Chapter 5
December 25th, 2014
Janis was jerked awake by a large weight landing on top of her.
"What the fu-" Janis started to say, but she was interrupted by the ball of bisexual crackhead energy sitting on her chest.
"It's Christmas! It's Christmas! Janis, it's Christmas!"
"Okay, I heard you!" Janis gently shoved Cady off of her and sat up, rubbing her eyes.
Cady was still in her pajamas, her hair up in a messy bun that was slowly falling out of it's hair tie as she wriggled around with excitement. Janis rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
"You're insane."
Cady stopped wiggling and raised an eyebrow. "Says the girl who woke me up at two am to break into a school and look for a textbook."
Janis considered this, then nodded. "Okay, that's fair."
Cady hopped off of the bed and held out a hand. "Come on, sleepyhead. We're meeting Damian at the mall in an hour."
Janis frowned, glancing at the clock, which read 7:03 am. "Um. Why?"
"You'll see," Cady insisted, taking Janis by the arm and attempting to drag her out of bed. "But you have to get dressed first."
Janis tugged back, easily pulling Cady onto the bed with her. "Or we could stay here," she said softly, running a finger down Cady's cheek. For a moment, it seemed like Cady might give in, but then she was up again, taking a grumbling Janis with her.
"We can hang out later," Cady promised as she tossed a bundle of clothes at her. "But right now, there's something you have to see."
"This better be good," Janis muttered as she followed Cady through the crowded mall.
"It is, I promise," Cady assured her, taking her hand and leading her toward the Christmas village in the center of the mall.
They stopped on the outskirts of the village, a little ways away from the mall Santa sitting in a sleigh.
"Okay," Cady said. "This is it."
Janis gazed at her, confused. "It's a mall Santa."
"Yeah," Cady said slowly, "But who is that, under the costume?"
Janis squinted at the mall Santa, who was currently handing a small candy cane to the kid sitting on his lap.
"Ho, ho, ho, one for you, little boy!"
"Oh my God." Janis brought a hand to her mouth. "Is that Damian?"
Cady grinned. "Why yes, it is."
Janis burst out laughing. "Oh my fucking God. That is the best thing I've ever seen."
"I know, right?"
"How did you know he was working here?"
"I was the one who made him do it," Cady said smugly. "We had a bet. He lost."
Janis took out her phone and snapped a picture. "I am never letting him live this down."
Cady laughed. "Merry Christmas, babe."
"You are such a traitor." Damian glared at Cady, arms folded. "I thought we agreed to keep Janis out of it! Being a mall Santa is humiliating enough without involving her."
Cady shrugged. "Sorry. Couldn't resist."
Janis grinned smugly. "Sucks to suck, man."
Damian gave her the finger just as the front door of the Sarkisian's house swung open.
"Merry Christmas!" Heather and Veronica stood in the doorway, smiling.
"Hey, Moms," Janis hugged Veronica, then Heather.
”Come in, come in,” Heather practically shoved the three of them into her and Veronica’s cozy little living room.
”Make yourselves at home,” Veronica gestured toward the couch. “The others will be here soon.”
As if on cue, the front door banged open.
”What’s up, bitches?” Regina called as she entered the living room, the other ex-plastics and Aaron close on her Louboutin heels.
Heather and Veronica immediately flitted over to greet their newest guests.
“The amount of mom energy in this household is overwhelming,” Damian murmured.
Janis laughed. “I know, right? I thought they were bad in high school. It’s even worse now.”
Cady smiled at her girlfriend. Janis hadn’t had the most ideal childhood; her dad, Jack Sarkisian, had left when she was thirteen, not long after the space dyke debacle, and for a while it had been just Janis and Veronica. Then, when Janis was fifteen, Heather McNamara had showed up on their porch with a suitcase and a love proclamation for Veronica. She’d never left.
“The food will be ready in about ten minutes,” Veronica was saying as Aaron and the Plastics arranged themselves on the Sarkisian’s furniture. Janis couldn’t help but notice that Aaron took the seat next to Damian. Glancing over at her best friend, she raised an eyebrow suspiciously. He flipped her off.
”And let’s give a round of applause to Veronica, who somehow hasn’t burned anything yet,” Heather added. “Emphasis on the ‘yet’”. Veronica rolled her eyes, but took a bow when everyone applauded.
Heather and Veronica wandered into the kitchen to check on the food, leaving the rest of the group to catch up.
"So clearly that's still happening," Regina said, nodding at Janis and Cady, who were all wrapped up in each other's arms.
"Regina, you saw us less than a month ago. Do you really think we'd have broken up between now and then?" Cady asked, giggling as Janis kissed the top of her head.
Regina shrugged. "You never know. But I'm more interested in what's happening here," she said, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at Damian and Aaron, who both blushed matching shades of red.
"What do you mean, what's happening here?" Damian squeaked. He was met by skeptical glares from all five women in the room.
"Jesus, you guys are scary," Aaron muttered. They all shrugged in perfect unison.
"Okay, okay, fine," Damian said after a long, tense pause. "We've been dating for a month."
The girls all immediately dropped their intense glares in favor of cheering and whispering 'I told you so's to each other.
"Dinner's ready!" Veronica called, poking her head around the corner. "And congrats to Aaron and Damian," she added with a wink.
They all gathered in the dining room, where a gigantic meal sat on the table, waiting to be eaten.
"Before everyone sits down," Cady began, grabbing a wine glass and tapping on it lightly. "I'd like to make a toast." She smiled around at her friends - no, her family. "To us."
"To us," Janis echoed, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend's waist.
"To us."