6A/N: So, this was for a writing challenge. It wasn't supposed to be this long, I just got carried away, and so, I didn't finish it in the time limit. (still haven't finished it) But I'm still glad I did it.
What the challenge included was to write a 12 chapter story based on the 12 Days of Christmas that my true love sent to me... Each chapter based on one of the 12 presents. You were also not allowed to include Christmas into the story.
This is what I came up with…
Enjoy…
Also, I had this up a few months ago, but took it down because I thought it was not all that great. Re-reading it though, I realised it actually wasn't all that bad and I want to finish it.
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DAY 1…
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A PARTIRDGE IN A PEAR TREE…
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Casey's POV:
Sitting on a park bench, watching the trees dance with the wind is just as peaceful as it sounds.
I haven't felt this peaceful and relieved in months; the school year is finally over!
This, for everyone else, is still a work day, so no one is around, and all is quiet.
Closing me eyes, I lean back into the park-bench, not caring that my hair will become knotted in the wind.
*.*.*
Anthony's POV:
It's official, I'm free! Well, at least for a month or so.
No more high school. No more early morning bus schedules. No more lectures in the principle's office. No more sweet-talking my little brother out of not doing his homework. No more sweet-talking myself out of not doing my homework.
No more girls falling at my feet. I mean, sure, they were all gorgeous and fun, and for all my high school life I had dated about as many girls as there were trees outlining this park.
But all the girls, just like the trees, were the same. Nothing stood out; nothing held my interest long enough for me to want to keep them around.
Now, with school finally over, it was time for me to search for that one tree that was so big and interestingly detailed that it left me wanting to discover every leaf, every square inch of bark until I memorize every detail, and climbed every branch.
I was talking about a girl in case you hadn't picked that up. It was just a strange metaphor.
Of course, I already had a girl in mind, Casey Holloway, the only girl I had every asked out, and the only girl who had ever rejected me… and not only once, but many, many times.
She is everything I want, beautiful (though, she didn't know it, despite the endless amount of times I have told her), intelligent, strong-willed, kind, hard working, optimistic, she only did what she thought was right, she acted how she wanted and didn't give in to peer pressure. She could be so funny with the random stuff that came out of her mouth, and she didn't put up with anyone's crap (mine included).
Looking around the park, I spot her; my very own sky-high and interestingly detailed tree; also known as Casey Holloway.
Her eyes are closed, her hair is flying about her face, and she has a small smile on her face, looking more beautiful then ever.
I would like to say that it was fate that brought us both to the same park today, but that would be lying. I knew she would be here, I heard her telling a friend that she was going to spend a peaceful, carefree day here at the park to relieve herself entirely of high school. So, yeah, I stalked her.
It was then when I decided I needed a plan. No more just asking her out hoping that for once she would say yes. No, I needed to grow a pair and think of an actual plan, and it wasn't until about an hour ago I figured one out, even if it doesn't seem like much.
I walk up to her and sat down beside her as quietly as I could, hoping to disturb her peace later rather than sooner.
It didn't work. Her eyes open, then upon seeing me, they widened.
"It hasn't been two weeks yet," Was the first thing that came out of those rosy red delicious looking lips of hers. It was also one of the more confusing things that had ever come out of those rosy red delicious looking lips of hers.
"Two weeks?"
"Yes, two weeks," She confirmed, "You asked me out yesterday and usually you don't bother me for at least another two weeks before asking me out again. So, what I'm really asking is, why are you bothering me thirteen days early?"
It made sense now, I only asked her out again when my current relationship with some random girl ended, and if I received a no from Casey upon asking her out, which I always did, I would drown out my sorrows, from once again being rejected, by saying yes to the next girl who asked me out. Then that relationship would last roughly two weeks, which would result in me asking Casey out again. The cycle then continues.
Make sense?
While this all starts to make sense within my head, she continues to look up at me expectantly. Can't leave my beautiful tree waiting can I?
No, I can't.
"Casey, I have come up with a plan."
"And what would this plan be, Anthony?"
"A plan for you to see that I am your one and only knight in shining armour."
You can see her frown increase at my announcement. Wait, she was frowning in the first place? Oh well, there's always someone to turn that frown upside down, and for her that someone is me.
"Another one, Anthony? Don't you think that after the last few, well, all, failed attempts at that you should give up on the plans? Or me, for that matter?"
I expected that much; no confidence in me what-so-ever.
I sigh. "This one is different, my beautiful buttercup. And even the thought of given up on you is a sad one. Although, unfortunate for me, you will be glad to know that that is a part of the plan."
"Really?" She's smiling from my words. "You'll give up on me?" Feeling regretful I nod. "Anthony, this is the best plan you've ever had!"
She hugs me, while muttering thank yous. It's the first ever hug from her that I've ever gotten without asking, (Normally I say I won't leave her alone until she gives me a kiss, or a hug at the least. If you haven't figured out already, she always chooses hug).
I treasure the moment while it lasts, before telling her of the rest of my plan.
And no, before you ask, I am not obsessed with her. I just merely see that underneath all this dislike she has for me there is someone who could like me as much as I like her. We could work; she just has yet to see it.
Once she has pulled away from me, I start explaining the plan.
"Yes, all good news to you so far I'm sure. But," Seeing the look on her face at my words I add, "Yes, there is a but, a big beautiful 'but'. Well it's beautiful for me anyway, maybe not so much for you." I take a breath, and then continue in a somewhat pleading voice, "Twenty days. Give me twenty days to annoy you. If it does work I'll leave you alone."
I see her think through my plan, which is more than I expected, then this awful word comes out of her mouth, "Forever?"
Well, it wouldn't be awful if I said something like this before it: "I will stand by you". But, I didn't say that, so it's awful.
Sighing again, I answer, "Yes, forever. I will leave you alone… forever. Or as long as it takes for me to find someone better than you, which pretty much means forever anyway. Although, you could always come looking for me…"
"It's not going to happen Anthony."
"You never know. It won't have to happen if you end up falling for me during this brilliant twenty day plan I've come up with. What do you say? Will you allow me to try and convince you for twenty days?"
She starts fiddling with her ear; it's something she does when she's thinking about something big. It's a weird habit, I know.
"Twelve days. Anthony, I want twelve days."
"Twelve days?"
"Yes, twelve days. Twenty is too much, and I knew if I said ten you would complain. I don't like odd numbers, and sixteen is still too many, and in fourteen days is your birthday, which should be spent with family and friends, not trying to persuade someone to like you when she obviously doesn't. So twelve days it is."
The only thing I got out of that was that it was now twelve days, and that she remembered my birthday - something that I was rather amazed by. Of course I'm disappointed that I have almost half the days to impress her, but her explanation that only amounted to a jumble of words to me, obviously had some sense in it to her, meaning… "Twelve days it is."
"Is this day included? Or can you go away and we still end it two days before your birthday?"
"Um, what was that Casey?"
She sighs then explains in simpler terms, I am thankful. "Fourteen days from now is your birthday, twelve days from now is when we end the 'plan'. I was wondering if, as a belated graduation present, you could go away now and start this plan tomorrow, even though that would mean that technically it's an odd number of -"
"No," I cut her off, actually understanding what she was trying to do. "We agreed on twelve days, and that includes today. Besides, I already gave you your graduation present. The clay sculpture of a bird in a tree remember?"
She looks down at the ground for some reason before answering. "Yeah, the partridge. Ah, thanks by the way, even though I don't really want it. You should have it instead."
I know why she's looking down at the ground now. "Liar," I announce, "It's bad to lie Casey, surely you know that."
"No, I'm not lying. I'm being completely honest," Which is why she's still looking at the ground of course.
"I'm glad you liked it."
Instead of proper reply I get a little mumble.
"Ah, what was that Casey?"
Looking up, finally, she replies, "I said, thank you for the gift Anthony, I guess it was O.K."
She loved it, I can tell. I knew she would, especially since it was homemade.
With a slight pause of silence, she asks, "Was it an apple tree? It looked like an apple tree."
"It was clearly a pear tree. Didn't you see the extra bump in the fruit?"
"Uh, no, I didn't. Why a pear tree? Why not an apple tree or an orange tree?"
"I was in an alliteration mood, I know weird, and I just finished eating a pear when I started on the tree. So it became a partridge in a pear tree. I quite like it."
"Okay fine, I admit it. I like it too, thank you Anthony. It doesn't mean I'm going to fall at your feet though."
The smile that appears on my face is genuine. "We'll see."
We sit in silence, watching the trees sway in the wind. The silence isn't an uncomfortable one, well at least that's what I think. I hope it's not for her either. Just incase it is, I search for something to do.
Seeing a big interestingly detailed tree in the distance, this time I'm talking about an actual tree, not girl, and knowing how, or guessing how, Casey loves acting like a little kid sometimes I grab her hand, lead her over to the tree and start climbing.
"Anthony, what are you doing?"
"Well, my beautiful buttercup, I am climbing a tree. The biggest and most interestingly detailed tree in this place," Stopping to think about what I just said, I add, "And I have many branches to climb in a limited amount of time, so maybe if you join me, I'll make it in time before we regrettably separate to go our different ways."
"What on earth are you talking about?" She asks before smiling. "And of course I'll join you, as much as I don't want to help you 'climb every branch this big and interestingly detailed tree has', I don't want to stay here and miss out on all the fun, so move over, you're blocking my way."
"Of course my beautiful buttercup, how can I refuse?"
Once she has made it past the first and hardest part, she looks at me, smiles and says, "I'll beat you to the top."
Naturally, I give her a head start, watching her get higher and higher before I decide to follow.
When I was making the partridge sculpture I imagined it jumping from branch to branch in the pear tree with the look of utter joy upon the bird's face, I have a weird imagination like that. This is what Casey reminds me of at this moment. A beautiful partridge in a pear tree, though without the pears. I don't actually know what type of tree this is.
When she looks down at me, to see what's taking me so long no doubt, I see just that, the look of utter joy on her face, and all it does for me, is make me just that much more determined to show her how good we could be together.
"You're not letting me win are you Anthony? How about this, loser buys the winner a bag of lollies."
With that on the line, how can I just stay here? Besides I have more discovering of this big interestingly detailed tree to do…
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A/N: I'm Australian, and really have no idea what the birds in '12 days of Christmas' are, so you'll have to forgive me for using my ridicules imagination for the 12 gifts. I think I like it this way better anyway.
Telling me what you think of my story so far. It will be appreciated.
AND WE CONTINUE…