Under the Gingerbread-Flavored Mistletoe

The glimmering of the lights of the Christmas tree and other strings of lights lit up the whole entire Gustav house. Benji sat on the sofa, staring endlessly into the lights, trying to figure out what was missing to the recipe. He had failed a multitude of times, and even with his mom's help, he still failed.

"Benji, honey, don't be too upset, at least you tried." Benji's mother consoled.

Benji just sighed and laid back on the couch. He shut his eyes and prayed to whatever God that was out there that he would find the missing ingredient.

"The festival is tomorrow, mom. I need to figure out what it is as soon as possible, because if I don't, Bake N' Take might as well just crush me now." Benji snapped, frustrated with everything. She gave him a signature 'mom' look and he immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, mom, I just really need this money for the bakery. I'm going against a corporation that is so much bigger than I am and I just don't know how to deal with this much stress." Benji rambled.

"Son, please, just calm down, if you don't win, you'll find a way to make it work so Creamy Creations can survive." She grinned.

The front door opened and Benji's father and sixteen-year-old brother waltzed in.

"Still stressed about the mistletoe gingerbread thing?" Calix inquired. Benji smiled that his brother actually cared or pretended to care, at least. "What kind of sugar are you using?"

Then it dawned on him. He wasn't using the right sugar. He needed gingerbread sugar and not powdered sugar! How could he mess that up? Benji jumped up from the couch and hugged Calix tightly.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Calix you are amazing!" Benji cheered before running into the kitchen to start with his gingerbread mistletoes.

"Benji I understand you're gay but I don't like you violating me like that!" Calix shouted jokingly.

"Oh please, it was just a hug, you'll get over it." Benji laughed.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

"Hey Benji, how's it going?" Calix asked, shivering a little in the New York weather.

"You care to help? I'm a bit busy here." Benji confided.

Calix jumped in beside his brother and started handing out samples of the gingerbread flavored mistletoe. Within a few minutes, the crowd had diminished with the help of Calix. They both turned around to prepare Benji's mistletoes for the next wave of people to come through, making their backs turned to the front of the stand.

"Have you met your competition yet?" Calix questioned.

"No, he's probably some egotistical jerk that only cares about himself." Benji shrugged.

"Well, I did some digging and I came up with name, age, and sexuality." Calix grinned.

"Oh God, please don't continue." He groaned, tired of having his brother trying to set him up with someone.

"His name is Everett Hall. He is twenty-four, same as you." Calix winked, nudging him a bit. "...and he's gay, also just like you."

"Of course. You're trying to set me up with my rival who, like I said before, most likely doesn't care about anything but himself." Benji rolled his eyes.

"Come on Benji, at least try to not judge him before you know him." Calix all but begged.

Calix and Benji heard someone clear their throat behind them and they both turned around to see a tall looking man with dark hair that was slicked back, high cheek bones, caring brown eyes, broad shoulders, and jacked arms. Benji noticed his shirt and gasped. It was a Bake N' Take employee.

"Hey Everett." Calix greeted.

Benji's posture tightened and he shot Calix a glare.

"Hey." He responded coolly.

Benji gulped and looked into his mesmerizing eyes.

"I'm Benji." I whispered.

Calix excused himself from the conversation and walked off somewhere.

"Hello Benji, I'm Everett, and I can assure you that I am not a egotistical jerk that only cares about himself." He smiled.

Benji winced like he had been hit. He now felt bad about that accusation he had made without meeting Everett.

"I apologize, Everett, I just built up this whole evil personality of the one I was competing against. I really shouldn't have done that."

"It's all good. I imagined you were a girl, so we were both in the wrong." He chuckled.

"Yeah, definitely not a girl. I'm not even interested in girls." Benji casually said without realizing. When Benji did realize though, his eyes became wide and he mentally slapped himself. "I'm sorry. That was inappropriate, it just slipped."

"Stop apologizing, it's fine, really. I mean, I already knew you were gay from Calix filling you in about my life." He chuckled.

His chuckle gave Benji butterflies. It was like nothing he had ever heard before.

"So, why are you competing? I mean, you're already a popular bakery, what is there to gain besides a money prize?" Benji inquired, feeling brave.

"Well, I mostly just wanted to change things up a bit this holiday. I was mostly just done hanging out with my homophobic family and being ridiculed. It gets old pretty quickly." He smiled softly.

"Oh." He frowned in response.

"So what about you, cutie?"

Benji blushed from the nickname but quickly told himself Everett was just being polite.

"Uh, well, my bakery mostly needs the money prize and the popularity. We're kinda in a lot of debt right now and we may have to shut down." Benji's frowned deepend from talking about it.

"Well we wouldn't want that would we?" He smirked. Benji's stomach felt like he was driving down large hills by looking at Everett's smirk. Everett reached beside him for a leftover mistletoe from the ambush earlier. He reached over to the stand beside Benji's and grabbed a flexible metal ornament hanger. He shoved one end through the top of the mistletoe before hanging it on the top of the stand from a hook. "For good luck, and if you don't win, maybe you'll find someone special under the gingerbread flavored mistletoe." He grinned from ear to ear before walking off. Only one thought remained in Benji's head; Maybe I already found him.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

"Now, time for the contest winners." The announcer spoke into the microphone.

Calix and Benji stood at my stand impatiently, basically jumping from eagerness. Ever since Benji had spoken to Everett, he couldn't get him out of his head.

"Do you think that I have a shot?" Benji whispered to Calix.

"I'm pretty positive you've got this in the bag." He smiled knowingly.

He knew something! What did he know that Benji didn't?

"...and the winner for the bakery contest is-"

"Wait!" A familiar voice yelled, and I knew who it was immediately. "I, Everett Hall, forfeit from the bakery contest, making Benji Gustav the winner." Everett announced then ran over to Benji's booth and Benji couldn't help but check him out as he ran.

"You didn't have to do that." Benji whispered, self conscious about everyone's gaze on them.

"I know, but you need it so much more than I do and I would never live it down if I won." He said, catching his breath in between words. "Also, I told you that you may find a special person today, but, in reality, I think I found the special person. It's you, Benji."

Benji's face flushed a serious red color then responded sheepishly, "I think you're my special person, too."

Everett stepped a few steps over and Benji followed suit. It was only then Benji realized they were under the gingerbread flavored mistletoe.