Nightmare Before Christmas, The

Nightmare Before Christmas, The

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    Mar 28, 2005#1

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    Name: The Nightmare Before Christmas
    Author: Eikichi
    Rating: R
    Genre: Romance/Angst
    Chapters: 6
    Words: 7044
    Published: 9/17/01
    Updated: 1/1/02
    Complete: Yes

    Description: A short and somewhat strange story centering around two of the SK boys...who, in this tale, are in love with each other. (Yaoi, Slash x Jam)

    Disclaimer (By Author): I don't own Snowboard Kids 1, as you know. I'm not a
    producer at Atlus. Also, I don't own Tim Burton's "The Nightmare
    Before Christmas" - I named the fic that because it fits it and
    because I guess I couldn't think of a name for it. ^^;;;

    Story

    Chapter 1: Beginnings

    he sky was a shade of dark gray. Large, fluffy snowflakes fell
    from the swollen snowclouds above and covered the ground in a cold frozen
    blanket. It was a very bleak morning indeed.
    In the Snowboard Kids' mansion, a big fancy Christmas tree sparkled
    for all it was worth in the huge center living room. Nancy's cat, Marshmallow,
    was curled up underneath it on the sheets that were tucked around the base,
    sleeping and purring at the same time. Nancy owned a lot of pets. She owned
    at least three Dutch bunnies (you know, the white kind with the long ears
    and the pink noses) - and two cats. Jam adopted the other of the two cats
    though, and named it Big Daddy because it got to be so big and fat that it
    must have weighed in at 35 pounds. The bunnies names' were Floppity,
    Moppity and Hoppity. Tommy said that the rhyming names was a great idea.
    All the Kids were curled up in their one huge bed in the master
    bedroom (they all slept in one big bed) and they were dreaming about all the
    things they usually dream about - for example, Tommy was dreaming about
    eating at a fancy restaraunt and Nancy was dreaming about being a fairy with
    rainbow wings.
    Linda was having an exceptionally pleasant dream. She was dreaming
    that she had won a worldwide beauty pageant and she was standing on stage
    as people showered her with roses and money.
    "Thank you! Thank you all!" She shouted to the crowd, and started to
    pick up all the thrown money. She carried an armful of dollar bills and
    was just about to walk offstage when suddenly, the crowd started laughing.
    Linda wondered what the hell they could be laughing at, and as soon as she
    was about to throw all the roses and money back at her for laughing at her
    a cameraman nearby said to her, "Miss, I think you got something on your
    dress."
    Linda looked down and saw a big wet stain on her dress, and she
    screamed and was just about to break out crying when she woke up with a start.
    "AAAAAHHHHH! Wha......oh......thank God it was only a dream..." She
    said to herself. She sat up and suddenly realized something. She looked
    down at her pajamas and saw what she least expected to see - a big wet
    stain.
    "OH NO! My dream was real!" She cried out, and was just about to
    start crying when she noticed something else too. The stain was not only on
    her outfit, but on the bedsheets and mattress as well. She picked up the
    covers in curiosity - and screamed in anger. She picked up a small book off
    of the dresser next to the bed and began bashing Jam senseless with it. He
    woke up immediately.
    "Ow! Ouch! Owwww! Stop it! Stop!" He blindly cried out.
    "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO MY SILK PAJAMAS?!?!?" Linda roared.
    "No, I was asleep!" Jam hollered back.
    "YOU WET THE BED, YOU DIMWIT!!!!!!" Linda screeched in his face.
    "I did?" He asked quizically, and looked down.
    "Oh no, I did! I'm sorry, Linda!" Jam said.
    "You'd better be sorry, and it had better not happen again!" She
    yelled at him. "Not only did you ruin my pajamas but you ruined my great
    dream too!"
    "I said I'm sorry!" Jam pleaded. "It was an accident! I couldn't
    control it! I was sleeping!"
    "Leave him alone, Linda!" A new voice rose. Linda whirled around and
    saw Slash sitting up.
    "It wasn't his fault! He didn't do it on purpose!" Slash continued,
    defending Jam as best as he could.
    Linda was silent for a moment. She glared at Slash with a look that
    could've turned one to stone. Then she let out a breath through clenched
    teeth.
    "All right. He's off the hook - for now." She growled, and got up
    out of bed to get some clean clothes to get changed into.
    After Linda stormed out of the room, Slash looked at Jam with a
    little smile.
    "We'd better get you into some clean clothes too. You're more of a
    mess than she is." He told Jam. "Stay there - I'll get you some clean
    clothes to wear."
    Jam laid down as Slash walked over to the dresser and pulled out some
    clothes for Jam - another pair of boxers, a white tank-top with a blue
    tie-dye design on the front, and a pair of blue shorts. Jam got off of the
    bed, trying not to walk funny because of his accident, and went over to
    Slash, who handed him the clothes.
    "I'll wait for you to get changed into something decent." Slash told
    him, but Jam faltered.
    "Wait...." Jam leaned over and whispered in Slash's ear - "Aren't you
    going to help me?..."
    Slash was strongly tempted, but he forced himself to refuse. He was
    afraid that one day the two would accidentally end up going further than
    they wanted, and either one would end up getting hurt somehow.
    "It's okay, I think you can handle it." Slash politely replied, and
    gave Jam a luscious kiss on the lips. Jam purred in response. Slash loved
    it more than anything when Jam purred. For one, it sounded like a real
    cat's purr - he didn't even move his mouth when he did it - instead, it
    rumbled like a small motor in his chest. Slash had no idea how Jam did it.
    He guessed that maybe Jam was a cat in a former life who got lucky enough
    to keep his purr when he was reborn as a human.
    Slash smiled to himself as he watched Jam close the door to the
    bathroom. He considered himself lucky to have him. He was almost always
    thinking about Jam, even at school. What was even better, none of the other
    guys asked questions about their boy-on-boy relationship - he guessed that
    they had taken the consideration to keep it to themselves and not raise any
    questions.
    As Slash thought about this, he suddenly heard a loud scream and a
    noise that sounded like things being thrown. He looked just in time to see
    Jam running totally naked out of the bathroom with Linda hot on his tail,
    throwing things at him.
    "I thought I told you to leave me alone!!!!!" Linda screamed and
    beaned Jam in the head with a bottle of hair conditioner. Jam cried out and
    held his head.
    "Owwww!!! That hurt!" He yelled, and darted into the bedroom.
    Slash just stared at him. "What happened?"
    "I got into the bathroom and undressed and then I heard the shower
    curtain open, and the next thing I know, Linda's pitching soap bars at me."
    Jam explained.
    "Why was Linda behind the shower curtain.....?" Slash asked curiously.
    "I have no idea. She was probably dressing in there." Jam replied.
    "Well, all I know is, you'd better get some clothes on or people will
    think you're a streaker!" Slash laughed.
    "All right. Turn around." Jam told Slash. Slash did as he was told.
    As Jam got dressed, Tommy woke up with a yawn, and sat up and froze as soon as
    he saw Jam. He stared for a second or two, then lay back down and pulled the
    bedsheets over his head.
    "I didn't need to see that." Tommy mumbled to himself.

    Chapter 2: Waiting For Christmas Eve

    Later that morning, with everyone awake and ready to start their
    weekend (it was Saturday morning), everything finally calmed down. Nancy
    made pancakes for everyone (she was a great cook, especially in Tommy's
    opinion) and everybody thanked her.
    The reason for all the contentment was because it was Christmas Eve.
    Everybody was looking forward to getting presents, and everyone knew that
    it was going to be a great time. What's more, they were holding a Christmas
    party that night - all their friends at school were invited - and there was
    going to be music, food, games and fun. It was enough to make one anxious
    enough to try and speed up time to forward to that evening. Unfortunately,
    one of the Kids was almost impatient enough to do so.
    "I can't wait any more!" Slash impatiently cried out. "What time
    is it, Nancy?"
    "It's 3:05." Nancy replied.
    "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH! It's only been 5 minutes since I started waiting!"
    Slash cried out, pulling his spiky black hair in frustration.
    "You just can't wait for the party to start, Slash." Tommy muttered
    through a mouthful of hamburger. "Like the old saying goes, 'a watched pot
    never boils'."
    "Tommy has a point." Nancy pointed out to him. "It'll take so much
    longer if you just sit and watch the clock waiting for it to become 8:30 so
    the party can start. I suggest you do something to make constructive use of
    your time so that the time will come faster."
    "Oh, okay." Slash sulked, and headed upstairs to go do something -
    but exactly what he would do, he had no idea. Play a video game? Nah, he
    had beaten most of his games. Read a book? No, he was failing English class
    in school before winter vacation started. Draw a picture?....Hmm....he was
    pretty good at art.....
    "That's what I'll do. I'll draw something." Slash said to himself
    as he opened the door to the bedroom. He ran in and took a flying leap onto
    the bed. He bounced once or twice and then crawled to the side to take a
    sketch pad and a pencil off of the top of the dresser. With these items in
    hand, he sat down and began to draw. He had no idea what to draw really,
    so he began with one simple idea - a dragon. He was pretty good at drawing
    those, so he set to work.
    A little while later, he heard the door open, and he looked up from
    his drawing. Jam was standing in the doorway.
    "Hi. Thought I'd drop in." He said, and sat down on the bed next to
    Slash. "Whatcha drawing?"
    Slash shrugged. "I was drawing a dragon, but I messed up and now it
    looks something like a scaly hamster with wings."
    Jam smiled. "It doesn't look like a hamster. Here, want me to draw
    a dragon for you?"
    Slash nodded. "Okay. Are you good at drawing?"
    Jam laughed a little. "I must be, because I'm acing Art Class right
    now."
    Slash sighed. "You're lucky. You always got the best grades. As
    for me, I got a big fat F in English class."
    Jam looked at Slash. "How can you fail English? You speak English,
    you read English, and you deal with English all your life because it's the
    language we use."
    "I don't think it's the English part I'm failing. I think it's the
    punctuation and speech mechanics part that I don't get." Slash explained.
    "I wouldn't worry about it." Jam told him. "You're pretty smart."
    Slash blushed. "Thanks."
    "Don't mention it." Jam replied. "Now, here, I'm going to show you
    how to draw a dragon now. Watch me."
    "Okay." Slash said it just like a little kid, probably because he was
    glad that he was in Jam's company at the moment.
    Slash watched Jam as he started to draw a dragon. Slash was, to say
    the least, amazed. Jam was very good at it, just as he had said. Jam had
    drawn the dragon perched on the wall of a stome medieval castle of some
    sort and it was breathing fire up into the sky.
    When he was finished with the drawing, Jam tore it out of the sketch
    book and handed it to Slash.
    "What do you think of it?" Jam asked.
    "It's beautiful! How on Earth do you manage to draw this good?"
    "I don't know." Jam said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
    Slash handed it back to Jam, but Jam gave it back to Slash.
    "Don't you want it?" Slash asked.
    "Nah, it's yours." Jam replied.
    "Hey, thanks!" Slash exclaimed happily, holding the drawing up to the
    ceiling.
    The two of them sat together on the bed for a minute, gazing at the
    window. After a moment's staring, they put their arms around each other
    and began kissing. At first it seemed harmless, but it became deeper as
    the smooching made it's way to frenching. They let their hands travel all
    over each other as they made out, and after about a minute, the two finally
    stopped. They remained in each others' arms to catch their breath, then they
    parted, gazing into each others' eyes. After a moment of silence Slash spoke
    up.
    "I'm hungry. Want to go downstairs and get a bite to eat?"
    Jam nodded. "Sure. I'm starvin'."
    The two boys laughed and ran downstairs to the dining room, both
    with only two things on their mind - the Christmas party and what they were
    going to have for dinner.

    Chapter 3: The Nightmare Arises

    After what seemed like a millenium of waiting, 8:30 finally arrived.
    8:30 was the designated time for all the guests to arrive for the party.
    Everything was set up...food was on the table, decorations were up, presents
    for the guests were under the Christmas tree and the Christmas lights on the
    Snobow Mansion were shining bright as ever.
    Everybody was practically bouncing off the walls when the doorbell
    rang for the first time that night.
    "I'll get it!"
    "No, I got it!"
    "I've got it!"
    All the kids rushed to the door and opened it all at the same time-
    -and there stood the first guest, followed by all the others. As soon as
    all the guests were inside and everything was ready, they started to play a
    game. The game was Twister, and as usual, Tommy got picked to be the
    spinner (for some reason no-one wanted to tell him that it was considered a
    danger to have Tommy participate in Twister for the danger that he might fall
    on someone, considering his superfluous weight.)
    "Left hand on red!" Tommy announced.
    Everybody tried to move their hand on red. Linda fell down right
    away, due to being stretched across three other people.
    "You're out, Linda!" Tommy told her.
    "No I'm not!" She protested. "No one is 'out' in Twister!"
    "Yeah they are, and you're out!" Tommy insisted.
    Linda growled something nasty as she stormed off for the kitchen to
    cool off her nerves.
    "Okay, right foot on green!" Tommy continued.
    Everyone attempted to put their right foot on a green spot. It
    held pretty well until Slash fell down, causing everyone to fall down on top
    of him.
    "Everyone fell! Game over!" Tommy cried, rolling over on his back
    in fits of laughter.
    "Hey, that's no fair!" Slash yelled. "Can we start over?"
    "Okay, you guys can start over if you want." Tommy agreed. "But if
    someone else falls down again, then the game is officially over!"
    "I'm sitting out of this one." Slash whined. "This game has unfair
    rules."
    "Oh well...." Tommy said, shaking his head, and waited for everyone
    to get ready to start the next game.
    Slash walked over to the foot of the stairs and sat down on the first
    step. He watched everyone try to reach certain spots and getting tangled up
    in one another's arms and legs and laughing.
    "At least they're enjoying themselves." Slash pouted as he watched
    them. "I hope I can participate in something that won't ridicule me in front
    of everyone for once."
    Slash continued to watch. He must have sat there for at least 15
    minutes, watching the others. As he was just about to fall asleep, he heard
    a noise like someone saying "pssst!"
    Slash looked around for a minute or two, then whispered "Where are
    you?"
    "Up here!" The voice replied.
    Slash turned around and looked up the stairs. Jam was sitting on the
    top step.
    "Jam? Why aren't you playing Twister?" Slash asked curiously.
    "I don't like it, I guess. It gives me a backache. Hey, by the
    way, I got a Christmas present for you."
    Slash's eyes brightened. "You do?"
    Jam grinned. "Yep. I thought you might want it early, knowing how
    impatient you always get."
    Slash nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Can I open it? Huh huh can I can I?"
    Jam laughed. "Calm down, you spaz. I'll give it to you."
    Slash was bouncing up and down with excitement. "Okay then, give me
    it! I wanna open it right now!"
    Jam smiled. "Okay. Come upstairs and get it."
    Slash ran upstairs at literally light speed right past Jam. In reply,
    Jam just shook his head and laughed, and followed Slash.
    Jam walked into the bedroom where Slash was and laughed again.
    "Trying to open it already? Don't think so." Jam said with a sigh,
    and went over to help Slash open it.
    "The wrapping won't come off of the darn thing!" Slash said as he
    tried to rip off the wrapping paper and ribbon.
    "I got scissors," Jam said, getting a pair of scissors out of the
    nightstand drawer next to them. With one snip the paper and ribbons were
    off.
    "How do you do that?" Slash asked in a wondrous tone.
    "Reflexes." Jam answered with a shrug of his shoulders.
    Slash tore into the present like vultures into a piece of carrion in
    the middle of the sahara desert. When he saw what it was he beamed.
    "It's a black light for the bedroom! How did you know that I wanted
    one of these?" Slash cheered.
    "I know you well, and I know how much you like psychedelic glow-in
    the-dark stuff and all. So I got you a black light." Jam replied.
    Slash could only stare for a few moments, then he ran towards Jam and
    threw his arms around him.
    "Thank you so much!" Slash said again.
    Jam held Slash against him, returning the hug. They stood like that
    for a few moments, then Slash raised his head to look into Jam's eyes.
    "I love you, did you know that?" Slash said with a giggle.
    "I know." Jam said, somewhat admiringly.
    After a moment of silence, Slash yawned.
    "I'm getting tired." He muttered.
    "So am I." Jam yawned. "Let's get ready for bed, so we can open our
    presents tomorrow morning!"
    "I'm with you." Slash agreed. "But first, I have to take a bath.
    I'm getting a bit - um - stinky, if you ask me."
    "I have to take one too." Jam hinted.
    Slash could only stare at Jam for a moment, then he smiled.
    "Okay...let's go then." Slash replied.
    Jam smiled at Slash and began to purr loudly. Slash couldn't help
    but put his arms around Jam once again - he loved Jam's purr more than
    any other sound in the world. He remained in Jam's arms for a moment -
    letting his ears absorb all the purring - and then he pulled back.
    The two of them each got a clean pair of nightclothes and such and went into
    the bathroom. However, once they stepped in and closed the door, they froze,
    not quite knowing what to do next.
    "Um......after you." Slash said to Jam.
    "Thank you so much." Jam said, taking a bow, and then turned around
    and began undressing.
    Slash couldn't really help but stare. Jam had a wonderful figure and
    not a trace of heaviness anywhere - infact, he almost had what you might call
    a girlish figure - except he had a flat chest, of course. So Slash just
    looked on, minding his business, but it was when Jam took off his boxers that
    Slash began to blush and giggle a little.
    Jam turned around. "What's so funny?"
    Slash shook his head. "Nothin'."
    Jam shrugged his shoulders and bent down to turn on the faucet in the
    bathtub. Slash began to giggle again.
    "What?!?" Jam asked, looking over his shoulder.
    "Uh - full moon, Jam! Haaaaahahahahaha!!!" Slash laughed.
    "Ha-ha-ha-very funny. Now get your stuff off and get ready." Jam
    griped back at him.
    Slash saw that Jam was getting ticked off, so he obeyed. Off came
    everything in a matter of seconds - Slash was a fast dresser as well as a
    fast UNdresser - by this time Jam was already sitting in the bathtub waiting
    for it to fill up with hot water. Slash walked over with one hand in front
    of his unmentionables so as not to be indecent, but Jam spoke up.
    "It's alright, Slash. We're both boys." He said politely.
    "Uh, okay, if you say so." Slash said doubtfully, and removed his
    hand and stepped into the bath.
    "Ahh! It's hot! Why did you have to make it so damn hot?!?" Slash
    cursed feverishly.
    "I like hot baths." Jam replied shortly, and laid his head against the
    wall behind him.
    "Well, isn't it a little too hot?"
    "Nah. Just step in - you'll get used to it."
    Slash slowly lowered himself in and sat down. After he got used to
    it he laid his head back and sighed.
    "See? It ain't so bad." Jam told him.
    "I guess not..." Slash retorted.
    The two of them lay there in silence, breathing in the vapors of the
    hot water as they rested. Slash was in the middle of a daydream at this time
    when he felt Jam rest his hand on his thigh. He was surprised at first, but
    he liked it. He reached over to Jam and moved his hand towards his
    lower stomach. His hand slid between Jam's legs and stayed there,
    feeling every detail that his fingertips came across. Slash heard Jam
    beginning to breathe faster, and this encouraged Slash to take it to a
    higher level. He moved to the right and wrapped his arms around Jam and they
    began passionately kissing. Slash could feel the very tip of Jam's tounge
    begin to enter his mouth, and in response to this he stuck out his own
    tounge and let it slide into Jam's mouth. They rolled over halfway,
    causing bath bubbles and water to splash over the edge of the bathtub in a
    sort of miniature tidal wave, soaking the rug on the floor as well as their
    dirty clothes. Slash felt something poking his stomach and reached down to
    close his hand around it. He immediately knew what it was, due to the fact
    that it felt like it had it's own heartbeat and was stiff as a tree limb.
    He was about to direct it towards his rear end when a shocked exclamation
    snapped them out of their affair.
    "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING?!?" Tommy screamed from the bathroom
    door entrance. Slash and Jam looked up immediately.
    "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The two screamed it in unison. They
    quickly reached over and pulled the shower curtain closed so hard that it
    ripped one end off. Tommy took off at super speed for the downstairs living
    room as fast as his husky legs could carry him, screaming all the way down.
    When the other kids saw Tommy bolt downstairs all the questions rose
    like a helium balloon on a windy day.
    "What the heck is up with you?" Linda inquired snobbishly.
    "Slash and Jam were making out in the bathtub!!!!" Tommy yelled at the
    top of his deep voice.
    "Slash and Jam were WHAT?!?" Linda could hardly believe what she had
    just heard.
    "You heard me! And it wasn't pretty, either!" Tommy cried.
    "Are you sure that's what you saw?" Nancy asked him.
    "I'm positive! I saw it with my own two eyes!" Tommy shouted back,
    pointing to his pair of rather small eyes.
    "That just isn't right." Linda said disgustedly.
    "No, it isn't!" Tommy replied.
    "Well, what do we do about it?" Linda asked.
    "I know what we can do." Nancy replied gently. "Tomorrow after we
    open our Christmas presents I'll talk to Slash in private and ask him what
    went on and if he really is.....that way."
    "Sounds good." Tommy nodded.
    "Well, since the party's over, I guess we should all get to bed now."
    Nancy told the others. "The faster we get to sleep, the sooner Santa Claus
    will come to our mansion."
    "I'm with you. Let's get to sleep." Tommy said with a yawn.

    Chapter 4: Christmas At Last

    "EVERYBODY WAKE UP!!! IT'S CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!" Nancy cried out to
    the others in her cute high voice. Everyone woke up with a startled jolt.
    "What was that for? I was having this great dream." Slash sneered
    at Nancy.
    'Probably dreaming about Jam' Tommy thought.
    "It's Christmas, everybody! Time to go open presents!" Nancy said
    as she bounced up and down with excitement.
    As soon as everyone heard this they were off and running for the
    downstairs living room. They all gasped when they saw the mountain of
    presents under their enormous Christmas tree.
    "Whoooooaaaaaaa!" They all said at the same time. Then they ran
    towards the presents and began picking out whose gifts were whose.
    "This one's for Tommy.......and this one's for Jam.......this one's
    for Linda........this one's for Linda too.......this is another one for Jam
    .........this big one is for Slash - geez, that's heavy - ..........and this
    one is for me.........and this is for me too......." Nancy read all the tags
    on the presents and handed them out to all 5 kids, including herself of
    course. After all the kids recieved their gifts - there was at least 15
    gifts per kid so that took a while to accomplish - they began deciding who
    should open all their gifts first.
    "I think we should open our gifts in the order of our appearances in
    the game." Nancy explained. "First Slash, then me, then Jam, then Linda, and
    then Tommy."
    "Aw, I'm last." Tommy whined under his breath.
    "Don't worry. You'll get to open them soon." Nancy told Tommy.

    * * *

    It took about 5 hours for all 5 kids to open all their presents. By
    the time they were done, there was a mountain of discarded wrapping paper as
    high as the giant Christmas tree and nobody knew how to get rid of it or
    where to put all the new gifts as well.
    "What are we going to do with all this gift wrapping stuff?" Slash
    asked in his curious little voice.
    "I say we put it in that big dumpster down the road by the fast food
    restaraunt." Linda chimed in.
    "That's a mile from here!" Jam exclaimed suddenly.
    "It won't take forever, you know." Linda said, looking at Jam.
    "Yeah it will! This stuff is like a mile high so it'll take a mile
    to get it to the dumpster!" Jam shouted.
    "Actually, if we just put it out on the curb for the garbage truck to
    pick up later this morning we won't have to make the trip." Nancy explained.
    "Good idea." Tommy agreed.
    "Now, if you ask me, I'm getting hungry rumbles in my tummy. Who
    wants a big Christmas breakfast to start off the New Year?" Nancy told the
    others.
    "Me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me!!!" Was the responding chorus of voices.
    Everybody raced to the kitchen, with Nancy walking patiently behind.

    * * *

    For breakfast, Nancy and Tommy made a whole mess of things - a stack
    of pancakes as high as the ceiling, a huge plate of waffles, two glasses of
    orange juice for everyone along with one glass of milk, a whole lot of pop-
    tarts and a few side orders of scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon.
    "Wow, Nance, this is really good!" Slash told Nancy as he devoured
    one of the waffles effortlessly.
    "He took the words right out of my mouth!" Jam exclaimed as he
    finished off a plate of pancakes.
    "This is the best ever! You've outdone yourself, girl!" Linda praised
    as she began to chow down on some of the scrambled eggs.
    "Hey! I helped too you know!" Tommy insisted.
    At that, everybody chimed "Thank you Nancy and Tommy!"
    Nancy and Tommy looked at each other and blushed.


    " -Urp- I'm soooo fulll....." Slash moaned, holding his stomach.
    "I can't -urp- eat another bite..." Jam added.
    "I might review what I just ate if I eat anything else!" Linda gasped.
    "We didn't need to know that, Linda." Tommy said to her.
    "Ha ha ha ha! Linda looks pregnant! Look at her big belly!" Slash
    laughed, tipping back in his chair and rocking back and forth with laughter.
    "Shut up, Slash! I didn't ask for your opinion!" Linda screeched.
    "Now because of all that food I ate I'm probably going to gain 30 pounds!"
    "Too late! Haaaaaaahahahahahahaha!!!" Slash laughed at her.
    Despite her stomach size Linda got up and pummeled Slash until he
    hollered uncle. Tommy broke the two of them up.
    "All right! That's enough, we don't want any fighting on the
    holidays!" Tommy told the quarreling duo.
    Amidst all the calamity, Nancy went over to Slash when he was done
    being pummeled by Linda.
    "Slash, can I ask you something in private?" Nancy asked him quietly.
    "Uh, sure." Slash got up from his seat and followed Nancy upstairs.
    They went into the master bedroom and sat down on the bed. There was silence
    for a moment.
    "Well.....what did you want to ask me?" Slash asked Nancy.
    Nancy fidgeted for a minute. "Um....well...."
    "What?" Slash inquired.
    Nancy looked at Slash right in the eyes, then she spoke.

    "....I need to ask you something......about you and Jam."

    Chapter 5: The New Year Approaches

    Slash was taken aback by this sudden question, but he recovered fast
    enough to answer, "about me....and Jam?"
    Nancy nodded. "Yes. Last night Tommy went upstairs to brush his
    teeth and get ready for bed, and when he opened the door to the bathroom
    he reported seeing you and Jam in the bathtub having a sort of affair.
    Is this the truth, because if it is, I won't complain. I'm broad-minded
    and I have much respect for gays and lesbians, if you ask me."
    Slash was stunned. He couldn't find anything to say - only his
    mouth remained listlessly open as Nancy began to speak again.
    "It's okay. You can tell me." She reassured him.
    Slash couldn't speak. He found it unrealistically hard to. Finally,
    he looked down at his hands and sighed "Yes.......yes it is. It's true."
    He began to cry a little. "I guess it's true."
    Nancy held Slash in her arms tightly, trying to calm him down.
    "It's okay, it's okay. I won't tell anybody....."
    Those words seemed to echo in his mind -

    'I won't tell anybody....."

    * * *

    As Nancy walked down the stairs, she began to think -

    'If Jam was in it too......does that mean both him and Slash are....?'

    * * *

    Jam was in the bedroom listening to music (rap music of course,
    knowing the Master Trickster himself) and he had just got done with another
    of his skilled drawings - this one was of a black cat, sitting on a pillow
    in front of a window with sunshine beaming through. He held it up and
    looked it over to see how he did. Satisfied with this latest masterpiece,
    he decided to see how his buddy Slash was doing. Last night's experience had
    been more than a thrill to him, and he decided to ask Slash's opinion as
    well. He meandered down the hallway - still sort of drugged from all the
    Christmas excitement and belly full of all that breakfast that Nancy and
    Tommy had served up earlier - and opened the door to the guest bedroom.
    He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Slash sitting on the edge of the
    bed, head in his hands, crying like his pet had just died.
    "Slash...what's wrong? Why are you - "
    "She...she made me confess. She made me tell her why I am the way I
    am and why we did what we did and everything!" He bawled.
    "Who? Who's she?!?" Jam demanded, although concerned-like.
    "Nancy!" Slash sobbed.
    Jam let this sink in for a moment, then he clenched his teeth and
    fists in anger. 'How dare my biggest rival on the slopes harass my buddy
    like this' he thought.
    As he wrapped his arms around Slash and comforted him, he looked up
    at the window and squinted. 'I'm going to make her pay.' He thought, 'and
    I don't care if she likes it or not.'
    When Slash had finally calmed down, they took a long look into each
    others' eyes. Slash managed a weak little smile, which was returned by Jam,
    except Jam's wasn't weak at all - it seemed powerful and trusting. Knowing
    this sense alone was enough to pull all the worries from Slash's mind in an
    instant. He felt like he was ready to doze off right there in Jam's arms
    when Jam spoke up.
    "You know Slash, who cares what Nancy thinks. She said she was
    concerned, but I bet Linda talked her into it so that Miss Rich could spread
    a big nasty rumor about it."
    Slash grinned. "Yeah."
    Jam smiled. "You know, what we did in the bath last night was a lot
    of fun, but we never got to finish."
    Slash looked at Jam. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking when I hear
    you say 'finish'?"
    Jam nodded.
    There was silence for a moment's notice as the two boys looked at the
    door to make sure it was locked. It was.
    And with that looked over, a mad flurry of clothes began flying.

    * * *

    "No no NO!!! You're doing it all wrong! You have to roll the first
    two big snowballs for the snowman's bottom and middle and THEN you roll the
    head!!!" Nancy screeched. Her and Linda and Tommy were out front building
    a snowman that would be holding a wooden sign with red letters painted on it
    that read, 'Happy New Year!'. Unfortunately, because of a clumsy mistake
    made by Tommy, the snowman's little head was on the bottom, holding up the
    middle snowball and then the biggest snowball on top of THAT. How it managed
    to stay like that the other kids didn't know, but one thing they DID know is
    that a snowman is not supposed to look like that no matter what the occasion.
    "Don't you know how to build a proper snowman?!?" Linda screeched at
    the green-clothed chubby one. "You built that thing like you've never seen
    a snowman in your life!"
    "Shut up, Linda! I can't help it if I'm tired from all this crazy
    Christmas stuff! Infact, if I do anymore vigorous exercizes I'm going to do
    a Christmas barf!!!" Tommy hollered at her.
    Linda was quiet.
    "I suggest we gently lower the bigger two snowballs off of the other
    smaller one and then we start over from there." Nancy inquired.
    "Good idea." Tommy mumbled, glaring at Linda.

    Chapter 6: 2002 At Last


    It was New Year's eve, at 11:30 at night. Everybody was getting ready to make a whole
    lot of noise and stuff once the clock struck 12, and they had everything they would
    need - pots and pans, kazoos, a huge drum brought in by Slash and a whole mess of
    party hats and other accessories needed to celebrate the new year. Not only that, but
    they were also getting seriously hyper over glasses of sparkling grape juice (which
    Slash also brought over - New Year parties were one of Slash's favorite things.)
    "Whooooeee! Ain't this a party now, is it or what?" Slash shouted at the top of his
    lungs, parading around the coffee table in the middle of the living room banging his
    huge drum with two mallets. "Everybody celebrate the new year! Resolutions and
    revelations! Relationships and Resentments!!!"
    "Leave out 'resentments', Slash." Tommy warned. "Resentments are a bad omen."
    "I thought resentments meant your sorry for something." He said.
    "Well, they are. And so is repent, and relent and resent." Tommy informed.
    "But isn't that a good thing? Saying you're sorry for all the bad things you've done?"
    Slash asked curiously.
    "Well, I guess." Tommy sighed.
    Meanwhile, in the dining room, Nancy was looking out the window at the now-correct
    snowman that her and the others managed to put back together correctly. She smiled at
    it, and at something else. She had told the others that she thought there must be
    a special something for two very special people that year - in other words, she had
    something in store for Slash and Jam.
    It took awhile, but it slowly began to approach midnight. Everyone had everything
    ready and were sitting still staring at the clock, watching it slowly tick toward the
    new year. Nancy walked in.
    "What's everyone sitting around for? Aren't we going to throw a huge party?" She asked.
    "I'm too tired." Said Tommy.
    "I'm too bored." Said Linda.
    "I'm too stupid." Slash joked.
    "Oh come ON. New Years' isn't about sitting on your can on the couch watching football
    on the television!!! It's about partying and celebrating and-" Nancy said.
    "Sleep." Linda muttered. "I'm going to sleep."
    "NO!!! No sleep yet! You guys gotta stay up!!!" She yelled, shooting a hinting glance
    at them.
    "For wha- Oh, for THAT." Tommy drawled.
    "Do we have to?" Linda whined.
    "For what?" Jam asked.
    "I don't wanna, whatever it is." Slash griped.
    "Come on, you're gonna love it!!!" Nancy squeaked. "I'm telling you, you guys HAVE to
    stay up!"
    "Fine." Linda sighed. "But if I don't get some sleep soon I'm taking it out on YOU."
    "All right with me." Nancy reasoned. "Just don't get too physical, like beating up and
    stuff. I don't approve of violence."
    "You sound like my mom." Jam mumbled.
    Nancy looked up at the clock. It read 11:59.
    "WE HAVE ONE MINUTE!!! EVERYONE GET READY!!!" Nancy shrieked. Everyone shot up and
    grabbed all the noisemaking utensils and the drum and the drinks and all the other
    miscellanous items they all brought over. They ran outside and stood on the doorstep,
    watching the church clock in the distance of the town. It was clear enough to see, and
    they could see the minute hand ticking away nearer and nearer to midnight until.......
    "Bang....bang.....bang......bang.....bang....bang....." The clock began to strike twelve.
    "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!" The Kids all shouted. They began to make the loudest ruckus anyone
    ever heard - kitchenware clashing, kazoos kazooing, kids' voices yelling, and the giant
    drum going BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG as Slash pounded on it with
    his fists. Finally, someone across the street leaned out of their bedroom window and
    hollered, "Cut that out, you damn kids!!!"
    They were all quiet at once, then finally crept back inside. It was snowing, so they
    shook the snowflakes out of their hair and took off their soaked shoes. They walked into
    the living room and that's when Nancy stepped forward. She cleared her throat and held
    up her glass of juice.
    "Okay, since the New Year is finally upon us, I have something to say as a first word."
    Everyone was silent.
    "I would like to say that I hope that everyone's experiences during this year are positive
    and I hope we have lots of fun and great races this year. We're going to get older and
    start getting better at snowboarding and we're even going to maybe start thinking about
    what we wanna do when we get older. But you know something? I have something else to say
    as well."
    Nancy walked over to Slash and Jam, grabbed their hands, pulled them up off the couch and
    dragged them to the front of the room. There she put her arms around their shoulders.
    "I would like everyone to congratulate Slash and Jam."
    Everyone exchanged a few puzzled looks at first, then they smiled and paid attention to
    Nancy.
    "I know how hard it is to have a relationship like theirs just about now. Everyone likes
    to criticize and put down people who have those feelings. And surprisingly enough, we
    have two of those exact kind of people living with us, and I'd like to say to them that
    I hope they're together forever and never lose intrest in each other."
    She raised her glass. "To Slash and Jam!"
    Everyone did the same. "To Slash and Jam!"
    The two guys were stunned. They were speechless and unbelieving at what they were seeing.
    Finally, they smiled shyly and bowed before all the kids. The Kids started to clap and
    cheer, calling their names and wishing them a happy New Year as well. They stole a look
    at each other, smiled, and Slash gave Jam a big hug and a kiss as soon as they stood back
    up. They all gave one huge cheer when they did this, and not to mention Nancy was also
    cheering them on as well.


    Their Christmas hadn't been a nightmare after all.