I’d never been one to break many rules, but on Christmas Eve at precisely 10:48 pm, I found myself climbing through Alyssa Marie Coleman’s window. I reached behind me and pulled a little bundle, also known as my three-year-old sister, gingerly through the window.  Despite my efforts to be quiet, my snow-covered sneakers squeaked on the polished, hardwood floor and Mia, of all times, burst out into a fit of sickly coughs.

          I let a stream of swear words dance under my breath.

          “Samantha!” I whispered as I walked further into the house, “Sam, it’s me, Jason! It’s an emergency!”

          Silence was the only answer.

          “Sam!”

          “Jason?”

          Footsteps echoed behind me and I turned around to see Sam staring at me worriedly, her crystal blue eyes wide. Her arms were crossed tightly over her Ramones t-shirt that nearly reached down to the thighs of her sweats. And even though her hair was a mess and her face was bare, I couldn’t help but note how beautiful my best friend was.

          “Jason!”

          I suddenly realized I’d been staring at Sam much more that I’d been talking, and sheepishly refocused on what had brought me here in the first place.

          “It’s Mia,” I whispered, “She’s been coughing and has a fever and the chills. Mom’s at work and I don’t know what to do. I knew you were probably the only person that’d be able to help me tonight and you weren’t answering your phone or the door when I knocked, so....”

          She stared at Mia, bundled up in a jacket and a mess of blankets, and nodded, a knowing smile spreading across her face.

“I think there’s some liquid Tylenol in the kitchen as well as a thermometer to take her temperature with. I’ll get Mia some blankets and turn on a Christmas movie. I mean, if that’s okay with you.” Sam looked hesitantly at me and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank God I have a best friend that’s as amazing as you, Sam” I smiled and watched as Sam’s lips did the same.

“You know it,” she giggled and I did the same, her tiny laugh was infectous.

I walked into Sam’s kitchen and found everything with ease, after all I’d been over at Sam’s house over a thousand times. As I poured out bubblegum-flavored Tylenol that probably tasted nothing like bubblegum, I heard Mia’s tiny voice in the living room, talking to Sam.

“You know, you’re just as pretty as he says you are,”

“Who?” Sam asked and my hand holding the Tylenol began to shake.

“My brother, of course,” Mia said a-matter-of-factly, “He talks about you all the time. He says you’re the most beautiful, most smartest, and most funniest girl he’s ever met. He’s loves you and he’d probably tell you if you didn’t like that one guy, Chad the senior, or something. I read it in the letter he wrote you!”

“A letter?”

“Yeah, but he’s probably to chicken to give it to you. You know, I don’t even think he was that worried about me tonight, I think he just wanted another excuse to see you. It is Christmas after all.” Mia turned to look at me as I shakily walked into the room, “Isn’t that right, Jason?”

“Um, yeah,” I whispered quietly, handing Mia her medicine. I could feel Sam’s eyes on me, but I didn’t look up. I couldn’t handle the look of rejection from my best friend.

Frosty the Snowman sang to us on the TV, dancing and trying to find a way to return to the North Pole, filling the silence that had settled in the room. Next to me, Mia fell asleep within five minutes of the movie starting, and after another ten minutes of silence, I picked up Mia and started to walk towards the door.

“Jason,” Sam called and I stopped dead in my tracks. She stared at me and opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off.

“I already knew you didn’t feel the same,” I whispered, looking down at my feet, “but since it is Christmas, I want you to read this.” My fingers fumbled in my pocket as they searched for the letter and, shaking violently, handed it over to Sam.

She stared at the letter in her hands.

“Jason?”

“Merry Christmas, Sam,” I whispered looking away, and without another word, walked out the front door.

I walked across the street, and into my house, a feeling of despair settling over me. This was it; in one night – Christmas Eve of all nights – I’d single-handedly ruined the friendship with the girl I’d been in love with since the fifth grade. Glumly, I tucked Mia into bed, kissed her goodnight, and walked downstairs to light the Christmas tree for Mom, when suddenly a voice stopped me.

“Jason?”

I turned around to see Samantha Marie Coleman standing in the middle of my house on Christmas Eve. My legs turned to jelly, and my hands grew clammy.

“How did you-”

“You’re not the only one who knows how to climb in through windows, Jason,” Sam said with a laugh, smiling at me. “Anywho, I read your letter...”

“And about that, Sam-”

“It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever read.” She stared at me, her eyes as blue as ever and a soft smile curved upon her lips, “So I wrote you a letter, too.”

She handed me a letter, and nodded at me to read it. Nervously, I opened the letter and read it, my eyes growing wide.

I looked up at Sam and she smiled at me.

“You don’t like Chad?” I asked in a stunned voice.

“Not at all.” She replied, her smile growing bigger.

“You like me?” I asked, watching blush creep across her face.

“Since the fifth grade,” she added and I took a step toward her, smiling bigger than I ever thought I could.

“What a coincidence,” I mused, and suddenly I was kissing Samantha Marie Coleman in the middle of my living room. It was electrifying and warm and everything you imagine about kissing that one special person. Her lips tasted like hot cocoa, which only made me want to kiss her more.

“Merry Christmas Jason,” she whispered in my ear and I kissed her once again.

“Merry Christmas Sam.”