Ivy loathed Christmas. She has stacked many grievances against the holiday since she first learned she was allergic to candy canes, or more specifically…the peppermint oil within the canes at the mere age of five. Constellations of red hives form on her face and her scratching only made her look like the real-life version of her new enemy. Then just last year at age 16, she was mistaken for one of the children wanting to ride the Polar Express in her town when instead, she was working there for the holidays. She wasn’t that short. The person in question was just a giant man who made her frame look elf-like.
Lastly, her evil, Scrooge of a physics teacher released all unit exam grades on Christmas. Instead of reveling over her new books and purse and makeup, she spent the day angrily cooking a full Christmas Day feast. So, Ivy would say that she had enough reasoning for loathing the jolly holiday.
Unfortunately, as editor-in-chief of her school newspaper, she was forced to print Christmas articles for all of the teachers and parents before the holiday break. That meant ENCOURAGING her writers to actually write an article all about Christmas. She was the only exception. It was a tradition for her to write something on the stock market, the world news, or anything that wouldn’t have anything to do with the wretched holiday. That was until this year: her senior year.
The staff advisor of the school newspaper pulled her aside the day of assigning articles, informing her that the principal now required all articles to be holiday-themed, including her own article. While Ivy mulled over her autonomy being threatened, she never noticed Noah Walker, the managing editor of the paper being pulled into the conversation. Noah Walker LOVED Christmas. He always had the featured articles for this issue and every time he walked around teachers would gush over the flawless editing and wording of his newest article dedicated to the shrine of Christmas. It didn’t help that he was extraordinarily attractive, athletic, and ingenious. That only made Ivy envy the boy even more. He effortlessly drew the attention of all his teachers without appeasing them with handwritten notes and gift cards. While Ivy was higher on the totem pole in terms of seniority, she envied Noah’s ability to actually edit the raw articles before he gave them to her. But, it wasn’t the first time she was jealous of Noah Walker, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. Grammar made her calm and making other people’s work grammatically correct gave her the most joy during the holidays.
“I want Noah to help you write your article, Ivy. He and I were actually brainstorming ideas about what kind of article you two could write together,” Mr. Walter smiled widely as Noah nearly blinded her with his ugly sweater with lights and glitter all over the front.
Disbelief crowded Ivy’s lungs before she briefly glanced at the whiteboard she had written CHRISTMAS BRAINSTORMING on in calligraphy. She already knew what she wanted to write. Something on the climate change issue and how normal people could remedy such issues. Now Noah and Mr. Walter were scheming behind her back because she couldn’t write a jolly Christmas article?
“We were thinking you should write about the best places to go for holiday-themed dates around town. No one has done anything like this, and it would be a perfect way to get some small businesses involved in the newspaper. It might also… make you more open to the idea of writing Christmas articles in the future.” Mr. Walter continued to talk when it seemed obvious that Ivy was not going to try to add anything to the conversation.
But, she squared her shoulders and straightened her back, trying to ignore how she felt in the moment. She would write the article, get the issues out, and watch movies based on wars or anything other than Christmas during her break. But Ivy wouldn’t ever write a Christmas article again.
***
“Item number one: get hot chocolate at The Brew Box. They actually have a peppermint-flavored hot chocolate and a caramel-flavored one. Then we can go to the ice skating rink, and possibly go see the lights downtown. There’s actually the storybook lane in the p-”
“That sounds like a lot of festivities for one night. I’m also allergic to peppermint, so I would rather not drink some hot chocolate that doesn’t seem very chocolatey. And I don’t want to go to the park… don’t you see my shoes? They don’t seem very conducive for walking,” Ivy complained as Noah held a list up in her face, trying to obscure her view as she drove them to the first location: The Brew Box. Noah pulled the list from her and sighed. Ivy knew her attitude was not going to make the dreadful writing process any less dreadful, but she couldn’t stand the thought of walking into Balsam tree-scented buildings by her own volition.
“Well, there are plenty of flavors of Hot Chocolate that aren’t of the peppermint variety. And, we can spread these excursions out over the next few days, you Grinch. We have about five days, and you really only need one night to write this. That way you don’t pass out from too much Christmas exposure. We wouldn’t want that.”
Noah grinned to himself at his quip until Ivy parked with a screeching halt that had him gripping his seat belt for dear life.
“I think I would actually pass out from too much Christmas. You underestimate my hatred of the holiday. Now let’s go try the worst drink known to man: hot chocolate!”
***
Okay, Caramel hot chocolate was not horrendous. Ivy excused her drinking the whole cup in about five minutes as research but anyone, specifically Noah, noticed that she was enjoying it more than she let on. The marshmallows and whipped cream were a great added touch that only furthered her new possible addiction. They almost tried to sprinkle candy cane on top, but thankfully Noah yelled at the barista who wore a Santa hat and Christmas sweater. Ivy wrote down some notes on a napkin about the vibe of the coffee shop and how easily it would allow couples on first dates to get to know each other.
Noah and Ivy made plans for the next night where they would go to the park in actual tennis shoes and winter coats for the storybook lane. As she drove him home, Noah attempted to play Mariah Carey’s Christmas album before Ivy slapped his hand away and ordered him to change it to Vivaldi’s Winter Concerto.
***
The Storybook Lane was mainly for children in grade school, but Noah elucidated his thoughts on why he thought this was a perfect idea for a date until Ivy begged him to shut up. In his eyes, it was the perfect way to see what kind of couple people could be with each other. Some would walk through the park and read them in the silliest voices they could muster and possibly brush hands when begging for extra warmth from the frigid weather, while others stayed in their cars and drank from their to-go cups of Hot Chocolate- most likely peppermint hot chocolate- and read through them silently.
Ivy could tell that he clearly favored a certain way of going through Storybook Lane, so she locked her car and reprimanded herself for not bringing gloves or a hat. She would always pick style over comfort, which made Noah’s mouth screw up in dismay at the sight of her in a pink puffer vest, a white long sleeve and a pair of jeans. Meanwhile, he donned a long sleeve, sweatshirt and flannel under a winter coat. Ivy commented on his likeness to a Snowman until he shut her up with his perfect reading of Old Mother Hubbard.
Begrudgingly, Ivy couldn’t ignore the laughter bubbling up in her chest or the numbness of her fingers for much longer as they neared the end. At the second to last nursery rhyme retelling by Noah, she burst into tears of laughter and pain. She attempted to catch her breath as he merely continued as if this was a common occurrence. It wasn’t until she stuck one of her hands in his glove that he stopped abruptly in a yowl of pain.
“Ivy, you promised you would wear clothes good enough for walking in the dead of winter!”
“You never told me we would go on the coldest day of the year!”
“I don’t have to. That’s what WeatherBug is for!” Noah mock yelled before sighing in concession. Slowly, he peeled the gloves off his own hands and placed them on Ivy’s freshly manicured ones. He gave her fingers a quick squeeze in annoyance before continuing on to the last story of the night.
Ivy rated the experience 5/10 due to the cold but Noah quickly scribbled it out and wrote 8/10 with a little note claiming: NOAH SAVED THE DAY! right beside her notes. It wasn’t until she had to give the gloves back that she wished she could relive the night again with her annoyingly handsome, Christmas-obsessed managing editor, Noah.
Ivy tried to ignore the way his dirty blonde hair fell in his eyes as he told her the specific plans for the next night, but it seemed that his attractiveness had stolen the show. When Noah asked her if the plan was good, she couldn’t seem to recall anything that he said.
Noah, obviously oblivious to her gawking, sighed and repeated his whole plan once more, “This time, I will pick you up and we will head to Target where we will purchase ugly sweaters and Hershey kisses to hide in my car. Then we will go to the Miller Petting Farm. Supposedly, reindeer and other Christmas animals will be there. Who knows, tomorrow might be the day you finally keel over from too much holiday joy!”
Noah grinned at her, causing a funny feeling in Ivy’s chest to form before he grabbed his gloves and squeezed her warm fingers in a parting gesture. As Ivy started her car up, Mariah Carey’s voice began to ring through the speakers of her car because someone had placed the Christmas album in her CD player. She only allowed the music to play for a few seconds before quickly changing the music back to good old Taylor Swift. Ivy hated Christmas, not love. She wasn’t a COMPLETE monster.
***
Ivy loved Target as much as the next person, but she vowed to never enter a Target during the holiday season ever again. On every side of her was some form of her enemies: candy canes and Christmas music blared through the speakers until she simply allowed Noah to drag her to the sweater aisle to put her out of her misery. Ivy quickly grabbed a pink sweater with the words: WARM FUZZIES and went on her way to find Hershey’s Kisses for Noah’s car. Fortunately, Noah was decked out in his PURRfectly festive sweater with cats dancing around a Christmas tree. That didn’t mean he didn’t already have two or three sweaters in his arms to buy.
It took a lot of convincing from Ivy to not allow Noah to buy the peppermint-flavored kisses. He argued that she might have been cured, and Ivy whacked him in a head with an original bag of kisses.
When they finally arrived at the Petting Zoo, Noah had gained full control of his own AUX and belted out every carol he knew while Ivy shook her head in mock disappointment. It took them five minutes to actually get out of the car and go visit the animals. This excursion was for the animal lovers who would rather be with animals than people. Turns out, Ivy was actually one of those people. She could barely contain her excitement in the line at the sight of reindeer, sheep, and donkeys. Noah quickly paid for their entrance fee and some food for Ivy to give to the animals.
Ivy quickly ventured off to the most lonely donkey and cooed at the animal as she felt joy spread through her body. She never caught on to Noah smiling at her giggly demeanor or the way he seemed enamored with the sight of her being so happy. In all honesty, Noah only ever saw Ivy at school which meant he saw her as her most stressed and competitive self. That didn’t mean Noah didn’t admire her drive or need for perfection. The newspaper had never been that popular until she was at the helm of it all. But, Noah was thankful for the opportunity to see Ivy when she wasn’t weighed down with responsibilities.
They ended the night with a bag of kettle corn and a complimentary ornament from Miller Petting Farm that Noah snuck in Ivy’s purse. Tomorrow night would be their last night together which meant the last night of Christmas fun. Yes, fun. Ivy didn’t even dread the thought of listening to Christmas music or smelling cinnamon-scented candles anymore. She actually dreaded the moment it would all end.
And so did Noah.
***
Ice skating might be the one thing that could ruin all of the progress that Ivy made with her feelings towards Christmas. She couldn’t skate to save her life, and watching Noah literally and figuratively glide in circles around her was infuriating. Thankfully, she wore a pink puffer jacket and a hat this time while Noah handed her his gloves almost immediately after getting on the skating rink.
“Why would any couple actually want to go ice skating if one of them doesn’t know how to skate?” Ivy breathlessly asked as she held onto Noah’s arm for stability.
“Because it creates a safe environment for them afterward. For example, you’re gripping my arm so hard, I might bruise. But, you trust me right now not to let you fall. Plus, it creates the perfect environment for holding hands. That’s if both parties are actually good at skating. So stop being such a Grinch and enjoy being bad at something for once.” Noah gave her a quick smirk before pulling her over to the side.
“That’s literally so contradictory. I can’t ENJOY being bad at anything. I rate this a 1/10.”
“No, you don’t. This is literally such a perfect date for around town. Don’t you see how many couples from our school are here right now?” Noah grabbed her gloved hand and guided her to the middle of the rink. Ivy wobbled on her skates and quickly grabbed the top of his arms for stability.
“I swear, if you let me fall, I’ll kick you out of the newspaper,” Ivy threatened with her eyes shut and a wobbly frown on her face that had Noah impulsively moving a piece of hair from her face to behind her ear.
“You like me too much to kick me out,” He whispered, hoping she would understand all the meaning behind his words.
Ivy’s eyes finally opened and she smiled a bit at the truth of his words. She merely shrugged, “You could say that, but then you would have to admit that you like me too much to let me fall.”
“I don’t mind admitting that I like you too much for my own good,” Noah blurted out, finally done with beating around the bush.
It’s all true. Noah has liked Ivy since they met in the newspaper during their freshman year of high school. His crush only deepened each year as she got increasingly smart. The principal did actually implement the rule on only holiday articles, but it was Noah who forced himself into the situation by telling Mr. Walter that he would love to help Ivy with her article. He just needed that push to finally make his move. And why not help Ivy enjoy Christmas once more while also romancing her along the way? It all seemed like the perfect plan.
Ivy’s smile only widened before she rolled her eyes and took one hand off his arm and squeezed his hand four times: I like you too the squeezes symbolized.
***
Their article turned out to be such a hit that even the principal went out of their way to compliment Ivy’s writing and the Christmas joy that was conveyed in the article.
