*the next two chapters were based on ideas and creative imput by my friend AlaskaSonic. I just wrote them. hee hee!*
"Zac, will you go up in your closet and bring down all of your dirty socks and underwear?" Diana asked her son the next day.

"I don't have any." Zac joked.

Diana gave him a mocking look. "I highly doubt that." She said. "Just take the laundry basket from the bathroom and dump them all in there. Almost no work required." She said with a laugh.

Zac smiled to himself. He really had tons and tons of dirty clothes in his closet, he just didn't want to move from the kitchen counter where he was reading the funnies. He pulled himself up from the stool he was perched on and went to the bathroom that doubled as a laundry room. He took the laundry basket up to his room and threw it down near his closet.

With a sigh, he opened up the closet, and started picking up all of he and Tay's dirty socks. After a few minutes when he was finally reaching the bottom, he found yet another head towards the back. He dug some more, then stopped when he felt something crinkle. He frowned and pulled it out.

He felt like he had been slapped in the face. It wasn't anything bad, or embarassing, but it certainly was unexpected. It was Katie's Christmas present. He sat back against the door indian style and looked at the small bag. He reached in and pulled out a wad of silver, sparkly tissue paper and unrolled it, a thin, silver chain falling out. It wasn't much, and it wasn't anything flashy, but it had caught Zac's eye while he was at the mall shopping for Morgan's Christmas present with Taylor.

They had been walking around and getting desparate when a small booth in the middle of the mall caught their eye. It had earrings and necklaces and bracelets and anything you would want to adorn your body with. Taylor hadn't bought anything for Morgan there, but Zac had seen the silver bracelet and immediately knew it was for Katie. Again, it was nothing flashy or big, but it was very simple and pretty, and it had cost Zac a pretty penny in his opinion.

However, He had bought it about two weeks before he and Katie had broken up, back in early November. He looked at the bracelet, shifting the chain in his hands. It was non-returnable, and he had spent a lot of money on it. He knew she would like it, but he didn't know what to with it. He wanted to give it to her, but what if she didn't give him anything? He would certainly feel stupid and desparate then.

Taylor walked into the room, whistling to himself. He stopped when he saw his younger brother sitting halfway in their closet.

"Whatcha doin?" Taylor asked.

Zac looked up quickly. His expression fell, and he looked back down at the bracelet. "Nothin." He muttered.

"What's that?" Taylor asked, looking at the bracelet.

"Oh....it's....." Zac was about to say nothing again, but he stopped himself. "It's Katie's Christmas present." He said quietly, staring at it.

"Oh." Taylor said. He pitied his brother. It had been a month and a half and he was still very attached to Katie.

Zac looked up at him. "I don't know what to do with it."

"Are you going to give it to her?" He asked.

Zac shrugged. "That's the part I don't know. I mean, I can't take it back, but I spent a lot of money on it."

"I see."

"Besides, she would really like it." Zac muttered.

"Yeah." Taylor said, taking the chain from his brother.

Zac looked up at him. "What should I do?"

Taylor looked at the bracelet and shrugged. "I can't tell you."

"I want to give it to her but..."

"But what?" Taylor asked. He had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"But I would feel stupid if I she didn't give me something. I might look really desparate, you know?" Zac asked.

Taylor nodded. He sat down on his bed and looked at Zac. "Zac, I know you've heard this a million times, but Christmas isn't neccesarily about getting gifts...it's about giving them."

Zac nodded listening intently to his brother's advice.

"If she really means something to you, you would give it to her, despite your current situation. I know you still have feelings for her, and I'm pretty sure she still has feelings for you. For all you know, that bracelet could be the one thing that's keeping you apart. It would be selfish to not give it to her because you might feel stupid. Christmas is about giving something to someone special." Taylor said.

Taylor laughed a little, running his fingers through his hair. "Gosh, I feel like I'm 35." He said with a laugh.

Zac cracked a grin. "Yeah, I'm beggining to wonder about you." He said.

"So you know what to do?" He asked.

Zac nodded. "Yeah...I know."

"Hello?" Morgan picked up the phone.

"Hey." Taylor said.

"Hi." She said, cradling the phone on her shoulder as she continued making her sandwich.

"We have a problem." He said.

"Uh oh. What is it?" Morgan asked, untying the bread bag.

"Zac got Katie a Christmas present a long time ago, but now he doesn't know what to do with it." Taylor said.

"Ah." Morgan said, taking out two slices. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Katie was still busy. Katie was sitting at the table ten feet away entertaining her three youngest siblings.

"What should he do?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know...isn't he going to give it her to her?" Morgan asked.

Taylor bit his lip and looked at his younger brother, who was sitting on his bed, looking at the bracelet. "I don't know. I think he's a little scared."

"Scared? Of what?"

Taylor sighed. "He doesn't want to feel stupid." He said.

"Why?"

"Katie didn't get him anything?"

"Not that I know of." She said. "Is that why?"

"Yeah." Taylor said, glancing over at Zac. "What should he do?"

"Well, he still likes her, right?" Morgan asked, walking into the laundry room and quietly shutting the door.

"Heck yeah." Taylor said.

"Oh gosh...I feel so sorry for him."

"He really likes her. What about Katie....I mean, are the feelings mutual?" He asked.

MOrgan bit her bottom lip. "I'm pretty sure, but she's been pretty numb that last few weeks." She said.

"Oh."

"I think she likes him too, she just misses him."

"Ah."

"I think he should give it to her."

"You think? Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"But she didn't get him anything."

"Well....But that might make the difference."

"Difference with what?" Taylor asked.

"It might make the difference of her making a final decision."

"Oh."

Morgan sighed. "Taylor, he isn't going to like her forever, and he certainly wont' wait forever. And, I have a feeling she might take that long."

Email: morisstories@hotmail.com