jc's house was filled with tons of people, all coming to celebrate the end of the year and to start the new one accompanied by loved ones. most of the guests were out back playing games, all consisting of consuming alcohol. the few who remained inside were scattered around the house, listening to the music that was blasting from the backyard.
vanessa was sitting on the couch, twirling a water bottle in her hand as her focus was on the tv, watching 'dick clark's new year's rockin' eve'. the countdown on the screen letting everyone watching that there was still 45 minutes more to go. in the west coast that is because the east had seen the new year arrive a couple hours prior.
vanessa and her friends went to times square every year to watch the ball drop which was always an exhilarating experience. this year, she dreaded the fact that she wasn't in new york to see it in person because even though she watched it on the tv, it wasn't anywhere near exciting as seeing it in person.
she was engrossed with the performances on the tv, that it startled her when she felt the couch slightly shift next to her. "hey, you mind if i sit?"
"well, you're already sitting, so i guess so." vanessa teased, a small smile forming on kian's face.
"i can leave." he suggested, teasingly. she shook her head and leaned back onto the couch, focusing back on the tv.
kian looked over at her, taking in her presence. his heart ached at the thought of her leaving in less than 72 hours and the fact that they'd only spent a little bit of time together.
"you like this show?" kian asked, breaking the silence that filled the air between them.
she shook her head. "it just makes me think of a tradition my friends and i have." she said, but then quickly ended her statement not wanting to appear as boring.
"yeah, what is it?" kian asked, urging her to go on.
"well, after we all graduated high school, we moved in together into this apartment building, not far from time square. it was our first new year's living alone without parents and my friend, mallory, decided that we needed to watch the ball drop in person." she started, her eyes shining a little remembering of the moment, "we all ended up agreeing at some point and we ran all the way there. it was extremely crowded but after squeezing through all the people, we saw the ball drop and we celebrated entering the new year with literally all of new york. after that, we just made it a tradition to go every year." vanessa finished.
"wow, that's actually really cool. you sound really close with your friends." kian replied, glad that vanessa was being more open about her life in new york.
when vanessa first had arrived, she'd always avoid speaking about herself, always trying to be the one asking the questions.
the questions never required any deep answers since the questions were never more than just the basic '20 questions' so they both didn't actually know much about their personal lives.
in other words, they'd kept their backstories and home lives private, even from each other.
"yeah, we've known each other since like the 3rd grade, i think." she replied, as kian's eyes widened a little.
"damn, that's like, what, 15 years of friendship?" kian questioned, making vanessa shake her head.
"no, only like 8, maybe 9? we actually hated each other up until like the end of freshman year in high school." vanessa explained.
"hated each other? you and julian hated each other? that's hard to imagine." kian said, knowing that the bond between them was extremely tight.
"yep, julian, mallory, miguel, and i all despised each other."
"what made you guys become friends?" kian asked.
vanessa's smile fell. "it's actually kind of sad, we don't really talk about it much. don't get me wrong, we're happy that we're friends but we would have preferred it to happen over different circumstances." she explained.
kian was about to ask what happened but was interrupted as david stuck his head through the back door.
"the fireworks are starting soon!" he shouted, everyone beginning to make their way to the backyard.
kian stood up, holding his hand out to vanessa. she hesitated just for a second, before accepting it.
they held hands as they made their way outside, not letting go of each other's hand even when they had arrived outside.
"only 1 minute left!" someone shouted out, making everyone cheer in anxious excitement.
"thanks for flying me out here." vanessa said, smiling up at kian.
he looked down at her, his own lips forming a smile.
53 seconds.
"y'know, you wouldn't be here right now if i hadn't prank called you almost 2 months ago." kian teased, making vanessa let out a short laugh.
"yeah, well, november 8th was a very lucky day for you."
41 seconds.
"oh wow, you even remembered the date."
"let's just say it marked the start of a new adventure built under some really weird circumstances." she said, slightly stepping forward, closer to him.
34 seconds.
"i wouldn't say weird." kian corrected.
"yeah? what would you call them?"
"hmm, i'd say different." kian shrugged, his statement making her eyebrows go up.
20 seconds.
"different, huh?"
"a good different, though." he defended, as she nodded in understanding.
12 seconds.
"still, you didn't have to fly me out here, even less, my friend." she said, as they both looked over kian's shoulder to see julian laughing with corey and crawford.
8 seconds.
"i wanted to." he replied, stepping forward, putting his hands on her waist.
she leaned into him slightly.
4 seconds.
"i'm glad that you wanted to."
"maybe next year, you'll be the one to fly me out."
2 seconds.
"next year, huh?"
"well, duh, you've gotten to visit my city. it's only fair i visit yours."
1 second.
kian leaned in, placing a kiss on her lips as the fireworks began to go off behind them, celebrating that the new year had arrived.
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