Two Floors Apart (Louis Tomlinson AU)

II » New Year's

II.   T W O   //   N E W   Y E A R ' S

"Twenty minutes to midnight, guys!" Lydia yelled from the living room. A bubble of laughter followed shortly after as she plopped herself beside Zayn, who was sitting at one end of the couch. Pyper had made herself a second glass of a frozen cocktail named "Sylveon" before sitting herself between Lydia and Louis. She wrapped her free arm over the latter's shoulders, leaning on him more than she would have normally. Cocktails with too much of two kinds of vodka were both good and bad, but Pyper couldn't care less. 

            Liam stumbled out of the bathroom clutching his stomach. "Mate, I had one too many beers. I didn't realize what a lightweight I actually was until I came here." 

            Zayn laughed and took a swig of his own beer. "Mate, come sit down with us. We're counting down the New Year!" 

            "There's no room." As an afterthought, Liam added, "I think I might throw up on one of ya." 

            Pyper stood up and offered her seat to the younger boy, who attempted a smile; he was still clutching his stomach. "Thanks, Pipe."

            "I'll be riiiight back," she crooned. In the kitchen once more she grabbed five tall champagne glasses, followed by fresh raspberries that she bought beforehand and a tub of vanilla ice cream. She layered the two twice before popping the champagne as quietly as she could (and by quietly, she meant by secretly popping it and allowing the cork to hit the far wall, causing Lydia to squeal before immediately hugging Liam, giggling vivaciously afterwards) and poured it into all five glasses. "I made New Year's Delights!" 

            The four other people were already too engulfed in their own conversations to notice her until she handed them all drinks. Liam tried getting up. "Pipe, here's your seat—"

            "Ah, nooo." She sat herself down on Liam's lap gingerly; being drunk for her didn't mean not being careful. She didn't want to upset his stomach any more. "I can lie down instead! It's so much better." 

            She stretched her legs over Lydia's lap (and a bit of Zayn's; she wasn't tall enough to reach the entire couch length) and her head was on the armrest by Louis. She smiled tiredly and squeezed his cheek. "Mmm, Lou, can I tell you something?"

            "Yeah?"

            "You have a boner." Pyper could feel the bulge in his pants against her upper back. She waited until she could feel his face heat up before she let go of his cheek and burst into laughter. It was surprising that no one else heard her speak. 

            "Two minutes, guys," Zayn spoke up. Pyper turned her head towards the television set. The countdown was coming fast, and the alcohol was beginning to hit her more than she thought it would have. Her head was almost entirely fuzzy. 

            "One minute left on the clock," the news reporter announced. The five of them sat in complete silence as they watched the numbers tick down to zero. Zayn stood up and sat on the armrest, claiming the couch was too cramped. Lydia's legs took his spot as she cuddled into Liam, smiling as her fingers drew circles on the bare skin of his torso under his shirt. 

            It was only with fifteen seconds left that Pyper realized she had never had a New Year's kiss. And she wanted one. Badly. Her eyes locked onto Louis' face, her fuzzy vision attempting to narrow in on his lips. She would probably not remember in the morning; even if she did, she probably wouldn't mention it. 

            Meanwhile, Louis' eyes were trained on the screen, making sure he did his best to think about some old geezer naked instead of the girl lying on him. He didn't want another unwelcome bulge in his pants for Pyper to call out again. Normally when he drank he followed the don't think rule, which only made the night that much harder for him. If he didn't think, his mind would wander, and he didn't want that. For once, the rule was only one word: focus. 

            Everyone began counting down. "Five, four, three, two..."

            Louis didn't know what overcame him when he felt a hand wrap around the back of his neck. He definitely didn't know how to react when he realized he couldn't yell "Happy New Year!" with everyone else when the clock struck midnight. And he most definitely did not know how to react to Pyper's lips on his.

            Other than to kiss back, of course. Pyper pulled away and giggled, her hands still around his neck, leaving Louis wide-eyed and speechless. "Mmm, Lou?"

            "Uh..."

            "You have another boner." 

+++

Pyper awoke with a pounding headache and a single question in her mind. How she ended up asleep on the kitchen table in Louis' flat, she hadn't a clue. She sat up and looked into the living room—Zayn had passed out on the armchair with one leg and one arm hanging off, while Lydia had fallen asleep on Liam. Lydia probably didn't have any problem with that, though. 

            She forced herself off the table and over to Louis' room to ask if he had a spare toothbrush. She was too hungover to bother with either the elevator or the stairs to get back to her own flat. She was about to open his bedroom door when he stepped out of the bathroom instead. "Pipe? You alright?"

            "Do you have an extra toothbrush I can borrow? I, uh... My breath stinks." She pushed the loose strands of hair that came out of her ponytail away from her face. "Do you remember anything from last night? Because I don't think I do." 

            "Uh, no." Louis felt as shitty as she looked as he rummaged through the cabinet under the sink, but he would rather twist his arm than tell Pyper that the morning of a hangover. He gave her a packaged toothbrush and started walking away when she spoke up. 

            "You're lying, Lou. I know it." 

            Despite being extremely happy that they kissed, Louis knew that it didn't count. It didn't mean anything to her other than probably just another New Year's kiss, so he decided not to mention it. She didn't want a relationship, after all. "You just called me out on an uncomfortable bulge in my pants...twice."

            (The kiss didn't help the second time around, but he didn't mention it.)

            "Oh." She smiled. "Good thing I didn't do anything too embarrassing, then."

            "Nah, you didn't." Louis headed for the kitchen. He would forget it ever happened, just like she was doing—whether it was fake or not. "You just embarrassed me quite a bit. Anyways, I'm brewing coffee for the five of us. You want in?"

            "I thought you knew me better than that." She sat down at the table and waited for the coffee to brew. She didn't bother mentioning the events of New Year's Eve; they didn't seem so important to her.

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            even though pokemon x and y didn't exist in when this takes place, there was an eeveelutions cocktail post on tumblr and i just really liked sylveon. it consists of cake vodka, strawberry vodka, bailey's, strawberry shortcake ice cream bar, cream, and strawberry syrup, but please don't accidentally get drunk and then blame it on that one user on wattpad. this user put this here for those 16/17/18+ people interested in a drink.

            — linn