Oh Creed, the gift that keeps on giving!

Well, they're not actually giving anything away. People had to pay to buy what was being offered.

Yet, it still felt like a gift to those that liked what they were doing.

Creed Comics and Creed Toys were always a combo that goes hand-in-hand and they managed to pull off that grand combo once again!

Not much surprise on that front and it is within expectations that their products will have smooth-sailing market performances from there on out.

This was what happened last December, so how could it be different for this year's December?

As it turns out, it really was the same.

Creed Crossover issues were sold out on day one, Volume Books were selling in droves and toys were being bought along with it.

Honestly, Alexander was kind of hoping for something dramatic to happen.

Well, not many complaints were coming from him either. The December trend was somewhat dull but it is a repeat of business success.

It is even marginally better than last December since there are more comic book franchises they could profit from.

He can't explain where this stale feeling comes from though.

Was he hoping for an Anti-Creed attack or something?

Not really. He was sure that whatever they'd come up with would just be draggy or an annoying nuisance.

Maybe he was looking for something incredibly exciting. Creed Comics and Creed Toys and even Creed Pictures are exciting in their own rights but maybe he was searching for something more.

In a way, Alexander was in that cliché state of not being content with what he had.

This may just be one of those blues of discontent and woes for more. Kind of a thing that ambitious businessmen go through.

Of course, this could also have to do with the year coming to an end and melancholy was getting to him.

1985 was packed with a lot of things in Alexander's opinion and moving on from that seems a bit hard to do.

Maybe he wants to experience 1985 some more and extend what he had gone through.

That was just wishful thinking though and Alexander knew that. He should even count himself lucky... he could very well be the only one that went through with 1985 again.

Ah, the perks of re-life. The perks of being a Chaos Butterfly.

------

Of course, being a Chaos in re-life, a new 1985 had been experienced and it was drastically different from how his first 1985 had been.

Pre-re-life 10-year-old Alexander was all about drawing or reclusively tinkering with his late father's computer.

Re-life 10-year-old Alexander had done a lot of impressive stuff and experienced things that not a lot could go through.

Even in this new December, he was celebrating the birthday of Milla Jovovich. Not a lot could do that.

Of course, he wasn't exactly the only one that could boast about that. Milla has a big birthday party after all and plenty of their classmates attended.

There was still no Mr. Jovovich like last year but the attendees seem to be more plentiful than last year.

Milica was the popular girl in the class and she had enough clout from just being a magazine model.

She made a lot of friends from that and the party is packed as it is. This was a surprise since the 17th of December is pretty much the holidays already and the whole class seems present and accounted for.

Anyways, the usual birthday stuff did happen.

Party games and some in-venue entertainment were done. Celebrating in a party-catering restaurant just made all that easily available.

Then that copyrighted "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you and whatnot" song was sung.

Milla made a secret wish and blew through her 10 cake candles to welcome herself into being a ten-year-old.

The gift stuff was what came next...

After Milla had gone through all those gifts, the party had lulled down a bit and she was able to meet with the party-aversive Alex in the corner.

"Alex, you're such a downer by being in this corner."

"I hate crowds." This was no SDCC where he had reasons to be in crowds.

Milla just nodded at her friend's reason. Anyways, she was here for a reason. "Where's my gift from you, then? I already opened grandpa Sullivan's but I didn't find yours?"

Alexander just handed the box that he used as a placeholder for the party seat beside him. "Sorry, I had to use it so no one would bother me here."

The birthday girl really had nothing to say to Alex's antics and just proceeded to unpack his present for her.

"Hehe! It's another doll!" Milla was quite happy with this. Last year, was a 'shotgun her' and this year was actually a 'Chichi her'. "Didn't you say that you didn't like me looking like this?"

"Well, you liked it so why not just give you something to remember it by. I also had the female Design heads work on it, so it wouldn't be weird." Alexander wasn't on board with the blatant costume but he was okay with it being a cartoonized toy. He felt that it was the perfect censoring.

"Thank you, Alex." Alex may be a weird friend but Milla always liked these custom toys from him.

Of course, just as the two friends could continue their talks in this little corner of the party venue... a voice suddenly intruded with a blatant question that asked. "Would you like to go on a date with me?!"

Milla was shocked. Alexander sighed. While the rest of the birthday crowd was attracted by such a daring request.

Everyone's eye's then turned to little Brian who was on his knee and holding up a flower towards the direction wherein Milica and Alexander were.

"Oooohh!!!" That sound of intrigue was sounded but Brian's friend is the main perpetrator.

Brian and the friend had really prepared for this. Brian's friend even held up a DIY sign that paraphrased what Brian had just asked. 'Do you want to go on a date with him?'

The adults in the room were confused about what this was about while the little 5th graders knew something.

Brian was trying to prove his non-gayness throughout their classes and it would seem that he finally went all out!

Now, he was boldly going on a date to prove his boy-ly-ness.

"Uhm?" Milla was confused about how to deal with this.

Fortunately, one of her girl friends stepped up. "Are you crazy, Brian?"

"I'm not crazy. We may be just be 5th graders but that doesn't mean that we can't date." Brian reasoned with the meddling girl. He can't afford to fail now.

Of course, even if he was turned down. This should be enough to prove to everybody that he wasn't bent.

The interrupting girl friend smirked. "You're really gay, aren't you?"

Brian was frustrated. "How could I be gay when I'm asking someone out?"

"Look at where you're kneeling towards and look at where your flower is pointed." The girl reasoned and the intrigued crowd focused their attention on that as well.

Brian had clearly professed but he just happen to profess at a little corner where Milla and Alex had talked amongst themselves.

It may be because he had been stressed or Milla had shifted out of the way from shock... however, from the looks of it... Brian was actually kneeling and proposing to Alexander.

This was why Milla didn't know what to say and why Alexander sighed. Why did he have to be dragged into this nonsense?

"Wait! This isn't how it was supposed to go!" Even Brian realized his blunder now. He even wanted to shift his kneeling toward Milla's direction but Milla just shifted herself. She was too creeped out to stay in one spot.

Brian shifted and Milla shifted... but his kneeling was still in Alexander's general direction.

Alexander was also tired of being caught up in this. "Sorry, Cranston. We're still kids and I don't swing that way."

Brian was so embarrassed that he didn't even feel the scraping from all the knee-shifting. Of course, with that embarrassment and the numbed pain, he was blushing pink.

That only led to misunderstanding.

"Hehe!" A classmate grinned. "Brian isn't immune to the pink sickness that girls would have when Creed talks to them. If he's infected, you guys know what that means?"

"Yeah, I guess we also know why he didn't like Milla being a model in the first place."

"We thought that he was attacking Milla for her magazine modelling but it may be because Milla was talking to Alex and is always hanging around Alex."

"Wow... he didn't want to lose to Milla that he just proposed to finally get her out of Creed's life."

'"Hahaha!"' The kids can't help but burst out with laughter! This realization was so absurd that it was too funny.

"Oh my gosh, Brian!" On the other hand, the gullible friend with the DIY sign was shocked. "I didn't know it was Creed that you were proposing to. Are you really gay?"

"Did you say hey?" Brian was desperate.

"I said gay this time." The friend iterated.

Of course, that only brought the 5th graders to the first day of class and they can't help but burst out with another wave of amusement.

"Ahhhhh!!! I hate you all!" Brian left in a dashing hurry and that only brought more fun to the party.

It was wonder what kind of revenge-type B-movie would be made with Brian's backstory.

Of course, the party continued. Milla had fun but Brian's actions and her classmates' reactions were lingering in her mind. It would seem that aside from Drew Barrymore and some other girls, she had to watch out for Brian as well.

------

In any case, after that interlude on Milla's birthday, the rest of December was considered an interlude by Alexander.

However, it was mostly celebratory interludes since a lot of special occasions had to be celebrated. December might just be Interlude-y December for all Alexander cares.

There's Christmas Eve on the 24th, Christmas Day on the 25th, the production-busy and absent Old Sullivan's birthday on the 27th, and then there's the 31st- the last day of 1985 or New Year's Eve.

1985 was really coming to a close and this may be Alexander's second go at it... but there's still a lot to be melancholically missed.

Of course, the countdown on New Year's Eve did drop down to zero and when the fireworks lit up the dark sky, 1985 had finally ended!

While the sky was being painted by colorful explosions, Alexander gazed at it from his backyard.

New Year's Day had come and a New Year was here!