Spencer laughs and weakly pantomimes shooing Noel's help away, but with no intention of actually stopping him. His hair's a wreck and he can't bring himself to care that much anymore. And suddenly, there's a box in his lap with twinkling ornaments. He smiles, lopsided.

"Thanks. Some of my housemates will really appreciate it. I mean, I do too," he adds. "But I ain't that good. Whole lot of ways to be bad without being mean."