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Joey's voice rings out over the hustle and bustle of the First Annual Graceffa Christmas Party. "All right, everyone! We've got a lot of gifts to give out. Who wants to go first?""Me." Matt rises to his feet, a sack stuffed with presents by his side. "I've been stressing all week about whenever or not you guys will like these, so..." He chuckles nervously. "I just wanna get it out of the way before I lose my nerve.""Oh, don't worry, Matt," says Rosanna. "We'll like whatever you get us, won't we, everyone?"The others mutter a collection of affirmatives.Matt swallows, bites his lip, and pulls out his first present. "Colleen?""Yes!" Colleen snatches it from him. "I get the first gift of Christmas! Someone ring the bell or something!" Before anyone can comment, she tears through the candy-cane-covered wrapping paper to reveal a beautiful blue evening gown. "What the...so that's where this went! I knew something was fishy!""Saf told me you were going to buy that dress for yourself to wear at the New Year's bash," remarks Matt, "so I decided to save you fifty dollars and buy it for you.""Sorry, Colleen," says Safiya."No, it's fine," Colleen replies. "Actually, it's great! I love it! Thank you so much!"A small smile appears on Matt's flushed face. "You're welcome.""Okay," snaps Joey, "who's next?"The second present goes to Roi, who practically destroys his wrapping paper in an eager effort to discover what awaits him. "The complete collection of Marvel movies!" he practically squeals.Matt shrugs. "You do like superheroes.""Thank you!" Roi grins from ear to ear. "I'll binge them all this weekend. I should probably get prepped for Endgame, and this is the perfect opportunity to do it.""Endgame's not till April, you know," Jc reminds him.Teala shifts in her seat. "I'd skip Infinity War if I were you," she advises softly. "Do you really want to relive that emotional trauma?""Teala," says Matt before anyone can answer her, "you're up."Teala opens her present. It's a stuffed kitten. She squees and immediately hugs it to her chest. This causes a lot of "awwwww"-ing from her friends, especially Colleen, who looks like she's ready to sign the adoption papers."What are you gonna name him?" Manny wants to know."It's a her," Teala corrects him. "And her name is Madeline.""Ro helped me with that one," admits Matt. "I was struggling to think of something to give you, but she pointed me towards the Toys R Us, and the rest is history.""She's beautiful," Teala declares, her face buried in Madeline's soft fur. "Thank you, Matt and Ro."Rosanna smiles at her friend. "You're very welcome!" she chirps. "Maybe Madeline can be friends with Blueberry and Blanche!""That would be nice," Matt agrees. "Anyway, Jc, this is yours. You were another one that I had trouble shopping for, so..." He gulps. "Here goes nothing."Jc gingerly takes his present, sets it in his lap, and unwraps it as if he's dismantling a time bomb. Once all the wrapping paper has been carefully cleared away, the only thing that remains is a lava lamp."It, uh, goes with that calm vibe you got going on," explains Matt sheepishly, staring at the ground. "If you don't like it, I can take it back to the—""I love it," says Jc.Matt perks up. "Really?""Yeah." The curly-haired boy's expression morphs into genuine gratitude. "You're right. It really does fit my vibe. Thanks."The relief that washes over Matt is visible to everyone else in the room. "You're welcome." He grabs another gift from his sack. "Nikita! Here's yours!""Finally!" Nikita practically demolishes the wrapping paper. "Oh." She stifles a grateful giggle at the sight of her present. "A rainbow wig. Of course. You know me too well.""It's the least I could do after you gave me that trivia book for my birthday last month," says Matt.Nikita tosses her hair. "I'd say we're even," she chuckles, "but trust me, bitch, my present to you is gonna blow your goddamn mind.""Well, thank you in advance." Matt turns his attention to the next person on his gift list. "Here you go, Manny."Manny's present turns out to be a sixty-five-piece makeup kit, complete with four different shades of lip gloss. "Omigod." Manny's hands fly to his mouth. "Bitch..."For some reason, Matt interjects with another barrage of unnecessary apologies. "I know it's kinda cheap, and it's not from a major brand, but I'm—""No, no, don't apologize, it's perfect, thank you so much," insists Manny, who's positively beaming at the kit.Next is Joey, who receives a necklace with a crystal on it. This time, Matt doesn't have to apologize or explain himself, since everyone in the group is familiar with Joey's love of crystals. Sure enough, Joey accepts the present with an excited "Thank you, Matt!"The only two people who have yet to receive their presents are Safiya and Rosanna, Matt's two best friends. Matt seems to have suddenly become aware of this fact, and as a result, he looks more anxious than ever. "Saf..." He hands the dark-haired girl a present that's been wrapped in black wrapping paper. "This is for you."Safiya, like Jc, is systematic with her unwrapping methods, but her stoic tendencies fall away as soon as she sees what's inside the box: a book entitled Unsolved Mysteries: Bizarre Events That Have Puzzled the Greatest Minds. "Oh, wow. Thanks." An intrigued expression envelops her face as she begins to flip through the pages. Rosanna scoots closer to her in order to get a good look at what she's reading."If anyone can solve those mysteries," declares Matt proudly, "it's you. Thanks for being such a good friend.""You, too." Safiya's otherwise-calm voice contains a slight wobble of emotion.Finally, it's Rosanna's turn. "Ro," says Matt as he hands over her present, "before you open this, I want you to know..." He's a bit choked up. "Just being your friend has been the best gift I could've asked for. I love you so much. Thanks for everything.""I love you too, Matt," says Rosanna.Her present is twofold. There's a new set of pots and pans, which will no doubt prove useful for the little baker, as well as half of a "best friends forever" locket. Matt casually takes off his ugly Christmas sweater to reveal that he's wearing the other half. This gesture is enough to cause Rosanna to burst into happy tears and throw her arms around her unofficial brother."Aw." Colleen clasps her hands to her heart. "That's adorable."Matt and Rosanna hold each other for a full minute before Safiya enters their embrace. One by one, the others join in, and the result is a Christmas group hug underneath Joey's handpicked Christmas tree."Merry Christmas," murmurs Matt, his glasses fogged with tears, his heart swelling with love for his nine friends.Eventually, the hug breaks apart. "All right." Joey sits down. "Who's next?"