Holiday shopping.

During the holiday season, everyone was filled with joy and preparing to celebrate. Snowfall and a chilly nip filled the air; perfect for this time of year. But one household was on the opposite end of this usually joyous time. As akis mother was down and bedridden with a nasty sickness. One that was responsible for her missing out on some important holiday shopping. Sitting by her mothers bedside, was a very worried aki.

“Whoa, your fever is so high! You really need to stay in bed mom”. 

“I know, but I had so much to do. There's the shopping, our Christmas dinner…how's all that supposed to get done now”, her mother coughed.

“I-it doesn't matter mom, all of that can wait!! We need you to get better!”.

“I appreciate the worry, but Christmas shopping isn't something that can wait. It's only a few days away and we don't have anything done”. 

“Well I'm not sure what we can do, you're too sick to go shopping”. 

Her mother would think for a moment, before making an unlikely suggestion.

“What if you went aki, it'd be a chance to get out of the house. And it would really help me out”. 

Aki in turn went quiet, wishing she didn't hear what came from her mom's mouth.

“I don't know…you know that's not my cup of tea”, the teen rejected.

“Aki, I know you're scared…but it's not as bad as you're making it out to be. All you have to do is grab the things on my list. You can even bring Sora along to help”. 

Left looking at the floor with a nervous look; aki started to get stressed. Her mom knew how much she feared the general public; but their entire Christmas was riding on this. Akis mother always loved the holidays and who was she to deny her a season of joy. Regardless of her many phobias, maybe it was time for her to step up. After all, Sora would be glad to help her…wouldn't he?

“Ok mom, I guess…I can try”, the nervous girl whispered.

“Thank you sweetie”, her mother said, reaching out a hand. “And If you don't like it, just marry Sora one day and make him do the shopping”.

“Ugh, don't talk about stuff like that mom!!”, the girl growled.

Back in her room, aki stared into her phone dreading this phone call. It was the holiday season, people would fill the mall by the thousands. Not to mention all the pushy salesmen nearly begging you to buy something. But all this negativity was getting her nowhere; her family's happiness was more important. So without any further debate, she hit the call button. At his house, Sora had just finished helping his sister sort through laundry. When his best friend's name came up, he'd be quick to answer. 

“Hey aki, what's going on?”.

“Nothing…I just…ummm”.

Hearing the stutter and worry from her voice instantly told Sora something was off.

“Everything okay aki?”.

“Not really, my mom's pretty sick right now and…”.

“And what?”.

“She wants me to get the Christmas shopping done for her. Isn't that crazy!?”, the girl cried.

“No not really, sounds like she needs a little help. Do you want me to come with you?”, Sora offered. 

In reply aki only chuckled; leaving sora puzzled.

“What's so funny?”, he asked. 

“Oh nothing, it's just…you knew exactly what I wanted sora”. 

“Well of course, I know you can't do all that stuff alone”, the boy blushed.

“Heh, I'm so glad you look out for me. To be honest, I was pretty nervous before I called”. 

“That doesn't surprise me, but I'm sure it won't be that bad. And we need to help aunt sakura out”. 

“Right, then I'll call you tomorrow…and sora?”, the girl spoke. 

“Yeah aki?”. 

“Thank you!”. 

The next day, sora put on plenty of clothes and made his way to Akis' house. There she waited by the doorstep; wrapped in multiple jackets herself.

“Morning aki, you seem ready to go”, sora smiled. 

“Not really, I just didn't want you going near my mom and ending up sick. Truth is I'm starting to have second thoughts”.

“Come on aki, it won't be that bad. We'll be in and out”. 

Little did sora know however, the mall would be crawling with excited shoppers. Forcing aki to confront one of her worst nightmares…people.

“Uhhhh sora!?”. 

“Yeah?”. 

“Let's go back home, Christmas is overrated anyways”. 

“Just take a breath aki…we've gotta at least try. Think about auntie sakura!!”.

On the other hand, Sora's words weren't even registering to his nervous friend. As tons of people brushed and pushed past them. Aki would be on the verge of having a panic attack. Sora knew if he didn't do something quick, she'd be a goner.

“Okay, okay, aki…just relax. I'll get us out of here, follow me”, the teen said, taking her by the hand. Outside he led Aki to a bench and sat her down. The girl's cheeks were red, not just from the cold. But from having to be in the middle of that massive sea of life. At this point, sora didn't know if any of the shopping would get done. 

“Geez, guess you were right…there were so many people”, sora giggled.

“Yeah…but I guess freaking out was immature. We need to get this done sora!!”. 

Seeing his friend try and push past her limits made Sora smile. It was rare that aki would challenge her fears head on. Maybe this newfound confidence earned her a reward.

“Hey aki, I noticed across the street they've got a lights display going on. Wanna go check it out?”. 

“But…what about the shopping?”.

“The mall is open for a while, we've got plenty of time”, the boy said, extending a hand. Far away from the hustle and bustle, was a very scenic park. Lined with Christmas lights as far as the eye could see. With a display like this, Sora hoped Aki would get some much needed relief. There were giant Christmas trees, gingerbread men glowing with welcoming smiles. Not to mention some really soothing holiday music filling the air. It was definitely the kind of place couple's flocked to this time of year.

“Man, they really went all out”, sora said, taking in the sights.

“I know, I'd forgotten how pretty places like this could be”. 

“Uhhh, that's only because you refuse to try new things”, Sora giggled.

“I know…but I'm kinda glad we were able to see this”, the girl said watching her breath condensate in the crisp air.

As they continued walking and enjoying the sights; sora felt something cold touch his shoulder. And before their very eyes, snow began trickling from the sky. 

“Whoa, look aki it's snowing”, the boy smiled. “It's gonna be a white Christmas!”.

Seeing Sora's face right now, made a warm feeling wash over aki. Cause no matter what sort of situation may face her, she knew he'd always be there. This in turn made her rush in and give her bestie a great big hug. One so sudden that sora couldn't help but be taken aback.

“Uhhh, aki…you good?”. 

“Yeah, just let me stay like this for a while”, she said, nuzzling into Sora's fluffy jacket. Feeling the warmth of her breath, made Sora nervous. Aki was a lifelong friend, but right now he felt as if she could be something more. He didn't really understand romance all that much; but there was no other way to describe these feelings. At one point, sora questioned himself. 

“Do I like her more than a friend, do I wanna be with aki?”. 

Just then, he'd look down to catch her staring deeply into his eyes. The look she gave was definitely something he hadn't seen before. It made his heart feel as if it would beat out of his chest. Aki then spoke for the first time in what felt like ages.

“Sora…I'm so happy to have you by my side”.

But before he could reply to her heartwarming words; a phone began ringing. Causing aki to quickly break away from the boy and answer it. 

“Uhhh hey mom, everything okay?”. “Oh the shopping right…about that”. 

When telling her mother what happened, aki had to endure a bit of scolding. Afterwards she looked at the still flustered sora with a depressed look.

“Heh, guess we forgot about the shopping”. 

“Yeah, but there's not much we can do now”, sora sighed.

For once though, aki would choose to be the optimistic one. As she had a pretty nice alternative to shopping in person.

“You know, I could just order everything off of the internet. It should all be here in time”. 

Instead of saying anything, Sora gave his friend a light and wholesome pat on the head.

“Way to think on your toes aki, the mall's pretty overrated anyway”, he giggled.

                   A chance meeting.

Turning back the clock, we open on a sunny morning. Two houses sit next to each other in a quiet neighborhood. Currently, a bright young boy is almost ready for his first day of school. After slipping on his shoes, the lad stands and gives an enthusiastic shout. 

“Alright mom, time for school!!!”.

“My,my, i never thought you'd be so excited sora!”.

That's right, this was Sora at only five years of age. Even at this stage in life, he was upbeat and cheerful. Where normal kids were fearful and struggled to leave their parents' side. Sora was ready to face this new world with confidence. With his mother leading the way; the boy danced with anticipation. At the next house however, things weren't going so swimmingly. As a young mother was currently having a rough time with her daughter.

“Come on aki, you have to go to school! I promise it's not as bad as you think”. 

“No mommy no, I wanna stay with you”, the tyke said latching onto her front door.

“Come on aki please…this is something every kid has to do!”, her mother said, desperately pulling her.

“Never…I want to stay in bed and cuddle with mommy!!”, the tiny aki bawled.

Knowing her daughter wouldn't budge; sakura was nearly ready to give up on school. That is until a curious little boy took notice of the commotion. From the road sora suddenly stopped and stared at this whiny child.

“Hey mom, what's wrong with that girl?”. 

“Oh, seems like she's a bit nervous. Not all kids look forward to school …I don't envy her mother”, Sora's mom giggled.

Being the positive and caring child sora was; he couldn't leave this situation be. Before his mother realized; her child had broken away from her and intervened.

“Excuse me, you just moved here right?”.

“Huh, who are you?”, a sniveling aki asked.

“Sora, you can't just run into people's yards. What's gotten into you!?”.

“It's okay mom, I just wanted to talk to this girl”. 

Both parents would watch on as sora attempted to reason with the belligerent toddler.

“My name's sora, and I live next door to you. I know school sounds scary, but I think you should give it a chance”.

In reply, aki resumed the fierce water works.

“What do you know, I wanna stay home with my mommy…now leave me alone!!”.

Regardless of what she asked, sora persisted. Going as far as patting the small girl on her head.

“Starting something new is always hard, but you know what makes it easier?”. 

“What?”, aki said, wiping a string of snot from her nose.

“Having a friend who will face it with you”, the boy said, giving off a smile brighter than the sun.

It was at this moment that Aki was instantly drawn to sora. Looking into his eyes seemed to quell all of her earlier fears. She didn't know the boy, but something about him seemed so genuine.

“Ummm, you're my…friend?”.

“Of course, and it'd make me really happy if you'd come to school with me!!”.

Right now the tears had stopped, but aki was still clinging to her mother. 

“Well…if you're gonna be with me…I might be able to try it”, she whispered.

That's great!!”, sora cried, wrapping the girl into a hug. “I hear we can paint pictures, make cool stuff and meet lots more friends”.

As the two walked on hand and hand, both parents were left shocked. “Wow, aki never leaves my side for anything…your son is amazing!!,”Sakura cried. In reply, the boy's mother only smiled; proud to have a child that was so caring. That day aki would have a blast at preschool. Even taking a picture while hugging her new friend. Her silly grin would be framed and on display in both homes. Who would've guessed this moment would be the start of a lifelong friendship.

To be continued.