Later that day Mrs. Pierce asked me to go shopping with her and the other women, and though hesitant at first, I agreed to go.

It was Christmas Eve so the town was very busy, probably all those late shoppers who wait until the day before to buy something for their significant other.

We were at the mall, which with the amount of people seemed like it had to be some type of hazard. Even for a mall there must be an occupancy limit. I imagined this is what a normal high school would feel like every day; shoving through the crowd of people just to get where you're going. It's not like I would know, since I went to a school for rich kids, or more like a school for kids whose parents were rich and thought it would be better to keep you with those on the same social ladder as you.

I would have much preferred to go to a regular high school and push my way through all the lingering students, even though I felt like I might have a small panic attack trying to take one step in the mall, I still think a regular high school would have been more fun. If I would have gotten to experience that I might not be on the verge of a panic attack right now.

All of us had separated not long after getting to the mall. They were all doing some shopping for themselves, why they would pick this day of all days I didn't know. As for me, I was trying to find a gift for Grayson. No, I wasn't one of those late shoppers that I was referring to earlier. I was simply trying to find something to show my gratitude towards him for letting me crash his family's Christmas and for being a great friend.

Even after all the time we'd spent together I still wasn't sure what to get him. As I walked past the store fronts, I watched what other women stood in line waiting to purchase. Would he like a scarf? Even in all this freezing weather I'd never seen him wear one. The watch some woman was holding looked nice, but I'd never seen him wear a watch either, and by the looks of it I couldn't afford it with my small budget.

Maybe I haven't paid as much attention to him as I should have been, or maybe he was just one of those simple guys that shopping for was hard because they either already had everything they needed, or they didn't want anything.

It was around one in the afternoon when I met the girls in the food court for lunch. A we sat around the table I listened to them all make small talk, joining in from time to time, mostly when someone asked me a question.

I wondered if they liked me or if they were just being nice to me because of Grayson. Of course, his mom seemed to like me, or at least made it seem that way, and I feel like Heather and I had a good, somewhat, bonding time making cookies this morning, but what about the others?

His sister, Leanne, must have some thoughts about me reeling in her head. Even though I've made it clear there's nothing going on between us, she's jumped on board with the others thinking there is.

Sylvia, his aunt, had talked to me quite a bit during lunch, and she wore a smile most of the time, so maybe she liked me. She was the one to ask me the most questions about my life, like she genuinely wanted to know more about me, but I tried to stick to the good things, and leave my parents and that drama out of it.

As for Grandma Georgia, she seemed to like the cookies and praised me on them, so maybe she liked me. Though she did slip in the question of if Grayson and I planned on having a kid anytime soon because she only had one great grandkid and she wasn't getting any younger. That didn't necessarily give any clue as to whether or not she liked me, and I didn't know how to answer the question, but it did make me choke on the sip of water I had just taken. It was embarrassing having to race for napkins and try to blot Sylvia's Christmas sweater dry.

By the time we'd walked through the front door of the Pierce home Sylvia's sweater had, thankfully, dried. I felt bad about it the whole time since it'd happened. No one said anything, but from time to time I saw her glance down at the soaked spot, which was noticeable from even far away.

I headed upstairs to take a shower while everyone else hung around downstairs. It was the late afternoon, but still early to take a shower on most days. I just wanted to get out of my clothes that had been touched and rubbed upon by countless strangers.

"I heard what happened at lunch," Grayson's voice overpowered the stream of water pouring down on me.

"Grayson," I shouted, turning to see his silhouette on the other side of the curtain. "I'm in the shower!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I can see that."

I pulled the curtain just enough to stick my head out. "Yeah, so get out!"

He rolled his eyes like him standing there watching me shower was no big deal, before turning around and leaving the bathroom.

I, quickly, finished my shower and jumped out throwing my clothes on before he could make another appearance, and then I pulled my wet hair into a messy bun.

When I stepped out of the bathroom Grayson was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at me, first with a blank expression, then a grin began to appear. "Sexiest silhouette I've ever seen."

"Shut up." I shook my head and he just laughed.

"So, you spit water all over my aunt, huh?" he questioned.

I crawled onto the bed and watched him pull himself onto the bed and move closer to me. He laid on his side, propping his head in his hand as he stared up at me. "So embarrassing," I told him, grimacing at just the thought of it all over again.

"I can't believe just the thought of having a child with me is that horrifying to you."

I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but then the corner of his lip pulled up ever so slightly. "Yeah, well, just the thought of him or her turning out like you scares me."

"Hey!" He grabbed the pillow closest to him and hit me with it. "I'm pretty cool."

I grabbed the pillow, him loosening his grip to allow me to take it and held it against my stomach. "You're alright." I shrugged, though I'm pretty sure a little Grayson running around would be the cutest kid I'd ever seen, but I wouldn't tell Grayson that. "I'm sure your aunt hates me, now," I changed the subject.

He shook his head. "I don't think so."

"You don't know that."

"I don't see how anyone could hate you, Ellie." His stare was sincere. "You're pretty great, you know."

"I know."

I watched his tongue press his lower lip out just a little, and his eyes narrow. "Okay, now I take it back."

"No, you don't." I gave him a small grin.

Before he had a chance to respond we were called downstairs for supper. We got in line waiting to make our plates, some people taking a little longer than needed, but I kept my patience, even though the lingering smell of ham was making my stomach rumble.

"So, Ellie," Frank began as he over salted his mashed potatoes. "I heard you spit on my wife."

The way he said it made it sound even worse than it was, even if he did wear a grin and end with a chuckle. "It was an accident," I told him, mentally slapping myself because of course it was an accident, I mean who in their right mind spits water on others for no reason? "Again, I'm really sorry," I turned to Sylvia to apologize, once again.

"It's fine." She smiled. "I, probably, would have done the same thing being caught off guard with that question."

"I mean, who even asks that kind of questions anyway?" Mr. Pierce confronted his mother.

"What question?" Max asked.

"A woman who's not getting any younger," Georgia said, her and everyone else ignoring Max.

"What question?" Max asked, again.

"You already have a great grandchild, and it's a bit of an inappropriate question to ask, mother," Mr. Peirce told her.

She scoffed. "Well, excuse me. I didn't realize one great grandchild was the limit."

I sat in silence listening to their exchange, but felt a bit awkward and out of place, even though what they were talking about did involve me. With a quick glance across the table I could see that Grayson felt the same as me, but he just stuffed his mouth and pretended like he was oblivious to what was going on.

I caught Leanne's eye for a split second and I guess she could sense how I was feeling because she said, "I think Bradley has a tooth coming in," her voice raised to be heard.

"Oh, that's so exciting," Mrs. Pierce beamed as she looked over at little Bradley and then to Leanne. "Is he in any pain?"

I sighed in relief that the conversation was off of me and drowned out all the voices around as I enjoyed my food.