[Storiesmaniac]

"Are we ready to eat?" Whit's mom clapped her hands happily as everyone slowly filed into the dining room.

"Smells great." Her husband smiled as he walked towards the end of the large oak dining table and began to pull out the seat. Everyone timidly followed, not quite sure where to be seated; but, considering the informal attitude of the host and hostess, no one quite seemed to care.

"Wait." Kara looked around the room. "Weren't Sarah and her boyfriend supposed to join us?"

"She called," her mother shot at her quickly. "They'll be running late."

The door bell rang a merry jingle, and everyone turned towards the entrance to the hall. The hostess broke the harsh gaze she had been exchanging with her daughter and, with a smile, left the room to greet whoever may have been calling. Kara sunk down in her chair.

"Something wrong with you and your mother?" Robin whispered to her quietly.

"Apparently," Kara shrugged and reached for the glass of wine that had been poured for her.

"You're drinking?" Robin asked, looking at Kara as if she were nuts.

"It's Christmas and there's wine," Kara shrugged. "And my mother hates my guts. Any reason for me not to have a glass of wine?"

"Better yet." Robin reached for the bottle and topped her off. "Enjoy."

"Will do."

"By the way." Robin leaned in and pointed at Kara's hand. "That ring is a bitch. I've got a scratch all the way across my abdomen."

"Shit," Kara cursed, ripping the ring off of her finger under the table. She tucked it under the inner edge of her plate, out of view from anyone at the table. "Do not let me forget that."

"What is it?" Robin reached for the ring Kara had hid, but she quickly smacked his hand. "Kara, let me see."

"No." Kara shook her head. "Don't touch it, and sure as hell don't let me forget it."

"Kara, is there something you're not telling us?" Robin asked, looking at the woman as if she were insane.

"No," Kara denied as she reached for her glass of wine. She downed it, not even bothering to taste.

"No? You sure?" Robin pushed.

"Positive."

"Okay," Robin shrugged with an evil grin. "I guess I'll find out the truth in a bit. You're incredibly open when you're drunk."

Kara shuddered, and then rose from the table.

"Where are you going?" Becka asked, looking up at her.

"Kitchen. I'm going to get some Tylenol. Headache, you know?" Kara said nervously. Robin looked back under her plate and realized that the ring she had been hiding was gone. Kara made her way towards the hall exit of the dinning room when she was blocked at the door.

"Look who's here!" Kara's mom called from the hallway as she came closer to the dining hall. Sarah appeared in the door frame, shoving Kara out of her path and making room for the new guests.

"Hey guys." Sarah waved.

"Sarah." Kara nodded, trying to get by but not succeeding, for soon another person blocked her path.

"Allow me to introduce Joel," Sarah beamed, locking arms with the gentleman who had appeared beside her.

"Hello." Joel waved timidly, looking at the largely crowded room.

"Joel?" Kara asked. "The boyfriend from Australia?"

"Is there another?" Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Pleasure to meet you." Kara forced a smile. "Now if you'd just excuse me..."

"And this is Tim." Sarah waved as another body appeared in the entrance. "Joel's brother."

"Merry Christm- oh dear," Tim started and then caught Kara's eyes. Kara glared back at him, and the two just stared in silence. Everyone in the room was incredibly quiet, confused as to how the two seemed to have known each other.

"Kara," her mother started laying her hand on her daughters shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

Kara shrugged off her mother's hand. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I would ask you the same." Tim stared at her, returning the coldness.

"Well," Mike spoke up from the table. "She lives here. And you're the older brother of the boy her childhood friend is dating." Everyone in the room turned and stared at Mike, wondering what the blatantly obvious explanation had been for. "Just clarifying?"

"I live here," Kara outburst.

"So he said." Tim nodded his head towards Mike, who was sitting at the table looking rather proud of himself. The two were still staring at each other with deadly intention.

"Oh, my god!" Whitney cried from the table. "No!"

Becka shot Whit an inquisitive look, and Whit slowly nodded, her hands cupped over her mouth.

"No!" Becka gasped.

"You mean?" Whitney's mom looked at Becka and Whit, eyebrows raised. The two nodded, both turning red. "Oh, Kara!" She gave her daughter a gigantic hug. Kara's eyes nearly burst out of their sockets with shock and mild pain, and then her mother pulled away. "And Tim!" She embraced Tim, who stared at Kara with a look that both cried 'HELP!' and also sought for an explanation. Kara shrugged, confused.

"Anyone else lost?" Ben asked from the table. Kara, Tim, and everyone at the table with the exception of Whit and Becka raised their hands.

"I'm sorry," Sarah cut in, "you two, you two know each other?"

"Unfortunately." Tim rolled his eyes.

"Oh, don't even." Kara shook her head. "Ladies and Gents, I present the reason I am no longer in Europe."

"Funny," Tim laughed. "You mean the same to me."

"Anyone else still lost?" Ben inquired again. The entire table raised their hands.

"I'm guessing they're not?" Becka looked at Whit.

"It's looking incredibly doubtful," Whit shook her head.

"You mean?" Her mother pointed at the two.

"I don't think so."

"So then?"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Kara shouted.

"You two aren't getting married?" Her mother looked at Kara and Tim, a slightly hurt look on her face.

Kara and Tim once again exchanged glances, but this time, instead of engaging in a glare of festering rage, they both broke into sobs of laughter. Both of them had to find something to stablize themselves as their shoulders bobbed up and down and they gasped in tears. Once they seemed as if they were slightly coherent enough to exchange a conversation, the two looked at each other once more and then broke into a fit again.

"Lost?" Ben questioned. No one even bothered raising hands at the table. It was evident that the only thing understandable between Kara and Tim was that they were not getting married. It was kind of a nice relief, considering that no one even really knew there was the possibility of it before.

Kara and Tim both stopped laughing and were able to begin to control their breathing once more. Tears were rolling down their cheeks, and everyone one else at the table was staring at them as if they were both mad in the head.

"Well," Whitney's father interjected. "The food's getting cold. I think it's best we begin serving, and then perhaps Kara and Tim could enlighten us as to what in God's name is going on?"

The newcomers each moved to their respective seats. Whit's mom sat down, and just before her husband was about to begin the prayer, Shawn cut in.

"Where's Selina?"

The absence of the childhood friend hadn't been noted, although the silence it had brought had been underappreciated.

"I don't know." Whit shook her head looking around.

"I'll go find her." Shawn rose to his feet. Everyone still sat at the table, looking around confused. The sound of the front porch door opening and closing caught everyone off guard, and after a minute and a half, there was no sound of it opening again.

"Um." Alex looked around. "I think I'm going to go help Shawn." And, politely, he left the room. Again there was the sound of the door opening, but not of anyone coming back through it.

"Oh, good God," Whit tossed her napkin on the table and stood up, leaving the confused group in the dining room. She looked out the screen door to the front porch and saw the spellbound faces of Alex and Shawn staring at something happening further down on the street. "What are you two staring a-"

Under the light of the street lamp in front of the house, was parked a 1964 candy apple red Mustang, and inside of it was something Whit had never really wanted to ever see. The door was open on the passenger's side, and inside of the vehicle was the evidently clear figure of Selina, necking with God knows who. Looking around and then getting an idea, Whit picked up a fistful of snow and began to make a baseball sized clump of it.

"Oh please, Whit." Shawn saw what she was up to out of the corner of his eye. "Please don't."

"This is too great a Christmas present," Alex sighed. "Whit, please, don't do it."

"What the heck are you all up to?" Mike's voice shouted from the doorframe as he stepped out into cold night air. "Oh, wow."

"Wow's right." Shawn grinned. "God, I want a beer."

"Whit, don't do it," Alex pleaded.

"Oh, Whit." Mike saw what her intention was. "No, please, oh God, please, no."

"You three are absolutely pathetic." Whit stared at each of them. "Really sad, pathetic, little men."

With that, she launched the snowball at the car, and it shattered as it hit the top of the roof right by the seal for the passenger's door. The two figures inside of it jumped with fright, and Sel let out a small scream.

"Do you two feel like joining us for dinner?" Whit shouted through the cold night air, her breath vaporizing in a cloud before her face. The two characters begrudgingly got out of the car, the newcomer slightly reluctant to Sel's beckoning.

"Hello everyone." Sel waved as she and the new girl walked up the icy path. "This is Lexy."

"Hi." Lexy waved timidly.

"Oh, goodie." Whit rolled her eyes and went back into the house.

"So you're a lesbian," Shawn asked, looking Lexy up and down as she came up onto the porch with Sel. "How's that working out for you?"

The rest set into the house, and when Whitney and company all appeared in the dining room, Whit forced a smile and spoke, "Allow me to introduce Lexy, Sel's lesbian lover who shall be joining us for dinner."