2019 Advent Challenge

'Oh, I wish it could be Christmas every daaaay...'

Loch sung under her breath as she hung ornaments on the Christmas tree. She was at Gray's house, where the band usually hung out whenever they were working on music together. This year, Gray was allowing her to decorate, and she couldn't be happier. Though she put up decorations in her own house too, she normally lived there alone and it wasn't quite the same.

She was determined to make the band's 'hangout space' as beautiful and festive as possible.

'Are you OK there?' said an inquisitive voice, just as she was stretching up to put a star on top of the seven-foot tree.

'Actually, could you give me a hand? You're taller.' She turned around and handed Pyre – who had been standing unnervingly close behind her – the golden star, watching him easily reach up to fasten it to the top branch. He had a habit of sneaking up on people without realising, not aware that his vampiric abilities allowed him to move more quietly than Loch could hear.

'Is that everything?' he asked, gazing around at the room. Resplendently decorated with holly wreaths, ropes of tinsel, and coloured lights, it looked like someone was getting ready to have a Christmas party in here.

Not that she minded at all.

'It looks great,' she said, grinning. 'Even Stal and Gray are going to like it, just you wait and see.'

Pyre made a noise of acknowledgement, but seemed distracted. Before Loch could ask him what was wrong, he abruptly said, 'Hey, I heard there's a Christmas fair going on outside Seaview Park. D'you want to go and check it out?'

Without the others? she thought. Then she remembered that Stal and Gray were currently across the other side of the city, checking out some venue that they were considering performing at, and Arc was visiting friends outside town. Well, I guess there's nothing else to do.

'Yeah, that sounds like fun. Just let me grab my coat.'

---

The night air was bitterly cold, but she found herself breathing in deep lungfuls of it as they left the house. It reminded her of snow, and Christmas, and all the other wonderful things she liked about this time of year. Most people assumed Loch to be a summer person, but they were wrong.

She and Pyre took her car – a yellow Mini Cooper – across town to the edge of Seaview Park. Several roads in the area had been closed off, and everywhere she looked, Christmas lights and fairground rides set the scene. Inside the park itself, a large market had been set up with stalls selling all kinds of festive bits and pieces, from food to clothes to childrens' toys.

They ditched the car on a busy side street and walked briskly down the road to the fairground, pulling their coats tightly around themselves to ward off the winter chill. Loch was wearing a simple quilted coat in a deep burgundy colour, while Pyre was wearing a long Belstaff coat that gave her vaguely Sherlock Holmes vibes, except that it was green.

Music blasted from somewhere, but she couldn't tell where. Just as the two of them were entering the fairground, she heard a familiar tune start up. She faltered as she listened, hearing lyrics sung in a voice she could never mistake.

'...Pyre!' she said suddenly, grabbing his sleeve to get his attention.

'Huh?'

'This is the cover of 'I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday' that we did! The Plague! That's me singing! And you on the keyboard! And--'

'Oh, I hear it now! Why didn't I recognise it sooner?'

'That's amazing! I didn't even realise many people listened to our covers, or that they were popular at all, but this...'

She trailed off as the song reached its chorus, still unable to believe that it was her own voice she could hear blasting out of those giant speakers. She almost wanted to stand there and keep listening, but Pyre – who had the attention span of a hyperactive kitten – was already tugging her in a different direction.

'There's a carousel! Want to go on it?'

'Aren't we a bit old for carousels?'

'You're only too old if you believe it, Loch!'

At that moment, she spotted a doughnut stall. 'Let's go and get some of those first, OK?' she said, pointing at it.

Pyre agreed good-naturedly, and they proceeded to spend the next fifteen minutes waiting in a line to get their doughnuts. Afterwards, they wandered around the fairground, eating them and trying (with little success) to sing along to the Christmas songs.

'I don't know the words to all of them,' Pyre admitted, delicately brushing sugar off a small doughnut before taking a bite. Loch eyed him curiously – not because of what he'd said, but because she almost never saw him eating actual food.

'You sure it's OK for you to be eating those?'

'Why wouldn't it be?'

'Well, you know, you're a vampire. It won't make you ill or anything, right?'

'Vampires can still eat normal stuff,' he replied. 'It just doesn't taste that great most of the time.' He finished the doughnut and licked the remnants off his fingers. 'I never had doughnuts before I got Turned, so I don't really have anything to compare it to.'

Loch peered into the greasy paper bag and found one doughnut left inside. After a moment's consideration, she decided to roll the bag up and save it for later. As she stuffed it into her coat pocket, she said, 'So, how do you feel about riding that thing? It probably costs a lot, but...'

Pyre followed her gaze, all the way up to the giant illuminated Ferris wheel at the edge of the park. A smile appeared on his face.

'Yeah, let's do that,' he said decisively. 'I think I've got enough to pay for it.'

Talking and laughing, they made their way down through the colourful lights and frosty night. Halfway there, Loch erupted into an impromptu chorus of 'I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday' causing several passers-by to turn and stare at her in amazement.

She made a mental note to let Stal know how popular their cover was; she had a feeling it would be just the thing to make his Christmas.