs and takes some aspirin for his hang over. There are only 3 seats at the table so we all share a seat. Chelly sits on Chris’s lap, I sit with Brad, and Justin sits with Lauren. There is already food on the table. I grab a waffle and smother it with syrup. I drink some OJ and then I clear my plate. Chelly decides to go to Chris’s house till tonight, since it’s Christmas tomorrow, she has to be at her dad’s house. Lauren and Justin have been flirting a lot and they both decide to go to the movies after the hit the arcade. I’m about to leave when Brad tells me to wait up. He asks me if I wanna see a Dashboard concert with him day after tomorrow. I agree, trying to keep calm. I’m going to a Dashboard Confessional concert! D.C. has been my favorite band since I was little, and now, I have a ticket in my hand that will let me up near the stage! Plus a hot guy is bringing me! I say good-bye and walk outside. It’s cool out, but nice for walking. I walk around the block to the park. I see a bunch of kids around. In the middle there are two kids fighting. I know both of them. I walk up and it’s my friend Alex who got expelled from my school, and my other ex boyfriend John. I cheer Alex on.

“Beat the Crap out of him!” I yell. I’m so into the fight I don’t even notice the crowd get smaller and smaller. Finally the cops come, There are really only four kids left, Alex John, some other kid, and me. I try to run but there is a tall gate blocking my way. I start climbing when I cop pulls me off the gate and holds me to the ground while he locks me in handcuffs. Great, the jail on Christmas Eve. I get shoved in the cop car along with Alex. John and the other kid are in another car.

At the station, they let me off easy. All I need is an adult to pick me up. I think for a minute, then decide to call Denise. I dial up her number. I ask her if her older sister Elisabeth can pick me up. Liz loves me so she’s over here in a minute. I hop into the car and she brings me back to her house. When I get there, Denise says I look like hell. She throws me a towel out of the closet and I take a shower. I change into some of her clothes and dry my hair. I walk downstairs to the living room where Denise is finishing putting the ornaments on the tree. You can tell just by looking at some of the ornaments that Denise’s family is rich, well her mom at least. My cell phone rings and its Brad. He’s talking about how much fun he had the other night and asks if I can see him tonight. I tell him I can’t because I’m spending the holidays with Denise. We hang up and I help Denise put the star on the top. We then go to dinner.

After dinner, Denise’s mom reads up “The Night Before Christmas” like she does every year. We then say good night and head off to bed. I stay in the guestroom or also known as my room since I’m there so much. I fall asleep, thinking how great Denise’s has got it, and about my family, how bad it is.

Denise’s little sister Jenny, wakes me up. The house is so big I guess I didn’t even notice her. Haha. I walk downstairs with her and I see hundreds of presents under the tree. Most are for Jenny, but there are a ton for Denise, Liz, and me. We all open out gifts. I got a bunch of CDs, DVDs, clothes, and other really cool things. Denise’s mom calls us to the table for breakfast. When I get to the kitchen, I’m shocked. There is a ton of food on the table. Everything from pancakes to waffle and toast to sausage. It takes us over an hour to eat. Then Denise and I help her mom clean up. After that, I change into some new clothes I got. I look on my bed and there is a card. It’s from Brad.

Well, I’m going out with Brad now. I’m gonna see him again tonight at the party at his older brother Chris’s apartment. I call all my friends, Justin, Lauren, Aaron, Allison, Ashley, Dan, Chelly, Chris, and my two other friends Jackie and Nick A. They all agree to meet me at the party tonight. I ask Denise if she wants to go but her and Liz are going to see the Nutcracker tonight. Umm Ya I guess it was Liz’s idea. At least I hope it was her idea.

At the party, I see Brad hanging out with Dan, Chris, Justin and Aaron. He smiles at me and I smile back. I go over and hang with Chelly, Ashley, Lauren and Allison. We talk about what we did the other night and what we got for Christmas. After an hour, we’re all drinking beer. I’m just taking sips; I don’t wanna get drunk just yet. I’m walking around with Allison when I see Brad, making out with another girl. The other girl is Jackie, my best friend since preschool. I walk over to him and he stops when I get there.

“Great party huh?” he says to me. I slap him then run from them. I cover my face crying, and running out of the party. Someone grabs me and stops me, I look and it’s Nick. I hug him and cry on his shoulder. I’m so glad he’s there.

NEW ENDING!

Nick tries to calm me down, but it doesn't work. He tries to get me to go back inside, or at least sit down. I shove him away and run down the street to the corey. I stop at the top or the cliff. Images of Brad rush through my head. Nothing seems real anymore, I can't think, All I can do is cry. I look over the edge and see the huge ass drop. I see nick come out of the woods behind me. I know he's scraming, but I can't hear him. The wind blows, mixing all the sounds, and chilling my face as tears stream down. I close my eyes and swallow. I move closer to the edge, and let myself fall. I feel a sharp pain and itr feels like i just crushed my lungs. I know I've hit the ground. I can hear Nick screaming as he runs to my side. He holds my hand and tells me everythings gonna be okay. I start blacking out, and i hear his voice fade out as he tells me he loves me. I let out on last breath and black out compleately.

ORGIGINAL ENDING!!!

Nick tries to get me to calm down and come back inside. I push away and start explaining extremely fast. I’m crying hysterically. He starts dragging my inside. I push away again and run. He’s following me, I can hear him. I run for a while, then come upon the corey. It’s like a miniature grad canyon. I walk up to the edge and look over. It’s about a 300-foot drop. Nick’s screaming for me. He emerges out of the woods. I take one look at him, then look back down. I close my eyes, and jump. I’m falling, I can’t think. I hit the ground. I can’t feel anything, I’m going to die here. Nick runs down to me. He holds my hand and tells me ill be all right. I’m blacking out. I hear Nicks voice fade out. He tells me, he loves me.