"Justin?" Mackenzie asked.

"What Macky?" he asked.

"Are you in the Christmas spirit?" she asked.

"I'm tired," he said, almost losing his footing on the moving bus.

"That wasn't my question," she said as he sat down. "Are you in the Christmas spirit?"

He looked at her across the small table from him. She looked so different from when they first met. Her hair was a little longer, and he found out many things about her. Sometimes it was too much information. He thought that he found out some new information. She was big on Christmas. "Yeah. I'm in the spirit."

He went back to his History, but looked back up when Mackenzie started to drum her pencil to the melody of "Jingle Bells". "Macky," he said.

She put down her pencil. "Aargh! Sorry!" she said. "I'm just so anxious! This will be the first time there's a Christmas party that I can actually attend because there won't be any alcohol," she said.

He smiled. "I understand. It's gonna be a lot of fun too."

"I know! Especially if we're going to have Chris DJ-ing. That's going to be fun," she smiled.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Don't tell him that. We'll have a hard time finding a bucket hat to fit that swollen head."

She laughed. "Is it true what my mom said? Is it going to be semi-formal?"

Justin raised an eyebrow. "Macky, are you trying to hint at something?" he smiled slyly.

She blushed a color that matched her burgundy sweater. "No...nothing at all...," she said.

He grinned at her. "Yes you are. You want me to something reeeeeally nice, don't you?" he said.

She rolled her eyes. "You know that can be taken in so many ways..." she said.

He laughed quietly. "I will."

She then got a perfectly hideous, yet brilliant idea. "You will? You'll get JC to be my date? You so sweet," she smiled sweetly.

His grin turned to a dropped jaw in about three seconds flat. "I'm kidding," she said bluntly.

He laughed. "Um, yeah...I knew that."

"You did not."

"I did so Spitfire!"

"You did not!"

"Did to!"

"Not!"

"To!"

"Not!"

"To!"

"To!"

"Not!"

Mackenzie smiled. "Well, if those are your feelings..." she said.

It was at that moment he realized that Mackenzie had tricked him. "You're awful," he said.

She laughed maniacally. "I know...I know..."

Justin was standing around one day, three days before Christmas in fact, waiting so that he could get the cardlike key so that he could go sleep in his hotel room instead of on his feet, but he never got the chance to fall asleep because he felt someone jump on his shoulders. "Macky, what is it with you and jumping on my back?" he asked.

"Because I can," she said.

"But that didn't answer my question," he said.

"Because you let me," she answered. She looked at his face best she could, and frowned. "My that's a lovely scowl you're wearing today. Does it come with an attitude?" she said sarcastically.

"Spitfire," he muttered.

"Oh it does," she said. "Goody. Let me guess, with Christmas being so near, you miss everyone back in the United States, right?" she said.

"Yeah," he said, accepting the card key from a crew member.

"I figured," she said, "walking" to the elevator with Justin. "I've kind of been getting that from the other guys. JC practically bit off my head the other night. It was not pretty. Who do you miss the most?" she asked, just trying to make conversation so that he A, wouldn't fall asleep and B, drop her.

"I miss my mommy," he said. "And I haven't called her that since I was about six."

"You're kidding," Mackenzie said. "You talk to her like, everyday."

"Not every day," he said. "But I miss my little brother too."

She hit him on the head. "You idiot! You didn't tell me you had a brother."

He glared at her reflection in the shiney elevator door. "You didn't tell me that you had a chicken pox scar on your-"

"That's besides the point," she interrupted quickly. "The point is you didn't tell me about your brother."

"You never asked," he said simply.

She rolled her eyes. "Do you need an engraved invitation? I'm asking! Is he your stepbrother?"

"Half brother, actually. He belongs to my dad and Lisa. And they think that she might be having another baby," he yawned.

"Coolies," she said. The elevator dinged open and Justin walked out with the other people in the elevator. "Where's your room?" he asked.

"Right here," she said, when they were in front of it. With a hard thump, Mackenzie hit the floor. Justin ran down the hall, laughing.

"You have war buddy!" she yelled down the hall, rubbing her sore butt.

(Christmas Eve 1997)

The night of the so called Christmas party had arrived, and Justin had just got off the phone with his mother, and before that his father, and had managed to talk to Jonathan for a few minutes. He missed them so much sometimes it hurt, especially this time of year. But that was life, and next year hopefully they would be back in the United States and he could spend Christmas with his family.

He was dressed and khakis and a button up shirt, different from the usual jeans and t-shirt that he threw on before the bus left him wherever they were. They would do it too.

He raised his hand to knock on Mackenzie's hotel room door, and it opened. He stood there frozen in astonishment. "How'd you do that?" he asked.

"I'm psychic," she answered.

"You mean psycho, right?" he asked.

"Ha ha, very funny, pardon me when I don't die laughing," she said sarcastically. "Let's go grace this partaaaaay with our presence."

"Okay," he said. They stepped into the elevator, and pressed the button for the ground floor. Justin looked at Mackenzie. She was her usual short self, but to him she was a lethal weapon. He was mezmerized in every sense of the word. In a long maroon skirt and a white sweater, she was simply dressed, but on her it was beautiful. "Justin?" she asked.

"Um, what?" he asked, embarassed by his staring at her.

"Are we going to go to the party or just stand in the elevator all night?" The elevator was standing wide open.

"Oh. Yeah," he said, letting her go first. "Um, you like nice Macky," he said.

"No I don't," she said. "You've seen me in this before."

"I have?"

"Yeah. Chris' birthday party, and you-"

"Oh yeah, now I remember," he said.

"But that's not even the best part," she said. "Lookee here," she said, and lifted up her skirt. She revealed a pair of black combat boots. Justin laughed. "Let's go," she said, leading him by the hand to the meeting room that was transformed for a night into a Christmas party.

"I'm coming," he said. Man, she looks so good and she don't even know it, he thought.

She don't know she's beautiful never crossed her mind
She don't know she's beautiful no she's not that kind
She don't know she's beautiful though time and time I've told her so

-- She Don't Know She's Beautiful by Sammy Kershaw (?)