Christmas In The Mountains {Nick}

[Nick Upton]

So waiting for Mikayla to open up her present, Nick found himself really nervous to see what sort of reaction she was going to have. Sure, it wasn't a proposal, but it was still kind of a big deal because it was a promise that he did plan on being with her for the rest of his life. Which meant that sometime he would propose and ask her to marry him. True, he was pretty sure that they were on the same page as to what they wanted for their future and that they wanted it to be together but maybe she just wasn't really prepared to actually accept a gift that spoke to that. He supposed that he would understand if that was the case, given the fact that they were just Juniors in high school, but he couldn't deny that he'd be much happier if it was met with a happy reaction instead of an awkward one where she told him that she just couldn't accept the gift. And then, well, to be honest, he didn't know what he would do with it if that did happen. It wasn't like he could return it and then... well, it hadn't exactly been that cheap either.

Not that he would let her in on that piece of information either. Cause that would be a bad thing to do and he just didn't want to be that guy. So, he just looked at her carefully as she started to unwrap the present, wanting to see what her face looked like as she opened the jewelery box and she saw the ring inside of it. Figuring that it was pretty obvious that it wasn't an engagement ring from what it looked like, but still wanting to say something to go along with it. Seeing as she didn't seem to be freaking out about the idea. "It's a promise ring," he told her, though he was sure that she already knew that. "Because even though we aren't to the point of getting engaged yet, I wanted you to know that I promise to propose to you when the time is right. That I love you and when I plan out my future, I'm always planning it out with you. I want to be with you for as long as I can and I want to grow old with you, to spend my life letting you know how in love I am with you. So I hope you don't think it's like.. too soon or anything but, I felt it was fair to let you know that I'm planning my life with you."

[Mikayla Upton]

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Saying that Miki could hardly believe what she was seeing would be a lie - after all, it wasn't like she hadn't expected that at any time, Nick would make this kind of a gesture toward her. She knew he loved her, and she knew he was just as well aware as she was of how well their relationship was evolving, and how good a future they could have ahead of them. Regardless of that though, she still hadn't thought something like this would happen now. It was pretty hard to try and establish when someone was gonna do something like this, unless of course you'd spoken of it beforehand, but although a promise ring didn't have the exact same signification as an engagement ring - which she felt they were too young for anyway - it was pretty close to it. It was basically a promise of a shared hope to spend their future together, and while she'd already been pretty sure he did want that as much as she wanted it, to have the ring on her finger to show it, a physical and tangible proof of it rather than an instinctive knowledge... it made her feel more happy than she could even express.

The ring itself was so beautiful as well, and Nick had made such a perfect selection that she had to wonder if he'd asked someone's help for it, or if he was just that naturally gifted at figuring our what kind of jewelry taste she had. If it was the latter, she figured she could expect some pretty great things out of his pick for an engagement ring - but she was getting ahead of herself with that. She was glad of the way it look too, sweet and gorgeous, but different than what an actual engagement ring would look like. That way, once he did propose - so long as things kept going the same way they currently were, which she was hopeful they would - she would be able to keep on wearing both. She smiled at him as he went on to explain the reason he had chosen to give her this, so incredibly happy to hear him say that whenever he planned out his future, she figured in it, and that he wanted to grow old with her and spend his life with her. "Oh Nick, of course it's not too soon," she assured him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself close to him as she pressed her lips to his in a deep, loving kiss. "I love it, and I love you, so much," she told him, nuzzling her face into his neck. "And I'm so happy to hear you say all those things, because that's exactly how I feel. Every plan I made for my future revolves around the two of us being together."

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[Nick Upton]

Nick really hoped that he was right in thinking that Mikayla would react well to his gift and the intentions behind it. When he'd gotten the ring it'd seemed like a good idea, and he'd asked for advice from a few people who did think that it was a good idea. The girls that he'd asked thought it was super cute and then, it wasn't like the two of them hadn't been the type to tell each other how they were planning on trying to stay together. Any time either of them mentioned looking at colleges, they both made sure that either that same school or one in the same area held interest to the other. He supposed, though, that there was a difference between planning their college careers together and making a sort of promise that was aimed toward their entire lives. It wasn't as binding as a marriage proposal, but the intent was sort of the same. So, it made sense that she might feel a bit like it was too much of a step forward for them and that she didn't want to take something that hinted toward the fact that their futures were already being talked about seriously.

Trying to keep the anxious feelings at bay after he finished his speech, he felt himself sort of holding his breath as he waited to hear her say something, or anything, rather. Breathing a sigh of relief as she assured him that it wasn't too soon, wrapping his arms around her as she pulled herself close to him, returning the deep, loving kiss that she pressed to his lips. Smiling as she said that she loved it and him so much and feeling even happier when she went ahead and told him that she felt the same way that he did, that her future plans all revolved around the two of them staying together. "You have no clue how relieved I am to hear that," he told her, a little teasingly as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I thought that was the case, but suddenly I just had a moment where I started worrying that maybe I'd somehow messed up your Christmas present." Glad that she didn't just love the ring for what it was, but apparently for how it had looked. He'd had a hard time narrowing down the choices, since there were so many, but in the end the one he'd gotten her had just seemed like it was the right one.

[Mikayla Upton]

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It was so strange for Miki to think back on her Freshman year, and how badly she could have messed things up for herself if she'd kept going down that path. It had taken a pretty bad experience to get her back on the right track though, but she was thankful for it. Sometimes life took a wrong turn but the best way to handle it was to learn from it and make sure you never took that turn again, and she was fairly confident that she had gotten her life back on track. As it was, she had gotten it back on track so much better than she even deserved - after the way she had acted during that first year, she couldn't even understand that so many people had been willing to welcome her in their circle of friends. And she couldn't even begin to describe how thankful and lucky she was of having a boyfriend like Nick, not to mention how undeserving of his love she still sometimes felt. He was much too good for her, but since he didn't seem to realize that, she figured she would keep on being selfish and not make him see that. Granted, even if she tried, he would surely disagree, but that was all the better for her.

She giggled lightly as she heard him say she had no clue how relieved he was of hearing her tell him that her plans tied back to his when it came to their future, sighing happily as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "It's the complete opposite," she assured him when he added he'd had a moment of worry that he'd messed up her Christmas present. Which reminded her that she still had to give him his, and after opening what he had given her, she felt all the more inadequate. She pressed a light kiss to his cheek before pulling herself away from him briefly, putting the ring on first - the very last thing she wanted right now was to lose it - before handing over the the packages that held the two presents she'd gotten him. "They're really not much," she told him with a light smile, hoping she would like them even though they were fairly simple. "But I hope you like them," she added, waiting a bit anxiously for him to unwrap both presents and see his reaction to them. She was definitely hoping they would be positive reactions, and not just in the sense of being satisfied by them but that he would love them.

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[Nick Upton]

Now that Nick knew that he'd done well with the Christmas present, he felt much better. And he'd be able to report back to everyone that he'd asked for help or wondered about if things were good with the present idea that it had gone well. Not that anyone else had had any doubts about it being a good idea. Most of them had thought that it was good idea. Smiling as she giggled when he'd told her that he was relieved, wondering if she even knew how adorable a sound that was. Then again, most anything and everything that Miki did happened to be attractive to him, so maybe he was a little bit bias in the situation, especially after everything that he'd just told her. But oh well, he was still happy with the way that things were between the two of them and would continue to feel that way as long as they were together. He'd never stop thinking that Mikayla was the best person in the entire world and the most attractive at that, too. Watching her put the ring on her finger and finding that he quite liked the sight of it there.


Having forgotten the fact that he had presents of his own to receive. Raising an eyebrow as he saw that there were two of them there, which he didn't strictly think that it was necessary to have two but oh well. "I'm sure that they're more than enough," he replied, opening the smaller one first as she added that she hoped he would like them. Smiling as he saw the book inside, reading through it fairly quickly and finding it to be quite sweet. Placing a light kiss against her lips. "This was perfect. I wish I'd thought of it," he teased slightly. Though he was sure that she was probably happy enough with what she'd gotten. Moving to open the next one and seeing the game inside. He'd never played it before but as a chess player he thought that it looked pretty damn cool. Flipping it over to read a little about it, before setting it down. Pulling Mikayla into his lap and pressing his lips against her own in another deep kiss. "Just as I thought, these presents were perfect," he told her with a grin. "I couldn't have asked for anything better." Pressing another kiss to her lips, he knew he was going to have a great time with her here.