Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sebastian hates festivals, even in the winter. The bustle of people makes him sick and the food doesn’t appease his senses enough to tolerate it all. His best friend, the bubbly blond boy-next-door, Sam seems to thrive in them though. Sam has always been a smooth talker, sometimes Sebastian wonders why exactly he chooses to hang around a ‘depressing bed-rotter’, as Abigail so affectionately calls him. This festival is no different, with the cheery red tablecloths and the crowd of neighbors being thankful for family, friends, and all that other stuff that Sebastian prefers pretending he doesn’t care about. 

Finally sick of listening to Demetrius gush over Maru’s accomplishments this year, he drags Sam away from the tables surrounding the towering Winter Star tree and outside of Pierre’s general store where he whines and complains about the festival to no end. Sam listens and sips the fruit punch that was so obviously spiked by Pam before the festival started. 

“Listen, Sebby”

“Don’t call me that.”

“My bad,” Sam raises his hands in apology, “you know you didn’t need to come to the festival, right?”

“My mom would be so angry if I didn’t. Besides, I don’t hate getting a present or two.”

Sam sinks into a red cushioned chair and sets his fruit punch on the equally as red table beside him. He blows into his mittened hands and rubs them together. “The worst part of this festival is the cold.”

Sebastian crosses his arms over his pitch black jacket, “At least it’s not the blistering heat of the Luau.” He cringes at the thought of the blasting music, dancing, and the smell of sweat on the beach.

As Sam drifts off into daydreams of summer’s warmth, Sebastian hears the unfamiliar sound of footsteps on stone behind him. Expecting Abigail or his mother coming to drag the two boys back into the sea of food, presents, and people, he turns around to find he was sorely mistaken. Approaching him is a brown haired boy, practically a stranger. Alex? Sebastian stands frozen in shock for a few seconds. The younger brunette and the blonde he sticks around were in the grade below them throughout school, and neither of them seemed at all interested in speaking with an older loner. He runs over what Abigail and Sam had told him about Alex in his head as the boy approaches him. Jock, annoying, airheaded, definitely not the type to hang around Sebastian.

The brown haired boy stands just a foot away from Sebastian, “I always preferred the heat, but winter isn’t that bad.” He keeps his hands behind his back.

Sam perks up, “Alex! Hey, man, what’s up?”

“Nothing much, enjoying the food. You know. How’s the year been for you guys?”

Sebastian is a little dumbstruck as Sam and Alex converse semi-casually. Small talk about the weather, plans for next year, family, and other stuff that Sebastian decides promptly doesn’t matter right now. 

“Why are you here?”

Alex doesn’t seem offended, like he certainly should be. He looks to the left and chuckles awkwardly. Sam punches Sebastian in the arm and glares at him, knowing that Sebastian never cared much for social cues, even though he definitely should.

“Well… I’m here for you, actually.” He reaches out and places a small red box that he was holding behind his back onto the table beside Sebastian. “I’m your ‘secret friend’.” Alex does air  quotes around Mayor Lewis’s term and leans on the table.

Slowly, Sebastian reaches for the little red box and pulls off the ribbon. Sam leans forward in anticipation. Inside the box is a small, teardrop shaped crystal. Sebastian takes it in the palm of his hand and holds it up to the light. Golden sun rays shine through the light blue and the gemstone sparkles like the winter snow on the ground around them. He turns to look at Alex, who is looking away sheepishly.

“How-” Sebastian takes a second to get the words in his brain to come out through his mouth, “This is… my favorite gemstone. How did you know?”

Alex seems even more bashful now, he scratches the back of his neck and looks down at the stone flooring of the town square. “I...uhh...asked your mom. She said that you liked those.”

There is a silence between the two of them until Sam speaks up, “I wish I got a gemstone! Pierre gave me a coupon for his store.”

Alex laughs, and Sebastian chuckles at his joke but his eyes stay glued on the blue gemstone in his hand. He tucks it away safely in his pocket and clears his throat.

“Thanks,” he croaks. 

“No problem, glad you liked it, man.” Alex shuffles his sneakers on the ground and looks behind him, “I’ve gotta get back to my grandma. Enjoy the festival!” He scurries away with pinkish ears and leaves Sebastian and Sam alone at their table.

“Wow, who knew Alex was cool like that? I thought he was just some rude ass jock,” Sam grins as he speaks, “he’s more awkward than I expected.”

Sebastian watches the brunette walk back to his grandma, “yeah.”

The two are so engrossed with the strangeness of the interaction that neither notice Robin walking at top speed toward them. She yanks the two boys by their ears and drags them back to their families around the table. The rest of the festival goes as it typically does. Sebastian gifts a small snail toy to Vincent and eats his fill of turkey and cranberry sauce while snickering rude jokes in Abigail or Sam’s ear. Eventually the sun hangs just above the horizon and Robin ushers her family back up the mountain for the night, after helping Gus clean up, of course. 

The evening is still on the last day of winter and Sebastian lingers outside of the house after the others go inside. He watches all the little yellow glows from the windows go out and pulls the light blue gemstone out of his pocket. It’s so perfectly smooth and cold in his hand, he holds it up to the moonlight. The dim silvery light shines through the crystalline blue and he looks over at Alex’s house before slipping inside. Carefully, he places the gem on a shelf beside his bed before tucking himself under the covers. He thought he had everyone in this town figured out, but maybe he was wrong for once.