If there was one thing New York didn't mess around about, it was a white Christmas. Sloane was used to Britain's sad excuse for snow, wet looking white mush that cleared up as soon as it rained (but somehow managed to stall every train in the country, and never quite got school cancelled). New York in Winter was different - the entire city covered in a brilliant white, coating the uglier, seedier streets and making the city feel that little bit more magical. She stamped the stuff off of her boots on her doorstep, juggling an armful of shopping bags as her free hand pushed deep into the recesses of her pocket, searching for the key to her flat.
Perhaps she'd left shopping a little too late, Christmas being one of her least favourite holidays and also her busiest season. She'd been booked up with parties all month, belting Fairytale of New York and Santa Baby for an audience of drunk strangers at various Christmas do's. And when she wasn't doing that, picking up shifts at the bar. It wasn't until she'd passed a window display with the cutest little pair of pink cowboy boots that she'd suddenly thought, Oh bugger, I really ought to buy something for Dolly.
Which was how she'd spent the past few hours, wandering round the shops in a dizzy haze as she tried to pick up the perfect gift for Avery, for Dolly, she'd even bought a little something for Jayesh and Devi, hoping that didn't come across as a bit weird. Shouldering her way through her front door, she bristled as she came face to face with Avery.
"Don't look!" she barked, a stern look on her face as she dropped all her bags at her feet. "I've got your present in here, and-"
Blowing a strand of hair out of her face, she frowned as she lifted her head up, and up - before realising her best mate was perched on a ladder, hanging a garland above their windowsill.
"You're decorating." she stated the obvious, blinking at him. "Aves, get down from there before you properly fuck your back."